Music
Press
"There needs to be a new sub-category for the Americana genre, something like AmeriCanadiana, a nod to our northern neighbors like Fred Eaglesmith and Joe Fournier. These two embody the rural roots and country rock sensibilities of alt-country as well as anyone on this side of the border. There aren't many singer/songwriters I would mention in the same sentence as Eaglesmith, but Fournier is one of them.
Originally from Ontario (like Eaglesmith), Fournier recorded this CD in the “Eight Track Shack” studio he built in Nova Scotia. He plays most of the instruments and mixed it himself. It's funky, country soul, folk, rock and blues, with stories that will make you laugh, cry and cringe, sometimes all in the same verse. Fournier's off-kilter world view is spelled out in songs about dirt road joyrides, fast cars, rough lives and drunken wedding brawls. There are too many great lyrics to mention more than a few, but a line in “Bad Record Collection” sums up his music. “Baby's got a bad record collection/what she needs is a double injection/of shit kickin', swamp rockin', gut bucket, Springsteen in a bath tub, rock n' roll.” It's not all like that, though. On “She's My Speed” he strings together a rock melody that would fit right in on a Tom Petty record. If you like great songwriting and music that's slightly cock-eyed with the rough edges intact, put this one on your list."
- Barry Dugan, Freight Train Boogie - Freight Train Boogie
"This is the sort of music you expect to be delivered with every second or third hand truck, the more beat up the better. Take a rust-bucket, engine-knocking, exhaust blowing, tyre-whining beater, sell with this CD and instantly the prospective driver jams up the volume doesn’t notice the faults, signs on just to get the CD, foolproof. A mixture of John Fogerty and Jim White, underneath the bluster there is a genuine eye for detail and storytelling that doesn’t get in the way of a decent riff. As a calling card ‘The Wreck of Tammy Whelan’ is a slap in the face with a rolled up copy of ‘No Depression’. 'Stone Cold Hearts’ is a sepia toned paean to the golden age of Hank Williams and ‘You’re Still Everywhere’ is Nick Lowe armed with a broken heart and a lyrics as sharp as a broken beer bottle. ‘She’s My Speed’ is the type of thing Tom Petty can’t manage these days. It’s a shame Fournier is hidden away on a Swedish label - he’s powerful enough to make a noise in his homeland."
- David Cowling, AmericanaUK - americanaUK
There is always a surge of excitement when you discover a CD so enjoyable, it takes root in your memory and stays there like the lodger you hope will never leave. It doesn't happen often but Joe Fournier's Three Chord MacGyver isn't just an enigmatic title, it's an irresistible collection of music.
A major part of its instant attraction comes from its simple honesty, Fournier hasn't removed himself from his audience or hidden behind a raft of studio trickery, Three Chord MacGyver, is Fournier songs, Fournier's guitar and Fournier's voice, raw and from the heart.
It comes as a slight surprise to learn that Fournier is Canadian, with his rough-edged voice and no frills style, it would be romantic and easy to imagine him having arrived in Nashville from some backwoods, one-horse town, armed only with his songs and an overwhelming desire to sing them. However all this homely charm can't mask how insightful a writer Joe Fournier is, 'She smelt like a brewery, made love like a tigress' (Puddle Of Love) sums up in one line the ideal woman for 99% of the male population. And when Fournier opens up his soul, as does so beautifully on Words I Should Have Said, it's done with an unbreakable backbone of dignity. Joe Fournier doesn't do outpourings of emotions, he sings simple truths - Net Rhythms
Whiskey soaked bar brawls, swapping bawdy stories on the back porch, pushing an old beat up pickup down a countyr road alongside a swamp - these are the images conjured up by the wonderfilly raucous songs on Whiskey Stars. It's swampy, bluesy countrified Americana, and has the best kind of lusty, disheveled swagger. The production is totally professional, but that doesn't take away from the raw, ragged hangdog fun of the record. It's a joy to listen to him sing about losing all his possesions; the low-down baritone guitar tones vividly evoke the blues in his broken heart. "Deluxe Ride" has a loose, wild, slo-mo rockabilly flavour (think early Elvis), while "Almost Got It Made" name checks Creedence Clearwater Revival outright. "Darlene Don't" is reminiscent of the moody, nuanced work of latter-day Elvis Costello, in a good way. It's great to come across an album that hits just the right amount of nostalgia, yet tells new stories and brings new sounds to the fore. This is great, country fried rock and roll, done right. Damn right. - CD Baby
" An irresistible collection of country music ...raw and from the heart. Joe Fournier doesn't do outpourings of emotions, he sings simple truths." - Michael Mee, Net Rhythms
" Fournier writes about the darker side of life but with humour. A winning tunesmith " - MI Magazine, Stockholm
" This guy's quite the piece of work, and he's the real thing.This brilliant ragged roots rock is stuff that
very few people do anymore." - Amazon.com
"Two of the hottest, crankiest garage country discs since the heyday of Sun Records - don’t bet against such a prolific tunesmith." - Doug Taylor, The Coast Weekly"
Whiskey Stars catapults Fournier into the forefront of Canadian roots music " - Bob Klanac, Scene Magazine
" Fournier’s a Canadian who proves that some of Americana’s best talents aren’t even American."
