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Photo: Graeme Patterson
Canadian Art's C. Elizabeth Grant covered the very first multidisciplinary artists residency that took place last week at Thunder & Lightning Ltd. in Sackville, NB featuring, Graeme Patterson, Mitchell Weibe, Shotgun Jimmie, Ian Roy, Steven Lambke, Paul Henderson, Amy Siegel, Amanda Fauteux, Michael Feuerstack, Jon Claytor and more. You can read all about the ups, the downs, the collaborations, and the other shenanigans HERE.
We're very pleased to launch the Wish You Were Here Postcard campaign this week. Pick up a postcard at one of the upcoming Wish You Were Here tour dates, address it to a friend or lover, drop it in the Sappy Mailbox at the merch table, and we'll pay the postage! We'll also leave/send some to our favourite hotspots across the nation.
Take a photo of the postcard(s) you receive and post them to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with the ridicuously long hashtag #republicofsappyfest for a chance to win a pair of weekend passes to this year's event in Sackville, NB, July 29-31, 2016.
SappyFest Inc.
23 Bridge Street
P.O. Box 6443
Sackville, New Brunswick
E4L 1G6
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2016 SappyFest Media & Outreach Coordinator
35 hours a week
8 weeks
$10.65/hour
SappyFest Incorporated in partnership with Canada Summer Jobs is offering an employment opportunity for a current post-secondary student. The 2016 Media & Outreach Coordinator will work directly with SappyFest staff and Board of Directors on the production of the 11th annual music festival, July 29-31, 2016. Responsibilities will include; content generation, promotion, press and public relations, artist arrangements, website maintenance, managing social network/online profiles, copy editing, and sponsorship inquiries.
This is an opportunity to work in a fast paced, creative and engaging environment. The position would provide excellent leadership and management experience while developing skills in communications, project administration and creative problem solving.
The successful candidate will be:
- a highly organized, energetic, and adaptable leader
- outgoing and personable
- have experience conducting interviews, transcribing, editing
- a clear communicator with strong writing skills
- comfortable working in an Apple computer environment- experienced with social networking applications
Experience with Adobe design software, Microsoft, and independent culture is an asset. So is a sense of humour.
Please email a resume and cover letter to: submissions@sappyfest.com by Sunday, May 15, 2016 at 12:00PM (AST). Thank you for your interest but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
For more information please email: mentalist@sappyfest.com.
This position is made possible with direct support from Canada Summer Jobs and the Government of Canada
Sackville NB - SappyFest Inc. is pleased to announce that they will be coordinating a week-long residency for young and emerging artists, scheduled to take place May 22 - 28 in Sackville, NB. The residency is open to artists from multi-media and multi-disciplinary backgrounds, such as visual art, performance, creative writing, etc. Artists will be provided with a small studio space, and will have an opportunity to showcase their work at the end of the residency. Space is limited to three artists, and will be selected on a first-come-first-serve basis. Artists wishing to take part are encouraged to contact SappyFest by May 16, 2016.
SappyFest Inc.
www.sappyfest.com
producer@sappyfest.com
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SappyFest Residency Program: May 22 - 28
Who: 2 opportunities available to young and emerging artists with an interest in a week-long residency program in Sackville, NB. The residency is open to artists from multi-media and disciplinary backgrounds, such as visual art, performance, creative writing, etc.
Amenities: Small studio space located near the SappyFest office, 23 Bridge Street. Residents must coordinate and finance their own stay. No per-diem available at this time. A SappyFest representative will coordinate daily access to studio space.
Display: Artists will have the opportunity to publicly display their works at the end of the residency (Saturday, May 28, 2016 / At studio location).
Contact: SappyFest Board of Directors
C/O: Joni Fleck Andrews
producer@sappyfest.com
Deadline: May 16, 2016
Availability is on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Cakes Da Killa, She-Devils, Nap Eyes, Ought, By Divine Right, and Partner are the second wave of acts added to the lineup for SappyFest XI: Republic Of SappyFest. They join previously announced artists Dilly Dally, TUNS, Julie Doiron and the Wooden Stars, and Little Scream for the festival, which takes place in Sackville, NB from July 29 - July 31, 2016.
Passes for SappyFest are on sale now for $100 (taxes and fees included) and are available HERE.
