Through song, a Vancouver musician is remembering June 15 a decade ago when the streets of downtown erupted in violence and fire.
Jeremy Allingham has been writing songs and telling stories for over 20 years. Allingham has been chasing the music dream since he first strapped on a guitar in a Langley garage at the age of 14. Since then he has played punk covers, grunge originals, rock ’n roll and Americana folk. Now though Allingham is on his own making his own sound, most recently in the form of Vancouver Summer.
His latest tune features lilting falsetto, shiny guitars, and layers of synths and guitar feedback, delivering a nostalgic feel for a trip down memory lane. That lane being fateful June 2011 night when the Vancouver Canucks playoff run ended with an anticlimactic loss in game seven. It may have been one of the darkest days in recent local history, but Allingham’s tune is reflective, hopeful and nostalgic.
“I still remember so vividly, jumping off the 99 B-line at Cambie Street and looking down the corridor to see smoke billowing from the streets of the city,” Allingham said. “I was pissed off about the Canucks losing like everyone else, but couldn’t do the mental gymnastics to figure out that people were rioting. My jaw dropped when we turned on the news.”
The opening lyrics paint the picture:
“I remember all those days we spent
Vancouver in the summer
Holding hands just as the city lost its mind
Could see the smoke rise from the downtown streets
After we lost Game 7
Turned on the news because we couldn’t figure why…”
“It’s amazing how that big moment serves as a signpost for the little moments,” Allingham said. “From losing your keys to going for a swim. From late-night dance parties to the exact shirt you were wearing on a particular day. And holding hands through the whole thing.”
Vancouver Summer is Allingham’s latest single release and a follow-up to the song Together Alone which came out at the end of May. It was recorded at Raincity Recorders in Vancouver.
Allingham's music has been featured on mainstream and college radio, where he’s charted on campuses across the country. He’s toured Western Canada and the United States, played the Commodore Ballroom and been nominated twice for the Fraser Valley music awards.
