|
06/07/2020:
This may be the longest gap between blog entries on this little website. At the end of August 2019, I was about to release my last album, CRAWL, and start the first of two tours. It was kind of the most ambitious thing I'd ever done, taking my band on the road for two tours, trying to plan two tours at once, booking the second one while the first was still going, and trying to hustle as much press as I could all the while. We had a great album release show in Edmonton, thanks to the great folks at the Buckingham. It was really great to meet a new local artist Girl/Vices and great to see my old Calgary pals Lab Coast, especially since so many of that band were involved in making my record, including Samantha Savage Smith, Ryan Bourne, David Laing and of course big daddy Chris Dadge who produced the whole thing. The next day, we set off immediately for the West Tour. Our newcomer drummer Cam O'Neill, and my veterans Emily Bachynski on bass and Daniel Sedmak on lead guitar. This was some of the funnest touring I've ever done. Some long drives, but lots of laughs, great times, and we played absolutely amazing shows at incredible venues with amazing people. It was a long day hauling ass to Vernon, BC in one go, but the house show waiting for us was absolutely incredible. The music community around the Okanagan is one of the country's gems. Sian and Liam and their band Volunteers absolutely blew us away. After feeding us great food and introducing us to their wonderful friends, they treated us to a wonderful day of swimming the next afternoon. The entire rest of the tour was worth it for that first day alone. We played to a wonderful crowd in Kamloops, thanks to JP from Factotum, then zipped over to the always lovely Victoria for another great show at the Copper Owl (RIP). Thanks to Phoenix at VILA, and our talented pal Layten Kramer, it was a true knockout of a night. My first trip to Nanaimo at the Vault was a really great welcome, seeing Behaviours tear the place apart on a Monday. After a nice day off in Vancouver, we played once more at the Lido on East Broadway. It was the day Daniel Johnston died but I chickened out of doing a cover that night. It was so incredible to see so many friendly faces that night, the Lido always feels like a home away from home. Extra special thanks to Jason and Lisa, and all of our friends in Van for putting us up. We had a wonderful, intimate night in Kelowna watching an insane solo performance from Jared Jackel's Bad Vibrations, a singular talent, at the lovely Milkcrate Records (also now RIP). A long drive with an extra time zone hour brought us to Lethbridge for an absolute barn burner at The Owl with our buds Ghost Woman, easily one of the top 3 bands in the fucking country. It's always great to see Lethbridge, including the amazing Brenna Lowrie. Finally, we wrapped it up with a ripper in Calgary at the Palomino with Lab Coast again and a great band Thom and the Tomcats. With that, we loaded up with plants at the Plant store in Inglewood and came home to rest up for a week. Everyone we stayed with, Dean, Correy, Evan and Erica, Dave Laing, thank you! But that was only the beginning. We still had 3 weeks in Eastern Canada to do. I have dipped my toe in those parts of the country before, but I haven't been east of Montreal since 2014, and I made the classic mistake of biting off more than I could reasonably chew on this Eastern leg of the tour. I was able to book a reasonable tour for 10 days, or maybe even 2 weeks, but I had committed to bringing my band out for nearly 3 full weeks, and I simply didn't have the dates to back it up. But still, my amazing band stuck it out with me and we had a great time. This time, I enlisted my old pal and former Faith Healer bandmate and current Montrealer Mitch Holtby for drums, and flew Daniel and Emily and myself out. My great pal Jesse Northey was kind enough to lend us his van, so we began our convoluted route in Toronto, and drove immediately to Montreal to meet Mitch for a quick jam and immediately to play our first show at Pop Montreal. We had one more jam in Montreal that weekend, and then set off back to Ontario for an intimate little Monday night show in Ottawa. We met some great folks at that show, a wonderful solo performance from Chris Zimmerman, and reconnected with the amazing Gina Vinelli aka Sara from Bonnie Doon. It was a hot, humid night in Toronto, and an amazing turnout of great pals at the Burdock with the amazing Sam Tudor, truly a gem. The next day we went to London for one of the tour highlights at Odyssey Records. The great folks at CHRW, including my pal Pam, helped us a lot with that show, and it was so great to see Jessica O'Neill play her songs and to get to hang out with her. London hospitality saves me again! Happy for a short commute, we bummed around London all day, ate Taco Bell, then drove to the end of the country for a show in Windsor. I was really grateful to get to see a new city, to look over the water at Detroit for the first time, grateful to meet the nice young folks in Gnome Chomsky. Emily's wonderful family in Windsor, thank you for your support! Then, we hit a bit of a snag. One of the shows on that amazing tour poster by Parker Thiessen got cancelled, so we drove back up the 401 to crash in Toronto for a couple days, with some good pals including Sam and my oldest pal and bandmate Mike. Then we headed out for the Eastern part of this Eastern tour, just past Ottawa in the charming Wakefield, Quebec at Kaffe 1870. The bar owner and staff were so genuine and wonderful, and our host Luther Wright was great. Extra special thanks to Travis and his family for putting us up in their luxurious spacious basement. Another tour highlight! We couldn't get a show in Fredericton, but the night off gave us time to get the van's fluids topped up, and I got to meet respected Canadian historian/columnist Gwynne Dyer having brunch at Jungle Jim's, so that was pretty cool. First time seeing Saint John was wonderful, another utterly beautiful spot in those beautiful maritime provinces. We had a nature hike through Irving Park, then we played at a great little restaurant called Taco Pica and wouldn't you know it? They're also RIP by now. What a path of death and destruction we carved! But thanks to Peter Rowan for hosting us and being a great presence in SJ as well as our showcase for Pop. Halifax was great to me once again, with a wonderful show at the Seahorse with an incredible band called Nomadic Homes and one of my national favourites Gianna Lauren, who was kind enough to host us for the night too. It was so wonderful to catch up with one of my dear Edmonton pals Beth, and to see the waterfront again. Truly love that town! After that, dear Daniel had to fly home for a gig with the Velveteins, so we were a 3 piece. I didn't get to cross paths with the incredible Klarka Weinwurm but she connected me to the great people at Thunder and Lightning in Sackville, and our new pal CL who was a great host at his beautiful house. We loved the Newfoundland band Property, who gave one of the best performances I've ever seen. Very sorry to see that, with Covid19, Glenn and Anne have had to shutter that bar at least temporarily. I sincerely hope our curse doesn't hit them too! Wonderful folks and a wonderful town. Next, we had another show fall through last minute, and another materialize almost as fast. With 2 days notice, Emily was able to set up a show at Railcar Brewing in a little town just off the Trans Canada called Perth-Andover, New Brunswick. Emily stepped up without hesitation and blew everyone away with a solo set to fill out the evening. Then we played our set. Then the night kept going! Only 8 people in the bar, but we got to know all of them. Mitch set up a great impromptu karaoke night, and we were the party of the town. Truly a night to remember. We stopped back in Montreal for what turned out to be the 3rd or 4th time that trip. After so much hospitality from our pal Natacha (and Marley!), we stayed with my dear Edmonton pal and former bandmate Andy, who is now and always an absolute prince. We played on Thanksgiving Monday at the incredible URSA cafe with my old pal Amy aka Nennen and my new pal Chris Hauer. It was another magical night in Montreal, and Andy and Liz even made Thanksgiving dinner for us! Next, one last trip down the 401 to rock in Guelph with the great folks at Kazoo Fest who set up an amazing show for us. I always love seeing my Guelph pals and meeting new ones, including Bird City, Andrea, Mike and Kathy, Vish (shortly before he became an Edmontonian!) and of course our incredible hosts David and Ali. I continue to love Guelph very much. After that, we high-tailed it to Toronto to put Mitch on a train back to Montreal, return the van to Jesse's house, and Emily and I flew back. I believe our flight was delayed 2 hours. The trip wasn't without its challenges, especially since each of my band members except me sustained some kind of injury or hospitalization at some point. But everybody came back with all of their fingers and toes, and I believe our pride, intact. It was an incredible trip, we saw some incredible bands, some great natural beauty of this country, touched base with old pals and made new ones. I drank some great new ginger ales. And that's what it's all about right? In Edmonton, Cam joined us for one final homecoming show at the Aviary with Edmonton greats Space Classic and Wara Wara for a CJSR FunDrive show. A perfect cap to the whole thing. The album received a generous amount of airplay on campus stations, hitting #1 for like 9 weeks overall on CJSR, and getting spins on stations coast to coast. I think I cracked the national charts up to #12 for a bit there. Overall, I'm really proud of CRAWL and I'm happy people finally get to hear what Dadge and I did. I had planned to just zone out for the rest of 2019 but I had an itch to finally record a Christmas EP that I've always meant to do. So I did! In December I released 6 songs called XMAS: Tidings of Comfort and Joy, including a sludgy German doom version of "O Tannenbaum" and a big, sprawling rendition of "12 Daze of Xmas" featuring me and 11 of my favourite music pals. With that digital release, we raised about $500 for the Mustard Seed in Edmonton. It was perhaps the most fun I've ever had recording on my own. My original plan was to be unbelievably successful with the album and tour in 2019 in Canada, so that I could set my sights on the UK for May 2020 and maybe the USA for the fall. Instead I had a reasonably decent release and touring in Canada, but I definitely needed to pull back and spend 2020 just chilling and recouping. And wow, did 2020 ever turn out to be a good year for chilling and recouping! Many of my talented pals weren't so lucky, and had their releases and tours totally shat upon by circumstance. Marlaena Moore and Wares are two of them, and you should check out both of their records, you won't regret it. The good news is, the writer's block that was bothering me for most of 2018 and 2019 is starting to lift a bit I think. We'll see what the future holds. Either way, extra special thanks to Dadge, Moonshot Records, CJSR, Emily, Dan, Cam, and Mitch, and everyone else who helped make this album and these tours happen. I will see you, if not in 2020, then in 2021! |
|
08/30/2019: FALL UPDATES!
