Wednesday night at the Winnipeg Folk Exchange, the renowned folk trio from Newfoundland, The Once, took the stage in the corner of the small brightly coloured room, and went on to perform yet another magical show. This was their fourth such show on their current tour of Pop Up shows, promoting their second album Row Upon Row To The People They Know, in smaller more intimate venues across Western Canada, and it was simply incredible. No other stage could be more suitable for the power and honesty, the poise and wholesomeness produced by The Once.
A near twenty song set with ten songs played without amplification made this unlike any normal concert, but more of a family gathering in the host’s kitchen; Newfie hospitality is unmatched. True to their roots, The Once played several of their own compositions, half a dozen or so traditional songs from the Maritimes and the British Isles like “By The Glow Of The Kerosene Light,” and of course their own priceless covers of Leonard Cohen’s “Coming Back To You” and “Anthem,” Bob Dylan’s “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight”, Queen’s “You’re My Best Friend” (which they originally took on for a wedding), and Al Pittman’s “Cradle Hill” and “Nell’s Song.”
The stories they told about the history of the songs ranged from the truly heart wrenching tales of Geraldine Hollett’s father’s brushes with death as a fisherman which were retold in “Three Fishers” and “Charlie’s” to Phil Churchill’s playing his first shows in St. John’s pubs and ordering a beer from the beautiful bartender in “A Round Again,” and Andrew Dale’s explanations about the Feast of Cohen which lead to The Once performing two great Cohen songs.
Artistically I have no doubt that The Once could take any song and produce a cover that combines warming ingenuity and strong resemblance to the original; likewise for their own creations. Individually any member could have a strong career as a musician, but together their voices and instrumental abilities create remarkable sounds that are crisp and thoughtfully cultivated to bring audiences to a dead silence practically begging for yet another note to be struck. Beyond the impeccable musical and vocal abilities of the trio they have the stage presence to make any show memorable with casual banter, Andrew’s especially witty remarks, and personal conversations with young audience members. The best moment from this particular evening was when a young man with an infectious laugh was invited to the front of the room so he could have a better seat. There is one negative thing, however, that I must say about this show and the limitations of The Once in general: they’re only in Winnipeg for two shows—so disappointing! Jesse Blackman
Hillbilly Highway – Afternoon drunk with Mag 7s
by Sheldon Birnie
I had a couple beers with Matt and Andy from the Mag 7s this afternoon — hard traveling troubadours if ever there were any — interviewing them for an upcoming feature for Stylus. Keep your eyes peeled, friends, it’s a gooder! The problem is, though, that I have yet to transcribe the SOG, and the clock is ticking down to load in for the One Hundred Dollars show at Pop Soda’s.
Maybe if we’d drank less beer, maybe if I’d eaten more food, I wouldn’t be sitting here typing up excuses on the Hillbilly Highway when I should be transcribing a half hour of interviewee gold. But there is always tomorrow, and the deadline is at least a day away. Plenty of time for a professional to get his shit together and deliver the goods. Live fast, live free!
Right now, I’m listening to the new Mag 7s disc, All Kinds of Mean, courtesy of Transistor 66, and it is solid, partner! I’ll review the platter in good time, never fear, but for now I’d like to reflect on some personal memories I hold of one of my favourite local acts…
I first heard of the Magnificient 7s back in 2006. At the time, I was living in a house in South Osborne, playing in a couple shitty punk bands. One of those bands used to host basement shows at our place, and one of the groups we used to get to play were called the Ponys. The Ponys soon changed their name to the Ex-Girlfriends, and made a name for themselves on the local punk/garage circuit. It was a pretty sweet band, three babes who partied hard and weren’t half bad at rocking out.
During one of these gigs, Ida told us we should check out her other band, the Magnificent 7s, who were playing some street-fest later that week. Sure, sure, we said, half-assed committing to do so.
But me and my pals ended up checking them out, and I was blown away. Here was a band that was perfecting the ideal mix of old time, traditional country/bluegrass with contemporary punk rock ethos, and having a blast with it the whole while.
Since that fateful day, I’ve seen the Mag 7s play plenty of times, and even shared the stage with them more than once — at the Albert, the Park Theatre, and the Shine On! festival out near Steinbach. During the latter, me and a few of the other Gad Guys had downed a hearty helping of zoomers, and dug their set on an ethereal plane beyond anything witnessed up to that point. Beautiful shit on a starry night out in the sandilands, just beautiful!
The Mags are hosting a CD release in Winnipeg in December. Stylus will be profiling them in our upcoming issue, and I urge you heartily to check them out, if you have or have not already. You won’t fucking regret it. Pick up their new disc when you get a chance, too. Toe tapping good time drinking music! Bottoms up!
