JP Maurice

By Alex Hudson
JP Maurice has been a member of the British Columbia music scene for a number of years, and in 2013 he took the solo plunge with The Arborist. The latest single from that record is "Poison Heart," and video for which can be seen now.

The song is an atmospheric pop song with a wistfully dramatic, rock-tinged chorus. In a statement, Maurice called the tune the "best song Taylor Swift didn't write all year," and the accompanying video captures the emotive drama as it shifts between shadowy slo-mo live shots and summery reminiscences. Maurice ends up getting a hotel room with his lady, but does everything work out for our hero?

Director Brandon William Fletcher also had this say about the clip:

Inspired by Lynch and Hitchcock (if he was born 30 years later), "Poison Heart" is the wall we put up after a bad experience (sometimes more than one) with love. We meet a man afraid to commit, almost to the point of repeating the same relationship mistakes over and over again. We see the consequences of living in a world of strange encounters.

Watch it below for yourself.

Meanwhile, Maurice is working on a new solo effort called Retriever, which is due out next year. You can also grab The Arborist here on Bandcamp. - Alex Hudson

It’s Live Music Friday and joining us today is a British Columbia musician, producer & songwriter. We welcome JP Maurice. - CHCH morning live TV

One On One Concert Series

The Old Stone Inn Boutique Hotel held a storytellers night where musicians were in a small intimate setting and interacted with the audience. The main act was west coast singer, songwriter and producer JP Maurice and also featured Mel Monaco. It's a musical series featuring future Canadian acts.

http://www.snapniagarafalls.com/?option=com_sngevents&id%5B0%5D=718074&utm_source=email&utm_medium=snapd - SNAP Magazine

Up close and personal
Richard Hutton
Aug 14, 2014

NIAGARA FALLS — Juliana Bellante wants to provide a stage for experienced musicians to ply their craft.

“I’m looking for what I call ‘seasoned musicians in there 20s and 30s,’ ” Bellante said as she revealed plans for what she hopes will become monthly concerts at venues throughout the region. First up is a show September 21 at the Old Stone Inn in Niagara Falls. The show will feature West Coast singer-songwriter JP Maurice and St. Catharines musician Mel Monaco.

“We may incorporate other musicians,” Bellante said.

Maurice has been on the scene for a while. Originally signed to Warner Music on the recommendation of Canadian super producer David Foster, Maurice has since struck out on his own. His first solo record, The Aborist, was released in 2013.

“I met him at Canadian Music Week a few years ago,” Bellante said.

Called One-on-One, Bellante said the all-acoustic shows would be of an intimate and interactive nature.

“The idea is to have the musicians tell about the road to the lyrics of a song in a way that interacts with the audience,” Bellante said. “To tell what takes to create a song and the meaning behind the song.”

She likened it to a story telling session where the musicians would play some of their most valuable songs and tell a story.”

The Niagara Falls show will just be a start she said, adding that she is speaking with additional venues.

“We’re looking for venues that have a small intimate feel,” she said. “We’re also hoping to get into the Grape and Wine Festival. We’re looking to getting JP on the main stage.”

The Old Stone Inn show, for example, will take place in the inn’s courtyard.

“We’re lucky to have the support of the Old Stone Inn,” Bellante said.

Bellante is always on the lookout for talent. Artists looking to become a part of the series are welcome to audition, she said.

Although she is a performer in her own right having participated in musical theatre and is part of Chorus Niagara, Bellante is what she calls “the behind the scenes” person for the concert series.

Tickets for the concert at the Old Stone in are $15 each or two for $25. Tickets include cocktail appetizers, a wine tasting and a raffle.

For more information for musicians wishing to arrange an audition, contact Bellante at jbell.promotions@gmail.com. - Richard Hutton

Over the past week I’ve spent some time writing about experiences from my recent holidays spent visiting family and friends in the Kelowna area, which included taking in some live music.

On my last night in town, Kelowna based artist Windmills was opening for Vancouver’s JP Maurice at Fernando’s Pub. I had been dying to see Windmills perform live for the past year (it was honestly one of my 2014 New Year’s resolutions), and I have become a growing and curious fan surrounding the mystique of JP Maurice, including his producing and collaborative work with other artists.

At the last minute I rounded up a group of old friends to celebrate my birthday, something I never do because it is on Christmas Day. It ended up being this randomly interconnected mix of people from my past who came together; somehow an excuse to drink with people you have rarely seen in the past 10 years always seems like a great idea.

The problem with staging a reunion of friends at a show you actually want to see is it makes it rather challenging to focus on the show at all. This is a fact I realized too late. The other fact was that Fernando’s is relatively small, albeit a fantastic ambiance with great food, drinks, and friendly staff, but like any popular hot spot, it was crowded and noisy, certain patrons become obnoxious after a certain hour, and unless you are standing in the five feet of space in front of the stage, you are basically attempting to listen to the music in the middle of a raging house party.

I did convince a friend or two to join me up near the stage and also went up on my own for a few songs, but by the end of the night I was reminded how difficult it is to focus on a live performance in a crowded bar. I also considered if I ever truly want to focus on a show in this type of environment, I probably shouldn’t invite friends who I want to talk to all night (note to self: start working on my self confidence to go see a show at a bar by myself).

