MORRISBURG – May 13-14 is actually going to be a double-barrelled, wonderful musical weekend at the Winery.
Saturday’s performers have been described by Heather Young as the country’s “most colourful band both musically and visually.” The phenomenal and musically versatile PepTides, nine exceptional performers, is coming, courtesy of Harmony Concerts, to Stone Crop Acres Winery on Saturday, May 13th at 7p.m., for what is sure to be a memorable concert.
And then, on Sunday, at 4 p.m., the Winery and Harmony also welcome the renowned musician Dave Gossage, of the Dave Gossage Group, an artist who was described by the Montreal Gazette as “Montreal’s Secret Weapon.” A multi-instrumentalist – flute, guitar, harmonica – he is particularly well known for his jazz and Celtic playing.
The original PepTides band was formed several years ago by Claude Marquis, who was soon joined by DeeDee Butters and Dale Waterman. “They inspired each other musically, and eventually held auditions to find people, who, they sensed, would come together musically to create a beautiful mix. Originally the group was only going to have four vocalists along with our musicians. But the sound created with five singers was so powerful and striking that five voices is now a hallmark of our group.”
The PepTides refuse to limit themselves. Their extraordinary music explores the gamut from jazz to funk, baroque to rock. “All music, and all styles of music, interest us. Actually, our latest album tends to pop,” Alex and Rebecca laughed, “but not 40s pop. Our version of pop is unique. One of the aspects of our live show that really entertains people is that we create something for everyone. Our powerful singers, a defining characteristic of PepTides, come with a strong theatrical element. And we are really lucky to have incredible and talented instrumentalists in the band, who are often show cased in a concert.”
The members of the PepTides also take a unique approach to recording their albums. “Our albums tend to be created around specific themes. We choose something that interests us – we have looked at ‘hate,’ seeing all its many faces, but also the theme of ‘love,’ singing of those things and people we love, miss, long for. Claude is our main writer, but we all contribute to the songs, bringing our own ideas. We have always preferred to work through a theme in our songs. Our music is very eclectic and a theme, tight and specific, really ties us together. At the same time, it also lets us explore all the different aspects of an idea.” Just to illustrate this approach, PepTides built albums around themes as diverse as those of Stuart MacLean’s Vinyl Cafe stories and Kurt Vonnegut’s Galapagos.
The Ottawa band is delighted to be out performing again on the concert circuit. “COVID hit us hard. Our live show is our strongest product,” Rebecca and Alex said. “We often hear of how people love the way we perform together, the way we connect with each other musically on stage, and then connect strongly to the audience. We take great pride in interacting with the people who come to hear us.”
Their concert at the Winery will be a retrospective of many of their songs, from different albums. These nine artists are ethnically and racially diverse, their music upbeat, exuberant and utterly distinctive. “The PepTides have been through so much together. We feel we simply have great stage chemistry.”
Audiences are going to love the larger than life sounds of the PepTides.
And they are going to love the unique, wonderful music of Dave Gossage, who explores many styles of music in his repertoire.
“Music is, and always has been, part of my life,” Dave said. “There is simply no comparison with playing live. Every show is different: every show becomes unique.”
Dave Gossage was born to music. His parents played piano and guitar, a grandmother was a fiddler, and he seized on the flute as “his” instrument from childhood. His brother Bill, along with fellow artist Sean Dagher, will be joining him at his Winery concert. A teacher at McGill University, he plays his flute in Montreal pubs “pretty well every week.” He has also performed with some of the jazz greats, criss-crossed the country with the Irish band Orealis, provided original music for Assassins Creed Rogue, and created the scores for documentaries and for Oscar nominated animated films.
Classically trained, he played guitar in rock bands, but “in my teens, I fell in love with jazz. Later, after being invited to tour with Orealis, I got to experience real Irish music. I was blown away: that was the start of my love affair with Irish music.”
However, Dave Gossage also revels in the freedom that can be found in jazz. “Jazz has opened me up to so manydifferent styles of music. And I love to improvise. In its own way, like Celtic music, jazz is marginal music, but I love them both. Frankly, instead of Bach,” he laughed, “I learned ‘Summertime.’”
The songs in his concerts may be traditional, but the tunes are original. “Sometimes, creativity is almost technical,” Dave explained. “I say to myself, I need a jig here to complete a melody, and I sit down and write it. And sometimes a melody just gets into my head and I have to compose it. And music can come from an emotional place: music is my work, but it’s also my life.”
Dave Gossage’s concert at Stone Crop Acres will feature Celtic, jazz, the flute, the guitar, the harmonica and even whistles. He is eager to be out, performing for an audience. “There is just no comparison to the feeling you get from a live crowd, that response to your music. We’re going to have fun at the concert. There may be some slow, sentimental airs, but,” Dave Gossage laughed, “we also plan to bring people to their feet to dance.”
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