Playing as a tribute band called Royal Jelly, local musicians Lindsay Taylor and Lindsay Strayhorn said they are trying to teach the gospel of Deap Vally, a dirty blues and rock duo out of the United States, and spread the word around in Powell River.
“Deap Vally is just a couple of cool chicks out of Los Angeles,” said Taylor. “We found their music by accident and totally fell in love with their stuff and wanted to play it.”
The name Royal Jelly is taken from the first track off Deap Vally’s second album, Femejism, which was released in 2016.
Deap Vally debuted with their first album, Sistronix, and have toured with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Garbage and Blondie.
Taylor and Strayhorn have been together for just over two years. They started with a third guitarist who left the band after having a baby.
As a duo, they have been playing McKinney’s Pub in Townsite once a month since August. Their next gig is on Saturday, October 7, when they’ll share the McKinney’s bill with Vancouver punk-pop band Slow Learners, Powell River punk rockers Razorvoice and local noise rock band Con Man.
Royal Jelly will fit right into that lineup playing their covers of Deap Vally’s scuzzy, blues-riffing, rock and roll style that has been compared to The Black Keys, The Kills and The White Stripes.
Taylor, a postal worker, and Strayhorn, a fourth-year machinist apprentice at the mill, said they reinvented themselves several times before finding Deap Vally. They reached out to the Deap Vally duo of Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards on Facebook and said they wanted to be a tribute band.
“They gave us permission to cover their songs,” said Strayhorn “They said, ‘Rock it out. Do us proud.’”
Self-described super fans of Deap Vally, Royal Jelly have met their heroes twice in Vancouver, at the Rickshaw Theatre and Commodore Ballroom.
“We were right up front and centre both times,” said Strayhorn. “We go all fangirl when we see them.”
Taylor knows how to play guitar, but Strayhorn was just a banger on percussion and had to learn how to play when they started as a cover band; she began with a child’s mini-drum set that included only one drum and cymbal, which she beat until it fell apart, she said.
Taylor, originally from Harrison Hot Springs before moving to Powell River, and Strayhorn, who was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, said every time they think their tribute to Deap Vally is about to come to an end, it continues.
“It’s not going to go on forever,” said Taylor. “We have a deep love for them, but we want to play original stuff eventually, too.”
Taylor and Strayhorn said they hope to take the Royal Jelly show on the road in Strayhorn’s motorhome before Christmas to perform shows in Victoria and Nanaimo.
