The Scope

Photo by Jesse A.Wolfe

Ottawa blues man John Carroll is in St. John’s this week on the east coast leg of his current tour with Catriona Sturton. Both musicians play together as a duo but also have their own respective careers as accomplished singer-songwriters. John’s tenure in music spans over two and a half decades and includes numerous projects, one of which is his phenomenal album Everybody Smokes In Hell (2011) which he recorded with his aptly named band The Epic Proportions. Stylistically the record blends the gritty underbelly of blues (“Everybody Smokes In Hell”, “Piggy”) with its more refined elements (“Silver Lining”, “Party”) touching on influences like Mississippi John Hurt, Fred McDowell, Howlin’ Wolf, Lyle Lovette and Mule Variation era Tom Waits.

John Carroll is a rare talent that is not to be missed live. Catch him along with his touring partner Catriona Sturton tonight (Wednesday, June 19th) at The Ship where they will be hosting Folk Night. The duo will also be performing at Nautical Nellies on Thursday (June 20th) with the incredible Naomi Kavka.

https://www.facebook.com/events/597981296901002/

https://www.facebook.com/events/355183511270282/

http://johncarrollmusic.bandcamp.com/album/everybody-smokes-in-hell

http://www.johncarrollmusic.com/fr_home.cfm

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Tonight (Tuesday, June 18th) CBTG’s will be throwing a party in appreciation of its staff and customers, featuring music by a host of incredible local bands plus special visitors Wild Domestic.

Hailing from London (ON), Wild Domestic are an experimental outfit that specialize in sprawling atmospherics tempered with refined structural and melodic sensibilities. Originally the band was comprised of seven members but have recently been distilled to a quintet. This new roster has yet to record a follow up album but have put out a 7″ split on Out Of Sound Recordings with label-mates Bleet, WTCHS and I Smell Blood. Today’s track “Old Watersports” is Wild Domestic’s surf-prog contribution to that record.

Drop by CBTG’s tonight to feel appreciated to enjoy more great music from Wild Domestic with local darlings Danielle Bailey, Lionel Wolf, Navigator Black & The Indighost, Jay Miln, Sam Burke and Brittany Pack. Show starts 9:30 PM.

http://wilddomesticband.bandcamp.com/album/wild-domestic

https://www.facebook.com/events/164386487075390/?suggestsessionid=036584e61e843c8fd01e343d4639346c

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wild-Domestic/189188852840

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This Thursday (June 20th), Ottawa singer-songwriter Catriona Sturton will be in town to host folk night at Natical Nellies along with her musical companion, blues guitar master John Carroll. Catriona comes from a rich musical background which began at the tender age of sixteen when she took up the harmonica. From there she began to delve into the world of the blues, playing with a soul and proficiency beyond her years. I daresay she could hold her own against legendary harpists Charlie Musselwhite or Sonny Boy Williamson. I know that’s a bold statement but just take a listen to her song “Mongoose Moan” and you’ll see that it’s justified.

But don’t expect a night of twelve bar blues standards on Thursday. Over the years Catriona has studied traditional Mali and Japanese instruments and played in indie rock bands, Japanese punk bands and an all-girl garage band. Although reading that list of previous musical escapades may not hint at the fact that today’s track “Wheel of Fortune” is a sweet slice of folk-pop, it just goes to show the diversity of Catriona’s repertoire.

Don’t miss Catriona Sturton this Thursday (June 20th) at Nautical Nellies with John Carroll and Naomi Kavka. Show starts at 10 and there’s no cover.

http://catrionasturton.com/

https://www.facebook.com/events/597981296901002/

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Hordes of St. John’s music fans have been waiting a long time for the event that will take place on June 28th at Distortion. What’s that you ask? The release of The Black Bags debut album. That’s right, even though Liz Solo (drums/vocals), Marcel Levandier (guitar/vocals) and Mike Kean (bass) have been performing locally as The Black Bags for years now, they have yet to release an album under the name. Their much anticipated, self-titled debut was recorded this year by Jody Richardson and Grant King of Pathological Lovers, and it sounds absolutely stunning. Beautifully produced and mixed, the record fuses the grungy sound of the early to mid-nineties St. John’s scene with more modern pop-punk sensibilities, a combination I absolutely love.

