According to Matthew Rogers, the pizza at Jamaican Pizza Jerk isn鈥檛 even that good. But it鈥檚 JPJ that鈥檚 ultimately responsible for The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer鈥攖he blues duo he鈥檚 been a part of for years.
Years ago JPJ contracted his partner, Shawn Hall, to write a jingle. Hall in turn hired Rogers to play the guitar track, and a friendship was born. Over the next five years they even played in several bands together.
Then, sometime around 2007, after checking out a blues show in Montreal and being captivated by the guitarist, an inspired Rogers decided to take up finger-picking blues guitar. He also decided 鈥渋t would be a really great idea to have a band where I could actually play that style.鈥�
So he called up Hall and gave him the pitch: a simple band with only two members; there would be way less stress, and Hall would have a chance to sing vocals and play the harp.
They started out as a mellow acoustic act, but Rogers explained that they quickly learned two guys can make a whole lot of noise. Somewhere along the way they added percussion to the repertoire (Rogers plays guitar with his hands, and a couple of kick drums with his feet) and realized they could get people dancing.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we realized that we could do that at first. I don鈥檛 think we realized that as two people, playing the blues would get people up and dancing, and have a rowdy show,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淏ut as soon as we realized that we were like 鈥榦h well, this is what we鈥檝e got to do.鈥欌��
Keeping their act at just two means they have a lot more musical freedom. But the kick drums and the unusual name mean they also have to battle the perception that their act is just a bunch of gimmicks.
Rogers joked that people often think they鈥檙e some kind of Swedish metal band, and said they didn鈥檛 initially get booked at retirement homes or kids parties, but that doesn鈥檛 seem to bother him too much. Now he likes the name, and the kick drums, and the kind of freedom their聽 composition provides.
鈥淪ure, it鈥檚 [all] part of our shtick, but I wouldn鈥檛 call it novelty. It鈥檚 not like I鈥檝e got symbols attached to my ears,鈥� he said, explaining that playing multiple instruments shouldn鈥檛 really be seen as a big deal.
鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 be so novelty, really. It鈥檚 just someone playing two instruments at the same time. Big bands with each person playing a different instrument, these are all just constructions we come up with in music. People sing and play the piano at the same time, so why not play guitar and drums?鈥�
And it seems to be working for them as well. In 2014 the band put out their newest record, A Real Fine Mess, and it鈥檚 already piqued the interest and won the praise of many critics.
To hear some of the new tracks live on stage, check out their show at the Jasper Legion Oct. 13.
Tickets are available at www.ticketweb.ca.
Trevor Nichols
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