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HMN: FEB.18-24,2010
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by
Ric Taylor
February 18 - 24, 2010 |
Quadrafonics
James Orr has been making music since he was a teenager, exploring funk/grunge with Soma when he was in high school in Burlington. But his scholastic pursuits lead him to Fredericton where he would explore the computer worlds in academia and in techno and hip hop. The now 32–year–old has graduated, begun a family and continues to explore technology as a computer programmer – but those musical explorations continue with his latest outing, Quadrafonics.
“I got into record digging and that’s where I guess I really discovered jazz and funk and how that was the music I was most interested in,” recalls Orr on his earlier experiences making hip hop. “I fell in love with funk and Quadrafonics is definitely a funk band. There are a lot of different genres and sub–genres but we’re more on the side of what you would call jazz funk.”
Featuring Orr (keyboards/turntables), Jeremy Binkle (bass), Andrew King (saxophone), and Nathan Cheng (drums), Quadrafonics’ In Stereo offers some serious quality playing and production even though the band weren’t looking to actually record a CD.
“Everything with this kind of band moves slowly,” smiles Orr. “Nathan’s working toward his PhD in atomic physics; Andrew’s doing a PhD in BioChem at Mac; Jeremy works for OPG in the nuclear reactor; and I’m a computer programmer, but we figured about a year ago that it was silly that we didn’t have anything recorded. You can’t apply to festival gigs without a CD so we originally just wanted something for a press kit or festival application, no lofty goals, but we did the recording and it sounded so great. We did it in my bass player’s basement but it came out all nice so we decided to do a proper album with it.”
Funk at its finest, Quadrafonics have a litany of musical credits in their past, but this CD showcases an unquestionable nod towards the future. In Stereo captures a band firing on all cylinders for an album that is destined to rock the party. This week, Quadrafonics pull out all the stops – including special guests Jeremy Giesbrecht on tenor sax and Dave Gould percussion and a hula hoop troop led by Jennifer Fleming – to get the party started.
“We got Jennifer to bring some of her friends to a gig and they sort of did this hula hooping thing while we were playing the music and it was pretty awesome,” smiles Orr. “I don’t want to give anything away, but if you come to the show, you might see some pretty racy hula hooping moves.
“We try to bring in a lot of guests for our gigs,” he adds. “We’ve got the jazz format so it’s just as easy for guest musicians to jump in and appear as soloists. We get into some long jams and we’ll do some rhythm for a while and get everybody’s head nodding and the hoopers do their thing and it all fits together.
“What I’m hoping to accomplish this year is getting out and playing more. We definitely want to see how far we can take it. We’re going to see how big we can make this album and how many of these we can get out in the world and see if this takes off.”
Quadrafonics perform this Thursday, February 18 at Gallagher’s (69 Augusta St.). Things get underway at 9 pm and there is no cover. For more info click on quadrafonics.com
The Corktown’s February Musical Showcase with Valerie Beaulieu
Valerie Beaulieu grew up in Welland, singing as long as she can remember – at church, at school, in plays – but her studies would bring her to Hamilton. With a few years now spent immersed in the scene, Beaulieu offers a monthly showcase to feature some of her favourite music and musicians.
“I fell in love with music at a very early age, and knew it was going to be a part of me forever,” muses Beaulieu. “I moved to Hamilton when I was 19, for the jazz program at Mohawk. From there, I was introduced to Hess Village – back when it was still the best place for live music. There aren’t many venues like that left in Hamilton now, and I wanted to do something to change that.”
Getting work as a server at the Corktown Pub meant Beaulieu would get to see more music and eventually tap manager Jesse Dore for her own feature – but Beaulieu wasn’t looking to shine the spotlight just on herself.
“I hadn’t played live in years, and was getting that itch, but I knew I wouldn’t have enough material to play three full sets, so I thought of asking some other musician friends of mine to share the night with me,” says Beaulieu. “Jesse thought this was a great idea, and suggested it become a regular thing, and that’s how we decided to do the monthlies last July. I wanted to give artists a chance to build larger fan bases, and to meet other local musicians to possibly collaborate with, and to give people the chance to hear some great music.”
As the glue that holds together the monthly showcase, Beaulieu has an engaging personality and singing style that seems to be bringing everyone together. While a variety of her live performances are available on YouTube.com, Beaulieu hopes to record her own CD soon, but is content with exploring the nature of song in this live setting and is seeing a lot of positive feedback as a result. This week, Beaulieu’s band becomes a four–piece with Craig McLean, Chad Pilon, and Aaron Bruce, and the list of artists wanting to join in the fun continues to grow.
“I think the very biggest thing is that there have consistently been bands wanting to participate,” smiles Beaulieu. “We’ve had up to seven bands sometimes, but it’s also not open mic. I’m not crazy about that idea; maybe I’m a little bit anal, but I like to hear the people play before I decide they have the right sound/vibe for what I’m trying to achieve.
