This is the busy season for local bands. It's when fall fundraisers and "everyone's back from summer vacation" events set up for the slow ooze into Christmas parties and New Year's dances.
For almost a decade, one local trio has been one of the busiest of those bands. The Killbillies are a popular name on the stages of this area's bars, community halls and special events. They write original music, but they also heap on the party songs people love to hear from the archives of classic rock and crunchy country.
They have two shows coming up in the next few days.
The Killbillies make a big sound with just three guys: Steve on bass and guitar, Lance on guitar, and Kirby on drums. They all handle some of the vocals.
"We sound like a five-piece most of the time and there's a reason for that: musicianship," said Steve. "We don't just strum the chords. We work our instruments. Most bands have more than three players, but if you have the experience and if you have the camaraderie we have together, you can fill in the missing parts with these three instruments. And I think it makes it more fun for the listener, too, because you're getting a real show from a real band. We know how to fill up the sound spaces. And we aren't so stuck on ourselves that we won't use a sampler if the song absolutely needs something we can't provide on our own. We do have that technology but it is a last resort. It's about the listener, the audience, and we have to put them first."
That camaraderie isn't just a warm fuzzy feeling. Smith said he notices it with some other local bands, too, when the players enjoy each other's company so much that there is a trust on stage. It frees each player to take little risks, give the song some extra spice because they each know their bandmates are going to handle it well. Mistakes get covered with a smile, experimentation is welcome, and pulling off better musical moments becomes a habit.
They average 25 to 30 gigs per year, and one of the reasons they get so many bookings is their versatility. They can do an entire event as a country band, or totally as a rock band.
"It's too bad there aren't more venues for our type of band," said Steve, who, like the other two Killbillies, is a veteran of the local music scene dating back many years prior to this current band forming. "We've seen a change, for sure. There was a time you could do six weekends in a row in Prince George and never play the same place twice. There used to be tons of bands like ours. Now there are few. There are a lot of new players, but they aren't coming up into this kind of scene, so if we didn't do it, part of me wonders if anyone would. Would it all switch over to deejays - no live music?"
One place where live music has always been a mainstay, and there has been an upsurge in popularity recently, is the Prince George Legion. That's where you'll find The Killbillies on Remembrance Day, of all days, for a 7 p.m. showcase.
"We have a connection to the Legion," said Steve. "We play there a fair bit. Lance has a huge sense of music, he listens to absolutely everything, he can do metal and he can sing classic country, it just pours out of him like no one else in this town. His family is very involved in the Legion, so we like to contribute music to what they do there. We love to support them and keep their dance floor full."
The Killbillies will also be live on stage at the Cowboy Ranch on Saturday night. Their set starts at 9 p.m.
Steve said "I couldn't personally be more blessed to play all these years (they were even in another larger band together called 30 Ought Six predating The Killbillies) with guys who are so good at music and long ago became good friends."
To book them for future events, call Steve at 250-981-1143 or email [email protected].
