CANADIAN MUSICIAN SHOWCASE

Showcase - June 1996
by Karen Bliss

MORE
Style: Pop-rock, nothing more
Lineup: Ian MacKenzie (vocals), Colin MacKenzie (guitar, vocals), Frank Viciana (guitar, vocals), James MacKenzie (bass, vocals), Gary Savoie (drums)
Contact: Shut Up And Listen Records, PO Box 55126, 240 Sparks St., Ottawa, ON K1P lAl (613) 769-6623,

[Picture] More�s EP, This Is More, contains basic pop rock songs with sweet harmonies, crunching guitars and a solid rhythm section, but . . . aaarrrrrgh . . . whether it�s the stomping pop of "Culture Man" or the harmony-heavy "Her", they can�t resist injecting a wailing guitar solo, the kind which compels the perpetrator to make that screwed up face that guitarists have the predisposition to make when they�re under Vari-lights. Musically, it breaks up the song, taking it off-course in a sense, and ultimately detracts from what are essentially catchy three-minute pop-rock songs. The brother-dominated Ottawa five-piece, together about a year, recorded the four-song EP at Down And Dirty Studios, just outside the city. It was produced by More and Steve Gardiner, and engineered by Mike Seguin.

FIONA BLACKBURN
Style: Celtic rhapsody
Lineup: Fiona Blackburn (vocals) with Miles Black (piano, synths), Rick Kilburn (string bass, fretless bass), Dane Deviller (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin), Mark Ferris (violin, electric violin), Salvador Ferraras (percussion, snare drum, dumbec), Roger Baird (tablas), Russell Shumski (bodhran, hand drum), Buff Allen (drums), Brent Gubbels (electric bass), Marcelle Nokony (violin), Helga Sermat (step dancing, hand claps)
Contact: Talisman Productions, 12525-243rd St., Maple Ridge, BC V4R 1M2 Ph/FAX (604) 466-9866 or (800) 600-7127, .

[Picture] She'll be meeting you at the pearly gates, taking your hand and guiding you softly over the clouds to wherever it is you hang out when you're in the heavens. Fiona Blackburn has a voice that angels must possess -- clear, soothing and majestic. Henry VIII would have liked her too, singing her Scottish, Irish and Canadian traditionals for the court. A former singer with the Vancouver Chamber Choir and Vancouver Opera, Land Of Passages is her debut album, a journey through Celtic tradition upon which she lays her three-octave range. Beauteous and stirring, the instrumentation ranges from simple piano to a delicate blends of bodhran, violin, tablas and dumbec and other textures. Arranged by noted jazz pianist Miles Black and musician Rick Kilburn, who produced the album, it ranges from the heavenly "Toward Juneau" and Celtic folk of "Dear Harp of My Country" to the Gaelic "Seinnidh Mi Dan" and low rhythmic rumbling of the native Canadian "Nadu-Nadudu". Can't wait to get to heaven.

INSULIN
Style: Mozart murdered
Lineup: Steve Skingley (bass, lead vocals), Dave Dunlop (guitars, vocals), Troy Feener (drums)
Contact: Sutton Entertainment, c/o Brian McGroarty, 629 Davenport Rd., Toronto, ON M5R 1L2 (416) 944-8644.

[Picture] Undeterred by the sloppy street and guitar pop bands warming the hearts of knapsack-and-toque-toting kids these days, this very-nearly-veteran group of Toronto musicians (from Rik Emmett, Big Faith, Red Rider, The Morganfields) ignore the trends and come out slugging with a hard rock debut, Standing Up Loaded, that�s heavy and dark, yet straightforward and melodic. The eleven songs range from the eerie psychedelic force of "Black Butterfly" to the melancholy ballad "15 Minutes To Live" and slithery adventure of "Falsify", with Steve Skingley taking on a remarkable new vocal persona for each. A testament to their musicianship and creative instinct, the album was recorded in six days and mixed in ten at F/X Studios in Toronto - not entirely live-off-the-floor, but pretty damn fast. It was produced by Insulin with Neil McDonald, who also engineered. Mastering was done by Brett Zilahi at F/X.

Credit: Karen Bliss is a Toronto-based freelance writer.