By Will McGuirk
"to be left all alone
to never pick up the phone
and all the things i learned I guess I learned on my own
buts what done is been done
and now your only son
wants to share the love with you that he got from his mum"
Happy Fathers Day to the fathers who walked away from Bahamas. His latest album, the hook-heavy "Earthtones" is on the Polaris Music Prize long list. Bahamas will be playing Mariposa, looking forward to that I am.
By Will McGuirk
Kate Boothman. You may know her, you may not but you should. I have a Boothman story. I asked her to play an outdoor show one time at Darlington Park along with some other folk acts, must have been about ten years ago. Kate showed up with strawberries which was really sweet of her and they were really sweet too. It wasn't the best planned gig and Kate had to play acoustic, no mic, among a crowd of touring cyclists lining up for a meal and settling in for the night. And she did and her voice cut through all the din and she strolled among the diners serenading them as they ate and I was in awe of her strength and her professionalism. And in the interim years she has only gotten better.
She has opened for Blue Rodeo, Wilco, Joe Pernice (The Pernice Brothers), Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star), and Kathleen Edwards and has been in a variety of projects but about three years ago she took a hiatus. It was some break because she has ridden out of the Northumberland Hills on an animal of a record, and with a band, which includes Sir Ian Blurton so you know its taut as fuck.
Kate plugs in and the surge of electric seems to have energized her. She is the lovechild of Gram Parsons and Syd Barrett, a Nudie suited Lucifer Sam.
We had to ask her about this new outfit.
SlowCity.ca: You are always moving as an artist, exploring different sounds with different projects - will this new project continue for sometime with more music coming out soon or will it be something you step in and out of - sorta like Neil Young and Crazy Horse?
Kate: "Aww, Neil. Well I sure hope to continue doing it until I’ve sung my last song, and I’m sure I’ll step in and out of it from time to time too. There’s a long road ahead, God willing! With "I Am An Animal", I’m really enjoying playing rock and roll. It’s the first time I’ve had a straight up, electric band and I LOVE it. I don't want it to stop. And yeah, I have another record written. We’re recording a single today, as a matter of fact."
SC: What was the genesis for this record, and in which ways did it evolve as you brought in the other players?
KB: "In the past, my recordings have always been for the most part warm, folky numbers, recorded with acoustic instruments, in smokey wooden rooms. We even recorded to tape! I maintain that some of the most beautiful music I’ve made is on those hidden records. The title track Moonbath from my last Sunbear record still blows my mind hahah.
"With I Am An Animal, I just sort of felt like shaking that off , that smoke and having a straight up party with my contemporaries. I called Loel Campbell (Wintersleep, Holy Fuck) because I’d heard he’d started producing, and asked if he was interested. It was clear he’d be the drummer because well, IT’S LOEL CAMPBELL! And with Loel came his Wintersleep cohort, Tim D’Eon.
"My roommate at the time was Anna Ruddick (Bry Webb, Dan Romano, Randy Bachman, Ladies of the Canyon). So along with my Lee and Billie Strange partner, Maia Davies (Ladies of the Canyon) on keys, we had a band. And we were loud, and electric, and I loved it! Loel really helped massage the folk out my songs. We worked really well together."
SC: Sir Ian is a machine, what did he bring to the project and why did you want his involvement?
KB: "Live, Sir Ian brings so much. I’m his biggest fan. Though he has a long list of devotees. Seriously though, Ian and I have been friends for a long time. We met behind the Rivoli in Toronto when I was 17 or 18. ( I'd snuck into a Change of Heart show). We call the story Tequila Belt-loops. I’ll let him tell it. It’s funny.
"Loel and Tim live in Quebec, and I had to form a band in Ontario, so I called Ian (Change of Heart, C’Mon, Blurtonia, Bionic, Public Animal ). As for drummers, we have a beautiful revolving door. Jay Anderson (Biblical, Michael Rault), Danny Miles (July Talk), and my dear pal, Glenn Milchem (Blue Rodeo, The Swallows). And somewhere along the line we swapped the keys for Aaron Goldstein (Happy Endings, City and Colour, Espanola) who plays pedal steel and MORE electric guitar. And of course, my partner in crime, Anna, who just lays it down like a mother-fucker. The live show is an experience for certain."
SC: You are recording under your own name, not Sunbear, Horse, Lee & Billy Strange; Why not give the band a name?
