Fab double bill with Elliott Brood, Jerry Leger at Biltmore Theatre Oshawa Wednesday Feb 7 2024
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Sum 41
Slowcity.ca Open Mic: Sum 41, Rolling Stones, Art Bergman, Jerry Leger, Fast Romantics, Jiants, Teenage Halloween, and Tara Kannangara
"Take back your mind. Arm your love. Avenge your world." - Art Bergman
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Moonriivr, photo by Colin Medley
Slowcity.ca Open Mic: Bahamas, Jerry Leger, QIYUAPIK, Terra Lightfoot, Moonriivr, Graham Brown, Ryan McMahon, and Kevin Drew
“Like all my albums, we recorded Donlands mostly live in the studio with my band The Situation [Dan Mock, Kyle Sullivan, Alan Zemaitis] in a circle—no headphones, just listening and existing, breathing as a whole. To me, it’s a record that lives in its own world.” - Jerry Leger
“Pain is a hard thing to let go until you’re ready. And that’s kind of where I was at with this record. Music, for me, is a release – it’s a place where I can go and express what it is that I want to say.” - Kevin Drew
Slowcity Open Mic: Gord Downie and Bob Rock, Skydiggers, Shirley Collins, Jerry Leger, Great Lake Swimmers, Cowboy Junkies, Andrina Turenne, and Dennis Ellsworth
By Will McGuirk
“Sometimes a collection of songs just comes out feeling one way and they all work together,” - Dennis Ellsworth
Slowcity.ca Open Mic: The Weather Holds, Jerry Leger, Hannah Georgas, Braids, Lex Leosis, Jack Kays, Protomartyr, and Finger 11
By Will McGuirk
“if we're heading towards something bad, let's head towards it slowly." - Devon Bate, The Weather Holds
Slowcity.ca Open Mic: Brandon Wolfe Scott, Jerry Leger, Hello Darlins, Field Guide, Bailen, Craig Stickland, plus Kelland and Adriano
By Will McGuirk
"This project has at times felt Sisyphean, endlessly pushing my boundaries - both personal and creative. Challenged by the balance between the intimate and the public, Slow Transmission explores themes of being in a relationship with one’s inner demons.” - Brandon Wolfe Scott
“I suppose this song is a reminder to be careful with nostalgia and to be more present day to day.” - Dylan MacDonald, Field Guide
Daniel Caesar, Facebook
Slowcity.ca Open Mic: Daniel Caesar, B1 The Architect x Eddy Jones, Haviah Mighty, Separator, Jerry Leger, Ken Yates, and Del Barber,
By Will McGuirk
“Ambition is what drives us to get up every day, but if we don’t nurture our relationships with friends, family, partners, etc., they may not be there for you in your darkest moments.” - Ken Yates
Gigs This Week: Jerry Leger at Kops Records Oshawa Sat Dec 17
By Will McGuirk
Jerry Leger is such a student of music history he will know exactly what it means when I say the Big Time is just around the corner. For those unlike Jerry who don’t, it was a favourite saying of the late Ronnie Hawkins when chatting with his Hawks, the gang of lads destined to be The Band among them.
Jerry Leger also knows the big time is around the corner, he has been championed by the great Ron Sexsmith, who called him one of his favourite songwriters, but while Jerry is waiting to turn that corner, he will continue to write and sing and release records, winning fans one show, one song at a time. He has, if you include his band projects, 16 albums so far. Thats a long corner.
His latest album is Nothing Pressing, witty title given the state of the record industry during the pandemic. He has just issued too, two Christmas songs; his own composition, Christmas Without You, and a cover of the Kinks ‘Father Christmas’
Jerry will be performing these along with others from his catalogue when he performs at Kops Records in Oshawa Saturday Dec 17, kicking off the store’s Jolly Shwally Holidays.
Christmas brings back joyful memories he says, but some bittersweet.
“Fondest memories, Christmas mornings with my older brothers and parents, then we'd go to my Grandparents, and that would be a packed house of a lot of my Mom's family. Another fond memory is waking up before my brothers and having a hot chocolate with my Dad. He would let me open one present while we waited for the others.
Also, when I was 11 or 12, I got all The Beatles albums on CD in that breadbox-style set. That was pretty exciting! I had all the vinyl but they were the Canadian versions and the CDs were my introduction to the UK albums, the way The Beatles intended them. At the time it was the happiest day of my life!”
Jerry has been happy too to get back on the road after the pandemic restrictions. He toured Germany, Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands, England, Scotland and Spain, and has been gearing up for more Canadian dates but like many artists the cost of touring adds up.
“We had a great and successful 5-week Spring tour overseas, while taking precautions. Maybe we got lucky, I'm sure there was some luck involved. Back here in Canada, it's been hard to get out on the road again, mainly due to touring costs like vehicle rentals and hotels being so inflated. I'm hoping that'll change for all of us, especially those that don't have a lot of money.,” he says.
