Even more Pearl Company...

It was a quiet Thursday, and my wife was having some friends over. I had received an e-mail about a last minute concert at The Pearl Company, but with such short notice I couldn't find anyone to go with me. Rich couldn't make it, Ralph wasn't home, Jesse was away, and so on. I had to go out to allow the ladies space, but did I want to go to a concert alone? I could just go to Chapters, have a coffee, browse for a couple of hours. Ah, what the heck, it's five bucks, and maybe it'll be good, after all the review on-line compared this guy to Robert Fripp.

I managed to find a parking spot right in front of the building. Wow! That's a first. Up the stairs, to the second floor where the performance space is, and there's Gary Santucci and Barbara Milne, the owners and hosts, and a young guy, tall, slim, short hair, long sideburns, glasses. Gary introduces us, and he happens to be Jean-Paul De Roover...the star of the show. We have a long chat about his gear, the relative merits of looping, his familiarity with Fripp, and other loopers. He doesn't know Jacob Moon, but the name Bill Frisell rings a bell. At this point you'd expect the audience to be drifting in. After all, it's almost 8:00. A woman arrives, she's a friend of Barbara's, and she drops her $5 on the table. That makes two of us. We introduce ourselves. Garbielle and I sit in the front row of chairs and couches that make up the comfy seating of The Pearl Company. Gary sits behind me. He says something like, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Pearl Co., tonight our guest is Jean-Paul De Roover." And from then on it's J-P's show.

I sympathize. I did a reading of my unpublished novel one night, and it snowed like crazy, three people came into the shop out of the storm. I read to them. They drank the free coffee and ate the free buttertarts, then they left. I know the feeling. Nevertheless J-P takes off. He's playing a Fender acoustic guitar that he says he borrowed from his sister. His web site shows him with a couple different axes, not this one, but by the end of the night you know why he took his sister's guitar on tour. He beats the crap out of it! Not fretting and picking, but beating it...like a drum. J-P plays loops, which means he creates a full band sound all by himself. Whether he begins with a riff, a beat, a bassline, even a vocal he then adds the missing pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle until finally the whole is revealed.

He works behind a red framework built from plastic pipe. His gear is on shelves, or on the floor, a plethora of pedals laid out before him. He knows where everything is. And he has done this enough to move smoothly between each piece of equipment and maintain the music, and the connection with the audience. He plays the songs from his recently released CD, Windows and Doors. The CD comes with a DVD which contains a brief documentary on the making of the album, a series of live performances and a couple of videos suitable for MTV (or Much Music here in Canada). He is a sensitive singer with a flexible voice, he lays down harmonies and background sounds (including percussive noises) with an ease and facility that is amazing to watch/hear. He reminds me at various times of Brian Wilson, or Lindsey Buckingham. His guitar playing is not really like Robert Fripp except perhaps on the experimental "Catharsis" which builds to a thrilling climax as loop after loop is layered onto the mix.

Because of the intimacy of the evening we feel free to take part, to clap, to sing along, to ask questions. J-P is happy for this, and answers honestly. He talks about the songwriting process and how he is less interested in lyrics than melody. He begins with melodic ideas, even when constructing the abstract experimental pieces. He add words as an afterthought, and yet the words he adds are filled with ideas, he is a thinker, having just completed his Master's in Sociology. Sociology? That's right, and it's a perfect fit for his songs about life, death, love, loss and all that.

Partway through the night, early on I think, two other people arrive. They are as overcome by the music as Gabrielle, Gary and I. And after the show we hang around for a while, talking to J-P, looking at the original artwork for his CD. It's a beautiful package, Windows and Doors is available from his Web site. We are all familiar with going through doors, but some of us take the less obvious route, through the window. Jean-Paul is inside that window, breaking through. Even his CD package breaks through! It folds out to become a little house. Buy one and see for yourself. Keep your eyes out for De Roover appearing near you. He's definitely making a return appearance at The Pearl Co. and I'm getting the word out early!

More Pearl Company

A week later and we were back at the Pearl Company to see, and hear, The Marigolds. As you'll see (and hear) by following that link, The Marigolds is a trio comprised of Suzie Vinnick, Caitlin Hanford and Gwen Swick, but after but after seeing them on Saturday night, I assure you...they're a band!
With the addition of percussionist Randall Coryell, Gwen playing bass, Caitlin on rhythm guitar and Suzie adding some hot lead guitar...they can flat out rock! But they don't rock all the time. Sometimes it's Sons of the Pioneersy old-time country like on "A Little Bit of Heaven" and sometimes there's a touch of jazz as on the title track of their new CD That's the State I'm In.
They came to play, and the small but very appreciative crowd came to listen. The night began with a little tuning up, and then Suzie kicked things off with the first track of the new CD. This song lists the things she might do "For Your Love" and it boils down to "anything I can think of..." Suzie's voice is a bluesy and potent instrument, Caitlin brings a clear Appalachian soprano, and Gwen provides the rich alto, but together they create something dreamlike, other-worldly. Harmony singing is one of my weaknesses, and I was completely smitten Saturday night!
The songs have inherent strength in their writing. These are well constructed, melodic tunes, and the lyrics are memorable too. Swick's "Anyone Can Dream" reminds us that "there's a statue that longs to be a national treasure...a sapling that looks high into the trees...a pebble that would die to lie in the Rockies...and anyone can dream." Caitlin's "When I'm Walking With You" is a song she wrote (with Gwen) about the joys of walking with a friend. They share writing duties, Suzie providing songs like "Sometimes I Think I Can Fly" (written with Dan Kershaw) and assisting with all the Marigolds on "Why Baby" or "For Your Love".
These are songs from the new CD, but as I listen to the carefully produced (by Steve Dawson) album, I think I liked the rawness of the live versions better. There was just something about the group interaction, and their obvious affection for each other, and the fire in Suzie's guitar solos, that when added to the bliss of the vocal blend created a separate entity of Marigold-mania, or something. Whatever you want to call it, we were transported to a land of harmony and melody. Aaah!
And of course, thanks to Gary and Barbara our hosts at the Pearl Company, which is quickly becoming my favourite venue anywhere!

