On the night of his birthday party in 2006 it all became clear. Jeffry Lee was high on life and other substances when he hatched the idea for Hard Drugs. Hard Drugs was to be a rock opera. It provided the perfect solution to his domestic quandaries. A rock opera would provide Lee with the creative outlet he needed while requiring less touring, allowing him to spend more time with his soon-to-be-wife Jenni Nelson. Since then, it has spawned at least two bands, a concept album and a new life of it¹s own.
Initially started as a side project for members of Vancouver¹s Blood Meridian (which was in turn the side project of Black Mountain bassist Matt Camirand) the original lineup also consisted of husband/wife duo Jeff Lee and Jenni Nelson fronting the band, keyboardist Shira Blustein and bassist Kevin Grant from Blood Meridian, friend/guitarist/visual effects artist Pete Dionne, drummer Jason Dana.
These five original band members rehearsed and performed the show live, helping Lee formulate the idea on stage. They began recording sporadically later that year when finances and touring schedules would allow. Jeffry recruited everyone and anyone of his friends in the Vancouver music scene who might contribute to the project.
By the following year the live band had expanded to include vocalist/percussionist Ashley Webber and keyboard and guitar player Colin McKill, and the recording was completed with 13 densely orchestrated songs.
Almost as soon a …
On the night of his birthday party in 2006 it all became clear. Jeffry Lee was high on life and other substances when he hatched the idea for Hard Drugs. Hard Drugs was to be a rock opera. It provided the perfect solution to his domestic quandaries. A rock opera would provide Lee with the creative outlet he needed while requiring less touring, allowing him to spend more time with his soon-to-be-wife Jenni Nelson. Since then, it has spawned at least two bands, a concept album and a new life of it¹s own.
Initially started as a side project for members of Vancouver¹s Blood Meridian (which was in turn the side project of Black Mountain bassist Matt Camirand) the original lineup also consisted of husband/wife duo Jeff Lee and Jenni Nelson fronting the band, keyboardist Shira Blustein and bassist Kevin Grant from Blood Meridian, friend/guitarist/visual effects artist Pete Dionne, drummer Jason Dana.
These five original band members rehearsed and performed the show live, helping Lee formulate the idea on stage. They began recording sporadically later that year when finances and touring schedules would allow. Jeffry recruited everyone and anyone of his friends in the Vancouver music scene who might contribute to the project.
By the following year the live band had expanded to include vocalist/percussionist Ashley Webber and keyboard and guitar player Colin McKill, and the recording was completed with 13 densely orchestrated songs.
Almost as soon as the rock opera was ready to take off, Lee and Nelson left town. Finding a move to New York City impossible to resist, Jenni Lee Nelson was transferred in her position as a clothing designer and left in the fall of 2007. Lee didn¹t stick around Vancouver much longer and followed her the next year. The relocation was sure to be the end of Hard Drugs until Lee met fellow Canadian transplant and music industry veteran David Bason shortly after arriving. Bason said he loved the record so much he would release it on his Stay Gold label and help put together a New York chapter of the band.
Between the two of them they soon came up with a lineup that consisted of Jeffry on lead guitar and vocals, Jenni still sharing vocal duties and playing mostly tambourine, Bason playing rhythm guitar and Dave Purcell on drums. For the first few shows they would schedule shows around visits from Colin McKill so that he could fill in on keys. Later they added Jenni¹s best friend T-bot McGee on bass who¹d also recently moved from Vancouver.
Hard Drugs now has Vancouver and New York-based bands. Rounded out by new keyboard player Lee Godleski, the New York chapter is working with producer Michael Tudor on a follow up to their debut album which is out digitally and on double LP. They've also played a number of great shows recently with Pink Mountaintops, Lighting Dust, and Ian Astbury who had this to say about the band "Hard Drugs are a wolf among a flock of bleating post modernist sheep"
