The Scope

Photo by Justin Davis

“You Don’t Have to Say It” by Steve Maloney
 
“I’m on the highway right now driving to Tallahassee,” says Steve Maloney when I contact him to ask what he’s been up to lately.

Steve is going to be doing a lot of driving over the next few days as he has to be back in St. John’s for Friday (May 18th) to play a show at The Ship. Then it’s all the way out to Twillingate to play a show at The Anchor Inn on Saturday (May 19th) with Josh Bourden.

Steve’s covering a lot of ground in a short period of time could also be a metaphor for his musical life over the past year. Since releasing his RPM debut Mammoth in March 2011, Steve has become a staple on the local music circuit, playing drums in bands like Other People and The Elizabeatans as well as becoming a respected solo performer, charming audiences with his Buckley-esque falsetto and stripped-down acoustic tunes.

Since 2011 Steve has also been writing and demoing new material. “I have a bunch of songs I’m currently trying to finish. I have a bad habit of getting discouraged and scrapping a tune before or shortly after it sees the light of day,” he says. “But, regardless, I’ll be playing a couple newish songs on Friday night.”

Steve’s inability to settle on how a song should sound could be in part due to the fact that he is constantly listening to new music. He says he’s always on the look out for “as much new music as possible,” and invites any and all recommendations for new listening. “If you see me around and have any suggestions let me know,” he says.

So, can people expect to see these new songs in record form anytime soon?

“I have a demo pretty well finished,” says Steve. “Just finalizing the artwork and considering different types of packaging and whatnot. I’m hoping to have it available for shows over the summer months.”

Today’s track “You Don’t Have to Say It” is from Steve’s 2011 Mammoth RPM. To hear more songs from that record and some new material as well be sure to catch Steve Maloney live at The Ship this Friday (May 18th) with Other People and Thee Internet.

http://www.myspace.com/stevemaloneymusic

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Winnipeg accordionist and songstress Ingrid Gatin will be in St. John’s this week for a series of shows as part of her Canadian spring 2012 tour. Gatin plays a kind of cabaret-soaked folk which will no doubt speak to local audiences who have the taste for the eclectic, and speaking strongest to fans of artists like Beirut, Sarah Slean, Andrew Bird, Leonard Cohen and Basia Bulat. Gatin’s performances are full of homemade percussion, foot stomps, handclaps and tambourines, and attempt to blur the line between theatre performance and old time gospel revival (she has been even been known to break out a mean cover of “Wade In The Water” now and again.)

This video for “How Did I Get So?”, directed by fellow-Winnipeg-dwelling artist Ryan Klatt, is a great sample of what you can expect to hear from Gatin. She’ll be playing several venues around town, beginning with Folk Night at The Ship on Wednesday (May 16th). On Friday (May 18th) Ingrid will be playing the much-anticipated show at LSPU Hall with Joanna Barker and Katie Baggs, two other excellent singer-songwriters (ticket info for that show can be found at http://www.rca.nf.ca.) Then she’ll be play a show Saturday (May 19th) at The Grapevine.

http://www.ingridgatin.com

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Meghan Harnum (aka Scrambled Meggz) first burst on to the St. John’s music scene in 2009 as drummer for The Mudflowers, a band she formed with her high school friends Nicole Fiander and Megan McLaughlin back in their hometown of Bishop’s Falls. Since then she has immersed herself in many other musical projects — playing and recording with bands like Pap Pap, The Blackened Lungs, and Thom Coombes to name a few. In 2010 Meghan released her RPM Challenge debut Broken Tongues, a collection of low-fi indie-folk songs which gave evidence of Meg’s keen pop sensibilities and solid songwriting. This past February Meghan recorded her second RPM album, Let’s Go Get Lost and upped the ante considerably, both in fidelity and strength of songwriting and arrangement.

The title track opens the record with a jazzy, primitive keyboard beat instantly reminding me of something from Leonard Cohen’s I’m Your Man. A barrage of complex melody lines eventually give way to Meg’s beautifully-layered dreamy vocals, providing the perfect surrealistic back-drop for her lyrics “Let’s go get lost out in the woods, let’s go get lost down by the sea, let’s go get lost out in the hills, let’s go get lost inside a dream.”

