L-R:
Stan Bedernjak, David Wood, Kathy Brown,
Brad Meadmore Poster design by David
M. Perich
Woodwork Has Pubs Hopping
"I guess everybody who gets past 20 starts
thinking about life and feeling they need
a reason to exist. And I always
wanted to rock 'n' roll. So I put my
own group together and here we are."
That pretty well sums up the whys and the
wherefors [sic] of Winnipeg's Woodwork,
according to its founder, guitarist David
Wood.
Woodwork is a four-man, hard rock unit
that has been exciting pub audiences not
only in Winnipeg but in Edmonton, Calgary,
and Vancouver. The band returned
from a tour of those cities just a couple
of months ago, and they're already to head
back west for another round of club dates.
Woodwork, currently at the Norlander, will
be playing at a "going away social" at a
Winnipeg club on Friday followed by a
stint at Danceland in Clear Lake on
Saturday.
For Wood, who has played with such diverse
bands as Wood 'N' Hannah, Zdenka, Les
Pucks and Tom Jackson's early band,
Woodwork is the realization of at least
one of his dreams.
"After working in all those different
styles, I realized that I wanted to do
something that was as physical as it was
cerebral. I don't know how Woodwork
looks to others but I get a physical
outlet and a mental outlet - and certainly
a financial inlet - that I've never had
working with any other band.
The physical aspect is more than just a
metaphor for a jumping sound. Wood
has taken to gymnastic stylings so loved
by current rockers - stride-jumping into
the air, hopping around in circles,
charging across the stage and into the
audience, and all the while playing
screaming '60s-style electric-charged
solos.
This can be quite disconcerting at
times. For one thing, Wood is a
solid, chunky six-feet, three-inches and
it sometimes appears he's about to collide
with pieces of the band's lighting
system. The stage shudders with the
impact of each landing. And somehow
it doesn't always fit with Wood's playing
style which takes its origins from
Clapton, Hendrix and Beck.
But the crowds eat it up. There's no
doubt that Woodwork is one tight, driving
little band, and folks regularly line up
for its socials and pub appearances.
Wood is naturally quite happy with that
kind of response, particularly as Woodwork
has only been together for a year.
And he's more than happy to work in the
bars, a somewhat unusual outlook for
musicians these days.
"If you do a warmup for a big group like
Rush or Trooper, you get $500 for the
job. That's a standard rate.
"It's like saying, 'We'll pay you so it's
not insulting, but we know you need this
gig because it's great exposure. I
make that much in a bar in one
night. So we're really playing a
concert every night."
Wood feels that this is the era of the bar
band at long last. He attributes
this to the fact that most clubs carry
cover charges which go a long way toward
paying musicians more than starvation
wages.
"And there's a recession on right now so
rock bands are going really well.
People don't have a lot of money to make
major investments right now, so a minor
investment in a beer at the local bar
where you can rock on, have a good time
and forget your problems is pretty
reasonable. This is the right
business to be in right now."
Woodwork has gone through some change
since its inception. For one thing,
it has changed keyboard players, picking
up Reg Mantel after Kathy Brown
left. Stanley Bedernjak (bass) and
Brad Meadmore (drums) have been with Wood
since the outset.
Woodwork is doing more original material
than ever before. Wood is the chief
composer with Meadmore doing duty as
lyricist. While some of the songs
seem to be mere re-works of old rock
standards, there are some which have some
interesting twists. And their cover
tunes are drawn from the likes of the
Kinks and Gary Newman - gritty music with
polished sound.
But it still boils down to formula rock
'n' roll. Wood doesn't deny it.
"It is formula, but it's our
formula. I didn't learn it from
anyone else on the scene. As far as
I'm concerned, I evolved the formula of
Winnipeg rock 'n' roll along with John
Hannah and a couple of others. So I
have as much or more right than anybody to
play it."
Although 27-year-old Wood is a
self-admitted late starter ("I didn't
start playing seriously until seven years
ago"), he indicates that as a teacher at
Guitarland he taught "about half the
guitar players in town right now.
Most of them have a few Dave Wood licks in
their repertoire."
Wood also feels that by following the hard
rock route instead of the new wave
direction, Woodwork is ahead of its time.
"This new wave thing came in and people
put together bands but they don't really
know how to play. There are always
crazes coming along that don't involve
talent. It's just the craze, a hip
thing to do. Well, I think you're
going to have to know how to play pretty
soon. People are getting tired of
the same congested purr continually
playing on the radio."
Wood hopes to change all that some day.
"Soon people are going to hear something
that they would have turned off three
years ago but they'll listen because it
will just stop them in their tracks.
I think that's what Jimi Hendrix and the
Beatles did. Suddenly, you were
listening to something that gave you an
actual rush."
Coral McKendrick As published in the Winnipeg Free Press
July 3, 1980, Page 21
