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HAMILTON MUSIC NOTES
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by
Ric Taylor
December 9 - 15, 2004 |
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“I still party when I go out, it’s just now I don’t wake up at
nine o’clock in the morning and I can’t get out of bed
until my dealer gets there. That was almost the point it
was getting to a few years ago—I was getting sick and I
couldn’t function,” confides CJ Sleez.
The last two years capped off a decade dedicated to
living the rock and roll lifestyle. When it seemed she may
have hit rock bottom, things finally took a turn for the
better. Rehabilitated and rejuvenated—although not
totally reformed—Sleez plans to make 2005 a banner
year with a new CD, a new book and the
aforementioned more controlled rock and roll lifestyle.
“Yeah, I spent the last ten years at the brink, but it’s
been fun,” giggles Sleez on her upcoming CD,
tentatively titled Back From The Brink, and her newer
lifestyle. “I’m a lot healthier and stronger. I’m more
focused and motivated on my musical career. There are
certain things that you have to sacrifice if you want to get
things done. Partying too much was starting to wear on
me a little bit, and the band went on a little hiatus. Over
the past two years we’ve really increased our dedication
to the music.”
Sleez, along with Stacey Straye on guitars, Robbie Risk
on bass and Chrispy Soundcock on drums, recently
entered the studio with Blinker The Star’s Jordon
Zadorozny (who also did some co–songwriting with one
Courtney Love) to lay the foundations for a new, six–
song CD EP. With Sleez finishing up vocal tracks this
week with Rob Sanzo at Signal to Noise, the EP should
hit streets at the start of the New Year.”
“Working with Jordan was a really good experience for
me and he was a real nice guy,” says the singer. “And
he’s worked with Courtney Love. After all, she is a big
reason why I started singing in the first place. I
remember being about 13 or 14 and listening to Live
Through This when it first came out and thinking ‘My
God, she’s pretty terrible—if she can do it, why can’ t I?’
“In the same respect, what I love about her so much is
that she has the balls to get up there and do it and not
care about what anybody else is going to say or think
about it. She does it for herself and for the release and
the energy that comes along with it—and that’s
something I can really respect.”
Refining her vision, Sleez suggests her music is now
‘less raw punk and more rock and roll with a bit more of
a groove to it.’ While fans can preview some of the music
at her Hamilton gig this weekend, die–hard fans will be
awaiting her new autobiography.
“I’ve been writing the book for the last two years,” beems
Sleez. “I finish university in the spring and I’ll have my
certificate in writing from McMaster and I’m hoping to
have this released at the same time.”
The derelict and drug–addled, punks and pimps,
strippers and stoners, peroxides and suicides all collide
in Sleez’s pending autobiography, tentatively titled
Confessions of Grandeur. Documenting notable stories
from Riotstar, The High School Hookers, The Sinisters
and Temptress among others, the book focuses on the
woman behind the music, with lots on her life, lost loves,
lists of lusts and, of course, the lost. Sleez doesn’t pull
any punches in the few chapters I’ve been allowed to
take a peek at, but like CJ on stage, fans will revel in her
rock and roll debauchery and applaud for more at the
end.
“My life is so crazy I don’t need to make things up, so it
may seem truth is stranger than fiction,” laughs Sleez on
some of the more ‘colourful’ tales documented. “I work
on it by myself and it makes me crack up laughing, so
that makes it worth it in itself. It’s a dark comedy, full of
stories about all the crazy shit that I’ve gotten into and
the trouble that I’ve caused—stories from being on the
road. Really, it’s all about sex, drugs and rock and roll.”
With a newfound muse, Sleez and company are only
cherry picking the best of their old repertoire as they
have written an entirely new set–list of songs that she is
proud to be presenting to a hometown crowd—and one
that perhaps she can see more clearly these days.
“I love the Corktown because it’s got so much history
and it brings back so many memories,” laughs Sleez. “I
was hanging out there since I was about 15, sneaking in
and getting kicked out. So it’s nice to go there because it
really feels like home!
