What a difference a year can make. This time last year, The Maneuver was just me and Tino bashing out some riffs and trying to get the band together. Shortly after the start of 2013, we met Ryan and Derrick and that’s when things really started happening. We very quickly got a bunch of songs together and before we knew it, we had enough songs for a show. We wanted to have a female singer in the group, but we had also got as far as we could without either finding someone or starting to play shows.
We decided to go ahead with the first show and hope for the best. Here is a song from the very first Maneuver show ever:
A highlight of the year for us was our first ever Funky Beach Party. We rented out the ANZA Club, called up Heads Hang Heavy and The Figures and kicked off the summer properly. There were tons of people there and it was a truly great party. Here is a clip:
Shortly after the Funky Beach Party, we met Chelsey. She was definitely the missing piece of the funky puzzle. After our first show with her at FanClub, we knew she was a total natural and within a few shows was bringing the funk as hard as anyone. Here is a video of us doing our original song The Way We Were with Chelsey.
The remainder of 2013 was spent trying to get as many shows under our belt as possible. We played at the Richmond International Night Market, our first outdoors show. We took our first road trip and played The Bowen Island Pub. (Video of that coming too!) We played at some classic Vancouver venues including The Railway Club, The Backstage Lounge, and FanClub. We also managed to play a Halloween Show and a Christmas show, which are always super fun.
In between all those shows, we also turned our jam space into a studio and got some demos recorded. Check them out here:
Another random highlight of the year: We beat the Heimlich Maneuver in Google Search results. When you search “The Maneuver”, we are the first result. So if someone is choking, make sure you click on the right page or you’ll get distracted by our jams and they might die. Don’t forget to check the Urban Dictionary version of The Maneuver. We didn’t invent it, but it sounds fun.
So what’s in store for 2014? Well, we are definitely going to work on getting the album done. We haven’t decided where we are going to do it, or who with, but it’s basically going to be a giant party. If the album gets done in time, we will probably make some kind of music video for a song or two. We’re in talks to host a Funky Burlesque Show, which would be amazing! And of course we will be having our 2nd annual Funky Beach Party. We’re also going to keeping honing our live show and get the set as tight as possible to keep the rumps shaking all night long.
All in all, it’s been a great adventure. We’ve had a ton of funky good times and we’re looking forward to keeping it going in 2014.
Keep it Funky!
Mr. King
