Layla Bozich, staff
“Someone said at one point that Devon’s song writing is like a little kid with ADD, and I think that is very true to the sound of our music,” laughed Brandi Sidoryk of Vancouver indie pop trio, beekeeper.
Comedian and Brantford native Devon Lougheed, his cousin Luke Cyca, and Sidoryk, an experienced opera singer, are the faces behind the hyper and infectious grooves of the band.
Lougheed, beekeeper’s guitarist and lead vocalist, explained that the band formed easily after his move to Vancouver.
“[Luke and I] jammed a few times … and Brandi was our dream player for a while [but] we thought she was too big for us to get, and then we finally convinced her, using mostly wine and chocolate.” Lougheed said.
“Which works by the way, that’s what they pay me in,” Sidoryk confirmed, jokingly. From that point on, beekeeper has been an unstoppable force on Canadian campus radio stations and they have had successful tours in Alberta and Ontario last year.
The name of the band, however, was perhaps the most effortless feat of all. “I was complaining to [my uncle] that we don’t have a name, and he said to me, ‘It doesn’t matter. Call it Table Wax, call it beekeeper, it’s the music that matters,’” explained Lougheed. “And we just thought that beekeeper was a better name than Table Wax.”
The end of 2010 saw the release of beekeeper’s debut album, Be Kept. A melting pot of jumpy rhythms, lively and spirited lyrics, and an all around sense of quirkiness only begins to describe the magic offered on the album.
“The musical thing we were trying to do with Be Kept was to make pop music, but [break] all the rules of pop music,” Lougheed said.
He explained that Be Kept attempted to share abstract and weird rhythms that people could still sing along and dance to. The band has a tendency to mix complicated time signatures with short and to the point lyrics to create a raw yet undeniably poppy sound.
Instead of having bands that influenced their sound and direction for Be Kept, members of beekeeper used themselves as inspiration. Their fun and vibrant live show is a direct result of the love between the band. Keeping their performances light-hearted and refreshing is extremely important to beekeeper. “Who needs a drummer when you can just hang off the blinds?” laughed Sidoryk, referring to how silly their shows can get on occasion.
Every element of beekeeper seems to further their unique sound and personality.
“We’re a three piece band,” said Lougheed. “Already, that’s about 11 less members than any other indie band.”
Lougheed explained that the band enjoys drawing on his background in stand-up comedy, enabling them to constantly offer an enjoyable and new musical experience.
“The changes in the music are funny, and there are a lot of jokes for music theory nerds, if they want to dig deep enough to find them,” said Lougheed.
“The comedic thing is really different in new music right now [because] everything seems to be so serious,” Sidoryk added.
Beekeeper will be playing a show on Jan. 20 at Charlie’s Bar & Grill, located at 43 Oak St., in Brantford.
“The Brantford music scene has been so influential in how I write songs,” said Lougheed. “Brantford crowds go off like no other.”
Keep an ear out for beekeeper’s evolving sound, and be sure to pick up a copy of their 7-inch when it debuts in April.
