COME rain or shine, the weather has always been a popular topic for musicians.
A hard rain was a-gonna fall on Bob Dylan – in Prince's case, it was
Purple Rain.
Dean Martin wanted to
Let It Snow, while Gene Simmons of Kiss proclaimed himself the
God of Thunder.
But tomorrow at the Old Fruitmarke
t,
The Weatherman will show who's really boss of the elements.
It's a rock'n'roll experience for families where instruments are used to whip up a storm.
The Weatherman himself is Dave Boyd, musician-in-residence with Giant productions.
Dave told Live: "I thought it would be great fun to have a band whose job it was to make the weather happen through music".
While the band plays, a screen behind them shows the effects of their riffs and chords: pouring rain, thunder and lightning, snow flurries and rays of sunshine.
And for Dave, rock music was also important.
He said: "Children are accepting of lots of different types of music, they love loud drums, they love guitars and dancing.
"But a lot of what is made for them to listen to is the opposite – very twinkly and twee.
"I thought it would be great to create an exciting piece of music, which children and adults can experience together and both enjoy, rather than creating a traditional children's show".
But halfway through, the band starts experiencing problems.
Dave explained: "As soon as I started exploring the topic of weather, climate change came up. I thought, what would the band do if the weather stopped working properly?
"There's a big breakdown – and we find out there's no energy left to make the weather".
Without giving too much away, the audience is asked to help save the end of the show – with a bit of recycling.
Dave said: "It's a good way of making people think about how they can change things, by doing something all together".
THE Weatherman is at the Old Fruitmarket tomorrow from 6pm. Tickets, £6/£5, are available on 353 8000. Find out more at www.weathermanshow.com.