From there the album continues with more sweet, understated songs with stripped down instrumentation allowing Meg’s lyrics and charming vocal timbre to take center stage. Meghan enlists a little help from her friends, like Thom Coombes, who lends his guitar skills to the jangly “Devil On Yr Tail” and some tastefully placed whammy bar on “The Glow ( Whatever happened to…?)”. Aley Waterman (Say Fire) compliments Meg’s picking with some rolling piano lines on the instrumental “On A Beach In Mos Ambrose.” “Drinking The Demons Away” is a great Loudon Wainwright III-style country jaunt about drowning your sorrows in the bottom of a whiskey bottle — with a ghostly saw solo by Knoah Bender. Finally, “Everytime You Break A Plan You Break My Heart” is a melancholic tune featuring Meghan Hollet (Thom & The Tomcats) on vocals.

It’s hard to pick a favorite song on Let’s Go Get Lost but I had to decide on one as track of the day, so I went with “Ordnance Street” because I love the keyboard and melodica combination and the strangely historic-but-still-enigmatic lyrics. Meg played her first solo gig at a house show in the Battery last week with Andrea McGuire. She is also planning to venture across the pond and play a few shows in Europe this summer. While you’re waiting for her to get back and play some more local shows I would strongly recommend checking out Let’s Go Get Lost and downloading it from Meg’s Bandcamp page below.

http://scrambledmeggz.bandcamp.com/

http://www.myspace.com/scrambledmeggz

http://rpmchallenge.com/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userprofile&user=11205&Itemid=296

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Tonight, May 11th, three of St. John’s finest will rock the intimate stage of The Rose & Thistle: Thom Coombes & The Thom Cats, The Connexions, and Cafeteria. One of these acts, Thom Coombes & The Thom Cats, have just released their brilliant, brand new album For Lovers & The Lonely Alike. On top of that, Thom has also recorded and released another solo album this past February as part of the RPM Challenge. Thom is one of the original 22 RPMers who participated locally in the first Scope-promoted challenge in 2008, and he’s also one of the very few — four I believe (Thom Coombes, Vic Lewis, Al Drysdale and am/fm dreams) — who have participated every year since.

Thom’s 2012 submission Little Jokes & False Alarms is a bit of a blend of the band feel of Lovers & The Lonely Alike and the stripped down folk of Thom’s 2011 RPM album Junk Food For Thought. The record kicks of with the beautifully tender “Above The Flood” featuring Meghan Hollett’s charming lead vocals. Those Lasers skins-man Steve Doyle lays down the groove on the more rocking tunes of the record like the Meat Puppets-esque “Day Dreams, Night Shifts”, the cleverly titled “Having Nowhere Else to Go is Not a Reason to Stay” and the bitter regret song “Treat Her Right”. The remaining ten tracks on the album are largely acoustic guitar based and feature some killer finger picking, in the vein of Thom’s inspirations for the album which include Chet Atkins, Mississippi John Hurt, John Fahey, Bert Jansch and local RPM alumni Dan Ficken. Seven of the fourteen tracks on Little Jokes & False Alarms are acoustic instrumental demos which according to Thom’s Bandcamp page will appear in finished form on another album he working on entitled In Another Room.

Drop by The Rose & Thistle tonight (May 11th) for an evening of great music with Thom & The Thomcats, The Connexions and Cafeteria.

http://thomandthetomcats.bandcamp.com

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Photo by Jimmy Devries

“Glory Days” by Jordan Raycroft
 

On Monday we featured “Cold Hands” by Ontario singer-songwriter Jordan Raycroft who is in town this week for a string of shows, the first of which is tonight (May 10th) at The Bull & Barrel. I posted part one of a recent interview I did with Jordan on Monday when he talked about his recent Canada-wide tour by train and shared some of the funny and exciting stories that ensued. Today we feature part two of the interview, focusing on Jordan’s sonic and musical inspirations.