The Pearl Company...

Friday night we went to see Joe Clark and Randal Hill perform a mandolin extravaganza at The Pearl Company. Now the Pearl Co. is an old warehouse, at one time home to the Evel Casket Co., then the space was occupied by the Canadian Pearl Co. who made, as you might expect, pearls. Plastic pearls, remnants of which can be found ground into the wooden floor. Parking is at a premium in this neighbourhood, and although they have an arragnement with a local pharmacist, if you don't put the handy little note on your dashboard you might be in for an expensive surprise after the show.
Barbara Milne and her partner Gary Santucci are the hosts, and they live on the third floor in a beautiful open concept space, which they graciously showed off to us during the intermission.
A bunch of Hamilton musicians were there, all to see Joe Clark and Randal Hill play their mandolins. Although the crowd was small, Randal and Joe gave it their all. These guys are amazing. Fingers flew on the little fretboards, and yet it wasn't all flash. There was a wonderful musicality to it all, whether playing bluegrass classics from Bill Monroe, or Duke Ellington's "Caravan," or even the theme from "Never On Sunday" the melodies were strong, and the improvisations always led back to the main themes. Both Joe and Randal doubled on guitar, and sang. They sang those high, lonesome harmonies that mark bluegrass music. Clark grew up in the same area as The Stanley Brothers. His stories are peppered with tales of meeting Dr. Ralph, or Bill Monroe, John Hartford, and other legendary characters. Hill has stories about others, his career reaches back to the Humber River Valley Boys.
The Pearl Co. offers coffee, tea and some baked goods, and comfortable seating in an intimate room. The sound is warm, perfect for this acoustic music. There's an art gallery downstairs, with crafts and jewelry for sale. But the main event Friday night was the music...and it was extraordinary.

Me & the Devil Blues

Just picked up this giant manga 500 page graphic novel called Me & the Devil Blues. Now, since I wrote a novella with the same title, I was immediately drawn to the 1 1/4" brick on a high shelf in the back room of a local bookstore. I haven't read it yet, but it looks beautifully done. All black and white illustrations, plenty of representations of Robert Johnson and the denizens of 1920s Mississippi. Have a look for it. Only problem is reading from back to front, but for a southpaw it shouldn't be too big an issue!

Video

Apparently Blues Hamilton has posted a video of my tune from the Festival. Here it is. Go figure!

Festival of Friends

Well, I did it! I sang at the Festival of Friends. I've attended many, many Festivals down in Gage Park, I even used to bring my guitar to play the open stage, or sit under a tree with some friends to sing "Mr. Tambourine Man" or "Catch the Wind." But this time I was actually part of the programme! Under the direction of Margaret Stowe, I took part in the Memories of Jackie Washington tribute.
I wasn't sure I wanted to do it. It was a bit stressful, imagining myself up on stage flanked by professional musicians who do this for a living, but I did it. Accompanied by my good friend Sylvia we arrived at the stage a few minutes early. There was some confusion about which stage we would be at, but when Marg Stowe arrived, and then Cathy Powell, we knew we had founf the right one. Marg set up guitars and mics, and the other performers started arriving. Hamilton poet James Strecker, who read from his biography of Jackie; local bluesman Alfie Smith; Toronto bluesman Brian Blain; songster Paul Langille and more all came to pay tribute to Jackie.
I brought along some lyrics of songs that Jack had recorded over the years, for volunteers to read. I set the bar by doing Bert Williams "Nobody". A couple of others took up the challenge. Some folk from the audience told stories of their experiences with Dr. Washington. The 'band' played on!
Cathy Powell told her story of the man who had been her friend for almost a lifetime. Then I was called back to sing Colin Linden's tune "Jackie Washington". After that it was a reading of "We'll Meet Again" and the tribute came to an end.
The day was humid, with only a slight breeze to cool us off. But the feeling was warm and mellow, and so filled with love that nobody cared about the weather.
A splendid time was had by all.

Rufus, Nathan, and Jackie

I discovered that the date for Rufus Wainwright was the same as the date for Nathan's wedding. As Nathan's family has been good friends for many years I had to decline the Rufus show. Jeff was going to go with someone else. They were both looking forward to it, and I was curious to hear how it went. Nathan's wedding (okay, sure, it's Katelyn's wedding too...but she got all the attention at the event) ummm...Nate & Kate's wedding was a lovely occasion. I am pretty much "weddinged out" but this was a good one.
Came in Monday to ask Jeff how Rufus was, and he said, "We didn't go...one of the dogs got sick!" So, anyone who attended Rufus at the Winery, let us know.
This weekend is the annual Festival of Friends down at Gage Park. It's the biggest free festival in the known universe I think. I like to call it Festival of Frenzy just because it is a frenzy trying to find a place to park, or a seat for the mainstage acts. Last year it was Steve Earle and Alison Moorer...Canned Heat and John Sebastian played on the Sunday during heavy rain. We've had enough heavy rain in the past week or two so we should be clear...but HOT! I'm playing a tune at the Tribute to Jackie Washington session. Organized by Margaret Stowe, it promises to be an interesting 2 hours. I haven't played in a setting like this for...a LOOONNNGGG time.
I'm getting a bit nervous.
Wish me luck...or tell me to break a leg...or something!