Another great element of The Black Bags sound is the trade off of vocal duties between Liz and Marcel. Although the two alternate as lead singers, its when they come together on tracks such as “Never Get Enough” and “Everything is Leaking” that they really shine. From the crisp drums and stuttering bass line of opener “Kelowna Rocks”, The Black Bags come out swinging and plow through track after track of pure rock goodness. As gritty as the album is there are a couple lighter moments for good measure such as the dreamy “Secret” and the tender acoustic closer “Lost and Learning”.

I know you can’t wait for the CD release party at Distortion on June 28th, but in the meantime there’s plenty to tide you over. This Saturday (June 15th) The Black Bags will be hosting a listening party at Scanlans Lounge at 10 PM. Drop by and chill out with the band, hear the new record, help them pick out their first single and enjoy the array of Black Bag themed drinks that Scanlan’s mixology department and the band have worked together to create especially for this event. You can also catch The Black Bags only pre-album release performance with Two Guitars Clash, The Potholez and Montreal punk veterans The Ripcordz at CBTG’s on June 21st.

http://theblackbags.com/

https://www.facebook.com/events/466922360057495/

http://theblackbags.bandcamp.com/

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This Friday (June 14th), Juno-nominated MC Ghettosocks will be bringing his internationally revered beats and rhymes to the stage of Club One. Born in Ottawa, ‘Socks’ (AKA Darren Pyper) is currently based out of Halifax. He has been making buzz among hip-hop fans in Canada and abroad since the early 2000′s when he co-founded the underground hip-hop collective Alpha Flight (no doubt named for the little known Canadian superhero squad created by Marvel comics). In 2006 Darren released his debut Get Some Friends under the Ghettosocks banner which spread like wildfire across the country’s college radio stations earning it a number one spot on Chartattack and Earshot.

Since then Ghettosocks has gone on to open for hip-hop giants like Kool Herc, The Gza (of Wu-Tang Clan fame), Nas, The Pharcyde and Afrika Bambaataa. He has also released several other albums the most recent of which is 2013′s For You Pretty Things. Digging deep into the roots of rap and blending old-school 90′s elements with fresh ingenuity, ‘Socks is guaranteed to bend the ears of a wide range of listeners ranging from the most jaded hip-hop aficionado to those such as myself who are unversed in the genre.

Don’t miss Ghettosocks live at Club One this Friday with two of St. John’s finest, funk/rock/reggae blenders Baytown and electro hip-hop outfit Hear/Say.

http://ghettosocks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/events/132514306941325/?suggestsessionid=6ff3dcc9dee1688539b1440e9844a03a

https://www.facebook.com/Ghettosocks

http://music.ghettosocks.com/album/were-gonna-drink-a-lot-of-wine-this-year-boys-mixtape

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“The Ghost of the Foggy Moor” by Shanty
 
A couple years ago The Scope featured a fresh faced Celtic rock band by the name of Emerald’s Fleet in our 2011 New Music feature. Since then Emerald’s Fleet has dissolved and a new band called Shanty has risen from its ashes with a similar sound and some familiar members. Shanty has since gone on to open for Celt-punk legends The Mahones just last month and have released their first EP. I recently spoke to band member Ben Dooley about the new group and what they’ve been up to.

So how did the transition from Emerald’s Fleet to Shanty happen? Are any of the band members the same besides yourself?
One of the founding members of Emerald’s Fleet, Tyler, moved away to work on the mainland and because he was such an important part of our identity we decided to disband. Myself, drummer Nick Whelan, and bassist Jimmy Wright stuck together and formed Shanty.

How does Shanty vary stylistically from Emerald’s Fleet?
We play a lot of the same music but we are faster. We have started using electric guitars and the addition of multi-instrumentalist Mike Batten has drastically increased our versatility.