It has been awhile (#itsbeenawhile) since I updated this ole blog. Here's the short version: My new album CRAWL, previously released in Japan, will be available everywhere this September 6 as a 12" vinyl LP and on streaming. I worked on this record with Chris Dadge in Calgary for over a year, and I'm so happy to finally share it with everyone. It features guest appearances from some of my favourite Calgary musicians including Samantha Savage Smith, Ryan Bourne, the mighty David Laing from Lab Coast, and the Van Man himself, Chad Van Gaalen. It was a delight to make, and I think Dadge did a great job on it. You can order the record on Bandcamp, or if you live in Canada, you can come get one in person, because I'm going on tour! Crawling Across Canada Tour with my band starts with a big release show in Edmonton, picks up across BC to Vancouver Island, and then trails back to Alberta. After a short break, tour picks up again at Pop Montreal, and then across Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. If you check out my SHOWS page with complete dates, you'll notice a few gaps in the eastern leg. If you think you can help with a show along the route, please let me know at info@jomcomyn.com, or any social media forum. Also, you can check out the incredible videos to my two singles "Change Your Mind" and "Chapel of Chimes" on the VIDEOS page. See you out in the world! |
|
|
04/01/2019:
We're going to Japan! Somehow, I was lucky enough to be swept up in this whirlwind of a tour, courtesy of my great pal Jesse Northey aka Jesse and the Dandelions, and MOORWORKS. Jesse, Eamon McGrath, Astral Swans aka Matt Swann, and Jom Comyn aka me, will all be embarking on a 3-week tour of Japan in April, playing as each other's bands, along with world class drummer Connor Ellinger. And the cherry on top is that Moorworks will also be releasing my newest album, Crawl, as an exclusive Japanese CD pressing. Only my fans in Japan will get to hear this new stuff until I release it worldwide sometime this fall. So if you want to hear it early, go to Japan! We're hosting a big Tour Kickoff on Monday April 8 at the Empress Ale House in Edmonton, and I hope to see you there to wish us goodbye. You can see the Moorworks page for the whole tour here, and for my part of the tour and my new album here. I also have a breakdown of tour dates on the Shows section of this site. |
|
03:02/2019:
It's been awhile since my last update. After some wonderful shows in January, the band is coming back for a little hat trick around Alberta. And believe it or not---they're all free! First, the kind folks at CKXU Lethbridge invited me to play their Fundrive event, taking place as a hybrid of Love and Records festival and the Cupcake Carnival. The result is Love n' Cupcakes, a free event at the Lethbridge Public Library from 11am - 4 pm on Saturday March 16. We're on sometime later in the afternoon, around 1 or 2 hopefully, so come on down. I'm very blessed to share the stage with hometown heroes nêhiyawak, as well as a score of other awesome bands. CKXU rules, and I'm very excited to get back down to the 'Bridge (as we call it). Next up is another free show in the afternoon. On our way back home, we're fixing to stop by the King Eddy in Calgary for this great Songwriter Sunday series hosted by the amazing and talented Clinton St. John. You won't want to miss it, and I haven't been in Calgary for a thousand years, so I hope to see you there. Then on the last Thursday of the month, Jom Comyn returns to the Common (I never get tired of that gag). Free show with my band and my great pal Aladean Kheroufi, who plays some excellent smooth soul pop magic. The poster says "Pabst Blue Ribbon Presents Jom Comyn" and truer words have never been spoken. That's March 29 at the Common in sunny Edmonton. After that, who the hell knows? Stay tuned to this page and all the standard social media junk for updates. |
|
12/16/2018:
It's been so long since my last post! A lot has happened, and even more on the way.
On December 21, 2018 I'll be celebrating the five year anniversary of the release of my album In the Dark on 99 back on the solstice of 2013.
We released about 150 records with silk-screened covers, and then a further 350 regular print, and save a few scattered copies at record stores across Canada, the record is sold out.
So rather than have it evaporate from the face of the earth, I'm working with Double Lunch Records to bring you a limited edition cassette, the entire extended album in one format for the first time.
I'll be playing a set of my newer stuff with one band, and then a set of the 99 material with a different band, just for fun!
Joining us will be our pals Le Plaisir, currently of Los Angeles, popping home for a visit. I can't wait to see them play. And check out this crazy 70's revenge movie poster from Travis Salty!
Five years ago, I was proud to release this collection of songs I recorded with the amazing and talented Eric Cheng, and I believed it was the best thing I'd done up to that point. I never imagined that it would have any kind of impact on people, that it would resonate with Edmontonians the way it has. I definitely never thought I'd have to worry about whether the album was still available 5 years later.
So thank you, Edmonton, thank you everyone around the country (and around the world!) who have embraced this record. I hope this record has embraced you as well.
Happy solstice!
It's been so long since my last post! A lot has happened, and even more on the way.
On December 21, 2018 I'll be celebrating the five year anniversary of the release of my album In the Dark on 99 back on the solstice of 2013.
We released about 150 records with silk-screened covers, and then a further 350 regular print, and save a few scattered copies at record stores across Canada, the record is sold out.
So rather than have it evaporate from the face of the earth, I'm working with Double Lunch Records to bring you a limited edition cassette, the entire extended album in one format for the first time.
I'll be playing a set of my newer stuff with one band, and then a set of the 99 material with a different band, just for fun!
Joining us will be our pals Le Plaisir, currently of Los Angeles, popping home for a visit. I can't wait to see them play. And check out this crazy 70's revenge movie poster from Travis Salty!
Five years ago, I was proud to release this collection of songs I recorded with the amazing and talented Eric Cheng, and I believed it was the best thing I'd done up to that point. I never imagined that it would have any kind of impact on people, that it would resonate with Edmontonians the way it has. I definitely never thought I'd have to worry about whether the album was still available 5 years later.
So thank you, Edmonton, thank you everyone around the country (and around the world!) who have embraced this record. I hope this record has embraced you as well.
Happy solstice!
09/01/2018:
What a wonderful night last night with Pike, Pallor, and Sister Ray at the Buckingham!
Next up, bringing the band together again to help Jesse and the Dandelions celebrate their album release.
I've heard parts of the album, and trust me, it's a beauty.
September 15 at the CKUA building, aka the beautiful Alberta Hotel on Jasper Avenue.
After that, I'm extremely honoured to open for Suuns at the Starlite Room for the wonderful UP + DT Fest on October 5.
I've been really admiring Suuns lately, and it will be lovely to share the stage with old pals Language Arts, and make some new pals, FRIGS and Raleigh.
And an update on my album In the Dark on 99.
The 12" vinyl has basically sold out! In Edmonton, there are a few copies at Hideout Distro at 12407 108 Avenue, and that's it!
You may be able to track some unsold copies at record stores across Canada, listed at the bottom of the Buy page.
I started with a limited run of 99 copies in December 2013 (which was actually closer to 150), and later rose to another 330 copies in April 2014.
Thank you so much to everyone who bought one, and Renny Wilson/ Value Records and Amanda Khamvongsa for giving me the initial push to press the album to vinyl in the first place.
What a wonderful night last night with Pike, Pallor, and Sister Ray at the Buckingham!
Next up, bringing the band together again to help Jesse and the Dandelions celebrate their album release.
I've heard parts of the album, and trust me, it's a beauty.
September 15 at the CKUA building, aka the beautiful Alberta Hotel on Jasper Avenue.
After that, I'm extremely honoured to open for Suuns at the Starlite Room for the wonderful UP + DT Fest on October 5.
I've been really admiring Suuns lately, and it will be lovely to share the stage with old pals Language Arts, and make some new pals, FRIGS and Raleigh.
And an update on my album In the Dark on 99.
The 12" vinyl has basically sold out! In Edmonton, there are a few copies at Hideout Distro at 12407 108 Avenue, and that's it!
You may be able to track some unsold copies at record stores across Canada, listed at the bottom of the Buy page.
I started with a limited run of 99 copies in December 2013 (which was actually closer to 150), and later rose to another 330 copies in April 2014.
Thank you so much to everyone who bought one, and Renny Wilson/ Value Records and Amanda Khamvongsa for giving me the initial push to press the album to vinyl in the first place.
|
05/26/2018:
Coming east again! I am humbly honoured to have been invited to do a solo set for NXNE, care of my pal Peter Dreimanis of July Talk, a scholar and a gentleman. It's happening Tuesday, June 12 at the Dakota, and I get to share the stage with some of my favourite bands and pals ever. The Highest Order WHOOP-Szo Ejji Smith Eamon McGrath Jom solo It's just a little fly-in, fly-out I'm afraid, but I'll be back soon! And after that, I'll get the distinguished honour to play with The Highest Order again! Edmonton, my full band and The Highest Order at the lovely Empress Ale House. Thanks to my pal Salty for putting that together, and making a lovely poster! Details on the Shows page. And ICYMI, check out this song with my voice on it! Link is still in the previous post below. Cantoo is amazing, and you should hear their songs, even the one with me. Thanks to everyone who made it out to the release show this past Friday, it was a ton of fun. |
|
04/29/2018:
What a lovely tour! Thanks so much to everybody who helped put those shows together, and thanks so much to everyone who came out. It was really nice seeing all my old Edmonton pals, and connecting with all of the great new pals in Upper and Lower Canada. Next up is a solo spot opening for the one and only Cantoo aka Aaron Parker. Aaron is a rare talent and a great pal, and he's releasing a new EP. One of the songs on the EP features yours truly, and I'll embed it below. It's going to be a fun night, we'll have some duets! It's at the Aviary, new venue, awesome place to party. Friday, May 18, doors at 8, show at 9. $8 in advance, $10 at the door. And it's all ages! |
|
|
03/28/2018:
Hello Jom enthusiasts, I'm very pleased to announce my solo tour across a modest swath of Eastern Canada, from April 12-18. I swear I'll come out with a band some time, but this is not that time. Check out that amazing poster from Jill Stanton! At a glance, you can tell two things: 1) I'm playing at Kazoo Fest! 2) I'm still looking to fill a date! So if anyone can help with Saturday, April 14, somewhere in southern ON, likely Hamilton or Waterloo, please get in touch with me at info@jomcomyn.com, or really any social media avenue you want. Complete dates below, and more info on each show in the Shows page. April 12: Guelph, ON at 10C for Kazoo Fest Apr 13: London, ON at Skydome Apr 14: TBA Apr 15: Toronto, ON at The Burdock Apr 17: Montreal, QC at La Plante Apr 18: Ottawa, ON at Pressed |
|
2/14/2018:
Lots of news!
3 shows coming up with my band. First, opening for my old pals Faith Healer on their tour kickoff, Feb 28.
Then, jumping down to Calgary for a free banger at Palomino with the amazing Feel Alright on March 23.
And finally, back home for a show at the Aviary with Edmonton pals Baby Jey and Mysticeti on March 24.
As usual, more details on the shows in the Shows page.
Also, I'm pleased to finally share this great track from my dear pal Cantoo aka Aaron Parker.
You can hear "White Was the Sun", featuring yours truly, on his new EP called 2. Release date to be announced!
Congrats, Cantoo!
Lots of news!
3 shows coming up with my band. First, opening for my old pals Faith Healer on their tour kickoff, Feb 28.
Then, jumping down to Calgary for a free banger at Palomino with the amazing Feel Alright on March 23.
And finally, back home for a show at the Aviary with Edmonton pals Baby Jey and Mysticeti on March 24.
As usual, more details on the shows in the Shows page.
Also, I'm pleased to finally share this great track from my dear pal Cantoo aka Aaron Parker.
You can hear "White Was the Sun", featuring yours truly, on his new EP called 2. Release date to be announced!
Congrats, Cantoo!
11/30/2017:
First of all, what an amazing tour that was last month! Thank you sincerely to everyone who helped make it a great success, all of the great folks in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, everyone at the Lido in Vancouver, the Copper Owl in Victoria, all the great Edmonton expats in BC, the fine folks at CJSW in Calgary and CITR in Vancouver, the great folks in the Belle Game, and my amazing band mates Christan, Daniel, Connor, they made a little 10 day trip into a really fun adventure.
I've been wilfully hibernating since then, but the next thing I have coming up is very exciting.
Last year, I did a piece for Nextfest in collaboration with a dance artist named Bridget Jessome (the star of my video for "Dream Deep"!). She came to me with a piece she constructed based around my songs "Sunstroke" and "In the Dark" and she wanted to perform them live with me. It was definitely out of my realm of experience, but it was a fun challenge, and I really enjoyed playing my solo set in a different context to a different audience than I would normally do.
We had so much fun, we decided to do it again!
The year-end performance for Mile Zero Dance is happening on Saturday December 16 at Spazio Performativo in Little Italy, and it's a semi-official tie-in with this year's Canada 150+, entitled How To Say Goodbye: An Obituary For Canadian History. Bridget has created a new dance piece with a partner, Carmen Nieuwenhuis, this time to five of my songs, including several of the new batch that I started recording this summer. There are several other pieces happening that night, and it's all capped off by a performance from Edmonton's grimiest punk group Bad Buddy, so it's going to be a ton of fun.
