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Prairie Dog Magazine (Regina, SK) & Planet S (Saskatoon, SK) - March 2, 2006
DUST MACHT POETS!
If the name Dust Poets doesn't ring any bells, maybe the moniker das macht Show! does. That, after all, is the name by which the Dust Poets have operated under for the past umpteen years, before officially changing handles in the fall of 2005. So why then, after a respectable run of relative success on the Canadian folk scene, did the fun-loving five-piece elect to change its name? Good question—and good luck getting a straight answer.
"Our manager, Dieter Scheitz, suggested that das macht Show! was too ethnic to work in the Canadian roots music industry," says Dust Poets percussionist and clarinet player Sean McManus—one of three members of the far-flung band who make their homes in Toronto. Almost generously, McManus offers up an alternate (and equally inane) reply to the query. "Our German legal team suggested we change it to avoid problems landing in Frankfurt."
Bogus though they may be, McManus' comments suggest the old name was simply too German for a band that plays a whole lot more than just polkas. Rather, the Dust Poets songbook runs the stylistic gamut from breakneck roots and Western swing, to obscure pop nuggets, progressive bluegrass and irreverent takes on jazz. The band's latest CD, Lovesick Town, has the genre-melding unit exploring an even more diverse sonic palate far removed from that of the group's origins as an acoustic busking cover band.
In addition to spreading its wings musically, the Manitoba-spawned band's membership has spread out across the country over the past few years as well. Like McManus, bassist Gord Mowat and vocalist/accordion player Karla Ferguson now reside in Toronto. Mandolin player Corey Ticknor, meanwhile, calls the Maritimes home, while the unit's principal songwriter, Murray Evans, collects his mail in Onanole—a small Manitoba town at the base of Riding Mountain National Park.
McManus says the wide dispersal of Dust Poets members poses some challenges, but ultimately works in the band's favour as it motivates everyone to stay on their toes.
"The logistics are a bit complicated, but we make them work," says McManus. "For getting together, we block out chunks of time to book tours and add a few days at the beginning for rehearsing and working out new material. We put together the arrangements of Murray's songs as a band, which is a very collective process. On the business side, we're a well-oiled, self-management machine. We split up the different facets of running the band and share the workload, taking care of our own booking, publicity, radio tracking, web development, grant applications and marketing."
McManus says the band probably wouldn't be able to pull it all off without a carefully balanced combination of family support and communications technology.
"E-mail, VoiP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) and spouses with jobs make this possible for us," he says, only half joking—if at all.