The Rebel Wheel holds a special place among the bands I’ve reviewed over my ‘career’ as a progressive music writer. They are the only band I have reviewed a ‘debut’ album for twice, with different tracks listings for both reviews.
I can explain.
When I first discovered The Rebel Wheel, they were releasing their album Diagramma privately. I was offered a copy for review purposes, which I gladly accepted. I still have that review, and I’m thinking of posting it later today as a retro review for y’all. Not long after this, however, the band was picked up by 10T Records, who wanted to reissue this album. I was pleased as punch for them; it’s cool watching a band ‘grow up’ before your eyes and I told their then bassist, Gary Lauzon, as much. What happened next caught me off guard. First, 10T wanted a longer album; Diagramma came in around 44 minutes, and they wanted something closer to an hour. Second, somewhere along the line it was requested that the private release version review be pulled. I don’t remember the particulars of that. In any event, 10T reissued the album, and I reviewed it a second time, this time focusing only on the newly recorded/added tracks.
Since then, changes. Loads of changes. Bassists galore. Keyboardists. Drummers, if I recall correctly. Just about every slot changed hands save for founder David Campbell, who captained the ship through some very chaotic waters. In the end, he pulled in a bunch of able bodied musicians, and put together a follow up, titled We are in the Time of Evil Clocks. The title comes from a story Campbell’s son came up with when he was just 10 years old, and I’d leave it up to him to retell it, because he does it very well. All I’ll say is that the evil clock in question gets punished in the end with a career at WalMart and leave it at that.
In any event, on with the review!
It’s appropriate that we open with a title track. ‘We Are In The Time Of Evil Clocks’ begins with some very cool faux-industrial synth sounds, with an elastic bass line and angular guitar chords battling it out for supremacy. Angie MacIvor’s sax adds in a cool and woefully under-used in today’s prog musical voice. Mostly instrumental, the vocal sections offer brief placidity and respite from the weird and wild musical bits that build around it. It slowly fades into ‘Klak,’ another weird and angular sounding piece, much more vocally oriented. Campbell’s vocals are processed, sounding impossibly distant on some sections, close and personal on others. The words were taken from a pair of poems written by Geordie Robertson; as Campbell recollects…
“Progressive Ears is probably the only web-site I actually spend a lot of time with and through it I have met many interesting and very cool people. There was a thread on it awhile back where a several poets and people of a similar bent, posted their surrealistic stuff. There was a wealth of stuff and one in particular really struck me as a perfect song lyric.
I approached the author, Geordie Robertson, about using the words in a song and he gladly agreed. I also asked him if he had others and he sent me a batch. I wrote Klak using the original poem that caught my eye and also added another that he subsequently sent, as the chorus.”
There’s great bass playing and some wonderfully lyrical sax work as well. While the song feels brief, there’s a lot of ideas going on within its boundaries.
‘Wordplay’ is our first extended piece. Clocking in at 8:21, it opens with some clean, almost jazzy guitar, with a quietly pulsing, heartbeat like drum pattern under it. The bassline is simple, yet beautiful, and with MacIvor’s vocals come in, the smoky jazz club feel is complete. It’s nice to hear a female vocalist who is not mimicking Annie Haslam or Kate Bush; MacIvor’s voice is throatier, a bit raspier, with a lovely alto tone that really suits the music wonderfully. There’s plenty of time and space for the band to explorw on this piece, and while the mood remains pretty consistent, there are several very impressive extended instrumental sections to allow Campbell, bassist Claude Prince, and MacIvor to stretch out on their instruments. I love the groove…perhaps more than might be legal in some states. It’s a hot tune, and one that really shows off what the band is capable of.
The centrepiece of this album is the 30-minute, 7-part epic ‘The Discovery of Witchcraft.’ The title is drawn from The Discoverie of Witchcraft, written by Reginald Scot, an English country gentleman and Member of Parliament to show that witchcraft did not exist. This was a launching point for Campbell and the rest of The Rebel Wheel, who take this idea and run with it like no one else possibly could. Alternating sections careen wildly from out there, angular, Crimsoid prog to plaintive and eerie acoustic balladry. The ‘Hag’ sections are amazingly gorgeous, with MacIvor’s vocals quiet, mysterious, perfect for the song. The restrained, limited musical backing for these pieces adds to the mystery and the mood. Other instrumental bits feature the same intense material heard throughout much of the album.
