BC Musician Magazine by BC Musician Magazine

February 2 0

09 Issue 73

chutzpah

FESTIVAL ev e r y b o dy C h u t z pa h ! THE MACHINE THAT GOES

PING RADAR

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

MICHELLE RICHARD

WHAT IS A HOUSE CONCERT? TIM OSMOND

THERE’S NO FREE RENT ISSN 1918-560X

FAREWELL TO

THE days of

CHAPlesS

BC Musician

February 2009

february 2009, Issue 73 ISSN 1918–560x 73 We welcome your letters and comments; we might even print them!

Contributors … …………………………………………………………………… 4 & 5 Festivals………………………………………………………………………………………………… 7 chutzpah

Border blues… …………………………………………………………………………………… 8 by carolyn mark

touring canada………………………………………………………………………………… 9

BC Musician Magazine #200 1111 St. Paul St Kelowna, BC V1Y 2C6 250-762-0729 www.bcmusicianmag.com info@bcmusicianmag.com Canada Post Agreement 41440066

timing your cross canada tour………………………………………… 10

No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent of the publisher.

the winding road… ………………………………………………………………………… 11

Publisher Leanne V. Nash

bringing down the house………………………………………………………… 12

Associate Publisher & Ad Sales Joanne Layh

by geoff berner by joey only

by linda mcrae by YAEL WAND

what is a house concert?… …………………………………………………… 13 by TIM OSMOND

tales from the grease road………………………………………………… 14 by seth macdonald

A veggie oil primer……………………………………………………………………… 15 by yael wand

peer reviews……………………………………………………………………………………… 16 behind the board………………………………………………………………………… 17 by radar

farewell to the days of chapless…………………………………… 18 drip audio………………………………………………………………………………………… 20

Editor Meghan Clarkston Advertising & Marketing Representative, Lower Mainland Nancy Fowler Designer Kristen Baker Editorial Board: Meghan Clarkston, Paul Crawford, Joshua Estabrooks, Julie Fowler, Joanne Layh, Leanne V. Nash

by joshua estabrooks

the vinyl word… …………………………………………………………………………… 21 by kevin kane

make your own guitar slide… …………………………………………… 22 by paul crawford

music bc… ………………………………………………………………………………………… 23 the french connection… ……………………………………………………… 24 by michelle richard

view from the venu… …………………………………………… 25 & 26

BC BCMusi Musiciacnian| | February February2009 2009 || 33

c o n tr i b u to r s Seth Macdonald has been writing,

shayne avec i grec is

neither half-deer, nor half-human, but does have an affinity for the forest and its creatures, and intends to spend more time with both of them now that he’s relocated to Roberts Creek...

After numerous international tours, festival appearances, airplay on national radio in 7 countries, and slots on tour with artists such as Billy Bragg, Kaizers Orchestra, Balkan Beat Box and the Be Good Tanyas (who covered his song “Light Enough to Travel,” selling over 100,000 copies),

Geoff Berner has garnered critical acclaim and a cult following for his sharp songwriting and cabaret performance style. “I want to make original klezmer music that’s drunk, dirty, political and passionate.”

BC Musician

February 2009

Joshua Estabrooks began listening to

and playing music at a very young age, recording demos and sound experiments with his older brother in a hay bale constructed studio in his parent’s barn. Joshua, like most idealistic young Ontarians, moved to Vancouver as soon as he could. Finishing university with a degree in Humanities, Joshua began working in the music industry with his camera, photographing bands and developing album artwork and music videos. Now Joshua lives in Valemount, BC, where he edits the community newspaper. He recently completed production on an experimental concept album with a young visionary from Jasper, Alberta.

Kevin Kane is a professional musician

and has worn many hats over the years: songwriter, recording artist and touring musician (both solo and  as vocalist/guitarist with Capitol/EMI’s platinum-selling The Grapes Of Wrath), record producer, session musician, lecturer, educator and has even built guitars and amplifiers. His latest album, How To Build A Lighthouse, was recently short-listed for a Grammy award in the Best Pop Vocal Album category.

playing and singing revolutionary music for close to 20 years, much of that time spent with the colourful and enigmatic progressive rock group: Mamaguroove. He was born, raised and still lives on his family’s land in the tiny farming community of Dunster, BC. Along with his wife, Mamaguroove singer Shara Gustafson, Seth organizes and hosts the Robson Valley Music Festival held annually at the end of August on this same piece of land. When he is not up to his neck filtering vegetable oil to power Mamaguroove’s touring machine, he is the owner/operator of a small silviculture company, a dad for his five children/step children, and a vegetable farmer.

Some things are just meant to be. Birds are born to fly, politicians were born to lie, big fat guys with giant beards were born to ride their machines without getting hassled by the man, and Carolyn Mark was born to make music. From her childhood on a dairy farm in Sicamous, Carolyn Mark has travelled thousands of miles entertaining crowds of 4 to 4000... touring Canada, the United States, the UK, Norway and Italy. She has shared the stage with such talented musicians as Jenny Whitely, Hank & Lily, Luther Wright, Sarah Harmer, Kelly Hogan, Lederhosen Lucil, Geoff Berner, Joel Plaskett, The Handsome Family, Neil Hamburger, JT and The Clouds, The Shiftless Rounders, NQ Arbuckle, Wanda Jackson, The Waco Brothers, The Sadies and Blue Rodeo.

Linda McRae spent 8 years touring

the world with Platinum recording artists Spirit of the West. She has since released 3 critically acclaimed solo recordings and in 2007 was awarded a Canada Council Study Grant to work with Grammy winner Jon Vezner in Nashville, TN and clawhammer banjo aficionado Brad Leftwich in Bloomington, IN. She is managed by 42 Artist Management, Nashville, TN. Linda was married in a bail bonds office in Jackson, TN on Oct. 25th/07 to James Whitmire, a retired donkey rancher-turned poet. They are working on a new CD of their own songs and a one-act play about how they met. lindamcrae.com sonicbids.com/lindamcrae

RadaR has worked mixing live shows for

six years. After moving to BC in 2007, she now works in clubs all across the city of Vancouver. Her main home is at the Railway Club downtown. Her articles are music reviews from the point of view of a sound technician, giving insight into live performances and local music trends. She lives on Commercial Drive with her husband and two cats.

Lyndell Montgomery, aka:

Captain Dirt, is a multiinstrumentalist and a touring machine. She’s toured and recorded with heaps of artists around the globe from India to Australia to Northern BC! She’s also a co-author of the acclaimed book Boys Like Her, Transfictions. Aside from music, writing and live performance, it is gardening and sustainable living practices that consume her.

Joey Onlybeats his own drums.

Recently he’s taken on pedal steel guitar and upright bass though he’s best known as a working class folk singer and leader of the Joey Only Outlaw Band. He doesn’t believe in success and still can’t figure out what motivates his extraordinary sense of direction and purpose but figures its probably manic depression. joeyonly.com myspace.com/xjoeyonlyx

When Jenny Ritter was very young, her dad was a tenor in the opera, while Ma Ritter ran a ballet school. She sat under the piano during rehearsals, and presumably soaked it all in because... well, look where she is now! After years of torturous Conservatory piano lessons, she was given a guitar for her fifteenth birthday, and took to it like a fish to water. In 2000 Jenny joined Phaedra (and ex-fiddler, Heather Cunliffe) to create Billy Goats Gruff. The rest is band history.... Jenny resides in a wee house near the ocean in Victoria, BC. She freelances on Irish guitar with renowned fiddler, Daniel Lapp, a Victoria staple for folk music. She’s also the main organizer of Roof Rabbit, a hip and contemporary Irish instrumental quartet.

Michelle Richard Acadian vocalist/

actor Michelle Richard is strongly influenced by her roots, which date back to her first Acadian ancestor in 1657 in Port Royal, Nova Scotia. Performing a range of bilingual vocal stylings including jazz, blues, R&B, and traditional Acadian songs over 400 years old, Richard’s music provides an eclectic selection that has captivated audiences throughout Western Canada. Last November, her music was promoted by Music BC in Asia on their 2008 Japan Trade Mission. Michelle also won the award for Best Performance at this year’s Pacific En Chanson

Yael Wand has lived in Vancouver,

Montreal, Smithers and Tel Aviv but now calls the tiny mountain town of Wells, home. She ignored her father’s advice to become a scientist and marry rich and instead found work writing names on grains of rice, but was fired after her first day. With a degree in Environmental Studies Wand worked with a variety of non profit art groups. The pay, job security, and unconventional hours drove her to a career as a singer and songwriter. Having released three cds and working on another, she tours in a vegetable oil fueled truck and volunteers as a co-producer of ArtsWells Festival and as a Director at Large for Island Mountain Arts Society.

BC Musician | February 2009 | 5

navigator.pdf 23/10/2008 12:30:52 PM

Songwriter Demo Package $1850 Record 3 songs at STUDIO DOWNE UNDER with five of Vancouver’s finest studio musicians. Package includes studio time for tracking, vocals, editing, mixing and mastering. Instrumentation includes acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, keys, drums and your vocals. *Additional instruments, background vocals and session singer available for an additional charge.

CMY

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For complete album projects, demos and voiceovers, call

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604-807-6519 heartlinemusic@shaw.ca

Canyon Edge Records presents

Sherri-Anne

CD Release Party

Our knowledgeable staff of 8 offers great advice, great products, and great service. Guitars, Amplifiers, Drums, Keyboards, PA & Lighting Systems, and all the accessories! Offering state-of-the-art products from the best in the business.

March 7, 2009 Manteo Resort - Kelowna,B.C. Tickets - $15 Advance - $20 at the door. Doors @ 7 Pm Show @ 8Pm available at...Kelowna- Bering Music, Ellis St - World of Music, Baron Rd Westbank - Bering Music, Main St. Vernon - Shambhala Clothing, 31st St.

Appetizers included / Beverage service available.

For more info - www.sherri-anne.com Tom - 250-212-0794 / Kim - 250-215-0144

BC Musician

February 2009

“Your Sound & Lighting Specialists” 51 Nanaimo Ave. E 250-492-4710 www.skahasound.ca

HRS: Mon.-Sat. 10-5:30

F E STI VA L S C h utz pa h C h ut z pa h ev e ry b o dy C h ut z pa h !

he first steps to enjoying any type of musical festival is learning how to pronounce the name months in advance, thus allowing you to jovially repeat it in an endless chant as you careen through the streets. Not only will this procedure elicit concern with passersby, but you will develop a new following of oddball characters such as yourself, whom also find comfort in repetition of clever verbs, nouns or adjectives. We were all brought up on Conjunction Junction so this is a perfectly acceptable practice. Your first festival to commit to the memory bank is a doozy, but you will enjoy it. The Chutzpah! Festival. Did you just splatter salvia into your loved ones face when you just tried to tell her/him about the magnificent festival you’re taking them too? For all of us in BC who are hearing about the Chutzpah! for the first time, we are a sad sorry bunch who have missed out on eight years of talented entertainers who convene in the heart of Vancouver for two weeks at the end of February and start of March. The Chutzpah! is the International Showcase of Jewish Performing Arts. Now in its ninth year, the festival is innovative, exciting and exhilarating. Chutzpah! caters to every artistic aficionado in the province, and converts those of us who tend to turn a blind eye to local/Canadian musical talents.