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CAKES DA KILLA (New Jersey, USA)
"...the music is less about playing games with your memory and more about making weird noises that you won’t recognize, and then about pounding those noises into your head with brutal efficiency. This is alien musical landscape, but Cakes Da Killa sounds absolutely at home on all of it. This is charged, physical, confrontationally sexual music, tactile and specific...with the sort of single-minded focus that reminds me of a great punk record." - Stereogum
SHE-DEVILS (Montreal, QC) - Co-Presented with Pop Montreal
"'Precise' is not a word one might use to describe She-Devils, a Montreal-based duo that paints in broad, messy strokes on their self-titled debut EP. Instead of showing off tightly wound musical chops, Audrey Ann and Kyle Jukka create murky sonic textures that meander through various states of consciousness without fully committing to one. The EP’s four tracks fluctuate between sweet and vaguely sinister, with Jukka’s vinyl samples colliding with Ann’s voice and lending it an extra layer of emotional depth." - Consequence of Sound
NAP EYES (Halifax, NS)
"Nap Eyes sound like the kind of slacker-rock band that plays while slumped over on half-folded futons, but even in its quietest moments, Thought Rock Fish Scale is an album brimming with passion and protest. It finds confidence in humility, power in relaxation. Its lethargy feels like an act of defiance against the hyper-speed pace of modern life. Its pledges of sobriety and good health constitute affronts to peer-pressured intoxication and food-blogged indulgence. And its purity of vision amounts to a declaration of war against a culture that encourages mass distraction.." - Pitchfork
OUGHT (Montreal, QC)
"These Montreal post-punks (Ought) write harsh songs for harsh times on their excellent second album, building on last year's debut More Than Any Other Day. Tim Darcy squawks about trying to keep what's left of his human feelings alive, over abrasive guitar that clangs like Mission of Burma. When he sneers, 'Put on your evening attire/We've got a lot of forgetting to do' in 'On The Line,' he sounds like a cross between The Fall's Mark E. Smith and the grifter on the corner selling you the watch he stole off your wrist an hour ago. 'This is the high watermark of civilization,' Darcy says over the throbbing bass-and-feedback groove of the finale, 'Never Better.' The sad part is, he probably means it." - Rolling Stone
BY DIVINE RIGHT (Toronto, ON)
"Sunny, uplifting, jangly pop. All words often used to describe By Divine Right’s brand of psychedelic-tinged rock, which has been an influential force in Canadian indie music since the band’s seminal 1997 album, All Hail Discordia. On BDR’s ninth studio effort, it sounds less like [José] Contreras is struggling to hold on to anything, and more like he’s letting go, giving into improvisation and ending up with an album mixed with rich, psychedelic grooves, pop-driven hooks and dreamy, Beach Boys-esque harmonies." - CBC Music
PARTNER (Sackville, NB)
"Young, gifted and stoned, Partner are the best new band in Canada. Drumroll, chug and then the heaviest, phosphorescing riffs – a cri-de-coeur of overflowing confidence and ambition, with somehow still a sense of slacker haplessness. It’s a mighty trick: making something so perfectly composed, meticulously rehearsed, feel messy and alive. Their success rests on Caron’s premier shredding skills but just as much on [Josée] Niles’s deadpan presence: she’s like a punk-rock spirit animal, dry and goofy, singing perfect harmony at the top of her lungs." - The Globe and Mail
SappyFest Inc.
23 Bridge Street
P.O. Box 6443
Sackville, New Brunswick
E4L 1G6
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2016 SappyFest Summer Internship
Employment Opportunity: Returning Mount Allison Student
30 hours/week
10 weeks (possibility of extension pending approval of employment grant)
$10.65/hour
SappyFest Incorporated in partnership with the Campbell-Verduyn Family is offering an employment opportunity for a current Mount Allison Student. The 2016 Festival Intern will work directly with SappyFest staff and Board of Directors on the production of the 11th annual music festival, July 29-31, 2016. Responsibilities will include; volunteer coordination/management, press and public relations, artist arrangements, website maintenance, managing social network/online profiles, copy editing, and sponsorship inquiries.
A SappyFest Internship is an opportunity to work in a fast paced, creative and engaging environment. The position would provide excellent leadership and management experience while developing skills in communications, project administration and creative problem solving.
