Growing up Lucid

One of Portland's most buzz-worthy bands has come of age. By Jaye Drew, freelance writer
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
On a Saturday night on Dana Street in downtown Portland, music was pouring out from the upstairs of Amigo's. The intense layering of sound with soaring vocals was pulling people in off the cobblestone streets. Inside a crowd stood captivated by the band on stage. Turns out, my old friend Dominic Lavoie was the man behind the mic, strapped with an axe. But this was not the 'Dominic and The Lucid' I'd seen and heard before.

Dominic and I first met playing open mics at The Alehouse back in 2002. The psychedelic-rock trio 'Dominic and The Lucid' was born a year later and has welcomed a "revolving door of musicians" throughout the past five years. Their open door approach brought The Lucid to it's current lineup including Tim Beaullieu (keys) and Sean Morin (The Cambiata, guitar).

The founding fathers, Dominic Lavoie (vocals, guitar), Chuck Gagne (drums) and Nate Cyr (bass) released their debut album 'Waging The Wage' in 2006. 'Wage' received rave reviews and landed Dominic a 2007 Portland Phoenix Best Music Poll award for Best Male Vocalist. The buzz surrounding their breakout album also secured Dominic and The Lucid a spot on the Portland Press Herald's '10 Up-And-Coming Maine Singers and Bands' in January of 2008.

This year Dominic is nominated to defend his title as Best Male Vocalist in the Bimpie Awards and the band has also been nominated in the category 'Best Rock Act'.

Despite the success of 'Waging The Wage,' it is destined to be trumped by The Lucid's anticipated Sophomore release featuring Morin and Beaulieu and tentatively titled 'Song for Us To Sing'. Scheduled for a Spring/Summer 2008 release, Dominic describes 'Song For Us To Sing' as a concept album. "It's about growing up," he said. "It's okay to get old, do it with grace and, you know, don't be scared!"

Growing up is a fitting theme for a band of childhood friends. Dominic and Tim learned to play guitar together growing up in Madawaska and Chuck and Nate grew up in Fort Kent and have been playing together since the age of 10.

The concept of 'Song For Us To Sing' is also appropriate noting the band's evolution over the past year alone. They have paid no heed to the age-old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" and have taken their emotionally driven music to another level. I was surprised (and somewhat hypnotized ) by the new Dominic and The Lucid, which got me to thinking that perhaps one of the keys to growing up is to just keep growing.

Growing up Lucid
One of Portland's most buzz-worthy bands has come of age. By Jaye Drew, freelance writer

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