Deja Voodoo was a Canadian
garage rock
Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...
band, formed by Gerard van Herk (guitar and singing) and Tony Dewald (drums), who combined 1950s horror imagery with rockabilly and country musical influences. Van Herk's guitar only had the top four strings and he sang in a deep voice, whilst Dewald's drum kit had no cymbals, which resulted in a low-treble rock style they termed "sludgeabilly." The band toured in Canada, the United States, and even Europe.
Early days
Both born in the 1960s, van Herk and Dewald each grew up in Montreal. In 1981, the two joined together to form Deja Voodoo. Their music generally consisted of short songs influenced by rockabilly and punk artists. As Deja Voodoo was embarking on its first performances, Montreal was receiving an influx of immigrants from Western Canada, and independent record labels were starting to spring up. In turn, numerous niche bands began to appear across the city. As a result of an oversaturated market, Deja Voodoo struggled to find an audience in its first year. While they remained popular locally in
Montreal, it wasn't until 1982 that the two-man band began to see interest outside of
Quebec, particularly in
Toronto.
Career
The turning point for Deja Voodoo came with van Herk and Dewald launching
Og Music
Og Music was a small but influential independent record label based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, '' Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995''. ECW Press. .
The label was establ ...
in 1982 with a second pressing of their debut single "Monsters in My Garage." Named after a fictional caveman, the independent label allowed for Deja Voodoo to control its own distribution. The first full-length release by Og Records was their cassette ''Gumbo''. The tape sold relatively well in the Montreal independent scene, but failed to penetrate the market in the rest of Canada. This would later be rectified with the release of Deja Voodoo's second album, ''Cemetery'', in 1984. ''Cemetery'' was the first Deja Voodoo album to be sold in vinyl form, selling widely across Canada and even to some small
'stores''?in the US and Europe. The band used Og Records as a venue for like-minded artists to release music that reflected the "sludgeabilly" attitude in different styles. They released compilation LPs in the ''
It Came from Canada'' series. Five volumes were released between 1985 and 1989. The compilations always included other Montrealers, like
Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra
Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra is a Canadian alternative rock band whose musical style blends elements of surf music, gospel music, rockabilly, garage, and punk. The band also experimented with jazz on their third album ''Don't Mind ...
, Terminal Sunglasses, and
The Gruesomes
The Gruesomes are a Canadian garage punk band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that formed in 1985.
The band gained recognition following the 1986 release of their debut album, ''Tyrants of Teen Trash'' ( Og Music), which led to an "underground" ...
, as well as bands from all across Canada. In its seven-year lifespan, Og Records released 29 albums, the last of which was a recording of a Deja Voodoo performance in
Finland.
Once Og Records took off, Deja Voodoo started touring across Canada. At first focusing on
Ontario and Eastern Canada, they later branched out to Western Canada, going as far as
Prince George, British Columbia. Deja Voodoo was able to embark on several European tours, primarily in Greece and Finland. In Canada, they did manage to get semi-regular airplay on CBC Radio's overnight
Brave New Waves program. As Deja Voodoo's popularity grew and other bands continued to sign on with Og Records, van Herk and Dewald started putting on popular indoor events each December, called "Voodoo BBQ's". The last Voodoo BBQ was held in Toronto in 2008 as a kind of reunion show.
Despite their relative success, Deja Voodoo never managed to break into the mainstream markets, and by 1990 both van Herk and Dewald decided to split up Deja Voodoo. Both men had reached their thirties and were interested in pursuing other careers. As well, both members decided to sell Og Records that same year. Since then, van Herk has gone on to become a university
linguistics professor; while for the last decades, Dewald has worked as a brewer on the West Coast, and is currently the head brewer at a successful brewery in Langley, British Columbia.
