By Will McGuirk
Our pal Chastity has a new single available. The track, “ Sun Poisoning” is from the album ‘Home Made Satan’ due for a dropping in September 13. Enjoy.
Photo by Matt Barnes
Slowcity.ca Open Mic - Lee Harvey Osmond, The Building, Pram, Pup, Leaf Rapids, Ada Lea, Dan Moxon, The Contorntionist
By Will McGuirk
Fields and forests and festivals beckon - including soon, Mariposa Festival, where the multi-faceted Tom Wilson will perform. Looking forward to this one. A few years back Wilson didn’t have a mid-life crisis so much as had one thrust upon him. As an artist he met it all head on, sharing his journey in his new album ‘Mohawk’ and a autobiography, ‘Beautiful Scars’.
“It’s a story of adoption, of growing up thinking you’re a big, sweaty, Irish guy, and finding out at the age of 53 that you’re a Mohawk.,” he says in a press release.
Check out Lee Harvey Osmond as well as The Building, Pram, Pup, Leaf Rapids, Ada Lea, Dan Moxon and The Contortionist.
Reuben and The Dark bring the light to Oshawa; touring ‘Arms of a Dream’ release
By Will McGuirk
Reuben and The Dark will light up the Oshawa Music Hall Friday June 28, 2019. The Calgarian band can be compared to Mumford & Sons, Hozier and the stratospheric reachings of U2 with their moody spirituals but such an approach can be difficult to translate live. Lead Reuben Bullock however, says his favourite part of being a musician is onstage.
“Songs are living creatures. . . no two performances are ever the same,” he says in an interview with slowcity.ca. “As a performer, I try to be in constant conversation with the audience. To speak and to listen. Context of your surroundings makes such a difference. Playing gently in a seated theatre or getting people dancing in a sweaty bar. . . or the other way around sometimes. I really do try and listen to the room, to make sure the song is going to be presented in the right way.”
Bullock says he listens to songs intensely as they come to him, plugging into the emotions aroused to best hold onto them as they reveal themselves.
“Songs come in all sorts of ways.. they usually start with a lyric. I try my best to just listen to the song as I am writing it. I try and lean into the inspiration as much as I can. There is a feeling that runs through my blood when I am writing a song. Every step of the way I do everything I can to hold onto that feeling. It is a long journey for a song, from inception to the finished version. Its easy to lose the heart of the tune in that process. These songs are all pretty spiritual to me. Songwriting has never been something I can easily describe. . . and I don't always have the luxury of a perfect environment to write and capture them in. I would love to just write songs on mountain tops and by the river's edge but sometimes the back of a tour van is all I have,” he says.
Bullock shares his influences, some of them fellow van dwellers on a cold road. He cites Canadians; Leonard Cohen, John K. Samson, Feist, Broken Social Scene, Neil Young, Hayden among them. Another inspiration is the Tragically Hip. Reuben and The Dark cover the nationally favoured “Bobcaygeon”
“There are lyrics in that song ‘I saw the constellations reveal themselves one start at a time’ that have been forever burned into my memory. The night Gord died I sat down with my guitar and played through a couple of his songs. . . that one has just always had a place in my heart. I've always looked up to Gord as a poet and such a beautiful spirit,” he says.
The late Hip singer’s work on indigenous issues is also inspiring to Bullock who says Canada and the dark history with First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples requires urgent reconciling.
“I think the role isn't reserved just for musicians or people with followings. . . it’s a responsibility of every Canadian right now. We are on the edge of a massive shift and everyone with a voice should be finding a way to get involved. We have a very dark past in Canada and there is the potential for some beautiful healing to happen. Awareness is the first step. The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund are doing some incredible work towards reconciliation right now. Check their website for more info, but they are setting up schools with information packages and creating spaces dedicated to having these conversations,” he says.
Reuben and The Dark create such conversational spaces within their music and onstage; spaces to listen to songs, to listen to each other and most importantly to listen to oneself.
TÖME
Slowcity.ca Open Mic with The Sun Harmonic, Sara Gougeon, TÖME, Tyler Childers, Begonia and The Suitcase Junket
Finally reached the summer plateau, time to spend some time listening, recharging, readying to rejuvenate on wind and water, forests and festivals, Mariposa, Hillside, River & Sky and perhaps hopefully some more , get the music outside. . . take the music outside with you, out into the air out of the earbuds. Free these tracks from The Sun Harmonic, Sara Gougeon, TÖME, Tyler Childers, Local Natives, Begonia and The Suitcase Junket.
Dizzy release video for new single 'Twist'
“There is a hole that's inside of my chest In the place of a heart In the shape of a fist”
Oshawa wunder-kats Dizzy release the video for their new single, “Twist” today. The track is swirly dream-pop with heartache at its very core and Resilient tattooed on its arm.
Lowest of the Low play Oshawa Music Hall Jun 20, plus 3 p.m. in-store at Kops Records
By Will McGuirk
The Lowest of the Low have always been the companion of change in my life. Back in the 90s days when they played Oshawa at a hall show they were the catalyst for the Woolly Tuque fanzine; when I was at the Hub, they were the big ‘Get’ and lead vox Ron Hawkins was also willingly to come in solo, and now they are supporting the new venture at Kops Records, an all ages listening room. So happy to have them in the house and let me also add the new album, “Agitpop” is a seriously great provocative record that too may well be the catalyst for a change.
Photo by Barry Roden
CMAO Generous Spirit Award goes to Cadence Grace, Meghan Patrick takes pretty well everything else
By Will McGuirk
What great news to hear Oshawa country singer Cadence Grace received the inaugural Holly and Steve Kassay Generous Spirit Award at the recent Country Music Association of Ontario held Jun 16 2019 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.
