Part 3 of Joel Plaskett Interview - tomorrow on CKCU

Hey Folks - if you have been following my radio program, the Thursday Morning Special Blend, you have already heard the first two parts of my interview with Joel Plaskett at the Ottawa Folk Festival last August. Tune in tomorrow to hear the final instalment, where Joel talks about opening for Paul McCartney in Halifax, what it's like for him to perform, his relationship with other artists, and his role as a young musician in an early wave of indie rock which has changed subtantially over time.

Plaskett, of course, is an acclaimed Canadian artist, the very recent winner of four Music Nova Scotia Awards, and a wonderful person. Check out this great interview with him tomorrow, shortly after 8:00 a.m., on FM 93.1 in the Ottawa area, or online at http://www.ckcufm.com/.

(Image taken by Ingram Barss)

North by East West on CKCU Tomorrow Morning

Tomorrow morning on the Thursday Morning Special Blend on CKCU, Justin Beach will be talking about this blog and choosing a tune or two to play. Tune in to CKCU online at www.ckcufm.com or in Ottawa at 93.1 FM after 9:00 to hear the conversation between Justin and me about why NxEW was started, why it's so important, and what you can do to get involved.

And for Joel Plaskett fans, tune in to the same show during the first hour, around 8:35 or so, and you can hear the first instalment of my interview with Joel last August at the Ottawa Folk Festival. Great timing, too, since Joel's latest record "Three" has just been nominated for the Canadian Folk Music Awards in the categories of Contemporary Album of the Year and Solo Artist of the Year.

Chris MacLean and Dave Bidini - Great Canadian Music Tomorrow Morning on CKCU!

Tomorrow morning I am very happy to have two great Canadian artists on the Thursday Morning Special Blend on CKCU (FM 93.1 in the National Capital Region, http://www.ckcufm.com/ online).

Chris MacLean is an accomplished, award-winning singer-songwriter who lives in the West Quebec Hills just north of Ottawa. After spending 8 years with world music ensemble Galitcha, Chris decided to pick up on her solo career again. With the help of veteran songwriter and producer Ian Tamblyn, Chris has just released Feet Be Still, a beautiful collection of fine folk songs performed with grace and beauty. Says Ian Tamblyn of her work:

“One of the things I like best about Chris Maclean’s work is its levity; even when singing the most serious song there is still a sense of light in the work. It begins with her voice which is unmistakable, clear and ethereal all at the same time. There is something too in her melodies which always return to an uplifting theme even though the song may touch upon some sorrow. And then there are her lyrics which are more often than not redemptive and positive, particularly on her new CD Feet Be Still. All in all Chris’ work seems to be about a lightness of being and grace while walking through a very complicated life. Feet Be Still.”

For her efforts, Chris won the 2008 Colleen Peterson Award for Songwriting. Chris will be in the studio with me tomorrow just after 8:00 a.m., where we'll talk about music and hear her perform a song or two. I hope to do a review of her latest CD here in the future.

Dave Bidini is an icon of the Canadian indie music scene, a former member of seminal group the Rheostatics, and an accomplished author. Readers of this blog know how much we love the Swim Drink Fish Music Club, with its innovative use of Canadian Music to raise money for clean water initiatives. Dave has just contributed 30 songs - you saw that right, 30! - to the SDFM Club, which you can access with the dirt (no pun intended) cheap annual membership of $9.99. Dave explains on their website what he did and why he supports the SDFM Club:

"This is me around my 4 track cassette recorder, the triceratops of home recording devices. I limited myself to 4 tracks to expedite the breadth of the project, having to meet the demands of the Waterkeepers. A lot of the songs are about living close to water -- youthful summers on Toronto Island; a misspent teenagehood hanging out at the Leslie Street spit; as an adult sailing with my dad out of the Etobicoke yacht club -- as well as the fucked up polluted soup that is our city's lake. Through this series of lo-fi demos -- I did them quickly, over two days -- I wanted to call attention to SDF and the Keepers, whom I've known and worked with for a long time, and who are doing great and estimable work in the face of deteriorating environmental conditions. Almost all of the pieces here were created through the 'instant song' technique -- basically writing and singing whatever came into my head -- although a few were more obviously crafted. Whatever the case, enjoy, and please help support the Waterkeepers. I do and will and will continue to, evermore."

After 9:00 a.m., I'll talk to Dave about his contribution to this great initiative, and see what else is going on in his career.

James Keelaghan Interview - Tomorrow on CKCU!