Admission by donation, with all proceeds going to the Bissell Centre.
I don't get to do stuff like this very often, so I'd love to see some people out there!
First of all, what an amazing tour that was last month! Thank you sincerely to everyone who helped make it a great success, all of the great folks in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, everyone at the Lido in Vancouver, the Copper Owl in Victoria, all the great Edmonton expats in BC, the fine folks at CJSW in Calgary and CITR in Vancouver, the great folks in the Belle Game, and my amazing band mates Christan, Daniel, Connor, they made a little 10 day trip into a really fun adventure.
I've been wilfully hibernating since then, but the next thing I have coming up is very exciting.
Last year, I did a piece for Nextfest in collaboration with a dance artist named Bridget Jessome (the star of my video for "Dream Deep"!). She came to me with a piece she constructed based around my songs "Sunstroke" and "In the Dark" and she wanted to perform them live with me. It was definitely out of my realm of experience, but it was a fun challenge, and I really enjoyed playing my solo set in a different context to a different audience than I would normally do.
We had so much fun, we decided to do it again!
The year-end performance for Mile Zero Dance is happening on Saturday December 16 at Spazio Performativo in Little Italy, and it's a semi-official tie-in with this year's Canada 150+, entitled How To Say Goodbye: An Obituary For Canadian History. Bridget has created a new dance piece with a partner, Carmen Nieuwenhuis, this time to five of my songs, including several of the new batch that I started recording this summer. There are several other pieces happening that night, and it's all capped off by a performance from Edmonton's grimiest punk group Bad Buddy, so it's going to be a ton of fun.
Admission by donation, with all proceeds going to the Bissell Centre.
I don't get to do stuff like this very often, so I'd love to see some people out there!
10/05/2017:
A few big announcements...
Going on my first full-band tour, this time to southern Alberta and across BC! Very excited to touch base with all the great pals I've met over the years, and campus radio folks who have shown me so much love over the years but who I never got a chance to meet before. Very excited for everything, but some highlights include : an on-air performance for CJSW Calgary and one for CITR Vancouver; playing at the Owl in Lethbridge with some awesome Lethbridge pals including Brenna Lowrie (and her trusty drummer Clayton) and Ghost Woman; visiting the fine folks at Bandwagon Promotions in Medicine Hat; sharing several shows with hometown homies Le Plaisir (Amelia and Doug and Baxter), who really saved my ass by doing the major work for a bunch of shows in BC; and I'm very much looking forward to a warm welcome home at this amazing show put on by Mustafa at Sweaty Palms, namely, getting to play at this amazing church St. Faith's with none other than my dear pal Doug Hoyer and his new string quartet.
Full list of shows on the Shows page.
And also, on a very excited side note, I'm happy to unveil this film that features one of my songs.
About two years ago, local Edmonton filmmaker Conor McNally put together this backhanded ode to hockey worship, Oilers fandom, and the cult of McDavid, filmed during construction of the new arena in Edmonton. It's a brilliant 9 minutes, and I'm very happy that he decided my song "Long Life" from Black Pits needed to be in it.
It's been hidden for a few years while he shopped it to festivals, but I'm very happy to show it to everyone now. Watch and share widely!
A few big announcements...
Going on my first full-band tour, this time to southern Alberta and across BC! Very excited to touch base with all the great pals I've met over the years, and campus radio folks who have shown me so much love over the years but who I never got a chance to meet before. Very excited for everything, but some highlights include : an on-air performance for CJSW Calgary and one for CITR Vancouver; playing at the Owl in Lethbridge with some awesome Lethbridge pals including Brenna Lowrie (and her trusty drummer Clayton) and Ghost Woman; visiting the fine folks at Bandwagon Promotions in Medicine Hat; sharing several shows with hometown homies Le Plaisir (Amelia and Doug and Baxter), who really saved my ass by doing the major work for a bunch of shows in BC; and I'm very much looking forward to a warm welcome home at this amazing show put on by Mustafa at Sweaty Palms, namely, getting to play at this amazing church St. Faith's with none other than my dear pal Doug Hoyer and his new string quartet.
Full list of shows on the Shows page.
And also, on a very excited side note, I'm happy to unveil this film that features one of my songs.
About two years ago, local Edmonton filmmaker Conor McNally put together this backhanded ode to hockey worship, Oilers fandom, and the cult of McDavid, filmed during construction of the new arena in Edmonton. It's a brilliant 9 minutes, and I'm very happy that he decided my song "Long Life" from Black Pits needed to be in it.
It's been hidden for a few years while he shopped it to festivals, but I'm very happy to show it to everyone now. Watch and share widely!
MCDAVID from Conor McNally on Vimeo.
06/19/2017:
Two more shows added! In addition to 2 band shows at Sled, this Friday at 5 at Palomino and Saturday at 3 at Central Memorial Park, I'll be playing a little solo set at Blackbyrd record store Calgary location (1126 17 Ave SW) as a live-to-air thing for CKUA.
And after that's all done, back home, this coming Sunday, my old pal Mitchmatic (who has played nearly 100% of the sax you ever heard on my recordings) is having a Moving-to-Montreal party, so I'll be playing a solo set to open the evening on that one too.
All info is in the Shows page!
Two more shows added! In addition to 2 band shows at Sled, this Friday at 5 at Palomino and Saturday at 3 at Central Memorial Park, I'll be playing a little solo set at Blackbyrd record store Calgary location (1126 17 Ave SW) as a live-to-air thing for CKUA.
And after that's all done, back home, this coming Sunday, my old pal Mitchmatic (who has played nearly 100% of the sax you ever heard on my recordings) is having a Moving-to-Montreal party, so I'll be playing a solo set to open the evening on that one too.
All info is in the Shows page!
06/02/2017:
I've been back from tour for 3 whole weeks, and already there's a ton of stuff going on! If you missed my updates, they are living on my Instagram for all time, @jomcomyn.
I had such a great time returning to the Buck for a solo show with my main man Doug Hoyer last month.
I announced that I'm playing 2 shows with a full band at this year's Sled Island Fest in Calgary.
And to warm us up, we're playing the tour kickoff of Edmonton psych-rockers Archaics!
I've been slowly watching the Archaics for a few years, and they're definitely one of my favourite Edmonton bands, and one of the most exciting live acts around. They recently did a record with my old pal Renny Wilson. (In case you missed it, listen to what happened when Renny and I put our heads together)
That show with Archaics is at the Rec Room in Edmonton on June 10 and it's FREE OF CHARGE folks, so pile in the car and come on down.
If you missed it, you can see the music video for Dream Deep right here, and it's my directorial debut so you have to like it.
Whilst on tour, I got a bunch of nice press, from Healthy Phat in Edmonton, Beatroute in Calgary, and ohestee in Toronto. Thank you! Also, the album was charting for like 4 straight weeks at #1 on the mighty CJSR! Thank you! It hit #2 on CFRU Guelph. Love you, Guelph! And it was charting on CHUO Ottawa, CHRW London, CICK Smithers, CKUA Edmonton, CITR Vancouver, CFUV Victoria, CKDU Halifax, CHMA Sackville, and CFMH Saint John. Thanks Canada! I'm sorry I never visit you, but I promise I will.
I've been back from tour for 3 whole weeks, and already there's a ton of stuff going on! If you missed my updates, they are living on my Instagram for all time, @jomcomyn.
I had such a great time returning to the Buck for a solo show with my main man Doug Hoyer last month.
I announced that I'm playing 2 shows with a full band at this year's Sled Island Fest in Calgary.
And to warm us up, we're playing the tour kickoff of Edmonton psych-rockers Archaics!
I've been slowly watching the Archaics for a few years, and they're definitely one of my favourite Edmonton bands, and one of the most exciting live acts around. They recently did a record with my old pal Renny Wilson. (In case you missed it, listen to what happened when Renny and I put our heads together)
That show with Archaics is at the Rec Room in Edmonton on June 10 and it's FREE OF CHARGE folks, so pile in the car and come on down.
If you missed it, you can see the music video for Dream Deep right here, and it's my directorial debut so you have to like it.
Whilst on tour, I got a bunch of nice press, from Healthy Phat in Edmonton, Beatroute in Calgary, and ohestee in Toronto. Thank you! Also, the album was charting for like 4 straight weeks at #1 on the mighty CJSR! Thank you! It hit #2 on CFRU Guelph. Love you, Guelph! And it was charting on CHUO Ottawa, CHRW London, CICK Smithers, CKUA Edmonton, CITR Vancouver, CFUV Victoria, CKDU Halifax, CHMA Sackville, and CFMH Saint John. Thanks Canada! I'm sorry I never visit you, but I promise I will.
04/06/2017:
Today is the day I set sail for my second European tour!
First up is this Saturday April 8 in Stockholm at Larry's Corner, a great little record store in Södermalm, with Mathias Danielsson. The next day, Sunday April 9, I zip over to Gothenburg at Holy Moly.
The complete list of tour dates is illustrated beautifully on this tour poster by local auteur Travis Salty, and also on my shows page.
But first, I'd like to look back at last week and thank everybody for making the release show such an incredible night! Wares absolutely destroyed, and then I took the stage with my amazing band, and they kicked such amounts of ass as I've never seen before. The big surprise of the night was just how many people tried to cram into the Buckingham! Surrounded by so many good friends, new friends, and total strangers. It's the same every time---the tour kickoff is so great, I don't want to leave!
If you want to listen or buy, please head over to my bandcamp! The physical poster is available to order there (with instant download to your inbox) but I won't be here to mail any new orders until May.
So until then, the only way to get the poster is by coming to one of the European shows, or in Edmonton through my good pal Tory at Hideout Distro!
I got some generous praise from several outlets already, so I thought I'd share those with you.
First, I got a little heads up on Ride the Tempo in Toronto, and this blog in Berlin called The Chop included "Dream Deep" on their latest Neglected Essentials mix, ahead of my 2 shows there.
This one from my pal Fish at the Edmonton Journal; this one from good old Vue Weekly, and this one from the good folks at Grayowl Point.
I remember now why I hate reading my own interviews...but there's no reason you can't check them out if you want!
Also, I'm debuting my first self-directed music video, for "Dream Deep". It was a lot of fun to make, and I couldn't have done it without the amazing dance performance of Bridget Jessome, and I definitely couldn't have done it without the help of Edmonton filmmaker extraordinaire Dylan Howard, who made it look like a real video, and who also let me use his video editing suite to chop it together.
You can see it on Youtube or if you prefer, Vimeo too.
(And if you haven't seen it, Dylan also made this beautiful short doc about yours truly!)
Today is the day I set sail for my second European tour!
First up is this Saturday April 8 in Stockholm at Larry's Corner, a great little record store in Södermalm, with Mathias Danielsson. The next day, Sunday April 9, I zip over to Gothenburg at Holy Moly.
The complete list of tour dates is illustrated beautifully on this tour poster by local auteur Travis Salty, and also on my shows page.
But first, I'd like to look back at last week and thank everybody for making the release show such an incredible night! Wares absolutely destroyed, and then I took the stage with my amazing band, and they kicked such amounts of ass as I've never seen before. The big surprise of the night was just how many people tried to cram into the Buckingham! Surrounded by so many good friends, new friends, and total strangers. It's the same every time---the tour kickoff is so great, I don't want to leave!
If you want to listen or buy, please head over to my bandcamp! The physical poster is available to order there (with instant download to your inbox) but I won't be here to mail any new orders until May.
So until then, the only way to get the poster is by coming to one of the European shows, or in Edmonton through my good pal Tory at Hideout Distro!
