Elphinfest 2013

Aug 08, 2013

Local and out of town rockers made the one-day Elphinfest their destination and on August 3 fans gathered at Rick Killingbeck's Elphin homestead, where for 13 years he has been offering up an eclectic line up of players in the alternative/rock vein. Six Ottawa bands played, including Claudia, Fiona Noakes, Trip and Dance, Rick's own classic rock band Sonic Roots and more. The band Still Winter Hills traveled all the way from Ottawa following an earlier gig just to play one hour in Elphin at Rick's place.

I had a chance to see Dan Gignac, front man of alternative/rock band Normann, perform solo on account of a last-minute emergency that kept his other band members away. Gignac knew in advance that he would be performing solo and rose to the challenge. He came prepared playing, from his former repertoire as solo player Big Nac and played lead guitar and also sang a few Normann tunes like Light Gets in the Way and Stay which were backed by a number of prerecorded tracks that he prepared and brought along. He described his sound as a cross between Alice and Chains and Gobsmackers. He played two hand-made Lado guitars and a Paul Reed Smith guitar and said following his performance “The one thing about being a multi- instrumental musician is that I can play everything but just not all at once.”

Rick Killingbeck said he came up with the idea for the festival knowing that it is very difficult to get a chance to see the bands that he personally knows and likes during the busy summer season when most of their schedules conflict. “The idea was to get all of the bands that I like together in one place at the same time so we can hang out, play and listen to each other." Killingbeck is able to put on the show thanks to the help of his sound man Raul Crine of Kingston, who has been working with him for the last 13 years to put on the show. Killingbeck's band plays regularly every six weeks at the Shark and Bull in Perth and regularly in Ottawa.

Coming up on Sat. Aug. 10, the Elphinfest site will be filled with music again for a Country Music Festival hosted by the Snow Road Snowmobile Club. See the Mississippi column for details.