James Keelaghan is one of Canada's most loved and recognized singer-songwriters. Intelligent, emotional, funny, passionate, and hard-working, Keelaghan has that unique gift of conveying compelling stories about real people with beautiful melodies and songcraft. He is truly one of Canada's treasures.

I had the pleasure and privilege of interviewing James at the Ottawa Folk Festival last month (where he put on several fantastic sets). I will be doing a more detailed post about James here in the future, based on that interview and a review of his latest record, House of Cards (available on Borealis Records).

However, you can hear the full interview tomorrow on my radio show, the Thursday Morning Special Blend on CKCU. In the Ottawa area you can listen via the radio waves at 93.1 FM. Elsewhere, you can stream the show through http://www.ckcufm.com/. The show starts at 8:00 a.m., and the Keelaghan interview should air somewhere between 8:30 and 9:00.

Great Canadian Music on CKCU Tomorrow Morning

Pardon me for the self-promotion, but we've got a great show tomorrow on the Thursday Morning Special Blend on CKCU (FM 93.1 or ckcufm.com) featuring some fantastic Canadian artists.

Just after 8:00, I'll have Ken Workman and Ian Cook in the studio to talk about the great new roots rock release from Ken Workman & the Union. They're playing at Irene's Pub on Friday night along with the Woodrunners. It'll be a great rocking show, and I hope to post a review of the CD here soon.

Later in the first hour, we'll be talking about HeiferFest, a great initiative to raise funds for those in need in the developing world. HeiferFest, which takes place on May 30th, will feature two great Ottawa acts: Sadie Hell and Dave Snider Sings (former Clock Strikes Music). From the Sadie Hell website:

The music has been described as "huge with key changes, disconnected parts and hollers – a kind of Bohemian Rhapsody for the post-screamo set" ~ Fateema Sayani, March 1st, 2007, The Ottawa Citizen. The band's sound has been referred to as "emotionally raw, cello-laden" ~ Chris Whibbs, November 30th, 2006, Ottawa Xpress. Chris later reviewed a live show in which he remarked "Sadie Hell got things off to an appropriately dramatic start, as vocalist Ben Welland’s beautiful strumming and guttural howl felt perfect in the enclosed, and somewhat creepy, setting. So formidable was that voice that the missing cellist was hardly noticed" ~ April 2007, Exclaim! Magazine.

Indeed! And Ben Welland has given me a couple of unmixed tracks from the upcoming Sadie Hell CD which I hope to play.

Then, after 9:00, Ottawa blues diva Amanda Rheaume will pop into the studio to talk about her new EP - Kiss Me Back, which is being released at what will be a fantastic set on May 29th at the Capital Music Hall.

The EP's release follows 5 months of anticipation for Ottawa fans, who were given a glimpse of the new material at the Live 88.5 Big Money Shot grand final last December. Since then, Amanda has taken her new songs to Rock Beach Recording Studios in Vancouver, where she perfected them with producer Jeff Dawson (State of Shock, Daniel Powter, Kelly Rowland). She emerged from the sessions in April with a new 6-song EP, and an unbridled sense of enthusiasm.

[And did guest vocals on John Allaire's latest!] If we're lucky she'll play a tune in the studio as well!

Tune in for a great show!

Review: John Allaire's Great New Record

Alright - I am totally excited about John Allaire's new record being released next week: Up Hill...Both Ways. Not surprising given my previous post on his music. If you live in Ottawa, you'll have no fewer than four chances to hear him live next week: May 21st on my radio show, the Thursday Morning Special Blend on CKCU, after 8:00 a.m., May 21st, 12:30, at Ottawa independent music store Compact Music, May 22 at Club Saw (CD Release Party!) and May 24 at the Blacksheep Inn (with J.P. Ranger - A concert in support of The Weekend to End Breast Cancer). No surprise that Allaire is an Editor's pick in the Ottawa Citizen.

I sure hope we'll hear plenty from this new release. Here are my first impressions: this is a great record. Excellent production, great sound, nice contributions from Tara Holloway and Amanda Rheaume. And a showcase for an evolving singer-songwriter pushing the envelope a bit but also doing what he does best: heartfelt troubadour songs about real people.

Opening track "Highway 105", a reference to the Quebec highway that heads north from Ottawa to Wakefield, Gracefield and Maniwaki, starts out with a woeful harmonica line but then kicks into a beat sounding like a train rolling through the country side - no doubt a reference to the steam train in the song and the one that heads north to Wakefield. With a nice country twang, this opening track sets gets you in the mood for the rest of the record.

