With soaring harmonies and revelatory choruses, Good For Grapes know how to bring their audiences to epiphany. So it was for good reason the Vancouver folk rock band were the winners of the 2014 Peak Performance project, landing the top prize of more than $100,000.
The win propelled the band forward, and last year saw the seven-piece release The Ropes, their second full-length LP, on Toronto-based label Pheromone Recordings.
Not bad for a bunch of former buskers who formed after a chance meeting on the ferry to Victoria.
On June 3, Good For Grapes will be gracing the main stage at Vancouver Craft Beer Week’s main event at the PNE Fairground. We caught up with frontman Daniel McBurnie and guitarist Graham Gomez to talk about “turbo jazz” and the many splendoured beauty of Canmore, Alberta.
Who are you?
We're Good For Grapes, a group of young people playing folk/rock tunes.
Where are you from?
Vancouver.
How do you describe your sound?
Daniel: It's pretty lively, rich and melodic music. We love exploring harmonies and layering in the studio with strings/brass.
Who are your major musical influences?
Daniel: Lyrically Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Jackson C. Frank. Musically we're more inspired by bands like Fleet Foxes. But I'd say most of the influence comes from folk revival bands of the ‘60s onto which we throw our own chaos.
Favourite sandwich?
Graham: Breakfast sandwiches are practically my vice. Why have neatly partitioned breakfast items when you can pile it all on bread and get every element in one messy bite?
Best live music performance you’ve ever seen?
Graham: I don't know about best ever, but some of us just recently caught a local group by the name of Big Evil at this tiny all-ages room called Franklin Studios. They're a five-piece that plays what I can only describe as turbo-jazz-rock-fury. They took us completely by surprise and were truly one of the most musically impressive groups I have ever seen.
Closest you’ve ever come to death?
Daniel: Touring Canada in the winter.
Finish this sentence: When I’m not writing and playing music, I spend my time…
Daniel: If I'm not writing/playing music (or thinking about it) I might be biking, making beer, doing arts/crafts with my roomies, or devising a way to beat the house in blackjack.
First record/CD you ever bought?
Graham: The first CD I purchased with my own money was YTV Big Fun Party Mix 2000. I liked the 10-second sample of "First Date" by Blink 182 they played on TV. I console myself by remembering the second or third CD I bought was Cream’s greatest hits.
What is your spirit animal and why?
Graham: Type "Wat" into Google image search. That woman is and always will be my spirit animal.
What was the name of the first band you ever played in?
Graham: When I was 12-14ish, I was in band called "Delayed." I don't know why we were called that. I don't think any of us owned a delay pedal, or even knew what that was,
Super secret fact about you that (almost) no one knows?
Daniel: We're all engaged, to each other.
What was the best crowd you ever played for, and why?
Graham: That is a very tough one to choose. One that always stands out in my memory is the crowd at Canmore Folk Festival a few years ago. There was this one guy who would yell "Play something sexy!" in between every song. By the end of the show it caught on and the whole crowd was joining in. It was quite the scene. In general they were a ton of fun, and at the time were one of the largest crowds we had played for. That festival has forever instilled in me a love for the city of Canmore, AB.
• Good For Grapes plays the Vancouver Craft Beer Week main event on Friday, June 3, at the PNE Fairgrounds.
