Throughout the music industry's turbulent times, there has been something that has not changed among audiences.
People love cover songs, says Sarah Johns, co-vocalist for Vancouvers House Band . The musicianship is there and we do them pretty well. We love performing them the audience can see that.
Were all really good friends and were such a tight unit, its like a second family, says fellow singer Kelly Brock, nodding her head. And we all genuinely love playing music and performing and we get to do it every weekend with each other its not a bad job, you know?
For two decades, Dr. Strangelove has survived longer than most bands, playing covers of classic songs from the 50s and every decade since. In 2012, the band played more than 100 shows in the Lower Mainland.
A lot of bands, they have day jobs and it has to be more of a hobby, Johns says. Weve been lucky enough to be making a living at for a long time.
And it has been a long time, especially compared to music industry standards. On January 17, Dr. Strangelove will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the venue where it got started and where it played as the house band, four nights a week for 16 years the Roxy Nightclub.
I remember thinking, Ill do this for a year or so. Johns says. I was pursuing acting at the time so I thought it would good for some steady income. And now, 20 years later.
Brock has a similar reaction to the bands longevity.
I was performing in a bunch of original bands around town, she says. I thought so too, that this is such a great vehicle to continue to write songs and record and do my original projects while getting that rare live experience, for four nights week that really helped me build me performance chops
and then you realized that there wasnt any money in original music, Johns interjects with a laugh.
Like any long-running band, Dr. Strangelove hasnt been immune to the ubiquitous rock-and-roll issues of line-up changes and addiction. But unlike a lot of bands, Dr. Strangelove doesnt take itself too seriously, which is one of the secrets to their success.
Theres no rock posturing going on, Brock says. Its fun, silly and tongue and cheek.
We dont take the whole thing seriously, adds Johns. Like, were playing cover tunes.
In addition to the absence of any pretension, Johns and Brock have a couple more secrets to the years of late gigs.
Matcha lattes and tequila. Johns says to laughter. The guys used to make fun of us and were like, You cant drink tea on stage. Thats not rock and roll.
Along with Johns and Brock, Dr. Strangelove is made up of Richard Sera (keyboard and vocals), Andre Kunkel (bass and vocals), Peter Barone (drums) and Kevin Coles (guitar and vocals).
Playing all those gigs at the Roxy as well as an endless number of galas, weddings, and sporting events over 20 years, the singers have seen many displays of inebriated celebration that their kids wont be hearing about until theyre older (or if they read WE).
A really funny night was when a stag came with a male blowup doll with a hairy chest and a penis Johns describes.
and quite a large penis. says Brock, giggling.
and they were batting him around like a beach ball. And the doll started to deflate except for the penis and watching it from the stage was the funniest thing ever. It was just us laughing into the mic instead of singing.
Win two VIP passes to the January 17 party at the Roxy at .
