Michelle McAdorey will celebrate the release of her new album Into Her Future at the Monarch Tavern in Toronto Nov. 18. On Dec. 3 she will play the Casbah in Hamilton. The album is the former Crash Vegas singer's first in a decade and was recorded with Greg Keelor. Its a sonically evocative album, all twanglo-folk and silences as broad as a northern sunset, the sort of songs I imagine Margaret Lawrence's Morag Gunn would have sung. A video for the title track has been released.
ZEUS says Oh yes to Ontario tour, plays Oshawa, Ottawa, Orillia and others
Perhaps Zeus are becoming Toronto's band and not just because of their recent rallying OK Blue Jay tune. The four piece are touring behind their album, Classic Zeus, and it is a classic with nudge nudge wink wink asides to Jason Collett, Luke Doucet and Broken Social Scene. Of course members of Zeus are no strangers to those bands nor to many other of the TO crew riding high on the city's new found sense of self. With so much interaction its only natural that something new will emerge from the pieces and Zeus may just be the band that unites the city sonically with their funked-up peppy pop songs. Gigs on their "Ontario Classic" tour include Lee's Palace on Nov. 26 and the Moustache Club Dec. 3. TUNS, the project of Superfriendz's Matt Murphy, Sloan's Chris Murphy and Mike O'Neill of the Inbreds, will open some dates.
Nov 26 – Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
Nov 28 – Barrie, ON - Sticky Fingers
Nov 29 – Orillia, ON - The Brownstone
Dec 03 – Oshawa, ON - Moustache Club
Dec 04 – Ottawa, ON - Zaphods
Dec 05 – Kingston, ON - Grad Club
Dec 10 – Waterloo, ON - Maxwell’s
Dec 12 – Windsor, ON - Venue Music Hall
Jason Collett ain't no song 'n dance man despite what he says
"I was a paper boy back when there was paper boys/ book stores and record shops/
Bricks and mortar
I made the cover but I can't pay the bank"
Replace Jason Collett's titular track "Song and Dance Man" from his forthcoming album due Feb 16 on Arts & Crafts for Billy Joel's "Piano Man" and you're closing in on Collett's frame of mind. Maybe at this junctureit's every artist's frame of mind. Maybe we are all questioning why we make what we make anymore. There are many questions around the value of art and the worth of artists. There is an internet meme parodying the idea of offering exposure in exchange for free performances. Lets just say no one is doing it for the exposure. Ultimately it comes down to making for the sake of making and not for the sake of making it.
If you find yourself writing about your position as an artist in the negative, summing up your incredible talent (and Collett is an incredible talent) as merely a song and dance man then perhaps keep wood-sheding the song ideas until you feel you have value again. Lets put it this way; we have enough jaded narcissists bemoaning the loss of a mythical golden past. Take that talent so evident on the album "Idols of Exile" and the ability to connect thoughts and minds and people on the the stage of the Collett curated Basement Revue and make something that can not and will not be summed as merely "entertainment". Because Collett is so much more and no one least of all him should settle for anything less. Even if its a catchy number.
Here's some Rory Taillon for you to let you know JayC is not alone in the re-examination of art and its value, and its values.
KASHKA - wants candy!!!
If everyday was Hallowe'en - tracks for the dark side
Grimes has a new track available from her new album Art Angels due Nov. 6
Kashka makes for an adorable monster in this mash-up
Rory Taillon has a spell for you
I suspect the Butler did it
Concealer revealer; Sank video, play The Handlebar in TO Nov. 15
Fans of Love and Rockets, Bryan Ferry, Bauhaus will dig on this glam-goth track from Concealer's debut from Sep. 2015, Feted/ Fetid. The Edmonton duo are touring with gigs in Montreal, Ottawa, Wakefield, Kingston and Toronto. Check their website for details.
Language Arts perform at RMG Fridays Nov. 6 in Oshawa
TO-based trio Language Arts are touring and stop in at The Legendary Horseshoe Dec 3 but have a much earlier showcase at RMG Fridays at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa Nov. 6. Language Arts (Kristen Cudmore with Neil MacIntosh, Joel Visentin and Søren Nissen) have just released Able Island, a tribute of sorts to Sable Island off the coast of Nova Scotia. The album was recorded in variety of locals right across Canada using homemade mics to capture storms, fireplaces, audiences, all of which went into the soup of sound mixed with Darryl Neudorf and mastered by Peter Moore. The album itself has some neat pop hooks and a sparkling disposition.
