The BBQ report
Music from our own backyards, hot off le grill.
All sales are vinyl
Members of Saint John campus and community radio station CFMH have spent the last month transforming music into fine art, and now the public has an opportunity to display it in their homes.
The second annual Artists On Vinyl fundraiser opened at the Third Space Gallery May 2, with over 30 pieces of art work up for auction. The creations were fashioned from old records, and will be available for viewing and bidding until the May 16 closing gala, which includes entertainment from DJ Hawk and DJ Bobby Babylon. Station manager Linda Pelletier is pleased with the results.
"There's some really interesting, cool stuff," says Pelletier, who incorporated old show posters into her vinyl masterpiece. "There's a gun made out of vinyl, some jewelry made out of vinyl, and some other really neat stuff. It's really hard to come up with an innovative idea, so it's good to come up with something different."
The brainchild of station member Jeff McLennan, Artists on Vinyl was a huge success for the station last year, raising over $1,000 on a minimal budget.
"We were flying by the seat of our pants," she says, laughing. "We didn't know anything about art installation and only give ourselves three weeks to prepare, but people were super impressed by the idea." Now with more time and energy to devote to the project, Pelletier hopes to exceed last year's modest goals.
"We hope to raise $2,000. We've got tonnes of pieces, and people are really excited about the event." That includes the artists. Nova Scotia College of Craft and Design student Chanel Freire created multiple pieces for Artists On Vinyl, while hobbyists like Pelletier used the event as a creative muse. Add the musical element to the picture and you have a wonderful event with a wide appeal. "We have a lot of people from the music and art communities come to the event," she says. "I think it's a really interesting way to being the two scenes together."
Time for revival
The Last Waltz is considered a seminal rock 'n' roll documentary, with some of the heaviest musical hitters of the last millennium - The Band, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, just to name a few - captured on film. A celebration of the Band's farewell to touring, the power captured in those fleeting frames is nothing short of astounding.
So when your band's energy is compared to The Band's energy in The Last Waltz, it's a ringing endorsement. CBC Radio 3's Grant Laurence recently said this about Revival Dear -- a Toronto folk rock duo set to hit Fredericton's Wilser's Room May 11 -- and his support has led to significant airplay and chart action on Canada's favourite online radio station. Guitarist/vocalist Eddie Orso is similarly impressed with Laurence.
"Grant Lawrence is Canada's best radio host in my opinion," he says from a hotel room in Peterborough, Ontario. "Not because he compares us to The Band - well maybe that helps a bit - but he just gets Canada's indie scene and seems to find a good diverse selection of good underground talent. We have been getting some good hype on CBC since our debut record has been released, and we'll see where it takes us. So far, so good."
Touring in support of their self-titled debut album, the duo - completed by the soulful Shelley Martin on mandolin and vocals - will be sans backing band for its East Coast dates. Those used to the lavish album arrangements will be in for a shock, but Orso is confident in their abilities to bring the house down acoustic style.
"Shelley and I are trying to lay back and let people hear the other side of these songs on this tour," he says. "We thought we would strip down our songs, just like how they were written, and hit the road. Though our album is full and produced, they are folk songs and deserve to be heard with acoustic instruments."
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