Talent Tuesday – Canadian Releases – February 7, 2012

It’s Tuesday and time to run down the latest in Canadian music.  A very active week it is as well.  I have also added an International release of the week as, apparently, there is other music in the world besides Canadian music.

First up, we have Bahamas new release, titled Barchords.  Bahamas is actually Afie Jurvanen.  Born and raised in the Toronto, he has played with such people as Feist and Zeus.  This is his second release.  The song I have added here is titled Lost in the Light and is a live rendition.

Lost In The Light

Rococode at Green Couch Sessions
Rococode at Green Couch Sessions (Photo credit: Raul P)

Next up is alternative band Rococode and their new album “Guns, Sex and Glory”.  That name should bring me a few hits off search terms.  They are a 4 piece band out of Vancouver.  This is their first full length album.  the song I chose to showcase is dynamite.  Enjoy “Empire”.

Empire

English: Michael Kaeshammer performing at the ...

The next is a live album by one of my favourites, jazz pianist Michael Kaeshammer.  The album is simply titled Kaeshammer Live.  This guy is great.  I saw him live once so when you view the attached video, imagine yourself sitting in the front row, no stage and the drummer about 6 feet away from you.  The best seats we ever had for any concert.  the song is called Lovelight.

Lovelight

Next we have The Experimental Tropic Blues Band and their new album, “Liquid Love”, which should also generate a few search hits.  A rocking blues band out of Quebec, their album promises to be a rollicking good time.  The song is a live version of Keep This Love.

Keep This Love

My international pick for the week is the new release from The Fray.  Their new album is titled Scars and Stories.  The Fray is from Denver, Colorado who have enjoyed major success since the release of the “How To Save A Life” album in 2005.  Good band.  I have inserted “Heartbeat” from the album.  The song is true to their style.

 

Heartbeat

Listening to Canadians – Michael Kaeshammer

Michael Kaeshammer performing at the 2009 Wate...
Michael Kaeshammer

Michael Kaeshammer, German born, he moved to Canada at age 19.  In Germany, he studied classical piano, and the discovered boogie woogie in his early teens.  He toured extensively on his arrival in Canada in 1996, playing jazz an blues festivals across the country.  My personal experiences with him consist of a discovery on CBC2 and a concert Lori and I went to a few years back.  The concert was in a 400 seat theatre in Calgary and was phenomenal.  Good story.  We heard he was coming and checked out ticket availability.  There were a handful of single seats still available, so we figured it was a lost cause.  Lori tried once more, 2 days before the concert and, unbelievably, the person on the other end of the phone says, yes, of course, we just had 2 seats open up in the FRONT row.  Lori scooped them right then and sure enough, we were in the front row, about 6 feet from the drummer, the same drummer as in the video.

Michael puts on a great concert, very personable guy with a great feel for the audience.  The back and forth with the other band members was excellent.  A thoroughly enjoyable experience.  If you have the chance to see him play, do it.

His current tour dates are:

UPCOMING SHOWS

Date City Venue Country
09/23/11 Cerritos, CA Cerritos Centre for the Performing Arts United States
09/24/11 Pleasanton, CA Firehouse Arts Centre United States
09/26/11 Bakersfield, CA Rabobank Theatre United States
09/28/11 San Diego, CA Anthology United States
09/30/11 Kirkland, WA Kirkland Performance Centre United States
10/01/11 Portland, OR Jimmy Mak’s United States
10/02/11 Redmond, OR Redmond High School Auditorium United States
10/06/11 Madisonville, KY Glema Mahr Centre for the Arts United States
10/07/11 Chattanooga, TN Hunter Museum United States
10/08/11 Franklin, TN Franklin Theatre United States
10/14/11 Sault Ste Marie Algoma Fest Canada
10/20/11 Montreal L’Astral Canada
10/22/11 Ottawa, ON National Arts Centre Canada
11/04/11 Boothbay Harbor, ME Opera House United States
11/05/11 Fryeburg, ME Leura Hill Eastman PAC United States
11/07/11 Minneapolis, MN Dakota Jazz Club United States
11/09/11 Evanston, IL SPACE United States
11/11/11 Ashland, OH Hugo Young Theatre United States
11/12/11 Greenville, OH Henry St Clair Memorial Hall United States