King of background takes the forefront INGING WITH marquee- name rock stars is noth= -- ing new for North Vancouver's Marc LaFrance. He's made a living doing just that; what is about to change is the setting. Kevin Gillies SPOTLIGHT FEATURE LaFrance will take the stage at the Commadore this Sunday, July 10 as the warm up act for David Lee Roth. LaFrance provided background vocals on Roth’s A Little Ain‘t Enough album which was recorded in Vancouver. In fact, Lafrance has provided background vocals for many albums by artists like: Motley Criée, Bon Jovi, Scorpions, Quireboys, Soul Tempte, Cher, Alice Cooper, Poison, The Cult, Carly Simon and 38 Special. All that since Expo ‘Bd. Beforehand he worked with: Idle Eves, Paul Janz, Long John Baldry, David Foster, Payolas, Loverboy, Zap acosta, Donna Summer, Chilliwack, and Prism . As LaFrance’s bio material reads: “His name can be found on some 40 million discs, tapes and vinyl frisbees the world over, but you're excused if it doesn’t ring _ any bélls, LaFrance was for seven years the king of BGs at Vancouver’s Little Mountain Sound, stepping up to the mike at. . the behest of producers Bob Rock - and Bruce Fairburn to blend his high tenor into tracks cut by Bon Jovi, Cher, Scorpions and Motley Crue among others.” His career had moved inside the studio after his early career as a band mernber with Canadian bands Crowcuss, Trooper, Straight Lines, and Doucette in photo eubmitted NORTH VANCOUVER singer Marc LaFrance will be the warm- up act for David Lee Roth at the Commodore. the mid-1970s and early ‘80s. When Crowcuss broke up, LaFrance moved to Vancouver in 1980 and went to all the produc- tion houses around town. “Right away | started doing ses- sion work,” says LaFrance. “That's where | met Bob Rock, Bruce Fairburn and Jim Vallance and all these people. They were just cut- ting their teeth at that time. “Bob was doing some assistant engineering on a : lot of the ses- sions and that’s how i met him. He really liked my voice and when he started happening, he just used me on all these different records — same with Vallance and Fairburn.” But now LaFrance has released his first solo CD, aptly named Out Cf Nowhere, which was pro- duced at West Vancouver's Machine Works Studio by fellow North Shore musician and current Loverboy guitarist Paul Dean. Dean collaborated on most of the CD — playing a multitude of instruments, writing end providing background vocals. Other Loverboy alumni Mike Reno and Matt Frenette also contributed to the project. Also aptly named is the CD’s first single Act Out Your Fantasy. “Nobody knows me but I’ve been around,” explains LaFrance. “And this is the time to act out my fantasy. I’ve wanted to get a career going since | moved to Vancouver but somehow | kept getting side- tracked.” He plans on continuing to pro- vide background vocals for other artisis unti! he tours nationally in the fall. “The timing is pretty good,” he says. “I think AOR {adult oriented rock) has missed this kind of straight-ahead rock in the last few years. t like that big sound and | can’t help but be influenced by the producers and bands I’ve worked with.” Roth representative of Roarin’ 80s From page 23 Reflecting on his past experi- ences and how they affected — and continue to affect — his music, Roth said: “In some sens- es of the word I've come to rep- resent the “roarin’ 80s” to a lot of people, because I used what ! do for a Jiving as a passport. More grist for the mill. ! write about people. | love people and all the little dances we do for each other.” “You know, it was a different time and age on top of every- thing else. In terms of Syrical content, it was a little bit differ- ent. For a large part of the ‘80s the working man had some expendable cash come Friday night and he didn’t need to use a | Bring i in U.S. cash | and we will give you A GREAT DEAL on our already LOW prices. condom. That right there altered most people's lyrical content.” How !ife’s experiences will affect Roth’s future is as unpre- dictable as Roth himself. “| have no vision of me ever fitting in anywhere.” Diamond Dave's small venue tour lands at the Commodore this Sunday, July 10. 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