KB: "Trust me, Will, I wanted/want to so badly!! But they were all like, look, you’re name is Kate Boothman, you write the songs, it’s your band, deal with it. It annoys me to no end."
SC: What are the plans for the summer, touring? festivals? local gigs?
KB: "YES! We have a shiny new website www.kateboothman.com and it has everything posted there. As well as a new video for I Am An Animal out this Friday. I’ve never played a festival before so I’m thrilled to be playing both Wolfe Island Music Fest AND Cultivate Festival this summer. As well as The Rivoli this Sunday as a part of NXNE, with a growing series of club dates in between. So keep checking in."
By Will McGuirk
Massey Hall celebrates 124 years Thursday Jun 14. To mark the occasion Jennifer Castle's "Live at Massey Hall" session recorded in November last year has been made available. Castle has always reminded me of Patti Smith, such erudition sourced from the most mundane and human, a corner store poet. Castle is touring beginning in the late summer with Sappy Fest Aug 4 and continuing across Canada and the States.
Photo by Heather Pollack
By Will McGuirk
“Create a culture of fear and then begin to manipulate that fear to distract, divert, and divide. Unfortunately, the end result is that fear usually turns to hate and hate is a human emotion that is impossible to predict and control.” - Michael Timmins.
Its curious that a band who once were happy to have their audience fall asleep at shows now wants us all to wake the f**k up. Maybe its a new genre WokeFolk, but folk has always been woke I reckon.
The Cowboy have a new album coming out July 13 on their label, Latent. The record is titled "All That Reckoning".
Photo by Lauren Naylor
By Will McGuirk
The Weather Station, aka Tamara Lindeman, will tour Canada as a headliner beginning September 22 in Creemore, Ontario. On her latest album, self-titled, Lindeman takes a turn from the folk to the fuzz but the songwriting remains just a vital and her voice is just a crystal clear. She will be touring with a band comprised of Ben Whiteley on bass, Ian Kehoe on drums and Will Kidman (Constantines) on guitar and keys. Jennifer Castle will open western dates..
"It feels like a long time coming, to tour my own country as a headline act. Having played all over the world with this band, it feels like high time to bring it all home," says Lindeman in a press release.
And I couldn't be more excited to have Jennifer Castle coming along with us. She's one of the most important people in my musical life - my hero both for her songwriting and her undeniable spirit."
The Weather Station will play the Mod Club in Toronto Sep 29.
By Will McGuirk
Mappe Of will release 'Celestial Version' on June 22 2018. The all instrumental ambient interpretation of his debut album "A Northern Star, A Perfect Stone" will be available on Paper Bag.
"One of my aims with "A Northern Star, A Perfect Stone" was to allow each song to occupy a unique environment," says Mappe Of in a press release. "With the "Celestial Version", I wanted to revisit these environments as though floating above them, in a dream state of sorts. The textures are familiar and the melodies float by like faint memories, but the absence of the human voice suspends you from reality. It was composed as one piece, each environment blending into the next as you pass through them. I wanted to create something simultaneously meditative and adventurous."
Mappe Of will be playing a series of festivals over the summer.
July 6 - Quebec City, QC - Festival D’Été de Québec
July 7 - Winnipeg, MB - Winnipeg Folk Festival
July 13 - Guelph, ON - Hillside Festival
July 27 - Calgary, AB - Calgary Folk Festival
Aug 10 - Kingston, ON - Wolfe Island Music Festival
By Will McGuirk
First, vote.
Then celebrate your right to do so with one or all of three cool shows on tonight in Oshawa/ Whitby.
The Station Gallery launches its WAVE summer programming with DD Francois Ensemble. Tickets are $15 and doors open at 6 p.m.
One of Canada's finest singer/songwriter Jerry Leger is across the road from the gallery at Town Brewery on Charles south; 7-9 p.m.
Monowhales and Secret Broadcast are at the Moustache Club in Oshawa. Doors open at 8. Tickets are $10.
By Will McGuirk
Oshawa cowpunks Cuff The Duke are releasing their self-titled album on vinyl. The album was originally issued in 2005 and followed on from their debut "Life Stories for Minimum Wage." The band will be playing a relese gig at the Rivoli Sept 15 but have a couple of gigs prior to that, at the Neat Cafe in Burnstown on Sept 13 and at Riverfest in Elora, ON., Aug. 17.