The successful candidate will be:
- a highly organized, energetic, and adaptable leader
- outgoing and personable
- a clear communicator with strong writing skills
- comfortable working in an Apple computer environment- experienced with social networking applications
Experience with Adobe design software, Microsoft Excel, and independent culture is an asset. So is a sense of humour.
Please email a resume and cover letter to: submissions@sappyfest.com by Monday, April 18, 2016 at 5:00PM (AST). Thank you for your interest but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
For more information please call: 506 540 1327 or email: mentalist@sappyfest.com.
This position is made possible with direct support from the Campbell-Verduyn Family.
Dilly Dally, TUNS, Julie Doiron and The Wooden Stars, and Little Scream are the initial acts announced for SappyFest XI: Republic Of SappyFest, taking place in Sackville, NB from July 29 - July 31, 2016.
A limited number of early bird tickets for the festival are on sale now for $90 (fees & taxes included) and are available HERE.
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DILLY DALLY (Toronto, ON)
"What makes a band like Toronto’s Dilly Dally so endearing is that they speak directly to the disdain of every working band. They aren’t showy but rather loud and a little messy, and they don’t give a shit about wrapping it up with a bow...In a time when the pool is flooded and everyone’s clambering but no one has the answer, these guys are frustrated but motivated, restless but still full of wonder. They’ve cultivated a fiercely noisy but completely intriguing sound, and sometimes that’s all it really takes." - Noisey
TUNS (Halifax, NS/Toronto, ON)
"Rumblings about Halifax supergroup TUNS first began last September, and six months and a couple of shows later, here's what we know: 1. The band includes Sloan's Chris Murphy on drums, Super Friendz/Flashing Lights' Matt Murphy on guitar and theInbreds' Mike O'Neill on bass. All three sing. 2. They're named after the Technical University of Nova Scotia (now Dal Tech). 3. First single "Throw It All Away" is a jangly, guitar-driven ditty with boyish three-part harmonies. 4. Expect a release in 2016." - NOW
JULIE DOIRON (Sackville, NB)
"Back in the pre-millennial fog of 1999, Julie Doiron made one of her first, decisive steps away from being 'the former bassist for Eric’s Trip' and towards establishing herself as a heart-on-sleeve solo troubadour celebrated on her own merits. She did it with a little help from some unlikely friends, too: inscrutable Ottawa art-popsters the Wooden Stars. A blazingly talented indie quintet perpetually doomed to the 'too good to catch on' files, the Stars’ and their shape-shifting, mathematical headiness seemed an odd match for Doiron’s plainspoken, lo-fi folk confessionals. But the combination worked, yielding an understated, tinglingly emotive CanCon classic in a one-off collaborative effort simply titled Julie Doiron and the Wooden Stars." - Toronto Star
LITTLE SCREAM (Montreal, QC)
"...in 2011, Laurel Sprengelmeyer released The Golden Record, her debut album as Little Scream. Her corroded guitar playing forged earthy, beautifully arranged epics that warranted comparisons to Neko Case, but they never seemed to earn the props they deserved. Her comeback takes a different tack entirely. 'Love as a Weapon' evokes what might transpire if St. Vincent covered the Bee Gees: bright, tight synthetic funk where Sprengelmeyer's unrelenting falsetto holds court over strutting bass Moog and zippy guitar." - Pitchfork
SappyFest artist residency program & Wish You Were Here tour:
In addition to these initial artists, SappyFest also announces the introduction of a new artist residency program and tour today. In the spirit of collaboration that first motivated the humble beginnings and development of SappyFest, Inc., this new residency sees ten artists from Sappy's past spanning multiple disciplines - written word, video, visual arts, puppetry, music, and new media - working together in the studio space above local pub and arts complex, Thunder & Lightning Ltd. in Sackville, NB from May 6 - 14, 2016.
At the end of the week, the collective works will be presented as a large exhibit at Thunder & Lightning. Coupled with a rock show, the exhibition will kick off the Wish You Were Here tour taking portions of the multi-disciplinary variety show on the road throughout the Maritimes.
Together, the residency and the tour aim to encapsulate all that has made Sappy, well, Sappy. Collaborations, good times, bad ideas.
The artists in residency are: Shotgun Jimmie, Ian Roy, Michael Feuerstack, Paul Henderson, Amy Siegel, Graeme Patterson, Mitchell Wiebe, Amanda Fauteux, Jon Claytor, and Steven Lambke.
