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<\/a><\/p>\nThe Demolition Gang’s Gordon Lee Worden plays the keyboard and the mighty 12-string guitar, which he says really is the sound of California; he\u2019s always loved The Beach Boys and The Byrds and anything with that California sound.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though none of [the musicians] were actually from California, it sounds like sunshine and palm trees,\u201d Worden says.<\/p>\n
Worden says that because there’s such a wide expanse of songs by these studio musicians, it makes for a really interesting show.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the people who come through the door, we can guarantee that they\u2019ll have a great time,\u201d says Worden. \u201cWe draw from Ritchie Valens to The Association to The Carpenters, The Beach Boys\u2026 There are just so many songs you can do because it was the same musicians playing on every track.\u201d<\/p>\n
Worden, who grew up in Nanaimo, recently moved back to the Island after living in Nashville and spending about 12 years on tour with Victoria\u2019s Ian Tyson (It’s not The Demolition Gang’s only claim to fame: drummer Bob Moffatt used to play in BC popsters The Moffatts).<\/p>\n
\u201cI toured around there and played a lot in downtown Nashville and COVID hit,\u201d says Worden. \u201cI spent about a year doing nothing and then figured I should just come home and hang out with my mom and watch my nephews play hockey. It seems like there is a lot more going on than there was when I left 14 years ago. Victoria seems to be really buzzing right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
So far, Worden says Saturday\u2019s show is likely a one-off while they dust their instruments off after a two-year break.<\/p>\n
\u201c[The Demolition Gang guitarist] Kelly Fawcett is kind of the one who had his foot in the door at Hermann\u2019s,\u201d says Worden. \u201cHe approached me and it just kind of built itself from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fawcett says that the room will be filled with big local harmonies backed by some of the best musicians on the island.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, we\u2019ve got a great band,\u201d says Fawcett. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna be swapping off on bass and guitar. I love the music and I love having that range of musicality as opposed to focusing on one thing. They\u2019re all interesting tunes and I\u2019m having a blast checking them out. I think it might be interesting to be here and see the band pull it off. We\u2019re trying to pay homage to the unsung heroes, to the geeky dudes that recorded in the studio and made the magic happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s going to be an afternoon show for students that Worden says was designed with a younger audience in mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey will for sure know the songs,\u201d says Worden. \u201cWe made our setlists around the different shows. We\u2019ll have some deep cuts that we\u2019ll save for the night show, but the big hits will all be played for the students in the daytime because it\u2019s a shorter show.\u201d<\/p>\n
In terms of venues that are supportive of the music community, Fawcett says Hermann\u2019s is one of his favourite spots.<\/p>\n
\u201cHermann\u2019s allows musicians and audiences alike to go and listen to music where that is the focus,\u201d says Fawcett. \u201cYou\u2019re not going there to shoot pool or pick fights. We\u2019re all there to listen to music. It has so much history. Wynton Marsalis has been on that stage. So many great players have graced the stage at Hermann\u2019s and there\u2019s just a magic in the room itself.\u201d<\/p>\n