“They’re partiers who come out to see me,” exclaims the
singer. “I’ve had a lot of different bar owners say that we
set the record for bar sales at our shows. I’ve only played
one all–ages show, and the turnout was really dreadful. I
couldn’t believe it. So I think people who like me are
definitely people of age that come out and want to party
to some real raw rock and roll.
“Although, one thing that I’ve noticed in the last six
months or so is that the ratio of men to women has
changed,” adds Sleez. “It used to be 90 per cent men
and now it’s half and half men and women. I think the big
reason for that shift is that I’m playing with three really
good–looking guys now. They’re young and they’re hot
and they’re all single. I love to see more girls in the
crowd. They make the show so much more fun and
they’re never afraid to get up and dance.
“The other thing that is new is that I’m single now,” she
purrs. “Stacey and I broke up about four months ago. He
still plays lead guitar for me—we get on well and we’re
totally best friends. After a four–year–long relationship,
he moved back to Toronto with the guys and I decided to
stay in Hamilton, finish the book and finish school and
maybe move back at the end of next year.”
Should all of the men take note that Ms. Sleez might
now be available?
“All the men and women,” she laughs. “I don’t limit
myself to just one sex. I’m open–minded.”
CJ Sleez returns to the Corktown this Friday, December
10 with 63 Monroe, Sheanderthals and The Scarlett Sins
opening. Doors at 10pm.
Since his first bar gig in 1979, Scotty Campbell has been
slinging a traditional country drawl across Canada,
garnering two Canadian Country Music Association
nominations but rarely meshing with any ‘New Country’
industry types. Sadly, his conviction to his musical style
has meant he rarely gets a chance to play in his own
backyard. That changes this weekend with a debut for
Campbell at The Casbah
“I can barely get arrested in my hometown, yet I’m
playing soft seat theatres in the Prairies,” laughs the
gregarious, pompadour–quaffed country crooner
“Booking an act like mine has never been easy,”
Campbell admits. “The countriest band in the country
has not played a country bar in ten years. But… when
we do a new venue, we have to be careful how it’s
presented. We often coast in on the coattails of Luther
Wright, The Sadies, and a million other groups that
started doing this after I’d been doing it for 15 years… I
guess the difference is this: we aren’t a bunch of guys
who own cowboy shirts, and one of us bought a pedal
steel two years ago. We’re a died in the wool/washed in
the whiskey country band… that happens to have found
no acceptance in the country music market, and so have
found a home elsewhere—anywhere.
“So, I didn’t want to roll into Brodie’s [Schwendiman,
promoter] joint, and take up a Friday or a Saturday… and
have a bunch of the club’s regulars shaking their heads
saying ‘They’re great, but what the fuck are they doing
here?’ I wanted to do a more laid back, stripped down
evening—draw from the Hamilton crowd that wants to
see us and convert a few pagans along the way. I
wanted to do it this way, first time in, sort of a “five fools
on stools” kind of thing… let the songs draw people in.
“We are doing an ‘unplugged’ sort of show… which can
be a little misleading, as we’re obviously wired… but we
might bring just acoustics, and a fiddler instead of our
usual pedal steel player.”
After releasing his first cassette in 1992 (Keepin’ Close
To The Ground), which he sold through a German
country music magazine, Campbell recorded two more
albums: Pitchin’ Woe, a six– song EP, and his debut full–
length Damned If I Recall. His most recent album has
been recorded for almost two years and is finally set for
release in the New Year with the help of some new
friends.
“The recording [tentatively titled Bitter for all concerned]
has been in the can for nearly two years, for reasons one
can describe as purely logistical—that means ‘broke,’”
quips Campbell. “But we did a nice mini–tour of Western
Canada in September, 11 one–nighters in 14 days, just
over 9,000 km, but the best thing that came out of it!
While playing in Edmonton at The Sidetrack, some guys
from a fantastic Ontario Agency, Live Tour Artists, came
and saw us, and flipped out over the band. They took us
to breakfast the next day and signed us on the spot.