The artists on tour are: Shotgun Jimmie, Ian Roy, G.L.A.M. BATS, Amy Siegel, andSteven Lambke.
Wish You Were Here tour dates are as follows:
May 14 - Sackville, NB @ Thunder & Lightning Ltd.
May 17 - Charlottetown, PE @ Baba's Lounge
May 19 - Fredericton, NB @ Wilser's Room
May 20 - Halifax, NS @ Gus' Pub
May 21 - Sydney, NS @ St. Patrick's Church
Photo by Ian Chew
This week, Mike had the chance to sit down with Partner to discuss their musical birth, building confidence in their performances and details about their debut record. Later on, they played a fun game of "Jam or Not a Jam" to pick apart classic music gems of the late 1990s and early 2000s (Alanis! No Doubt! Hanson!). To cap off their stay at CHMA and Boardwalk Radio, they treated us to an in-studio performance of "Daytime TV". Check out clips of each below.
Ohara and Adam of Nancy Pants fame joined our intern Mike this week for a conversation on CHMA's Boardwalk Radio as part of our weekly Sappy Hour. The pair had some wonderful commentary on their stage attire (sometimes a hat is worn, sometimes it is not), past karaoke experiences featuring Prince and Missy Elliott, and a future super-concert featuring The Muppets. Tune in below for clips of the interview.
After a brief hiatus at last year's festival, SappyFest is happy to announce the return of our Songwriter-In-Residence program.
This year's Songwriter-In-Residence is a former resident of the Maritimes and celebrated musician across the country: Andrew Sisk.
Sisk has been actively involved in a number of projects over the past ten years including: Coco et co., Sleepless Nights, and past SappyFest performers, Share.
To preface his residency, Sisk has compiled a podcast that explores the rich history behind SappyFest from the beginning, speaking with musician and eight-time Sappy performer, Michael Feuerstack, festival insider and member of The Legendary Golden River Show Band, Matt Charlton, musician and SappyFest Board Member, Jon McKiel, as well as SappyFest's Creative Director, Lucas Hicks.
Listen to Andrew Sisk's podcast "Long Story Short, Just Kidding" below, and take in his beautiful portrait of what makes Sappy so special before you catch him at the festival later this month.
Joining us at SappyFest 10 this year is spunky Montreal group Heat, fresh off of the release of their debut EP Rooms and a tour across Eastern Canada and the United States. Susil Sharma, the lead vocalist and songwriter for the group, sat down to chat with our intern Mike Roy to discuss the band's formation, the influences on his songwriting, and his first time seeing a punk show in his hometown of Fredericton, NB when he was 13.
Check out clips of the interview below.
Photo: Colin Medley
Steve Lambke is near and dear to each and every one of our hearts. You may know him from the Constantines, his solo-moniker Baby Eagle, his record label You’ve Changed Records, or Bucky’s basement.
We called up Steve on a stormy day last week and took up some of his tennis-watching time to talk Sappy, poetry, the mechanics of a “Big Deal” reunion, and how it feels to come back home.
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In a lot of ways, we’re going back to our roots this year. Sappy’s always been a family gathering, but this year features a lot of big reunions and returns. What do you think about the theme, Bring it on Home: does it feel like more of a homecoming than usual?
I’m glad to be included in those roots and to be thought of in that way. I’ve been to every SappyFest and volunteered a lot when I was in Sackville, I was on the Sappy board, and I’ve played a bunch of shows. I’m glad to be thought of as part of the theme: that’s how Sappy feels, like going home.
I remember we [The Constantines] played Sappy 2 way back when. We played at George's, and there was no big mainstage then. Things have changed a lot in the interim, but Sappy’s up for grabs in the sense that you can do whatever you want with it. It’s good to know the history and roots, and traditions are empowering, but traditions shouldn’t be burdens, they should be empowering.
Best Sappy memory or favourite Sappy year?
I’ve been to all of them, and loved them all in their own peculiar ways. I don’t know if I feel comfortable choosing a favourite. Well, actually, Charles Bradley and Arcade Fire: that was maybe the best festival that’s happened anywhere, ever. There have been different charms every year, and they’ve all been undeniably magical, but they’ve blended in my mind a little.
