Vancouver hard-rockers Legend found heavy inspiration in Rush

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 1, 1983

By Steve Newton

“It’s rough for a new band starting out,” admits Legend bassist George Clarke. “We have a PA we’re in hock for, so right now everything we make goes back into the band, into the equipment. It’s not a profitable situation at the moment, but we hope that’ll change fairly soon.”

Struggling young rock bands are about as common as hookers in Vancouver these days. It takes a lot of time and work to find steady gigs and develop a serious following. But for local rockers Legend that work appears to be paying off, and in a surprisingly short period of time.

Though, like Clarke says, the group is not yet a profitable venture, it is taking steps to change that situation. The band is currently in Stepping Stone Studios making a demo tape with the 25 hours of recording time it won in last December’s Battle of the Bands at Smuggler’s.

Legend came together last year when bassist Clarke and his cousin Randy, the group’s vocalist, were making a 45 RPM single with various Vancouver session musicians at Mushroom Studios. They just happened to meet three players from Tsawwassen–drummer Todd McGarvey and guitarists Doug Davies and John Gilliat–who were looking for a lead singer and bass player.

The hard-rock leanings of all five members helped unify and give the band direction, and after competing six times in the Smuggler’s competition they were chosen the #1 crowd favourite.

“The band is almost totally rock ‘n’ roll,” says Clarke, “but we do play a few ballads. We try to be as versatile as we can. For example, we play some Rush and Blue Öyster Cult for more modern tunes, then we go all the way back and do a couple of Elvis tunes, working through the Beatles and sixties bands like the Who.

“And we do a couple of acoustic tunes–acoustic guitar with the full electric band–on songs like “Love the One You’re With” and “American Pie”. Those are the ones that I think really impress people, like at Smuggler’s for instance, because they’re so different from the normal layout bands have.”

Though definitely a power-rock outfit, Legend isn’t the sort of band that relies on sheer volume to get its message across. They’re mature enough to realize that, even on songs like Black Sabbath‘s “Paranoid”, might does not always make right.

“Our stage volume is right down to a minimum,” says Clarke, “and our sound man is controlling the front end. We try to keep it down because it’s kind of a pain in the ass when you go into a bar and you can’t hear yourself think. It can be punchy without being so loud that it blows your ears out.”

Clarke, 26, is the group’s main songwriter. Two of the three songs on their new demo tape, “Speak Suite” and “Nothing to Lose”, were written by him, while “The Shuffle”, a driving boogie tune, was co-written with singer Randy Clarke. Rhythm guitarist Davies also writes, and has quite a few songs in the can, but the group has not yet started to work on them.

Bassist Clarke cites the Who’s John Entwistle as his all-time favourite bass player, and he also likes Geddy Lee of Rush. Guitarist Davies admires Kim Mitchell, but says his greatest influence has been Rush’s Alex Lifeson. And drummer McGarvey, says Clarke, “is the biggest Rush freak in the band. If it were up to him we’d be playing Rush all night long.”

Gilliat, Legend’s 19-year-old lead guitarist, is a fan of Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour, and one listen to his precise, melodic solos proves why. But he’s no copycat, says Clarke.

“John has his own style. Even though he’s still young, he’s been playing for ten years, and he’s managed to develop something unique. He’s not the best guitarist in town, but I’m telling ya, a year from now he’ll be blowing people away.”

Because they’re busy in the recording studio making use of the Battle of the Bands prize, Legend have no gigs set for the next couple of weeks. However you catch them at the Ladner Arms April 20 to 23 and the Rock Palace April 24 to 28.

To read over 100 of my other interviews with local Vancouver musicians since 1983, go here.