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Enter electric stuff! - and drums! Vocalist, oo-writer and acoustic guitartist John Mann is now playing electric guitar while Kelly (who typically has played flute and bodhren) is now playing aoousitc guitar as well. and drummer Vince Ditrich has been added to the lineup. The change is much to the astonishment of some die-herd fans, to the delight of newer and younger audiences, and to the skepticism of some journalist types (atop. ticism being an inherent otxupational trait) who suspect the band is shooting for a more "tttaitttttmattt" (possibly the moat overworked. undetineble phrase in the entertainment Itytguqreltounti. With the release ot it's fifth album, Go Figure, the band noted for it's acoustic traditional cellic sound has taken a step forward. The traditional sound was deli- cious, and had won the band a strong following (before everybody and his brother jumped on the tolkie old bandwa- gon). But Kelly said Spirit of the West had taken that sound as tar as it could. Geoffrey Kelly of Vancouver's Spirit of the West is getting a little tired of defending the band's recent "evolution". By Deborah Crandall SPIRIT OF THIE WESTT Forging their own nnusicaj 55th. "oi""".'" “We not a really interesting batch of mail - some people protesting completely the change in the band, and other people patting us on the book saying, Good on you guys'." Kelly says. “So definitely we've stirred up a lot of controversy with this album. but we knew we'd do that, and The fact is, Kelly says, the band (Linda McRae on bass, accordian and vocals; Hugh McMillan on mandolins, bass, chap- man stick and vocals; Mann on vocals and guitars; Kelly and now Ditrich) became tired of the "acoustic thing" - felt limited by it, With the introduction of electric guitars and drums, the band could expand its sound. If the new sound attacts new audiences, fine. And it that sound is considered mainstream, so be it. But it's not contrived, Kelly says. " natural evolution, and necessary to the survival of the band. "We'd love to have big hits on the radio, but we'd have to do them on our own terms," Kelly says. "A lot of people have said that we seem to have changed to a more mainstream sound and that we‘re shooting for radio - selling out a little bit. But that's not the case. I don't think there's really a song on the album that's a typical single." Spirit of the West recruited veteran producer Joe Chiccarelli (Frank Zappa, Bob Geldof. Miles Davis) for the recording of Go Figure. The band had either pro duced or coproducod its four previous albums (Tripping Up the Stairs in 1986, utxxtrthryin1988, oktMtrttrtittlin1989, and Save This House in 19901, but Go qtmottstNrfitstpaecttobettamhxt over in full to another producer. That in It's actually ironic that Spirit ot the West is facing accusations of turning to the mainstream. This is the band, after all, that came out with the talkie celtic sound before it was cool to do so. And now that lolkie types are climbing out of the woodwork, Spirit of the West is changing its style. Hardly a move that cauld be considered going with the flow. "We don't want to be part ol any big movement, We'd rather forge our own path," Kelly says. "We're really comfort. able with this. And the tour is going great - if there are people with any complaints. they haven't been at the shows." that's why we called the album Go Figure. We wanted to add fuel to the fire - we wanted to shake things up a bit and shire this tag we've had for so long of being a celtic talkie band." "Atthattime, wst-atittrtmtthrqtaome reinforcement on our change, and m I lime bit unsure cum been. aid been an acoustrc band for so tong.” My says "Joe felt this was the way tone. and we agreed that he could definitely do the job because he's worked with so many different styles of musk: in his career that he coutd cover all the bases we wanted to touch on He did that - he and a fantastic job - but It wasn't easy It was a very hard record to make, both for mm and tor us ' Chiccarelli dydn't always see eye-tome with the band, and because both are strong willed and stubborn, Ideas often clashed. But the result was worth the effort - maybe a little btood has to be sumac to get that resutt. Ketty says. "Themwasaeotoftension, and Joe was a real stick|er for getting the nght feel But in the and, I think the results are great I d have to say it was a positive axoenenoe m the long run. It was txrrtainly a Ieammg experience, and one thung we do team was not to downplay our own Ideas and amty. tions - often our gut feeling was pretty dose to being mom“ itselfwasahtantinttenetett- says (Cont-noon on page 22)