Chutzpah! kicks off with the comedy and sashays into the heart of the festival with style and grace, thanks to the collection of talented dancers scheduled on the events list. Two exceptional dance companies will inspire rhythmic vibes to jolt through your body in no time, so don’t panic if your body suddenly bursts into a fit of uncontrollable movement. ProArteDanza will roar into town with seven exquisite dancers in a mixed repertoire of high-octane contemporary ballet and modern dance, created by Artistic Director’s Roberto Campenella, Robert Glumbek, and Shawn Hounsell. And that’s just the first set, so try not to shake your body to the point of exhaustion. Now, what would a festival be without calling out to the musical wonders of the world and creating the most comprehensive artistic army of harmony for our souls? Chutzpah! is ready to lead our music loving souls into battle with the most talented artists. Ranging from the pop scene, indie rock, blues, folk, jazz, and alternative, Chutzpah! has you covered. Canadian singer-songwriter, Babe Gurr has been described as honest, rootsy, and a master at fitting powerful stories to thoughtful music with craftswoman like precision. The intimate setting at the Wosk Cabaret in Vancouver is the perfect venue to beautifully showcase this singer’s warm, but powerful voice, and engaging

THE PAPERBOYS

The festival will kick off with the Opening Night Gala Performance with comedic groups Pastrami on Rye…with Mayo at the Norman Rothstein

Theatre (NRT) on Feb. 19. Starring Ross Bennett, Brad Zimmerman, Tom Cotter, and Cory Kahaney. The trop combines hilarious stand-up with great story-telling, presented by an ensemble of some of the best comedians of our generations.

personality. Having drawn comparisons to such talents as Bonnie Ratt and Shawn Colvin, Gurr is not someone who will let your ears down. The Sisters of Sheynville – Canada’s premier all female swing-kiez sextet – will be brandishing their charm on stage as they intimately bring their instruments to life and sing audiences into a flurry of rhythmic excitement. Since the release of their critically acclaimed debut CD Sheynville Express, produced by Beyond the Pales Eric Stein, the Sisters have emerged as one of the most exciting new music ensembles in Canada. Playing vintage Yiddish swing, klezmer, and roots music of the 1930s-40s the band’s sound has evolved to include more jazz, improvisation and original material. Other artists include: The Klezmatics and Joshua Nelson, The Paperboys, The Andy Statman Trio, Rain Pryor, Three Yiddish Divas, Beyond the Pale, and the list just keeps on going. The line up for Chutzpah! includes more than what you would find on your friend’s iPod, and is the opportunity to introduce yourself to artists who may currently be flying below your radar. Taking place from Feb. 19 to March 1, at the Norman Rothstein Theatre (NRT) and The Wosk Cabaret at the JCC of Greater Vancouver, The Vancouver Playhouse, The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts (UBC), and the Firehall Arts Centre; Chutzpah! will bring you out of your winter funk, and deliver you straight into spring bliss. Single tickets for Chutzpah! are available at NRT, Wosk Cabaret and Firehall Arts Centre. Performances range in price from $16 - $25, with the Opening Gala costing $40, tickets for the Gala may be purchased by calling 604.257.5145, or online at ticketstonight.ca. For more information about the festival and to view a comprehensive list of all events, visit the Chutzpah! Festival website at chutzpahfestival.com.

BC Musician | February 2009 | 7

bo r der blu es

Hello Music Fans! By Geoff Berner

It was a romantic emergency. Trust me. And lest we forget, I wasn’t doing anything wrong.

Then all haughty in my thirties because I thought I knew a thing or two about a thing or two, I thought it was just a line that meant nothing. But now, today, mere days into 40, I think I know what it means: Your deepest fear is inevitable — preordained, if you will. One of my deepest fears is The American Border. Most borderline musicians live with this fear. By borderline, I mean if your ‘famosity’ happens to lie between Celine Dion and open mic night. I like to think that I’m infamous, which everyone knows from the film Three Amigos means more than famous. Having reached both the snowy Alps and the deepest valleys of my deepest fear I realize now that what Mamet meant was that to even think it ensures that ‘it’ will happen. Of course you can take precautions, but then you are no longer innocent. You are thinking about it. I knew Words were spells — every single one of my songs has come true — but I had no idea that thoughts are spells too. It was never a day at the beach trying to get into The States but since September 11th it’s been really hard on everyone, especially your Canadian under-the-radar show-folk. Your more established acts have a team of experts taking care of this stuff — paper work, permits, lawyers, etc. But us low level lifers have taken the New Developments the hardest. It is easy to blame The Terrorists for our inconveniences, but really this new Theatre of Security (no liquids, no sharp blades!) is the real enemy. The Time Gobbler dazzle camouflage created from within. And really, where would America be without Canadian entertainers? On Boxing Day I was Denied Entry into the United States. And Hell hath no fury like a female entertainer denied! After almost twenty years of ‘successful’ crossings — my last attempt (previous to Boxing Day) went sour. I am usually pathologically vigilant about my garb, story and attitude but since it was the one time I wasn’t going down to play, I thought that the truth would be my shield. Not so. I was in the room you don’t want to end up in for 6 hours and then when they let me out, I went and got a fresh car and tried again at another crossing.

BC Musician

February 2009

That time, the authorities fingerprinted me twice, took my picture and marked me Document Deficient. Insufficient Ties and Equities is the other term for it. They told me that from now on I would have to travel with 6 months worth of papers (rent receipts, evidence of paid bills, pay stubs, bank statements etc.) that could prove my ties to Canada. They said I needed to prove to them that I have a job. In Canada. Well of course I’m tied to Canada. I am Canada. I’ve been to more places in Canada than most residents. But how to show it on paper? The thing is, I am generally paid in cash by various employers, which is difficult to trace. Nonetheless, I amassed some documents and tried again. The next time I tried to cross was at the Vancouver airport (YVR) on Boxing Day. I was hoping that maybe the land travel and air travel files weren’t linked but the greeting drone took one look at the computer screen and instantly marked my form with a very thick ballpoint “I.” (Interrogate? Infidel? Idiot?) After a long stint in the waiting room (me and all the brown people), I was called into another room and was questioned by an officer standing behind Plexiglass of sneeze-guardish height. I showed him my documents. He thought my pay stubs looked forged. He didn’t like my rent receipts much either. I commended him on his excellent observational skills and I told him that yes, indeed I had had the pay stubs made, albeit FORENSICALLY, but that they REPRESENTED something real since I honestly do work there. I said that I had had them made because it was requested of me by one of his colleagues the last time I attempted to cross. The rent receipts are, however, the real thing.

CAROLYN MARK

There’s a line in a David Mamet play that goes: “Every fear hides a wish.” I spent most of my twenties trying to figure out what he meant. I thought, “No way do I secretly, not even deeply subconsciously, want to be responsible for a backed up public toilet, or worse, get pregnant!”

By Carolyn Mark

Then of course he wanted to see if he could find corroborating proof by studying my bank deposits, but like I said, since I get paid in cash, it rarely hits the bank. There was, however, money in my account and I had a return ticket, but at that point

he didn’t care The officers (Now there were two of them) then made me put up my hand and swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth and started writing my statement(!). He told me that fraud was no laughing matter and that they’d definitely be checking my story with my other best friends at Revenue Canada. By then my plane had left so I said since it looked like they weren’t going to let me in that I’d rather not continue the interrogation. The Man told me that it was only because I was still on Canadian soil that I was able to walk away but that it would be marked down on my file as Inspection Refused, which is not true. I had had three hours of inspection. It just looked like further inspection would only lead to more heartache and still not getting to go. And there’s nothing worse than a cancelled trip. I have studied the matter and think the only way I’m going to be allowed entry, even for a vacation, is to get a work permit. It’s called a P2 visa, (formerly know as a J1). They cost a lot. First, you have to join the Musician’s Union (the AFM), which, depending on where you live, is about $100 a year and then it’s $350 to apply for the visa (it just went up), PLUS it

takes 90 to 120 days to process unless you want to expedite it to the tune of a Thousand Dollars. Until recently, you could apply for a $25 ‘showcase permit’ if you could prove you were playing an unpaid event but they just cancelled that program. If you have an American gig booked every 30 days they will grant you yearlong passage. Since nobody knows exactly where they’ll be playing a year in advance (even the larger acts), it is fashionable to fake the gigs to get the visa and figure it out later. Knowing my luck, I’d get caught for that too. Since the work permit costs more than I’ll ever make playing any show down there, up until now I had thought, ‘Well since I’m not making any money, why should they care?’ Usually I don’t tell them I’m a Musician (which, by the way, in Borderguardese, translates to “assfull of drugs”). I make up some respectable occupation because it’s a cheaper lie. This technique works great until they call you in for Secondary Questioning and demand proof. But here’s the thing: They can still choose to deny you even with a permit. The whole system is set up to give them the power to deny you. Casino rules: The House. Always. Wins. It seems that to get into The States, you need to lie and of course the best lie is the truth. I just don’t think any border guard could understand my truth. They just can’t see why a person would stick with an occupation that promised no stability or tangible acknowledgement. And well, that’s another story. Maybe for next month. I’m aware of my place in the Social Divide. As my friend J says, “If you work without a net, they’ll try to put you in a cage.” (Now I sound like a hippie. Great.) The ironic thing is that the only times I’ve had any trouble is when I WASN’T GOING DOWN TO PLAY MUSIC! What’s a girl to learn from all this? It seems like once you’re flagged, the officers share a kind of hive mentality. If one has said no, none of the others want to be the first to say yes. And maybe, BC Musician Readers, I am looking at this the wrong way. Perhaps I am underestimating the massive threat I pose to Homeland Security by merely existing. I guess there are other countries to invade... “Halloo New Zealand!” I’m currently reading Casanova’s memoirs, and in Europe in the 1700s you were nobody unless you had money, jewels and several letters of recommendation. Guess nothing much has changed. Yours in exile looking forward, CM - New Year’s Eve ‘08/09

touring canada? read this first!

