Late last year, the musicians formed The Rude Boys as an outlet to cover songs by The Clash. They had so much fun, they formed another band, The Fair Shakes. Both acts perform at Canal Street Tavern today, Feb. 26.
Wilson and Kizirnis discuss the origins of both groups in this excerpt from a recent interview.
Wilson: “I invited Nick to play on a Clash cover, ‘Police and Thieves.’ It gelled so well with Steve, Nick and I that Nick said, ‘Let’s play a set of Clash covers.’ To tell you the truth, he could’ve said, ‘Let’s play Yes covers,’ which I’m not fond of, and I would’ve said yes. I love Nick. I’m a huge fan.”
Kizirnis: “I thought this would be something that would be a challenge for us, but if we were going to do it, I wanted to get John Dubuc. I hadn’t played with him since The Obvious in 1988. He’s a great rhythm guitar player and a great singer.”
Wilson: “John wanted to do it, which shocked me. It’s been a lot of fun. John and Nick have great chemistry. They really compliment each other.”
Kizirnis: “Even though we were playing all this different music, it was great to be playing with John again. It went so well John came back with the condition we play a set opening for ourselves as The Fair Shakes, an Obvious tribute band.”
Kizirnis: “Deni is working with (wife) Irene (Bedard) on their stuff. Steve plays with them and that’s their main gig. I’ve still got the Nick Kizirnis Band, and we’re in the middle of a recording project right now. John has been working on solo recordings. We’ve all got other things going on, but this just fit really naturally.”
CONTACT contributing arts and music writer Don Thrasher at donaldthrasher8@aol.com.
How to go
Who: The Rude Boys and Fair Shakes
Where: Canal Street Tavern, 308 E. First St., Dayton
When: 9 p.m. Friday. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $5
More info: (937) 461-9343 or www.canalstreettavern.com
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