I want to call special attention to part 5, ‘Invitation To The Dance,’ which for some reason I continue to think of as the band’s Canterbury section. It doesn’t at all sound Canterbury, but the heavy jazz influence heard here, along with some of the way the instruments lock and play with each other, reminds me of the fusiony side of Canterbury so much that I can’t help it. Every time it comes on I sing along to the melody line, bounce in my seat, and think ‘It’s Canterbury time!’ Sorry guys (and girl)…I may have ruined it for you, but I love it. I really do. In an epic that doesn’t feel like something overstaying it’s welcome, it’s my favourite 4 and a half minutes. And that’s saying something.
I loved Diagramma when it came out. I loved it when it came out again. And We are in the Time of Evil Clocks knocks that album all over the place. It’s tighter (and looser), more expansive yet more refined. The changes in the band have not weakened The Rebel Wheel; if anything, they’ve been a crucible that has reforged the group and made their efforts stronger and keener. If you haven’t guessed by this point that I love this album, perhaps I need to be clearer. I love this album, and I think…no, I know…you will, too. Original, but with a respectful eye to the past, it doesn’t get much better than this.
Angie MacIvor (saxes, vocals and keyboards)
David Campbell (guitars, vocals, bass and keyboards)
Guy Dagenais (bass and vocals)
Aaron Clark (drums and percussion)
1. We Are In The Time Of Evil Clocks 6:30
2. Klak 5:31
3. Wordplay 8:21
4. Scales Of The Ebony Fish 5:33
5. Settling Of Bones 4:52
The Discovery of Witchcraft (30:26)
6. Convent 5:37
7. Hags 2:36
8. Mad Night 6:38
9. Hags 2 2:25
10. Invitation To The Dance 4:26
11. Hags 3 2:25
12. Cavort 2:47
13. Evil Clocks 2 2:47
Find out more:
http://www.therebelwheel.com/
http://myspace.com/rebelwheel
http://10trecords.com/artists/genres/progressive-experimental/the-rebel-wheel/
I first found out about the band The Rebel Wheel on the Mike Portnoy forum.
Then bassist Gary Lauzon was a regular poster there, I was just starting to get back into music writing again, and he was looking for people to review the band’s debut album, the self released Diagramma. I was excited about the opportunity, and quickly received a copy. I enjoyed the album greatly, and said as much in concluding that review:
“The Rebel Wheel offers a diverse selection of sounds and styles on the 43-minute Diagramma. Far from presenting a disjointed idea of what the band has to offer, it instead shows a group unafraid to mix things up. Strong songs and stronger playing mark this as an album well worth checking out.”
Not long after the album was released, 10T Records picked the band up. This was pretty exciting…it’s one thing for a band to release an album, but another to see them picked up so soon by a label that has become a bit of a force in modern progressive music. Diagramma was reissued with two additional tracks, and of course, I reviewed that version as well. Sadly, I can’t find that old review anywhere, but I can assure it was positive.
Much has changed for The Rebel Wheel since the release of their debut album. Basissts have come and gone, sax players have joined and gone on maternity leave, and the entire line-up has taken on a bit of fluidity. Through it all, one thing has been constant; guitarist/vocalist/sometimes bassist/sometimes keyboardist/mastermind/cook and bottle washer David Campbell. And honestly, if The Rebel Wheel was the only feather in his musical cap, it’d be impressive. Add in work with Bob Drake, Nathan Mahl, his jazz and electronica work, his full time work creating library music for TV, his multiple symphonies and chamber words…Campbell is a bit of a musical renaissance man in more ways than one.
With the release this year of The Rebel Wheel’s sophomore album We Are in the Time of Evil Clocks, I felt it was a good time to check back in with someone from the band. So much has changed, and it’s high time we got an update from the inside. David was excited about getting the chance to go over some details with me, and I hope you pick up as much out of his answers as I did!
Recommended soundtrack to listen to while reading: ‘The Discovery of Witchcraft,’ the 30-minute epic from WAITTOEC.
Read on!