By Geoff Berner

s I’m about to head out on a Canadian tour of all 10 provinces, “from soup to nuts,” as they say, I thought I should address this issue: In magazines for musicians, I’ve seen an awful lot of guides for touring in Canada. People speak in seminars and “workshops” about it. I’ve found that for the most part, they are at best useless, and more often full of bland, destructive lies. They always leave out the important stuff. So here’s some simple, helpful, important tips for people just starting out planning their first Canadian Tour:

Canada is very, very big. Not as big as Space, but close. No matter how much you prepare yourself for, say, the distance between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg, you will still be surprised by how far it is. Not just the first time, but every time. People in Holland or Victoria, BC will say “That is very far away” when they actually mean a distance that is less than the diameter of the city of Calgary. Come to think of it, the entire length of Holland is less than the diameter of the city of Calgary.

The result of this is that, especially traveling on the Canadian prairies, you will, sooner or later, be overcome by a paralyzing sense of melancholy. A kind of Melancholy Xtreme, you would call it, if you were in advertising, creating a campaign for melancholy. This is the kind of feeling experienced by the German tank crews as they rolled across the steppes of Russia, at first elated by the speed of their progress, then slowly unmanned by the sense of their individual insignificance in the vast landscape. The final stage of this is the growing, overwhelming belief that you and your band may have in fact already died in a horrible crash, and that your ghostly shades are now doomed to drive the infinite highway, with no hope of rest, until the End of Time. So keep an eye out for that problem.

Detailed, itemized comprehensive budgets are an absolute MUST to never, ever do. Don’t give in to the temptation to add up all the projected costs, such as gas, regular people food, beer, food for the drummer, the inevitable transmission replacement on the poor, beleaguered vehicle that was just minding its own business, ferrying you to college and back, but which is now forced to carry tube amps up and down Rogers Pass. DO NOT compare such

costs against projected revenue. The end result of this confrontation with reality will inevitably be a stunned head-shake, followed by cancellation of the tour. An essential rule of being a Canadian Touring Musician is: Ignore Reality, and Worry About That Later.

3. The most important thing to plan on a

Canadian tour is how to keep your feet warm and dry. Problems arise on every tour. These problems can be overcome, with some combination of ingenuity, charm, money, refusing-to-give-a-fuck, and ambulances. But every problem’s surmountability is inversely proportional to the sogginess or frostbittenness of your toes. Wet feet will rob you of your ability to get along with your bandmates, the audience, the venue staff. Wet feet will rob you of your very mind, that which makes you who you are. They will steal your soul.

4. Speaking of soul-stealers, avoid the Tim

Horton’s fast food chain whenever possible. Apart from the fact that everybody knows that the coffee tastes like it’s made out of butter and nicotine, there’s a more important reason: because they are everywhere. They have them where you begin your tour, they have them where you’ll be playing, they have them on every single street corner in the City of Hamilton, as mandated by a 2002 civic bylaw. The creeping sameness of Canadian life needs to be fought, not out of some high self-righteous impulse to strengthen the nation, but for the sake of your own personal sanity, Canadian Touring Musician. In a short time, the sameness will drive you mad, until you are seized with a howling need to drive the van through the plate glass window and drown the retirees in the garden vegetable soup. That need never goes away. What it comes down to is that eating at Tim Horton’s on the road will soon make you feel like you are at work, not on a Grand Adventure into the Unknown. What’s fun about that? Instead, eat at weird places that have all the apostrophes and quotation marks in the wrong “place” on the signs and menu’s. Eat the special. Chat up the waitress. Find out about where you are, and how it’s different from where you’re from. Otherwise, you’ll struggle to keep your head above the bland sameness.

Don’t play Red Deer. No earthly good Also, can come of it. Good Luck.

BC Musician | February 2009 | 9

ti m i n g y o u r c r o ss c a na d a to u r

anada is a wide and narrow place of human habitation with four very distinct seasons. When the summer comes we in the north experience longer days and pleasant weather, everyone comes out of their bunkers and is free to get drunk in the backyard. The natural inclination of most independent bands is to use that great weather as an excuse to book an epic summer tour. The problem is that every band in the country is planning to book the same circuit and you didn’t start in February like they did. Meanwhile, the indie musician’s audience base, which is primarily alcoholics, is soon out camping and bar-b-queing for much less money than they spend in the bars. All those campus towns across Canada are vacant and the kids who go to live shows are treeplanting or whatever they do. It’s harder to book shows in bars and harder to make those important dollars indie tours need. So that’s why your tour didn’t go so well and everyone in the band is discouraged, nobody came to your shows but at least it was a fun vacation.

PHOTO: MEGAN CLARKSTON

jenny ritter

Veteran bands, like Montreal’s punk legends, Ripcordz, are able to tour the bar circuit annually often playing 30 big shows in 30 days. The Ripcordz have been playing live shows and selling tonnes of beer to their audiences for over 25 years, promoters book bands like these any day of the week. They’ve played over 1000 shows and never left Canada.

BC Musician

February 2009

I have not had a lot of success getting into the festival circuit but it is apparently the reliable way to tour the north in the summertime. I don’t think a lot of family festivals trust that the Joey Only Outlaw Band won’t say something obscene in our marijuana-orgy filled songs and I can’t see the Ripcordz at South Country Fair anytime soon. Bands that really rock often rely on bars for our tour circuit, nonetheless if your rockin’ band can convince the festivals to love you everything will be fine for

By Dr. Joey Only

the rest of your life. Our best trips so far have been fall and spring tours, the weather doesn’t allow for camping but the roads are generally the best. At that time of year the students are either coming or going and not as deep into their books, people are back inside more and looking for reasons to go out and get loaded at the bar. Look ahead and book the big money dates like Halloween and New Year’s Eve, especially if you are a boot stompin’ band that sells beer. Christmas sucks, don’t tour at Christmas. January is miserably cold and dead but the ski towns are happening. February and March are better everywhere if the weather stays calm and you don’t die on route to the shows. Play every night, if you can fill a night anywhere do so if it gives you beds or foods or extra-marital sex. Every night you are not playing gigs you are losing money. Always try to get more money out of bars that can afford it because if you play for cheap the same bar will expect us to play for cheap. Driving down what little wages we have is not doing the music scene any favors. Weekend shows shows should have financial guarantees. There are costs for these trips. Ideally every band member should make at minimum 50 to 100 dollars a night with a meal and bed included, that’s just touching on the edge of professional musician rates. Shoot higher, you’re worth it. Time your tours so that you do not lose money and promote them so that the rooms are full so it’s not demoralizing to your players. Have goals established and achieve them. Start with booking one- and two-week trips and work your way out further and further from home sustainably spreading the gospel of rock and roll. Each time you will try to build your tour circuit, fan-base and infrastructure for success.

If you’re a touring artist you’ve probably heard about house concerts and have likely had a

do your first performance without a P.A. if it’s a small space. If you’d rather try it out you can rent a small system from your local music store for a pretty nominal fee. Invite your friends and have fun. Hopefully you will have an attentive audience and you can use the opportunity to develop your skills as a performer.

THIS WINDING ROAD: By Linda McRae

fabulous experience playing one. If that’s the case I hope I can give you a few tips you might not have already known. If you’ve not played one before you definitely should look into it. If you are a music lover and not a performer, try hosting one. It’s a wonderful way to get to know the artists while introducing your friends to music they may not otherwise have heard. Together we all make the music go-round and keep it live! For artists house concerts are a wonderful way to fill in the gaps in a tour. Days off cost money. Accommodations, food and travel on an off day can be expensive so if you can book a house concert where this is all provided you’ll have a little more money in your pocket while at the same time help to build your audience. Most hosts book well in advance, especially the established ones. As they may only book one concert per month you will want to get in touch with them six months in advance. If you don’t have that much lead-time get in touch anyway. You never know who may have an open date or a cancellation to fill. Remember that when you’re contacting people and asking to book a show that you have a valued service to offer. Typically house concerts are booked with solo, duos or trios, but I have attended some that have had full bands as well, so don’t count out that possibility, especially if you are someone like the Joey Only Outlaw band who can be flexible and tailor your show to your surroundings. If the hosts love your band, they will bend over backwards to accommodate you. If you’re a new artist and haven’t had a lot of experience playing shows in front of a live audience, you might have a friend host a concert for you in their home or host one yourself. You may want to

hosts as to what they are comfortable with. If you’re interested in knowing more about hosting a house concert or booking one for yourself, please check the following websites. In addition, check out your favourite artists’ websites as well. Their tour schedules will provide you with a wealth of useful informa-

L e tt e r f r o m N a s h v i l l e

I got cabin fever tearing me apart “Cabin fever and a broken heart Cabin fever falling apart Cabin fever and a broken heart … John Werner

tion including the house concerts they are currently playing as well as other venues you might be interested in contacting to book shows on this never-ending winding road.

”

If this sounds familiar and you feel like the walls are closing in, try hosting a house concert yourself and broaden your horizons, anyone can do it! If you have room to seat 10-20 music lovers, sharing in some fabulous music can be a great way to kick those winter blues! If you have a larger space and can fit in a few more all the better. Hosting music in your own house can be a magical experience and a good way to actively participate in your local music scene.

www.houseconcerts.com www.acousticroof.ca www.concertsinyourhome.com www.homeroutes.ca www.musi-cal.ca (or .com)

You never know who will be willing to come. Most artists love to play house concerts, and for many, the chance to substitute an intimate evening of music, new friends, a meal, and a bed for a day off is a no-brainer. Some artists who play for 200 people per night are thrilled to play and get a night’s food and lodging to boot. Typically Mondays through Thursdays and Sundays are the hardest days for artists to fill so try and hold your house concert on one of those days. It is typical to charge an admission fee (donation) to attend the performance and depending upon the artist the charge will vary. Typically audience members are asked to “donate” 15 to 20 dollars, all of which would go to the artist. Sometimes folks hold a potluck dinner where people bring a dish to share with everyone and usually people are expected to bring their own drink. It is pretty much up to the

jenny ritter

Hello folks,

I’m writing you this month from bonnie Scotland on our European tour. In a few days we’ll be playing a house concert in Glasgow and, coincidentally, I’ve been asked to talk about house concerts in this month’s column.

BC Musician | February 2009 | 11

b r i n g i n g d o w n th e h o us e By Yael Wand Where’s the Stage? There’s no stage, no coloured lights, no coat check. Quite often there is no sound system either. But if invitations went out, and word of mouth has gotten around, then there just might be an attentive, friendly audience packed in tight for the show. House concerts are becoming more common and a great way for musicians to build a fanbase in a new town or fill an empty tour night. It is as simple as asking a friend to host a concert in their home, or as sophisticated as using one of the online portals like acousticroof.ca to find a willing host. There are several formal organizations that are producing house concerts in Canada, but the true beauty of such concerts is that anyone with a living room and a few friends can host one. Actually, a living room is not at all necessary: try a garage, a basement, or a backyard. That is what makes the house concert a great cultural force: the formality of a regular gig is gone, and the form of the show is open to the imagination of host and performer. Like a low-fi, unplugged internet, the sharing of music and art is back in our hands. Culture is not limited to galleries or large venues or to Canada’s big metropolitan centres; culture and creativity can come to life in any home and neighbourhood, in any part of the country. It is an old concept reshaping live music.