I had the most fun at Sappy last year, because I didn’t pull my weight. I was just enjoying being there, and it was fucking awesome. There’s always a lot of stuff going on in the background of everybody’s life, but what’s beautiful and important is that we’re there and bring it together each year.
There’s obviously a lot of excitement surrounding the Constantines’ show and reunion. You’ve already played at Field Trip in Toronto, how was that? Why did you guys want to come all the way down here?
When we talked about doing shows again this year, we decided it would be fun to play Sappy. A lot of the other tour decisions were based around bus schedules and that weekend.
We actually did a kind-of-secret show in Guelph a couple days before Field Trip in Toronto. It was at Kazoo! Fest, a small grassroots festival. It was great, it was the kind of context we’re comfortable playing in, like Sappy. It’s neat to see other festivals following suit. Sappy’s a bit of a trailblazer for festivals like Arboretum and Field Trip.
What can you say about your book, which is a collection of your lyrics? Do you feel weird about seeing lyrics as poetry or poetics instead of as lyrics? They’re the same words, obviously, but putting them on the page separates from the context of music and live performance, and I imagine that affects how you and others read them.
It’s a collection from the past few records. It’s concrete and done, I’m looking at a box of them right now. It came about through a friend’s small press, and I’m incredibly nervous about the fact that I’ve done it. I was dragging my heels on finishing my manuscript. If I had to do it all by myself I wouldn’t have had the nerves; it’s liberating and necessary to have someone else believe in something enough for you to do it.
It was an interesting project and process to think about songs in that context of poetry. This was kind of a learning project, and it’s really exciting to have done it, even though it’s all work that’s come out before. The process of taking lyrics from a song and putting them on a page is an interesting one: even though they’ve already existed as songs, they’re also poetry when you write them down.
In some ways the idea and structure of a song gives you a framework that’s easier to work with. When I write poems it’s hard to know when it’s done or finished, but with songs it’s done when it’s over, you know? Whereas on the page, obviously there are forms and structures to consider, it seems like it’s a lot more concrete. Playing with form, whether with music or art or writing, seems to be popular these days. It’s like, is that all there is? Only form? I don’t get it, I’m way too invested in living in the world and talking with people and stuff. Exciting things happened when we talk to each other. Communication is not isolated. And with songs in particular, I can use as many specific things from my life as I want, but at a certain point the only thing that matters is finishing is the song… It doesn’t matter if it’s a perfect reflection of my life or what I’m doing. Maybe 90 percent of the lyrics are from my life, but sometimes the voice of the song arrives at a conclusion or ending that I didn’t have or didn’t actually happen to me. I think songs have to have their own integrity separate from life.
Playing songs as musicians, we get to do it over and over again. Poetry doesn’t have the same frequency in my experience. I really like the idea of live performance and creating a work that can be reinterpreted and be a kind of living thing that you get to revisit and re-enact. And there’s not those apparent equivalences of being a folk singer or being punk rock if you’re a poet, it’s harder to do it on your own.
All this to say, I’m terrified of putting the book out.
What show are you most excited to see this year?
COOL. I put out a record for Apollo Ghosts, and I’m super excited to see them play. They don’t leave Vancouver very often. I also want to see Ought, who I haven’t seen before. And then there’s the usual faves: getting to see pals and stuff.
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Steve hits the Vogue as Baby Eagle, Sunday at 5:00PM, and again with the Constantines on the mainstage at 11:00PM.
Baby Eagle performing Rebel Crimes in St. Johns, NL.
Julie Doiron needs no introduction for anyone familiar with SappyFest, Sackville, or the last decade of the Canadian music scene. Doiron cofounded SappyFest in 2006 as an offshoot of the Moncton label Sappy Records. Since then, she has played nearly every year of the festival, appearing as a solo act and as a member in many other bands and collaborations. This year Julie plays with her newest Sackville supergroup Weird Lines. The band features a slew of both Sackville staples and recent imports. Weird Lines is symbol for Sappy’s own mantra: get all your friends together in one place, play music, have fun, and repeat next summer.
We sat down with Julie at the Black Duck Café last week to chat about Sappy's history, songwriting, and how to have a perfect Sunday.
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SappyFest has always been a giant family reunion, even for newcomers. This year’s theme is “Bring it On Home,” which is suitable as it features many Sappy Record originals such as yourself and Michael Feuerstack, and reunion shows from the Constantines and Shotgun & Jaybird. What do you think this year will have to add to the family reunion kind of feel that Sappy is all about?
