WHO TO CALL: Community Editor A.P. McCredie Entertainment Editor Layne Christensen 985-2131 (113) 985-2131 (178) ITH HiS chest puffed out, the young stud prepared mentally, y Y planning how the conversation would flow, before sidling up to the young blonde. She appeared, he must have thought. to be from out of town. The woman was swaying to the music and couldn't take her eyes off of the stage. “Excuse me.” he said. “Do you know the name of this band?” With a half-turn of her head and a semi- pathetic look on her face. she gave him the once-over and in a monotone voice said, “She ’ Stole My Beer.” His toes were still fappin’ but the response obviously threw his plans off. “She Stole My Beer is the name of the band?" he stammiered, as if to say “Are you ded politely before turn- ing her attention Kevin Gillies back to the sage SPOTLIGHT NOW “Thanks,” he whispered sheepishly before turning on his heels. He was obviously from out of town, she must have thought, grinning to herself. it's highly likely that he was. Both were tak- ing in the entertainment last Friday night at the Grey Cup Game’s prelude Kickin’ Pigskin Party at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre. She Stole My Beer (SSMB) was working the crowd after The Powder Blues Band kicked off the show and before Jeff Healey finished it. Members of April Wine sat front-and-centre, taking in the show. Many of the crowd's enthusiasts were from out-of-town and prominently displaying their football allegiances. They came from Toronto, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Hamilton, and yes, even a few frorn Baltimore. Unlike past Grey Cup celebrations, almost all were cheering for the B.C. Lions; and all were pumped for SSMB when they took the stage. SSMB members were equally as pumped for the show as they were for the B.C. Lions* impending victory in Sunday’s Grey Cup game. “This is the weekend we kick that Baltimore no-name butt out of town.” guitarist and vocalist Chad Chilibeck yelled into the mike as SSMB took the stage. The band’s history is rooted in the 1970s when high-school friends Chad Chilibeck, Dave Hughes, Tom Taylor and Dean Waisman were growing up in West Vancouver. The group started jamming together eight years ago and were heavily infiuenced by bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers. But influences from the likes of The Grateful Dead, Little Feat and Van Morrison are in strong evidence on their Sparks Off the Guardrail CD and their first ‘release, Liquid Ranch. Initially, the band covered C GIFT CERTIFICATES ¢ Ps ‘ § OFFICE PARTIES y : u @ FAMILY GATHERINGS © BIRTHDAYS ANNIVERSARIES MI CHRISTMAS EVE i BANEW YEARS EVE ¥, 445 - 13th Street West Van Limited edition, basic heavy duty machine with stzetch stitches & easy buttonholes (Reg. $479) Wednesday. November 30, 1994 — North Shore News ~ 25 STORIES WEST VAN zoots- rockers She Stole My Beer played to an enthusiastic crowd at Canada Place last weekend ey as part of the Grey | Cup festivities. NEWS photo Cindy Goodman West Van band steals the show at Grey Cup weekend Grateful Dead tuncs but has since carried original-set lists. Songs like Thing of Beauty and Sparks Off the Guardrail both carry the laid-back, folksy-rock sound of the ’70s. The song- writing of Chad Chilibeck and Tom Taylor. along with dual percussionists, bring the sound to fife with a local variation. Their lyrics also give the music a dis- tinctly West Van flavor: But I wish that L was in the sun some- place instead of shacked up in this white room, I'd be lying with a brown-haired girl } love, underneath some oversized, tropical moon, suckin’ on a rum and whatever from a fresh-cut pineapple bowl. With nothing to think about but tikki torches and rubbing wawencxs 1818 “One step buttonhole” stretch stitcnes, blind hern, easy threading (Reg. $700) sun block on my moles. While Tom Cochrane may disagree. SSMB argues in Rum and Whatever that “Life is not a highway, it is a narrow, winding road.” But then he didn’t grow up on the West Coast of Canada or anywhere near the western arm of Marine Drive. ‘ The Grey Cup party featured many pop- © ular Canadian rock bands, but the enthusi- astic reception SSMB received from the multi-provincial crowd was no surprise. When the North Shore band leaves for a swing through central and eastern Canada, it’s almost like going home. The sextet has a somewhat twisted and demented legion of devoted followers in the Southern Ontario region — especially ) amongst college crowds in Windsor, London. Kitchener and Hamilton. The February 1994 release of SSMB's Sparks Off the Guardrail — their second independent release — put the band at the top of the campus charts across the coun- try. 11 opened in the top 10-independent releases and was slightly behind Nirvana's In Utero and Pear! Jam’s Vs. in coliege radio ais-time. Their growing national popularity was evident among the Grey Cup revelers at Canada Place. But this band, like the - blonde at the concert, was not from out-of- town; and their football allegiance was obvious. The show, like the B.C. Lions’ playoff drive, was a Thing of Beauty. Special Purchase Computer controvled; drop-in bobbin, one-step buttonhote; electronic needle up/down; stretch stitches & more!