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Sharon Musgrave’s Outflow
Hamilton’s local stages have not been as rich without Sharon Musgrave’s presence recently. Even worse, it’s been nearly a decade since her last official solo CD. But this weekend, Musgrave exits her performance exile to make things right with her long awaited sophomore disc, Outflow, and a party to mark her welcome return.
“I’ve been writing and recording this album for the last five years,” confides Musgrave on her most recent musical activities. “Being independent, you don’t have major funds to do everything you want to do.
“I stopped playing live because that kept stretching getting the album finished as well,” adds the singer. “About a year and a half ago, I
decided I would have to stop singing live and just went to town on getting this thing done.”
No stranger to hard work, Musgrave’s family had emigrated from Dominica in the Caribbean to Hamilton but the singer spent the better part of the ‘90s as an in–demand vocalist in Europe working with names like Maxi Priest, the Farm and the Rolling Stones. She’d even join William Orbit in the project called Bassomatic and her vocals would be front and center on “Fascinating Rhythm” – the hit song that reached number seven in England.
But worn out by touring and with a wealth of her own songs, Musgrave’s musical journey would lead her back to Hamilton by the end of the ‘90s to record her solo debut CD, Selah. While it’s been a near decade for the follow up, soul fans will agree it was well worth the wait.
“I wanted to get the best sound possible and one of my major fellows on my team is L. Stu Young,” recalls Musgrave. “He’s an engineer that has done a lot of things with people like Anne Murray, Cowboy Junkies. I met him and we did my first album together. He’s gone on to do Prince’s last two albums. It’s been a blessing to have him working on tracks with me again but in order to get him, I did have to wait. It just took time to organize everything. My son is featured on one of the tracks and you can hear his little voice from four years ago. He’s grown so much since the recording and that shows how much time was put into this album.”
Connecting with co–producer and multi–instrumentalist Peter Grimmer, Musgrave spent years meticulously crafting songs and polishing them to a sparkle but more importantly focusing on capturing the soul of every element.
“One thing I’ve learned is that the mark of a good producer is to get
finished sounds,” notes Musgrave. “When I heard Peter, I knew he had
great potential. We did the whole album together. He’s got some great grooves. We were fortunate enough to have [guitarist] Brian Griffith involved as well. They have a really nice understanding of me and help bring the best out of me.
“You know you’re making something special when you get a technical player that can cut through the soul and you can get moved,” smiles Musgrave. “All of the people on this record are that good. In a way, God inspires, and to me when you go to do these things, you’re not doing this for the sake of a hit record, it’s pure. You want hooks and you want people singing your tunes but at the same time, what’s the point if you’re not bringing that soul into the thing? I hope that came across.”
Outflow glistens with a soulful groove, a charismatic sound and a winsome vibe – not unlike the singer behind the music. A wealth of skilled musicians add to the primary tracks and even six producers offer up six added remixes that will further help broaden the potential audience for this disc into the dance realm. Musgrave hopes to release an album of remixes this year and to focus on some of her balladry and mix in some dub poetry for other gigs, and she promises a lot more gigs.
For her first time on stage in over a year, Musgrave offers an eight–piece band featuring Peter Grimmer (drums), Brian Griffith (guitar), Mark McIntyre (bass), Scott Galloway (keyboards), Troy Dowding (horn), Matty Clancy (percussion), Shelby Kerr (vocals) and Richele Clements (vocals). And for her Outflow CD release party, Musgrave wants to insure a celebratory vibe.
“It’s jazz funk soul with a little bit of hip–hop,” notes Musgrave on the projected set list. “I am so happy to have this recording completed and out – but I do everything to get to the stage and entertain. I’m not going to be doing some of my slower numbers because to me a release party is just that – a party. I really just want to dance the night away – while touching on some thought provoking subjects. We’re talking about some political things but not too heavy, just things to think about. Most of the time, it’s just about the dancing. This is about the awareness and it’s about the joy and it’s about the soul.”
Sharon Musgrave plays this Friday January 28 at the Casbah with DJ Dollar Bill and more. Doors open at 9pm and $10 gets you in. Click on myspace.com/sharonmusgrave
Aerith’s Bears!
While the world of metal usually falls on the two extreme sides of deathfully serious or insanely frivolous, Burlington–based Aerith seems to straddle a more comfortable median. Taking influences from more contemporary progressive loud rock, they offer their latest CD, Bears!, that is a serious piece of music but presented with the perhaps more light–hearted personality of the band.
“This band really is different,” smiles guitarist/vocalist Jamie Stieva. “It started with just wanting to write music that we liked. At a certain point I think we stopped worrying what people would think about the music and did it all for ourselves. We have been called everything, from dreamy metal, tech–rock, to shred–swinger metal, to poppy, shred, tech–rock. We really don’t know how to classify the band, we just consider ourselves to be a metal band, and wherever people want to label us is just fine with us.
“I don’t think you have to be serious to play metal, you should love what you do, and do what you love,” he adds. “Life is too short to be all caught up in the pretention that comes along with metal. It all comes down to loving what you do, I mean you can see videos of us interacting on stage, and we definitely have smiles on our faces while we play. Yes, the things lyrically we write about are serious, for the most part I try to bring in things from everyday life into the writing, but we also have that other side where writing comes from a sense of silliness.”
Stieva, Chris Sindrey (drums), Cody Greer (bass) and Steve James (guitar) went into Hive Studios with Eric Papky and recorded a powerful album in the vein of some of their influences like Thrice or Coheed and Cambria. While the cover art for Bears! – featuring local artist Lindsay Haig’s collection of a dozens of cartoon bears in interesting situations – might lead you to believe this might have the warmth of a pair of pyjamas, but the music within is flashpoint explosive from the get go.
