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| John Connolly, Ross MacDonald, Ian Toms, Richard Knox |
Named after the Island's very own Elephant Rock, the group says the name is a homage to the eroding natural sculpture. Though none of the members hold any special bond with the rock.
“My sister broke here arm there, very badly,” said guitarist and vocalist John Connolly.
“What he's not telling you is that he pushed her,” joked guitartist Ian Toms.
The band has been together for about a year although the took a four month hiatus this winter while members pursued some individual adventures. Connolly wrote a musical and traveled to Toronto to put it on in the big city, while drummer Rich Knox also traveled to Toronto to explore the music scene there. Bassist Ross MacDonald played aboard a cruise ship. “I worked the laundry room,” he laughed.
“He played bass in the laundry room,” finished Connolly.
“Those dryers keep wicked time,” Toms finished.
All four members have a background in jazz music, though Elephant Rock's sound is anything but. “I'd say the broadest musical category you could put us into would be folk rock, but that”s pretty broad,” said MacDonald.
“We're two parts Neil Young, one part Tom Petty and one part The Band,” said Connolly.
“But like way better than any of them,” said Toms while the table broke out in laughter.
Knox says he thinks the band's jazz background is a benefit but so is the work they've put into not sounding jazzy.
“Most songs have a guitar solo or two and I think our jazz background allows us to,” he paused.
“Allows us to explore,” finished MacDonald. “We don't play the same notes everytime we play.”
“I just play one note all the time,” laughed Connolly.
“Homage to the Cinnamon Girl solo,” added Toms.
Wednesday is the new Friday say the members of Elephant Rock. The group is playing every Wednesday night until the end of August at Fishbones on Victoria Row. The band also hopes to put out a full album by the end of the summer.
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