The Très Bien Ensemble

Some would recognize The Très Bien Ensemble as four-fifths of retired Toronto indie combo Wayne Omaha. A fair number would recognize guitarist Greg Smith as the bass player for The Weakerthans. Some might recognize keyboardist Yawd Sylvester as guitar player for The Violet Archers. A select musical few might remember that Smith and guitarist Matt James comprised The Keep On Keepin' Ons and were two-thirds of the driving force behind Instant Klazzix. Former Wayne O guitarist Daniel 'Paco' Paquette has taken up the bass and Kirk Hudson reprises his role behind the drum kit. The old adage is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And so it is with The Très Bien Ensemble. These are guys who go together well--the fellas, four fifths of whom went to high school together, have been playing music together in various combinations since as far back as 1989. HEY THERE MAN EP Hey There Man--the first of six planned EPs--was recorded and mixed by John Critchley over two days at Critchley's Green Door Studios in Parkdale. James, a professional illustrator and two-time Governor General's Award finalist, traded Critchley an original painting in exchange for studio time. Having only a specific amount of time in the studio served to dispense with much of what can often turn out to be costly self-indulgence. The sleeve was designed in Berlin by Liechtensteinian designer Manfred Naescher, whose citizenship in and of itself is noteworthy. The songs on Hey There Man are somewhat of a departure. The title track touches on such themes as groovy hair and running with a mind-reading elk herd. 'Good John Man' is a tip of the cap to tobacco icon John Player. So what is the point of it all? The Très Bien Ensemble focuses on good times. Making unique, artful music is a good time. Not going broke while doing what you love is a good time. Hanging out and jamming out with your lifelong pals is a good time: live shows have involved ill-fated tabletop guitar solos, Zeppelinesque microphone swinging and outrageous yet tongue-in-cheek sexual pontification. No better way to spend a Saturday night!

The Très Bien Ensemble barter their skills with recording engineers, mastering engineers, graphic designers, record company personnel, benefactors, philanthropists and/or any other person necessary in order to record six EPs--in six different studios. These six EPs will ultimately come together as a double album in the form of a cube, to be known as the 'box' set.