“…when you realize how they tricked you this time / And it’s all lies but I’m strung out on the wire, in these / Streets of fire!”
A stunned 16-year-old rose on wobbly legs, still awestruck by a performance that grabbed him, shook him loose and kept a steady strangle hold on his rock and roll soul for two and a half hours.
As he put on his jacket to head out of the arena, he heard his older brothers chuckling. He didn’t know then that two and a half hours was only an appetizer when it came to seeing Bruce Springsteen live.
This was only the intermission of a concert that changed Andy Blincoe’s life. Before that moment all he wanted to do was play the bass. After see The Boss, the change in him was as glistening as the polished chrome of sixty-nine Chevy racing through the New Jersey night.
Andy was going to sing!
Meanwhile, somewhere in the summer of 1981, Blincoe’s future bandmate Glen Ethier was working as a whitewater raft guide. Appropriately enough, some of the staff would play Springsteen’s The River album while customers were gearing up to hit the rapids. It was kind of just background music, tunes to get people pumped for the excursion, but when Born in the USA dropped a few years later, Bruce’s music turbo charged to the forefront of Glen’s stereo.
“I was floored by the quality of the sound production, the wide range of his harmonic language, and the depth of the lyric writing—not a song on the album I didn’t like,” recalls Ethier.
Now the two are part of The Last of the Duke Street Kings. Alongside Ben Wilson, Kaven Jalbert, Lyle Robinson, Mario Calcagni, Patrick Rowan and Rhonda Blincoe, the band brings you all the way to E Street, playing everything from modern Springsteen tunes to the stuff from his glory days.
Ahead of what looks to be an epic gig at Ottawa’s LIVE on Elgin tomorrow night, I chat Andy and Glen about forming the band, how try capture the intensity of a Springsteen live show and, of course, their favourite tunes.
Get ready, it’s Boss Time.
Andre Gagne: Can you tell me the genesis of forming the band?
Andy: Where does it start? I played 20 years with a classic rock cover band…the most formative musical thing of my life up to that point…got a pretty good small but loyal following around town and never really went any further. Played bars starting at 10 in the evening until just before 3 A.M. Brought and installed our whole sound system, then tore it all down at night’s end and rolled home around 5 A.M. We played for peanuts, but that didn’t matter. Over time, as we searched for gigs, we found out that the better clubs, theatres and other venues were giving preference to tribute acts. The classic band was already playing 3-4 Bruce cuts, and they were always my favourite choices. In 2014, my co-founding member of that band passed away and left a huge void in the project. None of us had the heart to carry on without him, so we terminated the band…so…what next? The answer had been waiting 20 years for me to get to it…which I did. Grabbed some of the old members of that faction, found some new blood, eventually changed every member except myself, drummer Pat Rowan, and backing vocalist, Rhonda Blincoe, and built, or rather, STARTED to build what would eventually become The Last Of The Duke Street Kings.
What, to you, makes a good tribute band?
Andy: First and foremost: a) reproduction of the musical dynamic…if you aren’t going to be vigilant about that, stay in a cover band; b) reproduction of the intangible aspects—getting to the heart of the FEEL of the music and making sure you attempt to elicit the same astute reaction from an audience who, mostly, arrives already well-versed in the material you are about to play. If it doesn’t sound like E Street, don’t do it. If it doesn’t feel like a Springsteen experience, you need more ground-work….the interaction between artist and audience has always been Bruce’s specialty. Gotta’ nail that shit down.
Glen: Authenticity in the reproduction of the music and stage dynamic. When we talk to people and tell them that our music is all Springsteen all the time, they say “Oh, you’re a Springsteen cover band.” Answer: unequivocally NO! The difference is this: you can take a standard 4-piece rock band of two guitars, bass and drums and play “Hungry Heart”. The musicians can be excellent, the arrangement good, and people can enjoy their version or their interpretation of the song. That’s not a tribute group, and it’s not what a tribute group should do. In our case, it’s the reproduction of the musical dynamic and of the intangibles that create strong tribute act.
Now, you could have gone a few directions when naming the group but choose to reference a line from “Backstreets”. Was there a reason for this and were other names batted around first?
Andy: There are other Bruce tributes in North America…Glory Days, Bruce In The USA (hate the name- but really like the band), the B-Street Band…no imagination there…the one Bruce tribute name I REALLY like is Tramps Like Us….a little discreet but a REAL Springsteen fan catches that right away. I thought about a similar approach to naming THIS band. I considered Trouble in the Heartland, and Barefoot Street Boys, both lyrics from songs, but that “Backstreets” vision of the romanticized fictional band to whom the kids were slow-dancing in the dark on the beach at Stockton’s Wing. Wow! Absolutely love that imagery.