“I’ve always been a supporter of live music,” adds the singer. “When I first got to Hamilton, I was out five nights a week checking out local bands. Hamilton really does have a lot of incredible talent. I’ve discovered tons of hidden gems in this area. I’m also big about sharing experiences. You know that feeling you get when you discover something great, something that makes you look at things in a completely different light? It changes you, and you want to share that with everyone you know. That’s how I feel about a really good song. For me, a good song is a good song is a good song, and I want to share good songs with people.
“It’s all about exposing people to great local music. You don’t have to go all the way to Toronto to hear some great music – people don’t realize it, but a lot of the talent is right here, at home. These showcases have been a success so far, and as long as people still want to play, the monthly showcase will be around.”
Valerie Beaulieu leads the Corktown’s February Musical Showcase this Friday, February 19 with Mark Court, Jay And (Not Silent) Bob, Iain Brown, The Avengers, and Logan Staats. Show begins at 9 pm and $5 gets you in. For more info check out Beaulieu’s Facebook group, Musicians at Corktown.
Tim Gibbons and the Driftin’ Drawers
Tim Gibbons’ musical history is a tale that needs to be documented, but it’s nowhere near finished. Since the early ‘80s, Gibbons has been making important music in punk, roots and rock and roll but he’s come to a stage where he’s creatively pushing himself. Gibbons isn’t looking for the big deal – he’s already done the whole L.A. major label thing and even been featured in Billy Bob Thorton’s Slingblade; now he’s simply looking to create, whether it’s music, or acting, or even authoring.
“I’m 53 years old, I’ve been doing this since I was 17, and it’s a good feeling to keep playing music and have someone treating you with respect and giving you a platform to do it on,” offers Gibbons on his latest residency at one of the city’s newer clubs. “The Driftin’ Drawers is a country blues band. We play my original music plus a whole lot of raw and obscure blues, country and rock and roll covers. We use the instruments you’d find in a bluegrass band, but we amplify them and add a little dirt to it. I just started playing the banjo around the same time Mike Williams started playing the stand up bass. Mark Foley showed up with his guitar and he’s always played a lot of country and so we just connected that way, organically, and it clicked.”
With Colin Connors now on drums, the DDs offer Gibbons’ latest musical explorations every Sunday afternoon, and it’s quite novel for him and for the city.
“I developed my style of playing Robert Johnson–type blues on the banjo, which as far as I know, I’m the only one sort of doing that from what I’ve heard,” explains Gibbons. “I started out on the banjo, but at the end of high school I was kidnapped into punk rock with the Shakers and played guitar and there was a lot of success with that, so I just rode that for a long time and enjoyed it. I love playing guitar and still play it, but I was always into the blues and after feeling a little long in the tooth for punk rock, I had a blues band for a few years. But when you’re playing music, you want it to be a continual odyssey. I just can’t keep doing the same old shit over and over again. You want it to be a journey that has new surprises. I recently got a mandolin and this year I’m going to learn that, just to keep my mind fresh and keep the music fresh for myself. I’m more into that than being a part of the music business and achieving fame and fortune.”
Gibbons’ love for the banjo goes well beyond a simple fascination. He’s studied a variety of sources, almost academically immersing himself in the history of the music and the musicians that have chosen this particular instrument and fuses country banjo with old–time blues parlour guitar playing. He’s studied so much, he admits he’d love to put a book together on the subject.
While he was never trained, Gibbons has also been getting rave reviews for his starring role in the Ryan Furlong directed video for Lee Harvey Osmond’s “I’m Gonna Stay That Way.”
“I play a train–robbing junky with a taste for mayhem – it wasn’t much of a stretch,” quips Gibbons. “Ryan’s a brilliant director and I think he’s got a big future ahead for him.”
A short film that Gibbons and Furlong have been developing could feature a few (some surprising) musical friends in lead roles alongside Gibbons.
So for 2010, we could see a new Tim Gibbons CD, a new short film and if he had his druthers, he’d have a book on the banjo, but right now the most important thing for Gibbons is catching up with his live showcases on Sunday afternoons.
“It’s billed four until six, but sometimes if it’s a busy night we’ll keep going till whenever,” smiles Gibbons. “There really isn’t any real country blues band that plays in our style in Hamilton. Sunday there’s really nothing to do after you’ve gone to church. You can go to church and hear some gospel music and when you’re done with that you can go to This Ain’t Hollywood for some devil’s music. Come on by and say hi, especially if you haven’t seen me for a while. It’d be good to share a pint under the picture of Frankie Venom.”
Tim Gibbons and the Driftin’ Drawers play every Sunday at This Ain’t Hollywood from 4 pm to whenever and there is no cover. For more info click on timgibbons.ca
[RIC TAYLOR]
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