1. Let’s start at the beginning…how did you first discover an interest in music?
DC: I can't really remember a time when I wasn't interested in music actually. I have kids myself and my youngest reminds me of me in that she is always singing a song or playing an instrument and at five, already has clear cut musical loves (Max Webster, Hot Hot Heat and Chumbawumba for example). Last week she said that there was a song she had heard that she had actually written and that was exactly the same thing I had said when I was her age. In my case I thought I had written "Roll Out Those Hazy Crazy Days of Summer" and "V-I-E-N-N-A, that's old Vienna, the happy lazy lager beer". I guess we had so internalised the songs that we had forgotten where we had heard them in the first place.
2. Who or what were your earliest influences?
DC: The Beatles ("Daytripper" and "Eight Days A Week" were my favorite songs in kindergarden), Antonio Carlos Jobim ("Girl from Ipanema" was an album my jazz musician uncle listened to a lot) and Prokofiev (we had a record of Peter and the Wolf I adored). Those three styles still have a major affect on my musical life.
3. How did the first Rebel Wheel lineup come together?
DC: I was at Humber College studying music and I jammed regularly with a bunch of guys. Eventually we all started fronting various projects and typically culled players from our jamming sessions. In my case I was heavily into midi technology and I loved the fact I could trigger synths etc from my guitars.
I had a GR-303 system and a GR-707 so I could basically play into a board and avoid amps entirely making rehearsals a head-phone affair. The other players had similar rigs and although it was never an official rule, we ended up as a midi ensemble. We all loved jazz and fusion so that was the loose format, although we had the same line-up with other band names (depending on the leader/writer) so we were pretty comfortable going from a Steely Dan type song in one incarnation to a free-form jazz piece in another.
4. Diagramma, the band’s first studio album, was originally released privately. How did 10T records come into the scene?
DC: I wanted to get on a label as I figured it would serve the then current band's interest more. I was interested in 10T right up front because I was a fan of Frogg Cafe and Man on Fire so I sent them the 5-song version of Diagramma. They got back in touch and offered a deal but they wanted a seven-song release that clocked in closer to an hour, instead of the one I had already done which was only 45 minutes.
5. There have been a number of lineup changes between the release of Diagramma and We Are in the Time of Evil Clocks. How would you say those changes have affected the band’s sound?
DC: Well Diagramma was a weird beast. The original 5 song version was pretty well all me. I used midi drums on some tunes, real drums on others and edited other's drum performances from the old Toronto version of the band and built tunes from there. The 10T release had two additional songs that featured the whole band in its then current line-up, so that even on that album there were two different forms of the band and different approaches.
For Evil Clocks, I wanted an album that featured the current band mostly live in the studio. I have found over the years that it is better to have the live line-up the same as the studio line-up as much as possible. At that point the lineup was pretty stable and although we changed bassists early on in the recording and replaced long-time member Gary Lauzon with ex-Nathan Mahl bassist Claude Prince we kept the same line-up for the rest of the album. Unlike Diagramma, I wrote with that line-up in mind and the arrangements were done with a definite eye on how we would ultimately play the songs live.
6. What was the inspiration behind ‘The Discovery of Witchcraft,’ the epic that all but closes out the new album?
DC: The author Robertson Davies. He has a story called 'Mixture of Frailties' and in it, a Canadian singer performs a British composer's new work called "The Discoverie of Witchcraft". I think the composer in the story is modelled after Benjamin Britten as he is described as being modern (with-out having "wrong-note chromaticism") and as one of the most lyrical, voice-friendly composers England had produced in decades. In any event, I loved the story and didn't really pay more attention to the fictional composition, until one day I came across Ben Jonson's Masque of Queens and I recognized some of the words the Davies character had been singing in the book ("I have been gathering Wolve's hairs" etc.).
It was then I realized the lyrics were actually real and not the construct of Davies (it is even mentioned in the book that if the composer had one fault it was that he used too many literary references, so I suppose I should have tumbled on to it sooner). I then did some research and found out the title itself came from Reginold Scot's book by the same name (again a fact mentioned in the book). So like Davies' fictional character, I took the Scot's title and Jonson's words and made my own piece (decidedly less lyrical and chock full of wrong-note chromaticism). Unlike the book I don't use any of Scot's passages as recitatives, but cover artsist Francis Dupuis did take the graphics from the original manuscript and use them on the CD clock faces.