“We tried to make an album we could play for years to come,” offers tieva. “I think Bears! is our most complete thought to date, I mean that in we actually were able to weave songs together that flowed. It
kind of embodies everything we are as a band. It has some crazy heavier breakdowns, and then quickly turns around in the next song to something more upbeat and swingy.
“The art for this album is based off a sketch I have hanging on the wall of my house,” adds the singer. “We decided that we wanted something fun for this cover, something with a lot of detail that people could keep looking at and seeing something new in it every time. I love this album, I am proud to hand it out to anyone, I love the art and how it speaks for us a band, all the little pop culture references in there reflect and lot of the nerdiness that comes with this band. All of us are bookworms to some degree and the use of the bears the way it is allowed us to showcase that.”
Recently hooking up with Earlybird Records, based out of Toronto and Ottawa, with a roster including Third Place, Right By Midnight, and The seasonal, Aerith are hoping to increase their networking and live show schedule and move things forward as a band. While they have their work cut out for them toiling in the metal underground, it’s that joy in playing that will always prove to be its own reward.
“I would love to not have to have a day job, and to be able to play 200 shows a year,” says Stieva. “I have always thought there might be a small space for us in the world of radio or commercialism, I think our singing and pop aspects allow that to happen. For the most part, we sing a lot, screaming is a factor to our music but it is not the bread and butter so to speak.
“But we do like to melt faces, be loud and get all up in your business,” laughs Stieva on Aerith’s live show. “You’re going to get a lot of hair, a lot of hair, flying everywhere. You are going to get loud, sweaty, dynamic, face–melting, metal–swinging, shredding, mosh–pitty goodness.”
Aerith play this Friday January 28 at Club Absinthe with Lead Wind and more. Doors are at 10pm and $5 gets you in. Click on myspace.com/aerithmusic
The Caretakers at Fuel
While the loss of a founding member might prove fatal to a band, the folk rock trio known as the Caretakers now pruned to a duo, hope to continue to thrive fuelled by continued interest from fans and musical friends. Halfway through their initial pressing of their May 2010 debut CD release, Unfinished Thoughts (And Other Stories From The Songwriter’s Den), Jeff Martin and Lena Montecalvo offer a revamped vision and a large group of collaborators to flesh out the music.
“We’ve simply made a shift from a sort of Peter, Paul and Mary approach to vocals and harmonies, to more of the Buddy and Julie Miller school — less jingle jangle and a little more grit you might say,” notes Martin on recent developments for the band. “Our new songs really show it. Lena helps smoothen some of the abrasive edges I
instil in the Caretakers’ music. It’s a nice balance.
“Yes, Norm [van Bergen] left but we’ve added strength by adding the new musicians who join us regularly now – we’re simply evolving,” adds Montecalvo. “Change is important in order to move forward. Unfinished Thoughts engineer Jon Daly (lead guitar) and brother Thomas Daly (bass) join the Caretakers on stage with a regular and growing list of musician friends including Barry Mac (guitar), Bill Majoros (drums), Paul Vasilak (harmonica), Nick Cino (guitar) and Mike
Trebilcock (mandolin). While the trio began things, it seems the Caretakers and friends are an ever–growing collective.
“It wasn’t difficult at all because we included most of these guys at some point in the recording process,” notes Montecalvo on the live version of the Caretakers. “They tell us they like our songs and enjoy playing with us — we ask, and they continually oblige. The line–up feels natural now that everyone has added their own nuances and influences to our songs.
“We’ve played more gigs in the past six months than ever – mostly festivals and benefit concerts — rounding out our stage sound and presence,” adds Martin. “We have a great time playing and so do the audiences. When lyrics have a poignant role in a song, there’s a
bigger demand on fans to really listen. But people are both grooving and listening at our shows. There’s a nice easygoing feel amongst all the musicians when we jam. Not having a regular band might not allow us to play as often as we want to, but regardless of whether The Caretakers has a full time regular band or hired guns, it’s still a challenge to co–ordinate schedules, lives, rehearsals, time for writing, time for arranging, time for everything a song goes through. But it’s happening in so many different corners of the Hamilton music scene. It’s quite an amazing dynamic. That’s what makes this city’s
music scene so inviting, so engaging, so regenerating.”
Invigorated and inspired by music in the city and making music with these players, the Caretakers offer a special gig by special request.
Change is oft what Martin writes about and implores but when its changes within his band, it seems all a part of the natural process of making his art.
“We were specifically asked by our Halton area friends and fans to do something in their neck of the woods, and Joe Dog’s offered us their new upscale nightclub, Fuel,” explains Montecalvo. “It fell together easily and it’s an opportunity to let people hear how the new line–up and songs are coming together.
“Joe Dog’s is one of my favourite Burlington spots,” says Martin. “Not being your typical mainstream indie band or into the harder side of rock and roll can make it a bit more challenging to find your
audiences but the Fuel show will be a great time for all and the band
line–up is stellar. We sing about some heavy things happening in our
world today. All our band members for this and all of our shows very
much get and like what I write about and they all contribute to our
sound and vibe. Songs and bands evolve, so we’re simply adapting to
our changing environment. And so far, it’s working. Things can and
will always change.” V
The Caretakers and Friends play Thursday February 3 at Joe Dogs (531 Brant St., Burlington). Doors are 8pm with an opening set from Barry Mac and $10 gets you in. Click on theCaretakers.ca
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