When the R&B quintet Champagne Republic split up two years ago, its frontwoman, Emily Chambers, was able to accomplish something as a solo singer-songwriter that she never could within what she describes as the “insular” confines of her former band: cultivate a proper relationship with the Vancouver music community at large. “I felt like I’d made enough connections in this city, musically and otherwise, that I could put something together that people would want to be a part of,” she recalls.
Contemplating what that something could be, the North Shore native’s thoughts turned to her father, who had been diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease at the age of 48. In late 2015, she hit upon the idea of a multi-band concert benefitting the Parkinson Society of British Columbia. The result was Shake, Shake, Shake, and it brought 350 through the doors of Chinatown’s Imperial nightclub, raising more than $16,000. It returns Friday (Jan. 27) for its second edition with the aim to raise $25,000.
For Chambers, the greatest accomplish of the inaugural Shake was that it attracted a audience that usually has little involvement with – or interest in – Parkinson’s fundraising. “A lot of the things that the Parkinson Society does caters to an older crowd,” she says. “Obviously, most of the people on their mailing list are people who are affected with Parkinson’s, which is usually diagnosed after 50. Early onset is only 10 per cent of people who have it.” Shake drew in “a demographic they hadn’t reached before. We framed it as a concert in benefit of Parkinson’s – I didn’t want it to be an information session. I wanted young people to come out to see bands coming together, and know that they were doing something for a cause that maybe they didn’t know so much about.”
“I was surprised to see how many people are affected by Parkinson’s in some way,” she continues. “Among the musicians I reached out to, a lot of them were only an arm’s length from a person they know who has the disease – a grandparent or a cousin or a mom’s friend – so everyone was really stoked to be performing on the bill. I got people excited about the night, and then the cause was just the cherry on top.”
This year, Chambers performs backed by an eight-piece band, largely playing tracks from her recently released album, Magnolia. Joining her on the bill are soul/hip-hop trio I M U R, veteran R&B artist (and original Ohio Players member) Dutch Robinson, and Victoria bluesman Jesse Roper.
Chambers comes to this weekend’s Shake having learned that music and Parkinson’s complement one another in ways beyond fundraising. As with other ailments whose victims have experienced a breakthrough from treatment that embraces neuroplasticity (in essence, the belief that the brain can be reprogrammed to restore proper function, without drugs or surgery), many Parkinson’s patients have been found to respond well to therapies that incorporate dancing, singing and timekeeping. Chambers took part last year in SongShine training, which uses singing to help people whose voice has been affected by Parkinson’s, other neurological disorders or aging.
“Parkinson’s doesn’t make you shake; medication does. Parkinson’s makes you freeze up,” Chambers explains. “My dad can get frozen, but if you give him a beat or a pulse or a song – sometimes getting your mind to go somewhere else, you’ll be able to at least take a step.”
Speaking of her dad, it was he who suggested the name for Chambers’s event. “He hasn’t lost his sense of humour,” she says, laughing.
Shake, Shake, Shake takes place Friday, Jan. 27, at the Imperial (319 Main), 7:30pm. Tickets $25 from ImperialVancouver.com; $30 at the door. VIP Reception tickets $125 in advance only. Donations can be made to Parkinson.bc.ca.