The Kops Records show starts at 5:30 pm. It is open to the public, PWYC with a suggested donation of $20.
Slowcity.ca Open Mic: Andy Shauf, Jerry Leger, quinnie, Emi Jeen, Jean-Michel Blais, Logan Staats, Shane Ghostkeeper, and Doug Paisley
By Will McGuirk
"Christmas Without You is a song about missing a loved one during the holidays, which I think most of us can relate to. I know this time of year brings back many joyful but bittersweet memories. For me, I find these kinds of songs comforting." - Jerry Leger
“I wrote this about the holiday season, watching yourself and your family get older, being present, and savoring the rare moments when everyone gets to be in the same room once a year.” - quinne
"It took me 2 years to finish this song and I am thrilled to finally share it with the world. I’m a huge fan of the Holidays and I hope this song brings joy during the celebration!" - Emi Jeen
“The lyrics to this song are quite literal. There are no hidden metaphors, it’s cut and dry. They capture a moment that I carry with me to this day.” - Logan Staats
Springtide Music Fest share full line-up; Elliott Brood, Jerry Leger, and Ellevator added
By Will McGuirk
Well well Springtide Music Fest just gets better and bigger. And lets not forget the community of Uxbridge, host to the fest, has been hit hard by the recent tornado touchdown, including a key venue, the Second Wedge Brewery, . But as befits the trail capital of Canada the music community et al are blazing a trail out of the destruction with the power of creation.
The three day festival taking place July 21, 22, and 23, has moved the main outdoor area from the Wedge to Centennial Park. While the fest features the return of Bedouin Soundclash, as well as other notables, Elliott Brood, Julian Taylor, Danny Michel, among them, there is also a very broad selection of acts from the area, many of whom were regular players at the brewery, including Rory Taillon, Matt Gunn, Mattie Leon, Brooklyn Doran, Tania Joy, EDITH, Hollowsage and the Three Mile Islanders, Wooly, and Cassie Noble.
Radio Zeitgeist: new vinyls this week from Destroyer, Tanya Tagaq, Lisa Leblanc, and Jerry Leger
By Will McGuirk
The vinyls coming it is said on Friday include some of Canada’s finest, coast to coast to coast, from the genius of Destroyer delivering his 13th, and the unique expressions of Tagaq, to the creative explorations of Lisa LeBlanc and the melodic tune-smithery of Jerry Leger. Dig in but go get the wax.
Deanna Petcoff, photo by Nadia Doss
Slowcity.ca Open Mic: Jerry Leger, Georgia Harmer, Abigail Lapell, Deanna Petcoff, Sam Jr., Ghostkeeper, Niall Mutter, Allegories, and JIMBO
By Will McGuirk
“There's no smoke and mirrors in what I do and that can be rewarding for both the creator and the listener. Are we not all just trying to survive in some way?" - Jerry Leger
“I wrote it during a long period of emotional manipulation that made me question my own reality. I had enough sad songs and I just wanted to rock out.” - Georgia Harmer
“Make it sound like you're driving a stolen car at night after you've robbed a bank and you pull over to a bar at the side of the road for a drink to contemplate your next move. While you've been sipping your drink you've been also locking eyes with someone across the room. On your way out the door you stop by their table and after a few words you both make a run for it!’” - Sam Jr.
“It’s about yearning to return to that powerful spot: that piece of land where I have played in wonderment with the Creator as it engaged as Mother Earth and Grandmother Sun; that place in time when spirituality was simple, concise and magical…and I felt safe, inspired, and grateful." - Ghostkeeper
“I found myself having one foot caught in the past and the other in the future. I wrote this song from a place of acceptance, being ok with the duality of the two, and finding peace somewhere in between." - Niall Mutter
Jerry Leger, photo by Laura Proctor
Slowcity.ca Open Mic: Jerry Leger, The Weather Station, Donovan Woods, Valerie June, Mamas Gun, Pierre Kwenders, Denzel Curry, Franz Ferdinand, and I Am Snow Angel,
By Will McGuirk
"The opening line (‘break in the new world but let me keep my job’) is hopeful, it's actually quite a hopeful song. I like to think that real happiness involves being respectful, appreciative and considerate. The words have these deeper layers and questions but Angie Hilts singing with me really lifts it up to a nice place. It's just fun and fortunate to play rock 'n' roll with my friends and we've all needed some fun these days." - Jerry Leger
“The song was written long before the pandemic, but when we recorded it, on March 11, 2020, it began to feel eerily prescient. The day it was recorded truly was the end of an endless time, and as ever, I don’t know how the song knew. Somehow, the music captures that instability; it is ungrounded and diaphanous, it floats and drifts.” - The Weather Station
“I write about them again and again, just hoping people will still be interested. So the title is poking fun of myself, that I’m theoretically this big sad guy who keeps getting dumped and writing fucking songs about it,” - Donovan Woods
