(l-r) Bradley Bramfield, Tyler Adams, Teddy Brinkmand and Ben Brinkman, whose hometown is Craigmyle, Alberta, are the Suit Jacket Society, opening for the Chevelles fundraising concert October 4.
Their styling of classic rock music has landed a former local band the opening gig for a fund raising concert in Delia.
The members of Suit Jacket Society, away at school and work and whose hometown is Craigmyle, will be the opening act for the Chevelles in Delia October 4, a fundraising concert for the 2015 trip to Europe for Delia high school students.
The band members are Bradley Bramfield on lead vocals and guitar, Ben Brinkman on lead guitar and back-up vocals, Tyler Adams on drums, guitar, and back-up vocals, Teddy Brinkman on bass and synthesizer.
The band said this past November, Robyn Thompson from the Delia area had asked them to play a set before she sang, and it was after that they were approached about the fundraising concert. The band had closed with “House of the Rising Sun”, and Teddy thinks Suit Jacket’s rendition caught organizer Bob Davidson’s attention and led to the invitation.
The young men grew up listening to classic rock because that’s what the adults around them were listening to, and they say it was a pretty easy choice. Ben is influenced by Pink Floyd, Brad by Led Zepplin and Bob Dylan, Tyler, thrash metal and heavy metal, and Teddy said about five years ago, Eric Clapton got him really serious about the guitar.
“How we pick - we hear a song and we think this could be fun to do as a band,” said Brad. “What we’ve been doing lately is re-working songs into our own style. Basically, if a song catches our ear, we individually bring it back to the band and hear what the others think about it.”
The band already has a solid mix of public performance experience under their belt, considering Teddy is the oldest member at 21. They won the high school talent show, and from there played at various schools in Edmonton, winning the Fan Choice Award. They’ve performed at West Edmonton Mall, noting the stands were usually filled, then in 2013 they went on to win Battle of the Bands in Consort.
This year they were selected as one of four bands to appear at the finals for “Youth in Blues” at the Beaumont Blues and Roots Festival, and Suit Jacket said it was a huge honour to even share the stage with the other bands.
The band is finding it tough to practice regularly as a group, because everyone’s spread out. “So what we’ve been doing is practicing really hard and seriously before we do a show,” said Teddy.
With a bit of travel, many practices, and another successful summer behind them, Suit Jacket Society is definitely looking forward.
“We’re pretty excited about the Chevelles gig,” said Bradley. “We’ve got a couple of songs in the works, and we just have to go and record them now.”
