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Bill Durst will tell you he鈥檚 a humble man. He鈥檒l tell you several times, actually. Of course, he鈥檒l usually tell you after saying something like this: 鈥淏asically, there is not a performer, entertainer, guitar player, songwriter anywhere in this country that can touch me. Period.鈥�

Or maybe after calling six-time Juno Award winner Colin James a 鈥渓ousy鈥� performer, and claiming that the Bill Durst Band is in a different league.

鈥淚鈥檓 not cutting him down or anything: he鈥檚 fantastic. But we entertain; we鈥檙e in another league from them. We really are.鈥�

Durst and his long-time musical partner, Joe De Angelis, started the project 10 years ago. The high school friends made waves in the 1970s, as founding members of the Canadian rock band Thundermug.

In 2003, after De Angelis鈥� brother Paul died, the friends were driven by a new desire to make their mark, and began writing music.

鈥淚 think we did it partially to make sure that we did everything we could so we could be proud of ourselves when we get really old. But also, in a way, to honour Paul,鈥� Durst said in an interview Nov. 25.

And while that motivation was the catalyst, Durst said that after years of hard work, it feels like he鈥檚 finally hit the sweet spot, playing the music that he was always meant to play.

鈥淭his is the best blues-rock band this country has ever seen鈥攑eriod. We make Big Sugar look like they鈥檙e just starting out,鈥� he said, with the authority of a statistician talking about population growth.

鈥淎nyway, I don鈥檛 want to dwell on that. I just want the people of Jasper to understand that they are in for the best that there is,鈥� he said a few minutes later, so matter-of-factly it was hard not to believe.

Durst said his brand of blues-rock is a peek into the wider world of blues for the masses. He said that a lot of people who don鈥檛 like the genre can get into his shows, and that opens doors for them into the world of genres like acoustic blues or Delta blues.

But heaven forbid it leads them to Chicago blues.

鈥淗ere鈥檚 the way it is. Ninety-nine per cent of the population loves my music. Ninety-nine per cent of the population hates Chicago blues.

鈥淩eally, Chicago blues is the most boring art form on the face of the Earth. That鈥檚 it: period.鈥�

He explained that, the way he sees it, the legendary genre dumbs down the music. All sophistication, orchestration, and arrangement is lost when most Chicago blues bands get a hold of a song.

鈥淚 never put art down, I don鈥檛 put people down or anything like that鈥攂ut the Chicago blues is a big burden to me because people that like it hold me back in the blues. And Chicago blues holds the blues back from the rest of the world.鈥�

Durst did say there are a lot of great musicians out there鈥攈e praised Colin James鈥� pipes and songwriting talent, and talked about how much he loved Chicago blues legend Muddy Waters鈥攂ut he said he is convinced his hard work and diverse musical skill set sets him apart.

He challenged everyone in Jasper to come out to the show and see for themselves.

鈥淣ow it鈥檚 indisputable. And really, anyone who doesn鈥檛 see this band does not know the blues scene in this country. They don鈥檛 see it.鈥�

Trevor Nichols
[email protected]