The Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival is familiar territory for Rich Hope and His Evil Doers, ever since the electric Vancouver rock ‘n’ roll duo took the Deer Lake Park stage five years back.
Axeman and vocalist Hope, alongside drummer Adrian Mack, are gearing up for the 15th annual edition of the blues show, despite not entirely categorizing themselves under that genre. In fact, it’s unlikely there are many other groups that perform what they call trash-boogie blues ungospel.
“We’ve played lots of festivals, and even though I don’t consider us a completely blues band, we definitely have got one foot in it,” said Hope. “We play with a lot of garage rock bands – we do well with that, but we also do well with a blues crowd too. It’s just a great opportunity to be able to play.”
The festival features a dozen groups and artists from a variety of genres, including Saskatoon alt rock trio Wide Mouth Mason, French-Canadian Motown quintet Chic Gamine and Irish rockabilly and jazz singer Imelda May – and Hope and Mack’s style fits right in to the diverse lineup.
Their unique sound is inspired by the gritty, old roots of the music, which is the reason behind keeping the band as a two-piece.
“As much as I like a lot of guys who use a full bass player and band, I love the rawness and simplicity and the spontaneity of just a guitar and drums,” said Hope. “It leaves you a lot of room to do anything, but within a limited framework.
“I think that’s where the trash comes from, and the blues, you obviously have to pay homage to that as your roots.”
While Hope and the Evil Doers are onstage early in the day, they’ll be sticking around for the rest of the show – especially since headliner Big Sugar is getting a little help from reggae legend Willi Williams, one of Hope’s musical icons ever since he heard The Clash cover the Jamaican singer’s hit “Armagideon Time” as the B-side to “London Calling.”
“We ended up writing a song called ‘Armagideon Time’ in an homage to him back in my old band and he came and sang on it,” said Hope. “We just thought that was one of the coolest things ever.”
But it’s not just Williams who Hope has worked with – he also has some history with Big Sugar, having toured across Canada with the Toronto band under his old group John Ford (named after the classic film director) about a decade ago.
“We’ve collaborated on a few things as well, and there’s at least one of my songs that I wrote with Gordie that we’ve both recorded,” he said. “It’s fun to hear how he approaches it and how I approach it.”
So, considering their background together, will there be any surprise appearances onstage by Johnson during the duo’s set? Or vice versa?
“I guess if the old man’s not too tired, he might,” said Hope with a laugh. “I don’t know what we can expect, but I’m always down for some collaborations, especially the day of, as spontaneous as can be.
“It’s always great to see your friends and collaborate and have a beer.”
Rich Hope and His Evil Doers take the Westwood Stage at 1:45 p.m. on August 9. For tickets and more information, check burnabybluesfestival.com.