- Tony Peyser, Santa Monica
Mirror
" Sounds like it was thrown down in a four day drinking binge with minimum overdubs. Think of Haggard or Kristofferson & you are almost there. This is hard living, hard drinking blue collar America"
- Peter Gow, AmericanaUK
" One hell of a songwriter, capable of producing rootsy little gems that stop you in your tracks, make you grin like an idiot, and hit the repeat button to hear them again." - Doug Gallant, The Guardian
" Another little gem forged from the literate twang of Joe's hard scrabble heroes Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, John Hiatt and John Fogerty ... 4 Stars ! "
- Sandy MacDonald, Halifax Daily News
" Merle Haggard meets Creedence Clearwater Revival. Whiskey Stars holds up beside the best of Americana and roots music for its passion and feeling." - Lonestar Times
" Raw amplified guitars, Shel Silverstein drug era inspired lyrics ...not to be missed."
- Jon Phillbert, CMP (UK)
" Fournier conjures up the sound of a smoky Texas roadhouse. One of the most successful mixes of blues, country and rock I've heard in recent years." - Harmen van Aurich, Heaven Popmagazine (Netherlands)
"Energy packed rock, country, folk and blues with catchy tunes. Joe Fournier brings a freshness to the roots rock / Americana genre." - Bart Ebisch, Alt.Country Netherlands
"Shit kicking swamp rocking gutbucket Springsteen in a tin bathtub woohoo rock n roll and cool cover. Best track...all of them!" - Shaun Belcher, Flying Shoes Reviews
"Joe proves Canadians can be belligerent, opinionated and irreverent with the best of them... with a gift of looking at the mundane through his eccentric brand of humor and insight."
- Laurie Joulie, Take Country Back Magazine
" Joe Fournier fuses power pop, rowdy Stonesy rock, and traditional country together and makes it sound as rootsy and americana as anything Steve Earle has released. And a hell of a lot more fun, too."
- Scott Homewood, AmericanaUK
" Soaked in a rootsy rock vibe, peppered with jagged guitar hooks and Dave Edmunds-inspired vocals. A junkyard Bakersfield rant, complete with a trashy Telecaster breaks and an out-of-control drummer with too much time on his hands." - Sandy MacDonald, Halifax Daily News
" A rootsy sound that lands itself somewhere in between John Hiatt and Rockpile. He has the beats, the hooks and the punch to make this self-produced disc sound like anything he wants. We think it sounds great! "
- Miles of Music
"Bursting with wry humour and with too many good riffs, Raw Sugar Shed has a grubby, unrefined appeal." - Helen Keen, Maverick Magazine
"Each song on Raw Sugar Shed is a little nugget of craft, attitude and emotion. A songwriter as good as Joe Fournier won't be kept in the shed for long." - Jim Kelly, Canadian Musician Magazine
"The album is incredible. Our music people were raving!" – Matt Rainie, CBC Radio"
Swampy, greasy and loaded with wry social commentary. Raw Sugar Shed is a great record."
- Bob Cianci, Music Scene
" Raw Sugar Shed is one of those gems...a 12 track eccentric masterpiece."
