From his start in high school band, Thrush Hermit, through his solo work and records with The Emergency, to his current project, Scrappy Happiness, Joel Plaskett has always found a way to expand his musical horizons and to challenge himself and his audiences.
For those who wondered how Plaskett could follow-up the success of his triple record Three, Scrappy Happiness is the answer. While Three was ambitious, Scrappy Happiness is both ambitious and innovative. The project harkens back to a time when music went from studio to radio to audience in an immediate way – without months of calculation and set up. Plaskett and The Emergency will record and digitally release a song a week for 10 weeks – all the while, documenting the process with vlogs, blogs and tweets. Two weeks after they’re finished, The Joel Plaskett Emergency will head out to begin a Canadian tour.
But recording and touring his own music is only one of Plaskett’s passions. In 2008, he launched a new label, New Scotland Records, and has already released albums by Steve Poltz, Al Tuck, Peter Elkas and Emergency drummer Dave Marsh. Plaskett has also just finished producing a New Scotland Records 7″ vinyl single series, which includes artists, such as Jeremy Fisher, Shotgun Jimmie and Ana Egge. In 2010, Plaskett compiled and released the Thrush Hermit Box Set (Complete Recordings) to coincide with a sold-out Hermit reunion tour. He is also an award-winning producer with recent credits that include David Myles Turn Time Off and Sarah Slean’s Land from her new double-disc release Land & Sea.
Whether, scrappy or polished, The Seahorse Tavern or Massey Hall, happiness for Joel Plaskett is a life making music.
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