Biography
Dope Soda formed in late 2011, a fresh concoction of six of the top jazz, rock, and Jamaican-music-inspired musicians from Vancouver Island, with frequent appearances in acts such as Current Swell, Jon & Roy, and Lovecoast. The band is led by a three-piece horn section with roots in the highly-regarded Vancouver Island University Jazz Department, buoyed by a funky rhythm section that serves up sips of bubbling Hammonds and Wurlitzers, shots of distorted guitar, and heavy bass–in your face.
Dope Soda jumps back and forth between reggae jams, punk-rock assaults, happy ska romps, and hip-hop throw-downs– a thirst quencher for audiences who need good rhymes and good times. Dope Soda’s 1st full-length, “Carbonation,” features a 12-pack of ska-punk-jazz-pop tunes (best paired with a West Coast IPA). It’s carbonated party fuel; a beer-in-cheek look at video games, hallucinations, bar brawls, unsettled relationships, and the trials and tribulations of wearing an eye patch. Recorded in Nanaimo, B.C. and produced by a team of dancing rabbits. Drink up!
Matt Carter
Age: Unknown
Instrument: Bari Sax / Keys / Vocals
Bio: Active as Barbara Streisand’s stunt double. His hair grows so fast he gets a haircut every 30 seconds. He eats nothing but Tambourines and Hemp- making him the first vegetarian cannibal.
Mike Clement
Alias: Mc MicControl, UncleDad
Age: 29
Instrument: Guitar
Bio: Once folded paper with his bare hands. His grandmother is Bread? Owns two pieces of celery. He consistently confuses ‘cribbage’ with ‘cabbage’.
Mike says “Brown!”
Phil Hamelin
Andrew Fraser
Dave St. Jean
Jesse McNeill
Alias: Jesse McNeill, Daddy
Age: 27
Instrument: Drums
Bio: Grocery shops exclusively on Wednesday. He was the mascot for the high school reunion. He spent the first 4.5 years of his life as a pot roast before giving birth to his Dad. His tag-team wrestling partner is broccoli.