An emerging band from Vancouver known as Brass Camel that’s making a name for itself as audiences spread the word about the group’s talent is coming to the Osborne Bay Pub in Crofton Saturday, May 20 at 8 p.m.
Berry Music Co. Ltd. owner/operator Patricia Berry has been trying to bring musicians into the Osborne Bay Pub who appeal to a younger audience and this band is just the ticket. And it’s only a $20 ticket for what the group’s lead guitarist and vocalist Daniel Sveinson guarantees will be a good time.
“We’ll absolutely make sure people are getting their money’s worth,” said Sveinson, as the band prepared to head to the island for a gig at the Victoria Event Centre Friday followed by the Crofton show Saturday. “It’ll be a great night. We’re looking forward to it.”
The roots of the group can be traced to 2018, with Sveinson and Curtis Arsenault.
“Curtis and I go way, way back,” said Sveinson. “He’s a bit of an anomaly. He’s a bit of a musical freak.”
Various studio musicians were used along the way and it became a three-piece band by the end of 2021. The group released its debut album in September of 2022.
The stability of becoming a unified group has materialized since the early part of the year.
“Five pieces has been the aim,” said Sveinson.
That’s where Brass Camel is at now with Sveinson on lead guitar and vocals, Wyatt Gilson on drums and percussion, Arsenault on backing vocals and lead bass guitar, Haywood Lammie on lead guitar and backing vocals and Aubrey Ellefson on keyboards and vocals.
Sveinson marvelled at Ellefson, the newest member of the group, who joined on the verge of two scheduled shows and didn’t miss a beat.
“We were in a pickle,” explained Sveinson. “We had a couple of out-of-town gigs in Revelstoke and Penticton at the end of January.”
With what Sveinson termed as Ellefson’s “very nonchalant approach to stuff, two weeks before those two shows he just walked in there and kills it.”
Accolades from Big Sugar’s Gordie Johnson, who called Brass Camel his favourite Canadian band, have helped put the group on a larger map.
“I’m a big Brass Camel believer right now and the fact that they’re from Canada, to me, I mean that’s just a bonus,” Johnson has been quoted as saying. “Man, they’re good worldwide so I’ve gotta say that’s probably my favourite dude in Canada right now.”
“That meant a lot for me,” said Sveinson.
“We got quite a few people online that caught that out in Ontario and Quebec. We’re getting some fans out that way.”
Sveinson, who just turned 30 a week ago, comes by his talents naturally that has parlayed into some of the band’s current success along with the other prolific members who have formed the fab five.
“My parents were audiophiles and huge music fans,” Sveinson pointed out.
“I got into playing live when I was very, very young. I did my first cross-Canada tour when I was 11 years old.”
Sveinson is looking forward to the reception from fans for Brass Camel on the island.
“We played the island maybe three or four times now,” he pointed out. “It’s gone over really well.”
The connection to play in Crofton worked both ways.
“I had noticed the Osborne Bay Pub was coming up quite a bit on my social media,” noted Sveinson.
Berry also reached out as part of her quest for a younger audience.
So what can people expect from a Brass Camel show?
“It’s classic progressive rock, with a blues rock thread through the middle,” explained Sveinson.
Jazz fusion and funk elements are also brought into the group’s repertoire.
The group will be bringing along its full stage production which has contributed to being a can’t-miss act in Vancouver. A second album is already planned for early 2024 as Brass Camel looks forward to the pursuit of expanding its audience.
“This is the only band I’ve played with that we’ve really found a connection live,” noted Sveinson.
And what about the Brass Camel band name? Inquiring minds want to know how that materialized.
“The name found us,” chuckled Sveinson. “It was almost an inside joke with a friend of mine. It was like a pet name, like an inside joke for a hypothetical band.”
But the name stuck, eliminating the need to choose one. “It’s hard to come up with a name you like, never mind other people,” reasoned Sveinson.
One thing he’s discovered along the way, “people love camels” so the band name was entirely suitable for the growing legion of fans who love them, too.
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don.bodger@chemainusvalleycourier.ca
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