Interview :: Camp Radio
By Patrick Michalishyn
I’ve had Chris Page singing to me for the last ten years, solo and with Glengarry-legends The Stand GT. I’ve scoured the ’net for those rare tapes and 7”s just so I could hear everything he’s released. So a few years back, when Kelp Records announced that Chris was in a new band called Camp Radio, I went a little mental with happy (just a li’l!). So with the flurry of activity surrounding their just-released second album Campista Socialista, Chris was kind enough to grant Stylus this interview.
Continue reading “Interview :: Camp Radio”
Hillbilly Highway – One Hundred Dollars
by Sheldon Birnie
“I think of [Winnipeg] as a really tough city, a city that has survived a lot,” Simone Schmidt, lead singer of Toronto based country band One Hundred Dollars, told me when I had the opportunity to chat with her on CKUW last week. Currently on the road supporting their latest release, Songs of Man, the band will be passing back through Winnipeg on Tuesday, November 15 after playing the West End Cultural Centre earlier this fall with Elliott Brood.
“I feel like there’s a grittiness to Winnipeg that I really dig. When you come from a city like Toronto, where I’m from, where there’s just so much new money pumping into it that it sort of allows people to deny history, and deny the past because buildings are always being torn down and built up new.”
Our conversation was cut short a couple times, as the band was driving the Crow’s Nest Pass between Fernie and Nelson, B.C. The mountains were wreaking havoc with Simone’s cell reception, but we managed to have a great conversation about country music nonetheless. I also caught up with her a few days later, exchanging text messages as the band boarded a ferry from Vancouver to the Island.
“Country music in particular makes more room for explicit story telling than most other genres and in that sense it’s relatable to people,” Simone says of country music’s appeal. “And it is generally tragic music, hurting music. Most people feel that.”
“I think I first fell in love with country music when I was about 15,” Simone explained to listeners last Friday. Visiting her brother, who is a bluegrass musician in Nova Scotia, Simone stumbled upon the voice of George Jones in a cabin with electricity, but no running water. “[The cabin] had a 5 CD disc changer. I started playing, by chance, George Jones on the CD player. A song called ‘Just One More’ came on and I freaked out in my mind. I didn’t ever know that anyone could sing with that much emotion. After that I was obsessed with George Jones for years, I listened to him all the time, and I kind of taught myself how to sing by singing along to George Jones.”
From that first introduction to country, Simone explained that she quickly “got into blue grass music because that’s what my brother was into and I look up to him a lot and loved the harmonies and the virtuosity of the musicianship. I got really into the 70’s era of grass players who were sort of rejected by the purists, like the Seldom Scene and Old & In The Way. They picked the best songs and crossed out if bluegrass quite a bit.”
“Because I was born in the 80’s, I had so many distinct eras of country to sift through and find my favorites,” she continued. “Jones’ catalog was expansive and I just sort of got deep in it. Later I got into Tom T. Hall’s writing and so I’d listen to whoever was recording his songs. I was really struck by Bobbie Gentry too, but her career was so short. And then I got into Dolly who I think was the most courageous writer in terms of certain stories she was telling, like ‘Down from Dover.’ A true feminist.”
I asked Simone whether she felt any contemporary country artists were doing similar work to One Hundred Dollars. Not really, she replied, but directed me to some of her favourite contemporary acts.
“There’s a band out of Toronto called the Pining who’s got a great writer in it, her name’s Julie Faught who’s writing some really beautiful songs,” she said. “There are six members in that band, and they’re all writing great stuff. You should check them out for sure. I’ve been listening to a lot of Dwight Yoakam lately. I also really like the Foggy Hogtown Boys, which are a bluegrass band in Toronto. They’ve really inspired me over the years. And everyone should check out John Showman, who’s a great fiddle player from a band called New Country Rehab.”
Simone clearly commands a wealth of knowledge on the subject of country music, and I felt I could keep asking her questions for hours. However, there’s only so much time in a day, so I called it quits as the band rolled into Victoria, and the sun set in Winnipeg. Make sure to check this band out when the Highway brings them to Pop Soda’s on November 15th. It’s gonna be a good night for country music, I guarantee it.
Interview :: Shooting Guns
By Doreen Girard
November 11th, Shooting Guns returns to Winnipeg near the close of an action packed year for the band. Guitarist Chris Laramee and synth jockey Steven Reed talk about the near future and the distant past, mojo oracles and the voltaic path to a behemoth riff.
Stylus: How did Shooting Guns come together?
Chris Laramee: We’ve all known each other for at least a decade now. When Keith moved back from Vancouver, he and Jay moved in to a place together that had a sweet garage to jam in, so Friday night burnout sessions began. That was about two and a half years ago, and here we are.
Steve Reed: Jim and I have known each other since the early nineties in Dalmeny, SK, and have been shirking adulthood together ever since. Continue reading “Interview :: Shooting Guns”
Chris Laramee: We’ve all known each other for at least a decade now. When Keith moved back from Vancouver, he and Jay moved in to a place together that had a sweet garage to jam in, so Friday night burnout sessions began. That was about two and a half years ago, and here we are.