Revolution in Manitoba Last spring my musical accomplice Christina Zaenker and I drove east. We were booked for 12 shows over two weeks across southern Manitoba, all arranged by Home Routes. The brainchild of Mitch Podolak, founder of both the Winnipeg and Vancouver folk festivals, Home Routes sprung from the idea that musicians need more good paying gigs across Canada. The concept is simple: Home Routes finds about a dozen enthusiastic hosts in a region – their homes form the tour circuit – and pairs them with great acoustic performers. Hosts provide a meal and a spare bed. They also promote the concert in their community, and collect a standard ticket price at the door. For a performer, working with Home Routes means someone else (Ops Manager, Tim Osmond) had planned, routed, and booked the tour. There are six consecutive shows a week,

BC Musician

February 2009

all within a few hours drive from one another. All ticket and merch monies go to the artist with a small percentage contributed back to Home Routes for administration. The performer is merely responsible for getting to the gig and delivering a killer show. It sounds simple, but it is a little musical revolution in the making. Ever tried booking shows on the prairies or in rural Canada? There’s no shortage of small towns, but there is a lack of decent paying venues, and it can be hard to find the right audience if you’re not a big name draw or if you lack a local connection. Our Manitoba tour included shows in Onanole, Tinker Creek, Baldur, and Minnedosa to name a few. I had never played any of these towns before, nor had I come across venues for my music at any of those stops. But last spring we had great shows in each of these towns. We came home with cash in our pockets, made new connections with audiences and played our hearts out across the province. Performing in private homes and meeting our audience between sets meant that we truly got a sense of each community we visited. Though we got lost on the way to the gig in Lavinham (our driving directions were to take the “bypass,” not realizing “bypass” is a local euphemism for dirt road on the edge of town), we made it there in time for supper. That night, in the attached garage, we performed for an attentive audience, including several kids who had never attended a live concert before. The kids loved the show even though we couldn’t play covers of any of their favourite country hits. A few days later during a show in the town of Holland, Christina and I got chatting about crocus hunting – a somewhat common local pastime of searching out little purple flowers, the first to bloom in spring under melting snow. Just our luck, a woman in the audience was guiding a crocus hunting expedition, by horse-drawn wagon, the next day and we were invited to join. ‘Friendly Manitoba’ indeed! During our two weeks we took in as much Manitoban culture as we could. We saw gorgeous, not-so-flat, Manitoban landscape, met great people, and ate Mexican-Mennonite food. During the 2007-2008 year season, Home Routes presented 262 concerts on the prairies, reaching over 6100 audience members, and sending 24

artists out on the road to earn an honest living. I’m lucky to have been one of them.

Getting to Know the Neighbours A few years ago I performed at a Vancouver home as part of In the House Festival. Three of us were on the bill that afternoon, and music fans were lined up outside the colourful eastside house, waiting to get a seat. The furniture was gone from the spacious living room and folding chairs set out instead. This was one of several ‘venues’ in the neighbourhood with simultaneous concerts taking place. The street was bustling with musicians, artists, volunteers and audiences and live music was pouring out of several homes. In addition to the annual In the House Festival, Myriam Steinberg programs monthly shows in homes across Vancouver. As Artistic Director she doesn’t limit In the House strictly to music, presenting everything from ballet to puppet shows, spoken word to synchronized swimming (in a backyard pool) and everything between. She’s witnessed just how profound the house concert experience is for both performers and audiences. For starters, she finds audiences are naturally comfortable in a home, even if it is a stranger’s home. In five years of producing shows she has never had a problem inviting audiences into a private home. With everyone at ease audiences are open to new forms of art and music they may otherwise not encounter. Steinberg feels that house concerts bring people together in a way that is less likely to happen in a traditional venue. In a living room, you are more likely to chat with the person sitting next to you, meet the neighbour and her kids from down the road, and take the time to thank the host. Ultimately, in the sacred space that is somebody’s home, everyone is more approachable, and it’s easier for performer and audience to interact. As a musician, a better connection with the audience means a better show. There is no hiding behind mics or lights in a living room: it’s you, the music and the audience. That is as honest as it gets. Home Routes: homeroutes.ca In the House: inthehousefestival.com Also: acousticroof.ca

w h a t i s a h o u s e c o n c e rt ?

By Tim Osmond

ormal house concerts originated in the mid 1950’s during McCarthyism, when artists were blacklisted from playing public venues due to their Communist ideologies. Fans everywhere still cried out to see these performers, so they organized under-the-radar concerts in people’s homes.

Think of it as a “wine tasting party” for acoustic aficionados. Concerts are promoted through word of mouth, phone and email, and tend to avoid posters, and print advertising. These are private shows with the homeowner inviting their friends and their family.

Today the house concert has become the building block of the acoustic musicians fan base. It remains as one of the best ways a musician can connect with an audience due to their intimate and interactive nature.

The artist will eat supper with the homeowner, do the concert, stay overnight and sometimes are offered breakfast the next morning. Presenters (usually the homeowner) often make life long friends with the artists from all the time spent with them before, during and after the concert.

House concerts are just what they sound like; a formal concert with an acoustic m usician. No sound system or technical equipment required. Chairs and furniture are arranged facing the artist so the homeowner’s friends and neighbours can gather and enjoy an evening of entertainment from professional artists that one would normally see on the stage of a festival or theatre.

The problem with touring in Canada is the vast distance. On top of that, artists find themselves with shows booked Thursday to Sunday, if they are lucky, and then the rest of the week, they are on their own. With the average salary of a folk musician topping $10,000 a year, tour schedules often leave artists in debt and sometimes discouraged.

Home Routes is dedicated to organizing house concerts in a circuit format, providing artists with a dozen shows back to back. In the circuit, presenters are asked to commit to six concerts a year. Each host takes turns hosting each night of the week (no Sundays) so that artists don’t get the same night every month. Concerts take place from September - November and February - April. All the dates for the season are sent in the summer so people have time to prepare and promote their concerts. Tickets are $15 at the door with the money going to the artist. No paperwork or cost is required of the presenter. Contact Tim Osmond if you are interested in presenting some concerts or just want to know more details. Toll Free 1-866-925-6889 ext 207 or email tim@ homeroutes.ca.

BC Musician | February 2009 | 13

tales from the grease road

By Seth Macdonald

eth Macdonald and Mamaguroove made their first stab at touring in a bus converted to veggie oil fuel, only to get to the Earth Day celebrations in Edmonton with a cardboard facsimile of their bus. In this installment the bus, “S.S. Billie,” finally goes the distance, or some distance, under the power of waste veggie oil. Waste Vegetable Oil (or WVO as it is referred to in the “conversion community”) is exactly how it sounds. Oil, full of bits from the fryers, is literally collected after it has been discarded by restaurants. We then filter the fuck out of it, put it directly into a fuel tank, heat it and burn it in any diesel engine, no modifications necessary. Sounds simple right? Wrong. If you are like most musicians I know, you are about as mechanically minded as an ape in a cage in a zoo that was born into captivity and can’t even feed itself. I’m not knocking the intelligence of musicians; try getting an auto mechanic to write a good song. Let’s just say that working on engine does not come naturally for most of us. Still, in principle the conversion is relatively simple and involves five basic steps: 1) Collection: Good oil with minimal amounts of water and NO animal fat, chemicals, solvents or engine oil. Basically I knew none of this when I started and paid the price dearly. It sucks to try and pump out an entire tank of contaminated fuel in the middle of nowhere after your engine quits running. 2) Test for and remove the water: Water is the enemy of diesel engines. It does damage to injectors. It can be removed through a somewhat intense process which details

I won’t bore you with here. Again: being broken down on the side of the road sucks! Especially when you are already late for a gig. 3) Filtering: Filter oil AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE before putting in the vehicle. Diesels don’t burn French fries! Also it really helps to filter it HOT! (I spent two days trying to filter 40 gallons of slow moving sludge at minus 4 degrees before I got this one through my thick skull! 4) Install a 2-tank system with a system for heating the vegetable oil up to at least 60 degrees Celsius and a valve to switch between Diesel and Veggie oil. (What was I saying about the apes?) 5) Do it all over again because it just doesn’t fucking work! Which now brings me to the ACTUAL story of the conversion of the S.S. Billie Bus to run on pure recycled plant oil and the subsequent adventures of MAMAGUROOVE in the “POWERED BY 80% POST CONSUMER WASTE TOUR, 2008.” Two months, and we were gearing up Miss Billie to make perhaps her most prestigious voyage yet. Between Chris and myself working every spare minute of our precious little spare time, we had managed to rebuild the hand pump, install an electric fuel assist pump, track down replacement filters, install a new main circuit breaker and process a couple of hundred gallons of waste vegetable oil. Leaving my planting crew in the hands of my father for the weekend, we embarked upon the true maiden band voyage of the freshly converted Billie Bus. Billie had served me faithfully as staff accommodation for the past two months with my crew, planting trees from Dunster to Kamloops, and after doubling the size of my right forearm from manually pumping fuel, it seemed I had finally eliminated all the trapped air from the system. Friday June the 21st, 2008 saw five members of Mamaguroove, at least four of our passel of children, and various other hangers-on piling aboard the S.S. Billie in front of the “Jam Shack” in my front yard. A feeling of hope was in the air. “All systems go, we are locked and loaded and ready for take-off,” the voice of “Admirable Hippie,” Chris Chapman, cut through the low rum-

BC Musician

February 2009

ble of the old girl’s engine idle. Releasing the brakes, I eased the Millennium Falcon of land ships out of the driveway and up onto the paved road. The engine roared, gauges climbed and settled into operating range. With bated breath I flipped the switch to charge the engine full of our hard earned “free” fuel… and it worked! “WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!” There was a loud cheer from all aboard. We rocketed down the road.... It seemed as if suddenly all the stress of the past few months had lifted from my chest. As if suddenly anything was possible. I felt indestructible, empowered, and full of love and spirit again to affect change in a positive way in our fucked-up world. If a couple of country bumpkins like us could do this, just imagine what was possible! I was brought sharply back to reality by the screaming of the engine’s alarm bells. I glanced in terror at my gauges and noticed that the temperature of the engine was skyrocketing into the red. Soon the engine safety system would shut us down. I pulled over and shut her down. A spraying, hissing sound could be heard from the rear of the bus. Chris and I ran outside to see a river of antifreeze following us down the highway. We had made it a total of about five miles from home. It was approximately 10 pm. The North Country Fair, where we were scheduled to play a 12 midnight Saturday, headlining slot on main stage to at least 5000 people, was at least ten hours north! Basically, we were fucked again. It was the water pipe. Remember the piece my friend Richard had fabricated months earlier? Well, it was fine. Bulletproof in fact. Unfortunately, the last remaining piece of original pipe joined to it had just ruptured under pressure. We patched it. Enough to hold (hopefully) until we reached Mt. Robson where we were scheduled to pick up our son Liam from a 5-day school hiking trip within the hour. We planned to attempt a more permanent fix there. Lying in puddles of antifreeze, cursing and muttering, parts and tools sprawled across three parking spaces, we suddenly became the largest tourist attraction in Mt. Robson Park. So much so that two giant tour buses pulled in beside us and all their Asian package tour patrons got out and gawked at us for an hour. The only bonus to this unwanted attention

A veggie oil prime r was the acquisition from one of the drivers of a replacement hose of the correct dimensions to replace our ruined one. By 2 pm we were ready to rumble. Except for one other small problem: we appeared to be out of Diesel fuel. “What the hell?!” I exclaimed. “I ran it on veg the whole way here! How can we be out of Diesel?” It turns out that the power wire for the switch had been somehow severed in the battery compartment, causing the switch to fail. One hundred and fifty dollars, half a tank re-filled with Diesel, and one wire splice later, we were back on the road. We drove all the way from Mt. Robson, BC, to Driftpile, Alberta powered by 100% post-consumer waste. Finally! We had beaten the odds, triumphed over our own lack of proper training, the elements, and most importantly, THE OIL COMPANIES. Finally I could get up there on stage in front of thousands of people and rage about the evils of our society without being crushed afterwards under the weight of my own hypocrisy.