Grace has been battling Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia but she has brought the fight to the cancer and just released a new single, “I’m Not” which is rising up the charts.
Also rising up the charts, well, pretty well taking over th charts is Bowmanville songbird Meghan Patrick who walked away from this year’s Awards with five or as they like to say in Toronto, 5ive. Congrats to both from all at slowcity.ca and we hope to see and hear the two of you sometime soon.
via 2019cmaoawards FB
ALBUM OF THE YEAR sponsored by COUNTRY 93.5: Country Music Made Me Do It – Meghan Patrick
SONGWRITER(S) OF THE YEAR sponsored by SOCAN: Meghan Patrick, Kelly Archer, Justin Weaver – Walls Come Down, Recorded by Meghan Patrick
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR sponsored by Spring Tree Farm: Meghan Patrick
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR sponsored by MNP: Walls Come Down – Meghan Patrick
FANS' CHOICE sponsored by Ontario Creates: Meghan Patrick
HOLLY & STEVE KASSAY GENEROUS SPIRIT AWARD: Cadence Grace
Skate away the blues with Sum 41's new ballad, 'Never There'
By Will McGuirk
Beauty new track from the Ajax punks, and a rather neat video about a kid who finds solace in skateboarding. Singer Deryck Whibley says in a press release that song source was his own relationship with his absent father.
“I never wanted to write this song, it just kind of poured out of me. I tried to fight it at first but there was no stopping it. I could tell I was writing about my dad, who I've never met and throughout my life it has always been a subject that I don't really think about or care about. It has never really bothered me and when I started thinking about why it never bothered me, I realized it was because my mum was so great and I have such a loving relationship with her. She was so strong as a single mother for my whole life that I never needed to think about my dad.”
The song will appear on the new album, ‘Order in Decline’ due July 19 on Hopeless Records.
The Sadies, Jim Bryson, Charlotte Cornfield to play Wolfe Island Festival 2019
By Will McGuirk
Its on my bucket list but I’ve yet tp attend Wolfe Island. It is, from what pals tell me, a delight. In previous years the festival took place at several venues on the island located in the Thousand Islands near Kingston, ON. This year it all takes place at St. Margaret’s Hall and the event is dedicated to publicist Darryl Weeks who passed away earlier this year.
The festival takes place Friday and Saturday Aug 9 and 10 and features The Sadies, Jim Bryson and, well. you have obviously seen the poster above so that all you need really, except slowcity.ca wholeheartedly endorses your decision to go.
AAR launches awareness campaign for MMIWG
By Will McGuirk
Artists Against Racism, founded in 1996, continues to use their spotlight to illuminate discrimination in society. In this week leading up to National Indigenous Peoples Day (Jun 21) AAR has launched a national billboard campaign to draw attention to the recent Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women And Girls report.
Paintings including ‘Not Forgotten’ by Dakota Sioux artist Maxine Noel; She Who Loves The Truth by Cree artist Betty Albert and ‘Sisters’ by Anishinaabe artist Frank Polson will be part of the Eagles Rising series which can be seen right across the country
"Sisters is dedicated to the memory of our missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. They were traumatized and stolen and it will continue if we do not commit to action and change. All Indigenous women and girls are sacred. We must break the cycles of violence,” says contributing artist Frank Polson in a press release..
This week-long campaign aims to both honour the memory of the more than 1000 Indigenous missing and murdered woman and girls across Canada such as Tina Fontaine (on the DAUGHTER TO US ALL billboard by Metis artist Christi Belcourt) and keep the conversation about Indigenous missing and murdered women alive following the powerful MMIW Inquiry report released last week.
“I am honoured to be a part of this project, and to donate my own art to Artists Against Racism, joining with other First Nations artists in lending our work and our voices to this desperately needed conversation and reconciliation, “ Maxine Noel (Not Forgotten).
As noted above AAR began in 1996. That’s some time ago so time to do better people, high time to be better.
Jadea Kelly, photo by Jen Squires
Jadea Kelly releases soundtrack for award winning doc "Met While Incarcerated"
By Will McGuirk
We love the Darth Jadea around here and are happy to hear the Whitby singer/songwriter has released new material, the MWI soundtrack. This is a five song EP. from the award-winning documentary, ‘Met While Incarcerated’, directed by Catherine Legge. The doc is about those who fall in love with prisoners. The film aired on the Documentary Channel in March but the soundtrack is only now being made available. Jadea covers “Amazing Grace” in a weird americana style and has Robby Hecht guest on “Bad Like Me” and Garrison Starr on “Make Peace With It.”
“MWI illuminates an uncomfortable social topic but also the lives of real people. Looking past the incarceration charges, I do see genuine love and healing between the featured couples. Very eye-opening,”says Jadea in a press release.
Evangeline Gentle, photo by Samantha Moss
Evangeline Gentle debuts 'Sundays', new single
By Will McGuirk
Yip, waited til Monday just because. . . but you can play this Gentle track any day of the week, coming down Sundays or not, - Great to see the Peterborough singer/songwriter getting it done. Looking forward to the album.
Scattered Clouds, photo by Jamie Kronick
Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Winona Forever, Keb' Mo', Rhye, Yoke Lore, Union Duke, Bruce Cockburn, half•alive, White Elephant Orchestra, Auras,
By Will McGuirk
No raining on any parades, just celebrate with everyone out on the streets taking back the streets, owning the streets and their city, making it theirs again, its a good thing and it needs a soundtrack so here you go. . . Winona Forever, Keb’ Mo’, Rhye, Yoke Lore, Union Duke, Bruce Cockburn, half•alive, White Elephant Orchestra, Scattered Clouds and Auras.