Steve Reed: Jim and I have known each other since the early nineties in Dalmeny, SK, and have been shirking adulthood together ever since. Continue reading “Interview :: Shooting Guns”
“Bone Thugs-N-Harmony” // 10-21-11 // Marquee Lounge
Photo by Mike Chiasson at the Marquee Lounge in Winnipeg.
By Andrew Mazurak
Sound Republic brought in Kray-kray-zie Bone and Wish Bone of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to Winnipeg’s Marquee Lounge & Event Centre a few Fridays ago and the night was not so tame. At midnight we arrive to the front doors to find a couple wasted girls verbally brawling a couple bouncers. One gets taken down to the pavement out front as the other screams.
Ouch..
Continue reading ““Bone Thugs-N-Harmony” // 10-21-11 // Marquee Lounge”
Smurfs and 8 Tracks: Microdot.
By: Kyra Leib
Microdot is easily the most jovial and fun band that I’ve ever interviewed. I sat down with the whole band: Bill Northcott, Rob Nay, Jen Alexander and Janus Field. During our conversation we digressed on the silliest tangents (see the bit about shrunken heads and tiny instruments) but also discussed the Winnipeg music scene and band dynamic. This is how it all went down… Continue reading “Smurfs and 8 Tracks: Microdot.”
Hillbilly Highway – Cruising the Interstates to First Avenue
by Sheldon Birnie
The Hillbilly Highway crosses many borders. Provincial, state, international: it doesn’t give a fuck. I cruised myself down the Pembina Highway to America last week in order to check out two of my favourite bands — the Drive-By Truckers and Those Darlins — play at First Avenue in Minneapolis. The trip was short, but sweet as fucking sin. Continue reading “Hillbilly Highway – Cruising the Interstates to First Avenue”
Interview :: Mark Kozelek
by Ronjan Roy
For the last 20 years or so, Mark Kozelek has been producing albums under different monikers (Red House Painters and current band Sun Kil Moon) which have kept his career going in a trajectory that most artists would wish for. Signed to 4ad in the early 90’s through Mark Eitzel from The American Music Club, Kozelek bounced from a few record labels before starting his own, Caldo Verde in the early 2000s. And with the ability to control his output, he has made a legacy of sad and beautiful moments that give his listeners a space that transcends the usual sense of place.
From the sparseness of the first ep sized release of Down Colorful Hill, to the most recently released Admiral Fell Promises, he has stayed prolific, relevant, and influential. Along the way, he has took a couple of turns in film (most notably in Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous), released a book of his lyrics, and put his songwriting style on covers from artists as diverse as AD/DC, Modest Mouse and John Denver.
Recently, Kozelek has released a tour documentary shot in black and white, revealing how lonely and tedious the time spent between the live shows can be. Made with filmmaker Joshua Stoddard, it follows him through airports and hotel rooms, in soundchecks and occasionally on stage. With arty shots and a self penned score aside from the track list, the journal of his trek reveals selected moments of an artist who has been notoriously private in the past. Also lately, he has co-production credits, along with lending his trademark vocals to the new album by Desertshore, released on his label. The instrumental band consists of Phil Carney (ex Red House Painters) and classically trained pianist, Chris Connelly.
For the past few years, Kozelek has taken on playing his solo live shows with a nylon stringed acoustic guitar, showing his love of classical records and elegant fingerpicking style.
Here are some excerpts from the interview I conducted with him (via email): Continue reading “Interview :: Mark Kozelek”
Zombie Walk // 10-14-11 // Pampanga Banquet Hall
By DJ Stone
Mmmmm brains, brains nom nom nom nom!!
On October 14, thousands of bloody, rotting zombies were seen limping and crawling towards the Pampanga Banquet Hall (old skool rave location) after the Winnipeg Zombie Walk. There were zombie cheerleaders, business zombies, rabbit zombies, and some lady in a blood soaked wedding dress holding her aborted fetus still attached with the umbilical cord :-/
The location of this nine p.m. ’til six a.m. rave was TBA (oooo, secretive) until tickets went on sale, brought to you buy DV8 Audio Visual Productions and Jsquared Entertainmynt. It was a 16+ event; however, they did have a licensed area upstairs for the rest of us who wanted to get our drink on.
This was a two-room event, with the legend himself Dieselboy, as well as ill.Gates, Johnny Narcotic and a slew of local “zombie” DJs as well. Well, it was what everyone came to see, a lot of loud, heavy, bass-blasting, dubstep with a touch of drum-n-bass. I was kinda hoping Dieselboy would have played some of his older drum-n-bass stuff, but I guess dubstep is what the kids want to hear these days.
Who knew the dead could dance so well?! It was pretty packed on the dance floor, rotting bodies flailing around, an overall good party. I give it eight out 10 zombies.