...Original Music Ancient Prophecies... ...Today’s Mysteries Awaken to Your Power... ...Feel the Connection

Experience the

The original diesel engine was designed to run on peanut oil so running a motor on vegetable oil, instead of petroleum, is not a new idea. There is plenty of confusion between the two alternative fuel options for diesel motors: straight vegetable oil (SVO) versus bio-diesel. Bio-diesel is fuel that is derived from plant sources. It can be made from waste vegetable oil (WVO) or directly from a vegetable crop such as corn. To make bio-diesel the plant oil undergoes a chemical process. The processed veg oil has shorter carbon chains, similar in properties to diesel, and is ready to use directly in a diesel engine.

be happier with the results. With our Toyota, we get the same mileage on SVO as we do on diesel. There is roughly a 5% decrease in the truck’s power – barely noticeable. We converted the truck ourselves and it cost about $1400. Running the truck is cheap because the oil is free. In addition, we buy two kinds of filters. The in-line filter costs $10 and lasts for 500010,000km. We clean and reuse the sack filters (another $10) which do all the initial filtering and they last even longer. Finally, there is a cost for the small amount of diesel we use for end-of-drive purging.

A SVO system means the vehicle has undergone a conversion instead of the oil. There is plenty of technical There are many conversion kits available information and opinions online and all have two basic elements: a heating on conversions and SVO systems. unit and an in-line filter. In colder climates We bought our kit from Plantdrive.ca – anywhere in Canada — a SVO system that’s a good resource to start with. requires an additional fuel tank for diesel. The heater heats the oil so that it flows Due to printing errors last month, we’ve well. Veg oil becomes thicker as it cools, reprinted the veggie oil primer. Thanks Yael! and in cold temperatures it can congeal, clogging fuel lines and injectors. Therefore, before shutting down the engine the system is flushed, or purged, TAKE Y our with diesel, making sure PICK! no VO thickens in line. Now Located At: Finally, the filter cleans the oil of any particles: a stray chunk of french fry or a tempura crumb could mean a clogged injector and a costly repair.

Classic Guitars 465 Main Street

Magic Passion &

Possibilities.

Jacquelyn-Rose

Show Dates:

Vernon Kelowna Winfield Penticton Westbank Kamloops Salmon Arm

By Yael Wand The Basics:

March 14, March 21 March 22 March 28 April 5 April 4 April 19

www..symbiosisjr.com Visit for schedule & free song!

Performance: With the variety of conversion kits and eligible diesel vehicles, there is a huge range of performance, success, and opinions about SVO. We’ve put 70,000km on our system and we couldn’t

Penticton, BC

250.492.5007

www.leggottsclassicguitars.com

Peer ReVIEWs

new releases should also succeed in renewing your love of fairy tales in the Grimm’st of senses, before they became dumbed down and Disney-fied for a softer gentler childhood... myspace.com/lilyfawnlullabies

A single-malt & a pair of Daytons Babe Gurr “Chocolate Lilly by Lyndell Montgomery

by shayne avec i grec

So I received Babe Gurr’s album Chocolate Lilly in the post the other day, put the disc in my computer and went into the kitchen to chop up the necessary root veggies for the perfect post snowshoeing soup. Hard To Get Over Me started playing and immediately I went back to the computer to turn it up. I didn’t actually make it back to the kitchen or out into the pristine winter day for a snowshoeing adventure or near any other item on my perpetual to do list until the last chord of the album, combined with the smell of burning onions, snapped me back into reality. Her voice is as smooth and transcendent as 15-year single malt and makes me want to pour myself a generous glass of the amber libation. I find myself conjuring up artists like Mary Gauthier and Gillian Welch, thinking of places like 12th & Porter in Nashville, wanting to put on a cowboy hat, a pair of Dayton boots and swagger through town like I’d just won the big poker game. Lyrically, Babe can sculpt an image that leaves you thinking like Auguste Rodin. Lines such as “Your face embedded in me like a religion” from the track Love is Tough leave no room for doubting the authenticity of this songwriter. The musicianship, instrumentation choices, production value and most importantly songs themselves are all top shelf and friends come join the party because it’s an open bar. If roots/folk/rock/Gospel is even your part time thing, then add Babe Gurr to your list of artists worthy of your time. www.babegurr.com

BC Musician

Go to sleep, you little creeps --Lily Fawn “Brightest Darkest”

February 2009

A lullaby album from a baby-snatching half-deer, half-human may seem a strange concept to some, but then again – maybe it’s perfect! Known to many as half of the duo Hank & Lily, Lily Fawn has returned to her forest roots with “Brightest Darkest,” an album of lullabies, ballads and personal histories...

Buttless Chaps - Cartography By Lyndell Montgomery

Mixed at The Pines recording studio in Montreal by Dave Bryant of Godspeed You Black Emperor, the music masterfully evokes dreamtime melodies that should lull even the hardest of rednecks into a state of sleepy bliss, while the stories of missing parents, death and buried babies stolen from nearby villages may be the substance of nightmares if one weren’t careful...

I have never been asked to write a review for a band that no longer existed and initially thought it a strange request. Then I had a think about it for a moment and really it does make good sense. Music has the ability to outlive the makers and the likelihood to out-travel its creators. Good lord, Gordon Lightfoot is still being discovered by old and young alike across the universe.

Despite a long lasting tea party with her good friends Benjamin Bunny, Mr. Raccoon & Madam Butterfly (“Lily’s Secret: A Story”), the lonely sadness of Lily’s being an orphaned half-breed becomes painfully clear in the dulcet “Murdered For Kissing.” Fortunately, when it comes to making music, Lily need not be so lonely as she’s joined here by an extended musical family that includes Carolyn Mark, Dante Decaro, and members of Godspeed You Black Emperor and MeatDraw...

Whilst on tour, I popped Cartography into the van CD player, and while navigating,was rewarded by a diverse soundtrack.Vocally, I heard hints of Depeche Mode stacked on top of unadulterated chunky rock riffs thick and spanning as the Canadian Shield. Then while the simplified meditative lilt of tracks like The Opera and Before The Night It Buries You, proved to be consummate auditory companions, customized to pull me around the next bend.

For fans of Hank & Lily, this album lacks some more rambunctious elements of their work as a duo, but serves nicely as a companion piece to Hank Pine’s forthcoming “Late Night Spirituals,” in fleshing out the mythos of the world they share with us. It

Although I am one of the unfortunate ones who have missed the opportunity to see this band deliver live, the Buttless Chaps diverse, explorative and well-engineered musical legacy will live on in iPods, mp3 players and car stereos far and wide for ages to come.

b e h i n d th e b o a r d

a s o u n d t e c h p e r s p e cti v e

by RadaR

We are the technology generation. So it follows that our music will represent that. Pedals that loop, delay and apply other digital effects to any instrument or voice. As well as sample pads, keyboard effects and drum machines. Personally I have tended to be underwelmed at the results these additions yield. Cheesy electronic noises being applied to accoustically perfect instruments such as violins and cellos for songs that seem to be tailor made for teen-vampire tv dramas. And although I am an obnoxious Buffy fanatic, I have never felt these sounds lend themselves to live performance. I have been amazed by the skills of solo artists using looper pedals to create full orchestras but still perfer to see a band. But last week I went on vacation... of course my first night away I ended up working. I offered to cover for friend at the Solstice cafe in Victoria. The band was called Motherspace, a three piece from Vancouver. Drum Kit, Electric guitar, Keyboards and samplers, and lots of different vocal effects. We set up early to get in a really good soundcheck. In such a small venue, when dealing with a drum kit and so many gadgets I wanted time to set levels that would have plenty of room to change if I needed more volume anywhere in the mix. When the effects are in the monitors and the mains you also have a higher potential for feedback, as you are doubling sounds, extending and changing them, and sending

frequencies over and over. However I was on a 12-show feedback shutout, so the band and I worked our way through their different settings and reset the EQ. We also angled the drum kit to curb its impact on the audience, and reduce the general stage volume, so the band would be able to hear their monitor mixes with more ease. Motherspace turned out to be a really energetic crew creating gregorian harmonies using their multitude of effects while maintaining a very modern aesthetic with their composition and lyrical content. While some bands fall back on the machinery to cover up poor musicality, this band created extremely complex ideas using the technology as instrumentation. The vocalists dug deep, reminding me of Bjork and the Arcade Fire. The keyboardist held onto the backbone of the melody while the guitar and drums kept the flow solid and allowed for a lot of play within the tunes. I also managed to pretty much maintain my no feedback streak, though the drummer Andrew did create intentional feedback harmonies using his microphone...mildly sexually. This band does, however, need refinement. For a band that has only been around 6 months, they are doing a lot of really neat things, but they are doing them all at once. As though they were kids on Christmas, unwrapping presents and trying to play with all the toys without first building a city out of the boxes and wrapping paper, then placing the toy cars and fire trucks and dolls, and then setting the robots and dinosaurs to attack the cardboard downtown, and burn all its plastic

citizenry. Because of this lack of construction several things are happening. The first is that the audience cannot distinguish the layers, and therefore it is difficult to fully appreciate all the cool stuff this band is in fact doing. The second thing is the tunes tend to plateau very quickly, once you’ve established a very high output you can’t really go any further, thus the songs aren’t as dynamic as they really could be. Also the plateau and lack of construction means there is a cap on how complicated they can be. If they took the time to add layers, subtract them, change and polish them throughout the songs, there would be no limit on what they could incorporate and discover. Regardless I am truly excited to hear what this band will do as they progress and learn. Check them out at myspace.com/motherspace

