Roaming Storms

Having fun is key for members of Calgary band, Roaming Storms.
Though the quartet has been together less than a year, the musicians have a long history of sharing the stage together.
Singer Bil Hetherington and bass player Steve Elaschuk played in garage rock act The Neckers, drummer Lou Lowry has kept the beat for several local bands and guitarist-singer Dan Vacon also fronts popular indie groups The Dudes and Dojo Workhorse.
“I love Bil’s songs and I like hanging out with these jerks,” says Vacon.
“I never got to play with Steve and Lou before. It’s fun and I’m always up for having more fun. It’s not like I get to the end of the week and go, ‘Oh, I’ve had enough fun.’”
Hetherington is equally excited about finally playing in a band with Vacon.
“I fell in love with my wife to Dudes songs at The Night Gallery back in the day,” he says.
“And now that we’re singing together, it’s great.”
Sitting in the living room of Elaschuk’s North West home following the band’s weekly rehearsal, Vacon, Elaschuk and Hetherington spend most of the interview trying to crack each other up.
When asked about the short recording process of Roaming Storms’ debut CD, Hetherington says he’s attempted “That Fleetwood Mac thing before, spending months and hundreds of thousands of dollars on a record.”
“And dating each other,” chimes in Vacon to the amusement of his bandmates. “It’s been played out, man.”
The conversation gets slightly more serious — but only slightly — when the topic turns to what makes the band work.
“Not to sound egotistical, but everyone’s a decent player,” explains Elaschuk.
“So it comes together a lot quicker when you’re not fighting with that one guy who doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
The veteran musicians say they would like to tour the new self-titled record, but are keeping their expectations low.
“You can’t fail when you have no goals,” says Vacon, resulting in another burst of laughter from his bandmates.
“You can only have handsome little surprises. ‘Oh, you like us? Cool. We didn’t even care.’ We just want to play together with our friends and have some drinks.”
More info
• Roaming Storms CD release takes place Friday at Broken City with guests Night Committee and Napalmpom.
• The self-titled album will be on sale for $10 at the show.
• According to singer Bil Hetherington, the name Roaming Storms comes from The Dudes’ guitarist Bob Quashnick, who tried to convince the band that saying, ‘Next up, the Roaming Storms’ in a British accent would sound like, ‘Next up, the Rolling Stones.’ It doesn’t.
- Metro Calgary

ROAMING STORMS
December 3, 2012 · by beatrouteab · in AB MUSIC, ROCKPILE. ·

Not long after arriving at the Northwest garage jam space of Calgary rock band Roaming Storms I am whisked away and driven out of the city with little explanation. In a short time we are in the middle of seemingly endless prairie fields. We continue to drive for just under an hour with very little conversation until, suddenly, without warning, we stop abruptly. We are on the side of the road, in front of us lies a gravel-strewn crossroad. Lead singer and songwriter Bil Hetherington (of the criminally underrated Asian Tigers) steps out of the vehicle to look around and searches the landscape.
“It was right here!” he exclaims. “Right here, this is where it happened.”
There is nothing to see but horizon and open prairie. The “it” to which he is referring is the almost mythic beginning of his latest band. He explains to me that he was out here completing a routine series of natural field recordings of prairie storms. He reveals to me that there is an underground fervent culture — and near religious following — of audio storm capture.
“It is a close knit society,” he states, “they probably will give me a hard time because I’m talking about it. Some believe that if you listen to enough developing storms and lightning echo death you start to hear things in them.”
Lightning echo death is a term that refers to the sound that thunder makes when it reverberates off geographical features. It is a sound that is extremely hard to capture but if one does succeed, it is the rarest of audio field recordings — the holy grail of sorts.
Hetherington continues. “I was very skeptical until ‘it’ happened to me, it was right here. I was within a couple metres from being struck by a bolt of lightning. The sonic shock wave expanded and then retracted with a sharp loud crack, which turned to a low rumble. I recorded the whole thing. I became a little obsessed with listening to the recording. I probably listened to it hundreds of times and, after a while, I have to admit it started to speak to me. Not with words like some crazy Field of Dreams type thing, but with clarity of thought and motivation. The ferocity of the storm was dictating a direction, and I felt pulled along.”
Shortly after the episode, Hetherington found himself enlisting longtime friends and collaborators to play and record new songs. The other Roaming Storms are Steve Elaschuk (Wagbeard, The Neckers, Asian Tigers), Lou Lowry and Danny Vacon (The Dudes, Dojo Workhorse).
“It was pretty clear, the universe was calling for this band to form, with these guys, at this time. I have no doubt about that. It’s all there in the recording. I have known or played with these guys over the years and it seemed natural to start something. More than anything we are good friends.”
Since “it” happened things have been moving very fast. The band wrote and recorded an EP in one day, enlisting another friend, the great Lorrie Matheson, to help produce.
“We’ve been playing and practicing at such a high frequency and getting things done, we’ve accomplished more in the last two months than I have in the last couple years,” Hetherington states. “We have a strut now. We got songs with harmonica — harmonica! New songs are coming at a clip now it’s like an awesome musical equation: four kick ass musicians plus four jam sessions equals two new songs. The rehearsals have been white hot.”
Elaschuk adds, “The fun has returned. I don’t know what it is but I can’t help feel optimistic about the future. It really feels like a culmination of influences and friends from a strong Calgary rock tradition.”
One can’t deny the chemistry and atmosphere when amongst the band. An easy camaraderie flows through the room. The guys are quick to smile and make jokes. They compliment each other and poke fun at the same time.
“Danny’s just a dirty rocker,” Hetherington quips, “he brings his own style and hooks to the band.”
The band is genuine in their affection for each other and the local music scene past, present and future.
“We have so many great bands here — The Night Committee, The Mandates, Clinton St. John, these crazy metal guys, the Outlaws of Ravenhurst — there are so many I couldn’t name them all!”
The band’s graciousness and enthusiasm is infectious. One feels that this is in fact the start of something remarkable. And you don’t have to listen to a lot of thunder to know these guys play honest kick ass rock with immediacy and power. There are plans for a full-length album early next year and numerous more shows.
Catch Roaming Storms at the Ship and Anchor on December 12. Their debut EP was released on November 30.
By Graham MacKenzie
Photo: Sebastian Buzzalino
- Beatroute