SlowCity sent L.A. a Q and A. L.A. sent it back.
Having travelled across the country did you find any patterns in your sound recordings, any overall sound that you would say speaks of Canada, the illusive Canadian Sound?
LA - "If patience could be a sound... (this country is huge! We are answering this while cruising across the prairies, right now, on tour!) There's a Canadian sound but we don't consider it illusive. We are Canadian and we are inspired by where we're from and that rings through in our music. We tried to capture the comforts of home (Nova Scotia) and the people and places we traveled to, on the road. On the record you can hear elements of the locations we chose to hunker down in, to make the album. The crackling of the cottage stove in Nova Scotia to the rain drops in a darkened alleyway in Saskatoon. To us, there's no point in not taking any risk with a broken industry that is never going to reward you for being safe. Don't get us wrong, there's a ton of amazing Canadian music out there, but the truly progressive and innovative music that we're drawn to, doesn't get the attention it deserves. On this record, we tried to take away any inhibitions. It is purely us and how we would like to sound."
Its interesting to me that you found inspiration for your album on Sable Island, I've never been, most people haven't I guess - can you describe it to me and what was it about the place that inspired you?
LA - "Picture a graveyard of shipwrecks in the middle of the ocean. A sandbar that is constantly changing. Sable Island is the focal inspiration piece for the record. It is hundreds of kilometers off the coast of Nova Scotia. It is a small crescent island in the middle of the Atlantic populated by 400+ wild horses (as Nova Scotians, I know, call them 'The Ponies'). The land is protected by Parks Canada and it has been a longing wish of mine, personally, (Kristen) to go there. You need special permission to go to Sable Island. To me it represents a pure beauty, the mystery of the sea and a romantic lonliness that could be both theraputic and stirring. It's a piece of where we're from that should be clumped in with the familiar but it is a place that isn't easy to access. -Like finding belonging. These themes are braided in the songs and some of the processes of making the album relate."
Rather than documenting the sound of the island you chose to use it as a starting point on your sonic journey, Why choose that route?
LA - "Because we couldn't get permission to go there, we started in 'A Coastline Bungalow' on the mainland of Nova Scotia. Here we workshopped 17 songs and decided on the first 4 for the record. We recorded the drums, bass, keys and guitars live-off-the-floor. Then we headed to Ontario and decided on the remaining songs and chose from 10 more songs that I brought to the table. Neil kept asking me to stop writing! There are only 24 hours in a day after-all. From Ontario we embarked across the country with a skeleton of a record. We packed Neil's island studio in the van and added Joel's grand piano in Winnipeg, the vocals in the basement in Saskatoon. Continuing, we set up shop in a hotel in Regina, a vacant parking lot in Edmonton, a kitchen in Calgary, an alleyway in Vancouver, a bar in Ottawa and so on and so forth. It was finalized in a bedroom and then sent off for mix. So, by process, it is a truly Canadian record by experience. We didn't make any conscious decisions on the road. We were at the whim of timing, our environment, the people around us and the amount of energy we had on any given day."
You must have a lot of material - what was your process for deciding what recordings went with what song? Did the recordings jumpstart the song or did you begin with the song and then add recordings for colour?
"The songs were fully written and brought to the band. Together we arranged our parts and then recorded the bed tracks live-off-the-floor. We added special guests and then the remaining parts of the record were things we happened upon before recording the vocals. One of our favourite moments on the record is the bridge for 'With Me', which features every audience member who volunteered to sing gang vocals with us. So voices ranging from Halifax to Vancouver and in between are all simultaneously singing together 'with me'. Which still give me chills of nostalgia and gratitude. Without these people, we wouldn't get the experiences we do, of sharing our music and broadening our community of music enthusiasts in our very large country."
Grimes dreams up a vivid video
B.C. wizard wrocker Grimes has released her video, (and when I say her video I mean her video, she directed) for Flesh Without Blood/Life In The Vivid Dream. The track is from her upcoming album Art Angels due Nov. 6. There are 14 tracks on the album including collaborations with Janelle Monáe and Taiwanese rapper Aristophanes. She has a massive worldwide tour scheduled through to the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, March 15 with a stop in Toronto Nov. 22 at the Danforth Music Hall.
