Deja Voodoo (Canadian band)

Déjà Voodoo
A Déjà Voodoo ticket from 1986
Background information
Origin	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genres	Alternative
Years active	1981 (1981)–1990 (1990)
Labels	Og Music
Website	Deja Voodoo
Past members	Gerard van Herk Tony Dewald

Déjà Voodoo was formed by Gerard van Herk (guitar and singing) and Tony Dewald (drums), who combined 1950s horror imagery with rockabilly and country musical influences. Van Herk's guitar only had the top four strings and he sang in a deep voice, whilst Dewald's drum kit had no cymbals, which resulted in a low-treble rock style they termed "sludgeabilly." The band toured in Canada, the United States, and even Europe.

Both born in the 1960s, Gerard and Tony each grew up in Montreal. In 1981, the two joined together to form Deja Voodoo. Their music generally consisted of short songs influenced by rockabilly and punk artists. As Deja Voodoo was embarking on its first performances, Montreal was receiving an influx of immigrants from Western Canada, and independent record labels were starting to spring up. In turn, numerous niche bands began to appear across the city. As a result of an oversaturated market, Déjà Voodoo struggled to find an audience in its first year. While they remained popular locally in Montreal, it wasn't until 1982 that the two-man band began to see interest outside of Quebec, particularly in Toronto.

The turning point for Deja Voodoo came with Gerard and Tony launching Og Music in 1982 with a second pressing of their debut single "Monsters in My Garage." Named after a fictional caveman, the independent label allowed for Deja Voodoo to control its own distribution. The first full-length release by Og Records was their cassette Gumbo. The tape sold relatively well in the Montreal independent scene, but failed to penetrate the market in the rest of Canada. This would later be rectified with the release of Deja Voodoo's second album, Cemetery, in 1984. Cemetery was the first Deja Voodoo album to be sold in vinyl form, selling widely across Canada and even to some small [stores?] in the US and Europe. The band used Og Records as a venue for like-minded artists to release music that reflected the "sludgeabilly" attitude in different styles. They released compilation LPs in the It Came from Canada series. Five volumes were released between 1985 and 1989. The compilations always included other Montrealers, like Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra, Terminal Sunglasses, and The Gruesomes, as well as bands from all across Canada. In its seven-year lifespan, Og Records released 29 albums, the last of which was a recording of a Deja Voodoo performance in Finland.