What I have been reflecting on the most is how artists are performing night after night in venues just like this one, and although it was difficult to hear the music over all of the socializing, they still performed the hell out of their sets. I love listening to stories from bands who gauge a song by how busy the bartender is, or how much louder the talking gets, or by how many people have looked towards the stage at all. Clearly I have become ridiculously spoiled over the last year and a half to see music performed live at my local venue, Serenity Performing Arts Centre. It has basically ruined going out to see music anywhere else.

Although there is still something to be said about hearing live music being played in the background of a social event, I have become too aware of how hard they are working and the dedication it has taken them to be able to do what they are doing. To sit and carry on a conversation while someone is sharing their life’s work has come to feel increasingly terrible.

The real surprise of the night was JP Maurice. I’m not sure what I expected from this charismatic voice who has his hands in a multitude of projects and seems to pop up everywhere within the music circles I follow. His relative high profile has contributed to the intrigue surrounding him and how he is choosing to market his current music among the jigsaw puzzle of his expanding career. I immediately took notice of how his distinct sound translated live. His performance of his recent single “Poison Heart” completely took me off guard, so much so that I literally stopped a conversation mid sentence to give it my full attention (hence my earlier ramblings about the challenges of the evening).

What may have impressed me the most about his show was that there was both a crisp polish to it and a malleability that could bend and twist with the audience. This is typically hard to achieve, but JP Maurice isn’t typical. When you think of the independent music scene in BC, his music would not be considered “trendy” in terms of sound right now, and he doesn’t fit what many would classify as pop either. His melodies and hooks are bold and remind me of some of my favourite 80’s era bands. With his commanding stage presence, he gives an air of mature confidence beyond his years. Wearing a sharp black jacket and black jeans, amid a packed bar of twenty-somethings, he was the man of the hour. Interestingly, his recent music videos have been heavy on the sex appeal which can be misread as a smoke screen for lackluster talent. But it only takes a few minutes in a room with his voice and a guitar to see what all the fuss has been about in recent years, including emerging from the shadows of his highly publicized record deal with David Foster to become one of Music BC’s most multidimensional artists since his first appearance as a Peak Performance Project finalist in 2011.

Along with his original material, what came later in his set was ridiculously awesome for anyone who experienced any of their adolescence in the mid 90’s…he performed a cover of Blackstreet ft. Dr. Dre’s “No Diggity” that was insane. I am still pinching myself about it actually happening. As the night went on, Windmills and JP collaborated to perform some crazy pop mash-ups that were a whole lot of fun, but covers after all are just that. At the end of a night it’s the artist’s own music that I’m hoping will stand out and it did. I am left with a sense of wonderment about this phoenix of sorts who causes quite the stir wherever he appears. I have a feeling the surprises are going to keep coming.

Windmills and JP Maurice performed at Fernando’s Pub in Kelowna BC on December 27, 2014. - www.songsinthevalley.com

Tonight, I went out on another solo adventure; I went to see JP Maurice perform at the Cameron House here in Toronto. The last time I saw JP perform LIVE was sometime around 2011, when he and his band called, "Maurice", featuring Mark Lavoie on bass guitar, opened for Air Supply at the Royal Theatre in Victoria.

My mum was visiting for the week and I made sure to get us two tickets to the show for a very special reason: Air Supply was the first concert my parents had taken my sister and I to as kids and, 20 minutes into the concert, the lead singer lost his voice and we were all sent home.

And yet, 25+ years later, while there was some excitement from my mum about finally getting a chance to see the aging rock stars, she was also quite enamoured with JP and his band stating, "These guys are good, and nice to look at too", in her English-mum-sort-of-way. So, it came as no surprise tonight when JP told me, in his gentle way, that the band has already been coined: "Mom-Rock".

I don't know though. When I first met JP in 2009, video camera in hand backstage at a music festival, I wouldn't have thought Mom-Rock. And I later saw him open for the Juno-nominated band, Jets Overhead, in an 800 seat venue, wearing tight red jeans, so... while I tend to have a motherly way about me, and I was sitting beside a pregnant woman throughout some of the show tonight, I'd have to say that JP and his music are appealing to more than just moms. And the young men and women grooving on the dance floor tonight were clear evidence of that.

Starting the set with his new solo acoustic song, "Poison Heart" - this time accompanied softly by a steel guitar, a bass guitar, and drums - he then moved to a heavier rock 'n' roll set with some seriously crazy drumming, amazing steel guitar rifts, and fun banters back and forth with Mark on bass, only to finish with his sweet sweet version of Fleetwood Mac's, "Dreams".

Not only does JP have the talent and the range for this, writing some beautiful lyrics, he's also got the stage presence. He's the whole package when it comes to the music. And my mum was right, he is good and he is nice to look at too.
But don't just take our word for it... check him out here performing "Dreams" back in 2011 with the help of some of the members of Jets Overhead and other talented artists. He's definitely got what it takes. Now, he just needs his big break. - Pippa Hirst