Sounding Out: Dinner Belles

A few years back, a group of musicians were brought together by a mutual friend to play music and hopefully form a new band. As they began playing together, they quickly discovered a special dynamic developing within the group. Over time, informal jam sessions became regular Wednesday night practices, and eventually, the Dinner Belles were born.

I first discovered the Dinner Belles when I saw them on Blogotheque. There was something immediately familiar to me about the band and I was captivated by their performances. As someone who has a lot of family and friends that sing and play instruments, impromptu music jams inevitably break out when folks get together. Watching the Belles, I just felt at home in some way.

Given that the band has not released any albums or singles, exploring their music became particularly problematic. So, I tracked down two of the Belle’s members in Hamilton, Ontario, where the band is based.

Terra Lightfoot and Brad Germain are two of the seven members of the Dinner Belles. Talking to them both was a real treat for me, and not surprisingly, their openness and attitude seemed exactly like what I would have expected, based on seeing their video performances.

I told Terra and Brad that my sense from watching the videos was that the band is a very collaborative group and their interaction was almost family-like. I asked them if this was true. Terra and Brad said that this was absolutely the case.

“It seems really funny, but we are an extended family now......We all have great vibes and great love for each other,” Terra said. “I think the reason for this is because we sing together. And that might sound crazy, but it always makes everyone of us feel amazing whenever we get together. Whenever one of us is having a bad day, we send text messages to one another and say let’s get together and play some music tonight. It is really nice to be in a band like that.“

I asked if this ‘togetherness’ has to do with the personalities of the people in the band or is there just a different sense of community within this group? “Singing together brings us to a different place,” Terra said. Brad added that music and family are both important to all of them and that is how they approach their time together. “In this band everyone has the same voice, which is really nice. I think that it has helped us all as players and musicians in learning how to listen to what other people are doing and not try to cover things with noise all the time.”

I asked them, if everyone has the same voice, was their any anyone person who acts as a kind of ringleader for the band?

Both said that there was no head of the band who controls or dictates the pace or what is to come out of it. “It is a very democratic process,” Terra said. Brad agreed. “Everyone has a say in this band. We meet each challenge as a group…and the same thing goes with the song writing.”

I told them that I found it amazing that songwriting and managing a band could be so democratic considering that there were seven of them. Could the Dinner Belles be that successful working together like this when there are so many personalities and ideas?

“It has been surprisingly easy,” Brad said. “I think that part of it has to do with the personalities of everyone in the band. There’s not that alpha male or person who wants to run the whole thing. That is what makes it so easy for all of us.”

Terra added that the band never really had a songwriting formula that required someone to take a lead role. “There is no form to the band….and it works in different ways for us ever time we write a song. No two ways are the same.”  They said that sometimes people break into small groups to write and create, sometimes individuals bring ideas or songs to the group, and sometimes songs develop from just casual jamming together.

“Everybody feels comfortable bringing something to the group,” Brad Said.  “No one feels that their ideas are going to be brushed aside or be made to feel that their ideas are less important than someone else. It is a tough thing to find in a band…it is a rarity and we all recognize that. I think that it is a really healthy way to run a band. And I think that it is a really great way to BE a band.”

They also agreed that there is no pressure that they put on themselves, which is important to them all. “When you don’t put a whole bunch of pressure on yourselves,” Brad said, “it just comes as it comes and it makes for a far more enjoyable experience.” But, he said it helps that they are slow workers. “If we had to come to every practice or get-together and learn seven new songs, that might be taxing and frustrating, but we work at such a slow pace, it makes it easier to be democratic,” he said laughing.

Given their seemingly casual approach, I asked them if there have been changes in terms of aspirations and goals that they have for the band over time?

“I don’t know if it has changed,” Terra said. “I think that we are a ‘go with the flow’ group as much as possible, whenever we can.”  Brad then said that they are all musicians who have other projects and take their craft very seriously, but he said that this band occupies a different space for everyone musically. Terra added, “We are not trying to do anything huge with this project, but if it happens, that would be great. Let it be what it is going to be.”

Mississippi River Gambler   

I told them that something was happening in terms of visibility and interest as a result of the Blogotheque videos. I asked them if the attention that the Dinner Belles are receiving is perhaps having them evaluate things differently now?

Terra started off by saying that they have been surprised by the attention. “We really didn’t expect the kind of response that we got.” They said that a lot of people who have reached out have done so wanting to know more about the band and their music. This has been very exciting and humbling. As a result, they have realized that having more music available for people is something that they want to do. Now the band is set to release their first album in June.

Terra and Brad said that The Dinner Belles are looking forward to releasing their album, but they don’t really think that there will be a big change to the way the band approaches things going forward. Brad said, “everyone wants to have music be their career and their way to make their bread, but when you start to get into music for money it seems like you sometimes have to compromise the things that you want to do and you have to make decisions that are business based and not music based, and that is one thing that we have been conscious of. We just want to do things the way that we want to do things and that is really it. If we can make some money along the way, great.” Terra added, “I think the kind of success that we are interested in is a different kind. It is not mainstream success. I think we want to be as self sufficient as possible and still be able to reach the market that might want to hear us.” I appreciated their perspective. 

I asked them, if they would be hitting the road and touring in support of the album and trying to grow their base of listeners. They said that the band is not necessarily going to be touring around the country. Besides coordinating seven members and their families, traveling with everyone and their equipment across long distances is really more than they feel they can take on right now. Terra added, "this may just be a band that plays live locally and enjoys the time playing together...and in terms of being accessible to other people, it may just be a band that lives online."

I told them that I understood the reasons for not touring, but that it was really too bad that this would not be the case. The Dinner Belles' live playing is what has drawn people to them and it is what I think makes their music so special.  Brad said that he appreciated what I was saying. He thought that maybe the reason why the band has been able to make connections with people is because they can see themselves sitting down with the band to play music.

Playing In The Barn

Terra said that their live performances are meant to be a family affair. This is even the case when they are practicing. “The barn, where we practice during the summer, is on a farm that is owned by the Harleys…..We love going there to play. We will go there on Sundays and play all day long. And it really has become a big family affair where friends and family come over and and hang out and barbecue while we practice. It creates a really neat sense of community.” She then said that the Dinner Belles strive to have this same sense of community when they play their shows live. “We all love playing live and when we perform, our shows are meant to just be a big party and everyone’s invited!”

Terra and Brad said that in the end, they all just want to create and play music with their friends. And in doing so Terra said, "we hope to make our little community a little bit bigger." I think that the Dinner Belles are on to something here.