The gears shift abruptly with the next track, "Lonesome Fiddle". And what a song - a beautiful story about a working man whose soul is found in playing fiddle at home. With lovely fiddle sounds (courtesy of Nathan Smith), Allaire paints a wonderful picture of one of the many unsung musical heroes amongst us. The best thing about the track is that Allaire is confident to allow his voice carry the theme - a voice sung over moderate and lovely guitar picking, expressing the joy of music: "The sound of the mountains, the vibration from the strings. the caress from his fingers, and the way rosewood sings...."

After these two different tracks, Allaire heads straight into slow rocker territory with "Trails in the Sand", featuring accompanying vocals from awesome Ottawa blues artist Amanda Rheaume. These two have collaborated together before, and the result is magic. And I love the anxious musician reference: "pass the courage between sets". Ottawa natives will note the reference to heading past the Mayfair - a reference to Quinn's Ale House?? Rheaume also sings backup on "Sunday in June", another great country rocker featuring some great slide work. [And Amanda will be on my show on May 28th....] The slow rocker theme continies with "She Walks on Water". There's a great crunchy guitar sound here, reminding me a lot of Crazy Horse. And Allaire does Young to Crazy Horse well.

On of the features of the record is the Pete Seeger-inspired "Swing the Hammer Down", a fantastic duet with Sara Holloway. Featuring an old timy sound with fiddle and banjo, this track is an upbeat, joyful tribute to everyday life - work of course, moving on when you need to, and the simple things. A great refrain and good advice: "Hey, breaking for the light when we swing that hammer down".

"St. Eugene" is one of the standout tracks. A pretty song, featuring a mellow, nice harmonica line. A lot of Allaire's songs are rockier, which can overwhelm his voice. This one showcases it so well - this reminds me a lot of John Prine - in vocal style and lyric - a postcard description of everyday people. "Magnets" is another showcase for Allaire's voice, and it works so well with the mellow guitar picking and slide guitar. A song about love gone bad, Allaire uses unique and compelling metaphors to convey his feelings - hallmarks of a great songwriter. This track features one of my favourite lines on the record: 'And I’ve got steel in the soles of my boots. And you’ve got magnets in the floors'. We've all been there, I'm sure, but Allaire captures that trapped but seemingly free feeling perfectly.

"Candy Apple Killer" is the fun track. First heard on my radio show, this is a foot stomper about about a wild, cash spending good for nothing partner. Allaire has a great sense of humour, and it shines here. Set in an amusement park, this song hits all the high points of this unique feature of North American culture. I love the line about the bingo tent: "She knows the caller's name which is kinda creepy". Save this one for late in the show, John, it'll go really well after a lot of pints.

At this point the record shifts into experimental territory. "The Sonic Properties of Fire" features standard guitar sounds - slide, acoustic strumming, rockier refrains - but the key to the track lies in the contrast: this is a far more serious song lyrically, and finds Allaire using spoken word as much as singing, with a little hip-hop beat. Sounds odd? It works. and the highlight is the echoed vocal: "I hear the sound of you burning books. I feel the heat of the words you took." A standout track for sure.

"What it Takes" is a straightforward rocker with back up from Tara Holloway, and this one should get some radio play. Perfect for a sunny summer day, this is a song about hope, and it's amazing how well Allaire captures these sentiments. But that's what comes from experience - a former member of the Town Criers, Allaire has been writing a long time but, more to the point, observing for a long time.

The last track - "Reels and Breathes" finds Allaire experimenting again. It's as if we've been rocking all night but have retired to a mellow lounge for a nightcap. It works well - soft jazz horns, and the whispered haunting refrain "Ella respira" from Tara Holloway, and echoes on Allaire's singing. And another great metaphor to end the record:
"Meanwhile as I search to find the keycard for my mindThe bellhop takes my thoughts, but he leaves my bags behindThe concierge reminds me that she checked out long agoShe’s the real star, I’m a cameo."

John Allaire is a fantastic singer/songwriter and an even better performer: check him out live if you can and buy the record, some T-shirts - whatever. It's on vinyl too!! After the gigs in Ottawa, John is heading out on a busy tour in the U.S. We look forward to another great performance at the Bluesfest in Ottawa (July 18) and the Blacksheep Inn (Aug. 20). Toronto fans can see him out Aug. 21 at the Tranzac Club. London fans can see him Aug. 22 at the London Music Club.