I’ve been listening to your demo quite a bit of late and I have to say I love your stripped down, folky sound. Who or what would you cite as influential to your sound.
I think my folky sound can be attributed to the environment I was in when I started taking songwriting more seriously. I’ve written a few songs here and there since I was just a kid… just melodies and lyrics because I couldn’t play guitar. I actually wrote lyrics for a couple of really horrendous screamo bands I both drummed and screamed in while I was in elementary school. That’s a very embarrassing chapter of my musical journey. I’ve been drumming since my dad bought me a kit for my tenth birthday and I never started teaching myself guitar until I was eighteen. When I went away from home to study at the University of Guelph is when I started writing the songs I’m touring on now. Guelph has a really fantastic music scene. A large portion of it is made-up of awesome folky-bands and singer-songwriters. It was during my first year of university that I re-discovered Bob Dylan and started listening to artists like the Wooden Sky, the Avett Brothers, Grizzly Bear, Feist, Ryan Adams, and the Tallest Man on Earth.

The most influential musical people to me would be my mom, Beth Moore, Peter Katz, Dallas Green, Daniel Romano, and Sam Roberts. My mom has a killer voice and that has to be where I get mine from… it’s certainly not from my dad. [laugh] Beth Moore is a great friend of mine and has been doing this music thing for a lot longer than myself. She was one of the first people to really encourage me to put myself out there. I played my first show ever with Peter Katz and ever since he’s been someone I look up to as a musician. Dallas Green (Alexisonfire, City and Colour) and , Daniel Romano (Attack in Black) and Sam Roberts make up some of the most played artists on my iTunes followed by Fleet Foxes, Young Rival, Explosions in the Sky, Shad, Led Zeppelin, and Jay-Z and Kanye… I can’t get enough of Watch the Throne.

Do you have any other recordings available or in the works?
Recordings-wise I don’t have anything new to release. I’ve written almost another albums worth of songs since I put out that demo but I’m still sitting on them. Ideally, I won’t be releasing another album until I have the resources to do it properly. When I say “properly”, I mean using a real studio that isn’t a cheap mic hooked up to Garage Band on my MacBook in my residence dorm room. I’ve got a lot of vision for how I’d my first studio album to sound and I can’t do it properly all on my own. I’m not even sure I’d consider the demo I have now as a legitimate release. It’s more or less a way for people to listen to my music when seeing me live isn’t an option, not a showcase of my songs at their best. I’m proud of the songs on it, but not necessarily the recordings of those songs.

Where exactly will you be playing during your stay in Newfoundland?
I’ll be making three appearances in St. John’s this time around. May 10th I’ll be playing at the Bull and Barrel, May 12th at the Rose and Thistle, and May 14th I’ll be hosting Music NL’s open mic at the Ship Inn. I’m not too sure on the full details of whose playing, but I know Jerry Stamp is involved in at least one of them. He’s been a great help in settings these shows up. I’ll also be making an appearance Mark Furlong’s CBC radio show, which is pretty exciting if you ask me. I’ll be in Newfoundland from May 10th until I fly out on the 17th and I love playing house shows — if anyone reading this would like to have me play their living room, backyard, attic, or any other cool space, send me an email at jordan@jordanraycroft.com

You can take in Jordan Raycroft live at the following dates and venues.

May 10th – Bull and Barrel
May 12th – The Rose and Thistle
May 14th – Jordan will be hosting Music NL’s open mic at the Ship Inn

http://www.jordanraycroft.com

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The lineup for this year’s NL Folk Fest, which will take place at Bannerman Park from August 3-5, was announced this morning. What do you think?

The Once – www.theonce.ca
Amelia Curran – www.ameilacurran.com
The Dardanelles – www.thedardanelles.com
James Keeleghan – www.keeleghan.com
Andrew James O’Brien – www.andrewjamesobrien.com
Idlers – www.idlers.ca
Vishtèn – www.vishtenmusic.com
A Crowd of Bold Sharemen – www.goo.gl/YhfYL
Dannette Eddy - www.goo.gl/0SyGV
Jenny Gear w/ Sandy Morris & Billy Sutton – www.goo.gl/BwJ11
Crooked Stovepipe – www.crookedstovepipe.com
The Forgotten Bouzouki
The Rosalines
Bowline
Qristina and Quinn Bachand – www.qbachand.com
Allan Byrne & Holly Hogan
All The Wiles - www.thewiles.ca
The All-Stars
St. John’s Song Circle
Valerie Hewson

Tickets are available at O’Brien’s Music Store or online at www.ticketpro.ca and by phone at 1-888-311-9090.

