Biography
Broken Down Suitcase is a roots inspired folk duo, consisting of Ben Caldwell of Cromwell, New Zealand, and Eric Larocque of Toronto, Canada. Their music combines haunting harmonies with melodies that immerse you in the dirty depths of music history.
Broken Down Suitcase’s material is etched with stories, personal meaning, and will take you to a time when music had soul. By using time-honoured instrumentation such as acoustic guitar, banjo, and harmonica, and styles ranging from Americana, Blues, Traditional folk, Rock and Roll, and indie-rock; Broken Down Suitcase pays homage to these traditions while embracing a timeless sound.
Ben Caldwell was born in the small town of Cromwell, New Zealand in 1986 to a minister and a teacher. He started music from growing up in the church and it was there he learnt various harmonic singing styles which are evident in Broken Down Suitcase’s material. His love of music was passed on to him by his father, listening to his vinyl collection. Artists such as Simon and Garfunkle, Donovan, Carol King, Fleetwood Mac, helped Ben realize his love of music. It was recently that he took music seriously after moving to Golden, British Columbia in late 2008 where his music has been redirected to Folk and Roots music when he met Eric Larocque showing a shared vision for folk music preservation.
Eric Larocque was born and raised in Southern Ontario; his passion for folk and roots music has been around for a number of years but it was only within the last five years that a real appreciation came to fruition. Eric has been playing music for most of his life, starting with singing lessons as a boy, and then switching to guitar. Since then he has taught himself to play the banjo, mandolin, and harmonica. Eric went to school in St. Catharines, Ontario where he studied history, giving him a further respect for folk music and its traditions. After graduating, Eric moved to Edmonton, Alberta where he started busking on Whyte Ave. to earn some supplementary income,allthe while enjoying playing live music for people. Eventually Eric moved to Golden, BC where he met his musical partner, Ben Caldwell and started Broken Down Suitcase.
Their eponymous debut album was released on May 26th, 2012.
Websites: www.brokendownsuitcaseband.com
www.facebook.com/brokendownsuitcase
www.youtube.com/brokendownsuitcase
www.myspace.com/brokendownsuitcase
www.getlivemusic.com
Booking agent Shannon Sternloff - (250) 837-2682, Get Live Music Canada,
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