Going South, The debut album from the Bleeding Horse Express looks set to propel the Vancouver band into the big time, after they were plucked from obscurity by 100 Monkeys and Twilight star, Jackson Rathbone.
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The Bleeding Horse Express
The record, produced by Rathbone at Happy Jack Music Studios in Los Angeles, is due to thrust the B.C. band up towards the likes of fellow Vancouverites Dan Mangan and The New Pornographers into the limelight. Seamlessly fusing rock, gospel, blues, country and folk into a medley of melodic beauty, the September release of the album is unquestionably something to be excited about.
Vocalist Tissa Rahim is excited about how a chance meeting with the Twilight actor’s band, 100 Monkeys, turned the tracks of the Express towards the stars. “100 Monkeys had come to Vancouver to perform,” she explains. “And they were set to play at Neptoon Records on Main Street.”
Coincidently, the store is owned by the family of Bleeding Horse Express drummer Ben Frith, and at that point, Frith had already arranged for the Express to play the same show. It was Record Store Day 2009, an international celebration for the art of music.
Band leader Bradley Damsgaard takes up the story. “I got a call from Ben one day saying that he has a show for us,” recounts the singer and guitarist. “He also said that it might be really busy. When I asked why, he just said that there will be a band playing that could draw a lot of people,” he continues. “Cool, I thought, but didn’t give it much thought. The band ended up being 100 Monkeys.”
After the show, Damsgaard got talking to a stranger outside the store, and the conversation turned to banjos and music. “It ended up being Jackson Rathbone,” explains Damsgaard. “The next day I get a call asking if we wanted to play the Backstage Lounge [on Granville Island] with them later that week,” he relates. “That was the show that Jackson says he fell in love with the band.”
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The Bleeding Horse Express
The Bleeding Horse Express and Rathbone continued their affiliation, playing the “Twilight: Eclipse” wrap party at the Vancouver Aquarium a few months later. Soon after, the actor offered the band a recording contract with his Happy Jack Music label, and in early 2011 the band recorded Going South at The Warehouse Studio in Gastown.
The band formed in early 2008 with Damsgaard and Frith, along with bass player Chris Reed. Rahim became the bands’ female vocalist in May 2009 and a horn section was added, with Dan Hersog on trumpet, and Jim Hopson on trumpet. The Bleeding Horse Express initially played small venues around Vancouver, playing both original material, and a number of covers.
When asked about the bands’ musical style, Rahim describes it as “gospel, voodoo, country,” and the record definitely emanates that. Why Rathbone fell in love with their sound is obvious. To the untrained ear, one would expect the album came from the Deep South rather than Vancouver, especially the track Get Right Church.
The song is Damsgaard’s interpretation of an old church gospel song, with a loping beat, coupled with a banjo track and prominent horns. Towards the end of the song a choir, harmonica, preacher and organ enter the fray. The call and response vocals – a feature on many other songs by the Express, adds to the feel of being in an old church in eastern Texas or Louisiana. The raw, grizzled sound of Damsgaard’s voice, coupled with sweet, operatic tone of Rahim play off each other brilliantly, a theme that runs right through the album.
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The Bleeding Horse Express
The record covers an array of rock genres. From the hard, loud, slide guitar focussed Heavy Loader, to softer, rock balled One Too Many Times. With the folksy The Last Thing You See, blues style Take Me Down and the drunken stumbling piano of Suicide Waltz; the album has something for fans of all kinds of rock and folk music.
With the album recorded, Rathbone has been suitably impressed to invite the band on his North American tour. The Bleeding Horse Express are currently supporting 100 Monkeys, touring the United States, before eventually working their way back to Vancouver, where they play The Venue on Granville St, August 19. With a total of more than 40 gigs, the journey ends with a stint down the West Coast, where they play in San Francisco and Los Angeles, before visiting Las Vegas and conclude proceedings in San Diego’s House of Blues on August 28.
All this, from a chance meeting at a free show. Vancouver should watch out – the Express is coming.
Going South is now available on iTunes. It is also available at shows, and on the band website @ http://www.bleedinghorseexpress.com
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
