Gerod Staaf
foilows family
tradition

Jan-Christian Sorensen
Contributing Writer

APPEARANCES can
be deceiving.

That's the maxim that
should spring to mind when
meeting North Vancouver
musical pradigy Gerod Staaf
for the first time.

With his incandescent
orange, close-cropped ‘do
and matching tufts of hair
jutting out on either side of
his chin, you half expect the
16-year-old to open his
mouth and expose a set of
sharpened incisors. He’s a
dead ringer for chat
Teutonic kid that moved in
next door to Tom Hanks in
The Burts.

Add to that the fact that
his room is straight out of a
serial killer flick; Several full-
sized mannequins in various
stages of undress loll about
the confined, dimly-lit
space, eyes glazed. Atop a
plant amplifier sits a large

orned skull. ~

Crrrrreepy.

But the minute Staaf
opens his mouth and begins
to speak, it’s a differen:
story; and a lesson that what
your parents told you was
dead-on: you truly can’t
judge any book by its cover.

Staaf is a bright, enthusi-
astic, well-read and extreme-
ly humble kid chat just hap-
pens to have a spectacular

- gift for the guitar.

The minute Staaf buddies
up to you and starts flashing
that tocthy grin of his, you
realize just what he is:

‘another doe-eyed kid with
dreams of hitting it big on
the music scene...

But this kid’s got the cre-
dentials to make it happen.
Staaf’s parents, Gerry

: and April, bought him a

used Hohner electric guitar

:. with a small Fender amp on

his 1 Ith birthday. He never
looked back.

«> “Ever since I was young I
was always attracted to the
culture and the music and
the whoie scene,” says
‘Gerod, “It just seemed larg-

“er than life.” ;

- He counts musical virtu-
osos Trent Reznor and Steve
2 Vai among his more impor-
tant influences, but also car-

- gles a soft spot for the late,
“great Stevie Ray Vaughan.
= Currently, Staaf keeps his
plate full, serving time with
metal group Dog Eat .
Dogma and blues and rock
band Syndicate... .  -

“A budding composer and
lyricist, Staaf was also
recently hired to co-score a
dark, gothic-styled ancient
Roman play for a Kitsilano
theatre troupe.:

One look at a recently-

:, produced promotional video

© feacuring Staaf performing a

 stlection of eclectic tunes.

and you begin to appreciate
this kid’s gift. He’s a natur-
al, raw talent, ripping . -
through Petty’s “Runnin’
down a dream” in one set
and sliding effortlessly into
Santana’s “Oye Como Va”

“ the next, his sunset-splashed

“head Fobbing along to the
rhythm. ..

musical legacy to inspire
others.

“I want to help as many
people as I can with my
music, to give them that
feeling that I got from peo-
ple like Tom Wa'.s or
Leonard Cohen. I want to
affect as many people as I
can with my music.”

He hails from a long line
of musical maestros — his
Dad plays drums and accor-
dion, his mother counts ten
instruments to her credit
and his sister is a lyricist and
drummer, as well.

“All this energy has been
focussed down to Gerod and
he’s turned into an out-
standing musician and per-
son,” says Gerry.

Watching Gerry and
Gerod interact makes you
realize the rock-solid
strength of the Staaf father-
son bond. :

Ask yourself: How many
dads would willingly — let
alone enthusiastically —
accompany thcir son toa
death metal concert by
Slipknot and rave about it
for days?

Hands, anyone?

Gerry says his son has
always lusted for the spot-
light; always jumped at the

- Opportunity to entertain.

TALOGE ANG PARE,

“See in-store for details, While anantities last, Admissi

ultar great

“When Gerod was two
years old he would get up
on the table and pretend he
was Michael Jackson. He's a
natural born entertainer. He
just laves people and has no
inhibitions.”

Gerod and Gerry are cur-
rently planning a trip to Los
Angeles in an effort to
expose Gerod to a larger
audience.

“There's a scene here,
but it’s kind of stagnant at
different times of the year,”
says Gerod. “Down there,
the industry is always thiv-
ing. I love Canada and the
people, but it’s not the place
to be if this is what you
want to do.”

He plans to hit the clubs,
join in some jam sessions
and hand out as many
promo videos as he can.

He knows it’s going to
be a tough go but says he's
not expecting to find gold-
lined streets or record execs
begging him to sign on the
dotted fine.

He just wants to soak up
the scene and enjoy whatev-
er inspiration it provides
him.

“We're not looking for a
limo ride. Basically, we juss
want to go down there and
accomplish as much as we
can,” he says.

He has family in the area
and also counts the Tilly
acting tandem — sisters
Meg and Jennifer — among
friends.

When it comes to today’s
music, Staaf decries much of
it as hornogenized and
pedestrian. He longs for the
return of true rock ‘n roll
innovators and rebels in the
style of Hendrix, Lennon,
Presley and The Killer.

“I like rock n roll in the
tradition of Jerry Lee Lewis
burning his piano,” he says.

tt

*To me, that really defined
it all. We need to bring that
taboo back into rock *n roll.
It’s too safe these days.”

Hence some scattered
satanic references in Staafs
songs — and that horned
skull on the amp.

it’s all for show, he
chims. Nothing more than a
method to infuse a healthy
helping of “badass” back
into the genre.

“People are always look-
ing for ways to define
things,” he says. “I see it as
a metaphor for anti-estab-
fishment, counter-culture,
psychedelia and anything
that’s against order and
established rules. It’s not
about devil worship, but it’s
human nature for people to
think that.”

“What bugs me is that
today's music is not very
thought-provoking. It sort
of stagnates the whole
growth that happened in the
sixties. People started wak-
ing up and realized that
there’s more than the white
picket fences.

“You need to wake peo-
ple up, enlighten them,
inspire them.”

«

accompanied by @ paying adult. Offer valid for shildren 10 & unde

SS, SE ¥

. mo : NEWS photo WakeTieid ©
NORTH Vancouver guitar virtuoso Gerod Staaf is
Planning a trip to L.A. this fall to showcase his talent.

Meats Ss esas
: When you purchase a Pirate Pak >
at your neighbourhood full '
“service White Spot Restaurant,
you will receive a free child’s. >
admission with adult ticker
= purchase to one of your favourite.
laces like the Capilano Suspension
R. MacMillan Space

®&ea . <7”
fnnanv¥

VANCOUVER ADDARIUM

mevenn seasuce Cretan

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