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Calm before the stormKrief unleashes guitar face as Black Diamond Bay
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by ERIK LEIJON In 2008, as both the Dears Missiles and Black Diamond Bays debut record, Calm Awaits, were being mastered, guitarist Patrick Krief had finally reached the inevitable crossroads. Upon the release of the largely acoustic, singer-songwriter-esque EP Take It or Leave, Krief knew it was only a matter of time before he would have to chooseremain as lead guitarist for the Dears, as he had been since 2004s live album, Thank You Good Night Sold Out, or to ignore his personal hang-ups about his vocals and strike out as frontman of his new group. [Dears frontman] Murray [Lightburn] and I went out for a drink and he just asked me straight up, what are you going to do? recalls Krief, who knew Lightburns extensive touring plans for Missiles required the type of commitment that would have put Black Diamond Bay on the backburner (ironically enough, Black Diamond Bay will be opening for the Dears this summer in Western Canada). I asked Murray if he could compromise some of the Dears touring and when it was clear he couldnt, I just said, Fuck it. It wasnt an angry fuck it, it was just that we knew it wasnt going to be logistically possible. For some time though, it was clear to Krief and his Black Diamond bandmateshis cousin Andre Bendahan (bass), Roberto Piccioni (keys) and fellow ex-Dear George Donoso III (drums)that their union was more than a mere side project. The original EP was recorded solely by Krief, but when the group interpreted the material live, it was a completely different beast. Loud, aggressive and unpredictable, the band formerly known as Krief was building a strong local following for their classic rock sensibilities and passionate on-stage jamming, including Kriefs own epic guitar soloingcomplete with feral and occasionally unflattering facial contortions, known as guitar face. Its honestly a knee-jerk reaction, I dont even realize Im doing the gestures. I see pictures afterwards and I find them hilarious. But sometimes Ill catch myself doing it even when Im just listening to good music. There are pictures of me playing guitar at 12 and Im making the face. Making the transition from well-oiled live machine to recording act can be a tricky process, but Black Diamond Bay sidestepped the question by yet again tapping into the more ornate sides of their classic rock heroes. The arrangements on Calm Awaits are lush, with strings and more backing vocals, so the Black Diamond Bay fans remember seeing on stage and the band that appears on the record sound markedly different. This decision resulted in them catching a good break, as their earlier mastering of Calm Awaits fell into the hands of an interested party at last years SXSW. Surprised by how different the album sounded from the live show, the Los Angeles-based label eventually gave the record to producer David Schiffman (System of a Down, Audioslave), who cut out a lot of the studio tricks Krief had added due to being self-conscious about his singing voice. The new Schiffman mix is the version that will be hitting stores. The result is ridiculous, it sounds a million times better, says Krief. He was in Montreal working with Priestess and he worked for 10 days on the album on spec, so he took a big gamble on us. CD LAUNCH AT DIVAN ORANGE ON |