More info at http://www.nlfolkfestival.com/

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02%20Knuckles.mp3
 

Last Friday we featured a track called “Election Day” from The Long Distance Runners new album Tracks. The band will be playing their official album release party this Friday (May 11th) at The Rock House. This weekend I got in touch with front-man Chris Picco to ask him about the new album and get some stories from their most recent tour.

Tracks is phenomenal. I read that you brought these songs in last-minute? Were the songs just rough sketches that the band fleshed out in the studio or were they pretty well laid out to start with?
Actually half of the songs were brought in last-minute. “Treading Water”, “Election Day”, “Credits Roll”, “You Don’t Answer Anymore” and “The Island” were songs I had been toying with for a little while. Matt and I would demo them at home and work out arrangements, tempos and keys, and then go into the studio and learn the songs together as a whole over a one-day session. The goal was to cut a song a day, and I think everyone fed off of that pressure of figuring out your parts right there on the spot. Of course some were easier than others. “The Island” was pretty complicated and we had to figure out most of that arrangement on the fly while “Treading Water” and “Credits Roll” came together really fast in two or three takes.

I love the album art too. It’s got this cool vintage look. Who did it?
Duncan Major at Perfect Day designed it. We loved it right away. Also, since we had decided to press it to vinyl, the concept fit exactly into the classic style we were looking for. The amazing Dave Howells was our photographer for the back sleeve and insert.

Is there any significance to the name Tracks?
We had been racking our brains for a while on what to call this record. It wasn’t until the album design was solidified that Duncan’s partner, John Devereaux at Perfect Day threw this title out to us. We were like, “ah yes, Tracks. That makes sense.” The first thing that comes to mind is the idea of the runner running a track, but it could also represent the individuality of each song. We explored a wide range of different styles throughout the record but all the while keeping things cohesive.

Tracks definitely has that great early 70s fringe rock sound that was on the demo with nods to The Velvet Underground and The Kinks, but I’m also hearing a little some more diverse influences like the jazzy “Treading Water”, the Beatles-y reggae of “He Doesn’t Stare Into The Sun Anymore” and the Wilco-esque “Knuckles”. What bands or records would you guys cite as influences that might have inspired you while writing and recording Tracks?

Hmm, let me think… I know that I was listening to a lot of old tapes that I had collected in my car over the past couple of years when I was writing a lot of the Tracks material. Stuff like Bob Dylan and The Band’s Basement Tapes. Lou Reed’s Transformer is one of my favourite records, as is the self-titled Velvet Underground record. I love how on those albums you have the perfect mix of quirky humour, kick-ass rockers and sensitive ballads. As for the other guys I know that Dicky had been listening to a lot of early seventies Stones — especially the stuff Mick Taylor’s playing on. Matt, well he loves the Beatles and The Band as much as me and the rest of the boys. And Adam, our drummer, well, he’s a big fan of Wilco, the Stones and we also share a love for old country. Our next album will have a country song on there for sure.

How has touring been?
We’ve just got back from an amazing second tour of the Maritimes, including Ontario and Quebec. The audiences were great most everywhere we went. The ECMA’s were a bit of a whirlwind but a lot of fun and we got to play some cool stages and hear a lot of great music. Wakefield, Quebec was definitely a stand out… great venue and staff and interesting people who know and love their music. Plan B in Moncton and Governor’s in Sydney are also places where the folks love their music and know how to have a good time.

We love living and performing in Newfoundland, but as most people know, you need to tour to make that connection to your audience. It’s expensive as hell and can be a pain in the butt to pull it all together but once you’re out there doing it you quickly realize it’s worth it. Also, thank God for organizations like MusicNL and NLAC who are there to help bands like us get our music out there.

