biographical info
Desiderata
Just three guys having a good time, having a good time, having a good time. That's the subject line of Edmonton-based Desiderata's latest MySpace blog post, which modestly relates the stacks of press and random bits of success they've already acquired.
Really, if anyone should be screaming "ZOMG press!" it's this young, frisky experimental rock trio. Over the last little while, they've managed to piece together their We Are Convinced There Has Not Been Any Improvement album with the help of Vancouver musical all-star Jesse Gander and use it to reach #17 on the national campus radio chart. Starstruck they're not, and when it comes to talking about their accomplishments, childhood musings from their hometown of Fort McMurray, Alberta seem to be where the conversation leads.
"In a nutshell, I was brought from Fort Mac to Edmonton because they thought I was going to be handicapped when I was born because I had a bunch of fluid in my brain," says bassist Laine Cherkewick with a laugh. "Then when they tested me, they found that I just had a really big head. I had a huge fuckin' noggin."
Drummer Jerome Tovillo pipes in: "Whatever, I was like a bubble boy growing up. I was allergic to everything when I went outside. I couldn't do anything. I had really bad asthma and was allergic to dust particles and pollen. I almost died a few times, but my mom's a nurse so she knew what to do. I'm happy I've grown out of most of my allergies now, though."
"I had a pretty normal childhood, except that I grew up in a trailer park," vocalist/guitarist Blair Drover adds. "I was trailer trash."
Right. So unusual childhood accounts aside, Desiderata also have some present-day luck stories to relate. According to Cherkewick, he lived in a kind of "party house" when he first moved to Edmonton. During this time, there was a girl who would always frequent the abode in order to get into the pants of Champion City Records co-founder Taylor Schaerer, another party house regular. As weird as it sounds, it was through the libidinous girl that Desiderata were introduced to Schaerer and promptly signed.
Although the group were reluctant to join the relatively new label at first, they finally agreed.
"The thing about Champion City Records is that they're really new at it and they're really eager to put out good music," says Tovillo. "We're like one big family."
"Nobody's competing with each other," adds Drover. "We're all playing together instead, and that's what I really like about Edmonton."
While Desiderata are busy adoring Edmonton's communal music scene, the rest of Canada will soon further its love for the trio when the group embarks on a month-and-a-half-long Canadian tour this spring. If you want to catch them before that, though, Desiderata will release their CD on Friday at Edmonton's Riverdale Hall. You can also catch them on Saturday at Fort McMurray's YMCA and on Feb. 24 at The Velvet Underground in Edmonton.
—Amanda Ash
Chart Attack
lineup
Blair Drover Guitar/Vox
Laine Cherkewick Bass/Vox
Jerome Tovillo Drums/Vox