Tell us about the new EP.
Our EP consists of three tracks, two original, “Ghost of the Foggy Moor” and “Never Look Back”, and one traditional song, “Drunken Sailor”. “Ghost of the Foggy Moor” is a fictional ghost story based on local folklore including stories passed down through generations. “Never Look Back” is a song about the times I used to have with a good friend of mine in my home community of Sweet Bay before we parted when we both moved away from the community and lost touch with each other.

Where was the EP recorded?
It was recorded by Adam Thistle and Keegan Power at Soundwaves Audio Inc. These are hilarious guys who we spent the weekend having a laugh with but they are also fantastic sound technicians. They recorded our EP and also do sound for our shows sometimes, they are just fun guys to work with.

How can fans get a copy of the EP?
You can visit our fan page. We sometimes post songs on our site but we also give copies away at shows.

I know you guys recently opened for the Mahones. That must have been wild?
Opening for The Mahones was a musical dream come true for me since they are one of my all time favourite bands. They put off an awesome set and it was nice to see them back here but it was a whole lot of fun drinking whiskey with Finny McConnell.

So what’s in store for Shanty in the coming summer months?
Our next shows coming up will be June 30 at Club One with our friends, The Rogues, and after that will be “acoustic” Shanty on July 3 at Topsail Beach and that will be the opening ceremonies for the Kelligrews Soiree.

Check out Shanty live June 30th at Club One and July 3rd at The Kelligrews Soiree on Topsail Beach.

https://www.facebook.com/NLshanty

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This Thursday (June 13th) Ontario band Whitehorse will be performing live at The Rockhouse. The group was formed in 2011 by husband and wife duo Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland who were both successful solo artists in their own right before joining forces as Whitehorse. Their eponymous debut was released later that same year and contains eight tracks which range from obscure interludes about dead cats (“Eulogy For Whiskers, Part 1″) to old-school Springsteen covers (“I’m On Fire”).

In 2012 Luke and Melissa released their first full length album The Fate of the World Depends on This Kiss, which beautifully shows off their uniquely modern take on a classic folk/country rock sound and is a goldmine of great songs such as today’s track “Achille’s Desire”. This year Whitehorse released an EP entitled The Road to Massey Hall, inspired by their first show at the historical Toronto venue. To commemorate this milestone in their career the band recorded six covers by icons such as Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Ron Sexsmith.

Don’t miss Whitehorse at The Rockhouse this Thursday (June 13th). Get your advance tickets here. (Although the band’s website says they’re playing at the Rock Room, don’t be confused into thinking that the Rocket Room and The Rockhouse have some how morphed into one venue… it’s supposed to read The Rockhouse.)

http://whitehorsemusic.ca/

http://etixnow.com/events/whitehorse-jun-13

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Recently while doing a little hunting for new music on the internet I discovered the work of a wonderful local musician who goes by BK Strangler. After stumbling across his Bandcamp page I listened to today’s track “A Rocket” which sounds a bit like Flaming Lips front man Wayne Coyne singing a cover of “Rocket Man”, backed by Radiohead circa Kid A. After listening to the next track “In The Wake of Cleo”, an ambient, electronic instrumental, I thought, “oh… okay, this guy is an electronic musician”. Then I played “Is This Love” and all my preconceptions were shattered by the songs bashing drums, chunky bass and punk-inspired shouting.

After some digging I discovered that BK Strangler is none other than Benjy Kean, who has been involved with a number of diverse music projects around town. Suddenly the wide variety of BK Strangler’s songs made sense to me. If you haven’t already, you can discover the music of BK Strangler live and in person tonight (Friday, June 7th) at The Levee along with Nuke Neck, Zzach Nnash and Cafeteria. Check it the tunes below.

http://bkstrangler.bandcamp.com/track/a-rocket

https://www.facebook.com/events/138433443012548/

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Shona Stacey’s induction to the St. John’s music scene happened in 2011 when she, Andrea McGuire and Rebecca South recorded their stellar RPM debut Take an Apple and Go to the Mountain, a collection of stripped down folk songs adorned with ukuleles and lovely three part harmonies. After a short stint of well-attended live shows in town, The Drows went on to record a follow up RPM record in 2012 entitled Picking Flowers and then sadly, disappeared.