Any funny or interesting road stories to tell?
Interesting stories… well, I’m not going to say who, but a band member was found in a bathroom stall in a popular Montreal venue with his arm elbow deep in the toilet bowl, fishing for his favourite belt buckle. The stranger who walked in on that must have been a little puzzled when he turned and walked back out the door. My stomach still turns thinking about it.

So what’s next for The Long Distance Runners?
We have our album release show coming up on Friday May 11th at The Rock House here in St. John’s with our friends Blueyears and The Skinny Jims. We’re also excited to be shooting our first video for “Treading Water” on Super 8 this coming weekend and plan to demo some new songs over the next couple of months. As for touring we’re going to keep busy with some festivals and events on the island over the summer and will be touring Eastern Canada again in the fall.

Don’t miss The Long Distance Runners Tracks release party at The Rock House this Friday (May 11th) with The Skinny Jims and former Cold River Choir front-man Gavin Simms’ new band Blueyears.

http://www.thelongdistancerunners.com

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“Welcome to My Kitchen” by T-42
 
This past February, Ariel Sharratt recorded her debut RPM album in her kitchen. She subsequently entitled the record Welcome to My Kitchen by T-42. Ariel can usually be found playing clarinet in one of my favorite bands in the world, local klezmer-pop outfit The Burning Hell. Although Ariel still sticks to the clarinet on Welcome to My Kitchen, she approaches it from a very different angle. Most of the songs such as the opening title track and “Would You Like Some Tea?” are composed of layered clarinet lines over various beats tapped out using kitchen utensils like silverware, glasses, bottles, pots and pans.

As the record progresses sounds begin to get wilder and more otherworldly. For example “T-42” sometimes sounds like an angry whale song, sometimes sounds like an alien choir, a whistling kettle placed on and off a stove, and occasionally a spoon stirring in a cup. At first I thought Ariel was using synths to create these soundscapes but she later informed me at the listening party it was actually all done with clarinet manipulated by various effects.

One of my favorite aspects of Welcome to My Kitchen is Ariel’s use of everyday objects to create beats. For example the rhythm on “The Penney Drop” is created by dropping pennies at regular intervals into a jar. “The Can-Can Opener” is a staccato romp of clacking cans, handclaps and shutting drawers. “Not Beer” employs some wavering, Theremin-like trills backed by the clatter of beer bottles in a case, while album closer “Popcorn” features clarinet imitating the spontaneous pattern created by a backing track of — you guessed it — popcorn popping.

Welcome to My Kitchen is a very intriguing and inspiring listen, well worth checking out. It’s also a great example of how you can make an RPM album using just about anything around you and non-conventional approaches to playing conventional instruments. Experimentation and creativity are keys to the RPM Challenge, and Welcome to My Kitchen by T-42 is a great example of both.

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Photo by Randy Meehan

Ever since April 23rd Welland, Ontario singer-songwriter Jordan Raycroft has been traversing the country on tour by way of VIA Rail, playing shows both on and off the train. He will be ending his tour in Newfoundland this week before heading back to Ontario. I recently got in touch with Jordan to ask him about his tour thus far and to hear a few interesting road… errr… rail stories.

So what made you decide to come play some shows in Newfoundland?
Well I figured an Eastern Canada tour wouldn’t be complete without a trip to The Rock. But then again, I guess it’s not complete without a trip to PEI either. The Acadian bus line strike, tied with the fact that I’m too young to rent a vehicle prevented me from making a PEI stop.

Is this your first visit here?
I’ve been to Newfoundland a few times actually. My mom grew up in Victoria, so our family tries to visit when we can. I played my first Newfoundland show at the Levee in St. John’s two Christmases ago. I’m really excited to be back!

How has it been touring and playing shows on VIA Rail over the past little while?
I love it! Aside from that one show in Newfoundland, before this tour I hadn’t played any shows outside of Ontario. These are a brand new bunch of people I get to play for. The response has been great and as an artist that’s all you really need to keep going –- people being into your music. Playing on the train has been a lot of fun. I get to share my music with people from all over the world who are visiting Canada. It’s really cool.

