Monthly Archives: January 2017

“Shelter Me” – everything you’d expect from two seasoned performers

19 Thursday Jan 2017

Posted by in CD/Music Review

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When I first heard Hamilton, Ont. guitarist/singer/songwriter Jacob Moon was teaming up with Niagara region keyboardist/singer/songwriter Joel Parisien I was excited about the prospect.

Moon uses looping technology to sound like a one-man band. The video of his cover of Rush’s “Subdivisions” has over half a million hits on YouTube and garnered praise from the trio itself. Parisien had fronted Newworldson, whose CD Rebel Transmission earned four 2012 Covenant Awards including Folk/Roots Album of the Year.

Juggling performance schedules and other projects, the pair performed as the yet-to-be-named band at last year’s Supercrawl in Hamilton, found time to begin recording and started releasing videos of the work in progress. By the end of 2016, The Commissionaires were launched and the band’s debut CD Shelter Me was released.

Shelter Me is everything you’d expect from a band fronted by two seasoned performers

Shelter Me is everything you’d expect from a band fronted by two seasoned performers who have surrounded themselves with solid backup musicians. The CD’s eight songs are a showcase of rhythm and blues/soul/gospel songs from traditional classics like “His Eye is On the Sparrow” to Stevie Wonder’s 1970 hit “Heaven Help Us All.”

Parisien has earned the nickname “Soul Joel” for a reason. While researching some of the tracks on the CD, I happened to come across a YouTube video of singer/songwriter Donny Hathaway’s “Someday We’ll All Be Free.” Listening to it and then the Commissionaires version back-to-back, I found little difference between the two vocalists.

Two tracks stand out for me:

“None of Us are Free,” an R&B song first recorded by Ray Charles in 1993 which was also covered by Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1997 and Solomon Burke in 2002 (with the Blind Boys of Alabama providing backing vocals).

The title track “Shelter Me” is a perfect opening to the CD showcasing both Moon’s guitar, Parisien’s keyboard and both of their vocals in solo and harmony sections.

I grew up listening to R&B giants like Earth, Wind & Fire, the Commodores, Chicago (all before the days of disco and pop popularity) and, of course, the Blues Brothers who reminded us of the power of the blues and R&B. Listening to Shelter Me takes me back to those days. The only thing that could be added to make the Commissionaires’ debut CD better than it already is, is a horn section.

I’ve always said the sign of a well-produced CD is the number of times I play it. With the Commissionaires Shelter Me, I’ve lost track.

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For more information about the Commissionaires and Shelter Me check https://www.thecommissionaires.band/

For an Arts Connection interview where Jacob Moon talks about the Commissionaires check http://artsconnection.ca/content/arts-connection-monday-october-31-2016-jacob-moon-new-band-commissionaires

Two new books to get your year started right

13 Friday Jan 2017

Posted by in Book Review

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Two books crossed my desk last year I thought would make great start to 2017.

As The Ink Flows: Devotions to Inspire Christian Writers & Speakers is a compilation by five writers who connected with each other through The Word Guild: Glenda Dekkema, Melony Teague, Carol Ford, Claudia Loopstra and Marguerite Cummings.

A finely crafted book, As the Ink Flows comprises 90 devotions which touch on every aspect of a writer’s or speaker’s life in a variety of categories: The Craft (with the most devotions), Inspiration, Know Yourself, Well-Being, Personalities and Faithfulness.

Each devotion follows the traditional format: scripture, devotional, prayer. Then As the Ink Flows adds a unique twist: at least two writing prompts. Instead of just giving the reader something to think about, it encourages them write about what they read. Not only do they read the word, they’re given ways to act upon it.

The book works for both experienced and new writers/speakers. For veterans, some of devotions (including the prompts) will be a reminder and refresher of lessons learned long ago. For newer writers the book will help them grow in their craft, identity and calling as a writer.

Two books crossed my desk last year I thought would make great start to 2017

Elma Schemenauer’s YesterCanada: Historical Tales of Mystery and Adventure will get you in the mood to celebrate Canada’s sesquicentennial.