7. Where do you think The Rebel Wheel is heading next, musically speaking?
DC: We are now a three-piece band as Ange has just had a baby girl (Amy) and we all decided she should take an extended leave of absence. As such we are looking at a creating a somewhat sparser, more aggressive sound. The music I have been writing is harder-edged than before and as the lyrical themes are examining substance abuse (something I am far too familiar with) there is a gritty Charles Bukowski-ish tinge to the outing. We will still use keyboards and electronics, but they will approach a noise-like ambience instead of being mysterious and lush. The arrangements so far are leaning towards a more "power-trio" core sound.
8. Does the band get much opportunity to play live?
DC: Yes it does and lately we have all agreed to take any and all gigs we can. In fact we are doing our first gig with the new line-up tomorrow at a local bar in my hometown (Editor's note: this show has passed since the interview was finished). We have a new bassist (again!) and in the last few months have been rehearsing new stuff and re-arranging existing material for live performance. Guy Dagenais is our new bassist and was actually the player on the title track of the CD so has been in the wings for awhile before he joined proper.
9. How much do you think downloading has affected the band, either positively or negatively?
DC: That is a tricky question, and a subject that tends to get volatile. Generally I think that illegal downloading has a dramatic affect on all music and ultimately the attitude the general music user has toward intellectual property. Truthfully, ours is not the kind of music that flies off the shelves in any type of scheme, but given the sheer amount of torrent sites that gladly offer high quality illegal mp3 versions of the album, it is naive to think it has helped sales in any way.
10. What would you say the future holds for the (mostly) independent progressive rock band?
DC: I think that despite the down side of illegal file sharing, the internet is perhaps the single greatest distribution tool in the history of music. I think the future is bright for bands right now, not necessarily as big money-making outfits, but for dedicated artists who can have an international appeal to people whose tastes are similar. I think that with the plethora of musical styles and the bringing to light of musics that once were totally underground, we are quickly entering a world where musical boundaries are becoming less firm. The distinction among bands doesn't seem to be stylistic so much as "how good are they live?"
11. When you’re not working with The Rebel Wheel, what musical projects are you involved with?
DC: Tons! I play jazz guitar in various ensembles, I play keyboards in a cover tune band, I have two original quirky pop bands I write for and/or play guitar/bass and sing in, I have a twisted electronica band I write for and play bass in, I write a ton of electro-acoustic music that does pretty well in the somewhat rarefied and academic circles that like that kind of thing. I write concert music and arrange big band stuff for other people, I write and produce a ton of production library music and background stuff for TV and corporate clients, I play local sessions on guitar, bass and keyboards, I am the bassist in Bob Drake's Cabinet of Curiosities as well as the latest guitarist in Nathan Mahl.
12. Is music your ‘day job,’ or something you do to escape from the stresses of a non-music job?
DC: It's my day job and Prog bands are my escape from the pressures of THAT.
13. You’ve written a number of chamber and orchestral pieces; how did these come about?
DC: I love that kind of thing and in a perfect world would write pretty well mostly orchestral stuff. I consider guitar and bass playing something different so that doesn't in any way mean I wouldn't do prog or jazz gigs as a musician, but as a composer I would certainly write less TV stuff. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to earn a living writing for modern orchestra and even those who are successful at it, usually have to teach music as well.
I started doing that kind of thing from day 1 and in fact, the only reason I went to music school in the first place was to learn orchestration and have players available to play the stuff I was already writing. By the time I graduated I was earning a living arranging, orchestrating and copying other people's stuff when I really only wanted to do mine. In 1991 I took the plunge and went totally into my own symphonic music. I was pretty successful at getting it played, but even then was barely able to pay my rent.
14. How did you first connect with Bob Drake (Thinking Plague, et cetera), and how did you come to perform with him?
DC: Through Progressive Ears actually. When I first discovered PE back in 2003 I was elated to find that there were people who liked the same kind of stuff I did, and that while I had been immersed in modern classical music, there had been a lot going on in Prog I knew nothing about. As a result I discovered a lot of stuff I hadn't heard before like Thinking Plague, 5uus and Bob's solo stuff (among a ton of others). When I heard he needed a bassist/guitarist I emailed him and we hit it off. It helped that, by then, I was pretty familiar with his material.
15. What do you listen to for fun or relaxation?
DC: Pretty well anything. I have an abiding love for bands like Incubus, I Mother Earth, Screaming Headless Torsos etc. but with three kids I listen and enjoy a lot of stuff I might otherwise avoid (like Chumbawumba for instance). I love star-watching and am fortunate to live in area where the skies are free from light pollution. When I am out looking at stars I mostly listen to modern classical. Regardless of how atonal and angular it might be, I find it very relaxing.
16. Are there any newer bands or artists you find particularly inspiring?
DC: Right now I am on a 5uus kick and especially enjoying the Mike Johnson live version of the band I see on You-tube. As for newer stuff, I am really liking Zevious, Mirthkon, Belew's trio, Tyondai Braxton, and the latest offerings from Frogg Cafe, Mars Hollow and Helmet Of Gnats. All great stuff.
17. Do you have any final words for our readers today?
DC: I'd say it is important to keep your mind open and avoid the "it was all better when I was younger" mentality. Lately I have been seeing a lot of people acting like my grand-parents used to when I was young, asserting that everything was better back when. I find that attitude stifling for art and more indicative of closed mindedness than having any real intrinsic truth.
Find out more!
http://www.therebelwheel.com/
http://www.myspace.com/rebelwheel
http://10trecords.com/artists/genres/progressive-experimental/the-rebel-wheel/
http://tinyurl.com/TRW-FB (Facebook)
http://therebelwheel.blogspot.com/
(Photo above: David Campbell performing live with Bob Drake at NEARfest 2007 by Bill Knispel)
1) Brought to my attention by Gary Lauzon - Gary has left The Rebel Wheel for personal reasons, and the band has deputised former Nathan Mahl bassist Claude Prince to step in and fill Gary's prodigiously talented shoes. We wish Gary the best of luck with his future musical endeavours, and welcome Claude to the group!2) Dave DeMarco has left Oblivion Sun to pursue different musical directions, and has been replaced in the group by Keith Macksoud, bassist for Present, among other bands. Also, it has just been announced that drummer Chris Mack, also of Iluvatar, has moved on from OS. That position is currently open.
This in from basist Gary Lauzon:"...here is the first part of the 35 minute epic, this is a 6min instrumental. I had fun playing bass on this, enjoy! Part 1/7 of The Discovery of Witchcraft
Gary"
Direct from bassist Gary Lauzon:- there will be a 35 minute song called "The Discovery of Witchcraft"
- "Black Widow" will be a crazy instrumental and will feature lots of bass tapping goodness like the first one ("Arachnophobia" from our record Diagramma)
- the album will have a nice booklet this time around, with some cool/eerie art
- We are in the Time of Evil Clocks will be the name of the album
- it clocks (pun intended) at over 70 minutes long
- it is our second record with 10T Records
Direct from David Campbell:Right now we are hard at work preparing for our next album for 10T Records. The album is titled "We Are In The Time Of Evil Clocks" and features the same line-up that we had at the Nuance fest (and the Rosfest after-hours party) with:
Angie Macivor on saxes, keys and vocals
David Campbell on guitars, keys and vocals
Gary Lauzon on bass and keyboards
Aaron Clark on drums and keyboards
We are also proud to feature guest artists
Rick Barkhouse on keys (http://www.widowswalk.ca)
and Guy Leblanc on keys (http://www.nathanmahl.ca)
The rehearsals are well underway and all the material is written and arranged. We intend to hit the studio in early January.
We just started a blog about it, so if anyone is interested please stop by:
http://therebelwheel.blogspot.com/
One of the nice things about spending time on musicians’ fan forums is that you get to meet a lot of people who have their own bands. It’s probably pretty obvious that if you are hanging out at a forum for someone like Mike Portnoy, the majority of bands from other forum members would show Dream Theater as a major influence. While this may be true in theory, in practice I’ve not really seen it that much.I ‘discovered’ the Canadian band The Rebel Wheel on the Mike Portnoy forum, and had the opportunity to review the band’s second album, Diagramma…first in the original independent release form, and then as reissued by 10T Records a few months later. I had this to say of the album:“The Rebel Wheel offers a diverse selection of sounds and styles on the 43-minute Diagramma. Far from presenting a disjointed idea of what the band has to offer, it instead shows a group unafraid to mix things up. Strong songs and stronger playing mark this as an album well worth checking out.”Today I have the pleasure of presenting an interview with bassist Gary Lauzon. We touch on a wide variety of subjects, including band history, literature, influences, and a few teasers for the band’s upcoming release!1) Who are you (Name, band, instrument played)?GL: People call me Gary Lauzon, I play with The Rebel Wheel, instrument played for the moment is a 4 and 5 string bass. I also play bass pedals and keyboards and maybe a little guitar on the forthcoming album.2) In 100 words or less, tell me about The Rebel Wheel.GL: The Rebel Wheel is a modern progressive-rock ensemble based out of Ottawa Ontario. With influences that range from Gentle Giant to Frank Zappa via Genesis and Rush, the band features a frenetic mix of rock aggression, odd-meter vamps, and turn-on-a-dime arrangements. Originally formed in 1991 as a fusion-based midi ensemble, the floating lineup has gradually solidified to the current four piece featuring guitars, keyboards, drums, bass, sax and vocals. Since its inception, the music has focused more on modern and traditional Progressive Rock.3) What is the wheel rebelling against?GL: Note this answer was provided to me from David (Campbell), who's steers the ship for the band.We're not rebelling against anything really. The name is based on a book by William Kotzwinkle called Dr Rat. Dr Rat is a laboratory rat who has become something of a genius (kinda like The Brain form Pinky and The Brain...a show I am convinced was inspired by the novel). The lab animals create a "rebel wheel" wherein the animals join hands and revolve faster and faster and they telepathically communicate to all the other animals on earth (a kind of a animal psychic hot-line), rebelling mostly about cruelty to animals (animals in research). The story resonated with me because I like Kotzwinkle's imagery, and I later wrote the score for a Nature of Things show called "Animals In Research". I decided to take the name for a band.4) How did you find the reaction to the band's 10T records release?GL: Well the whole band and especially myself were in disbelief. I remember I was driving back from Montreal and got an email from David on my Blackberry that read, label potentially interested in signing us, needless to say I pulled on the side of the road and immediately called David. 2-3 months after we were signed and our second record (Diagramma) had a street date of May 14th 2007 with 10T Records based out of Atlanta GA.5) The re-release of Diagramma followed very quickly after the indie release. Was that why you guys added the extra tracks?GL: 10T liked our indie CD a lot but they felt it was a little short, barely clocking over 40 minutes. They wanted to re-release the CD with a different cover and digipack, and add some more material to it. We had 2 songs on the go that we anticipated to release on our next CD, but in order to make the CD closer to an hour we rushed in the studio and recorded “Arachnophobia” and “Awakened,” which are 2 of the stronger tracks on Diagramma.6) How does the band work up their material?GL: In general, for about 85% of the material David writes it in his studio, usually it's bass, synths, drum loops and drum programming. We then learn the demo and bring on our ideas and the songs usually take form this way. Think of it as a blueprint. Some songs are written by other band mates, like “Arachnophobia” was written by myself and “Awakened” was written by our other guitarist who is no longer in the band. For the next CD we anticipate the same formula, since I'm bringing in a sequel to “Arachnophobia.”7) The Rebel Wheel has had a few lineup changes, like most bands. Do you feel the current band is the 'classic' TRW?GL: Since we acquired the drumming services Aaron Clark last November, we feel we're on the top of our game and there's no doubt in any of our minds that this is the classic TRW. We did lots of gigs recently, including a pre-show for RoSfest, a show in Quebec City and one 2 weekends ago in Toronto for the NUANCE festival which was our best performance yet (which I'm listening to right now for the first time)8) What do you do when you're not rocking out with The Rebel Wheel?GL: I'm playing Rock Band of course!! Call me a wannabe drummer but I'm having a blast with this game! Other then that I play other video games with my gf, she's discovering RPG’s. I spend a lot of time working/organizing a festival I organize called Progtoberfest (progtoberfest.ca) in my hometown Ottawa. Other then that I like to hit the gym to try and stay in shape. I also bowl in 2 bowling leagues and I'd say that it is my talent even over music.9) What's out there new musically that's blown you away?GL: In the last year I'd have to say Oceansize's last album Frames. Everything about that album leaves me in awe. I've been listening to lots of Spaced Out, Brand X, it's kind of funny how I kind of switched from Prog Metal to fusion. Planet X is also a CD that gets a lot of mileage in my CD player. How could I forget Riverside, saw them again last month and still have chills!10) What's next for you and the band?GL: Well right now David is doing some shows with Bob Drake. Once he returns we're starting to rehearse the material for our next album, it's pretty much all written, with the exception of one tune. We will then hit the studio by year's end. Our goal is to release the CD in June 09. I could tell you that the name of the CD will be called: We are in the time of Evil Clocks and it will feature a 35-minute track called “The Discovery of Witchcraft.” Stay Tuned!I'd like to thank you for interviewing me, and of course supporting our band.Links of Note:http://www.therebelwheel.com/http://www.myspace.com/rebelwheel
http://www.progscape.com/rev-143.php (original release review)
http://www.progscape.com/rev-192.php (reissue review)
(Photo of Gary Lauzon by Greg Yantz. © 2007 Greg Yantz)
NUANCE - Art Rock Festival
Date - Sat Oct 4th 2008.
Venue - Legion Hall Br-10, 1083 Pape Ave. Just south of Oconnor drive. East York, Toronto (Minutes from the Don Valley Parkway, a short bus ride from TTC station, lots of free parking)
Time - Doors open at 2:30pm, event runs till 9:30pm with a 90minute dinner break.
Door Cover - $20.00. Children 12 and under free.
Website - http://www.myspace.com/nuancegta
Performing Artists...
The Rebel Wheel
Wilton Said...
COUNTERPOINT (Featuring former members of Cerafim and Plenty)
Lorne Hind 360
In addition, we once again have DJ Stan Hilborn from FM 98.5, CKWR "Adventures In Plasticland" MCing the event. Check out http://www.myspace.com/adventuresinplasticland for info on his show.
And what is a Prog/Art Rock Festival without a place to buy some music. Mike from Records on Wheels in Dundas will be on hand again selling the performing artists CD's as well as other well known and not so well known prog artists.
Contact recordsonwheels@cogeco.net for more information regarding available merchandise and orders.
Sound clips of some of the performing artists are now up.
Wow, not a lot of planning on my part today. Sorry, constant readers. I have to admit that I've been spending much of the day working on some transcription of an interview from a few weeks back (I have two to do, and thank dog for friends willing to transcribe as well, or I'd be more than cross-eyed right now). Until my work is done there'll be no real pithy post up here.
But let me give you some teasers of upcoming content:
An interview with Jason Blake of progressive rock trio Aziola Cry (their last EP, Ghost Conversarions, made my 2007 year end top 10)...
An interview with Gary Lauzon, bassist of Quebecois band The Rebel Wheel (debut album now out on 10T records)...
A mid-year look at albums that have been blowing me away (a bit early, but forewarned is forearmed, or something)...
I am working on setting up a few more interviews as well...but you'll get nothing, not even a tease...until they're confirmed.
Until then, sit back, relax, and listen to some Jade Warrior or Enid whilst enjoying a cold frosty drink of your choice!
GPS:
GPS regrettably announces that Ryo Okumoto is unable to perform at Rosfest. We are all upset, including Ryo who was greatly looking forward to this. This is unavoidably due to travel issues from his current home on the island of Fukue, Japan 800 miles from Tokyo. However, Erik Norlander keyboardist for Asia (featuring John Payne), Lana Lane and Rocket Scientists has kindly agreed to fill in for Ryo on this date.
The Rebel Wheel:
RoSfest announces The Rebel Wheel to play at a free after hours party at the Holiday Inn host hotel on Friday night after the Friday night showcase. The Rebel Wheel are a modern progressive-rock ensemble based out of Ottawa Ontario. With influences that range from Gentle Giant to Frank Zappa via Genesis and Rush, the band features a frenetic mix of rock aggression, odd-meter vamps, and turn-on-a-dime arrangements. Originally formed in 1991 as a fusion-based midi ensemble, the floating lineup has gradually solidified to the current five piece featuring Aaron Clark - Drums, Ken Kanwisher - Keyboards, Cello, David Campbell - Guitars, Vocals, Bass, Keyboards - Gary Lauzon - Bass, Bass Pedals, Keyboards and Angie MacIvor - Sax, Vocals, Keyboards. Since its inception, the music has focused more on modern and traditional Progressive Rock.
Look for them to play on May 2nd after the Friday night showcase at the Holiday Inn at the main bar.