MOTHERSPACE

The machine that goes “PING”

World of Music

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1776 Baron Road Kelowna, BC

250.869.0819 1.800.663.5183

kelowna@worldofmusic.ca www.worldofmusic.ca

BC Musician | February 2009 | 17

farewell TO days of CHAPleSs

THE BUTTLESS CHAPS

phot: scott smith

around the city that just helped us to evolve.”

ictoria BC is a geographical diamond situated at the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Boasting some of the most picturesque landscapes, architecture, waterfront, and foliage to grace this luscious province, it’s no secret that Victoria is a source of merriment for one’s soul. Setting foot into its meditative clutches will have you bidding adieu to you regular routine, tossing your dedication to your job out the window, and opening your arms to the charm of the small town city bustling to its own rhythm as the world keeps turning. Back in 1998, Victoria would be the birthplace of one of BC’s most comprehensive, talented, eccentric, and humble bands to ever grace the music scene. Though if you were to ever ask any members, more likely they would just shrug their shoulders at you and give a little chuckle as they flashed their pearly whites at you. The Buttless Chaps first made the leap into the world of music in the comforting clutches of Victoria, and after years of touring and after successfully producing six albums, the group has

BC Musician

February 2009

decided that after a decade of Chappiness, it’s time to seek out new adventure and part ways. “People are making this sound worse than it is, we’re not separating so much as we are not taking on new work,” said Morgan McDonald, keyboardist and synthesizer extraordinaire. The five piece band had begun their journey as friends, deciding to develop each of their passions for music, art, and exploration into The Buttless Chaps. There is the old saying that “One should never go into business with family or friends, it just ends badly,” but the Chaps never let that pin prick their bubble. Rather, they just picked up their instruments, cleared their throats, and decided the best way to explore your passion is to jump right in. “We just grew naturally. There really wasn’t any real plan for us, we just grew. Victoria is a very intimate music scene and we were able to pick up shows in several venues

After reading their website in a fit of re-living the days of the Chaps – it sounds far more morbid than it should, but some of us are still in mourning – it’s easy to remember what gave the band such a unique presence in one’s music playlist. On their Biography page, one paragraph in particular leaps from the pages and reminds us all just what made these five such monumental forces in the BC music scene. “The principle tenets of the band have been to have fun, and to place absolutely no limits their musical wanderings. The result is an imaginative and seamless journey from traditional country to new wave, to punk, performed without any irony or pretense. The honest enjoyment the Chaps get from playing is evident in their eclectic and vibrant live shows. The band projects an infectious energy.” Whomever penned that grouping of literary glory hit the nail on the head, they truly are, correction, were, one of the most prolific touring bands to take on all aspects of the musical scene. Experimenting with whatever took their mood – whether it be country, rock, punk, jazz, electro, or hip-hop – the band never seemed to turn down an opportunity to evolve into a new sound with each album. “I hate to think of music clustering into unique stylings or genres,” said McDonald as he tried to categorize the band into one set genre. “The industry is so diverse that you can’t lump bands into a genre, it’s really not something which is easily done.” It is clear that McDonald wasn’t sad about declaring the end to an era of Chaps, rather, he knows that if he ever needs to reunite with his friends, they are only an album away. “We did a live album called Experiments, it’s one of my favourites. It’s nostalgic and captures the energy of the show, which you don’t get in studio recordings. Their is a certain richness in an album. I’m also not so great at keeping a photo album. With music, the details are more, well, I am not sure how to put it. You can always put a song on and hear something

Whom ever penned that grouping of literary glory hit the nail on the head, they truly are, “ correction, were, one of the most prolific bands to take on all aspects of the music scene. ” new, and relive that moment and that show.” Never a fan of the large venues in the heart of Vancouver, his passion always remained for the small, intimate venues that silently await along the baron highways of North America. Their adumbrate atmosphere which allows the audience to meld as one with the performers seemed to possess a certain place in his heart, recalling some of his favourite gigs and collaborations as if it was yesterday, the passion of this milestone in his life still vibrates life into his psyche. “Vancouver has a lot of musical venues. I don’t know how to categorize Vancouver. There is a mis-match and there really isn’t enough to propel the music scene. I don’t know the missing ingredient though, what could make it more inviting. I certainly like the small theatres. I think there just wonderful for bands who can’t fill the large venues. Andy’s Culture Theatre in Vancouver is a good spot to play.”

As he continued to speak, sharing intimate details of what it was like to be apart of the Chaps for 10 years of his life, McDonald has developed into a well rounded musician, choosing to explore the alternate side of the industry and new wave sensations. Continuing to delve into his artistic soul, he is currently investigating new sounds and techniques as a member of the group Fond of Tigers. “I now get to work with another bunch of my friends, and I am surrounded with other talented musicians. It’s just an evolution as an artist to continue to explore new sounds, ideas, and work with new people to create something different.” His memories of life on the road and collaborating with remarkable artists was evoked a sense of nostalgia for the artist, seeming as though his mind had drifted off into the past and he was once more situated in the tour van among his friends. The imagery was overwhelming as he proceeded into a world that many of us will never know.

“There have been a couple of great tours that have been memorable. Touring down the West Coast of North America with the Hanson Family. Playing in California on stage with them was just energizing, the collaborations we had just radiated into memorable shows for me. Our early years, recording with Carolyn Mark, who is very professional. She sorta taught us how to tour on the road actually.” While their latest release, Cartography, may be their last album, it doesn’t mean the group is ready to toss in the towel just yet. They are scheduled to play the Dawson City Music Festival in July, and have promised to have a farewell show in Vancouver down the line. “It’s probably going to be late summer, or early fall. We didn’t give people fair warning about our departure, so we owe them that. Think in the spirits of a last waltz rather than a farewell.”

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voiding the mainstream music machine can be a difficult task for many artists in BC. It usually means sacrificing some form of success, in the traditional definition of the term, but for prolific experimental musicians like Jesse Zubot, it simply meant starting his own label. Zubot started Drip Audio in March of 2005, mainly as a way of recording and releasing his own experimental creations. The label started out small, but soon grew to be an internationally recognized label, one that is now known for representing some

is kind of a gong show. I don’t want to be a part of the big ridiculous circus because there are obviously a lot of problems with it.” A lot of the artists Drip Audio represents wouldn’t have fit in the mainstream machine anyway, so giving them a reliable home is the only way a lot of it will ever be recorded in the first place. So far the label has 19 releases, about half of which Zubot has produced. “The albums are recorded all over the place now, depending on where people are and what kind of budget there is. A lot of this stuff

drip audio By Joshua Estabrooks

of the most cutting edge sounds in the industry today. Zubot may be most well known for his collaboration with Steve Dawson, as Zubot and Dawson, but he said that the act has not been particularly active of late to allow both musicians to pursue other things. The label can be traced back to a revolutionary music venue in Vancouver called The Sugar Refinery, he said, where a lot of improvisational musicians would gather and perform, usually spawning many interesting collaborations. “A bunch of us musicians played there all the time and a scene developed which was a lot of improvised music and a lot of non-genre specific music. That was kind of when I started the label, after that venue disbanded, by talking with a bunch of my friends in that scene.” The Sugar Refinery scene found a new home at Drip Audio, said Zubot, and things have grown significantly from there. “The label started with the focus of documenting the Vancouver creative music scene. That’s how it started, and it’s branched out since then. It’s on an international level now, but I’m always coming back to the Vancouver creative music scene to support it, and that’s always going to be the focus even if it branches off here and there.” To get the label some credibility, Zubot said he started researching music critics, and found that there are enough intelligent critics out there who truly do appreciate music that doesn’t quite fit into the mainstream music industry. He began building a rapport with these critics, and word of mouth through the critics has played a large part in the label’s success. “I spent a lot of time finding out who these people are and getting them all the albums from the label and the word just spread that way through the underground scene. Then the critics would give the labels name to artists from other countries and now I am releasing albums that are kind of more international based.” Working around the music industry is important for Zubot, as he feels the pressure it puts on most creative musicians is stifling. “The music industry

BC Musician

February 2009

is done on a very short budget. If it isn’t recorded here I can do the design work, I get it printed, I get it ready to go and then I market it. I do a lot of publicity for the albums.” Currently though, Zubot has been doing less and less producing, as many of the albums he receives are already completed. “I don’t do everything for every release. I don’t want people to think I am a control freak. These days, more often the albums are coming to me done. I just don’t have time to do as much work as I did before.” Zubot said he likes it that way, as it allows the label to act as a service, which distributes the album, making it available through mail order and record stores and digitally. Many of the networks and contacts Zubot has developed for his label have come about through his touring, as he is always seeking out “hardcore” record stores all over the world, and keeping touch with critics and distributors as much as he can. “I try to develop personal relationships with them which is kind of cool.” For more information on Drip Audio or any of its releases, check out the website, www.dripaudio.com. Some of Drip Audio’s most recent releases include:

Jim McAuley - The Ultimate Frog Jim McAuley’s The Ultimate Frog is a two-CD collection of duets between the guitarist and four great musicians: Leroy Jenkins (violin, viola), Nels Cline (guitars), Ken Filiano (bass) and Alex Cline (drums/percussion). The album is a diverse and richly textured set of music, which includes quick-witted open improvisations, freeform folk and blues tunes, aching ballads and earthy modal pieces. McAuley’s playing is an intensely personal distillation of a huge range of influences — from fingerpicked blues to free jazz, not to mention Arabic oud music and Renaissance lute-song.