I got some generous praise from several outlets already, so I thought I'd share those with you.
First, I got a little heads up on Ride the Tempo in Toronto, and this blog in Berlin called The Chop included "Dream Deep" on their latest Neglected Essentials mix, ahead of my 2 shows there.
This one from my pal Fish at the Edmonton Journal; this one from good old Vue Weekly, and this one from the good folks at Grayowl Point.
I remember now why I hate reading my own interviews...but there's no reason you can't check them out if you want!
Also, I'm debuting my first self-directed music video, for "Dream Deep". It was a lot of fun to make, and I couldn't have done it without the amazing dance performance of Bridget Jessome, and I definitely couldn't have done it without the help of Edmonton filmmaker extraordinaire Dylan Howard, who made it look like a real video, and who also let me use his video editing suite to chop it together.
You can see it on Youtube or if you prefer, Vimeo too.
(And if you haven't seen it, Dylan also made this beautiful short doc about yours truly!)
03/22/2017:
It's been a long time since I announced any news, but here are 3 things I need to tell you about!
And stay tuned for a music video, my directorial debut...
It's been a long time since I announced any news, but here are 3 things I need to tell you about!
And stay tuned for a music video, my directorial debut...
1) New Album:
I Need Love is a 28 track album, mostly self-produced, with 1 song produced by Renny Wilson and 2 songs by produced by Jesse Northey. It will be released on March 30 via Sweety Pie Records as a newspaper-sized full colour poster with artwork by Jill Stanton, including a lyrics sheet and download. You can pre-order it here, or come pick up a copy at the Edmonton release show Thursday March 30 at the Buckingham.
Listen to 2 singles on bandcamp and soundcloud right now.
I Need Love is a 28 track album, mostly self-produced, with 1 song produced by Renny Wilson and 2 songs by produced by Jesse Northey. It will be released on March 30 via Sweety Pie Records as a newspaper-sized full colour poster with artwork by Jill Stanton, including a lyrics sheet and download. You can pre-order it here, or come pick up a copy at the Edmonton release show Thursday March 30 at the Buckingham.
Listen to 2 singles on bandcamp and soundcloud right now.
2) Album Release Show / Tour Kickoff Show:
The new album is released at a release/tour kickoff show on Thursday March 30 at the Buckingham in Edmonton.
It features myself with a full band accompaniment, Jessica Jalbert, Tom Murray and Andy Mulcair.
Starting out the night is a solo set from Wares, one of the best solo performers I've ever seen.
Last year she put out this amazing 7" which you should definitely hear and grip asap.
Tickets are $10 in advance at yeglive.ca and $12 at the door.
Here is the event page if you want that.
The new album is released at a release/tour kickoff show on Thursday March 30 at the Buckingham in Edmonton.
It features myself with a full band accompaniment, Jessica Jalbert, Tom Murray and Andy Mulcair.
Starting out the night is a solo set from Wares, one of the best solo performers I've ever seen.
Last year she put out this amazing 7" which you should definitely hear and grip asap.
Tickets are $10 in advance at yeglive.ca and $12 at the door.
Here is the event page if you want that.
3) European Tour:
I had so much fun last year, I decided to go back!
Starting April 8, I'm doing another solo tour of small art spaces, venues and cafes across the continent.
More specific info and links to each show at the shows page.
Apr 8: Stockholm, SE @ Larry's Corner
Apr 9: Gothenburg, SE @ Holy Moly
Apr 12: Copenhagen, DK @ Tjili Pop
Apr 14: Malmö, SE @ Far i Hatten
Apr 18: Berlin, DE @ Madame Claude
Apr 20: Offenbach, DE @ Waggon am Kulturgleis
Apr 21: Hamburg, DE @ Mobile Blues Club
Apr 26: Prague, CZ @ (A)void Floating Gallery
Apr 27: Vienna, AT @ Polka Dot
Apr 28: Salzburg, AT @ Plan B
May 3: Berlin, DE @ Ä Neukölln
May 6: Bruges, BE @ Snuffel Hostel
May 7: Bonn, DE @ Cafe la Victoria
May 8: Amsterdam, NL @ Dwaze Zaken
I had so much fun last year, I decided to go back!
Starting April 8, I'm doing another solo tour of small art spaces, venues and cafes across the continent.
More specific info and links to each show at the shows page.
Apr 8: Stockholm, SE @ Larry's Corner
Apr 9: Gothenburg, SE @ Holy Moly
Apr 12: Copenhagen, DK @ Tjili Pop
Apr 14: Malmö, SE @ Far i Hatten
Apr 18: Berlin, DE @ Madame Claude
Apr 20: Offenbach, DE @ Waggon am Kulturgleis
Apr 21: Hamburg, DE @ Mobile Blues Club
Apr 26: Prague, CZ @ (A)void Floating Gallery
Apr 27: Vienna, AT @ Polka Dot
Apr 28: Salzburg, AT @ Plan B
May 3: Berlin, DE @ Ä Neukölln
May 6: Bruges, BE @ Snuffel Hostel
May 7: Bonn, DE @ Cafe la Victoria
May 8: Amsterdam, NL @ Dwaze Zaken
|
10/26/2016:
More great shows! I'm sort of planning a miniature hibernation so you all don't get sick of me before the next album comes out this spring. But in the meantime, I was asked to play two of my favourite places. First, I'll be doing the illustrious Saturday afternoon gig at my beloved Empress Ale House on Nov 5, just me and my trusty drummer Andy Mulcair. We've had one jam, and the arrangements so far are getting pretty loose and fun and interesting. Even if you've seen me a million times, I highly recommend checking this out, because it's probably going to be a one-in-a-lifetime set. And after that, I'm going by myself to hop on an amazing bill at the Sewing Machine Factory, one of the best new venues in town, hosted by one of the great new promoters in town, Sweaty Palms aka Mustafa. The main attractions are Hannah Epperson, Omhouse, and Symfan, so I better do a good one because the caliber is high on this one. This is on Nov 15. Both shows are up on my shows page. I continue plugging away on mastering the new record, which is a massive feat itself, since this is my longest and most particular album I've done, with pretty elaborate sequencing. Luckily, my secret weapon is my old pal Taylor Schaerer, the wizard of sound who mastered all of my early releases, and who is an extremely talented individual all around. |
|
09/02/2016:
I was invited to play some really cool shows by some of my favourite musical pals!
The great Neal Moignard (top left), who directed the amazing music video for my song "Wish Upon a Storm" is back in the saddle making great music under the name Knots, and this time he has a full band. They're putting out a record, and the single is irresistible. For the big album release in Edmonton, we were lucky to get Simone Schmidt aka Fiver, also of the amazing band The Highest Order visiting us from Toronto. They are one of the best singers in Canada, with a voice like Johnny Cash risen from the grave, you gotta see this one. That's Saturday September 10 at Bohemia 10217 97 street.
I was also asked to join my good pal Jesse Northey of Jesse & the Dandelions, on a mini-tour of Alberta! Jesse just put out this awesome record True Blue, and here's a great music video of him figure skating. These shows are Thursday September 8 in Medicine Hat at Captain's Cabin Pub, and Friday September 9 in Lethbridge at the Owl Acoustic Lounge.
I was invited to play some really cool shows by some of my favourite musical pals!
The great Neal Moignard (top left), who directed the amazing music video for my song "Wish Upon a Storm" is back in the saddle making great music under the name Knots, and this time he has a full band. They're putting out a record, and the single is irresistible. For the big album release in Edmonton, we were lucky to get Simone Schmidt aka Fiver, also of the amazing band The Highest Order visiting us from Toronto. They are one of the best singers in Canada, with a voice like Johnny Cash risen from the grave, you gotta see this one. That's Saturday September 10 at Bohemia 10217 97 street.
I was also asked to join my good pal Jesse Northey of Jesse & the Dandelions, on a mini-tour of Alberta! Jesse just put out this awesome record True Blue, and here's a great music video of him figure skating. These shows are Thursday September 8 in Medicine Hat at Captain's Cabin Pub, and Friday September 9 in Lethbridge at the Owl Acoustic Lounge.
07/04/2016:
Since my last entry, I played some solo sets as accompaniment to a fantastic dance artist, Bridget Jessome for Edmonton's Next Fest; I wrangled a new band together, including my old multi-instrumental pal Mitch Holtby; we opened for Besnard Lakes; we opened for Willie Thrasher at Sled Island in Calgary; and we played a great Thursday night banger with our pals Betrayers at The Common.
In the meantime, I've been starting to chip away in earnest at the final pieces of the new album, mixing what I finished recording at year ago at the old SPACE / Graphic Arts building, and recording a few last minute pieces with some more professional hands.
But I'll be popping my head up to do a solo set with a great talent from Montreal, Lucas Huang, aka Old Haunt, at the Buckingham on August 11. We're lucky enough to get one of Edmonton's best singers to open for us, Sister Ray aka Ella Coyles. You don't want to miss this, folks. I'll post a poster here when it's ready.
And finally, I've been pretty lax about keeping my records and tapes stocked up in stores, so shame on me.
Records of In the Dark on 99 and the last few tapes of Black Pits EP are fully stocked and available at Listen Records on 124 Street and Blackbyrd Myoozik on Whyte in Edmonton, and there are also records (but no tapes, sorry) available at Blackbyrd's new location in Calgary on 17 Ave SW. I think it has more sunlight than any record store in Canada, so check it out!
And, I'm very happy to say that you can also get records through my good friend Tory Cullen aka (Karma Victoria), who was able to get my records into Edmonton-owned shop Bamboo Ballroom on Whyte, and also in her awesome Hideout Distro, which she operates out of Vacancy Hall in the Mercer Building on 104 Street, where you can find my records alongside her awesome hand-crafted jewelry. There's a great new interview with her, and you can read it here.
If you live in a major Canadian city, chances are you can find my records in one of the fine record-selling establishments nearby. As always, the full list is at the Buy page, just scroll down until you see Record Stores. And if you can't find me in your local city, you can always order a record through my Bandcamp or Wyrd Distro (although maybe wait until the postal strike gets settled!)
Since my last entry, I played some solo sets as accompaniment to a fantastic dance artist, Bridget Jessome for Edmonton's Next Fest; I wrangled a new band together, including my old multi-instrumental pal Mitch Holtby; we opened for Besnard Lakes; we opened for Willie Thrasher at Sled Island in Calgary; and we played a great Thursday night banger with our pals Betrayers at The Common.
In the meantime, I've been starting to chip away in earnest at the final pieces of the new album, mixing what I finished recording at year ago at the old SPACE / Graphic Arts building, and recording a few last minute pieces with some more professional hands.
But I'll be popping my head up to do a solo set with a great talent from Montreal, Lucas Huang, aka Old Haunt, at the Buckingham on August 11. We're lucky enough to get one of Edmonton's best singers to open for us, Sister Ray aka Ella Coyles. You don't want to miss this, folks. I'll post a poster here when it's ready.
And finally, I've been pretty lax about keeping my records and tapes stocked up in stores, so shame on me.
Records of In the Dark on 99 and the last few tapes of Black Pits EP are fully stocked and available at Listen Records on 124 Street and Blackbyrd Myoozik on Whyte in Edmonton, and there are also records (but no tapes, sorry) available at Blackbyrd's new location in Calgary on 17 Ave SW. I think it has more sunlight than any record store in Canada, so check it out!
