The Abandoned Buildings

March 16, 2011
PARRY SOUND - Mackenzie Ritchie and Alec Dowell, of the local band The Abandoned Buildings, will warm up the Stockey Centre this weekend for Canadian indie music icon Joel Plaskett.
The band, who’ve been performing together for 10 years, sometimes appearing as “8minutes2live,” have been fans of Plaskett since the days of Thrush Hermit, a Canadian alternative rock band formed by Plaskett and three other musicians in 1992.
“He’s one of the most entertaining and likeable performers Canada has to offer,” said Ritchie. The Abandoned Buildings got word of Plaskett playing in Parry Sound last spring and immediately contacted the Stockey Centre to attempt to get an opening slot. Aiding in the process, a former band mate talked to Plaskett after a live show in Ireland, telling him about the duo and the potential of them being involved in the Stockey show. According to Ritchie, Dowell is a “very distant” relative of Plaskett’s and was able to get in touch with his mother .
Greg Hancock, marketing and special events coordinator for the Stockey, said there have been many different elements coming together to land the guys this gig. Ritchie wrote on the duo’s artist blog on the CBC Radio 3 website, “Seeing Joel at this venue, let alone opening for him is pretty much as good as winning a log sawing contest at the Carling Winter Festival (dream material my friends).”
Ritchie argued that the Stockey Centre for the Performing Arts is one of Canada’s jewels. “I would say the intimate environment and the acoustics of the room make it one of the best venues in Ontario, if not Canada,” said Ritchie. The local group isn’t new to the Stockey Centre, previously playing in Bands on the Bay, and performing for Ontario Contact, a three-day conference featuring local, national, and international artists coming together to perform and take part in presentations and workshops. The band, which recently finished recording a new album, Floorboards, describes their current sound as “stripped down acoustic folk-rock”. “I like to write lyrics, Alec likes to write guitar riffs and we’ve been battling it out writing music for the last 10 years,” said Ritchie, who is more excited than nervous for this weekend. “I’m pumped,” he said. The show, also featuring David Myles, another Canadian singer and songwriter, is Friday, March 18, at 8 p.m. Tickets are still available at the Stockey Centre Box office or by calling (877) 746-4466. - Sarah Frank, cottagecountrynow.ca - a division of Metroland Media Group Ltd.