The humidity on the Detroit River during a Windsor July is less of a weather pattern and more of a physical weight. It is the kind of heavy air that clings to the black T-shirts of every roadie and front-row diehard. Standing near the LiUNA Bluesfest stage, you can smell the mixture of diesel from the generators and the stale scent of river water.
It is a grit that defines the local scene. And right at the centre of that grit on July 12 is Drop Dead Famous, a band that has spent years grinding through the bar circuit to earn a spot supporting legacy acts like Extreme and Night Ranger.
The transition from a weekend cover band to a legitimate original outfit is a graveyard for most local musicians. It is easy to play the hits. It is hard to write them. Most bands get comfortable with the easy applause of a bar crowd hearing "Summer of '69" for the thousandth time.
But Rob Higgins and his crew decided to push against that comfort zone. They wanted something that belonged to them. They wanted to see if the chemistry they built playing other people’s catalogues could translate into something authentic.
Higgins reflects on that shift with a sense of pragmatism that you only get from years on the stage.
"We loved doing the cover gig and had a lot of great times doing it," Higgins says. "We all still had this dream of going to the next level or at least seeing what original music we could create. It took a while to get a writing formula that worked for us, but once we did it was off to the races. We still throw in some of our favourite cover songs at gigs as do many original acts."
That "writing formula" is the hurdle. In a cover band, you learn the mechanics of a song. In an original band, you have to find the soul. For Drop Dead Famous, that meant balancing the individual egos of five different musicians into a cohesive pop-rock-dance hybrid.
And then there is the venue problem. Windsor is a tough town for anyone not playing Top 40 or country. The city has a habit of eating its young when it comes to original art.
Venues open and close with the seasons. If you aren't playing a casino or a wedding, the options for a five-piece band with a full drum kit and a keyboard rig are slim.
"Living in a city the size of Windsor there are not a lot of original music venues but we still manage to play in a lot of clubs and festivals," Higgins admits.
It is a polite way of saying they have to hustle. You don't get on a Bluesfest bill by accident. You get there by being the band that shows up, sounds professional, and actually draws a crowd in a market that is notoriously fickle.
The band has had tastes of the bigger machine before. There is a recurring story about their connection to Theory of a Deadman, a band that has successfully navigated the Canadian rock landscape for two decades.
It is the kind of industry connection that provides a glimpse of what is possible when the stars align. It isn't just about who you know; it is about whether you can hold your own when the lights are that bright.
"LOL. Yes we’ve opened up for Theory of a Deadman a couple of times and know them on a personal level," Higgins says. "The best gig was up in Barrie to a sold out crowd. It was the type of gig that keeps you dreaming about doing more big shows."
Living in a city the size of Windsor there are not a lot of original music venues but we still manage to play in a lot of clubs and festivals.
That Barrie show is the benchmark. When you play to a sold-out room that isn't your hometown, you find out very quickly if your songs have legs.
The "DDF sound" is a bit of a Frankenstein’s monster. It shouldn't work on paper. You have a lead singer influenced by the precision of Sting and the anthemic drive of the Foo Fighters. Then you throw in a rhythm section and a keyboard player with vastly different palettes.
It is a sonic collision. You have the technical prog-rock leanings of Rush meeting the electronic textures of Depeche Mode.
"Personal influences consist of Sting, Foo Fighters, The Killers and U2 to name a few," Higgins explains. "The cool thing is most of the other guys have very different favourite bands or influences ranging from Van Halen, Beastie Boys, Rush and Depeche Mode, but we all come together to create the DDF sound that we enjoy."
That diversity is actually their secret weapon. In a world of cookie-cutter indie bands, having a keyboard player who understands synth-pop and a guitarist who grew up on Eddie Van Halen creates a layer of interest that most local acts lack.
The 2018 Bluesfest Windsor lineup marks a shift in strategy for the festival organizers. By leaning into "Rock Thursday" and "Retro Sunday," they are targeting a demographic that still values the live experience over a curated playlist.
For a local band, being the first notes heard on a Thursday night is a heavy responsibility. You are the palate cleanser. You set the tone for the entire weekend.
"We feel very fortunate to have landed the Bluesfest gig and we are pumped," Higgins says. "I think the diversity of this year’s lineup with the addition of Rock Thursday and Retro Sunday are going to prove to be the most successful festival to date."
The inclusion of Drop Dead Famous on this bill is a nod to the strength of the Windsor music community. It is a validation.
When you see Rob Higgins (vocals), Chris Blais (keys), David Sinewitz (guitar), Scott Holmes (bass) and Chris Holmes (drums) take that stage, you are seeing a band that has paid its dues in the trenches of Ouellette Avenue.
The setlist for a show like this is a delicate balance. You have to reward the fans who have followed you from the bars, but you also have to win over the Extreme fans who are just there to hear "More Than Words."
"We will be playing all of our favourite DDF originals along with one or two of our favourite covers," Higgins notes.
It is a smart move. A well-placed cover acts as a bridge. It gives the uninitiated a point of reference before you hit them with the original material.
But the end goal is always the intellectual property. The band is aware that in the modern era, the live show is the commercial, but the streaming platforms are the store.
They aren't waiting for a label to tell them when to release music. They are playing the digital game.
"All of our music is available to download on Spotify, iTunes and pretty much all music sites," Higgins says. "You can also check us out on Facebook or at www.dropdeadfamous.com."
The reality of the Windsor scene is that it is isolated. We are in the shadow of Detroit, a city with a massive musical legacy, yet we often struggle to define our own.
Drop Dead Famous isn't trying to be the next Motown act or the next garage rock revival. They are trying to be a polished, professional rock band that happens to be from a border town.
There is a certain lack of pretension in their approach. They don't claim to be reinventing the wheel. They just want to make sure the wheel is spinning at 100 miles per hour when they hit the stage.
Watching them prepare for this slot, there is a sense of focused energy. This isn't just another gig. This is the one that gets talked about at the music stores and the rehearsal spaces for the next six months.
The drums of Chris Holmes provide a solid, no-nonsense foundation. Scott Holmes on bass keeps it locked in. It is a fraternal rhythm section, which usually means they can anticipate each other’s moves before they happen.
Then you have the atmospheric work of Chris Blais and the melodic shredding of David Sinewitz. It is a wall of sound that needs a big stage to breathe.
In the small clubs, this band can feel claustrophobic. Their sound is too big for a 100-person room. It needs the open air of the riverfront. It needs the 6:00 p.m. sun beating down on the crowd.
If there is a critique to be made, it is that the local scene needs more of this. More bands willing to stop being "just a cover band" and start being a brand.
Drop Dead Famous has figured out the formula. Now they just have to execute it in front of a few thousand people.
And if the past is any indication, they’ll do exactly that. Because in Windsor, you either show up or you get out of the way. Thursday night is their time to show up.
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