And, I'm very happy to say that you can also get records through my good friend Tory Cullen aka (Karma Victoria), who was able to get my records into Edmonton-owned shop Bamboo Ballroom on Whyte, and also in her awesome Hideout Distro, which she operates out of Vacancy Hall in the Mercer Building on 104 Street, where you can find my records alongside her awesome hand-crafted jewelry. There's a great new interview with her, and you can read it here.
If you live in a major Canadian city, chances are you can find my records in one of the fine record-selling establishments nearby. As always, the full list is at the Buy page, just scroll down until you see Record Stores. And if you can't find me in your local city, you can always order a record through my Bandcamp or Wyrd Distro (although maybe wait until the postal strike gets settled!)
05/31/2016:
I went on tour, came back from tour, and now there's a bunch of Alberta shows to do!
But I really have to thank everybody who made the tour such a great experience, everybody in all the cities. What an incredible time! I can't wait to go back!
I put a bunch of photos on Instagram while I was gone, check it out!
Some time ago, I was approached by a local dance artist, Bridget Jessome, to collaborate on a piece she had composed to be accompanied by two of my songs, and she wondered if I wanted to join as a live solo performance. So, I'm happy to report that you can see this piece, Something I Know Because You Told Me, at this year's Nextfest in Edmonton. There will be three performances of the 10-minute piece: Saturday June 4 at 7:00 pm, Tuesday June 7 at 6:00 pm, and Saturday June 11 at 6:00 pm. You can see all of the info here.
After that, I have a few shows with the whole band, including my old pal Mitch Holtby on drums! (Okay, he's not that old.)
June 18 at the Needle in Edmonton, opening for the amazing Besnard Lakes!
And I'm very happy to announce my slots at this year's Sled Island in Calgary!
Wednesday June 22 at Ship & Anchor with Willie Thrasher, and Thursday June 23 at Palomino as part of a showcase from Edmonton's newest/best startup record label, Sweety Pie. I'm honoured and delighted to be a part of Sled, and to be considered in the extended Sweety Pie family.
I went on tour, came back from tour, and now there's a bunch of Alberta shows to do!
But I really have to thank everybody who made the tour such a great experience, everybody in all the cities. What an incredible time! I can't wait to go back!
I put a bunch of photos on Instagram while I was gone, check it out!
Some time ago, I was approached by a local dance artist, Bridget Jessome, to collaborate on a piece she had composed to be accompanied by two of my songs, and she wondered if I wanted to join as a live solo performance. So, I'm happy to report that you can see this piece, Something I Know Because You Told Me, at this year's Nextfest in Edmonton. There will be three performances of the 10-minute piece: Saturday June 4 at 7:00 pm, Tuesday June 7 at 6:00 pm, and Saturday June 11 at 6:00 pm. You can see all of the info here.
After that, I have a few shows with the whole band, including my old pal Mitch Holtby on drums! (Okay, he's not that old.)
June 18 at the Needle in Edmonton, opening for the amazing Besnard Lakes!
And I'm very happy to announce my slots at this year's Sled Island in Calgary!
Wednesday June 22 at Ship & Anchor with Willie Thrasher, and Thursday June 23 at Palomino as part of a showcase from Edmonton's newest/best startup record label, Sweety Pie. I'm honoured and delighted to be a part of Sled, and to be considered in the extended Sweety Pie family.
|
04/20/2016:
Extra special retroactive thanks to the Empress Ale House and everybody for coming to the tour kickoff show. I've got a lot to learn before I get to Europe, but I feel much more prepared now. Special thanks to Travis Sargent for making these great posters, which you can see over here ☞ And in addition to those, 2 more tour dates were added in the last minute! May 7 (afternoon) / Ghent, BE / Sorry Notsorry Fest in Zonder naam Park May 22 / Reykjavik, IS / KEX Hostel 04/04/2016:
Okay, big announcements. 1) Going to Europe in May 2) Little tour kickoff at the Empress on April 18 3) Opening for Besnard Lakes on June 18 4) Other stuff that hasn't been announced yet. It's all in the Shows page, but here ☞ is a list of the Euro dates anyway. Tell your friends! (please) |
European Dates:
May 5 / Paris, FR / Onze Bar May 7 / Ghent, BE / In de Ruimte May 9 / Amsterdam, NL / Dwaze Zaken May 11 / Berlin, DE / Ä Neukölln May 13 / Jena, DE / Brandmarken Schuhe May 15 / Bonn, DE / Cafe la Victoria May 18 / Vienna, AT / Polka Dot May 21 / Reykjavik, IS / RVK Roasters |
|
2/12/2016:
And another two shows with the band to announce! Thursday, Feb 25 at The Common, with one of my favourite new Edmonton bands of the last while, Slow Girl Walking. And the very next day Feb 26, I'll be opening for Faith Healer as part of a free on-air concert at CKUA radio. And otherwise, working steady on the new record and planning some tour dates abroad. None of it is going to be done properly, but bear with me please. |
|
11/23/2015:
Two full band shows to announce!
December 19 at Ritchie Hall, we'll be a part of the holiday shaker from Edmonton's latest and greatest label, Sweety Pie.
It'll have a special holiday band featuring Marlaena Moore, Power Buddies, Rusty and a million other great folks.
It'll also have a ton of great comedians like Jon Mick, who has always wanted me to play music at a largely comedic show, so this will be his dream come true for him personally.
Also, we were invited to play NYE with the Betrayers at my favourite bar, The Empress.
Make sure you get a ticket ahead of time before it sells out. You get in, you get champagne, and you get to watch us pull out some dumb covers.
Two full band shows to announce!
December 19 at Ritchie Hall, we'll be a part of the holiday shaker from Edmonton's latest and greatest label, Sweety Pie.
It'll have a special holiday band featuring Marlaena Moore, Power Buddies, Rusty and a million other great folks.
It'll also have a ton of great comedians like Jon Mick, who has always wanted me to play music at a largely comedic show, so this will be his dream come true for him personally.
Also, we were invited to play NYE with the Betrayers at my favourite bar, The Empress.
Make sure you get a ticket ahead of time before it sells out. You get in, you get champagne, and you get to watch us pull out some dumb covers.
11/8/2015:
Next solo set is Thursday Nov 12 at Accent Lounge in Edmonton.
Might happy to be a part of the legendary Endless Bummer Fest, which calls itself the Worst Festival in the World.
Big expectations to live up to.
After that, I'll be roping a band together again for a couple shows in December, so keep your eyes peeled.
Next solo set is Thursday Nov 12 at Accent Lounge in Edmonton.
Might happy to be a part of the legendary Endless Bummer Fest, which calls itself the Worst Festival in the World.
Big expectations to live up to.
After that, I'll be roping a band together again for a couple shows in December, so keep your eyes peeled.
10/13/2015:
Here's a bit of coverage of my last set, last Friday for the Up + DT Fest in Edmonton. I was playing with some lovely Icelandic folks, Snorri Helgason, Pétur Ben, and a surprise set from Sóley, all of whom were very good and very humbling to watch, and all of whom made me want to hop on the nearest plane to Reykyavik. There weren't many in attendance, but among them were Jibril Yassin and Chris Gee for Exclaim, so a mighty thank you to those two gents.
Here's a bit of coverage of my last set, last Friday for the Up + DT Fest in Edmonton. I was playing with some lovely Icelandic folks, Snorri Helgason, Pétur Ben, and a surprise set from Sóley, all of whom were very good and very humbling to watch, and all of whom made me want to hop on the nearest plane to Reykyavik. There weren't many in attendance, but among them were Jibril Yassin and Chris Gee for Exclaim, so a mighty thank you to those two gents.
08/17/2015:
You can hear one of my new songs, along with some great bands from around the world (and a few Edmos too!) on this great mixtape from a blog Mouca, based out of Porto, Portugal and Berlin (not Portugal).
Also, there was a great review of the EP from the folks over at Ride the Tempo.
And I'm starting to close in on basic tracking for the new full-length, out hopefully next spring.
You can hear one of my new songs, along with some great bands from around the world (and a few Edmos too!) on this great mixtape from a blog Mouca, based out of Porto, Portugal and Berlin (not Portugal).
Also, there was a great review of the EP from the folks over at Ride the Tempo.
And I'm starting to close in on basic tracking for the new full-length, out hopefully next spring.
08/11/2015:
Looks like some people are liking the new EP!
It's been jostling between #1 and #2 on the CJSR chart, neck and neck with Daniel Romano of all people! So I'm in good company there.
And the folks over at Grayowl Point put out a review just today, which was darn nice of them.
I'll have some shows lined up in a bit here, so stay tuned to my Shows page for that.
And I finally caught up on mail, so if you ordered something, it is coming, and sorry for the delay! It's in Canada Post's hands now.
Looks like some people are liking the new EP!
It's been jostling between #1 and #2 on the CJSR chart, neck and neck with Daniel Romano of all people! So I'm in good company there.
And the folks over at Grayowl Point put out a review just today, which was darn nice of them.
I'll have some shows lined up in a bit here, so stay tuned to my Shows page for that.
And I finally caught up on mail, so if you ordered something, it is coming, and sorry for the delay! It's in Canada Post's hands now.
07/07/2015:
Wow, I've got some major catching up to do after Sled Island.
For starters, Sled Island was amazing! Thanks to Shawn Petsche for arranging the festival, thanks to Bry Webb and the Providers (Rich and Nathan) for being such great people and playing such great music.
Since I've been back, I've had a lot of interviews and such leading up to the cassette release on Thursday, so here they are.
Here's a little sit-down I did with my bud Jenna Williams over at Beatroute. I think I may have exaggerated my relationship to Brandy and Ace of Base (and Bob Dylan for that matter), but I always second-guess these things anyway.
This is a little blurb from the lovely Paul Blinov at Vue Weekly, and it puts me in good company with Jessica Holtby.
This is an interview I did over the phone with Samantha Power, one of my favourite Edmonton writers ever, for GigCity.
And this is the link for the Exclaim premiere of the "Lost in Time" video by Parker Thiessen. I'm so glad the world can finally see this. For a long time, I didn't know what it was going to look like, but it turned out to be as bizarre and funny and beautifully shot as I had hoped. Parker is genuinely one of the most passionate, creative people I've ever met, and everything he does is full of that positive energy that oozes out of him like that green slime from Ghostbusters. Between all of his noise projects, his work for FAVA, and all of the great videos he shoots, it's amazing he had time for me. Nobody else in the world can do what Parker does, and I'm very lucky to have a song set to one of his ideas.
Wow, I've got some major catching up to do after Sled Island.
For starters, Sled Island was amazing! Thanks to Shawn Petsche for arranging the festival, thanks to Bry Webb and the Providers (Rich and Nathan) for being such great people and playing such great music.
Since I've been back, I've had a lot of interviews and such leading up to the cassette release on Thursday, so here they are.
Here's a little sit-down I did with my bud Jenna Williams over at Beatroute. I think I may have exaggerated my relationship to Brandy and Ace of Base (and Bob Dylan for that matter), but I always second-guess these things anyway.
This is a little blurb from the lovely Paul Blinov at Vue Weekly, and it puts me in good company with Jessica Holtby.
This is an interview I did over the phone with Samantha Power, one of my favourite Edmonton writers ever, for GigCity.
And this is the link for the Exclaim premiere of the "Lost in Time" video by Parker Thiessen. I'm so glad the world can finally see this. For a long time, I didn't know what it was going to look like, but it turned out to be as bizarre and funny and beautifully shot as I had hoped. Parker is genuinely one of the most passionate, creative people I've ever met, and everything he does is full of that positive energy that oozes out of him like that green slime from Ghostbusters. Between all of his noise projects, his work for FAVA, and all of the great videos he shoots, it's amazing he had time for me. Nobody else in the world can do what Parker does, and I'm very lucky to have a song set to one of his ideas.
