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They are in love with each other and in love with the arts, and it shows. John and Melina Powers are delighting audiences and the community with the love and energy that they channel into their many creative projects. Living in Stratford for just three years (imports from Bayfield), their impact on the creative community here certainly has been felt.
Their company, Powers House Productions, houses music, education, and puppetry endeavours. Yellow Bird and The Open Cages, The Other Hand Puppet Troupe, John Powers, kinder music, singing lessons, song writing workshops with Garage Band software, and E.A.S.E. (Engaging Artists in Student Education) are all housed under the umbrella of their company. They produce a whirlwind of creativity recently. They are excited about the release of Melina's debut solo album, Yellow Bird and The Open Cages. The album release comes immediately following their creative arts camp that incorporates singing, song writing, puppeteering, drumming and cool crafts.
NEW ALBUM
The album has been a labour of love spanning a whole year. Melina honed her vocal chops while touring with her brothers' bands Silence and State of Blake for six years. In these bands, she was a co-vocalist with Matt Hussey. Over time, they grew to have separate visions, so Melina amicably parted ways with her brothers to focus on her own path. Her brothers continue to tour as Boy in December. With her husband's support and rotating cast of musical friends, Yellow Bird and The Open Cages was realized. The album contains some songs she wrote as early as 20, and Melina feels great to finally have them captured on record. They recorded the whole album in their house. John pretty much played everything on the album, but not without the help of notable local and provincial musicians: Jessie Baird, former drummer for FEIST, Blair Babcock on bass, and Bruce Pepper, former trombonist for the Planet Smashers, who contributed to a horn section on one song. Peter McBoyle, a sound engineer at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, mixed and mastered the album. Melina is particularly excited about the art work provided by Scott McKowen, a local artist and friend she met as a result of her time serving him in her days as a waitress at York Street Kitchen.
Early in her music career, Melina states, "My dream would be to play in front of 100 000 people, and it's funny how that all changes. That dream will always be there, but now I would be happy to hear my music on the CBC. That is the new dream. Would be a dream come true."
This album can be added to the collection of various other musical offerings John is involved in, including his own solo career, along with various other bluegrass and reggae projects. His project Billy and The Shaky Spears made a not to far distant appearance at The Food Truck Eats event last May.
Promoting Yellow Bird and The Open Cages and booking shows for the band will take priority for the next while before ramping up and switching gears to focus on their puppet show commissioned for Culture Days in Stratford in September.
- Start Stratford Arts and Cultures Magazine
They are in love with each other and in love with the arts, and it shows. John and Melina Powers are delighting audiences and the community with the love and energy that they channel into their many creative projects. Living in Stratford for just three years (imports from Bayfield), their impact on the creative community here certainly has been felt.
Their company, Powers House Productions, houses music, education, and puppetry endeavours. Yellow Bird and The Open Cages, The Other Hand Puppet Troupe, John Powers, kinder music, singing lessons, song writing workshops with Garage Band software, and E.A.S.E. (Engaging Artists in Student Education) are all housed under the umbrella of their company. They produce a whirlwind of creativity recently. They are excited about the release of Melina's debut solo album, Yellow Bird and The Open Cages. The album release comes immediately following their creative arts camp that incorporates singing, song writing, puppeteering, drumming and cool crafts.
NEW ALBUM
The album has been a labour of love spanning a whole year. Melina honed her vocal chops while touring with her brothers' bands Silence and State of Blake for six years. In these bands, she was a co-vocalist with Matt Hussey. Over time, they grew to have separate visions, so Melina amicably parted ways with her brothers to focus on her own path. Her brothers continue to tour as Boy in December. With her husband's support and rotating cast of musical friends, Yellow Bird and The Open Cages was realized. The album contains some songs she wrote as early as 20, and Melina feels great to finally have them captured on record. They recorded the whole album in their house. John pretty much played everything on the album, but not without the help of notable local and provincial musicians: Jessie Baird, former drummer for FEIST, Blair Babcock on bass, and Bruce Pepper, former trombonist for the Planet Smashers, who contributed to a horn section on one song. Peter McBoyle, a sound engineer at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, mixed and mastered the album. Melina is particularly excited about the art work provided by Scott McKowen, a local artist and friend she met as a result of her time serving him in her days as a waitress at York Street Kitchen.
Early in her music career, Melina states, "My dream would be to play in front of 100 000 people, and it's funny how that all changes. That dream will always be there, but now I would be happy to hear my music on the CBC. That is the new dream. Would be a dream come true."
This album can be added to the collection of various other musical offerings John is involved in, including his own solo career, along with various other bluegrass and reggae projects. His project Billy and The Shaky Spears made a not to far distant appearance at The Food Truck Eats event last May.
Promoting Yellow Bird and The Open Cages and booking shows for the band will take priority for the next while before ramping up and switching gears to focus on their puppet show commissioned for Culture Days in Stratford in September.
- Start Stratford Arts and Cultures Magazine
Discography
Yellowbird and the Open Cages 2012
Photos
Bio
Yellowbird and the Open Cages are singer/songwriter
Melina Powers, and multi-instrumentalist John Powers, with Jesse Baird (Feist, Steven Page, Broken Social Scene) on drums, Blair Babcock on bass, and a rotating cast of talented instrumentalists.
As the seventh of nine children in a musical family, it seems only natural that Melina Powers would set her own musings and reflections on life to song. But for Powers, the singer-songwriter at the heart of Stratford's Yellowbird and the Open Cages,the transition from younger sibling backing-vocalist to solo artist has been anything but
an overnight process.
“ We were always making music and singing growing up. As we got older it worked out that four of my brothers played different instruments and we formed a band. After touring and recording together for several years I felt like I needed a different outlet for my own songs. When I met my
husband John and we started playing together it really clicked musically. Making the record together has brought life to how I would hear the songs in my head,” Powers says.
The 10 original tracks, all written by Powers,
feature diverse arrangements that run the gamut of styles and genres. From infectious pop-folk to whimsical waltzing to high-stepping blues and even a brooding lament with Latin flair, Powers shows her vocal versatility throughout.
To cover such a broad range of material, Powers enlisted her partner in music and life, John Powers. In addition to producing and engineering the album, John Powers
provides backing vocals and plays no less than a dozen instruments.
Drummer Jesse Baird and stand-up bassist Blair Babcock round out the core of the Open Cages – the name itself a play on the band's collective nature.
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