In 2013, each of the three members of The Drows re-emerged and took the RPM Challenge independently. Andrea released her second solo album, Turn to Pattern, Rebecca joined local folk super-group Caribou Horses and Shona produced her own project with a few of her friends under the moniker Harps & Hoods and recoreded Between The Folds, which expands on the stark, haunting folk arrangements of The Drows’ records while exploring different dynamics. Several of the songs such as bluesy opener “Mama”, “Create”, “Sweet Potato” and the ethereal “Dust” feature nothing but Shona’s rich, passionate acapella vocal. Elsewhere songs like “La Silence”, “Mongo”, “Gooseberry Jam” and “Crackerberry Jam” appear as instrumental interludes with friends Peter Smith (electric guitar, percussion), Wyatt Shibley (jaw harp, saw, accordion), Billy Nicoll (banjo, cello), fellow Drows band-mate Rebecca South (ukulele), Brendan Cunningham (cow bell) and Anna Callahan-St.John (shakers), but from which Shona’s singing is noticeably absent.

Today’s track “Priscilla Lake” is the only track on Harps & Hoods 2013 RPM album that combines vocals with musical accompaniment. Although such a thing is the norm in music these days, it’s an anomaly on Between The Folds. Check it out the rest of this great 2013 RPM standout at the link below.

http://harpsandhoods.bandcamp.com/album/between-the-folds

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This Friday night (June 7th) The Ship will be hosting a blues extravaganza featuring a collective of some of St. John’s finest blues musicians, Powerhouse Blues Band. The group currently consists of Karen Power (vocals) and her three, multi-talented sons Brad, Chris and Luke, who are also involved with a host of other bands and projects around town. The line-up is rounded out by master axe-man Steve Hussey, as well as Dave Rowe who has stepped in for the late Dr. Peter Narvaez. Narvaez was one of the original members of the band and the writer of today’s track, “Airport Blues”.

The group repertoire consists primarily of early standards and little known gems from the deep roots of the blues prior to the 1960s. Over their years together Powerhouse Blues Band has made quite a name for itself on the local music scene, and in 2004 the group had the privilege of playing the same bill as Big Bill Morganfield, son of revered blues legend Muddy Waters.

Drop by The Ship this Friday (June 7th) and find out for yourself how Powerhouse Blues Band lives up to its name on stage.

http://www.rowdyblues.com/powerhouse.html#Snaps

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The cover art for This Is Terrible’s third RPM album Songs From The Underside (2013) might lead you to believe it’s the type of album you’d buy from a guy sitting behind a table at Bidgood’s playing and singing along to a programmed drum track. You know, those homemade collections of good ol’ Newfoundland songs about yer mudder, drinking wit da by’s and da cod moratorium with a cover picture of buddy in his rubber boots playing accordion. Well, if you we’re to listen to Songs From The Underside under such preconceptions you’d be throwing it out the window five minutes after putting it into your car stereo.

With its hilarious trad-parody opener “The Plight of Lawrencetontown” being the closest thing to what you might expect based on the cover art, the album then launches into one of the most perplexing and entertaining listens you might ever experience. Juxtaposing death-metal (“Hockey Fight”, “Broken”), punk (“Coldshot Man”, “Virtual Strife Ruined My Life”), electronica (“BSTMDE”) and more faux-Newfie music (“Gravy Byz”), This Is Terrible are not for the faint of heart. “Trumping” is a 2 minute and 19 second episode of orally re-created flatulation which builds into a layered beat at the end of the track. “Zellers” is a surprisingly heart-felt ode to the loss of said chain department store. Then there’s “Die Lauernde Teufel” which is… well, I’m not really sure what it is.

It’s not going to win any Music NL awards but Songs From The Underside by This Is Terrible is a riveting listen from start to finish, at least in that ‘driving by a car accident’ kind of way. Check it out for yourself if you dare.

http://thisisterrible.bandcamp.com/album/songs-from-the-underside

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What the heck is going on in Sackville? It seems like lately there’s been an explosion of new bands coming out of there and everyone of them is incredible. The Mouthbreathers, Yellowteeth, Astral Gunk, Pat LePoidevin and Lucas Hicks have all joined the list of my favorites in the last while, and they’re all from Sackville.