Any funny or interesting stories to share?
There are definitely a few good ones…

The week I was in Montreal, which was when all of the student protesting was getting out of hand. A buddy and I from the hostel actually found the march and followed it. There were hundreds of people, riot police, police helicopters flying overhead. I felt like I was in a movie.

On the train to New Brunswick I played my first train show. During my set I was thrown into the wall when we hit a bump.

In Fredericton, during my set at The Wilser’s Room a guy came up and rapped on my song ‘Cold Hands’. It was awesome!

Check out Jordan Raycroft live while he’s here in St.John’s. Dates and venues are listed below.

May 10th – Bull and Barrel
May 12th – The Rose and Thistle
May 14th – Jordan will be hosting Music NL’s open mic at The Ship

http://www.jordanraycroft.com

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“Election Day” by The Long Distance Runners
 
What’s better than a free show? A free show by a kick-ass band who are about to release a phenomenal new album.

All of these criteria will be met at 2pm this Saturday (May 5th) when St. John’s Long Distance Runners will perform a free show at Fred’s Records in anticipation of the release of their new album, Tracks. Fresh off their recent tour in support of the new record you can be sure Chris Picco (vocals, guitar), Dicky Strickland (guitar, vocals), Adam Cardwell (drums) and Matt Hender (bass, vocals) will be in top form for the show. I received a copy of Tracks a couple weeks ago. I was already familiar with the band via their 2012 debut EP but I was not expecting what was waiting for me on the new album…

Tracks exhibits a maturity and quality of song-writing that is rare to find on a band first full length. From the irresistible groove of the organ-drenched, Wilco-esque opener “Election Day” to the triumphant mandolin and acoustic guitar gospel of “A Short History of America”, Tracks holds the listener’s attention. Every song on the record stands strong on its own, and the track order choice creates a flow of emotional peaks and troughs making for a compelling listen, to say the least.

Tracks also find The Long Distance Runners exploring some new territory on songs like their jazz-inflected “Treading Water”, the Beach Boy style harmonies of the atmospheric ballad “You Don’t Answer Anymore” and the uniquely-timed waltz of “The Island”. But the group holds onto the straight ahead rock elements it used well on the debut EP; songs like the bluesy jaunt of “Credit’s Roll” and “Sally Ann”, a gritty romp about watching a beautiful woman from behind a stack of old records in a Salvation Army thrift store and resisting the urge to punch her boyfriend’s lights out. Tracks also abounds with nods to the Fab Four, especially in their choice of vocal harmonies, lyrical phrasing and chord changes — check out “He Doesn’t Stare Into The Sun No More” for evidence.

The Long Distance Runners have outdone themselves on Tracks. The album is extremely fresh, but has a reverence and respect for the classic influences that paved the road the band travels on. Be sure to drop by Fred’s Records at 2pm this Saturday (May 5th) to catch The Long Distance Runners live free show. The band will also be playing an album release at The Rock House on Friday, May 11th.

http://www.thelongdistancerunners.com

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You might know Adrian House from local bands such as The Connexions and House & The Hooligans. This past February Adrian recorded a solo album entitled Angel Eyes as part of the RPM Challenge. I have a lot of favourites from this year’s crop of discs, and this is definitely one of them.

Adrian states that with Angel Eyes he was “…trying to take rock back to the basics, just guitar, bass and drums”, all of which he plays himself on the record along with vocals. He proves that less is more here. The minimalist approach of keeping every song to about four tracks allows lots of breathing room for the song’s grooves. The killer album opener “Against The Tide” kicks things off with a shot of garage rock featuring some great wiry guitar leads. “Gender Bender” is a Velvet Underground meets Violent Femmes-style ode to androgyny with the chorus “I look like a girl and I’m not mistaken. And I feel just like you girl when I’m cleanly shaven. So come into my arms and we’ll surrender. Forget about our troubles and our gender.”

