“Like taking a sip of fire, or listening to the band,” says Dany Roy, 58, lead guitarist for the band Sippin Fire, a native-born French Canadian, now living in Margate, explaining how the band got its name.
The South Florida-based rock, party and cover band plays a mix of 70s and 80s rock and roll, with their high energy, signature mix of guitar riffs, bass lines and down-home drum beats, accompanied by the soulful sounds of lead vocalist, Jade Fecteau-tasse, 33, daughter, of the band’s bass guitarist and promoter, Rejean (“Reggie”) Fecteau, 61.
Roy and Fecteau, also from Canada, met here in Florida when Fecteau was part of the Eagles Tribute Band, The Long Run. The two decided to join forces and the rest is history.
“When I came to Fort Lauderdale and South Florida, it was love at first sight,” remembers Fecteau. “I wouldn’t go back (to Canada) for anything – except maybe in the summer.”
“Together, we have phenomenal chemistry,” he says, noting that that the band is booked 3-4 times each week and has a full calendar through 2024 and into 2025.
More than a musical experience, their shows are a visual spectacle of lights, smoke and special effects, all designed to enhance the experience.
Two of their biggest fans and loyal followers are Boca Raton resident Wayne Belfer, 66, executive director of DOB Parkinson’s Charity, a non-profit based in Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton and Keith Richard Kraft, 62, a retired car dealer manager from New York.
Kraft, 62, who moved to Tamarac from Brooklyn four years ago, went with a friend to hear Sippin Fire perform in Fort Lauderdale.
Growing up he listened to the Beatles, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and got into the Bee Gees and disco in the 70s.
“I fell in love with Sippin Fire, both musically and personally,” he says. “After a set, they come out and schmooze with the audience. Jade has a personality to knock your socks off.”
Belfer, who went often to hear the band, became friends with the musicians.
“The band is impressive, dynamic and together on stage,” he says. “Their vocals are brilliant, with furious guitar solos and non-stop rhythm romps.”
Both are looking forward to the band’s next venture, “Her Majesty the Queen,” a full theatrical tribute production that will reproduce Queen’s Freddie Mercury’s stage, complete with lights, props, costumes and videos.
Vocalist Fecteau-tasse will reprise the role of lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury.
“There’s no question, I’ll be first in line,” says Kraft, admitting that while he wasn’t the biggest Queen fan, he’s a huge Sippin Fire fan.
“Besides being high-powered, they’re easy to watch,” he says. “And, they’re super hard workers.”
Locally, the group plays at Sharkey’s in Coral Springs, the Margaritaville Bandshell on the Hollywood Broadwalk and Mickey’s Tiki Bar in Pompano Beach, as well as throughout the country, including gigs in Illinois, Las Vegas, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and California.
Playing drums since the age of five when his parents bought him a drum set, Fecteau was on-track to become a semi-professional hockey player, until the music bug struck.
“Once I found music, I never looked back,” says Fecteau, who is also married to Nathalie Tasse, a keyboardist who plays with the group’s Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) Tribute Band, The Ticket to the Moon, playing hits such as Strange Magic, Evil Woman and Telephone Line.
An accomplished musician, playing seven instruments, Fecteau has been featured on many gold records and performed in Canada with well-known French artists Joey Tardif, Joel Denis, Pierre Lalonde, Michel Louvain, Michel Stax and Patrick Bourgeois.
He toured the world with The Long Run and in the mid-1990s played with the tribute band, “Yesterday Les Beatles,” a mega production in Montreal, a full-circle moment for Fecteau who fell in love with the Beatles and their 1967 hit, “All you need is Love” as a child.
Although the native French speaker didn’t understand the English lyrics, he was so taken with the Beatles and the song, he made it his mission to understand the lyrics.
Likewise, he says, his daughter, Jade, fell in love with Shania Twain as a child and would mimic her singing on key, although she also spoke French and didn’t understand the English lyrics.
Opera-trained by the age of eight and headed to Broadway by the age of 12, Fecteau-tasse was trained by renowned voice coach Arron Hagen, who worked with Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez and Meghan Trainor. At the age of 16, she had a number one hit single titled, “My Destination,” in Japan for six months.
“Her voice is deeper and more colorful than other singers,” says her dad.
Lead guitarist Roy, was exposed to music at an early age. Most of his family were musicians and he began playing professionally at the age of 17 at local bars, weddings, corporate events and music festivals in and around Québec.
A child of the 1970s and 80s, he loved classic rock bands such as Bon Jovi, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen and Heart. While Fecteau is also influenced by traditional rock-and-roll bands, he also admits to a fondness for Dean Martin.
When the two met Spanish-born musician, David Carrica Martincorena, 45, (aka “The Beast”) last year, they knew they had found their drummer.
“David is the perfect drummer for us,” says Fecteau. “The energy and camaraderie we have as a group are unbelievable.”
Growing up in Pamplona, Spain, Martincorena began playing drums at a young age after hearing Metallica’s 1986 album, “Master of Puppets.”
He toured the world with the Spanish heavy metal band Tierra Santa, with which he recorded six albums and toured Europe with Diabulus in Musica, a symphonic metal band.
He came to Miami in 2019 and taught music at Sounds of Excellence School of Music.
“With Sippin Fire, we’re all on the same page,” Fecteau says. “We’re all professional musicians, don’t drink or smoke or do drugs.”
“We take pride in what we do,” he says.
A highlight for the group is playing at the Margaritaville Hollywood Bandshell and in their ELO tribute band, The Ticket to the Moon, playing to more than 7,000 fans in Chicago.
Currently, they are shooting a promotional video for the Queen production and looking for large venues in which to mount the show.
“It’s more than a concert,” says Fecteau. “It’s a full-blown theatrical performance.”
The production will reprise the glamour, theatrics and rock-and-roll style that defined Freddie Mercury and Queen, says Fecteau.
With attention to detail and Fecteau-tasse as the iconic Queen lead singer, he says audiences will feel as if “they are witnessing Queen in their prime.”
“Anybody can get on stage and play songs,” says Fecteau, “but not everyone can make it a show.”
“We give it absolutely everything we’ve got,” he says.
“People are playing money to come see us and we had better give them a good show,” he says. “That’s what we do best.”
Sippin Fire will perform at Sharkey’s Bar and Grill, 10365 Royal Palm Blvd., Coral Springs, on March 15 at 8:00 p.m.
Visit them on Facebook or at https://sippinfire.com.