Jay Clark & The Jones 
Who: Jay Clark & The Jones
What: Southern-(Ontario)-fried alt-country that travels well
Where: Toronto, Ontario
To Contact: 59 Roncesvalles Avenue, #7, Toronto, Ontario, M6R 2X5; Tel: (416) 534-1103; E-mail: ; Web site: www.jayclarkandthejones.com

Formed in 1997, this Toronto-based alt-country band consists of Jay Clark Reid on lead vocals and guitar, Bobby Spencer on bass/vocals, Ian Philp on guitar/vocals, Kenny Yoshioka on harmonica and Joe Iannuzzi on drums. The group has been making a name for themselves around the Toronto bar scene and they've just recently released their first full-length CD Grenville County Blues. With feisty acoustic strumming, cranky lead riffs, weepy slide and steel guitar and bluesy harmonica to give it that southern-fried sound, these boys tie together strands of rebel country-rock from many sources: threads from Gram Parsons, patches from the Stones' most country-ish moments on Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main Street and wiffs of Waylon and Willie tearin' up the back roads. According to chief songwriter Jay Clark Reid, the album was actually conceived on back roads and byways. "The car on [the cover of ] the record is my car. My girlfriend and I drive around Ontario incessantly. This record's kind of a concept record, [seen] through the eyes of the Great Lakes area, through the eyes of history. It's sort of a travelogue." And in the fine tradition of the travelogue, these songs take you there, and make you glad you went. Check out the band's web page for some MP3 samples. If they continue the way they're going, it won't be long before the rest of the alt-country crowd will be trying to keep up with Jay Clark & The Jones.

Janice Hall 
Who: Janice Hall
What: Superb pop songstress
Where: Ottawa, Ontario
To Contact: P.O. Box 81096, 111 Albert St., Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 1B1; Tel: (613) 234-1550;

Here's yet another Ottawa songcrafter to keep an eye on. Janice Hall is a 28-year-old singer-songwriter who's well-known around our nation's capital, and now she's campaigning for national exposure with the release of her first full-length CD, Collector's Item. She gets my vote. Produced by Dave Draves (Julie Doiron, The Wooden Stars), the album is a superb collection of endearing songwriting, charming singing and ear-catching pop-rock arrangements, with help from her excellent backing band The Recoilers. Hall's singing style brings to mind shades of Liz Phair, with its mix of directness and seeming off-handedness. The first single, "95", derives its title from the long bus route that bisects Ottawa, and it highlights Hall's ability as a songwriter to uncover nuggets of insight in our most mundane experiences, from musings on the lives of the people on the bus, encounters with meter maids ("Collector"), or our struggles to get through the weariness that can afflict everyday life ("Cold Coming On"). "I've taken to looking around me for inspiration, more than trying to cover huge emotional themes," Hall says of her songwriting evolution. "I just find it easier to attach something to an experience I've had, even if it's something as mundane as missing a bus," she says with a laugh. "Everybody can relate to those kinds of things." Hall hopes to do some more extensive touring this summer, spreading the word while also trying to get her songs to radio. Don't miss the bus on this one.

Swamperella 
Who: Swamperella
What: Authentic Cajun music
Where: Toronto, ON
To Contact: P.O. Box 90036, 1488 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON, M6K 1M4; Tel: (416) 588-9227; E-mail: ; ; Web site: www.swamperella.com

The other day I overheard a kid ask her parents: "What did people do before they had 'dance music'?" Okay, that didn't actually happen, but it's an easy, if perhaps vaguely unethical way for me to introduce the following idea: namely, THIS IS DANCE MUSIC! Cajun music is roll-up-the-rug-grab-a-partner-and-forget-your-troubles dance music. And nobody north of the 49th does it better than Swamperella. The Toronto band consists of Soozi Schlanger (vocal and lead fiddle), Conny Nowé (guitar and vocals), Peter Jellard (vocals, accordion and fiddle) and Rachel Melas (bass). They play traditional and contemporary Cajun music, but they don't necessarily consider themselves a Cajun band. "We try and do it as authentically as possible," says Schlanger. "We try our best because that's the music we all fell in love with. Who are we to change it? It's somebody else's culture and somebody else's music and you want to honour it." They listen to the old-time records for inspiration, check lyric books for proper pronunciation and try to get everything sounding just right. But along the way they end up doing more than honouring the music-they bring it forward and add their own spices to the recipe. "We were following the tradition as best as we could, but we were putting our own hearts and souls into it, so it's bound to be our own individual work." So if you're looking to kick up your heels to a fine gumbo of Cajun tunes ... welcome to da Swamperella! Ai-eeeeee!

Credit: Jim Kelly is a Toronto-based freelance writer.

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