LOUD
Vancouver 49° 15' 39.14" N, 123° 6' 50.23" W Arts Music Group
One day Elaine Stef was walking along Commercial Drive in Vancouver and bumped into Eileen Kage. The two struck up a conversation and decided to jam together. They had seen each other play at different events, and were enthusiastic to do some musical experimentation. The sessions included pulling out pots and pans, power tools, anything to make music. After months of musical experimentation, they took their stylings out to the public, playing at a benefit for Kinesis, a women's newspaper.
They were asked to play at Prisoners Justice Day. They decided to ask Leslie, who has been playing Taiko with Eileen since 1982, to join them. In a space to two weeks, the three whipped up two songs. The Powell Street Festival was actually their first gig. They presented a ten minute set in the Japanese Language Hall in the summer of 1996.
The three of them thought this was too good just to be a two shot gig so they decided to develop more songs and play more gigs. They called the group LOUD and have been experimenting, jamming, hanging out on the stoop, discussing the significance of art, politics and life, ever since.