Press release: Son of Dave — A Dummies’ Solo Flight
For Immediate Release. March 20, 2000.
When you combine extraordinary talent, a love of the blues and interests in every genre that music has to offer, all fingers point to Ben Darvill and Son of Dave. This solo project by the most unpredictable member of the Crash Test Dummies has as many layers as the man behind the music.
Darvill began experimenting and creating his own brand of strange, blues-based music while living in England. The result is 01 by Son of Dave — available on Vancouver’s Husky Records — combining soulful blues with techno beats and everything else in between. The first single, “Devil Take My Soul,” sees Toronto singer Dorion Davis add an R&B groove to Darvill’s musical madness. Plans are underway with Winnipeg-area filmmaker John Paicz to make a video for the single.
As a composer, Darvill is a renaissance musician playing guitar, percussion, bass, keyboards, and programming on 01, as well as harmonica on every track. Darvill’s main collaborator for Son of Dave was English singer Stephen Patman, whom he met while living in England. A Winnipeg native, Darvill is currently between homes in Toronto and London before going out on a tour of Canada and the US in the spring.
Prior to Son of Dave, Darvill has had many experiences as a core member of the Crash Test Dummies, playing acoustic guitar, mandolin, percussion and harmonica. With the band, he has won a Juno award, as well as received a Grammy nomination.
With Son of Dave, Darvill gives music fans a sense of his musical genius. Described by the Winnipeg Sun as “a deliciously warped set from a deliciously warped guy,” 01 is just that. Strange, different and wonderful.
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