The Peggy Lee Band - New Code Vancouver-based cellist Peggy Lee plays the field

between jazz and new music, currently receiving international recognition as one of Vancouver’s finest improvisers. Upon arriving in Vancouver in 1989, Peggy Lee has participated in numerous creative projects. She is a member of Talking Pictures and Standing Wave, a new music ensemble dedicated to performing new written works by Canadian composers. Other performance collaborations include work with keyboardist Wayne Horvitz, trumpeter Dave Douglas, guitarist Nels Cline (Wilco) and guitarist Bill Frisell. The Peggy Lee Band was formed in 1998 as a vehicle to explore different strategies of improvisation within the context of Peggy’s compositions. Although initially formed as a sextet, Peggy decided to expand the group in 2007 by adding tenor saxophone and another electric guitar. Peggy has written seven new compositions for the album which have been interspersed with three small group improvisations––two trios and one duo. She has ‘book-ended’ the whole set of music with two covers, Bob Dylan’s “All I Really Want To Do” and Kurt Weill’s “Lost In The Stars.” The album opens with a full and joyous sound and travels through many moods: from agitated to defiant; from reflective to jubilant. The band plays with complete commitment, honesty and inspiration throughout.

he first time I can remember having any inkling of just how much an album could mean to someone was when I was in first grade and was attending the birthday party of a boy in grade 2. The gift that was received with the most excitement (greatly outdistancing the set of

to one another and meant more as a whole than the songs did individually. Of course, the songs on “Sgt Pepper” didn’t actually have all that much to do with one another (aside from the title track and its reprise), but it

Without You,” which is a surprisingly common skip-over) for as many times as it took us to reach our destination, the “Pepper” experience passing from one generation of Kane on to the next. Then, a couple of years ago, I was lucky enough to be invited to attend a lecture by Beatle producer Sir

THE VINYL WORD: it was 40 years ago today By Kevin Kane

magnets I had given him) came from one of his older brothers: his very own copy of Led Zeppelin’s debut LP. I recognized the image on the cover as being from the film footage of the crash of the Hindenburg – which I had recently seen on TV – and found it a bit sinister and distasteful (“Oh the humanity” etc). And the back cover was no less disturbing, showing 4 (in retrospect, not excessively) long-haired young men looking much like the hippies that over ran city park every summer – “transients,” my mother called them – and who would strum their acoustic guitars for the amusement of the gently swaying hippie maidens (and all the while seeming to have far more fun than any other adults I’d ever observed). This birthday party began to feel to me like a bittersweet rite of passage, as my friend was clearly now moving on from the world of toys and other child-like diversions… and me as well. There are certain memories from childhood that are frozen in one’s mind with a vividness that no photograph could ever capture, as was the sunny Saturday afternoon a couple of years later that my brother came home with a red Kelly’s Stereo Mart bag under his arm. Like a lot of kids, I got into music via a sibling, but in my case he is the younger by 2 years and was into records before he was out of first grade. From that bag (between us we would bring home literally hundreds more in the ensuing years) he produced a copy of “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” I read over the back cover and pointed out that some of the songs were also on The Beatles “67 To 70” compilation he had acquired a few weeks before, but he told me that this was the album that those songs had originally appeared on as though the word “album” held some greater significance. We had our father put it on the stereo (we weren’t yet aloud to touch his hi-fi with our own grubby fingers. Come to think of it, we were never aloud to touch his hi-fi) and examined the gatefold sleeve: their hair wasn’t as long or wild-looking as the members of Led Zeppelin, and their satin uniforms did not appear as though they’d been slept in on the grass at city park, so I didn’t feel threatened. And as we listened I began to understand the significance implied by the word “album”: this was a collection of songs that related

seemed like they did and that was good enough for me. Each song seemed to lead into the next with a sense of purpose and place, like the chapters of a book as opposed to a collection of short stories, and though I followed along with the printed lyrics on the back cover, I didn’t try too hard to find meaning (or lack thereof). I reckoned that this was music for the more discerning music fan – those whose attention spans exceeded 3 minutes and, therefore, listened to albums rather than singles – and at that moment I felt my first pre-pubescent twinge of rock snob superiority. I started to notice that every time one of the “serious” music magazines (Rolling Stone, Creem, or the British weeklies, as opposed to Hit Parader) would print one of their “best albums of all time” lists (why are “rock snobs” obsessed with putting things into lists?), “Sgt Pepper” was almost always perched at the very top, seemingly unchallengeable. That is, until punk rock came along in the late 70s and it began to seem that “Pepper” would shoulder the blame for every bit distasteful excess by the music business in general, from overproduced, too-many-disc concept albums all the way down to the Persian rug on which Greg Lake would stand whilst Emerson, Lake, and Palmer performed live. But then, right from its original release, pretty much everything about it has been of such significance on so many levels – culturally, sonically, artistically, sociologically, whatever – that its importance has pretty much overshadowed the music itself. I rediscovered the music of “Sgt Pepper” about 10 years ago when, at age 4, my son became obsessed with the album (with absolutely no prodding from me whatsoever – honest!). Every time we were in the car we would listen to it (minus “Within You

George Martin at the Vancouver campus of UBC on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the album’s original release date. He told some anecdotes (most of which I’d already read, but it was damn cool to hear the man himself tell them) and showed some video footage (most of which I hadn’t seen, and

I still own my first vinyl copy of “Sgt Pepper,” a British pressing purchased at the old Bennett’s store on Bernard in late 1978 (why does my brain cling to such things?!). A couple of Christmases ago, my brother gave me a Russian copy on vinyl (for some reason, Russians will “redo” an album cover so that it looks pretty much the same but wrong: in this case, the guy from the record company decided to add a couple more faces to the front cover, including his own). This past Christmas he gave me a British pressing from late 1967… in MONO (and if you don’t get the significance of this you’ll have to wait until next month’s column).

BC Musician | February 2009 | 21

s a v e m o n e y ! m a k e y o u r o w n g u i ta r s l i d e

By Paul Crawford

’ve got a guitar that I can’t play, a 1930s/40s Orpheum Leader that I acquired from the Canadian bluesman Ken Hamm in trade for two paintings from California done in 1912. It has real high action, and, I now know, makes for a great slide guitar. Kevin Kane was killing time at my place and I asked for his advice. He went looking for a slide, and when he couldn’t find one, went looking for a wine bottle instead. We did a quick search on the web and found instructions for making a slide from a bottle. Our method was to break the bottle inside a paper bag, the grind the neck on the pavement to smooth the broken neck.

make a good slide from a bottleneck. One of my favorites, is where an old bluesman used to to take a piece of twine and soak it in kerosene wrap it around the neck of the bottle, light it on fire and when it burns out, plunge it in a bucket of icewater. Presto! the bottle is suppoded to break off clean at that point and then only takes a little grinding on the sidewalk to polish off the edge. This sounds good, but after trying it several times, I can tell you that more than likely, you will get jagged break at best, and the bottle with crack and fall apart at worst. There are some other methods along that line as well, but what I have found works the best it to use a glass cutter, a large nail and some emery paper.

The slide worked great, but I still can’t play. Here’s a method that will give you a cleaner slide with a little effort.

We found it at: soundboxguitars.com/ Bottle_Neck_Slides_101.html

other methods include... First, find a bottle, usually a wine bottle, but lots of other types of bottles will work as well. There are two basic types of bottles you should be looking for, one has a straight neck and the other has a flared or slightly curved neck. There are pros and cons to each. I prefer using the straighter type. but other players like the curve, as it makes it a little easier to play on the lower strings. The thickness is very important. Use a thin bottleneck, and the sound you get will be wimpy and no one wants wimpy. Try to find bottles with thicker necks that you can also stick your finger into. I use my little finger, but here again, no rules. Use the finger youj feel most comfortatble with. Once you have found a bottle you like, get a couple more, as the odds are you will probaly break one or two before you really perfect this operation. Lots of myths and stories aboud on how to

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February 2009

First take the glass cutter and scribe a line around the neck of the bottle at the length you would like. Here is another thing you might consider as well. Some players like the lip of the bottle left on the slide, others do not. I do not, so I have to cut off the lip. Do this first before removing the neck from the bottle. If you really ger into this, you can still find a device called the Fleming bottle cutter, or some such thing, I have seen them on Ebay and in thriftstores, etc. These make it easy to keep the scribe line straight, but not really necessary if you are only going to make one or two slides. After make your scibe lines, carefully start tapping on the line from the INSIDE of the bottle

with the head of a VERY LARGE nail. Do this carefully and you will be able to make a clean break of the neck from the bottle. Another thing you can do it heat the nail with a torch or over the stove and just keep pressue on the scribe line with the nail. (Again, you are putting the pressue from the inside of the bottleneck). Like I said, practice on a few bottles and you will get the hang of it. After breaking off the neck, you can use the emery paper to smooth the sharp edges off. Be very careful as the edge will be razor shart until you sand it smooth. Practice and patience will yield your own “bottleneck” guitar slide. This will have much more “mojo” that the wimpy Pyrex slide they sell at your local music store.

M u s i c B C s p r o u ts i n o k a n a g a n

aking the leap into the realm of a professional artist is more than a trivial challenge. With the weight of denial and risk of being turned away at every corner, musicians have to run the gauntlet right from the start. It’s not an easy undertaking, especially if you’re an independent artist who hasn’t struck the gold mine of pop-rock success.

ing nationally and internationally, promoting BC talents through the Canadian consulates world-wide. Music BC is a vital source of information for a musician to get the start they need. Adding to the list of worthy achievements, they are also a founding partner in the Western Canadian Music Awards, which had its third annual celebration in October, 2005.

That’s not to say that there are not avenues in the province that want to see the small independents flourish.

Finding funding and the support to facilitate one’s drive and ambitions can be more than a taxing endeavour. Ask any musician what their largest source for frustration and headaches are, chances will be they will respond with “Lack of funding.” The organization helps to fund and support the development of BC artists though, establishing grants and funding to members who apply. They have been the BC office base for the Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Recordings, a Federal/Private foundation which awards over $13 million per annum to the Canadian Music Industry. And for artists who have the itch to travel abroad, they also administer the MITAP Travel Assistance

Music BC opened its Okanagan offices on January 16, at The Habitat in Kelowna. Musicians, producers, festival organizers and the musically challenged were in attendance, sipping on fine ales from the gang at Tree Brewing while mingling with like-minded individuals, learning about the organization. In essence, Music BC is the voice of the BC Music Industry – lobbying for funding support, tax credits, and creator’s rights – network-

Program. Recently the fund has been brought back into the organization after being axed three years ago, but once again it is here to help members achieve their traveling ambitions. In recent years they have also developed their own Music Assistance Program which involves manufacturing, distribution, travel assistance, demonstration record recording, radio promotion, and other programs for members. What was once a period in the artistic world where musicians had to find ingenious methods to scrounge change to see their goals achieved, has not evolved into an age where anything is possible. You just need a little help from your friends at Music BC to help you on your way to becoming everything you are striving to be. The Okanagan Music BC offices are located at The Habitat, 248 Leon Avenue, Kelowna. To learn more about Music BC and the programs, funds, and opportunities they offer, visit the website at musicbc.org.

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rancophones have been in BC since 1795. Since then, they have migrated from Eastern Canada and abroad in the search of opportunity and a new home.

ing and experience with some of the best people in the business, and to give artists a chance to shine in settings which they may not have had access to previously.”

Today, the La Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique (BC Francophone Federation) estimates there are 270,000 people in communities all over BC who speak french.

