Chris Denby, Steve Denby, Steven Warren, and Ed Price are hoping their new, self-titled CD “Streamline” will be a big hit with local residents, and help to make their music a familiar sound here.
The group–which plays an eclectic mix of country and rock–has been performing together for the past seven years, playing at a number of venues around the district.
“We have played all over the place,” said Chris Denby, an original band member and music teacher at Fort Frances High School. “We have played in Emo and at the Fall Fair.
“We usually tend to get booked to play outside of town so with this CD, we are hoping to get a few opportunities to play locally,” he added
Independently produced, the out-of-pocket cost for the group to get their CD made was roughly $6,000. But Denby admitted he and his band members were prepared to pay that amount for the chance to get their music out to the public.
“I have cut records before but not with this band,” noted Denby. “We cut this record on our own by pooling our money together and then getting it recorded in Winnipeg with the Maddock [Agency].
“We only pressed 1,000 CDs, which is the minimum order you can get done. We are just hoping to get some money back from this [venture].”
With a background in music that reaches as far back as a family band in the 1970s to his present position as music teacher at Fort High, Denby certainly is no stranger to the business.
“I have always been involved in music in one way or another,” he said. “I have been a part of a few bands, and I also got a music degree.
“All of the members of the band have an extensive musical background,” he continued. “We play our own instruments and we also do some of our own song writing.”
Of the 13 tracks on their new CD, five of the songs were written by the band–something Denby is pleased with and hoping will continue.
“I wrote three of the songs, Steven Warren wrote one, and the band collaborated on the other,” he explained. “If the CD works out well, we will eventually make another one.
“We are going to be writing more songs and those will be included on our next CD.”
In addition to the band’s own songs, their CD also features a number of cover songs made famous by such artists as Garth Brooks, Billy Joel, and Brooks and Dunn.
“When we started out, we had planned to make demo to hand out to people who were interested in booking us,” Denby said. “We had a few songs in mind that we wanted to record but we kept finding more and more.
“Eventually we decided that we had better just make a record.”
With their CD now on the shelves of music stores around the district, including Sight & Sound here in Fort Frances, Denby is hoping their music will be received warmly by the public.
“We are really pleased with the way ‘Streamline’ turned out,” Denby admitted. “You can’t help but be a bit excited about the whole thing. We are really looking forward to seeing how it does.”
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
