Jim Dan Dee – Performs for the Toronto Indie Music Week – 10/17/15

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Sue Sadzak Hebert

(Toronto, ON) – This past weekend, Jim Dan Dee played at the Paddock Tavern located in downtown Toronto, showcasing their talents as part of the Toronto Indie Music Week line up. Hot off the heals of their WTFest battle of the band win where they secured a spot playing along side great acts such as The Trews, Big Sugar and Hedley.

This Toronto based quartet describes themselves as a “Bourbon Fueled Funkabilly Grunge Blues Band“. From what I’ve heard, it seems to be an accurate description of their music. I’m thankful I didn’t have to come up with a genre to describe their sound, because it’s just all over the place. Not in a bad way, just a unique way. A cohesive blend of many different genres that fit nicely together. The funk is generated by the danceability provided by Royal on drums along side Morris and Sweryneck in the rhythm section for some of the songs, while strategically infused slide guitar coupled with drawn out vocal patterns by Stafenuk demonstrates the blues aspect. When I hear Jim Dan Dee I think of Colin James, Led Zeppelin and The Shuffle Demons.

Jim Dan Dee are:

James (Jim) Stefanuk – Guitar & Vocals
Shawn Royal – Drums
Scott Morris – Keys
Jason (Bobby) Seweryneck – Saxophone

Unlike other bands, they do not have a traditional bass player per say. All the low ends rhythms are produced via keyboards and sax.

The venue was quaint and intimate, housing what appeared to be a temporary stage, tiny in it’s proportions, situated in the corner next to the entrance. The crowd in attendance appeared to be mostly other bands that were performing that evening, media, along with a few friends and family scattered throughout. A slight distraction occurred as Jim Dan Dee started their set. A passed out patron couldn’t be roused from his sleep. However the venue handled the situation respectfully and efficiently.

Although coincidental, the first song of their set was called “Fucked up“. How appropriate considering the circumstances that was occurring in the tavern at the time. A bluesy slide guitar intro performed by Stefanuk, ultimately leading to a mid paced full on rockabilly assault. A surprising big sound emanated from these 4 guys, especially compared to their predecessors that evening. Seweryneck’s rhythmic sax tones complimented the song well. I certainly wasn’t thinking that the song lacked a bassists. I couldn’t help but feel bad for the guy as he was squished up against a wall.

Their song “Friends” had Led Zeppelin undertones, which was slightly reminiscent to the song “Thank You.” Not as a whole, but mostly in Scott’s keyboard parts, while Jason jumped from the rhythm section to the forefront for a good portion of the song. A track that I believe would be very radio friendly. It was easy on the ears, relaxing in nature.

On the flip side they performed a song called “Chickie and the Toad“. As the title insinuates, it a faster paced, whimsically fun song. Lyrics start of with “Why did the chickie cross the road, to give a little kiss to the ugly old toad… “. I felt that if you added heavy distortion to the guitar, it could easily pass as a metal riff. Yes very confusing I have to agree.

It was apparent that front man Stefanuk was limited in what his natural stage presence would typically produce. Although never seeing them live before, I suspect James would be a total fire ball, commanding a larger size platform with an energetic stage presence. Stuck in his little portion of the stage, he did have an energy that wanted to bust free.

Playing their 7 song set, a vibe was felt with this band. It wasn’t forced or mechanical in nature, but soulful and genuine. Energetic in nature, yet not losing focus on the output of their songs.

This band has so many facets to their sound. Kind of hard to pin point sometimes, yet familiar.

Individually technically sound as musicians, they meshed very well with each other. Jim Dan Dee’s live performance mimics their recently released studio recording “Five Stiff Shots” very closely, with obvious attention to details . It proves that their recording isn’t all smoke and mirrors, but true musicianship. They performed an impressively tight set. Well worth seeing.

The songs performed that evening where: