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Gerry Wall - Canada
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Releases (scroll to view collection)
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EX PATRIOTS' DAY (2007)
Album number 4. I decided to again work with Ken Harnden at his studio (Pinnacle Sound) and some of the musicians who had added so much to Returning Fire. Going in, my keys for this album were the use of a horn section (Wheeee!!), extended songs with multiple sections and of course the thematic device of relating the songs to considerations about "home" and being away from it. There are so many emotions and perspectives pertaining to "home" that I was left poking at it a bit here and there without ever reaching anything definitive. Big surprise there.
I also need to mention the contribution that Doug Johnson made with his Dobro and pedal steel playing. So tasty. The combination of Steve O'Connor and Doug is as good as it gets - maybe better (or is that like saying he/she gave it 110%?).
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The first song (Cheticamp) features Doug's dobro playing. But no horns - they don't check in until the fourth song, Home by Sunday. The addition of Dave Draves on keyboard blips and smirgles in that song is pure delightful Dave. It is unusually long at over six minutes and honestly I took no offense at Andrew asking me why I didn't know how to end a song. Honest.
In what just might be a musical first, Anselana features Wurly, steel and saxophone. I think it was a single take on the beds. And then Are You Making Any Friends? One of my undeclared favorites, it features a brief duet with Lori and Steve doing an understated two-line synth thing that crosses over from high to low. He spent the best part of an afternoon trying to get 30 seconds of music the way he wanted it - a dedicated, brilliant performance. Just a quick word on Lost at Home . . . I combined my love of hockey, economics and lawsuits lyrically and I promise I won't ever do that again (although I really want to). The album finishes with Tiny Letters, featuring horns, Wurly, steel guitar and the dependable beauty of Neil Donell's background vocals.
Lots of other little bits that I haven't mentioned (Excusez moi!) but which are central to the sound and of course the mixing sessions with Ken ("can you make a megaphone?"). And that's ex Patriots' Day.
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WINTER GRASS (2006)
I have tried to develop a different musical sensibility for each album. This time I was looking to forego some polish, leave some edges and let the musical journey wander a bit more. On Winter Grass, I had the good fortune to connect with the extraordinary Dave Draves — producer, engineer, musician and all-around musical experimentalist.
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Dave did me a favor by passing on my 4 song demo to Jeremy Gara, whose career was just taking off (and is now in full propulsion) with The Arcade Fire. Jeremy volunteered to sit in on drums and the three of us laid down most of the bed tracks in a day or two. John Higney and Mike Shultz added some tasty touches some time later. Ana Muira graced the album with her lovely vocals, singing a duet and supplying lots of backgrounds. The background vocalists (Ana, Dave, Graham and an occasional me) had way too much fun. It’s wrong, really, to enjoy yourself that much on a serious artistic endeavor.
Influences here? Well I guess the Jayhawks, Wilco, Mark Knopfler, Paul Kelly, J. J. Cale and Blue Rodeo come to mind although I’m not sure any song sounds a whole lot like those mentioned.
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RETURNING FIRE (2004)
For Returning Fire, I hooked up with Jon Park-Wheeler, a gifted local guitarist and producer. We recorded the album at Pinnacle
Studio in the historic coastal town of Belleville. Ken Harnden did the engineering and also provided some terrific BGs
(along with the incredible Lori Dortono). We recorded the bed tracks in a day and a bit. The musicians were exceptional and
instead of doing everything, I just sang. When the electric grid went down across Eastern Canada and the U.S. in the early evening,
the guys found a way to come back the next day and finish up the last two songs. For those of us that stayed in town, we wiled away
the evening drinking single malts at the oh so prestigious Belleville Club. (Thanks Ken!)
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Graham and I came back a few times to do the vocals, overdubs and mixing. It was energizing to
get away for this project and the studio setup and musicians were better than one could have reasonably hoped
for. For the record (ha, ha), the amazing rhythm section was Steve O’Connor, Andrew Affleck and Kenny Post.
The gifted Ted Carson did the mastering. I also learned to love the tube microphone.
A product rep had left a Rode tube mic for trial and it had the multiple benefits of crystal
clarity while retaining warmth and making me sound better than I am. I think Ken bought the thing the next
week. Jeez, I even ended up buying one later.
As a note on authorship, the song “Don’t Tell My Mother” was actually written (mostly) by John McMullen. It was passed on to me by Edmond Chiasson who had recorded with John but had lost track of him. I made some additions and changes and recorded the song, but he has now heard the recording and put his blessing on it. John has a fine album out that has the pedigreed version of the song.
Returning Fire reflects many musical influences including (the well known) Steely Dan, James Taylor, Chet Baker, Lyle Lovett, Gerry Rafferty, Sade, Michael Franks and (the less well known) Dane Donahue, Jim Krueger and David Mead. Of course, I swipe liberally from so many others that RT has lots of references.
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TOBERMORY (2000)
For those not from Ontario, Tobermory is located “at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, Canada —
a strip of land separating Lake Huron from Georgian Bay”. Although it’s a site targeted for tourists, check it out at http://www.tobermory.org/
When I first moved to Ontario, Graham and friends took me here to camp. This is where the Blastoid was perfected. It is a truly mystical place. That’s Graham and me in Toby on the CD cover (with photo by the omnipresent Mr. Craig Ryan).
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I recorded the album over a couple of years, starting on a TEAC 3340S and then finishing up on ADATs. I play most of the instruments with some welcome contributions from Craig, Graham, Bernie Haughian and Bob Libby (but please don’t blame them for the result).
I sent it out to several record companies and a few papers for review. I received many, many TBNT letters. These are also known as FOAD letters. The local weekly entertainment paper (the lowest resident on the journalism totem pole) even passed on reviewing it. I was bummed out. But as it turns out, the feeling passed
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