L.A. Beat

The Derina Harvey band may have their roots in Newfoundland/Labrador, but they have put down their roots in Edmonton, since 2002, more or less.

 The addition of fiddle player  Matt O’Connor in 2013  pushed their new CD “ Rove And Go” into a more  traditional direction compared to their  more rock infused debut CD.

“ The band has been residing in Edmonton since 2007 and I’ve been here since 2002,” who is excited to bring band mates drummer Steve Pinsent, bassist Ed Smith and guitarist Scott Greene to the Slice for their Lethbridge debut, Jan. 28.
“ I hope people will come and enjoy some Celtic east coast music,” she said. They have a busy week with two dates in Banff and one in Calgary before they visit Lethbridge.
They made a favourable impression at the South Country Fair in 2015.

“ The South Country Fair was amazing. Everybody was so nice, the people on and off the stage,” Harvey enthused.
“Rove And Go,” has been getting a lot of airplay across Canada and in the British Isles. Harvey said CKUA plays “Rove and Go” a lot.
 It includes a cover of the Arrogant Worms’ “ Last Saskatchewan Pirate.”

“We have a big following in the east and we’ve embraced Alberta. So we figured that song is a good representative of east meets west,” she said, adding it has always been a fan favourite so they included it on the CD. They also cover another fan favourite,  Steve Earle’s “Galway Girl,” which is also a song they get requests for.

“We always joke we‘re playing an Irish Steve Earle song. We really enjoy performing it. And people kept coming up to us and asking about it while we were in the middle of the recording process, so we thought ‘well, why not,’” she said.
 Radio has embraced “Galway Girl” as well as  the title track “Rove and Go” as well as “The Mary Ellen Carter.”

 
“On the first album we were playing Celtic music in the context of a rock band — guitar bass and drums, ‘Rove and Go’ is more traditional,” she said.

“These are all songs I grew up with. I don’t want to do them better than the originals. I want to do the best versions of them that I can. Some of the stories ask for angry guitar or mournful fiddle,”  she observed.

“ With the fiddle, we sound  like a bluegrass Celtic band,” she continued, adding people are already asking for a new album.

“So we‘re doing some more writing and we’re giving the people what they want but we haven’t booked a studio yet, we’re just compiling songs,” she said.

 Harvey said the band will be playing  songs from both CDs as well as some brand new ones.
“ We hope it will get people in the mood for a piece of fish or a bowl of moose stew,” she said.
 She said there is a lot of music happening in Edmonton.
“ There are people from all over the place in Edmonton. We play Celtic gatherings, fundraisers, charity shows, pub shows, corporate parties and even house parties,“ she continued.

The Derina Harvey Band play the Slice, Jan 28 at 10 p.m.