artist spotlight: boyce avenue

Song covers often seem to go two ways: really good, or really bad.  With the advent of youtube, one can find almost endless covers of popular songs.  A lot of them really aren't that good.  (Drum covers especially suffer from this!)

Once in awhile though, you find an artist whose actually doing it really well.  I had first heard Boyce Avenue’s cover of Coldplay’s “Fix You” some months ago, but rediscovered it Saturday morning as we were getting ready to head to Winnipeg for Josh’s baptism.  He also does an Adele cover—which is something many seem to be doing lately with her skyrocketed popularity (American Idol being a good example of how to not sing Adele songs).  For me it’s the acoustic simplicity that I appreciate in the "Fix You" cover especially.

Happy listening.  More to come.

Coldplay - Fix You:

Adele - Set Fire to the Rain:

what I learned from Johnny Reid

I’ve found that if I ever need to be prompted to write or respond or reflect on some topic or issue I really only need to turn on the radio for an hour or so.  Perhaps somewhat old-hat—yet I found myself tuning in quite often last summer as I’d walk our greenhouses to check on the crops.  A bit of music can help the day go by.

This isn’t a song, but an interview I heard yesterday on “Q” on CBC Radio.  I do like this show; I find the host, Jian Ghomeshi, very easy to listen to and the range of personalities and ideas from authors, actors, musicians, philosophers and more make for an interesting variety.  Yesterday however, I was really encouraged by this simple, heart-felt interview with Canadian “country/soul crooner” Johnny Reid.

I was particularly struck by how Reid talks about the impact his wife and children have on how he goes about living day to day.  As Jian says in the interview, Reid brings this “perspective”, this “outlook”: and I think in the context of this blog, can help us to ponder the intersection of faith and life quite well.

I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did.  Have a great weekend!

Johnny Reid on Q with Jian Ghomeshi:

artist spotlight: don adams + shine

Yesterday my good Uncle Don gave me a hand moving in our new couch.  I’ll be honest…it was a heavier ordeal than I had expected!  Yet we got it done, and I’m so grateful to Don for helping me haul the old hide-a-bed out and get the new one in here: it looks great!

So this one is for Uncle Don!

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Most of my favourite childhood memories are with my family.  Candlelit Christmas nights after turkey supper, Easter egg hunts in the backyard, day trips to Blue Lake with all the cousins—the good times that I’m already looking back on and fondly reminisce.  I wrote earlier about how certain songs bring me back to specific memories.  When it comes to our family gatherings, there are songs and memories all rolled into one: and it came in the form of my Uncle Don.

I can still see it now: we’re having a birthday party at Auntie’s for one of us cousins.  Presents have been torn into, cake has been devoured, the adults have moved to the couch and recliner in the living room, and a few of them (usually my Dad) has found himself a comfortable spot on floor and is slowing drifting to off.

“What about a song, Don?” Someone asks.

With a small smile my Uncle Don leaves the room and returns with an acoustic guitar.  He finds himself a sturdy seat, tunes the strings a little, sometimes mentioning a new song that he wrote just that week.  The room grows quiet as we wait together before the silence gives way to music and Uncle Don begins to sing.

Since those early days, Uncle Don has gone on to pursue his love of singing and song writing more professionally through his own studio recordings and various gigs throughout North Western Ontario.  His songs are much like those we heard on many a childhood evening: they’re about life—sometimes humorous, sometimes sad, always down to earth.  His latest studio release, Shine, reverberates with those same themes that I’ve so come to love and appreciate.

Follow the jump to hear samples and/or order Shine, Don Adams’ fifth studio release, at http://www.donadams.ca/book.htm.

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artist spotlight: koko relleve + rough cuts ep

     Today I want to spotlight a good friend of mine, Koko Relleve, and his new self-recorded EP, Rough Cuts.  Sarah and I went to college with Koko and I had the honour of living in dorm with him where he would regularly serenade us with the sounds of the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel and Jack Johnson.  During those Dorm 2 days I watched as his talent and ability grew and today I’m super excited to showcase Koko’s first EP, which he recorded, he’ll tell you, with “an old ibook G4 and one USB condenser microphone,” in the month of December.

     What I love about Rough Cuts is that it is so true to Koko’s character.  There’s nothing flashy or put-on; the songs are down-to-earth and thoughtful like I know him to be.  His songs are incredibly open and vulnerable.  The first line of the first song, “I’m really not that good at what I do.” reflects a man who has pondered his weaknesses and is willing to grow form them.  Thematically Rough Cuts is a meditation on some basic human realities: broken relationships, longing for the eternal, and a genuine grappling with our failures and dreams.  These songs and this man embody a gentleness and humility that I feel can be really lacking in a lot today’s mainstream entertainment industry, and that’s what makes Koko stand out.
 

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The album opens with the steady acoustic riffs of On My Toes, a humble confession exploring one’s weakness and the need to surround ourselves with those “who will see us through”.  The track’s uncomplicated arrangement adds to its hopeful, reflective sauntering style.  Having now eased us in, Be Free showcases Koko’s feel-good upbeat rhythms as well as the addition of djembe and glockenspiel to accompany the acoustic guitar.  The song transitions into a reggae-flavoured outro: musical correspondence to the lyric’s acknowledgement of the past and the call to face a better future.  Fans of Jack Johnson will feel right at home here.


     Possibly my favourite song is Mountainside, which I’d describe as an acoustic folk ballad about returning home.  The track begins with longing for the familiar but ends contemplating a deeper home-coming of full significance:

Take me home
to the mountainside
where I belong.
Let me breathe
Let the air fill my lungs
Until I cease to be 

I chose the sand against the stone. 
Built a shelter of excuses from the storms. 
Prayin’ for the day when I will leave this place. 
So please take me back.  Take me home.

~ Koko Relleve; “Mountainside”,  Rough Cuts EP 2011

We’ve been invited to explore living well, dying well, and the life hereafter.

     For anyone familiar with the funk/rock quartet, Heavy Get Go, Let Go will become an instant favourite.  Koko was staying with Sarah and I last March while we were living in Eston, SK, and I can remember us jamming together to the earliest renditions of this one.  Koko described it as being similar to Trenchcoat, the first track on Heavy Get Go’s self-titled debut album, as though both songs are written about the same person.  Let Go is the rival to Mountainside for my favourite song, not only because I got to witness its beginnings in my living room, but because it now boasts Rough Cut’s best guitar solo.

     From here on in the EP takes on an eerie, experimental mood.  The following three tracks, Lament I, Just Listen, and Lament II could stand alone as a single three part moment.  The Laments are stripped down, atmospheric and hauntingly poignant.  At times they feel reminiscent of the thoughtful and melodic aspects of the alternative rock band, Thrice.  And lastly, To Sea bookends the album with a song about longing and memories of the past.

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     If you’re looking for something new to listen I recommend you check out Rough Cuts, you can listen to online samples at the links listed below.  Koko is also on facebook and myspace, so drop him a line if you get a chance.  He is currently living in Victoria B.C. and regularly plays gigs in the city.

     All the best, my friend!  Let it be.
     Be well.

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• If you’d like to order Rough Cuts EP for yourself follow the jump to Koko’s bandcamp page.  Or here on amazon.com.  You won’t regret it. 
• Head over to Koko’s musician page on facebook for latest news, information on upcoming gigs, and a discussions forum. 

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     We hope to have Koko join us for a Conversation in the near future!  Stay tuned.

Picture of Rough Cuts EP cardboard sleeves belongs to Koko.

Above photo credit of Koko playing guitar on the street belongs to Jessica Morgan Photography; click here to visit her photography blog.