What are you doing New Year’s Eve?
Any other year, the question might garner a variety of responses – from the wild to the intimate, from the festive to the reflective. But as 2020 closes with local restaurants, bars, clubs and theatrical venues locked down because of COVID-19, the range of possible answers feels limited to streaming content at home, rather than streaming into the streets in search of celebration.
Dwayne Gretzky, the 10+ piece local band which bills itself as “a curated nostalgia trip that captures the unique joy of turning a radio dial and being surprised by the familiar” wants you to know that this doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
The band, celebrated on the Toronto music scene for the charm, theatrical flair and killer harmonies which they bring to an unpredictable mix of 70s and 80s classics, is well-known for the communal energy and joy of their annual New Year’s Eve Party concerts. And even as the pandemic rages, lead singer Nick Rose and the band were not willing to surrender that tradition. So what to do?
Well, in December 2019, the band moved into a new 1100-square-foot loft rehearsal space which allows “a big band like us to set up and play in a responsible, socially distanced way.” At the same time, “we really wanted to find a way to perform together again. Aside from an outdoor Halloween Drive-In show we haven’t played any public gigs since March, and we really miss it.”
Venue – check. Thirst to perform – check. The only thing needed now? Creativity.
Enter Dwayne Gretzky’s New Years Eve 2021 edition: a live audio and video production that will stream free of charge on New Years Eve. Rose and the band are re-imagining the classic Toronto show for a cross-Canada audience, and they’re not hiding it behind a credit card charge: ”It’s a free show, accessible to anyone with an internet connection and a soft spot for the 70s. And we’re going to be ringing in the new year from coast to coast from the moment the clock strikes midnight in Newfoundland until the calendar flips in British Columbia, and every time zone.”
The band is absolutely pumped: “Once we felt confident we could make a NYE livestream happen safely, abiding by all the COVID protocols, we got super excited about the prospect.” Home audiences should expect a blend of the familiar and the novel. If you’ve seen Dwayne Gretzky performing at a local establishment or a corporate event (I’ve had the enjoyment of seeing them at both), you will be expecting a show that is unpretentious, energetic and fun, with classic music, surprising arrangements, strong musicianship and sweet harmonies – all seasoned with banter and personality. And for New Years Eve 2021, the band are going to be “really embracing this new medium and all the benefits it offers.”
This is a true “opportunity to do something different”, and they will be taking advantage: “We’ve assembled an amazing production team, who are brimming with innovative and creative ideas about how to make the whole experience really great.” If this makes you think of a BIG, BOLD and BRASH production . . . think again. The band promises “a very intimate show, as we’ll be welcoming viewers from everywhere in to our own space . . . a peek behind the curtain!” They’re also hoping “people of all ages will tune in to enjoy the show: it will certainly be family friendly.”
To warm fans up for the show (and sustain them during the winter aftermath), the band has also just released a live album of last year’s 2020 NYE show. When I shared the track list – which runs the gamut from Rush and Springsteen to Madonna, Cher, Talking Heads and ABBA – with our 3-teenager family, it garnered six enthusiastic thumbs up. Rose is delighted to hear this, and promises that at for the 2021 NYE show, the band will do more of “what we always do: joyously celebrate wonderful songs” drawn from the “something like 700” that the band has performed so far in their career.
So how, exactly, does the band choose which tunes to cover from their chosen decades? Rose explains their 3-part process: “First and foremost, we choose songs we love. Secondly, we make sure we choose songs that suit the players/singers in the group, so we’re always playing to each other’s strengths. And thirdly, we like to keep the audience on their toes and not be too predictable. The goal is to find the songs that people have forgotten they love so much.” A forthcoming Rose smiles as he reveals the band’s unapologetic cheat code: “And then we play Bohemian Rhapsody – because, why not?”
Rose and Dwayne Gretzky are eager to turn the page on 2020 with their fans , but not without a moment of reflection. Without a doubt, 2020 has been a challenge. But everyone in the band’s circle “has done a great job of staying safe, being responsible, taking care of our mental health, and understanding our privilege.” Looking back, the band can count – and name – their blessings: “As much as the music business has been decimated and there’s so much uncertainty in our industry, we’re all still very fortunate in so many ways. And one thing our privilege has allowed is that we’ve each taken the opportunity to explore personal growth outside of music. From gardening to carpentry, social activism to teaching ESL, everyone in the band has kept busy in different ways this past year.”
In these last days of this dark year, we are all filled with hopes for a brighter 2021. But before the countdown ball drops, we could all benefit from meditating on what we’ve learned, what we’ve gained, and what we better appreciate thanks to 2020.
We can also circle back to our original question: what are you doing New Years Eve?
Rose hopes your answer is to “Stay home and join us remotely.” And really, what could be more fun than to gather the entire household around the television, crank up the volume, and sing and dance along with Dwayne Gretzky’s New Years Eve?
“We really feel like it’s going to be a special night. Hopefully, we can bring some joy to people during these challenging times!”