The E-Street Band is one of the hardest working…hardest playing out there. I’ve read how Max has to soak his hands in ice after drumming for shows. How much work goes into your emulation of the group to ensure that signature sound comes off when you perform?
Glen: A ton of work by everyone. In addition to weekly practices there are rehearsals where just the core of the band will go through material to work out details of harmony, melody and texture in order to have it tight for the regular practice. Other times, just the vocalists will sit down for an hour or two with a guitar or the piano and work out the vocal parts. We regularly meet to discuss where we are, what we can do to step up our game, how we will approach promotions for this or that show, and so on. But I think one of the keys to all this is the fact that, when we bring in a new song, EVERYONE takes it home to work on their part. This means that we get to rehearsal and the song is 95% ready. More discussion and details for polishing; more practicing and rehearsing; rinse and repeat until it’s done.
“Good enough” is never good enough. We will not bring a song to the stage until we are 100% confident that it is ready to go.
Andy: If you listen closely, Pat emulates, to a T, the stylings and signature aspects of Max’s playing. That little off-beat triplet in Waiting on a Sunny Day, the bombastic building rolls at the end of Dancing in the Dark. Our keyboard players spend exhausting hours nailing down the feel of Roy and Danny’s playing. Sax man Kaven Jalbert has spent a small fortune buying the gear and perfecting—and I do mean perfecting—Clarence’s climactic growling of that saxophone. Come see the show and decide for yourself.
Speaking of Clarence Clemons, his passing of Clarence Clemons left a big hole on stage for actual Bruce performances.
Andy: A big hole? That’s like saying the Grand Canyon is just a big hole. How do you pay homage properly to the Big Man? Okay, you keep his spirit alive in the honesty of those solos: from the sanctifying power of the “Badlands” solo to the life-affirming, stoic beauty of the iconic “Jungleland” solo. Reproducing Clarence’s sound and reliving his and Bruce’s friendship through mine and Kaven’s actual close friendship is what our tribute is largely based on. That brotherhood shared between Bruce and Clarence, man, we work hard on making sure that stands out in the show. Really hard.
What are some of your favorite songs to perform live and why?
Andy: My favourites so far on this tour—the ones I look forward to night after night: “Darkness On The Edge Of Town”, “Death To My Hometown”, “Night”, “Thunder Road”, “Jungleland”, “E Street Shuffle”, “Spirit in the Night”—the list goes on. And coming soon, we will be incorporating as a final song of the night during this summer’s festivals, my favourite closing song of his, “Thundercrack”.
Glen: That’s a tough one for me, because I can’t think of a song I don’t like to play. So let me give you my three top choices. Number 3: “Jungleland” because it’s so demanding in terms of technique and challenges me every week to get better. Number 2: “Born to Run” because of the sheer power and raw energy it brings to both performer and audience. Number 1: “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)”, for two reasons. The piano part is just so damn fun to play—my fingers literally get to dance on the keys with arpeggios and scale fills.
What is it about Bruce’s music you feel resonates so strongly with his audience?
Andy: Seems to me you love him or hate him. From a musician’s standpoint, it’s like trying to learn to play Beatles songs—you don’t realize until you try just how intricate the music really is. But for a listening audience, I think it is the lyrical subject matter that resonates the mos. I hear songs sometimes, then and now, on the radio about walking into a club, partying and then leaving the place with 3 beauties…this has NEVER happened to me, so difficult to relate. But songs about losing faith in yourself, trying to find redemption, carrying a never-say-die attitude toward life, exalting in the things that make you yearn, that make you hunger, that make you feel free—or simply make you feel—these are things upon which my daily wanderings are based and nourished; soul-searching things and themes in the music.
Glen: I think for me it’s the message that Bruce puts out. Some of the songs deal with very dark topical issues—relationships, politics, emotions, world issues and so on. But there is almost always an underlying message of hope that comes through. You combine that message with the inventiveness of the music behind it, and you have a special dynamic in which each individual listener feels a strong empathetic bond with the performer. It’s like “Hey, he understands. He’s been here too.”
Of course, those audiences are loyal, often times rabid ones. How do you see that translating to people who come out to see you perform?
Andy: Ah, that’s exactly what we are searching for! This project over 4 years is continually building a loyal fan-base, and that rabid reaction is a very elusive thing, but when we DO get it, you can instantly see the reaction on the faces of the band. I actually laugh out loud and raise my fist in triumph. And in that regard, Ottawa has shown us the most knowledgeable Springsteen fans we’ve come across. I’ve actually had 2 chances to be silent on “Thunder Road” for the lines “have a little faith, there’s magic in the night, you ain’t a beauty but hey you’re alright”, as the audience took over for me. Ottawa fans were also the first to chant that soccer-match rally of “Ooh-OH oh oh…” before we launch back into the closing of “Badlands”. They react surprisingly and positively to rarities like “Roulette” or “Growing Up” and when this reaction happens, you can bet we see it.