06/16/2015:
As of today, I have three shows coming up.
First, the Sled Island show in Calgary. It's at the Ship and Anchor on Thursday June 25, and I'll be opening for Bry Webb.
Second, the release show for my Black Pits EP at Wunderbar, on Thursday July 9. It's just me and Mauno, so it'll be over early.
Third, Golden West Music Fest, which is a big camping trip/music festival up in Ardmore, AB close to Cold Lake. It's on the August long weekend, it's full of great bands, and it's a ton of fun, so I really hope I see you there.
As of today, I have three shows coming up.
First, the Sled Island show in Calgary. It's at the Ship and Anchor on Thursday June 25, and I'll be opening for Bry Webb.
Second, the release show for my Black Pits EP at Wunderbar, on Thursday July 9. It's just me and Mauno, so it'll be over early.
Third, Golden West Music Fest, which is a big camping trip/music festival up in Ardmore, AB close to Cold Lake. It's on the August long weekend, it's full of great bands, and it's a ton of fun, so I really hope I see you there.
06/02/2015:
Today, you can listen to one of the songs off the new EP, because it's streaming on Exclaim. I recorded "Lost in Time" with Garrett Johnson (from Brazilian Money) in one long, 8-hour session right before he moved from Edmonton to Montreal. I came to him because I always considered him one of the bona fide "geniuses" of music in Edmonton, in the sense that his approach to writing and composition and rhythm is completely unique. Sometimes it comes across as "weird", but usually that's just a synonym for "interesting." And when I told Garrett that I didn't have a bass part written yet, he spent about an hour piecing one together, and now---go figure---it's the best part of the song.
So thanks, Garrett, and thanks to Josiah and everyone at Exclaim. The EP will be out July 9 from Bart Records (and there might even be some tapes ready for Sled).
Today, you can listen to one of the songs off the new EP, because it's streaming on Exclaim. I recorded "Lost in Time" with Garrett Johnson (from Brazilian Money) in one long, 8-hour session right before he moved from Edmonton to Montreal. I came to him because I always considered him one of the bona fide "geniuses" of music in Edmonton, in the sense that his approach to writing and composition and rhythm is completely unique. Sometimes it comes across as "weird", but usually that's just a synonym for "interesting." And when I told Garrett that I didn't have a bass part written yet, he spent about an hour piecing one together, and now---go figure---it's the best part of the song.
So thanks, Garrett, and thanks to Josiah and everyone at Exclaim. The EP will be out July 9 from Bart Records (and there might even be some tapes ready for Sled).
05/28/2015:
This is shaping up to be one of the best Sled Islands in memory. The schedule came out today. Not only do I get to play 3 times (once for me, twice for Faith Healer), and not only do I not have to miss seeing Television, but I get to open for one of my all-time heroes Bry Webb. This is a major Sled dream come true, and I have nothing but tremendous thanks and respect for Shawn Petsche and all of the organizers of this amazing festival. You can see all of my upcoming shows, as always, in the shows tab.
This is shaping up to be one of the best Sled Islands in memory. The schedule came out today. Not only do I get to play 3 times (once for me, twice for Faith Healer), and not only do I not have to miss seeing Television, but I get to open for one of my all-time heroes Bry Webb. This is a major Sled dream come true, and I have nothing but tremendous thanks and respect for Shawn Petsche and all of the organizers of this amazing festival. You can see all of my upcoming shows, as always, in the shows tab.
|
05/17/2015:
As I mentioned before, I was lucky enough to be the subject of a beautiful music doc made by the lovely and talented Dylan Howard. It's now up for streaming on Vimeo via his own Truthful Work Films website, and it's also up on the videos page of this website. The film is called Lifetimes of Snow, and it's shot half in digital, half 16mm, by the amazingly talented cinematographer Aaron Munson. So if you want to hear me mumbling about myself over top of some gorgeous shots of my hometown, you can do that now. A million and a half thanks to Dylan and all the crew for making such a beautiful film. Also, when I'm not Jomming around with myself, I'm playing in a real band called Faith Healer. We recently went on the CBC show q (not Q) in Toronto. You can listen to the whole thing here, or watch a video. And the Faith Healer record Cosmic Troubles is completely Jom-free, so I don't hesitate to flog it on anyone and everyone. You gotta hear this thing! June will be a busy month, getting ready for The Black Pits EP, a new 6-song cassette, made with 6 producers (including myself), to be released on Bart Records, as well as a music video, directed by Edmonton's crown prince of creativity Parker Thiessen. More news on that will crop up right here as it comes. |
|
05/06/2015:
I am pleased to be included on the lineup for this year's Sled Island, making it my second year. Whoever wrote that little artist bio sure was nice. Looking through the lineup, I'm really honoured to be going as a performer, and super excited as a spectator. The Sleddites were decent enough to invite myself, along with some of my favourite Edmonton and Calgary homies like Diamond Mind, Feverfew, Hagface, Ben Disaster, Faith Healer (special homies), tuques, Renny Wilson Punk Ex, Astral Swans, Betrayers, Switches, Pigeon Breeders, Lab Coast, Lucid 44, Lad Mags, Samantha Savage Smith, Slates, Stepmothers, Tee-Tahs, and some of the country's finest from coast to coast including The Backhomes, Construction and Destruction, Cousins, Jon McKiel, Maica Mia, Monomyth, Psychic Pollution, Shooting Guns, and Viet Cong. I'll also get to see Television (holy shit), Godspeed! (amazing), Bry Webb (the legend), Iceage, Lightning Bolt, and Mykki Blanco.
I never thought I'd see my name next to Jaga Jazzist!
I am pleased to be included on the lineup for this year's Sled Island, making it my second year. Whoever wrote that little artist bio sure was nice. Looking through the lineup, I'm really honoured to be going as a performer, and super excited as a spectator. The Sleddites were decent enough to invite myself, along with some of my favourite Edmonton and Calgary homies like Diamond Mind, Feverfew, Hagface, Ben Disaster, Faith Healer (special homies), tuques, Renny Wilson Punk Ex, Astral Swans, Betrayers, Switches, Pigeon Breeders, Lab Coast, Lucid 44, Lad Mags, Samantha Savage Smith, Slates, Stepmothers, Tee-Tahs, and some of the country's finest from coast to coast including The Backhomes, Construction and Destruction, Cousins, Jon McKiel, Maica Mia, Monomyth, Psychic Pollution, Shooting Guns, and Viet Cong. I'll also get to see Television (holy shit), Godspeed! (amazing), Bry Webb (the legend), Iceage, Lightning Bolt, and Mykki Blanco.
I never thought I'd see my name next to Jaga Jazzist!
03/25/2015:
A bunch of new stuff came about recently, so I thought I'd keep you in the loop.
First, it's been announced that I will once again be apart of the Golden West Music Festival. I've had the good fortune to be invited to the three-day festival up in sunny Ardmore, Alberta for every one of its three years, and I'm very excited to get the band back together, play a few songs, and have another cool dip in Cold Lake.
Talented filmmaker (and my good buddy) Dylan Howard (of Truthful Work Films) was commissioned by Edmonton's Film and Video Arts Society (FAVA) to make a 10 minute film about a local musician, and he picked yours truly. Dylan had a great team with him, and I got see what a real film shoot looks like (and feel how cold a real film shoot feels in the winter!). After watching Dylan's film about our mutual friend, the great Liam Trimble, I was both excited and terrified at the prospect of having the camera pointed at me. But any trepidation I had about having my big face on the big screen was weighed with the knowledge that I was in good hands, and I'm proud to have been involved in the project.
You can see the debut of "Lifetimes of Snow" in Edmonton at FAVA Fest, on the evening of Thursday, April 16 at the Metro Cinema. Admission is by donation, and the films start at 7.
Over at Weird Canada, my eloquent and giant-hearted friend Jared Majeski wrote a beautiful and flattering Cityscape piece about Edmonton. He included one of my songs on the playlist, and he put my picture on the top of it (for better or worse!).
I'm also happy to be playing guitar in an excellent band called Faith Healer, formerly known by its brainchild, Jessica Jalbert (who has lent her amazing voice to some of my recordings). I didn't play a note on the new album Cosmic Troubles, and therefore, I won't hesitate to crow about how great it is. But don't take my word for it: the whole thing was recently put up for stream in advance of the March 31 release, through Mint Records. Have a listen, and go buy the record when it's out.
I'm in the process of finishing up an EP, starting up recording for the next big album, and finishing a video. No dates yet, but I'm hoping to have the EP behind me by the summertime. As always, I'll keep you posted.
A bunch of new stuff came about recently, so I thought I'd keep you in the loop.
First, it's been announced that I will once again be apart of the Golden West Music Festival. I've had the good fortune to be invited to the three-day festival up in sunny Ardmore, Alberta for every one of its three years, and I'm very excited to get the band back together, play a few songs, and have another cool dip in Cold Lake.
Talented filmmaker (and my good buddy) Dylan Howard (of Truthful Work Films) was commissioned by Edmonton's Film and Video Arts Society (FAVA) to make a 10 minute film about a local musician, and he picked yours truly. Dylan had a great team with him, and I got see what a real film shoot looks like (and feel how cold a real film shoot feels in the winter!). After watching Dylan's film about our mutual friend, the great Liam Trimble, I was both excited and terrified at the prospect of having the camera pointed at me. But any trepidation I had about having my big face on the big screen was weighed with the knowledge that I was in good hands, and I'm proud to have been involved in the project.
You can see the debut of "Lifetimes of Snow" in Edmonton at FAVA Fest, on the evening of Thursday, April 16 at the Metro Cinema. Admission is by donation, and the films start at 7.
Over at Weird Canada, my eloquent and giant-hearted friend Jared Majeski wrote a beautiful and flattering Cityscape piece about Edmonton. He included one of my songs on the playlist, and he put my picture on the top of it (for better or worse!).
I'm also happy to be playing guitar in an excellent band called Faith Healer, formerly known by its brainchild, Jessica Jalbert (who has lent her amazing voice to some of my recordings). I didn't play a note on the new album Cosmic Troubles, and therefore, I won't hesitate to crow about how great it is. But don't take my word for it: the whole thing was recently put up for stream in advance of the March 31 release, through Mint Records. Have a listen, and go buy the record when it's out.
I'm in the process of finishing up an EP, starting up recording for the next big album, and finishing a video. No dates yet, but I'm hoping to have the EP behind me by the summertime. As always, I'll keep you posted.
02/06/2015:
Pleased to see a second life for this beautiful video of "Wish Upon a Storm" shot by Neal Moignard.
The kind folks at Weird Canada have given it some love, just in time for another round of shitty Edmonton weather.
How poetic.
Pleased to see a second life for this beautiful video of "Wish Upon a Storm" shot by Neal Moignard.
The kind folks at Weird Canada have given it some love, just in time for another round of shitty Edmonton weather.
How poetic.
12/21/2014:
Things are pretty quiet in Jom land.
But I realized that it's already been a year since the Edmonton release of the album at Wunderbar.
I remember it being a completely incredible night, and I was lucky enough to get to see one of my favourite bands, the amazing Energetic Action.
When I originally released the album, I had to pick the 8 strongest songs, the "hits", that would fit on the 12" vinyl, and include the other 7 tracks as Bonus tracks for the download. I decided to only put those core 8 songs on the Bandcamp page as well, hiding the other 7 as Bonus download tracks only accessible to people who bought the album.
