“Rock and roll! It might not save your heart, it might not save your soul, but it will surely set you free.” (Douglas McLean 2020)
Nestled in the lake country of northern Ontario, close to South River, a band of young musicians known as The Rivers have been hunkered down in their practice hall working on the follow up to their successful 2019 EP release “What are You Hiding from?” One of the most energetic, high velocity rock bands to grace the stages in and around the Muskoka area, the trio has been quietly sweeping up fans with their kinetic rock bravado and soulful performances. The Rivers in concert is still one of those rare joys, where rock can make you love life in a way no other art form can.
“We have no fear,
We have no fame,
The coast is clear,
Let’s dance in the rain” The Rivers (2020)
The Rivers officially released their new single “If I’m Lost (Then I Never Want To Be Found),” this past Tuesday, and what a song it is! One that demonstrates everything a good rock band is: progressive powerful songwriting combined with fearless tight performances, the result of a hard working band in pursuit of all the dreams a heart can hold. This is a perfect song for these alarming days. This is one of those great rockers that you feel straight through to your bones, straight through to your heart. It is a song inspired by all the classy attributes of every great rock song: sonic, blistering riffs, thunderous syncopated drums, searing solo singing and an anthem choral chorus that will prompt you to raise your own voice and join the choir, “With both feet on the ground, this world can bring me down / If I’m lost, then I never want to be found / The nature of the breed, the honest are the free / If I’m lost, then I never want to be found.”
Having been established now as a band for four years, The Rivers are a trio of a very special sort. Not only are they gifted and dedicated musicians, each striving to expand their ability and prowess, but they are a band of friends, supporting and caring for each other in a way that only those who experience love and support from family, friends, and each other, can display. Jared Dorcas (bass) has a lifelong passion for prog rock and Jethro Tull. His inventive patterns and nimble progressions are full of fun and fearlessness. If music tells a story only your mind can hear, then Jared’s bass stories are worth more than one listen. Josh Berry (lead guitar/vocals) continues to surprise and delight the band’s many fans, as he matures into a wickedly dexterous dreamweaver on guitar, with vocals that soar high above “a star-lit sky, and highway signs.”Powerful and muscular, as the heartbeat of this band, Kyle Poulin (drums) brings such life to their sound that you feel like you are inside the engine of a finely tuned race car, or the pounding feet of a long distance runner. With warmth and clear thought on his art and music, Kyle’s aim for the band is to “spread the joy and keep it rolling,” as far and as long as they can!
Their “What Are You Hiding From?” EP was released into general airplay in the spring of 2019, but still warrants repeated listening today. Not only does it chronicle a new young band’s development, artistically and musically, but is also a fine set of songs fully realized, produced and presented in the way rock and roll was meant to be played: straight up and straight from the heart. To quote Grant Nickalls (CKAR 88.7fm, Huntsville), “This is a band going places.” – Indeed they are!
Douglas McLean fell in love with music at a very early age and has worked as a musician and songwriter since his early teens. He has a deep love for the written word and has spent his life in pursuit of language as a means to convey what Van Morrison once called “the inarticulate speech of the heart”. He lives deep in the Almaguin Highlands with his wife and their dog. Douglas is active in local radio, recording, producing and writing, in and around Huntsville, Ontario.
His website is:
http://www.douglasmcleanmusic.com
