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BIO
Plastic Acid (a Rock Orchestra) is the world's only rock-styled, 45-piece, fully electrified orchestra performing original music. While Plastic Acid (a Rock Orchestra) has been breaking down boundaries in symphonic music for the past three years, performing large scale concerts in Vancouver, the name also lends itself to the string rock quartet known as Plastic Acid (a String Rock Quartet).
The project was conceived by Musical Director Bryan Deans, who wanted to see a new audience for symphonic music. The idea of producing an orchestra show for large bars and doing both rock covers and new original compositions eventually led to technical sound difficulties. Achieving balanced sound for an orchestra in a concert hall is created by positioning and layering of instruments, however in a bar the rules changed. It was from this technical difficulty that the solution of full amplification came to mind. “We need to be heard wherever we need to go [bars, concert halls, open air festivals]†Bryan says. “Plus, I want to bring a new live sound to young ears, symphonies are a dying breed.â€
Bryan has been leaving an impression on Vancouver’s classical music scene since his teens busking for party money with his sister Marissa, him ..o and her on violin. He is known not only for his skill, but for his energy and dedication to his art. Since receiving his degree in music from the University of Victoria, he has worked with West Coast Symphony, is assistant conductor of the Vancouver Philharmonic, has worked with local string ensemble, Elgar Strings, the Surrey Youth Orchestra and all this has been squeezed around his full-time schedule as music director at St. John’s School.
The Plastic Acid project has turned itself into an annual community orchestra event, and so far has had five highly successful shows at both the Caprice and Plaza night clubs. The premise of the project was to cross the traditional age and class boundaries of classical music and put it in venues that encourage the rock vibe. The polite applause normally reserved for orchestras is left behind, Bryan wants people to cheer wildly at his orchestra at inopportune moments. In fact, the volunteer musicians all get a kick out of hearing the enthusiastic and immediate feedback. “We all get the chance to feel like rock stars,†says Bryan.
Rock orchestras such as the Trans-Siberian Orchestra are soaring in popularity, perhaps out of a desire for music that goes beyond the norm, but unlike these other similar acts, Plastic Acid not only is uniquely electrified but is maintaining both its status as a full symphony orchestra as well as showcasing modern original Canadian composers, including Jason Nett (resident composer for the Vancouver Island Symphony), Martin Reisle (Maria in the Shower) and the latest addition, Mike Bell (The Living). It is rare to find opportunities to showcase modern, rock-styled orchestral music from young composers. Each of these young composers encompass a wide variety of musical influences from rockabilly, blues, metal, progressive, gothic and punk.
The “cool-factor†of this orchestra has pulled in some of the brightest musical talent the region has to offer. The last full orchestra show was led by concert master Elyse Jacobsen, who is an exceptional violinist, having recorded with Kanye West, 54-40, and Mariana’s Trench among many others. When looking at the talent behind Plastic Acid, this is the next generation of orchestra music and perhaps the musical transfusion the genre is looking for.
The string rock quartet provides Plastic Acid with a "broken-down" version that is capable of doing smaller live performance as well as providing an avenue for recorded music that would otherwise be much more difficult for the full Rock Orchestra. In an ironic twist, their song Epic did not make it onto the Epic Sessions, but was chosen as the music for an award-winning short stop animation by the Beard of Moose Productions entitled The Pen is Mightier.