- David Blue, NetRhythms UK
- various
Discography
Raw Sugar Shed - 2002
Whiskey Stars - 2004
Three Chord MacGyver (Europe only) - 2005
Dirt Road Joyride - 2007
available through Dusty Records (Europe, UK)
CD Baby, ITunes, Amazon.com (North America)
Photos
Bio
Joe’s musical education came from stealing songs and stories from the many road-worn acts that, week after week, rolled through the local beer joint his family ran in northern Ontario. Every night he'd fall asleep to the sound of country music filtering up through the floorboards and every morning a new Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash or Creedence Clearwater Revival tune would be stuck in his head. It's bound to have an effect on a kid.
His first appearance was at his parent's hotel, at age 12, filling in for the hired act who was too drunk to play. The people ate it up - plus it paid 25 bucks and all the soda he could handle. Joe was hooked. He soon found himself making good money playing traditional and then current (late 70's) country in local bands every weekend and the next 20 years were spent off and on the road. Punk, pop, rockabilly, polka, blues, new country, old country, whatever... he played it all. Sometimes it was guitar, sometimes it was bass or drums. He met his first wife while playing the part of Ringo in a Beatles tribute band! All the while Joe was learning about songs. How to write 'em and to record 'em.
A move in the early part of 2001 to Nova Scotia was, in many ways, the start of Joe Fournier's current career. After having exhausted his creativity and enthusiasm in Ontario, Joe decided that the east coast was where to recharge. Together with his girlfriend, they bought a little shack by the ocean and proceeded to rebuild it into a living/studio space. The idea was to open a cafe and forget about music for a while.
It was while bangin' and sawin' that he started getting ideas for the kind of songs he'd never written before. Songs that drew on his country roots, personal experiences and crazy characters met while gigging and traveling all those years. Soon there was enough material to fill two albums. By January 2002, at age 41, Joe had recorded his first CD and sent it out into the world. In no time flat he was fielding calls from publishers and managers from Nashville to Europe and beyond.
Joe received rave reviews for Raw Sugar Shed, released in the summer of 2002. The next 12 months were spent touring around Canada, England and Scandinavia to enthusiastic crowds. He showcased on three stages at the 2003 East Coast Music Awards in Nova Scotia and received MIANS nominations for best songwriter, best male vocalist and best country/roots album. In London he was invited to perform at the famed Borderline with Sarah Harmer and Josh Ritter as part of their Americana festival. Joe also appeared in May at Canada's National Arts Centre where they hosted the Atlantic Scene festival and shared stages throughout the year with the likes of Fred Eaglesmith, Willie P. Bennett, Tom Russell, Robbie Fulks, and Alabama 3 to name a few.
Whiskey Stars came out in Europe in 2003 and Canada/US in 2004. More critical success followed and plans for the cafe once again got put on hold. The single, "Almost Got it Made", was covered by many acts including a blues band, a punk outfit and a swing/gospel group. Joe himself went out on the road to promote the disc as a solo act. After appearing as part of a four piece band for a year, suddenly it really came together. There was space to rant, rave and tell stories. His dynamic acoustic style really came to the forefront and audiences were thrilled.
2005 saw the release of Three Chord MacGyver, a disc that was recorded in Joe's kitchen over three weeks. The idea was to capture the feel of those recent raw solo shows. The CD was released in Europe only and paved the way for another successful tour over there including a spot on Sweden's national TV4. Meanwhile Fournier spent time doing small house concerts and a few outdoor music festivals while working on material for the next recording.
Now Joe's proud to release his best disc yet, Dirt Road Joyride. He plays everything himself including guitars, drums, keyboards, accordion, mandolin and banjo. It covers all the stops from hopped up bluegrass, full out power pop, twangy cajun waltzes, country soul and Rockpile-style rock n' roll. With titles like I Drive A Wreck, Gooned Up, Juanita Dog Walk and Bigger Than Actual Size, you just know it's gonna live up to what the Halifax Daily News called Joe's music - a junkyard Bakersfield rant!
Get more info at -
www.joefournier.com
www.myspace.com/joefournier1
watch Joe's video EPK here - http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=JUQl0cU7Cx4
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