Dylan Ireland plays Manantler Oct 23
Dylan Ireland of Express & Co. will be entertaining the brew crew at Manantler Craft Brewery in Bowmanville Oct 23 2015. Ireland comes from a family of musicians including Oshawa based singer/songwriter Emerson Ireland, his cousin. Family is possibly the biggest influence on anyone, the old chestnut the acorn doesn't fall far from the oak comes to mind as does our Prime Mininster designate Justin Trudeau. Is it inevitable that one will pick up the family trade? We asked Dylan.
Q: Some embrace family tradition and some rebel against it - You come from a very, very musical family and embrace your roots (music) - Can you tell me why you have found your voice in folk/country rather than say hiphop or jazz?
"Folk and Country music is what was 'passed down the line' . My Dad and uncles in The Swamp Band had their own brand of folk music infused with bluegrass and country, so it was definitely a pretty easy genre to fall into. On a side note I really love Notorious B.I.G. a whole lot."
Q: You are playing solo at Manantler, will this be a showcase of new solo songs or all Express & Co or all of the above?
"This show at Manantler will definitely be a mix of new and old. I have written a new album so Im going to be playing a lot of new songs that I don't play with the full band yet. Perfect time to try them out!"
Q: I'm curious, you say on your CBC page that Peterborough is an influence: how so - is it the people or actual places you find inspirational?
"I moved to Peterborough from the country a few years ago, and it was a huge change for me to suddenly be surrounded by so many creative minds and so much music. So to answer your question, the people. My friends, bandmates and bands I admire. Peterborough has it all!"
Q: Do you have anything in the works, new songs, album, projects?
"Yes! I'm hitting the studio in November and will be releasing a single shortly after and a brand new E.P will be released late winter."
Mont Royal and Sunny Days for Canada ahead
The Lighthouse and The Whaler are playing The Drake in Toronto N0v. 22 2015. Their latest album "Mont Royal" came out in August and is named for the City of Saints where the Cleaveland band recorded with Marcus Paquin(Arcade Fire, Stars). I think in light of the election results this song sums up those "sunny days" Justin Trudeau spoke of in his acceptance speech.
Grey Lands' new album, Right Arm, never gets tired
Grey Lands is Wayne Petti’s latest project (Petti is a member of alt-country grouping Cuff The Duke, previously formed The Honest Thieves, and is an occasional member of Blue Rodeo). Grey Lands’ album Right Arm is out and available on Paper Bag Records. Petti wrote, produced, recorded and mixed the record with assistance from Ryan Haslett as well as Graham Walsh of Holy Fuck. Dan Empringham is on drums and Nick Hind-Knapp has been added on bass for live shows.
Right Arm is a celebration of the 90s lo-fi Petti grew up with but with the addition of fuzzed-up psychedelic instrumental junkets that are on par with any of Cuff The Duke’s signature sonic soarings. There are a few straight-up pop songs, buoyant with post-punk optimism including lead single, “False Alarm” and “Another Lie” but there is one more element lurking.
On the previous Grey Lands album, a record of covers, Petti and Greg Keelor (Blue Rodeo) took on Bob Dylan’s “My Back Pages”. Keelor may well be an influential presence on Right Arm too. Keelor, The Sadies and Rick White of Eric’s Trip had a psyched-out supergroup called The Unintended. Their one album, self-titled, was an eerie build on anglo-folk and Syd Barrett Floyd-isms with a whole lot of dark country ramblings. Petti’s Right Arm may have picked up The Unintended’s S/T and passed back pages through that psychedelic rabbit-hole on Keelor’s farm, ending up on the basement floor of Eric’s Trip. The track “Lo-fi Junkie” can be filed here but there are other tracks that pass a similar vibe around .
“Life Itself” comes in bass heavy folding in on itself, falsetto vocals are quick catches of breath. The song rolls along, “Oh I need you here more than life itself”, but cuts off quickly, spurts out a ratatat beat and drops into some trip-hop deep, dark Garth Hudson Chest Fever organ, slowly fading into the distance, chunky wind chimes clank and clink, as the track subsides.
The two stand-out tracks on this stand-out album are closer “Collide and Conquer” and “Go The Wrong Way”. The former’s chunky riff is a killer propellant for any drive, more so for one that ends in a dock and a calm lake begging to be cannonballed. The longing vocals and drilled down drawl of the latter ends with thundering climax a la The Stranglers “No More Heroes”
On “Go The Wrong Way”, he sings “Even though you end up back where you started I can still see you crawling”. Petti may have gone back to where he sonically started but he is not crawling on this record, he is dancing in an enigmatic no-one is looking manner. He has never sounded so free nor so good.
