Music
Press
String Bone has no regrets about taking his time to make the album he always wanted to.
The Ontario-based singer-songwriter started out in the vibrant Vancouver punk scene of the early 1980s, but eventually other commitments put those musical ambitions on hold. However, a talk with his teenage daughter about following her dreams prompted him to take his own advice.
The result is Nadir, the first album he is releasing under the name String Bone, his project that involves some of the region's best musicians, including (Blue Rodeo's)Bob Egan and co-producers Shannon Lyon and Chris Giesbrecht. String Bone says that he has been overwhelmed by the support he has received throughout every step of the process, and while he's not yet prepared to make music a full-time career, he feels satisfied that he has lived up to the challenge he laid out for himself.
"About a month after I had that talk with my daughter, I was in Edmonton staying with a friend from my first band," he says. "We jammed a bit, and when I got back home I was so inspired that I wrote 25 songs over the next two months, seven of which are on this record. It all felt really natural. I could see a theme emerging with the songs, but at the same time they all had distinctive things about them that got me excited to go into the studio with some musicians."
String Bone's's inquiries in this regard put him in touch with Lyon who utilized many of his resources to put a dynamic Americana stamp on Nadir, in keeping with String Bone's own style.
"It's been a great journey, and I've learned a lot about the recording process," He says. "Musically, I realized I've changed a lot too, and in some ways I think I've returned to my Bob Dylan-Neil Young roots, which show through on this record."
That reconnection is most prevalent in String Bone's lyrics, which often paint vivid portraits of some of the darker corners of southern Ontario life, as in the tracks Killing Town and Wash Away Our Sins. However, one of the last songs to make it on the record, and one he is most proud of, is the Leonard Cohen-ish Honfleur, which was directly inspired by his reunion in Edmonton.
"We decided one night to call our other former bandmate in Sweden, who we hadn't seen in 28 years, and at the end of that phone conversation we made plans to get together. So we ended up meeting in the south of France, and it turned into a big thing for me. All those emotions were poured into that song, and it became a reflection of how life can take you in so many unexpected directions, wrapped around the three of us seeing each other again after such a long time. I think it sums up the record pretty well." - The Kitchener-Waterloo Record
Discography
- nadir (11 songs) - soon to be released.
- Killing Town EP - 4 songs - 2008 (1. If I Had A Dream, 2. Killing Town, 3. Queen Of The Lilies, 4. Southern Ontario Chill)
Photos
Bio
....in 2006, string bone had an explosive writing spree, which spawned a total of 40 fully finished songs that sparked him on to pursue the eventual goal of releasing a debut solo record.....from the initial discussions with various musicians and producers, he settled on working with producer, singer/songwriter, shannon lyon of kitchener, ontario to produce a full-length cd..... after their preliminary meeting, string bone played lyon 24 songs straight and they both made a list of their top ten......when their lists were combined they had 14 songs chosen......at their next session string bone recorded these 14 songs with just voice and guitar as a scratch demo so he and shannon could listen to the tunes over the coming weeks to formulate arrangement ideas before coming together to start the project......well into the sessions, he met recent Canadian immigrant and violin player, antonia munro........and after playing together for only a week, string bone invited munro to accompany him during his live performances and also brought munro into the studio to play violin on half of the songs on the project........shortly thereafter, during rehearsals and their many live engagements, he and munro developed a musical connection which in retrospect felt like they were destined to meet and play music together - string bone's live shows now include munro as accompaniment......with acoustic guitar and violin, soft and soaring harmonies, munro adds a wonderful new twist in support of string bone's songs and sound.....the two have been playing live with this new found sound for the past few months and are enjoying very positive response.....String Bone will release a debut record, entitled “nadir” this fall…..he hails from london, canada, while munro grew up in a post-communist latvia.....when they play together, their sound is traditional, yet contemporary and mixed in a pot filled with many styles from blues to folk to country to alternative to rock to gypsy to celtic and classical…..he has lived in vancouver, toronto and montreal and has done his fair share of travelling….his songs reflect his experiences and show the depth of a seasoned writer…..his voice is passionate and full of honesty…. munro is classically trained, yet schooled in the art of improvisation…….having played the violin since she was two, she is an intuitive musician who also plays by ear and her influences include the sounds of the travelling gypsies she grew up listening to in her homeland…..together string bone & munro’s musicality, groove & harmonies create a unique sound…... sometimes soft…... sometimes hard…... very dynamic and always full of emotion, truth…...and honesty……..string bone's new record nadir will be available soon......released earlier this year and available now is the Killing Town EP with 4 songs from the full-length, although 3 of them are stripped down versions......also, included for now on the SonicBids player is an earlier version of Killing Town, a solo demo recorded by string bone in producer shannon lyon's livingroom in early 2007 a year before meeting munro....for now you will have to come to a show and see & hear for yourself............listen to the songs, listen to their harmonies, listen to the musicianship and the incredible connection these two artists have with each other...........and you will leave (we think anyway), pleasantly surprised!!!
Links