In BC this event is called Pacifique en chanson (Pacific In Song) and features artists from the Yukon and BC. A collaboration between the Association Franco-yukonaise

in a different host province each summer. The five days before the event are filled with workshops on performance, vocal technique and the business of music, rehearsals, press releases and interviews, photo shoots, and outings and showcases in the community. One winner from this event will represent

Th e f r en c h c o nnecti o n By Michelle Richard Events like Vancouver’s Festival D’Eté (Francophone Summer Festival), Nanaimo’s Festival du sucre d’érable (Maple Syrup Festival), and Maillarville’s Festival Du Bois (In the Woods Festival), are further appeal to francophone culture and the general community. Of Bermudan and Acadian ancestry, I arrived in Squamish, BC as a small child in 1979, having spent the first years of my life immersed in the community of St. Louis-deKent, New Brunswick. This early introduction to English, and later, my jazz vocal training at Vancouver Community College, set me on a dual path in music. Today I compose/sing in both languages, and my first album was a bilingual mix of jazz and folk songs.

(Franco-Yukon Association) and CCAFCB, it is broadcast live on CBC Radio-Canada. Held in the spring of each year, the event is judged by journalists, music educators, artists, and others in the francophone community. Six individuals and bands from the Yukon and BC are chosen from a pool of submissions in all musical styles. Five days before the show, they begin an intense time of rehearsals, training and CBC interviews. Show night arrives quickly, where they compete for cash awards and titles of Best Performance (two Laureate Awards and a chance to represent BC/Yukon at the next level, called Gala Chant’Ouest). Gala Chant’Ouest has occurred annually since 1990 and is held

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February 2009

Says Josée Allard, “Pacifique en chanson was a great experience, especially since I was only 15 the first time I participated. The workshops at the time on breathing and vocal technique, stage presence, and how to connect with your audience have helped through my entire career. The only thing that is missing is what to do next? It seems like most francophone artists in BC have to move to Quebec to break into the industry. Why can’t we create our own stars here in BC? Pacifique en chanson will be held on May 1, 2009 at the Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam. For more information, go to www.ccafcb. com. For more information about Chant’Ouest, go to www.chantouest.ca.

Says Jean-Francois Packwood, General Director of CCAFCB, “The aim of the events is not only to hold a competition, it’s to provide train-

So what happens to participants after these events? Many have built on their experience and enjoy prominent careers in music. Local examples include pop songstress Josée Allard, whose recent album, La Sirene, was just nominated for a West Coast Music Award in the Best Francophone Album category. Other rising stars include Anique Granger, multi-instrumentalist/singer/ songwriter Daniel Roy, and singer/songwriter/dancer Geneviève Chassé.

MICHELLE RICHARDS

In 2008, the Conseil culturel et artistique francophone de la Colombie-Britannique (CCAFCB, or BC Francophone Cultural and Artistic Council) invited me to take part in a showcase event they were putting on in the spring, which led to an opportunity to perform in Gala Chant’Ouest. In the business of nurturing new and emerging talent long before Canadian Idol came along, they are located in all of the Western provinces of the Yukon, BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, with similar organizations in Ontario and in the Maritimes. Each spring and summer, they hold musical competitions and mentoring events.

Western Canada at Quebec’s Festival international de la chanson de Granby (Granby International Song Festival). The Society Chant’Ouest also recognizes a person or organization for making a contribution to advancing French music and song in Western Canada.

View from the venue The Royal on Baker is well known as THE

up close and personal true taste of the Kootaneys. Located in Nelson, BC, The Royal prides itself in supporting the arts in many realms. Owner Kiki Zilahi-Balogh said the venue, which has been around for over 70 years, has been part of Nelson’s famous Artwalk showcasing local artists for many years. “We show filmmakers’ works, as well as many local and touring bands who have cut their teeth at The Royal.” For Zilahi-Balogh, supporting the indie music scene, with a special emphasis on Canadian acts, has made The Royal a natural stop for touring bands coming and going from East to West, and vice versa. It’s challenging being the smallest family run venue in Nelson, she said, as the venue can only seat 156. “We make up for it by treating the talent well, and we have the best sound set-up in town.” The building itself has stood the test of time, being over 100 years old. “It’s one of the original hotels in Nelson. It has been a bar as long as I’ve known.” The Royal is primarily a live entertainment venue, with top-notch sound and food to treat its patrons.

The Royal is all about pushing the envelope, she said, hosting Nelson’s first gay event in the community’s history. “We had a drag show for New Years. I took a bit of heat for it.” The Royal’s website is currently under construction, but will soon be up and running at www.theroyalonbaker.com where interested artists can drop Zilahi-Balogh a note if they want to play a show. Otherwise she can be reached at kzilahi@shaw.ca The Royal on Baker is located at 330 Baker Street, Nelson. For more information please call 250-352-1269.

Some upcoming acts of note include Feb 6 Messenjah/ local Reggae Feb 7 The Tuques/ local folksy rock Feb 13 Mexican Fiesta Party Feb 14 Big John Bates Valentine’s Day burlesque show Feb 20 Hammerhead & Friends/Local Rock Band Feb 21 Selkirk College Music Program Feb 28 Ben Ross Rainforest Party/DJ’s

The Cellar Restaurant and Jazz Club has only taken five years to establish itself as one of the top jazz venues not only in Vancouver, but in the world as well. Club owner Cory Weeds has owned the club for nine years, and has made it a goal to turn the venue into the premier place to see some of the world’s best jazz performances. “We’re more of a supper club now. We are very listener friendly,” said Weeds.

FIVE ALARM FUNK

Over the years, The Royal has hosted some impressive performers, from Five Alarm Funk, D.O.A. and SNFU to Shane Phillip, Jim Byrnes and Luther Wright. “We are extremely spoiled in Nelson with regards to the talent that is produced right here. We try to support the

The Cellar

local music industry as much as possible.”

The club has always had a commitment to promoting local Canadian music, and already has hosted every major player from the Vancouver scene and across the country. The Cellar has been voted one of the top 100 jazz clubs in the world by The Downbeat International Jazz Club Guide, Best Jazz Joint (2004) by Vancouver Magazine, and 2nd in the Best Live Music Venue category (2005) by the Vancouver Courier. Weeds said he always enjoys live recording events, because the audience really gets to feel the magic of the process, as long as they don’t make any noise. The Cellar Restaurant and Jazz Club is located at 3611 West Broadway St. Vancouver. You can check out their website at www.cellarjazz.com. Some upcoming events in February, include: Legendary saxophonist Lou Donaldson, guitarist Randy Johnston, Drummer Fuki Tainaka, and organist Akakiko Tsurga. For three nights at the end of March, the Michael Zilber Quartet will be recording live form the venue, featuring pianist Chris Gestrin, drummer Bernie Arai, bassist John Shifflet and saxophonist Michael Zilber.

BC Musician | February 2009 | 25

The Waverley Hotel Cumberland (250) 336-8322 | waverleyhotel.ca

View from the venue

By Vig Schulman

Cherry Pi cke d : some v enues, some shows Rejuvenate the classical inside your soul with an evening of elegance. Victoria Symphony New Currents Festival of Music Presents the Victoria Symphony and Muge Buyukcelen, at the Alix Goolden Performance hall on Feb. 2.

THE WAVERLEY PHOTO: AVIGDOR SCHULMAN

he Waverley Hotel is located in downtown Cumberland, on the corner of 1st Street and Dunsmir. The beautiful old wooden structure is over 120 years old and has been a hub of activity or most of its illustrious history. The current owners, Harvey and Shannon Brown, have been at the helm for over 30 years, and with the help of manager Karen Webber, have turned this piece of BC history into one of the most popular pub/restaurants on Vancouver Island. Always hosting quality live music, the pub has, in recent years, acquired a stellar reputation for featuring independent, original bands that are more likely to be found on stages in large urban centres. After hiring Avigdor ‘Vig’ Schulman as the entertainment co-ordinator, the “Wave” has been put on the map as one of the best venues for touring bands and audiences alike. Vig has been presenting music in BC for over 25 years and puts his experience in the many areas of sound, lights, and promotion to help make the “venue” aspect of the facility run smoothly. The roster of acts that have played sellout shows at the bar in the past number of years is impressive, with the genres of music coming through ranging from blues, reggae, alternative country, hip-hop, and electronica. Some famous characters who have strolled through the Waverley include: Maria Muldaur, John Lee Hooker Jr, Jim Brynes, Sonny Rhodes, Connie Kaldor, Jommy Bowskill, NoMeansNo, DOA, Corb Lund, The Itals, Five Alarm Funk, Sweatshop Union, Hey Ocean!, Mr. Something Something, Velvet, Moka Only, Delhi2Dublin, Daniel Wesley, Budos Band, Grupo Fantasma, Barney Bentall, Big John Bates and The Voodoo Dollz,

and Mat The Alien. Accolades for the “scene” that has gelled at the bar in recent years have been fairly wide reaching. After a trip to the local ski hill Mount Washington, the editors of Skiing Magazine voted the Waverley “The best bar adjacent to a ski hill,” primarily for its alternative live music policy. The charm of this venue is definitely the casual and relaxed atmosphere, the friendly staff and the weekly music scene. Come and enjoy the great food and catch one of the upcoming shows. For more information about upcoming shows, visit the Waverley website at waverleyhotel.ca. To book your band for a show, contact Vig at cumberlandvillageworks.com

February Line Up at The

Waverley

Friday, Feb. 6 - Mother Mother Friday, Feb. 13 - The Tom Fun Orchestra Saturday, Feb. 14 - Current Swell & Ash Grunwald Friday, Feb. 20 - Six Gun Buddah Friday, Feb. 27 - The McGillicuddy’s

Canadian country artist Lisa Brokop will be crooning at the North Peace Cultural Centre in Fort. St. John on Feb. 4. Makes sure to take a coat, winter is still looming up there. npcc.bc.ca Kath and the Tomkats will be getting jazzy at the Vernon Jazz Club on Feb. 7. Set your mind to blues and jazz and run on auto-pilot for the night. vernonjazzhomestead.com Witness the evolution of Ska music during Skaspot Monday’s at the Biltmore Cabaret in Vancouver. How could you resist riding on the information gravy train? Next session is Feb. 9. biltmorecabaret.com Get up close and musical with Alison Arnall when she rocks the Grateful Fed Cafe in Kelowna on Feb 13. The food is just as scrumptious as the name of the place. thegratefulfed.ca Vancouver Island will be dumbstruck when Kardinal Offishall hits up the Queens Nightclub in Nanaimo on Feb. 18. Better start jumping on the spot and prepare for a night with a rambunctious crowd. myspace.com/kardinaloffishall If you find yourself still recovering from the Coldsnap Festival in Prince George, why not listen to some folk? Klezmer Katz and Twisted String will harmonize at Le Potpourri Coffeehouse in Smithers on Feb. 27. Happy recovery! bvfms.org/coffeehouse It’s barely February and we’re thinking about March! For some very cool drumming go to the Dream Café in Penticton for David Thiaw & Doomba, March 6 & 7. thedreamcafe.ca

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