26 - Wednesday, May 22, 1991 ~— North Snore News The eclecticism of Robert Des Cotes ANADIANA IS the word most often used to describe the musical style of Rob Des Cotes, whose rocts are in both English and French Canada. But Des Cotes’ tastes and talents might best be described as eclectic. You might have heard the Lower Mainland performer as part of a four-siece folk band during the First Night festivities, in a classical piano/flute duet at a cor- porate event, performing songs of worship for the Capilano Christian Community, or entertaining at the Festival du Bois with a repertoire of French Canadian traditionals. His two albums feature self- penned. arranged and co-produc- ed folk, country and gospel music with Celtic, rock, jazz and classical influences. He is currently producing a children’s album by Jenni and the Dinosaur Revival Band, for which he wrote some of the songs. And this summer, Des Cotes plans to record some of the songs his grandfather sang to him when he was young, along with other French traditionals from the 16th to 19th centuries. “We've already developed a bit of a market (for this style},"’ he said, adding that he was a bit sur- prised by the local demand for Quebecois music. Rather than sticking to one genre and marketing himself solely as a folk, country or gospel singer, Des Cutes enjoys exploring dif- ferent styles. His eclectic tastes and ability to be ‘‘very flexible’ have allowed him to work full time in the local music industry, changing his co- performers and material to suit virtually any venue. The catch-22 of his wide-ranging styles is that Des Cotes is hard to pigeon-hole and difficult to mar- ket. Ahough some stores stock his recordings, most are sold at concerts. Airc play is the key to sales, he said, and availability is key to air play. But, he adds, “‘C8C has been very good to me.” Des Cotes has been featured on the French radio network as well as such national English radio pro- grams as Simply Folk, Morn- ingside, and Basic Black. Des Cotes can be heard May 23 performing a North Vancouver street concert for the B.C. Festival of the Arts. He will share the venue with eight-year collaborator Jim Woodyard, who co-produced and performed on Des Cotes’ The Light of Day album and also per- formed on the Worthy is the Lamb gospel follow-up album. Woodyard is as multi-talented as Des Cotes, making the pair a com- QUEEN CHARLOTTES | ever HOTEL © CAR n 4 DAYS © 3 NIGHTS $399 A CALL 241-9885 Pamela Lang SPOTLIGHT FEATURE fortable team. They have formed a four-piece country rock band and may eventually record together, Des Cotes said. Independence and creative freedom are the keys to success for the 14-year North Vancouver resident, who prefers to perform locally and has no ambitions for a recording contract that would re- quire him to produce only one style of music. “I don't have to sell my soul,”’ he said. The rewards of independence are maintaining complete control of his craft, and having a stable life with his wife and three children. But it also has its price: he has to do a lot of the work himself because he doesn’t have financial backing. As a North Shore-based in- dependent producer, Des Cotes depends on 2 busy performing 88 SINGER/SONGWRITER and producer Rob Des Cotes, right, puts creative freedom and in- dependence at the top of his list of musical priorities. One of the choices he has made is to record focally, working here with Al Rodger, chief engineer of North-Vancouver-based Crosstown Re- cording Studios. schedule to fund his recording ef- forts — although the odd prayer seems to help as well While writing and performing gospel songs for his fellow-wor- shipers in the Capilano Christian Community, Des Cotes prayed for the ability to record the songs. His prayer was answered with a call trom Creation Studios, which was based in North Vancouver at the time. Creation eventually of- fered to pay for the studio time, as an investment, to see the re- cording go ahead. Both of Des Cotes’ albums were recorded on the North Shore, with the first being done at Crosstown Studios on East 1st Street. x Differential Feed * Electronic Control * Free Arm * Diai Stitch Width x All 3 & 4 thread functions, rolled hem, flat lock, etc. FREE LESSONS! Sale ends June 1/91 reg. $800 986-1341 Mon.Sat. 9:30-6pm WESTVIEW SHOPPING CENTRE ON THE UPPER LEVELS & GET INTO THE RIGHT GEAR 266-7767 7985 Granville St. 681-6302 608 Robson St. AT THE RIGHT PRICE! 688-1077 710 Denman St. 922-0123 1845 Marine Dr, WV Making the best of an indeven- dent producer's limited financial resources means writing and ar- ranging much of the music before going into the studio. “It’s almost like sculpting,” he said, explaining that he creates songs on his computer and “chisels away” at them to find the sound he wants. Then he takes it to the studio, adds the best musicians he knows, and they ‘“‘breathe life’’ into it. “A magical thing happens with live performances,” he said. “Good ol’ human enthusiasm” can completely alter a song. The key to making the sessions werk is choosing the right musi- cians and getting to know them by working with them in recording studios and on stage, so that you understand them. “It's like a dancing partner, you learn how ta communicate with them.” Born in Montreal of an English father and French mother, Des Cotes was raised in Cornwall, On- tario where his musical talents sur- faced at an early age: he taught himself to play his toy instruments. “4 started reading music in high school,” he said. adding that he later studied music at McMaster and York Universities, majoring in the trumpet. Des Cotes records under his own Common Music label and his cassettes of The Light of Day and Worthy is the Lamb are available locally at the Sign of the Fish book shop on Lonsdale Avenue. 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