Music
Press
"Discovering his new record is like finding an old dog-eared gem of pre-loved vinyl, all frayed edges and faded artwork, before carrying it home close to your chest like it's your little secret. His lyrics are poignant portraits of characters whom Lennox has observed and injected with dignity and life. It's a rollicking and earnest artistic statement that invokes a sense of timelessness that could never be undersold by overhype."
"makes Ryan Adams even more redundant" - View Magazine (Hamilton), Sept 8-14, 2005
"Lennox is the quiet gentleman at the back of the bar with scuffed shiny shoes and thick glasses, but he's also the man all the musicians I respect in this town have been talking about, and with good reason. This debut album of 11 storytelling ballads is simple and intelligent and looks you straight in the eyes: love, loss, regret, travelling, the weather. The most obvious comparison, due to Lennox's bluesy cadence and the space his voice occupies, is Dylan, but there are also traces of Townes Van Zandt and the one-man anthem stories of Springsteen. Still, Lennox is very much his own man, and steers clear of folk cliches with a rock band of local luminaries behind him. Still, sometimes Lennox's solo piano works just as well."
- Melora Koepke, The Hour, 03/31/05
- The Hour - Montreal
"Lennox’s sweet ballads and rollicking blues recall the muddy Mississipi and the early days of rock and roll; from the jangly guitar to the odd swirl of the hammond organ to the simple, honest piano, Lennox mixes long-standing musical staples in a thoroughly modern, richly-textured brew."
- Fiona Downey, All in a Weekend, CBC Radio One
- CBC
Discography
Into the Bull's Shoulder, full-length album, 2005
John Lennox, full-length album, 2003
Into the Bull's Shoulder was recorded onto 2'' tape at Breakglass in Montreal, under the guidance of David Smith. There are guest performances by Angela Desveaux and Jason Kent, with some guitars provided by Jon Cohen and drums by Chris Wise. It plays on radio stations across Canada, in some US states, and in a few countries in Europe.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
I was born in a small town in Southern Ontario and was raised near a piano in St. Catharines, Ontario. Forced to play Chopin and jazz. I wanted to be a baseball player. I gave my first public performance when I was ten. I cried. I started playing guitar around eleven or so, did time in grunge and noise bands until I discovered Bob Dylan, some French singers, and Nina Simone. I moved to Montreal to go to school, and spent five years or so working on theories of contemporary poetry, deciding in the end it was all, or nearly all, bunk. I put out my first record in graduate school; all five hundred copies are gone now, though I remember some of the songs. Then one summer's day I walked away from school (having worked mainly on John Ashbery; love that guy), went to Yellowknife, NWT, where I became a family man, and moved back to Montreal to make Into the Bull's Shoulder, which I put out in 2005. View Magazine calls it Montreal's best of 2005. Melora Koepke of Montreal's The Hour says I'm the man all the musicians she respects in Montreal have been talking about, and with good reason. Well, ahem, that's right! In the summer of 2005 I bought a camper van, and have been living in it and touring since. I write this at the House of the Nine Dragons in Chicago, June 6, 2006. It is sunny and windy. That, in a nutshell, is my life. I've spent the last year promoting Into the Bulls Shoulder, have toured around Canada and parts of the US, sharing stages with some great acts, among them: L.A.'s Eleni Mandell, Gabe Minnikin of The Guthries, Dala (Universal Music), Angela Desveaux (thrilljockey), Cherie Pyne, Mark Bragg, and many others. I got a big kick at playing the Pop Montreal festival, and I'm constantly impressed by the nice venues I get to play at: The Hideout (Chicago), The Rivoli (Toronto), The Black Sheep Inn (Wakefield), The Ship (St. Johns), and Casa Del Popolo (Montreal), among others. Things are pretty good. So what does the future hold for yours truly? Nothing but fame, fortune, and mastery. I'm interested in analog recording, old soul, reverb, James Schuyler, fixing cars, parenting, free jazz, the American novel, hockey, Jim Jarmusch, and having millions of friends.
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