These guys have one hell of a roster, and the funny thing
is, the CEO is an old–time Hamilton guy named Doug
Kirby, who goes way back—funny how they had to travel
across three provinces to see us…
“So with sun finally coming out a little bit, we’ve
managed to shake loose a couple of nickels and are
setting about the process of finishing this record,” he
concludes. “Probably a bit late to capitalize on the
strength of the last one, which sold well over ten
thousand independently, almost all in the USA. But,
that’s the life when you choose to do exactly what you
want, without compromise. Things are a little easier
now… but still, a ways to go.
Campbell will invite some of his Wardenaires featuring
Ted Hawkins (drums), Pete Sisk (bass), Al Brisco (pedal
steel) and Robert Reid (guitar) and latest addition
Shannon Saunders (violin), from Juno award winning
Vancouver band The Paperboys, out for the special
hometown acoustic experiment.
“I’ve always been a fiercely proud Hamiltonian and yet
I’ve become known as a Toronto act, because that’s
where we play most,” muses Campbell. “It’s always been
such a fucking chore for me to get gigs in this town…
and yet we can sell out the Ironwood stage in Calgary, or
Buds on Broadway in Saskatoon and I guess it’s in my
alcoholic nature to stew on such things. A good country
singer should pretty much take all slights as completely
personal. And chew on them until you’re completely
bitter and cynical.”
Scotty Campbell performs live at The Casbah this
Thursday, December 9 with The November All–Stars
opening.
After The Pursuit of Happiness blew through the
Corktown at some bygone gig in the late ’80s, Leslie
Stanwyck and Johnny Sinclair—more popularly known
as Universal Honey these days—haven’t visited us so
much. They’ve been busy after all, departing TPOH to
become national radio darlings, international TV
soundtrack stalwarts and otherwise, but Hamilton will
always hold a special place for Universal Honey.
It may have help that Stanwyck has two brothers in the
area and that in the mid–’90s half of the band were
Hamiltonians, including Bill Majoros (Flux AD, The
Cloudsmen) and Laura Sergent (That What?). Dave
Rave even sings a duet with Stanwyck on their recent
Christmas album. But now, with the release of their most
recent CD Vicious Circles, Stanwyck and Sinclair come
back to Hamilton and the Corktown for a long overdue
visit.
“Johnny and I have been busy writing and putting out
album after album as well as building our home studio
so we haven’t played very many gigs in the last few
years or so,” explains Stanwyck on UH’s notable
absence. “We have the bug to get out playing again and
we always had a great time when we played Hamilton
so we’re looking for to it.”
Vicious Circles is pure power pop pleasure, clearly
underscoring the duo’s attention to detail—a tradition
fans expect from Universal Honey. Their return to
Hamilton, however, marks the band’s first live offering of
the 12 tunes done for the holidays on Can’t Stop
Thinking about Christmas. Writing holiday songs might
be a daunting task, unless you’re Irving Berlin, but
Stanwyck suggests anything is possible with the right
inspiration and the right guests—including Dave Bidini,
Andy Maize, Jim Cuddy and Ron Sexsmith.
“You get a band together and get playing and writing,
work like hell at what you love to do, the rest is up to the
cosmos,” muses Stanwyck. “Our goal is to make great
music and CDs. Song– wise, sound–wise, in that order.
We want to be as good as we can be. It has to be that
way or we sell ourselves short…
“The Christmas album was our manager’s idea and a
good one, too,” adds the singer. “We’re getting a ton of
radio play with it. Although at first we definitely thought it
was a daunting task, we locked ourselves away for a
week—the hottest week in July, I might add—and wrote
the whole album in that week. It turned out to be a lot of
fun… It came very easily, thank goodness for that.”