But now, a year later, even though I still think that the core 8 tracks are definitely the strongest, I am very proud of the whole album, front to back, Track 1 to Track 15.
So now, you can hear all 15 songs, for better or worse, skip as many as you want to, take them or leave them.
You can stream them on Bandcamp, on Youtube, and on a bunch of digital services like Spotify and iTunes.
And, of course, you can still buy it on 12" vinyl and get the digital download, from Bandcamp, Wyrd Distro, or a number of record stores across Canada.
Thanks to everyone for all the amazing support and well wishes I've received this past year.
Love,
Jom
Things are pretty quiet in Jom land.
But I realized that it's already been a year since the Edmonton release of the album at Wunderbar.
I remember it being a completely incredible night, and I was lucky enough to get to see one of my favourite bands, the amazing Energetic Action.
When I originally released the album, I had to pick the 8 strongest songs, the "hits", that would fit on the 12" vinyl, and include the other 7 tracks as Bonus tracks for the download. I decided to only put those core 8 songs on the Bandcamp page as well, hiding the other 7 as Bonus download tracks only accessible to people who bought the album.
But now, a year later, even though I still think that the core 8 tracks are definitely the strongest, I am very proud of the whole album, front to back, Track 1 to Track 15.
So now, you can hear all 15 songs, for better or worse, skip as many as you want to, take them or leave them.
You can stream them on Bandcamp, on Youtube, and on a bunch of digital services like Spotify and iTunes.
And, of course, you can still buy it on 12" vinyl and get the digital download, from Bandcamp, Wyrd Distro, or a number of record stores across Canada.
Thanks to everyone for all the amazing support and well wishes I've received this past year.
Love,
Jom
12/05/2014:
While on tour, I was invited to record a live session for the radio show Best of the West on CJLO in Montreal.
It was an early morning, and I was sick, but it gives a rough impression of what the upcoming stuff might sound like.
You can check it out here.
Special thanks to Sarah Stupar and Patrick McDowall for making it happen.
While on tour, I was invited to record a live session for the radio show Best of the West on CJLO in Montreal.
It was an early morning, and I was sick, but it gives a rough impression of what the upcoming stuff might sound like.
You can check it out here.
Special thanks to Sarah Stupar and Patrick McDowall for making it happen.
|
10/31/2014:
Tour's over, but I'm still doing things. Weird. I'm bringing the full band together to play at Bohemia on November 11, along with one of my favourite Edmo bands the Tee-Tahs. Details here. And I was asked to do a little solo set at the album release for Edmonton supergroup Duplekita on November 15 at a new space called Lift Interactive. And then I go down to Calgary on Saturday, November 22 to open up for Gruff Rhys (formerly of the Super Furry Animals)! It's a free show at the good old Palomino Smokehouse, so I am super excited for that one, and I hope all you Calgary folk come out for a good old, foot-stompin, Welsh experimental pop-rock, good time. |
|
10/27/2014:
Well, that was fun!
Thanks to everyone who made this tour so awesome. I got to touch base with all of my pals, I made new pals, I saw some amazing bands, met some great promoters, and I didn't run into any moose.
I now have records in record stores across eastern Canada, and it's also available to order through the Wyrd Distro.
For a full list of record stores, see the buy page.
Well, that was fun!
Thanks to everyone who made this tour so awesome. I got to touch base with all of my pals, I made new pals, I saw some amazing bands, met some great promoters, and I didn't run into any moose.
I now have records in record stores across eastern Canada, and it's also available to order through the Wyrd Distro.
For a full list of record stores, see the buy page.
10/20/2014:
Tour Update
It's already well into the second week, and lots to update.
The short story is: I played some great shows in southern Ontario, met some new amazing people, and reconnected with some Edmonton bros and brodettes in Montreal. I came down with some sick, but I used my day off to rest up a bit, so I'm pretty well okay now.
Unfortunately, my show here in Quebec City had to be cancelled. It was an in-store appearance on a Monday night, and it was so quiet, we decided it was probably best to just wait until I'm in town again.
On the plus side, my TBA shows for Halifax can now BA, thanks to the amazing Nick Everett, who is as awesome a promoter as he is an artist.
Both shows are happening on Saturday, October 25.
The first is an afternoon show at 2550 Agricola, check out the details here.
And after that is an evening show at Young Offenders Gallery at 2130 Gottingen, here.
And before that, I'll be stopping in Fredericton to play the Reneu Boutique on Wednesday, and Charlottetown to play Baba's on Thursday.
I'm not sure when I'll be on tour again, so if you're kind of curious to hear what I sound like live, this is the week to do it.
Tour Update
It's already well into the second week, and lots to update.
The short story is: I played some great shows in southern Ontario, met some new amazing people, and reconnected with some Edmonton bros and brodettes in Montreal. I came down with some sick, but I used my day off to rest up a bit, so I'm pretty well okay now.
Unfortunately, my show here in Quebec City had to be cancelled. It was an in-store appearance on a Monday night, and it was so quiet, we decided it was probably best to just wait until I'm in town again.
On the plus side, my TBA shows for Halifax can now BA, thanks to the amazing Nick Everett, who is as awesome a promoter as he is an artist.
Both shows are happening on Saturday, October 25.
The first is an afternoon show at 2550 Agricola, check out the details here.
And after that is an evening show at Young Offenders Gallery at 2130 Gottingen, here.
And before that, I'll be stopping in Fredericton to play the Reneu Boutique on Wednesday, and Charlottetown to play Baba's on Thursday.
I'm not sure when I'll be on tour again, so if you're kind of curious to hear what I sound like live, this is the week to do it.
10/13/2014:
Tour Update
It's the third day of this tour, but there's already a ton of stuff to share.
First of all, a bit of housekeeping:
I recently did an interview for the Waterloo Record to promote the Waterloo show this Wednesday, I recently did a phone-in interview for the National Hum on CKCU to talk about the Ottawa show this Friday, I'll be doing a little interview for CHUO in Ottawa this Wednesday at 5pm, and there's a Facebook event for the Charlottetown show next Thursday.
Saturday's show at the Holy Oak Cafe in Toronto was a delight. I got to meet the incredible Jos Fortin and witness an amazing set (complete with bass clarinet!), and I got to watch one of my all-time favourites in all the land, Doctor Smooth himself, Thom Gill. And I got to see a lot of friendly faces, mostly Edmontonians, which always helps with the pre-show jitters. From there, I was going to spend the night with my lovely on Toronto Island, via the after-hours Night Water Taxi, which runs til 2:30 am.
Of course, if it doesn't run til 2:30, or even til 2 (when I got there), then there you are standing at the harbour for 45 minutes with no water taxi, and a nearly-dead phone, and if it's so late that everyone you know is alseep, and all of the hostels and hotels aren't picking up, or full anyway, then the only thing to do is to pull an all-nighter in the nearest 24-hour Tim Hortons with your lovely until the morning ferry comes at 8:00. So that was day one!
Then, after a few hours of stolen sleep, I made my way to Guelph to play the Cornerstone. That venue was suddenly unavailable due to unforeseen circumstances, but luckily the promoters were Mike Deane and Dave Lander, who are the nicest guys in the world, and the show happened anyway, in Mike Deane's beautiful, 1890's-era house. After the sudden venue change, I was pleasantly surprised to play to a solid roomful of really wonderful people, and it later came about that the house used to house some of the Constantines (!). Seeing that I had to miss their comeback show in Edmonton (they played while I was in Toronto), this was a nice little wink of the eye to me from circumstance. Thanks, circumstance!
And finally, a minor anecdote that will only resonate with car-centric Edmontonians like myself: I'm here in Toronto with 2 days off, and I want nothing more than to be free of the car for a few days in this wonderfully walkable city. Alas, where do you find a place to park in this mammoth center, and how expensive will it be, and will I have to move the car around at certain hours, and will it be 20 blocks away? But, as luck would have it, the hostel I'm staying had one right there, and for very cheap. Thanks again, circumstance!
So then, a few days rest, and then it's off to Waterloo I go, home of the Princess Cafe, Weird Canada Headquarters, and Matt Mazowita.
Tour Update
It's the third day of this tour, but there's already a ton of stuff to share.
First of all, a bit of housekeeping:
I recently did an interview for the Waterloo Record to promote the Waterloo show this Wednesday, I recently did a phone-in interview for the National Hum on CKCU to talk about the Ottawa show this Friday, I'll be doing a little interview for CHUO in Ottawa this Wednesday at 5pm, and there's a Facebook event for the Charlottetown show next Thursday.
Saturday's show at the Holy Oak Cafe in Toronto was a delight. I got to meet the incredible Jos Fortin and witness an amazing set (complete with bass clarinet!), and I got to watch one of my all-time favourites in all the land, Doctor Smooth himself, Thom Gill. And I got to see a lot of friendly faces, mostly Edmontonians, which always helps with the pre-show jitters. From there, I was going to spend the night with my lovely on Toronto Island, via the after-hours Night Water Taxi, which runs til 2:30 am.
Of course, if it doesn't run til 2:30, or even til 2 (when I got there), then there you are standing at the harbour for 45 minutes with no water taxi, and a nearly-dead phone, and if it's so late that everyone you know is alseep, and all of the hostels and hotels aren't picking up, or full anyway, then the only thing to do is to pull an all-nighter in the nearest 24-hour Tim Hortons with your lovely until the morning ferry comes at 8:00. So that was day one!
Then, after a few hours of stolen sleep, I made my way to Guelph to play the Cornerstone. That venue was suddenly unavailable due to unforeseen circumstances, but luckily the promoters were Mike Deane and Dave Lander, who are the nicest guys in the world, and the show happened anyway, in Mike Deane's beautiful, 1890's-era house. After the sudden venue change, I was pleasantly surprised to play to a solid roomful of really wonderful people, and it later came about that the house used to house some of the Constantines (!). Seeing that I had to miss their comeback show in Edmonton (they played while I was in Toronto), this was a nice little wink of the eye to me from circumstance. Thanks, circumstance!
And finally, a minor anecdote that will only resonate with car-centric Edmontonians like myself: I'm here in Toronto with 2 days off, and I want nothing more than to be free of the car for a few days in this wonderfully walkable city. Alas, where do you find a place to park in this mammoth center, and how expensive will it be, and will I have to move the car around at certain hours, and will it be 20 blocks away? But, as luck would have it, the hostel I'm staying had one right there, and for very cheap. Thanks again, circumstance!
So then, a few days rest, and then it's off to Waterloo I go, home of the Princess Cafe, Weird Canada Headquarters, and Matt Mazowita.
10/06/2014:
Tour kickoff in Edmonton was a ton of fun!
The video looks beautiful, and now you can see it too.
Just go right here. Thanks to mega-talented Neal Moignard and Danielle Wensley for making this thing.
Tour kickoff in Edmonton was a ton of fun!
The video looks beautiful, and now you can see it too.
Just go right here. Thanks to mega-talented Neal Moignard and Danielle Wensley for making this thing.
09/26/2014:
I'm going on tour!
The Edmonton tour kickoff on October 3 will have an advance screening of the new video for "Wish Upon a Storm" by Neal Moignard.
The video will debut on this website on Monday October 6.
Here is a list of tour dates, with links to the Facebook events.
If you know someone in these cities who you think might like my stuff, feel free to send them an invite.