Last year had gotten big, and maybe it wasn’t going to happen this year. The first couple years were really small, and it doesn’t have to be big to be fun. In some ways we’re going back to the beginning, scaling back, returning to the original idea. And it’s always good to have a rebirth.
It’s good to do whatever feels right, to scale it back if it’s getting too big or out of hand. Sappy has always had a good gut instinct, and is good at doing what feels right.
You’ve always been very involved in Sappy, how has your relationship to the festival changed over the years?
I was more of a contact or ambassador at first. In the early years I didn’t even have a computer! I’ve played every year of the festival, except for last year, because Elsie [my daughter] was born a couple days before the weekend. I’m playing twice this year. I’m excited, I like performing.
Sometimes interviewers associate lyrics with artist’s lives in a way that can seem intrusive or assumptive. Do you ever feel that people are making assumptions about your lyrics?
I don’t know if guys get asked those things too. People have had that idea about me, because a lot of my songs are personal, though some that are in the first person are not necessarily about me, they’re about friends of mine. And I think it’s normal for people to ask about that, to want to know what songs are about. Usually if the artist writes about it they’re willing to talk about it. Maybe they write about it to talk about it more.
I tend to write in a very personal way, but I rely heavily on melody [to write lyrics]. I come up with a melody first, base lyrics off of the melody, and go from there. I choose the words somewhat carefully. I try to use simple language that people can identify with. I don’t want to make it too complex. Lyrics are there so there can be a melody.
There’s no particular formula. I feel lucky for being able to write songs at all, it’s a pretty natural thing for me to do.
What’s your ideal Sunday in Sackville?
A good Sunday involves taking a walk and maybe swimming. I love being at my house and in my garden, and if I’m lucky I get to go for a swim. Even in the winter, we go to the pool and swim inside.
Who are you most excited to see this year?
The Constantines. I don’t like picking favourites, but The Constantines. That goes without saying.
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Catch Julie at the mainstage on Saturday night at 10PM, and later at the Legion with Weird Lines at midnight.
Check out the latest iPhone ad featuring Doiron's track Life of Dreams.
Currently split between Sackville and Halifax, Banded Stilts deliver comforting and astute folk that oscillates between contemporary pop, piano-heavy ballads, and lyrical narration that wouldn't be out of place in a Canadiana short story. Their sound has been said to "reach back to the grand old folk traditions within a contemporary alt-roots sound" (Toronto.com).
Earlier this week we sat down with our good friend Steve Haley to talk about his Sappy history, what he's had on repeat for the last while, the predatory habits of seagulls on the band's namesake bird, some influences on the latest album, and the effects of young children on Mad Men binge-watching.
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Who are you most excited to watch at Sappy this year?
Ooooh… so hard to choose. Cool's bandcamp page is pretty killer, Dusted put on one of my favourite live shows of the past year, Michael Feuerstack is a treasure, The Constantines? All of the above?
What’s your best go-to insult?
I'm not great with insults. Unless you're that guy who wouldn't lower the price of his ridiculously over-priced comic books after I spent a lot of time digging through dusty boxes thinking I was going to get a sweet deal. He knows who he is. I might call him an idiot.
Best Sappy memory?
My first B.A Johnston show was at Uncle Larry's during a past Sappy and, no, I was not warned and, no, I was not prepared.
Have you ever cried during a set?
Does a set of Full House episodes count?
What's a good Sunday like for you?
Before Sam (my son): too much food and binge watching Mad Men. After Sam: lighter meals and actually going outside.
What have you been listening to lately?
Chad Van Gaalen's Shrink Dust, Feuerstack's Singer Songer, Jon McKiel's new record and I've been re-visiting some "oldies" in preparations for this year's Sappy.
What was on repeat when you were working on your last album? (i.e. did you have any particular influences in mind, whether musical, literary, or otherwise?)
I was definitely on a bit of a Jayhawks kick during the recording. The Band's live album Rock of Ages was also getting a lot of spins.
In terms of influences, the album is a bit of a mish-mash of influences. Fred's Record's in Newfoundland (my fav record store), likened it to CSNY, The Band and Fleet Foxes and that's pretty apt. But influences are all over the map. For instance, I wrote the last song on the album as soon as I got home from a Weather Station show.
