The Coffee Guest
Bonnie Nish interviews
Mike Peacock and Chad York
(Melic Thrum)
Melic Thrum is a band that
will make you want to stop and listen. With dynamic, original tunes and profound
yet subtle lyrics, in a blend of latin, jazz and folk music, they are quite the
powerhouse. What makes them different from other bands is quite simply put their
utter musical talent. Add to this their commitment to what they do and you can
tell within minutes that they will be here for the long haul.
To hear Mike Peacock and
Chad York play (the founding members of the band) you assume that
they have been doing this from the time they were in the cradle. But essentially
both men started off as self- taught musicians who were lucky enough at a young
age to have a wide variety of musical influences in their lives.
"My grandma was a professional
piano accompanist and my grandpa sang in a choir," remembers Peacock. "My dad
was in a lot of folk bands and there was always music in the house. My mom got
me into classical piano lessons when I was young but they didn't agree with me.
My teacher recommended that I didn't take them anymore." One would wonder what
that teacher would say today to hear her accomplished student on the piano,
singing one of his own songs such as 'Model Man.'
But Peacock had a good ear and he
began to teach himself music as a teenager. " I played 'Your Song' for a whole
year. I must have driven my parents crazy."
Chad York had much the same
experience. Growing up in a rural community in Alberta he was surrounded by
music.
"My parents were hippies and my
mother had a large family that were quite musical. My Grandpa played the
mandolin and my Uncles were always in a rock n' roll band." York, who began
playing guitar as a teenager, like Peacock, basically taught himself how to
play. Then he and his brother formed a band along with a drummer and began to
perform.
Once in University both men
realized that they wanted to make music their focus. Peacock took a year after
University to study classical music and get the back ground he felt he was
lacking up to this point. York switched from Physics into music Both applied to
music school and it is here that they met.
York remembers, "We were in a line
up for an elective essentially trying to get out of it because of our University
credits but we both found out that we couldn't. We ended up in the same
elective. They made the musicians take Woman and Literature."
It was this experience that York
credits for helping to change the kind of lyrics he writes. Until then he felt
his writing had been self- focused. But moving from a small town and a close
knit family to a university helped him to shift to a more universal view of the
world. "This experience gave me new ideas and allowed me to create when I had
writers block. Now I tend to scribble everything down when they hit me. I link
things together in a story line."
For Peacock inspiration comes in
much the same way, that is the result tends to be a story line. " I tend to have
the music come first. I try to get the words to evolve from the music so there
is a closer relationship to it. I tend to personify things. If it is something
political I will write about a situation that applies to politics. It becomes
character or story driven. I don't sit down to write about values and views.
Usually that is the ending point."
In fact it is this same approach
creatively that has kept Peacock and York together as a team for so long. During
University Peacock formed a band Sore Thumb with another colleague Trevor
Spilchen. They decided to move to Vancouver but the guitar player wasn't going
with them. York, who was moving to Vancouver as well, fit the bill and joined
the band.
Once here Peacock and York got the
idea of joining a cruise ship. They advertised for a drummer and what they got
were a drummer and his girlfriend. They became a four piece band. Over the
course of the next two years they would do three, four month tours on the ships.
Besides being a great way to see the world, the cruise ships allowed these two
innovative men a means to save money to buy recording equipment and set up their
own studio.
In 1998 they came back from sea,
got a house and set up a studio, where they began recording their first CD. Once
that was done they began gigging and this is where the other two members of
Melic Thrum came in . Ryan Drolet on guitar and originally Don Powery on
drums. York moved to playing bass something he always wanted to do and something
they were finding hard to find. When Powery left, Alex McFarlane joined
the group. Their second CD which they are in the process of recording includes
this full band.
In setting up their own recording
space York and Peacock felt they could keep the integrity of what they wanted to
do by maintaining control. From the outset they both knew writing their own
music and recording it was something they wanted to continue doing as long as
possible.
"We want to be self-sustaining.
This is an open book that has a sound that is a combination of Mike and I . We
have similar interests and takes that influence what goes in. And the album is
composed of twelve unique and completely thought out original compositions. But
this is not a container for anything. If a song doesn't fit it doesn't go in."
Peacock agrees. "Because we have
the studio, time doesn't limit us. We will be happy with the next CD. There are
no excuses. We have time to develop the little intricacies to make the music
original while appealing to everyone."
It is this same thinking that works
so well when they create and the end result is astonishing. Take any of the
songs from their first CD and you will see exactly what they are both talking
about. They move in and out and around so easily you don't even realize it. The
sound is there 100% with great vocals and lyrics that make you laugh and cry and
listen. Songs such as 'Thick Skinned' or 'Quintessential Number One Fan'.
Peacock continues," In writing with
people you write something, you share the process. It is nice to have someone
add to that. And when Chad and I work together he is able to bring it to the
next level. As a guitar player he has his take. Then Ryan and Alex have their
contributions and it all works."
This has obviously worked well for
them. With their second CD about to be completed and still scores of songs just
waiting to be recorded Melic Thrum has proved they are here to stay.
Chad York
Mike Peacock
Ryan Drolet
Alex McFarlane
www.melicthrum.com
www.peppercornstudios.com
