Local band Earthbound brings the beat

Progressive rock shakes up Vancouver

By Cheryl Minns, Arts Editor

What teenager doesn’t dream of starting a rock band with his friends and going professional? For one group of high school friends, their dreams of stardom have taken them from venues in Victoria to Vancouver as the band Earthbound.

In the early ’70s, bassist John Larsen, drummer Bob Caldwell, and guitarist Paul Seale made their debut as a trio on a gymnasium stage during a grad dance at Oak Bay High School in Victoria.

“I knew the bass player of the band playing at the grad dance and asked him if the three of us could get up and jam a tune. It was the first time the three of us had played together,” he said. “The crowd reaction was explosive and I believe we realized immediately thereafter that we had an intense synergy.”

After graduation, Larsen, Caldwell, Seale, and keyboardist Ed Dolinski formed Earthbound, which was named after a live album recorded by progressive rock band King Crimson.

“We played around the different venues and clubs in Victoria. Then we decided in 1975 to move over to Vancouver to continue our professional career because Victoria was fairly limited,” Caldwell said. “We started playing various clubs in Vancouver under Bruce Allen’s agency.”

For Earthbound, it’s all about the progressive rock music they play, both original and cover tracks. Although it’s a popular genre of music, it’s uncommon to find progressive rock cover bands in BC, which gives Earthbound an edge.

“We’re into the technique of different time signatures, virtuosic playing, and really cool arrangements. It’s music for musicians,” Caldwell said. “We do a few tunes of original music, but most of our fans want to hear the progressive stuff.”

However, Earthbound has discovered that Vancouver audiences aren’t quite as receptive to progressive rock as their Victoria audiences.

“In Victoria clubs, we could get away with playing a bit more of the progressive rock material. But when we got to Vancouver, it didn’t go over so well. They want Top 40 stuff, a lot of ZZ Top, just the current stuff that’s going on,” Caldwell said.

Although Earthbound is still in its early days, the band members hope to continue their musical journey for many years to come with larger shows and more original tunes.

“In a perfect world, we would like to play big venues and do original prog rock music,” Caldwell said. “We would like to see ourselves continuing the tradition on the big stage.”