PowerThaw 2025 to rock the Marysville Pub

“It’s been a long, dismal winter, and it doesn’t know when to quit,” said Cranbrook’s musical miscreant Ferdy Belland. “So, with PowerThaw 2025, we’re working with the Marysville Pub to heat up the night and burn our way into the sunshine – for real. And we want the Kootenays to party with us.”

And indeed, the upcoming PowerThaw 2025 event (occurring Saturday, March 29) will showcase two talented bands which Belland both performs in: Phaeton, and the Brotherhood of Lost Souls.

Phaeton was formed in 2017 by drummer Colin Righton, who gathered together three crackerjack musicians he’d played with separately over the years: guitarist-keyboardist-composer Kevin Thiessen (formerly of Aszension), guitarist Daniel Airth (ex-Chaos Logic), and Belland (Bif Naked’s former sidekick).

Combining the best elements of progressive rock and heavy metal in terms of aggressive delivery and thoughtful songwriting structure, Phaeton is an all-instrumental outfit which draws musical inspiration from artists such as Dream Theater, Symphony X, Mastodon, Animals as Leaders, Opeth, Meshuggah, Devin Townsend, Rush, and King Crimson.

With a rising awareness among international prog/metal critics, and known for their powerful live show, Phaeton are set to release their third album Neurogenesis later this year, and their appearance at PowerThaw is their first live date of 2025.

“Phaeton was the happiest accident I’ve ever been a part of,” said Belland. “As a teenager, I went from being a rabid music fan to being a participating musician because I wanted to play intricate and aggressive music like what I heard on Metallica’s And Justice for All album. All through the years I passed through a lot of good bands, but it wasn’t until recently I found myself among likeminded metalhead shredders. It only proves that all good things come to those who wait.”

And the Brotherhood of Lost Souls are no slouches either.

The current incarnation of the Brotherhood (featuring vocalist-lyricist “Pistol Pete” Durning, lead guitarist Roy “BTR” Wilgan, drummer Morgan “Sasquatch” Fraser, and Belland on bass) formed over a Yuletide jam session back in 2022, although the roots of the group stretch back a decade before as vocalist-lyricist “Pistol Pete” Durning’s longtime garage-band project.

The Brotherhood’s gritty, grungy, hard-rocking underground style is reminiscent of Motorhead, Hellacopters, Supersuckers, Nashville Pussy, Turbonegro, Danko Jones, and Zeke, and they’ve confidently shared stages with notable acts like Econoline Crush and Dead Bob.

The Brotherhood are busy road warriors, touring constantly across British Columbia and Alberta, and after a recent blitzkrieg of exciting recording-studio activity they’re planning to release their debut EP later in 2025.

“I stumbled into the Brotherhood by sheer chance,” says Belland. “I’d see them play at Pete’s house parties over the years, and I always root for my friends. Then I finally got the chance to jam with them – and they amazed me, really. They had 20 complete songs in their original repertoire, which was a striking achievement all its own, and there was good riffing and clever storylines – this wasn’t your average smalltown garage band!

“This was Cranbrook’s version of Queens of the Stone Age! It had been 10 years since I’d played in a grinding, dirty rock band, and they welcomed me in heartily. And it’s been a full-tilt rollercoaster ever since. They’re good guys with good hearts, and we make friends wherever we go, wherever we play.”

When asked if Belland felt stretched out, splitting his energies between two serious fulltime bands, he replied: “So far, so good. What’s the old saying…it’s an embarrassment of riches? I get to bend my mind and my tendons with Phaeton, and I get my dive-bar rocks off with the Brotherhood, so it’s the best of both worlds.

“I try not to be a one-dimensional musician. It’s always been like that for me. It doesn’t matter if you’re a busy musician in a small town or in a big city: if you’re a good bassist, if you’re reliable and punctual, and if you maintain a mindset of youthful enthusiasm…well, your phone never stops ringing and your inboxes are always full! It only makes me a better player who’s musically well-rounded. There’s certainly no rivalry between the two bands. We’re all friends, and it’ll stay that way. I mean, there was a time during my Vancouver days when I was playing in half a dozen bands at once, so playing in two bands is a snap.”

Belland is grateful to the Marysville Pub & Grill for hosting PowerThaw 2025.

“The good folks at the Marysville Pub have always been allies to the local musical community,” said Belland. “I’ve seen a lot of good music in that room, and it’s popular with players and music fans. Currently, there’s a critical lack of live venues in the immediate Kimberley-Cranbrook axis. There are a decent number of bistros and small pubs and such around which regularly host solo acoustic-folk performers, or duos and such, which is all well and good.

“But for an electric four-piece or five-piece band, there’s just hardly any old-school cabaret-style bars around anymore. It’s frustrating, since there’s a growing number of good rock bands around these parts who are ready to play, and capacity audiences who are eager to attend their shows. So hats off to Jen Mummery and her crew for allowing us to pump up the volume and kick out the jams.”

PowerThaw 2025 ignites at the Marysville Pub & Grill (447 304th St., Kimberley) Saturday, March 29, featuring scorching live performances from Phaeton and Brotherhood of Lost Souls; showtime 8 p.m., free admission!

For more information please visit www.marysvillepub.ca , www.phaetonprog.com , and www.facebook.com/BrotherhoodOfLostSoulsOfficial

Lead image: Prog-metal champions Phaeton (L-R): Ferdy Belland, Daniel Airth, Kevin Thiessen, Colin Righton. Photo credit: Julian Bueckert

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