I’m a Canadian history buff and expected to have read most of the stories in this book. I was surprised to find there were probably less than half a dozen stories that I’d read before. The majority of the 30 tales were tidbits of Canadian history I wasn’t aware of and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them.

The stories are quick reads but packed with a lot of information. If there was one shortcoming to YesterCanada it’s the shifting of viewpoints from one story to the next. Some were written from a first-person perspective, others from a third-person perspective. I found the switching back and forth somewhat off-putting and, at times, confusing. I would have preferred if Schemenauer had chosen one point-of-view and stuck with it.

That said, YesterCanada is well worth reading to find out more about this great land of ours that turns 150 this year.

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For more information on As the Ink Flows check http://www.sperlingschurchsupply.com/product_info.php?cPath=2_88&products_id=4247

To listen to an Arts Connection interview with As the Ink Flows contributor Melony Teague, check: http://artsconnection.ca/content/arts-connection-monday-december-26-2016-melony-teague-ink-flows-devotional

For more information on Elma Schemenauer and YesterCanada check http://elmams.wixsite.com/elma/books-ive-written

To listen to an Arts Connection interview with Elma Schemenauer check http://artsconnection.ca/content/arts-connection-monday-january-2-2017-elma-schemenauer-yestercanada-historical-tales-mystery

Latest Steve Bell CD a treat for the ears and food for the soul

06 Friday Jan 2017

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The first thing that hit me, when I listened to Steve Bell’s Where the Good Way Lies for the first time, was a warmth to the sound that I hadn’t heard for a long time.

I grew up listening to music recorded, edited and mixed using 2″ reel-to-reel tapes. There was always a warmth to those records which has yet to be replicated by today’s digital technology.

For Where the Good Way Lies, Bell and his fellow producers Murray Pulver and Dave Zeglinski pulled out, refurbished and used Signpost studio’s now “ancient” analog equipment. The result is a CD which is a treat for the ears.

But Where the Good Way Lies is more than an aural treat. Bell is a master craftsman when it comes to songwriting and his lyrics are food for the soul.

While much of Bell’s music falls within the folk/roots category, the CD takes a few musical chances

Where the Good Way Lies opens with “Bring It On,” co-written by Murray Pulver which includes verses like “Fumbling forward on the way/Why regret, just journey on/In the end it’s all okay/Bring it on, bring it on.” The song’s lyrics affirm Bell’s comment in the CD’s notes: “We wanted to write something lighthearted to celebrate the wide swath of extreme weather that is the Canadian experience, as it mirrors the bracing depth and complexity of our lives.”

Bell finds inspiration in everything from the Shoal Lake 40 First Nation isolation (“Freedom Road”), the Church calendar (“Bethany in the Morning” and “Ash Wednesday”) and the words of Robert Louis Stevenson and N.T. Wright (“Let Beauty Awake.”)

While much of Bell’s music falls generally within the folk/roots category, the CD takes a few musical chances. “Bring It On” has a more upbeat vibe than some of his latest works. Adding to the enjoyment of this song are the trumpet parts, played by Bell (who was well on his way to being a jazz trumpet player before turning to guitar). Listeners will hear the influences of bands like Chicago, Lighthouse and the Tower of Power in the trumpet arrangements in both this song and elsewhere on the CD.

Another surprise is the title track, “Where the Good Way Lies,” which combines the stylings of First Nations vocalist Co-Co Ray Stevens and rap artist Fresh IE in a jazzy little number that takes some of its lyrical influence from a “hand-stitched quilt…that memorializes the seven sacred teachings of Indigenous wisdom.”

Where the Good Way Lies successfully straddles that dangerous ground between providing the music fans look forward to and recording music that stretches the artist’s creative muscles. And that makes it worth listening to over and over and over…

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For more information on Steve Bell and the Where the Good Way Lies CD check: http://stevebell.com/

To listen to the Arts Connection interview where Steve Bell talks about recording of Where the Good Way Lies check: http://tinyurl.com/zfgjrmz