Tile track “Angel Eyes” is a tender, 60s style teen-pop acoustic ballad about falling in love at a school dance. In keeping with the themes of love and desire Adrian moves on to the staccato crunch of “Lotta Lovin’”. Adrian also delivers a couple rounds of country-flavoured heart ache on “Chasin’ The Sun” and “Heart of Clay” with its tongue in cheek opening line, “Well all the girls that I’ve been lovin’ just want me to turn around and be their friends. And all the guys that love me, I just turn around and break their precious hearts again.” “Pizza Guy’s Lament” is a clever recounting of dissatisfaction with ones life with the chorus line “I can’t deliver anymore. Cause my ceiling is feeling like the floor”. Closer “Rock N’ Roll” takes us out with a Stooges style instrumental break down.

You can hear Adrian and his band The Connexions perform songs from Angel Eyes and other classics from the group’s discography this Friday (May 4th) at The Rock House with The Novaks and The Thymes. You can also listen to Angel Eyes at the link below.

http://adrianhouse.bandcamp.com/

http://www.myspace.com/theconnexions

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A couple weeks ago I caught a great new band of local up and comers by the name of City on the Coast at Lawnya Vawnya. Although the majority of the band is still in junior high, they have talent beyond their years. Fifteen-year-old Kat McLevey is the group’s bassist, and an incredibly solid one at that, but it turns out she is also a talented singer-songwriter. She just released her debut album Turn Here, My Friend this past February as part of the RPM Challenge.

“This is the first time I have done the RPM Challenge and the first time I have shared any of my music in such a way,” say’s Kat’s RPM bio. “Everything you hear is done by me. I love to play lots of different instruments and this challenge was a great way to exercise that.”

Kat is not kidding when she says she plays lots of instruments. Aside from doing all of the vocals she also plays guitar, ukulele, percussion, keyboard, organ, mandolin and bass.

Turn Here, My Friend finds Kat exploring positive themes, making for a very optimistic and uplifting listen. Album opener “Make a New Discovery” champions a sense of adventure and seizing of the day with the lyrics “There’s nothing that can hold us back from doing what choose.” Many songs on the album like “Take It Easy” and “Friend In Me” sound as if they were written as words of encouragement for friends going through hard times. “Visible” and “Solid Ground” showcases Kat’s guitar skills with some clever use of well placed harmonics throughout the compositions. “Inward Giggle” is a ode to laughter as the best medicine with the lyrics “Sometimes it’s those moment’s that get us through the day”. The keyboard instrumental “Stinge” is a bit of an anomaly on the album, sounding like an Arabian-themed interlude from a lost Super Mario Bros 2 level. Although it’s one of the few melancholy songs on the record, today’s track “You Thought” is my favorite for its beautifully-layered vocal harmonies and abstract lyrics. Album closer “You Can’t Deny” is a great upbeat finale with it’s percussive vibe and spidery bass groove. It’s also a great bit of advice to not get too caught up with material pursuits and enjoy the simple pleasures in life as Kat sings “Be thankful for the birds, the bees, the sun and the trees. Be attentive to yourself and each other’s needs. But you can’t deny that we’ve got all that we need to get us through”. Words to live by.

http://soundcloud.com/kat-mclevey/sets/turn-here-my-friend-rpm-2012

http://katmclevey.bandcamp.com/

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“England Love Song” by Allie Duff
 
This past February Allie Duff decided she was going to record her first album. Although it may be her first time recording her own tunes she is no stranger to the St. John’s music scene as she also contributes vocals, ukulele and percussion to local indie band The Goodbyes.

“This is my first time recording any of my music,” says Allie in her RPM Challenge bio. “I’m using the RPM Challenge as motivation to finally finish writing songs that I’ve been working on for a while.”

The fruits of Allie’s labour manifested themselves in March when she released her magnificent debut Winter Hands. The record is full of stripped down, acoustic based songs that showcase the strength of Allie’s lilting voice and writing skills. Album opener “Lorca’s Eyes” features trickling, clean electric guitar and beautiful falsetto vocals which sounds like a mix of Joni Mitchell and Tim Buckley. Today’s track “England Love Song” is a classy banjo ballad duet with Ryan Collins. Other highlights include the upbeat, acoustic romp and poetic lyrics of “Statue”, the Cohen-esque picking of “Olivia’s Song” and the jazzy ode to power outrages on “Blackout”.

