Long tour puts polish on Naish
A bizarre incident of two men jumping into a tiger enclosure at the Calgary Zoo made a lot of people wonder, what were they thinking?
But it made Chris Naish write a song called Jump In the Cage.
“I have no idea what went through their heads . . . were they surprised to be mauled?” said the Calgary folk singer, who extrapolated that many people get involved in things they know will have negative consequences — like drinking and driving or, more benignly, going to R-rated movies if they’re easily offended.
Naish cautions, “Don’t jump in the cage unless you want to get bit. . . . ”
The 23-year-old who performs on Friday at The Matchbox with his three-person band, The Fever Beats, describes his roots music as sounding somewhere between Neil Young and the White Stripes.
“We’re very percussive and we use blues guitar riffs,” said Naish, who will also play a quieter set featuring just him and his guitar — which is reminiscent of how his hero, Young, often performs.
“That’s the way I started out and I like that sound,” said Naish, who believes there’s more focus on song lyrics that way. “And I can talk and tell jokes and do monologues,” developing a more intimate relationship with the audience.
The singer started out performing with punk bands in high school. He later toured Canada and travelled to London and India with Venture Teams, a mission-based arts group that reached out to other youths through music, drama and art.
It was a life-altering experience for Naish, who learned about stage presence, professionalism, and how to play the acoustic and electric guitars. He also realized making music is how he wants to spend his days.
“The arts are cool but I’m all about the music,” said Naish, who performs with Janelle Dueck on bass, Brian Merritt on drums and Scoot Laird on guitar.
The band was recently thrilled to learn that some of their music was picked up by a firm that makes it available for TV show and films.
Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. concert, opened by Colin Anthony and Kallie Beth Clayton, are $15 from Ticketmaster or The Matchbox box office.
lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com
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