Following his debut album release, a musical artist new to the Sunshine Coast has launched a local tour whose burgeoning bookings prove the appeal of his solo chops.
Stephan LaCasse, originally from Vernon, is a veteran of more than two decades as part of the Toronto music scene.
The singer-songwriter has been a band member, a wedding performer for hire, and composer of commercial tracks.
At an appearance on Monday at Sechelt’s Run With Soup café, LaCasse also demonstrated Pied Piper-like powers. He started his midday set playing to diners numbered in the single digits. By the end of the two-hour concert, fans had filled every seat.
“Let it rip, and if it’s off, I’ll let you know,” announced restaurant owner Roksy Constantinau during LaCasse’s sound check. Three songs in, Constantinau was already planning a return performance by the guest guitarist and vocalist.
The Run With Soup gig was the first of three appearances at different venues in this month alone. More are already on the horizon for LaCasse, whose style traverses folk and rock genres. He sings covers and original works by shifting seamlessly from a potent baritone to a plaintive falsetto.
At both Run With Soup and during a Thursday appearance at Tapworks, LaCasse included numbers from his album Whiskey Creek Surf Shop Blues, which was released in January.
The album’s eponymous track was inspired by a trip to Tofino’s foreshore. The lyrics weave storied West Coast surf culture with infectiously bluesy tropes: “I still get choked up with that view / It never gets old, but I sure do.”
“I was thinking this would be a good tune to put out as a single,” LaCasse said, “but I’ve always wanted to record an album. I have a good little spot in the garage where I can create and escape from the dogs and chaos of the house.”
LaCasse moved to the Coast in mid-2022. In his musical sanctuary, he composed new material and reworked songs previously written for Toronto-based bands.
“It was a really great opportunity to put a whole group of tunes together that I want to survive or get a new life,” LaCasse said. “There are a couple of tracks on [the album] that stand out as a little off-kilter, a little more alternative. One of the luxuries of being a solo recording artist is taking risks and transcending where I thought I was originally going to be categorized. You’ve gotta shake the tree, see what falls out sometimes.”
LaCasse’s tuneful narratives are introspective but never forlorn. “I’m not a builder or king / More a fiddler of dreams,” he sings in Walls and Wolves. “How do walls find their way between us? / How do wolves find their way around?”
One of his tracks, Danger’s Arms, has been transformed into an animated music video for release online. LaCasse, who works as a professional designer and marketing consultant, created the motion graphics himself and incorporated A.I.-generated backgrounds.
“It’s a lot of work,” he said, “but I just fell in love with [animation]. It’s such a great way to bring a concept to life that you couldn’t with video alone.”
LaCasse’s will perform next at the Gibsons Legion on Feb. 25, with admission payable by donation to the Legion or with a non-perishable contribution to the food bank. The full-length album Whiskey Creek Surf Shop Blues is available via his website at stephanlacasse.com.
