(Starbelly Jam)
Daaaaaaang. It’s sure been a while since I’ve heard some jammin beats from The Dang Package.
The Dang Package is a psychedelic rock trio based in Victoria, BC. Their sound is a blend of hard rock, soft rock, ambient rock, surf rock, funk rock, and country rock. A little bit of everything rock. “And other varieties of precious stones” says the band.
Their message is to create a space of introspection, cosmic curiosity, and playful musical diversity. In a short feature on Fernwood NRG, they describe their music as chemical and electronic alchemy. Brought together by the unknown, the spectacle of space travel, and the anomaly between sound and contentment. This trio are high energy performers with gorgeous instrumentals and psychedelic sounds.
The first and last time I saw them perform was at a house-party in Burnaby. Outside the music was booming, I knew exactly where I had to go, just follow my ears. I walked in to a teeny living room where the band took up 1/3 of the space and party-goers squashed into the rest. Barely room to dance as we were all shoulder to shoulder to get as close to the sound as we could. The windows were steamy. The band was happy, the audience even happier.
The band consists of Travis (T-Rav the Transformer) on bass, Kurt Loewen on guitar and vocals, and Stefan Lake on the drums.
I met Travis when he joined Mark Lingelbach to a interview with our No Apologies Necessary radio show. One of the things that rocked my world was his art. My art is experimental and psychedelic. Travis’ art is BIG, COLOURFUL, IN YOUR FACE psychedelic. My style of art is so weird, niche, and not like many others. But every so often I come across another artists style that has similar wavelength to what I create, and I am inspired. I try to figure out how they brain works to create that. Subconsciously its adding and storing ideas for the next time I make art. Travis was making murals, doing portraits, painting busses. Combining realism and psychedelic, smacked in the face with colour.
(T-Rav the Transformer / Facebook)
I also found his music in a similar node to his art. Creative, mixing in multiple styles, playful at times. Kurt Loewen is also a phenomenal musician. His voice is melancholic and experimental, with beautiful ranges of high to low.
In the past The Dang Package has played as festivals such as Starbelly Jam Music Festival in Crawford Bay, BC and Convergence Festival on Salt Spring Island. If you want to catch upcoming show of The Dang Package you’re in luck, but you’ll have to go on a bit of a jaunt.
On May 9th, 2025 they play at The Waverly Hotel in Cumberland. Then they will also be making an appearance at the Dunn Folkin’ Around Festival which is a bit of a journey through the beautiful BC alllllll the way to Dunn Lake. This takes place on May 9th-11th, 2025.
Find out more about The Dang Package below:
Find their music on Bandcamp.
Written by Volante Matheson, Radio Arts & Entertainment at BCIT
Contact: vmatheson1@my.bcit.ca