Every other week I’m hearing about another new Sackville band and I know I’m going to love them before I even hear their tunes.

The most recent addition to that ever growing list of favourites is Jerk Damaged, a power-pop/punk trio consisting of Evan Mumford and Luke Mumford with Marcus Fiddes. The group released their debut album It’s A Start last year, which was recorded by Evan and Luke backed by a drum machine. Today’s track “Evan (Spitter)” features their new (live) drummer Marcus and showcases an energy and spontaneity that only a live drum track can bring.

Loose, fast and crunchy, Jerk Damage is one part punk and one part slacker, indie-rock calling to mind a mix of Treepeople and Built to Spill. Jerk Damage will be in St.John’s this weekend and are playing a show at The Ship on Saturday night (June 1st) with some of our best new local acts including George Nervous Four, Pet Vet and Waterman & Milley. Drop by.

https://www.facebook.com/events/533178950071529/

http://jerkdamaged.bandcamp.com/album/evan-spitter-b-w-rossetti-stone

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This Friday (May 31st) alt-indie band Spitula Clark will be making their debut at The Rock House, opening for The Novaks. The group’s core consists of Miker Luce (vocals, guitar) and Jenny McPhail (drums) who were originally based out of Thunder Bay but moved to St. John’s a couple years ago. Today’s track “Wishing Well” sounds like what Mark Lanegan might sound like if he was backed by My Bloody Valentine. Other tracks of theirs, such as “Life’s Too Short To Get Ahead” and “(Hey Man) Did You See That Spaceship?” touch on the band’s more garage rock roots, with straight up energy and pure catchiness.

Although Miker and Jennny have been living in St. John’s for a little while now, they’ve just started playing live shows here. Drop by the Rock House this Friday (May 31st) to hear them live, tickets are available in advance for only $10 at Fred’s Records, where you can also pick up a copy of Spitula Clark’s killer debut album.

http://spitulaclark.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spitula-Clark/142437195831640

http://www.myspace.com/mikerluce

https://soundcloud.com/spitula-clark

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This Thursday (May 30th) Fixed Coffee & Baking presents singer-songwriter Gianna Lauren as part of its ongoing concert series. Although her formative years were shared between Alberta and Ontario, Gianna has spent the last while in Halifax where she has been embraced by the city’s music scene. Her latest record On Personhood was released just last month and features a bit of a fuller, grittier sound than her dreamy 2010 debut Some Move Closer, Some Move On.

Gianna’s music is a blend of indie-folk and dream pop, full of delicately hushed vocals, ambient guitars and dynamic, shifting rhythms. Stylistically calling to mind artists such as Crash Vegas, Cat Power and some of the less jammy moments of Yo La Tengo, many of the songs feel like they are swelling to the verge of breaking providing an intriguing sense of tension and release.

Listen to Gianna Lauren’s latest record On Personhood at the link below and familiarize yourself with the beautiful songs you’ll being hearing from her live at Fixed Thursday night (May 30th) at 7:30 PM. You can also catch Gianna live at Nautical Nellies Friday (May 31st) with Joanna Barker.

https://www.facebook.com/events/536440566397179

http://giannalauren.bandcamp.com/album/on-personhood

http://acrosscanadawithus.tumblr.com

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Epic punk show alert! Five of St. John’s loudest and fastest will come together for a night of angst-filled tunes and craziness tonight (Fri, May 24) at Distortion, including the bands Crossover Corruption, Social Services, Exotic Narcotic, Cross Boners and the creators of today’s track, Undesirables.

Undesirables consists of Steve Walsh (vocals), Marc Best (vocals/bass), Adam Giles (guitar/vocals) and Jordon Walsh (drums). “Farmed Like Livestock” is a lament of the vast quantities of genetically modified and chemically altered food that’s doled out to the masses. The track comes from the group’s self-titled 2012 EP, which is available at the link below for listening and download. Check it out for yourself.

http://undesirables.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Undesirables/296257837102688

https://www.facebook.com/events/251391331668575/?suggestsessionid=443b9362c722ecca2faa08237b7606ed

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