SEE Magazine
Copyright © 1998. All Rights Reserved.
ROCK
BY SIMON KISSREVIEW
Cousin Henry, with Holy Joe
Windsor Bar and Grill
July 4Edmonton's Cousin Henry could be going places.
The local jazz, funk and rock influenced group put on a fine performance at its CD "pre-release" party at the Windsor Bar and Grill last Saturday, following an opening set from Holy Joe. Those in attendance left clearly impressed, smiles on their faces.
Formed two years ago by guitarist Dave Merriman, singer Dan Holden and drummer Eugenio Pacileo, Cousin Henry recently added bassist Shantel Koenig, rounding out the roster and the sound.
The band took its name from a guy who does fishing tours in B.C. "When we were coming up with possible names we said, 'not Pearl Jam, not Soundgarden . . . ' and we just thought it might be cool to name ourselves after this guy who lent me some stuff one day," Holden explained.
Saturday night Merriman especially floored the crowd, sending the sound from his guitar through numerous squawk boxes, compressors, fuzz boxes and wah pedals, coming up with a tasteful, original and tight sound that sizzled all night long. The songs were incredibly varied, moving within each track from heavy, punchy rhythms to languid reprieves, led by Merriman's electronically-painted guitar.
Probably the finest tune was a simply brilliant cover of George Michael's Faith. It was a perfect example of the variety the band is capable of within songs. Opening with a swing/reggae feel for the first two verses, the song ended on a fantastically upbeat and danceable note. As the sing-along grew, it became clear that Cousin Henry is capable of catching eyes and winning over any crowd.
Head was another impressive track. Opening with a heavy, distorted guitar riff fed through a squawk box, the different instruments fit together cleanly, each complementing each other. And they rounded out the first set with the brilliant Always Thinking, characterized by fantastic floating guitar lines by Merriman, grounded by Koenig's bass, driven by Pacileo's drums and meshed with Holden's lyrics.
Cousin Henry's first full-length disc, Play Something I Know, will be released to an unsuspecting Edmonton public imminently. They've put together 16 of their own songs, a commendable feat in today's pop music market, where groups can be created, given prefabricated songs and then disband when the fad passes.
That originality and refusal to play covers, of course, often comes with a price when it comes to winning over audiences raised on top-40. In this case, however, that price ended up spawning the name of Cousin Henry's new disc.
"We were in Grande Prairie for a show and a waitress shouted out, 'Play something I know!'" explained Holden. "We just said we don't know any Bon Jovi."
Play Something I Know may be the band's début CD, but Cousin Henry has already garnered attention for its recorded music. A four-song cassette demo of the band's music was reviewed in Calgary. "I was in Calgary and I picked up copy of the (weekly entertainment) paper looking for a review of a friend's band but it wasn't there," Pacileo explained. "I turned a page and there I saw the headline: 'Cousin Henry!' I said, 'what the hell?!?!?!' "
Perhaps it won't be long before Cousin Henry climbs Edmonton's club ladder from the Windsor Bar and Grill to key venues like the Sidetrack and the Rev. After that . . . well, there's a lot more musical territory for an innovative, fresh and intelligent Canadian band to cover.
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