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Jackfruit music ripens with French addition

Chris Berry of Slow Nerve Action returns to front Vancouver band

By Nicole Fitzgerald

Who: Jackfruit

When: Saturday, March 3

Where: Dusty’s

Jackfruit returns to Whistler on an even keel — two parts Anglo Canadian and two parts Quebecois with former Jackfruit drummer Drew Vendetti bidding adieu to the Vancouver band.

Drummer and Quebecer Joe Lussier joins the Jackfruit lineup tallying up an all-French rhythm section.

Well you know how Frenchmen are famous for their bedroom prowess, hopefully the same applies to a different kind of skin beat that is coming to Whistler Saturday, March 3 at Dusty’s Creekside.

Jackfruit is fronted by the infamous Chris Berry of Slow Nerve Action fame, who departs from SNA’s usual lubricant and sexual-coupling rants for a deeper, more all-encompassing writing stab at life’s many pleasures and disappointments. Don’t worry, that same cheeky humour filters through those primal screams and falsetto croonings drenched in monster basslines, supple drumbeats and molten paino rolls — most currently evident in Jackfruit’s new song Cowboy’s Baby, the dilemma of choosing the rodeo clown instead of the burly rodeo hunk.

The Vancouver boys of Berry, keyboardist Ian Lamont and bassist Stephane Fortin put out a self-titled album last June, but already they’ve added 10 new songs to their touring with expectations to enter the recording studio later this year.

“We’ve sold over a thousand of the CDs,” Berry said. “We’ve been packing in shows down in the city…. We’ve got tons of new stuff coming.”

One, aptly called The Epic at 20 minutes, narrates once-Whistlerite Berry’s life of living on 10 th Avenue and Commercial Drive.

“It’s about the different people you meet when you are walking down the street,” said the wacked-out-modern-day Mr. Dress Up. “On one end it’s really nice and then just down the street crack heads chill out and do their thing. Diversity is all over the place.”

Berry looks forward to returning to his old stomping ground in the mountains where he can catch up with SNA fans and friends. Buddies Gnar Boots will warm the stage up for the old Whistler crew.

The Vancouver music circuit keeps the boys busy these days with concerts at the Fairview Pub, Media Club and Backstage. Jackfruit also toured the East Coast in November with stops in Montreal and Ontario. The band heads east again in March for another tour.

Juggling music with family and paying the bills isn’t always easy. Berry discovered the magic formula of being able to juggle songwriter, website developer and stay-at-home father all in one lifetime — the heaven-sent student loans.

Rumour has it Jackfruit might also be stepping up to the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival concert mainstage in April.

Let’s just hope Berry’s 10-month-old boy takes his large wooden spoon tapping to the next level to let Dad do the same.

For Jackfruit tracks, visit jackfruitmusic.com.