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on March 2, 2009 at 7:17:22 pm
 

Vancouver Music

Welcome to the "A Band Is A Beautiful Thing" Wiki

New! Listen to the original recording of the demo of the song this book is titled after - A Band Is A Beautiful Thing - played by the Burner Boys in 1972 - Click here. Most of the music the Burner Boys wrote and performed was never recorded. We hope to get into the studio and record much of the music mentioned in the book with the aim of releasing a CD. A video is also in the works. The book is currently being considered by an established Vancouver publisher and a New York literary agent and there are now rumours of a possible film. *** (see copyright restrictions below])

 

 

 

The Burner Boys in front of the Big-O Hotel, North Vancouver, B.C. - publicity shot around 1971. The band members knew the woman in the photo only as a passing aquaintance. Obviously some wanted to get to know her better.

 

*** It is with great sorrow that we announce the death of David Jenneson, the author of this autobiographical novel "A Band Is A Beautfiul Thing". He passed away January 24, 2009 after a 6 month battle with cancer. He will be greatly missed - there was no one like him in this quadrant of the universe. This was Dave's last finished work and happily he has left this glimpse back to when life our lives were full of hope and boundless energy - and a band was a beautiful thing.

 

Contact me if you are interested in this project in any way.

 

Alan Hovden

email: ahovden@gmail.com.

 

The Burner Boys were a jug rock band when they first began, similar in style to the skiffle music the Quarrymen played before they became the Beatles - but very loudly amplified. They cut a swathe across Vancouver and British Columbia. between 1970 and 1972. They were the first group to put the North Shore on the musical map. Their wild stage presence drew huge crowds to hear original songs they could hear nowhere else. They caused riots, were chased by shotgun wielding millionaires, had the loyalty of every gang that counted and were rumored to beat up bands they played with.

 

 

 

 

Help Write The Book

 

Now lead singer David "Big D" Jenneson is writing the story of the Burner Boys in a new book of Creative Non-Fiction - Jenneson had two books published last year. But Seriously is a collection of his internationally published columns of observational wit. Night of the Realtors is his first high concept novel about a realtor who sells the White House. Both are available on Amazon.ca in Canada or Amazon.com in the U.S.

 

Your input in this new book is important. A Band is a Beautiful Thing is not only the story of the Burner Boys, but what has become a distant time - when the idealism of the 1960's collided with the hedonism and repression of the 1970's. It was the last gasp of the 1950's old guard establishment. Drugs like LSD, MDA, methadrine, marijuana, peyote, and a hundred others were freely available yet possession of a gram of hash could get you two years in Federal prison. People were beaten by mounted riot police for smoking a joint in public.

 

Mounted Riot Police Attack Crowd in Gastown Riot

 

The homeless were arrested for vagrancy and thrown on an outbound Greyhound with a one way ticket. A relatively minor charge could literally get you sent into internal exile - banned from the province for a year. Feminism and the environmental movement were still a twinkle in God's eye.

 

Any thoughts, experiences or photographs you have that you feel defined the times are sought after. We want to tap the collective memory of those who lived it.

 

It is widely believed that the Burner Boys still secretly perform in a basement in Lynn Valley, perfecting new original songs for their return. Perhaps this is so. It is said that late at night when everything is closed, as busses and cabs hiss up and down Lonsdale in the rain, you can still hear the ghostly whine of the orange Burner Boy van. There have been sightings. Classics like Greaseball Heaven and I Deliver Chicken may capture the heart of another generation. Are the Burner Boys returning?

 

It's up to you.

 

Let People Know

 

There are many people who came in contact with the band during the period from late 1969 to 1972. If you know of anyone who might be able to contribute to this story please email them the location of this wiki.

 

Email Alan Hovden at ahovden@gmail.com  if you need help in any way.

 

 

 

 

Dave Jenneson on stage at the Club 140 in the Big-O Hotel in North Vancouver

 

Praise for A Band is a Beautiful thing.

 

`Dave Jenneson was not your typical rock star wannabe. He didn’t even try to affect that stance. While not of the wiry frame, layered hair and sculpted facial features of the gum-chewing rockers of the day, Dave had a high-energy stage presence and way of moving that worked well. The white shoes, various cuts of sports jackets, even square-dance lace ties told you he was here to testify. I always imagined if Hemingway and the Lost Generation gang had decided to rock in Paris during their stay in the 1920s, Dave would be their man. He was literate rock. ' - Al Harlow, Prism

 

I just finished reading A Band Is A Beautiful Thing and really enjoyed it. Some of the band names brought back memories of living in Vancouver. I sure hope that you are shopping this story around as a movie, it would be great! - Gary Ranson, Victoria, B.C.

 

Thank you for your query. The chapter you sent is wonderful. My son John has been in various bands in Montreal, The Brains being the present one. I recalled stories of their adventures and road trips when I read about yours. Shoreline is a very small press, and we are terribly backed up. I wish I could said yes to reading your manuscript, but I can't. With your other successes you can probably find a publisher on the West Coast or anywhere. We do wish you luck with this project. - Judith Isherwood, Shoreline Publishing, Montreal.

 

How This Wiki Works

 

  • Anyone can add comments or change anything you want on any page. At the top of each chapter you'll find a simple explanation on how to do this. Dave can then easily view the changes and include them in his manuscript if he finds them valuable.

 

  • Anyone can add new pages to the wiki if they have a story they wish to tell or want to create their "own" page. Click on the "New Page" button to create a new page. Enter a page name (a name that relates to the page you are creating) and use "no template".

 

  • Anyone can add pictures, music or other types of media (you can write a story in Word and upload it) by clicking on the "Files" button at the top of the page and follow the instructions. We will review your uploaded files and add them to the site if they are appropriate.

 

  • You will also need a password to edit these pages. Please email Dave Jenneson at dmail@telus.net and let me know who you are if you are interested in contributing to this wiki.

 

  • If you aren't aren't a computer geek and just want to send us something directly just email it to Dave at dmail@telus.net and we'll add it for you.

 

Links To Wiki Help Pages and more...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creative Commons License

 

This music free to share under a Creative .

Commons Music Sharing License

 

 

 

 

 

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