As we celebrate dads this month, banish the winter blues for an evening in the company of four guys with rock and roll tattooed on their souls. When it comes to dads who are louder than their offspring, Durban North’s Broken Advocate has a few members who can claim that fame.
With Peter Edwards on vocals, Paul Davidson on drums, Nick Welsher on bass guitar and Hardy Le Roux on rhythm and lead guitar, this rock and roll band covers everything from Jimi Hendrix to English rock duo Royal Blood, and approach life in their own unique live-for-the-moment way. They embody everything that’s classic about rock – from the simple lyrics to the guitar riffs and punchy sounding rock drums – and they’re bringing it, loud and proudly, to local fans.
“We don’t just stand on stage and play music, we put on a show! The more people we encounter, the wider our market becomes, but at the core of it, are people who love rock and roll and who love to be entertained.”
The band members say they choose their music mostly based on what inspires them as a band and makes them want to party. They do their level best to appeal to both the older generation as well as young adults and teenagers.
“But, we do have one rule – we won’t do a song unless everyone is 100 per cent into it. This seems to really resonate with our audiences and we often get positive feedback from older fans saying that we’re playing music they grew up with, which is a massive compliment given what we are striving to achieve.”
Going back to grass roots, the band is just shy of a decade strong and each of its members comes from a musical background of sorts.
Peter, a software development company executive and father of four – the youngest of which is a vocalist, loves rock and roll and is starting her own band – first got into music and playing drums at the age of 10.
“My earliest memory of wanting to be in a rock band was when I was about six. I lived in the UK at the time and my parents bought me a small radio. I used to tune into the rock stations at night and was blown away by the music. I initially wanted to be a guitarist, but when I locked eyes on my mate’s cherry red drum set in primary school, that was it for me.”
Much like Peter, Nick who works as a Consultant IT Project Manager started to notice music before he reached his teens.
“The early days of Synth Pop in the eighties really had me listening to music, and then rock bands like Def Leppard and Metallica which got me wanting to learn to play. I spent many years playing guitar before picking up the bass, and while bass players aren’t usually known for being the most dynamic members of a band, my mission is still to be the most dynamic bass player on the local live music scene.”
Paul, a father of three who owns his own stone counter business, says his mom was a music teacher and also played the piano for The Royal Academy of Dancing.
“When I was six, my parents bought me a small drum on a stand on which I used to accompany my mother playing various classical marches. In my teens I sang in the Durban Boys Choir and went to lessons for pipe drumming. In the army I played snare in a marching band and was a drummer in the unit dance band. After that I played in a couple of rock bands until I finally found my place here.”
For Hardy, a senior software developer and soon-to-be dad, discovering AC/DC, Metallica and Guns N’ Roses in the early nineties, is what drew him to the guitar. “As a kid listening to songs from those bands, it almost felt like I was doing something wrong, like I was breaking some kind of law, but I was hooked. It didn’t take long for me to persuade my parents to buy me my first guitar, and shortly after that, I started playing in bands. Many years and many bands later, I’m still captivated by the sound of the electric guitar. It’s funny, I get nervous when I have to do work presentations or talk in front of more than two people, but when I hold a guitar in my hands, I can get on stage in front of thousands of people and feel relaxed and confident.”
Off stage, the guys are all pretty serious about their jobs and families. The band is a side hustle and their means of releasing the tension of a crazy week and having fun with each other and with their followers. On stage, wearing jeans and rock band t-shirts, they’ve become a household name in and around Durban. They rock hard at local venues like Crusaders Sports Club in Durban North, Platzz in Hillcrest, The Westville Warehouse and Ballito Farmer’s Market. Peter, Hardy and Nick have wireless setups and love getting into the crowd and jamming with them.
“Peter was a gymnast in a previous life and we reckon it’s the only thing that’s saved him from serious injury, the way he runs around, jumps on tables and lets loose during a gig. As a band, we’ve played the Seaweed Festival twice, Splashy Fen once, and this year we’ll be back for the third time to play at the Steel Wings Biker Rally in St Lucia, which is always a blast,” laughs Nick.
For the remainder of June, they’ll be playing at a host of other gigs and at the Ballito Pro which is on from June 25 to July 8.
“We’ll be taking a short break in July though, as Hardy is becoming a dad for the first time, and that is pretty damn exciting. Once he’s back, we’ll be hitting the gig circuit again. We have a Whatsapp Gig Guide on which we share all our upcoming gigs with our fans, as well as on our social media platforms, so be sure to follow us to stay in the loop.”
When it comes to the question on everybody’s lips – it’s definitely on ours – what’s with the name, the guys have always kept this a little hush … until now.
“We used to practice in an aircraft maintenance hangar – very rock and roll! It was filled with lots of industrial equipment and we practiced on a mezzanine level overlooking this metallic minefield. One evening, we were jamming away and heard a thunderous knock on the doors. On the other side stood a bloke and two women, all extremely inebriated, who’d been at a party in another hangar further down the runway. They asked if they could come in and listen to us jam, and we were happy to oblige,” explains Peter.
“Wearing cocktail dresses and high heels – not the most appropriate outfit for an industrial setting -one of the women took a tumble. What happened next was the kicker. Attempting to help her, the bloke grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her up to about 45 degrees. It was at this point that he lost his grip and she shot forward and smashed her forehead into a piece of machinery. After staunching the blood flow somewhat, our new little audience decided it was time to head home and made a stumbling exit. The next day we discovered that the woman was a lawyer – who shall remain nameless for fear of litigation – and since we were still hunting for a name for our band, inspired by the events of the night before, we came up with options: Head Wound, Hangars are Dangerous and Broken Advocate. The winner was obvious.”
When it comes to the music they all enjoy outside of the band, rock and roll obviously tops that list, closely followed by jazz, alternative, indie, grunge, hard rock, ambient techno, electronic rock fusion, melodic rock and even classical, all of which do just the trick when Peter, Paul, Nick and Hardy need a musical pick-me-up.
“But, nothing quite beats making music with Broken Advocate and playing for our audience. It is without a doubt our soul food.”
