By Hunter Ramey
Special to The Observer
After the sold out Brickhouse performance at the Harrison Festival of the Arts, frontman Rob Bracken sat down with The Observer to discuss his musical inspirations and Brickhouse’s beginning.
When asked how Brickhouse began, Rob Bracken replied, “Divine intervention, fate, destiny… It was meant to be."
"Oh yes, and Stomping Tom and Twister Hockey,” he added.
Saturday's crowd was equally enthusiastic, with people often dancing to Brickhouse’s original mix of blues and funk.
It all started with the band's first performance on Bone Island, just off the coast of Horse Shoe Bay.
At that point, Brickhouse did not even have a name when called to play the gig. The name Brickhouse came from the Commodores song Brick House after Bracken overheard it playing in the background of the phone call informing them of their first show.
Since then the band has taken off, named “Vancouver’s busiest band” by Storman Norman, Rock 101 Sunday Blues.
And despite the bustle last weekend, Bracken was able to take a moment to discuss his musical inspirations: his mother’s beautiful voice; the sound of soul artist Aretha Franklin; his father’s love of '50s rock and roll, and his first musical experience singing in church.
He also discussed how he started to play harmonica, remembering that his grandmother used to play “Turkey in the Straw” and how he once borrowed Brickhouse’s guitar player Neil Cruickshank’s harmonica—and got hooked on the instrument.
Brickhouse holds a CD release in Vancouver on March 19 at the Rio Theatre. They say the new album, Future, is the best sounding CD they have ever released.