The Blood Lines – January/February 2007
Wednesday, January 10th, 2007Who: The Blood Lines
What: blood-type B positive
Where: Saskatoon, SK
To Contact: S.J. Kardash (management) 520 10th Street East, Saskatoon, SK S7N 0E2 (306) 373 5030; www.thebloodlines.com; band@thebloodlines.com
The Blood Lines is the perfect name for this Saskatoon band. The story is a little complicated, but follow along. In 2005, bassist S.J. Kardash had no one to jam with, so he taught his sister, Maygen, to play drums. A friend was encouraging S.J. to play with guitarist Paul Ross, while a soundman/keyboardist named Barrett Ross was insisting Maygen play with his brother, the one and only Paul Ross. So there you have it, except for one thing: Barrett was a better drummer and Maygen a better keyboardist, so they traded positions and The Blood Lines was born in March, 2006. All sing, but S.J. is the lead vocalist. They booked a tour for June, which gave the guys and gal incentive to finish a full album. Recorded by S. J. at Living Space Studios, the self-titled disc has that unpolished ennui-pop, rock ‘n’ roll thing happening, including on the slower strums of “Off My Mind” and “Hold On To Your Love” and the raring-to-go “The End Of The World.” In no time, they saw results, showcasing at New York music festival CMJ and opening a Canadian tour for Montreal’s The Dears. That’s bloody good in nine months.
Vancouver singer Coco Love Alcorn inherited her musical prowess from father, Toronto-based jazz singer/pianist John Alcorn, only her instrument of choice is acoustic guitar. Over the years, she has opened for Chantal Kreviazuk, Ani DiFranco, and Jesse Cook; played on Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair and Blue Rodeo’s Stardust Picnic, and sung back-up and toured with 54.40. Believe it or not, this album, Sugar, is her first all-original collection and it’s a blend of jazz, pop and folk that serves her beautiful voice. Writing a half-dozen of the songs herself (including the lead track, “For Just One Night”), four with her dad, one with Lennie Gallant, and a couple with other people, Alcorn sums up the lyrics as being about “love, angels, and the power within.” Her dad did some preproduction, and the whole album was produced and engineered by Steve Dawson mostly at Vancouver’s The Factory. The core musicians are Chris Gestrin (k-os, Kate Hammett-Vaughn) on keys, John Raham (Kinnie Starr, The Be Good Tanyas) on drums and Keith Lowe (Fiona Apple, Bill Frisell) on string bass, with Dawson on lap steel, acoustic and electric guitars, banjo and other stuff, but Sugar is always about Coco.
Ok, this guy is beyond good – for any age. Never mind, he just turned 18. Anyone who hears the way this New York-born, Toronto-based singer-songwriter writes lyrics about everything from domestic abuse to heartbreak will be astounded that he does it in such a fresh and creative way. Nozuka worked with rapper G Stokes in the past when he was doing an R&B thing, and was in a boy band with brother George, but this side of him was “discovered” by Damhnait Doyle at a songwriting workshop. He recorded this album, Holly, independently at Wellesley Sound and Soleil Studio with producer Bill Bell (Shaye, Tara MacLean) and it really is brilliant. It leaves you shaking your head, it’s that good. Check out “Mr. Therapy Man” about being dumped. This is about as far away from cliché as you can get. Then, there’s “Criminal,” a destined hit about the one time he smoked some weed and got a little paranoid. The song is hilarious. On the other side of the spectrum is “Save Him,” a story so painful it’s hard to get through. To top it off, Nozuka has a voice that is kind of hard soul, capable of falsetto on “Supposed To Grow Old” and blues on “Be Back Soon.” A rare talent.