The songs of Universal Honey—holiday–themed or
otherwise—are infectious and smooth pop fodder
destined to uplift even the most Scroogely of sorts. With
the return to Hamilton, UH offers up a special seasonal
acoustic treat with Ryan Demchuk and Trent Carr from
the Headstones joining in on guitar, with a focus on
some of the newer seasonal tunes as well as all of the
tunes that seem to crop up on your favourite teen
dramas.
“Getting played on TV just gets our name and the music
out there more, which is a good thing,” laughs Stanwyck.
“We have an international fan base because of iTunes
and some radio play, and I’m sure some of if it has to do
with Dawson’s Creek on TV in Europe. It’s good music
and likeable, I think, I hope that’s why they use it.
“We’re doing an acoustic set of mostly Christmas stuff—
’Tis the season,” smiles Stanwyck. “We will do a couple
of oldies, a few newies and a whole bunch of Christmas
cheer. It’s special to us because it’s been way too long
since we’ve played in Hamilton.”
Universal Honey plays the Corktown this Sunday
December 12 with Lounge opening. Doors are at 9pm.
Featuring Jon Howard on vocals, Kyle McKnight on lead
guitar, Eric Papky on bass, Rich Howard on rhythm
guitar and Adam Mathews on drums, Threat Signal has
taken only 18 months to gain some international fans.
They celebrate their first live Hamilton gig this weekend.
“We have great respect for our city and we have always
planned to play local shows as soon as the band was
ready,” explains McKnight. “For a year or so we didn’t
have a full lineup, so live gigs were out of the question.
We needed some other way to get our music to people…
“The Internet has given us the chance to connect with
people locally, as well as around the world,” says
McKnight. You would be surprised how much word–of–
mouth, handing out demo CDs, and uploading songs on
the Internet effect a bands popularity without even
playing a gig. Now that we have recruited our bass
player Eric, and our drummer Adam, we can finally play
live shows. Dec 10th will mark Threat Signal’s first public
performance.
Influenced by heavy and creatively off–kilter bands like
Meshuggah, Pantera and Mudvayne, Threat Signal
offers loud rock riddled with complex syncopation,
throaty howls and pounding riffage. It’s a more
underground sound, but Threat Signal is taking out to
the streets.
“I know for a fact there are many people in the Hamilton
area with the desire for harder–edged music,” offers
Howard. “We like to add variety to our songs by mixing
screaming, singing, syncopated rhythms, guitar solos,
musical breaks, clean guitars and various other things.
We like to keep the music interesting so we—or the
fans—don’t lose interest.
“As for my lyrics, I don’t like writing about girl problems
or feeling sorry for myself because no one likes me,
none of that crap. I’ve focused on personal issues as
well as global issues, but instead of whining about it, I
mainly talk about being positive, strong; fighting back,
and trying to find a solution.”
“As a guitarist, I’ve always found myself pushing to play
more difficult music,” adds McKnight. “A lot of the bands
who influence us have a great amount of technical skill
involved, which I have a lot of respect for. It takes strong
dedication and skill to play music like that. I also love the
aggression involved with heavy music.”
With plans to record their debut full–length in the New
Year, a throng of industry types are already offering to
help out.
“I can’t go into detail about record companies from
Europe, USA, and Canada who are interested because
a lot of these deals are still up in the air,” says Howard. “I
can tell you one guy who is interested in the band: Greig
Nori [Treble Charger]. We are happy to say he is
managing Threat Signal, and we look forward to
planning our attack of global domination with him.”
“The shear technicality and precision of our music,
combined with our extreme energetic presence on stage
will blow peoples socks off,” laughs Howard on Threat
Signal’s live hometown debut. “The translation of our
recorded music to the live format is very important to us.
That’s why we have been practicing solid almost
everyday for the past month in prep for this gig. Fans
should expect to hear the songs played just as well or
even better than the recording. There is going to be so
much energy in that building, it scares me.”
Threat Signal debuts at The Underground this Friday,
December 10 for the early show with Elevator 22,
Tugnut, Endorphins and Deprecate. Doors open at 6pm
for this all–ages gig.
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