The Geese

Artist Information

Biography

The Geese formed shortly after a UFO sighting off the coast of Grand Manan Island was routinely dismissed as meteoric in the dying summer of 2008..

The Geese are now based in Vancouver BC, Canada, where they are the respected pioneers of West Coast Danger Folk. Music that is deeply rooted in the traditional ideals of folk with a childlike disregard for synonyms of ‘caution’. A cocktail that could only be served by the paradisiacal hand of British Columbia.

All five core members of The Geese take turns leading the group in songwriting and live performance, seamlessly trading instruments and roles between songs. By sharing leadership The Geese are able to sustain a level of creativity and energy live that is simply inimitable by other more traditionally organized groups. The inclusion of five distinct and experienced songwriters necessitates that only the pinnacle of each members work can be performed by the band resulting in set lists that play like looped victory laps.

The Geese play regularly in Vancouver and have toured extensively throughout North America and the UK.

Most recently, the Geese have released their self titled LP, and committed themselves to the open road, touring the UK and Canada over the course of five months.

These days find the members sharpening their song writing pencils, in preparation for an upcoming album, along with Spring and Summer tours.

For much more information visit www.thegeese.ca

Instrumentation

Zachari Smith - Drums, Guitar, mandolin, Vocals / Songwriter
Joel Mason - Bass, Drums, Guitar, Vocals/Songwriter
Zoe Fitch - Bass, Guitar, mandolin, Vocals / Songwriter
Joel Gorrie - Banjo, Guitar, Cello, Vocals / Songwriter
Dave Warne - Bass, Drums, Guitar, mandolin, Vocals / Songwriter

Discography

The Geese (2011) [LP]

It's Only Natural (2010) [Single]
The Geese Live (2010) [Live Album]
Small Boat (2009) [EP]

Official Website

http://www.thegeese.ca

Links

• Twitter
• Facebook
• MySpace
• Bandcamp

Audio

• Lion
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• Cowboy Revenge
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• Lille Gard
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• Storehouses
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• Cola Cans
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• Grace
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Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• The Geese go beyond labels on their eponymous new album [+ Show ]
  

  Due to the fact that every jackass and his second cousin have a Pro Tools rig and a MySpace page, it...Due to the fact that every jackass and his second cousin have a Pro Tools rig and a MySpace page, it helps to have a gimmick these days. The Geese are working that angle by branding themselves as Lotusland’s finest purveyors of West Coast Danger Folk, a genre name that means even less than “dubstep”.
  
  What’s funny about The Geese is that the quintet needn’t have bothered with such a label, partly because it doesn’t really fit, and mostly because all it brings to mind is Raffi wandering the streets of Tofino with 12 pounds of plastic explosive duct-taped to his beard.
  
  Folk, danger-flavoured or otherwise, is only one of the many touchstones on this gorgeously played, 16-track winner, which starts off with the dark organic postrock of “The Generator” and ends with the mournful classical instrumental “Residuum”. In between, the various members of the Geese take turns at centre stage, moving effortlessly from old-timey torch electro-blues (“Omnibot”) to ghostly soundscape meditations (“Bloodline”) to Canadian-heartland Americana (“Play in a Band”).
  
  The musicianship is scarily accomplished, the recording quality totally pro, and the lyrics are designed to get you thinking about how mankind is driving the planet to hell in a nuclear-powered handcart. Try not to be guilted out by “Storehouses”, which was inspired by news reports that Mitsubishi has been stockpiling frozen bluefin tuna to cash in on the expected extinction of the species. That’s the kind of revelation you can file under “monumentally fucking horrific”, which, come to think of it, is one hell of a lot more attention-grabbing than “danger folk”.

• Small Boat EP Review [+ Show ]
  

  December can be a good time for looking back over the year that has past. Traditionally I’m well int...December can be a good time for looking back over the year that has past. Traditionally I’m well into my “best of 2009? repost series. But this year I keep stumbling upon new music to share with you. Here’s a release from April of 2009 that I missed on the first time round. It’s by a Canadian (natch!) band called The Family Band. The band is a motley collection of songwriters and musicians from St Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada. But it’s exactly that loose feeling, communal structure of the band and its music that is so entrancing
  
  There’s a lot going on in the song “Le Beau Risque”. For one thing it’s a bi-lingual debut, secondly the music with it’s crashing cymbals, rolling accordian, and strummed mandolin is magical, and finally the female lead singer has a golden voice. The new EP is called Small Boat and is available through Bandcamp (man, I really like that service!) here.

• Small Boat EP Review [+ Show ]
  

  Friday, January 22, 2010 REVIEWS:: THE GEESE SMALL BOAT EP All too often in this age of indie co...Friday, January 22, 2010
  REVIEWS:: THE GEESE SMALL BOAT EP
  
  All too often in this age of indie collectives, you get bombarded with songs steeped in layers so thick the melody and intricacies are lost, along with any spontaneity. The desire for epic sounds leads overproduction and a polish that takes away the heart of the songs or a muddled combination that makes it impossible to feel your way through.
  
  Thankfully, when it comes to The Geese - a folk collective from New Brunswick that recently moved to Vancouver and changed their name from The Family Band - the songs on their EP are full of ramshackle and creativity. Each of the five songs are loosely held together by the shared members but almost nothing else.
  
  The opening number - Le Beau Risque - is a beautiful, bilingual track full of mandolin, drums, acoustic, female vocals and spirit; a clever song from Quebec to the rest of Canada disguised as a back and forth between two lovers, the track sounds like it could be a standard from years long since past but the foot stomp beat that darts in and out and the cymbal washes make the song feel alive. The band does an abrupt turn on Zachari's tender Ancestors, a heartfelt tale about family and love. The piano, long bended notes and gentle picks held complete the cozy setting Zachari sings about, but right around the 3-minute mark, the band adds some playful hand claps to refocus your listen. It's only for a few seconds, but it shows complete control of sound.
  
  Each of the five songs makes an impact, and could stand alone but it's the way the potential and talent the collective offers that really excites me. The songs are heavy in emotion, but the band manages to keep the whole affair fun.On the spiky New Brunswickers, the lead vocals, sing shout chorus and percussive stomp could be slipped into a Bruce Peninsula set, but the band uses strings and accordion to soften the impact.
  
  By the time they experiment with some heavier, almost Crazy Horse inspired electric work on the country rocker, Frustration, you are left wondering if there is any style they won't fuse into their sound. The song, obviously, doesn't crank up the amps and distortion but the slight bit of muscle works well and as they fade into another mix of electric and accordion on God's Children you realize the 17-minutes of music leaves your completely satisfied, and you wouldn't change a note.

Setlist

The Geese have over 3 hour-long sets of engaging original music but are also well greased in a cover library that spans decades and continents.

Basic Requirements

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