ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 11, 1983
By Steve Newton
Patrons of Frams Cabaret experienced a club act of a different sort last week. It isn’t often that you’ll come across a nine-piece, all-Black band doing heavy metal. But there they were, stirring things up with rowdy, riff-riddled covers of songs by Night Ranger and Judas Priest.
“We like to rock,” states Dragon Fly lead guitarist Zakat Zahir with matter-of-fact sureness. And you can hardly argue with him. Along with rhythm guitarist Rob Roberts, percussionist Pill Ferguson, bassist Keith Williamson, drummer Michael Burt, keyboardist Tony Tillman, and vocalists Juan Edwards, Candy Churchill, and Cheryl Scott, he had the dance floor steadily packed with shakin’ booties.
And this was only on a Monday night: you can bet when the weekend rolled around Dragon Fly really had things movin’.
The nucleus of what is now Dragon Fly first came together in 1974 when Zahir, Roberts, and Ferguson formed a band in Washington, D.C. In ’77 the three moved out to San Francisco, and a year later contacted Tillman, Burt, and Scott–who were still playing in groups back in Washington–with the proposition of moving out west and starting a new band. They then met lead vocalist Edwards– who they’d also known from back east–in Los Angeles, and he eventually joined their ranks.
Shortly after the rest of Dragon Fly fell into place, and in 1978 the band did a two-month tour of Japan with the same members it includes today.
“We’ve kind of adopted Vancouver,” says Zahir with a grin. “It’s a very open place. But,” he adds, “there are two different aspects. The people are open to Dragon Ffly. Now if you want to get into the politics of the club owners and the booking agents, it gets into where we’re an all-Black band.
“We’re an all-Black band, but hell, I think we rock better than most–regardless of the colour. That’s an element we have to deal with. The people don’t hear about it, they don’t see it. They just wonder ‘Well why aren’t Dragon Fly playing the top bars? How come they aren’t an opening act?’ It’s politics, baby.”
“It comes down to a lot of inner frustration amongst the band members,” he admits, “but the determination always overrides it. Because nobody would say, ‘Aw man, I just can’t do it anymore’. You know, we’ve been doing it since ’78. That says it all.”
Along with determination and drive, Dragon Fly have one attribute that is essential to success in today’s music biz, and that’s confidence. Zahir feels that his band has what it takes to get right up there with Vancouver’s big-name rock acts.
“Okay,” he puts forth, “you’ve got Loverboy, and you’ve got Headpins, and Chilliwack, and Bryan Adams. And we definitely see a spot for us. I think our music says something.”
When asked which local band stands out as a personal favourite, Zakat is quick to respond.
“The Headpins,” he declares straightaway. “Brian MacLeod–‘Too Loud’ MacLeod–he can go, that’s all I can tell ya.”
And Zahir can go pretty well himself, as he proved with some flashy and accurate guitarwork when the band played Frams.
“I cut my teeth on Santana, the Allman Brothers, and B.B. King,” he says. “I kind of avoided Hendrix because I just didn’t want to get into his space.
“And I guess I have to mention Van Halen, ’cause he’s the ’80s guitarist. He opened up a whole new style and a whole new way of thinking about the guitar. You know, you can play things on it now that before you just heard in your head.”
Zakat’s Van Halen-ish tricks come in particularly handy on the band’s knock-out version of Michael Sembello’s current hit “Maniac”. Lead vocalist Edwards does a fair job of imitating the manic running-on-the-spot aerobics that accompany the song in the movie Flashdance, and singers Scott and Churchill have their shapely limbs in constant motion through almost very song the band performs, so there’s never a dull moment with Dragon Fly. There’s plenty to watch as well as listen to.
Considering the strong visual appeal, it’s no wonder the band has experimented with videotape. They plan to do more of it, and also hope to release a four-song EP by May of next year. With nine different members contributing ideas, Dragon Fly have it over smaller bands in terms of creative potential. Even the choice of their name hints at the imagination to be tapped.
“When you think of a dragonfly,” muses Zahir, “it buzzes in and it buzzes out–which is exactly what we do. Some people are afraid of it because they don’t really know what it does. And then some people know that they can take a string and fly it like a kite–if they know how to do it.”
To read over 100 of my other interviews with local Vancouver musicians since 1983, go here.
Discover more from earofnewt.com
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.