10/3: Edmonton, AB//SPACE w/Gary Debussy and Max Uhlich
10/11: Toronto, ON// Holy Oak Cafe w/ Thom Gill
10/12: Guelph, ON//The Cornerstone (event)
10/15: Waterloo, ON//Princess Cafe w/ Love Banshee (event)
10/16: Hamilton, ON//Baltimore House w/ Marriage (event)
10/17: Ottawa, ON//Pressed w/ Winchester Warm (event)
10/18: Montreal, QC//Brasserie Beaubien w/ Calvin Love
10/20: Quebec, QC//Le Knock-Out (in-store)
10/22: Fredericton, NB//ReNeu Boutique w/ Maicamia (event)
10/23: Charlottetown, PEI//Baba's w/ Emilee Sorrey
10/24-25: Halifax, NS//TBA
I'm going on tour!
The Edmonton tour kickoff on October 3 will have an advance screening of the new video for "Wish Upon a Storm" by Neal Moignard.
The video will debut on this website on Monday October 6.
Here is a list of tour dates, with links to the Facebook events.
If you know someone in these cities who you think might like my stuff, feel free to send them an invite.
10/3: Edmonton, AB//SPACE w/Gary Debussy and Max Uhlich
10/11: Toronto, ON// Holy Oak Cafe w/ Thom Gill
10/12: Guelph, ON//The Cornerstone (event)
10/15: Waterloo, ON//Princess Cafe w/ Love Banshee (event)
10/16: Hamilton, ON//Baltimore House w/ Marriage (event)
10/17: Ottawa, ON//Pressed w/ Winchester Warm (event)
10/18: Montreal, QC//Brasserie Beaubien w/ Calvin Love
10/20: Quebec, QC//Le Knock-Out (in-store)
10/22: Fredericton, NB//ReNeu Boutique w/ Maicamia (event)
10/23: Charlottetown, PEI//Baba's w/ Emilee Sorrey
10/24-25: Halifax, NS//TBA
08/27/2014:
I'm officially playing this year's Pop Montreal!
September 20 at Cagibi, with Hinindar + Miss Emily Brown
I'm officially playing this year's Pop Montreal!
September 20 at Cagibi, with Hinindar + Miss Emily Brown
08/20/2014:
I'll be doing a little solo set as part of CJSR's 30 Anniversary show at Barber Ha on August 30, along with Slow Down Molasses, Love Electric and the Strugglefucks.
And it's all part of Endless Bummer, which you can check out here.
I'll be doing a little solo set as part of CJSR's 30 Anniversary show at Barber Ha on August 30, along with Slow Down Molasses, Love Electric and the Strugglefucks.
And it's all part of Endless Bummer, which you can check out here.
07/21/2014:
The next thing I'm doing is the Golden West Music Fest. They're in their 2nd year, and if it's anything like last year, it's going to be an awesome time.
Here's their website, and here's the facebook page.
The next thing I'm doing is the Golden West Music Fest. They're in their 2nd year, and if it's anything like last year, it's going to be an awesome time.
Here's their website, and here's the facebook page.
07/04/2014:
Here's a few good words about my Palomino show at Sled Island from the good folks at Texture Magazine.
Here's a few good words about my Palomino show at Sled Island from the good folks at Texture Magazine.
06/25/2014:
Well that was a very busy week.
Thanks so much to everyone in Calgary for giving me such a warm welcome. Both of my shows were very well received; I played with some amazing bands (Hana Vave was great, and the legendary Elliot Brood had the whole place on their seats!). Overall, I had a very lovely Sled Island, and I hope I can make it back down pretty soon.
In that week, I was featured on CBC's Key of A thanks to the very friendly Katherine Duncan.
The good people over at Hi54lofi put me in another one of their mixtapes, which you can check out here.
My buds at All Our Blaring Lights included me in their Sled Island roundup.
I was also featured on this generous writeup in the Beatroute from Sarah Taylor about our set at Palomino, and these amazing writeups from Christine Leonard and Jenni Orton.
Well that was a very busy week.
Thanks so much to everyone in Calgary for giving me such a warm welcome. Both of my shows were very well received; I played with some amazing bands (Hana Vave was great, and the legendary Elliot Brood had the whole place on their seats!). Overall, I had a very lovely Sled Island, and I hope I can make it back down pretty soon.
In that week, I was featured on CBC's Key of A thanks to the very friendly Katherine Duncan.
The good people over at Hi54lofi put me in another one of their mixtapes, which you can check out here.
My buds at All Our Blaring Lights included me in their Sled Island roundup.
I was also featured on this generous writeup in the Beatroute from Sarah Taylor about our set at Palomino, and these amazing writeups from Christine Leonard and Jenni Orton.
06/18/2014:
Getting ready for my first Sled Island show ever (for Jom). Went away camping for 2 days prior, and now my computer is exploding with nice things.
Weird Canada included me on its own curated "Guide to Sled Island." You can read it here.
And my good pal, the amazingly talented Doug Hoyer (who, don't forget, is opening for St Vincent on Friday!) said some really nice things about my stuff for this mixtape he did for Under the Radar. You can read that here.
Getting ready for my first Sled Island show ever (for Jom). Went away camping for 2 days prior, and now my computer is exploding with nice things.
Weird Canada included me on its own curated "Guide to Sled Island." You can read it here.
And my good pal, the amazingly talented Doug Hoyer (who, don't forget, is opening for St Vincent on Friday!) said some really nice things about my stuff for this mixtape he did for Under the Radar. You can read that here.
06/11/2014:
I was featured in a little Sled Island feature on Edmonton bands in the Beatroute.
I'm pretty much the most boring one in it.
But I am really excited for Sled.
I think the Elliot Brood show is sold out (!!!) but I'm playing Palomino Upstairs on Wednesday at 5 (and I think that my set, other than one other thing at like noon, is the first set of the whole festival--so there's that).
And I forgot to mention that I'll be playing both sets with my lovely band--Tom Murray, Jessica Jalbert, and Renny Wilson. Unfortunately, it will be the last set with dear Renny on the drums because he's leaving oil country for cigarettes country (Montreal). Come say goodbye!
I was featured in a little Sled Island feature on Edmonton bands in the Beatroute.
I'm pretty much the most boring one in it.
But I am really excited for Sled.
I think the Elliot Brood show is sold out (!!!) but I'm playing Palomino Upstairs on Wednesday at 5 (and I think that my set, other than one other thing at like noon, is the first set of the whole festival--so there's that).
And I forgot to mention that I'll be playing both sets with my lovely band--Tom Murray, Jessica Jalbert, and Renny Wilson. Unfortunately, it will be the last set with dear Renny on the drums because he's leaving oil country for cigarettes country (Montreal). Come say goodbye!
06/05/2014:
My long-awaited Weird Canada review finally dropped.
On twitter, Jesse Locke called it "seasonally inappropriate swooner jams", which I'm pretty happy with.
Read it here.
My long-awaited Weird Canada review finally dropped.
On twitter, Jesse Locke called it "seasonally inappropriate swooner jams", which I'm pretty happy with.
Read it here.
06/03/2014:
Golden West full schedule just got released!
I'm playing Sunday evening. It was such a blast last time, I hope you can come out. (Only $50 for music, camping, the works)
Check it out here.
Golden West full schedule just got released!
I'm playing Sunday evening. It was such a blast last time, I hope you can come out. (Only $50 for music, camping, the works)
Check it out here.
06/02/2014:
A few days ago, on Friday night, I was featured by the legendary Laurie Brown on CBC's The Signal (she played "Wish Upon a Storm").
I've been a fan of that show for a few years now, so that's pretty awesome.
And today, Grayowl Point had some nice things to say about the album.
You can read it here.
A few days ago, on Friday night, I was featured by the legendary Laurie Brown on CBC's The Signal (she played "Wish Upon a Storm").
I've been a fan of that show for a few years now, so that's pretty awesome.
And today, Grayowl Point had some nice things to say about the album.
You can read it here.
05/27/2014:
They announced the Sled Island lineup today!
I have two official shows:
Wednesday, June 18 at the Palomino (upstairs) with a great Calgary band called Hana Vave and my good buds Diamond Mind.
Thursday, June 19 at the Ironwood, opening for legendary Canadian country dudes Elliott Brood!
Here's the full lineup.
They announced the Sled Island lineup today!
I have two official shows:
Wednesday, June 18 at the Palomino (upstairs) with a great Calgary band called Hana Vave and my good buds Diamond Mind.
Thursday, June 19 at the Ironwood, opening for legendary Canadian country dudes Elliott Brood!
Here's the full lineup.
05/19/2014:
It's been a crazy couple of weeks.
I played a really fun show in Calgary at 510 last week. I played a really nice little show at Wunderbar for the Hot Plains festival this weekend.
And I'll be playing a great little show at the Artery for NextFest on June 6.
There will be more info to come on that one, but I do know that I'll be playing with Switches and the Lad Mags, so it's going to be a great time.
It's been a crazy couple of weeks.
I played a really fun show in Calgary at 510 last week. I played a really nice little show at Wunderbar for the Hot Plains festival this weekend.
And I'll be playing a great little show at the Artery for NextFest on June 6.
There will be more info to come on that one, but I do know that I'll be playing with Switches and the Lad Mags, so it's going to be a great time.
05/11/2014:
Just dropped off some copies of the limited vinyl for In the Dark on 99 in Calgary at Sloth and Melodiya.
About to play my first Jom show in Calgary ever, with my favourite Calgarians--Knots and Cold Water.
Just dropped off some copies of the limited vinyl for In the Dark on 99 in Calgary at Sloth and Melodiya.
About to play my first Jom show in Calgary ever, with my favourite Calgarians--Knots and Cold Water.
05/09/2014:
It's official! I'll be returning to the stage at the 2nd annual Golden West Music Fest way up in Ardmore, Alberta (it's by Cold Lake)!
Camping, excellent hangouts, excellent food, beautiful scenery, good bands. It's like North Country mixed with Sled Island.
I think it's cheaper if you get a pass before June. Come on up!
Here's the website.
It's official! I'll be returning to the stage at the 2nd annual Golden West Music Fest way up in Ardmore, Alberta (it's by Cold Lake)!
Camping, excellent hangouts, excellent food, beautiful scenery, good bands. It's like North Country mixed with Sled Island.
I think it's cheaper if you get a pass before June. Come on up!
Here's the website.
05/05/2014:
The long-hiatused Knox Road blog is back, and I'm honoured to be their first new post in a long time.
See what they had to say about the album closer, featuring my talented palbert, Jessica Jalbert
The long-hiatused Knox Road blog is back, and I'm honoured to be their first new post in a long time.
See what they had to say about the album closer, featuring my talented palbert, Jessica Jalbert
04/29/2014:
It was official before, but it feels extra official now.
It was official before, but it feels extra official now.
04/20/2014:
The folks over at Toronto's Ride the Tempo seem to like the new album.
The folks over at Toronto's Ride the Tempo seem to like the new album.
04/15/2014:
All sorts of big news today.
First, my latest album is up for streaming and buying, over at my bandcamp page.
And also, I am proud to announce that I will (finally) be playing with band at the Sled Island Festival in Calgary this June.
It looks like all of those people who told me to just keep on applying were right.
I can't wait to see you all down there.
All sorts of big news today.
First, my latest album is up for streaming and buying, over at my bandcamp page.
And also, I am proud to announce that I will (finally) be playing with band at the Sled Island Festival in Calgary this June.
It looks like all of those people who told me to just keep on applying were right.
I can't wait to see you all down there.