You can hear Allie perform some of her material from Winter Hands live on Wednesday (May 2nd) at Distortion. She will be joined by three other incredible local singer-songwriters — Adam Baxter, Jerry Stamp and Naomi Kavka. The show starts at 10 PM, cover is only $5 and drinks are $2 until 12.

http://rpmchallenge.com/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userprofile&user=10746&Itemid=296

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“Saga of the New Rubber Boots” by The Black Auks
 
I was first introduced to the music of The Black Auks when I caught them at Eastern Edge Art Gallery’s 24 Hour Art Marathon a few years back. I was entranced by their unique style of avant-garde, experimental music. It was like nothing I had ever heard. The collective describe their music as “free improvisation… spontaneous group composition… sort of like a conversation… uncanny instantaneous interactions.” They share a similar philosophy with visionaries like John Cage in viewing everything around them as music. As their website sums up, “All sounds are musical. Everything is an instrument… toys, junk, inventions, the audience/environment.”

Needless to say, I was thrilled when I learned they had done an RPM album this past February. Their RPM debut Due to Circumstances Beyond Our Ecetera is a document of three improvised jam sessions recorded by the group during the month of February. Although it’s their first time participating in the RPM Challenge it’s far from the group’s first recording. In fact, they recently released a retrospective box set of material which is available at Fred’s Records along with other classic albums of theirs like Cape Spear Passages (1993) and No Second Takes (1998).

I recently spoke with band member Wallace Hammond while he was working the sound board at The Ship and he informed me that the group regularly records their weekly jams and probably have enough material compiled to do an album every month if they wanted to. So it seems that the prolific, experimental spirit that The Black Auks exude goes hand in hand with that of the RPM. Hopefully The Black Auks will be regular participants in years to come.

http://abandonstream.net/blackauks/index.html

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“Angelina” by The Wooden Sky
 
Toronto band The Wooden Sky will be in St. John’s this weekend for two shows at The Ship — tonight (Friday April 27th) and Saturday (April 28th). The group’s latest album Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun showed up at Scope HQ a few weeks ago and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying it ever since. The Wooden Sky have perfected the balance between the grit of indie rock and the smooth, soulful sounds of folk-country. The haunting album opener “Child of the Valley” begins with a quietly strummed acoustic guitar and Gavin Gardiner’s rich, warm drawl. From there various elements of the band’s sound are introduced like the atmospheric washes of synth, heart-wrenching violin lines and beautiful backing vocal harmonies.

Songs like today’s track, “Angelina”, and “It Get’s Old To Be Alone” show the grittier side of the band’s sound, with some tasteful use of feedback and overdrive drenched leads. “Malibu Rum” brings a little exotic flavour with it’s gentle stick patterns, wood block and laid-back guitar, it would be the perfect soundtrack for sitting on some tropical beach drinking the beverage for which the song was named. “Take Me Out” has an old-school style, doo-wop vibe to it and showcases Gardiner’s dynamic vocal range as he steps it up to a soaring falsetto in the bridge.

The Wooden Sky’s strong suit are their ballads, and Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun is generously seasoned with them. There’s the desperately beautiful “Dancing At My Window”, the longing of “The Night Goes On and On” and the starkness of “Your Fight Will Not Be Long” which deals with facing one’s mortality, as the last line sums up, “You see every man must build a life and someday watch it leave.” (A sentiment Newfoundlanders are all too familiar with this week with the passing of beloved radio personality “Big” Tom Fitzgerald.)

If you’re looking for great music this weekend, check them out this weekend. They’ll be performing tonight (Friday, April 27th) with The Goodbyes and on Saturday (April 28th) with Pilot to Bombardier who have just released an incredible new album themselves. Show’s start at 10:30 and tickets are $10 in advance at Fred’s, O’Briens, The Ship and Nourish, or $15 at the door.

http://thewoodenskymusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/thewoodenskyfb

http://thewoodensky.bandcamp.com

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