is the moniker under which brothers Tom & Derek van Deursen release and perform their signature style of music. The name comes from strong roots to their rural Kootenay upbringing, ties that have tattooed their hearts indelibly and deeply influenced their art. Tom’s lyrics are introspective, unique, anthemic and delivered in his own developed voice, a high-middle tone croon that cracks and scoops, refusing to be any less R&B than it is pop punk. Derek’s blood-blended harmonies thicken out the vocals and his drumming, like Tom’s guitar playing, sounds like thousands of hours of dedicated instrument worship with very little outside influence. A sound born in the middle of nowhere, without wifi, hungry ears gleaning everything they could from the little bits of rock and roll that came through their fuzzy antenna or 14.4kb/s internet connection - to download a single song could take anywhere from 1-3 days.
This remote experimentation has been honed in over 400 shows together since 2003. The band relocated to the west coast, grew to include a robust horn section in 2015, took home first place and $10,000 in a battle of the bands, and went on to build their name by doing it DIY. Backyard rock shows across western Canada with a full PA, FOH technician, and as many as 3 other bands along for the ride showed the keen work ethic of the group - willing to go the extra kilometre to build a show where there had never been one, and keep it family friendly and community minded. These tours earned them key festival bookings, from headlining Edge Of The World Festival (2018) on Haida Gwaii to closing down the Holland Stage at Kaslo Jazz Festival (2019) They have played the Commodore Ballroom twice.
Their live show is a crackling good time, full of emotional dynamics, trumpet and violin earworms, guitarmonies and feeling. 2024’s touring outfit is 6 strong, featuring Kyle Vaughan (Year Of The Wolf) on Guitar, Safiya Labelle on Violin and Vocal, Jocelyn Waugh on Trumpet, and Sam Schuette on Bass. See the band as part of an extensive month-long tour this May - stopping in all their favourite.. small towns.