Glen: The whole reason I perform is to make people happy. If I see them enjoying the music and having a good time, I know we have done our duty in providing them an escape—however fleeting—from everyday life and the hardships, struggles, and conflicts it can bring. This gives me an indescribable feeling of joy and delight. It’s goose-bump-making when we get cheers as they recognize Roy’s beautiful and engaging introductions to songs like “She’s the One”, “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”, and “Backstreets”. And when we hit the end of the sax solo in “Jungleland”, the cheering and applause for our sax man is nothing short of thunderous. The intense gratification we get from drawing them into the music and seeing their enjoyment and appreciation is rewarding and humbling. I hope and pray that we never lose that.
On the other side of things, what do you most enjoy about performing his music?
Andy: That’s an easy question for me.
I personally love becoming completely and irrevocably ensconced in the songs, and I would say it’s the same for every other musician in the group.
Some songs give my tongue an incredible work-out though, for example “Blinded by the Light” and “Roulette”…Christ it’s hard to not stumble over those lyrics. But the whole experience fulfills me. We often pass the 3 hour mark, but I think these guys would hang me if I made them go further. At one Ottawa show, we played 4 hours. I heard it from the band all the way home!
Finally, if you could chat with Bruce personally for just ten minutes what do you think you’d talk to him / ask him?
Glen: As a songwriter myself, I would love to chat to him about his lyric writing and harmonic/melodic choices. Song lyrics often come out of real experiences and observation of the human condition, but the question is always: how did the experience get turned into lyrics?
Andy: I would simply love to tell him that, in all the years I’ve been playing, there is one thing that has stood out in my mind. There was a girl, Angie, who used to show up most nights when my band was playing, LOTS of times when we were out of town, she would just show up by surprise. Most times I wouldn’t know she was in the audience, but during the performance, as I meandered back from mugging with another member, at the foot of my mic stand, there would be a rye and coke. She knew what I liked and once I saw that drink, I would start to really search the audience for her and finally see her, point to her and she would always blow a kiss. This happened often, and I asked her once about it. She said that she appreciated how I made her feel when I played her favourite songs, especially when she had had a hard week, and she had wanted to do something to let me know I was appreciated. Probably the nicest thing any audience member has ever done. It made me feel like I was getting the job done, at least REALLY connecting with someone in that manner. I have appreciated it all my life. I will never forget it. Then I would like to buy Bruce a drink and tell him the same thing about how his music makes me feel.
We posted about an upcoming local show a few years ago. Angie was the first to respond and buy a ticket, as was often the case. However, about a month before the show, Angie was killed in a car accident. At her viewing, I was introduced to her mom for the first time, and she covered up a gasp and her eyes filled with tears. She said, “Oh- you’re the one Angie always used to go hear sing!” She then asked if I would sing something at her funeral. I would have done so in a heart-beat except I was going to be away with family at that moment. Instead, we invited her whole family out to the show which we performed in Angie’s honor, where I sang a farewell tribute to her whole family: “Land of Hope and Dreams”, with a four foot portrait of Angie pinned up to the wall behind the stage. During the song’s intro, I told the story of Angie and what she always did to make sure I knew she was there. It was a little secret between us that was revealed to her loved ones for the first time. I poured my heart out in that song and was probably the most emotional I’ve ever been on stage. About half-way through that first set that night, a young woman walked up to the stage during a song…and placed a rye and coke at the foot of my mic stand. It was a beloved cousin of Angie, paying HER respects in the most beautiful way I could imagine. Just an incredible moment for me…and cherished.
Thank you for sharing that touching story. His music sure touches these deep places in us, lifts us up. What do you feel is the message Bruce’s songs most convey?
Andy: Redemption and belief in yourself. Just look at the final lyrics in all those classic songs and their last lines: “It’s a town full of losers and I’m pulling out of here to win.” “I wanna spit in the face of these Badlands.” “Tramps like us, baby we were born to run.” “Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun. Oh, but Mama, that’s where the fun is.” “Listen to your junkman- he’s singing.” “Everything that dies some day comes back.” The theme is forever recurring. That’s the power of a song.
Glen: And hope. Hope for a better life, a better future, a better self.
The struggle is real, but it is attainable.
LAST OF THE DUKE STREET KINGS (With Special Guest John Ian)
LIVE on Elgin / 220 Elgin st. 2nd Floor
February 23rd Doors at 8:00pm | Showtime at 9:00pm $12 Advanced | $15 at the door
