31. George DeSouza

George DeSouza

George DeSouza was an eight-year-old in Dar es Salaam when his big sister Ivy bought him a 20 shilling (in 1954 that was nothing to be sniffed at, if you had a shilling in your pocket you were considered rich) box guitar. His sister could see that George was really interested in music and made

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George Quartet

the big sacrifice.

From that moment on, George began the sometime tortuous journey, but always borne with great determination, of learning to play the instrument. “I was selftaught. I picked up some books from the library to help me learn. I listened to records and music on the radio to sharpen my ears to be able to pick up keys and chords quite easily.”

Four years later George took up the bass guitar seriously. He preferred playing rhythm to lead but was comfortable with either. Inspired by the kings of Rock N Roll at the time: Elvis Presley and Bill Haley and the Comets (the unforgettable signature song that launched Rock N Roll worldwide, Rock Around the Clock), George got together with a group of young musicians. Calling themselves The Blue Shadows, they played their debut gig at the Goan Institute in Dar es Salaam. George was just 13. “In those days playing music was frowned on by a very conservative community but I didn’t care what people said,” George recalls. “My passion was music and I knew what I wanted to do the rest of my life.”

When he was 14, George realised that he was better than most of the bassists around and that he was also quite different from the traditional bassists and

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musicians. For a time, he thought he needed some gimmicks to gain a reputation. He started playing the guitar with his teeth and even smashed a guitar on stage. “When I played in Zanzibar we blew the house down. That was the first time they had seen someone play guitar with his teeth.”

It was not long before George realised that it was the music that mattered, not some cheap gimmicks. He also realised that if he was to survive as a musician, he needed to go it on his own and start his own band. The George DeSouza Quartet featured George as the lead guitar and singer, Anne Collette as singer/ guitar, Lionel D’Mello on the bass, Leo Lion on rhythm and Johnny Rocks on drums. It was the resident group at Margot’s Night Club, in demand at hotels and public events - and it became the first group to have its own weekly show on Radio Tanzania.

At 22, it appeared that George had it made in Dar es Salaam. But, new horizons beckoned. George wanted to be nearer to the idols that had drawn him to become a musician. The opportunity came unexpectedly. The Quartet was asked to play at a Canada Day celebration hosted by the Canadian Embassy on July 1, 1969. That was when George discovered that music was not the only burning flame in his heart. Dar’s 24-year old heartthrob was smitten by attractive 23-year old Daun Dickson, secretary for the Canadian Ambassador. Within a year they were married and, in 1971, George accompanied his young bride to her homestead in Warner, 280 km. south of Calgary.

George soon began his career as a one-man band at the Red Coach Lounge at the Marquis Hotel in nearby Lethbridge. Bookings in Calgary and Edmonton followed and an agent who heard him by chance offered him a booking in California. At first, Daun kept George company on his travels but when son Marq was born in 1972 and daughter Paige followed in 1975, it was clear that the family needed a permanent base for the sake of the children’s education. They chose Lethbridge.

George’s musical odyssey in the early years took him first to Beverley Hills in Los Angeles, then on to Nashville and Florida. Returning to Canada, George found himself traversing the country from Vancouver to Toronto. Driving long distances on his own was a feature of the next few years as he travelled the length and breadth of Canada and the U.S.A., depending on where his gigs took him. Soon he began to long for a more settled lifestyle. His popularity at Dick Turpin’s Pub in Toronto’s iconic Royal York Hotel led to him accepting an offer to be the resident entertainer there, a gig that was to last 25 years until his retirement in 2000! Daun and the children joined him in Toronto when they could and George often took time off to spend the Christmas holidays with his family in Lethbridge.

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As an entertainer, George had the ability to quickly gauge what his listeners would enjoy, draw on his repertoire of over 9000 songs, and often have them singing along with him. A hard-working one-man act, he would more often than not sing for over four hours without a break. In his long and colourful career, he had marquee billing with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett. At the Royal York, many celebrities would drop in to relax at Dick Turpin’s Pub after their own show was over. George had the pleasure of top line artistes like Engelbert Humperdinck, and his personal hero, Trini Lopez, join him on the stage. His popularity and long stay at Dick Turpin’s made him a legendary figure on the Toronto music scene.

Although officially retired, George loves performing too much to call it quits. Lethbridge (population 95,000) is not quite a mecca for music lovers but George has been kept busy with gigs at a variety of social events. On one occasion, when he was entertaining a visiting Japanese delegation at City Hall, the formal occasion almost became a karaoke session! When he is not busy, George enjoys playing at Senior Lodges where the dear folks join in singing the songs of yesteryears, their memories often evoking tears.

Ever the consummate entertainer, George looks back over the years and says, “I’ve had a wonderful life doing what I wanted to do from the time I was six – play music, entertain people.” His only regret is that his career often kept him away from his wife and children for months at a time. Now in retirement, he cherishes being able to relax at home with Daun and fuss over his grandchildren Samara (11) and Camryn (9).

Marq DeSouza The bite of a pit bull Like his father George, Marq DeSouza knew from the start that he wanted to be a musician. After high school, he was drawn to the vibrant music scene in Vancouver. A multi-talented instrumentalist, Marq earned his living as a drummer while developing his own path and interests as a musician. Asked by music critic Al Beeber whether he was following in his father’s footsteps, Marq gave a thoughtful response. “He’s far better at doing what he does than I am,” he said. “ He’s a troubadour and I have so much respect for that. I write my own material and have more vision about the end result.”

It is difficult to fit an innovative genius like Marq into a single genre. Beeber describes him as “a kick-ass edgy rocker. He’s Mellencamp and Springsteen with the bite of a pit bull.” His music has been described as “a roller-coaster ride of a singer/songwriter collection with musical twists at every turn. Modern pop influences collide with more traditional fare, blending elements of rock, folk, soul and even hip-hop. All of this (is) glued together with Marq’s trademark lyrical

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George and Marq

depth and intimate vocal stylings.”

Marq’s lyrical abilities have prompted comparisons with Steve Earle, Bob Dylan and John Lennon. Critic Emma Sloan, writing in Canadian Beats, had this to say: “Veteran Vancouver–based musician Marq DeSouza is shaking up Canada’s airwaves with his latest EP, Tarot Card Shuffle. Gritty, soulful and genredefying, DeSouza takes his already exponential experience – such as playing alongside household names like Nickelback and performing on the ever-popular MuchMusic – and channels it into a dizzying jaunt of an EP that will leave any listener breathless.”

“I’ve had so much positive press,” says Marq, “but I don’t want to be a critics’ darling. In the end you want an audience.” There is no doubt that Marq has won respect in musical circles for his amazing talent; whether he will become a household name remains to be seen.

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