Slow and steady wins the race. When Danny Michel decided to bring Belize10 piece band the Garifuna Collective on tour in Canada, he never figured he’d have to talk to the Department of Game and Fisheries.
“We have one guy in the band who just plays turtle shells — real turtle shells. We’ve had to talk to the Department of Fish and
Game just to get them over the border,” said Michel, relaxing in his Winnipeg hotel room getting ready to play the Main Stage at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. They have been touring the country together for two weeks.
They play the Slice, July 23.
“It’s been a logistical nightmare, but when we get on stage it’s totally worth it,” he enthused, adding people have been impressed with the experience.
“ We have the one guy in the band who just plays turtle shells and people are mesmerized by it,” he said.
He recorded his last album with the Garifuna Collective while he was in Belize and conversely he recorded on their album.
“We released both of them on the same day,” he said.
“ So we’re playing two of my songs and two of their songs, then two of my songs and two of their songs,” he continued.
“It’s been unbelievable. It’ s been just great,” he said.
“It’s a different experience recording with them in the studio, than touring with them for a month. That’s a whole new kind of camaraderie in gas stations and tour busses. We‘re flying six times, so I’m booking 60 flights,” he said.
By the time I’m done booking this, I’ll be able to book Cirque Du Soleil,” he joked.
“It’s a source of pride that I get to introduce my fan base to a group they might not otherwise have come across and then help them with a tour and CD sales,” he said.
“ I hope it will be packed. This is a once in a decade show. It’s not every day you get a 10 piece band from Belize at the Slice,” he said adding this tour has included big festivals like the Winnipeg Folk Festival where they will be playing for 10-15,000 people to smaller Toronto clubs where they have a capacity of about 60.
“And we we’re one sixth of that,” he laughed.
Tickets for the July 23 show cost $20.
