Blaze Foley’s basic, reborn with Dust Street Opera’s coronary heart and concord.
Kelowna-based Americana band Dust Street Opera is gearing as much as launch their social platforms single — a heartfelt cowl of Blaze Foley’s beloved “Clay Pigeons” — on July eleventh. Identified for his or her signature vocal mix and laid-back, rootsy sound, the band brings a recent but respectful spin to this timeless Americana basic.
We sat down with Dust Street Opera to talk about why they selected “Clay Pigeons,” how they approached making it their very own, and what’s subsequent on the horizon. Get able to dive into the tales, influences, and artistic course of behind this lovely new launch.
First off, care to introduce Dust Street Opera to our readers?
Rachel: We’re Dust Street Opera, a four-piece alt-country/roots band out of Kelowna, BC. Between us, we’ve bought two Juno-nominated lead singers, three BCCMA corridor of fame inductees, a multi-instrumentalist who performs nearly the whole lot, and a drummer who can groove on a suitcase or a full package. We’ve been creating music that blends three-part harmonies, award-winning songwriting, and strong musicianship for over a decade now.
What impressed you to cowl Blaze Foley’s “Clay Pigeons” in your social platforms single?
Barry: I used to be strolling my canine one morning, listening to a playlist, and “Clay Pigeons” got here on. It was so lovely I needed to cease and see who it was. I’d heard of Blaze Foley earlier than, however didn’t actually know a lot about him, so I dug in and discovered what a superb songwriter and loopy man he was!
We started enjoying the music dwell, and it was going over so effectively that we determined to report it for our subsequent single.
How did you strategy making this iconic music your personal whereas staying true to its roots?
Barry: Harmonies are a giant a part of our sound, so we determined each Rachel and I’d sing it all over. The unique sounds superb with primarily simply guitar and vocals, which is the signal of an excellent music, however we wished so as to add a couple of extra issues to make it our personal.
Are you able to stroll us by way of the association course of for this observe — what components did you are feeling had been important to maintain or change?
Barry: The guitar is a giant a part of the music, so we felt we couldn’t deviate an excessive amount of from the unique. Then it was a technique of making an attempt out completely different devices to see what was going to work one of the best. A dobro matches in properly with the acoustic, and a good friend of ours recommended a Melodica, which is analogous to an accordion however is performed by blowing right into a mouthpiece. We added an accordion and determined to make the intro a bit extra attention-grabbing by utilizing the 2 collectively, together with simply the vocals within the first verse.
After a reasonably sparse drum observe, we put in a bit banjo and had been accomplished.
Trying again at your debut album, Nowheresville, how do you are feeling your sound has advanced?
Barry: We spent numerous time recording Nowheresville, and there’s so much happening in that report. We’re nonetheless actually pleased with the way in which it turned out, however I feel our strategy now could be extra roots-oriented. Once you discover what devices sound greatest for a music, it doesn’t take numerous manufacturing to make it work. The trick is enjoying the proper components in addition to understanding what to not play;).
So, again to the query, the brand new report will likely be comparable by way of our writing however a bit sparser on the manufacturing aspect.
Do you’ve any upcoming tour dates or dwell performances the place followers can hear this observe carried out dwell?
Rachel: We certain do! We’re hitting some unimaginable levels this season following the discharge of Clay Pigeons, together with the critically acclaimed Dream Café in Penticton, BC, Nation Thunder Alberta, and the Ironwood Stage in Calgary, AB. We’re additionally wanting ahead to enjoying on the Rock Creek Honest for the primary time. You may catch us acting at a couple of of our favorite hometown spots, too. Soma Cidery and Barn Owl Brewing Firm (which is the place the music video for Clay Pigeons was filmed). Whether or not you’ve been with us for some time or are simply discovering our music, we hope to see you reside music followers out at a present or two!
Lastly, what does success appear like to Dust Street Opera in 2025 and past?
Rachel: For us, success is essentially about connection—writing and performing songs that imply one thing to folks and staying true to who we’re. It’s enjoying exhibits that matter, recording albums that resonate with listeners, and rising our viewers. If we’re making music we consider in and people are listening, that’s success.