Photo by Heather Pollack
The Strumbellas tour with Blue Rodeo, play Oshawa and Massey Hall
It’s practically a Strumbellapalozza in The Shwa. Juno winning trad-folk rocksters The Strumbellas return to Oshawa for two nights at the Moustache Club, Nov. 26 and 27, 2015 and will return again to open for Blue Rodeo at the General Motors Centre Feb. 20, 2016. The Strumbellas are also opening for the alt-country stalwarts for another two-night stand; Massey Hall Feb 18 and 19.
“I'm personally very excited to play the GM centre, home of the Gens,” says Dave Ritter, Oshawa native and keyboardist for The Strumbellas.
He says the band are humbled to be touring with Blue Rodeo.
“My first Blue Rodeo experience was hearing my sister play “Lost Together” on her ghettoblaster. it was probably a cassette tape. The song “Lost Together” was a big song for all of us in my high school (Eastdale Collegiate) learning to play guitar, singing at school assemblies. In terms of influence, I think there's a little Blue Rodeo in every Canadian folk band,” he says.
“Our guitarist Jon (Hembrey) is a particularly big fan, and I often hear them in how he plays,” he adds.
Blue Rodeo have a tradition of inviting their opening act to close out the night. If that continues Ritter will be well prepared to get lost together with “one of the greatest, most enduring Canadian bands of all time.” (his words, not mine although I do agree). The Strumbellas will open for Blue Rodeo on the Eastern leg of their cross-Canada tour. Hamilton’s Terra Lightfoot will open the western shows.
WHOOP-Szo at Wasted Space Cafe and Gallery Oct 21
Psyche-art punk folksters Whoop-Szo bring their tripped-out noisy selves to the Wasted Space Cafe and Gallery in Oshawa on Oct. 21 2015. The band which builds around Adam Sturgeon and Kirsten Palm have played with METZ, Ought and Odonis Odonis and are set to tour with The Constantines in November.
“It's something we are very excited about,” says Sturgeon of the dates with The Cons. “Musically and artistically that band changed my life. Both the art of their first record and the brutally honest music they made found me at an age that set the course for my own career.”
Sturgeon says his career choices have been informed by art, honesty and his heritage (Ojibwe) whether those choices are getting involved in London ON’s Grickle Grass Festival, running the Out Of Sound record label, writing songs or screen printing artworks. The latter was the reason he, along with Palm, spent some time in Salluit, Quebec. They were teaching children the process of printing as part of the Brighter Futures project. Their time there gave rise to much music, the latest album is Niizhwaaswo. The record is a reflection rather than a document and rather than feature cultural differences Whoop-Szo chose communion.
“I'd say we have a good understanding of life in those communities having spent so much time there and there being so many striking similarities between my own culture and the community we lived in. Ultimately, it served as a means to empower us to focus even more on what we do as humans,” says Sturgeon.
One-time peripheral performers Tanya Taqag, A Tribe Called Red and Polaris Music Prize winner Buffy Sainte Marie are breaking down concepts of what native art and music is. People are sharing their knowledge and their cultures. collaborating and creating hybrids and new forms.
“This current wave of Indigenous Art now brings us together, specially aided by technology. At times I've looked at it as a sacrifice because we have to play along in this Mainstream tide, not something we love about making the art," says Sturgeon. "All that said, the Indigenous artist now has a shared and/or similar vision to others who are battling the same adversities within a similar vision and we are gaining strength. No longer will we be simple tokens of Canadian authenticity; headdresses, pow wow dances, drums. Now, we can move forward and push boundaries through our current and real life circumstances. I still feel a relative isolation in real-time especially in that my band plays to a predominantly white audience.”
White rock noise and traditional Native practises may seem like strange bedfellows but Sturgeon says music finds you not the other way around. Anyway Tagaq “is as hardcore as anyone I know,” he says, “So, for me... making folk and grunge is just what I do. That there are elements of my own language or personalized stories of teachings is part and parcel. Mainly, art is a healing process for me. I look to Norval Morrisseau for those teachings; moving our culture forward, trusting our DNA memory etc. I write the things I feel. I tour because I am a nomadic person. Music just makes sense. I do however enjoy educating Canadians about our history and love sharing the beautiful stories of our people,” he says.
Whoop-Szo will be sharing those beautiful, truthful, artful stories plus a whole lot of noise, noise, noise Oct 21 at Wasted Space. I Smell Blood opens.
