When I first heard Joe Nolan in a shuffle-stream of local music, his haunted voice snapped me to attention. The album was 2014’s Tornado, produced by Colin Linden. I wondered when we’d hear from him again. Nolan has finally returned with his followup record, Cry Baby. Don’t waste a beat – cue up Cry Baby …
After a few shows in September, I’m taking on a more manageable pace on the way to Halloween (and before things get real hairy in November!) I’ve got just one show this month here in Edmonton, so I’ll be throwing all my musical eggs into that sweet Empress Ale House basket. Or keg? Get ready. …
Braden Gates is often referred to as a ‘troubadour’ or ‘raconteur’. These are old words chosen to distill what makes Gates special. Something to do with time and timelessness. With lineage and dipping one’s feet in the ancient stream of song. With Gates, I get the impression he soaks in that stream, while I’m lucky …
With every new season comes a new vibe. New feels. New music. For me, fall is foreboding and solemn. A sign of things to come. Things like winter. Months of winter. Fall is also, without a doubt, the most beautiful season. A fireworks finale before the dark night (before we all get too depressed, that …
I recently got to visit local videographer, drummer and music-enthusiast Daryl Payne in his beautiful downtown apartment. We looked over the Brewery District, peppermint tea in hand. The sun shone in and cast a golden glow across his barn wood Feature Wall. While folk songstress Maddie Storvold waited — mouse-quiet in the wings — I grabbed …
Monday night I’m sitting in the Princess Theatre holding back tears until I finally give in. The battle starts with the opening scenes and is lost long before the closing credits. Nearly all of us watching are hesitant to leave when the movie ends. We don’t want to break the spell. We don’t want to …
Monday night I find myself in the basement of El Cortez, a grotto-turned-speakeasy packed with fifty sweaty fans of Dan Mangan. We’ve all been tipped off to a secret show, starting at midnight, in one of the most intimate concert spaces I’ve been in. Mangan plays tune after tune that take me back to specific …
This week I have so many shows I may be feeling a little lightheaded. That’s likely the exact right state of mind to write a song you’ll only ever sing once (because it is about said shows and it is VERY specific). Here’s the song, as posted to Facebook earlier this week. So – to …
The lies we tell about local music. “If they were really good, I’d hear them on the radio” This is just one of the lies we believe about local, independent artists. Since I entered the scene in earnest in 2015, I’ve discovered how false and insidious this lie really is. Once I paid attention to …
If you get the obscure ‘Tarzan Dan’ reference in the title of this post, my hat goes off to you. If not, let’s move on. This week I got to join Joel Kleine in his basement studio for a ‘very special episode’ of my Facebook Live performances. Joel is one of the founding members of …