In 2011,
Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to:
Entertainers
*Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host
* Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese
*Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...
and
Lorrie Matheson
Lorrie is a usually feminine name which may refer to:
Given name or shortened name
* Lorrie Collins (1942–2018), American country music, rockabilly and rock-and-roll singer
* Lorrie Cranor, American professor and director of the Carnegie Mellon ...
collaborated on a cover of Deja Voodoo's "Too Cool to Live, Too Smart to Die" for the first ''
Have Not Been the Same
''Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985–1995'' is a book by Canadian music journalists Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack, and Jason Schneider, which chronicles the development of alternative rock in Canada between 1985 and 1995. Pub ...
'' charity compilation.
"'Have Not Been the Same' Book Spawns Covers Comp Featuring Kevin Drew, the Hidden Cameras, Great Lake Swimmers, Bry Webb"
''Exclaim!
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...
'', November 14, 2011.
Discography
Albums
* '' Cemetery'' (1984) (Og Music)
* ''Too Cool to Live, Too Smart to Die
''Too Cool to Live, Too Smart to Die'' is a mini-LP by the Canadian garage rock
Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the Unite ...
'' (1985) (Midnight Records)
* ''Swamp of Love
''Swamp of Love'' is the third studio album released by the Canadian garage rock band Deja Voodoo.
Track listing
#"Blast Off!"
#"Endless Sleep"
#"New Kind of Mambo"
#"Pig Fat Papa"
#"Place I Live"
#"White Sugar"
#"Wasn't That a Fish"
#"Love Me ...
'' (1986) (Og Music)
* ''The Worst of Deja Voodoo
''The Worst of Deja Voodoo'' is a collection of singles, outtakes and oddities by the Canadian garage rock band Deja Voodoo.
Track listing
#Monsters in My Garage
#More Songs About Monsters and Food
#Feed That Thing
#Surfing on Mars
#Bullfrog
# ...
'' (1987) (Og Music)
* ''Gotta Have Money'' (1987) (Gaga Goodies)
* ''Big Pile of Mud
''Big Pile of Mud'' is an LP release by the Canadian garage-rock band Deja Voodoo. It would be their last release recorded in a studio.
There is a Greek version released by Didi Records that includes two bonus tracks: "Waiting for the Man," a ...
'' (1988) (Og Music)
* ''Too Cool to Live, Too Smart to Die (88 re-recordings)'' (1988) (Og Records)
* ''Live at The Backstage Club, Helsinki Finland'' (1989) (Gaga Goodies and Og Music)
Singles
* "Monsters in My Garage" (1982) (Og Music)
* "Cemetery" (1984) (Og Music)
* "Hiekkaa Hietarannan" (1988) (Gaga Goodies)
Cassettes
* "Gumbo, 17 Sludgeabilly Greats!" (1983) (Og Music)
Appearances on compilations
* ''From Montreal'' (1983)
* '' It Came from Canada, Vol. 1'' (1985) (Og Music)
* ''It Came from Canada, Vol. 2
''It Came from Canada'' is a series of compilation albums, released on Og Music in the 1980s, which featured music by independent, alternative and punk bands from Canada.
The compilations were influential in the evolution of Canada's alternative ...
'' (1986) (Og Music)
* '' It Came from Canada, Vol. 3'' (1987) (Og Music)
* '' It Came from Canada, Vol. 4'' (1988) (Og Music)
* '' It Came from Canada, Vol. 5'' (1989) (Og Music)
* ''On Garde Reargarde Magazine 14 Montreal Bands'' (1989) (Cargo Records)
* ''50th birthday tribute to Buddy Holly'' (1986) cassette (hipocket records)
Music videos
* ''The House of Doctor Stimuli''
* ''White Sugar''
References
;Citations
External links
Barry, Chris. “Sludge Report”.
Montreal Mirror, Oct 20-26 2005. Vol. 21, No.18. (accessed Oct 10, 2008)
Deja Voodoo
at WorldCat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deja Voodoo
Musical groups established in 1981
Musical groups disestablished in 1990
Canadian alternative rock groups
Canadian garage rock groups
English-language musical groups from Quebec
Musical groups from Montreal
Psychobilly groups
1981 establishments in Quebec
1990 disestablishments in Quebec