It started, like many great things, over pizza.
“There was a period in late 2021, when restrictions were lifted, and Darren [Pelechaty] from Soho [pizza] was starting this pro jam, where professional musicians come together and play songs on stage together for the first time,” says singer Dana Wylie who, along with bassist Jamie Cooper and drummer Harry Gregg, were tasked with opening (and eventually closing) the shows as the jam’s house band. “We weren’t responsible for much material, but we had never played together as a group before. So it was like that from the start where we just hash it out in public on stage.”
“We” are now Secondhand Dreamcar, and “it” has turned into an official band that’s been hashing it out on stages (including Edmonton Blues Fest, Kaleido Festival, and a residency at Blues On Whyte) over the last year and a half. It’s now a six-member band with a regular three-player horn section that brings soul and roots, folk and funk to Edmonton stages.
The group’s releasing its first album this month, and long-time solo singer-songwriter Wylie says crafting new songs with new people was as beautiful as it was surprising.
“I’ve never been interested in co-writing — for whatever reason, I’ve just been sort of grumpy about it. But when we had money to make a record and wanted to develop original material, we did start co-writing, which was a totally foreign thing to me,” Wylie says. Sometimes it would just be her and her two original players. Sometimes new guitarist Kyle Mosiuk would join. They’d each bring musical ideas to the sessions, or they’d occasionally “start with nothing” other than a willingness to jam things out. “But every single writing session we had turned into a song that’s ended up on the record — it was incredibly productive and fruitful, to my delight and surprise.”
For the album-release show, Wylie says her band’s music is “really joyful and it’s largely upbeat, so we’re going to have a dance floor,” but that “we like to think we’re also musically interesting enough for people that are just really into listening,” adding that St. Basil’s Cultural Centre is big enough for both — and some party favours from Sea Change Brewing.
“It’s going to be very high end, musically, but also a casual, good time with dancing and beer.”
Grab a drink and enjoy the show, October 12 at St. Basil’s Cultural centre.