As for literary influences, I sometimes get ideas for lyrics while reading novels and comic books. If I see a line or phrasing that really stands out to me, it can inspire a completely different narrative in my head. The ending of Ernest Buckler's The Mountain and the Valley, for instance, sparked the idea for the song Cold. I won't spoil the ending of that book, but if you know it, my song makes a little more sense.
How long have Banded Stilts been playing together? How has the Halifax/Sackville split affected you guys?
As crazy as it sounds to me, Banded Stilts has been playing together in some capacity for about 3 years, I think. Before I moved to Sackville, I spent a lot of time in Halifax just hanging with my buds and practicing some songs. We played a couple of shows as a three piece before moving to a 5 piece. For SappyFest this year, I think we're going to be a 7 piece. It's fun. The downside, of course, of having the rest of the band in Halifax is that practice time becomes a bit of an ordeal. We make the most of it and usually practice around shows or when we get together to hang. We're all close friends in the band. I am eager to start something new and fresh in Sackville though. Stay tuned.
This might be a bit of a throwback, but can you remember your first introduction to SappyFest?
When I first left Newfoundland and landed in Amherst, Nova Scotia, I knew nothing about Sackville or Sappyfest. I remember the fall of 2009 (I think) seeing a video of Wax Mannequin, who I'm a huge fan of, performing at SappyFest and realizing that this was literally just next door. We began to slowly trickle across the border for shows after that and haven't missed a Sappy since.
A lot of people are attracted to Sackville because it fosters so many different kinds of cultural communities; do you think the town’s inter-dependent nature is part of the draw for you as a musician? I suspect that this sense of community may have attracted you to live in Sackville in the first place: how has your relationship to the town changed over time?
Like I was saying above, I knew nothing about Sackville prior to visiting. When we started venturing across the border to see shows, I was blown away. That first Sappy with Wintersleep and Timber Timbre combined with my first time seeing Daniel, Fred, and Julie later that year solidified that Sackville was where we should be living. Since living here, I've come to love Sackville, for so many more reasons besides music. I love seeing the same people everyday, I love how the community supports art and culture and I just really want to raise Sam here. I think he will be his best possible self having grown up here.
You hold a unique position as both a performer and a board member for Sappy this year; why were you interested in being a part of the inner workings of the festival?
It's kind of surreal that I'm even part of the team, to be honest. I'm a huge fanboy and I'm still just an excited SappyFest fan. It was already super cool to move from fan to performer, but now board member? It's weird. I was late to the game and only became part of the board like a month ago, but I'm stoked to be helping organize and run the festival. Knowing that my family and I are going to be living here for the foreseeable future, it just made sense to want to be involved with something that I have a deep love and respect for. I'm probably most excited to be helping out with the Kids Corner Power Jam/John Cougar Bandcamp.
This might be a question you've gotten before, but I was curious about the band name. Any good stories about picking it out? Also, did you know that banded stilts were once categorized as a vulnerable species under the 1972 Australian Parks & Wildlife Act because of heavy predation from seagulls? I think they’re doing okay now.
The story is not that good. I literally just googled bird names and wrote down a few that I thought sounded like a cool band name. This was due to the fact that, after leaving Newfoundland, I was particularly fascinated with the different varieties of birds on the mainland. I spent a bit of time hiking around the area and visiting the Amherst Bird Sanctuary and the Waterfowl Park in town, just scoping out the birds. So I was into "birding" for awhile. I'm glad to hear the banded stilts are doing okay now, although I definitely feel like part of a vulnerable species sometimes.
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Banded Stilts play the Mainstage on Sunday at 1:30 in the afternoon. We can't wait!
Cool is the hottest new band to hit the West Coast, though they certainly aren't strangers to the scene. The band is made up of Apollo Ghosts (You've Changed Records) ex-pats Adrian Teacher, Amanda Puzzetto, and Shawn Mrazek.
Earlier this year they released their debut LP entitled Paint and quickly followed it up with their EP Best New Music.
"Cool's chromatic corpus comprises a quest for the quintessence of colours ranging the spectrum from pearlescent pink to glimmering gold, a seen-sound synaethesia wrapped in irresistible funk rhythms and punk franticity." -- Weird Canada
Check them out on August 2nd at the mainstage and listen to their latest release here.