Photo by @lpphotographs
By Will McGuirk
Its been a while since Jerry Leger has played in Durham Region but he makes a welcome return Jun 7 2018 at the Town Brewery in Whitby. The Toronto singer/songwriter, considered one of the best in the country by many (including me), has recently returned from a tour of Europe with his band, The Situation. They played The Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Scotland and England. There is a lot of European folk traditions in Leger's songbook so we asked him how it went on this, his first visit to the mythical source.
SC: Much of what would inform your music would come from the British Isles and Ireland - how has visiting the wellspring of folk affected your own songwriting?
JL: "Yeah, music from there has always been a part of my make up, so it's always had an affect on my writing. It was wild to finally be there and I could almost hear music bouncing off of the land, water, streets and pubs."
SC: Have you had a chance to see other musicians in the towns you have toured? Any of the locals impressed you?
JL: "Not really, we played 21 or 22 shows in 25 days, so there wasn't a lot of downtime. We did see some jazz played by some local students in Copenhagen. That was cool and Kyle (Sullivan), the drummer in The Situation sat in for a tune. Other than that we got to hear some cool musicians who opened for us. I dug Matt McGinn who opened for us in Belfast and a great guy too. The Situation and I roamed the streets of Cologne, drinking beers with the band that opened for us there, B. Phonics."
SC: There were places in Ireland and England I visited where I felt very grounded, has that happened to you, has the land spoken to you?
JL: "I wish I could have spent more time in some these places, we were on the move a lot but I felt very comfortable in Winchester, England. We played this old tavern dating back to the 1500's, filled with ghosts, a great bartender and a great crowd. I enjoyed hanging out there and walking around the block a bit. Outside of Manchester, James McKie's Dad lives there and drove us around to see a lot of the surrounding villages and beautiful scenery. I just wanted to stay there. Belfast we had a day off, so that was nice getting to hang out there. Overall I really enjoyed meeting people and always felt welcomed and comfortable. Looking forward to going back"
By Will McGuirk
Brooklyn by way of Munich winds through a lot of territory as does the music of Haerts, the German duo, who play Sunday at Field Trip 2018. They have scored some serious streaming cred with a track on the Netflix show '13 Reasons Why'. "Your Love" rides a Bauhaus beat, Springsteen narrative and Paul Simon Graceland groove and a Stevie Nix chorus, yip anyway, their latest "New Compassion" bumps up against The Lumineers and Nancy Sinatra/ Lee Hazelwood so you tell me what genre they are but its sure is intriguing. They've signed to Arts & Crafts by the by.
"A dream, you're close, we rise, expose, meadows,
You paint I pose, we decompose, and time slows"
Photo by Bree Hart
By Will McGuirk
Oshawa's courtiers of leafy court pop, Dizzy, bring their dreamy suburban sounds to the Field Trip Music and Arts Festival this weekend, June 2 and 3. The festival at Fort York & Garrison Common in Toronto also includes Metric running through all of their 2009 album, "Fantasies" plus Bahamas, Japandroids, Damien Jr. Gong Marley, the Yeah Yeahs Yeahs, Alvvays, Deer Tick, Partner and more.
Dizzy were most recently at the Great Escape Festival in Britain. Charlie Spencer of the band says it was quite the experience.
"Great Escape was beautiful, Brighton is a great town and the shows were rammed," he says.
The band of three brothers (Alex, Mack and Charlie) and singer Katie Munshaw have also announced they have signed a couple of deals around the globe. They are signed to Royal Mountain in Canada.
"We've signed a deal with Communion for records and publishing for the UK and Europe. We've also signed to a label called Inertia in Australia. It means good things for the band, lots more people working to help us push the singles/videos, and the record due out by the end of summer," he says.
They will be playing the end of summer Royal Mountain at Raspberry Festival taking place Sep 2 at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton but before that trip its Field Trip time.
Photo by Mirjana Simeunovich
By Will McGuirk
Mark the date - Thursday, June 14, 8:00p.m. and celebrate the 124th birthday of the Old Lady of Shuter Street. Massey Hall will be toasted by a variety of Canada's biggest and best sitting in with house band Whitehorse. And yes tickets begin at $18.94, in tribute to the year the Hall first opened. It is part of the Live at Massey Hall series.
Massey Hall will close soon for two year to enable substantial renovations to take place. The entire makeover, already begun, will last seven years. The last concert will be Gordon Lightfoot June 29, 30 and July 1.
For more details about this and other upcoming shows see the website ->