Kora Woolsey: vocals, guitar.
Matte Robinson: trumpet, keyboard, vocals.
Jeannine Gallant: trombone, keyboard, vocals.
Andrew Demerchant: drums.
Scott Culligan: bass.
Live at the Taproom:
Squashed to the 74-minute limit with punchy Vetch action, Live at the Taproom is the result of overwhelming popular demand. Experience the sound of the five-strong band just the way you’ve asked for them at sell-out shows--complete with onstage banter and enthusiastic crowd huzzahs. Engineered by Mike Doherty, who has recently done live recording with Hot Toddy and Isaac and Blewett, Live at the Taproom features tracks recorded before a full live audience as well as private and live-off-the-floor recordings, all from the same weekend. The result is a high-energy performance with the control necessary for the quieter, sensitive tracks--superior sound quality all the way through. There are no overdubs or edits to the songs--the performances remain intact, heard just as they were at the recording session at Fredericton’s own The Taproom, who along with local brewery Picaroons helped fund the project. Longtime Vetch friend Tim Rideout brings his unique talents to bear on the finished product, having not only mastered the record but arranged a few guest appearances from familiar characters, who help provide as rounded-out a listening experience as you would get sitting back and taking in a show from start to finish. This is the first recorded performance of the Vetch that is Kora, Matte, Jeannine, Andrew, and Scott--it’s eclectic, it’s fun, and it’s hot off the presses.
Glenn Meisner
(producer, CBC Atlantic Airwaves, Natalie MacMaster, Dutch Mason):
. . . the interaction with the audience adds to the impact of the recording.
It is almost impossible to recreate this energy in the studio. The listener has the feeling that they are actually at the gig and can feel the heat from the stage.
All in all, a first rate recording from Vetch which should propel the group to the upper echelons of the Canadian Independent Music scene.
Bob Mersereau
Telegraph Journal
The disc captures the full-on fun of the five-piece, the celebration of the night on stage. There's no preciousness here, these are people that want to make music, have fun doing it and appreciate that there's an audience to join them as well. There's an even desire to create and to entertain. Old favorites such as Story of Three prove they still have a shelf-life, and new tunes show the tap is still wide-open.
Vetch the band, as opposed to Vetch the singer as we first were introduced, has a lot of new options. Two-part horns counter already jazzy melodies. Organ fills erupt out of nowhere, with classic sixties r'n'b hints. There's a recklessness that borders on collapse at times, but that bravado playing only adds excitement. It's live, folks.
I can't think of another band that sounds like Vetch. The combination of instruments, including the instrument of Kora's voice, is strong and one of a kind.
Biography
"Artists as talented as these, music as entertaining as this, and an album as utterly brilliant as Life is Not That Hard do not come around very often. Folks who have grown weary of the lacklustre music they are inundated with every day will welcome the extreme breath of fresh air that is Vetch." --Lisa Johnson (Ember Swift's press agent):
Vetch has never had much patience with the genre thing. Even when Vetch meant Kora Woolsey, it was difficult to come up with a category that fit the mix of folk, blues, and jazz that went into her songwriting. Then it became a duo with a trumpet player, then a trio when the trombone player joined. Since they've added bass and drums and bought a keyboard, the list of influences extends from dixie to country to funk to motown to power-pop to indie-rock. They even do a tango. Call it indie or call it alternative (the category in which the last album was nominated at the ECMAs)--call it whatever you want; the band's about music, and it puts on as good a show at a university pub as at a jazz festival.
Kora began as a singer-songwriter, touring with Juno-winner Julie Doiron, opening for Genie-winner Oh Susanna, Veda Hille and ECMA winners Sol. She collaborated with Isaac and Blewett, Brent Mason, and members of Hot Toddy, and she showcased at the Junos and the ECMAs. She comes from a family of folk musicians, received training in bebop vocals in Montreal, and has played a host of instruments. Matte Robinson originally joined her on trumpet, and later on keyboards and vocals. They clicked and morphed the band into a duo, showcasing at the Nashville New Music Conference, the ECMA sneak peek showcase, and Canadian Music Week. Their collaboration as a duo lives on in their work for film; they have three film projects under their collective belt, including the feature-length Original Music for the Film Margaret and Deirdre, and they've appeared on a CBC Roundup special about couples who work together. But both were eager to expand Vetch--they knew that there was still growing to do.
After Life is Not That Hard garnered national attention--resulting in feature interviews on the Roundup and Atlantic Airwaves, coverage on Definitely Not the Opera and an ECMA nomination for Alternative Recording of the Year--the band added Jeannine Gallant on trombone. She and Matte had played together for years in a funk band, gigs ranging from reggae to blues, and all three had been together in an experimental collective and a big band. A schooled trombone player and a good singer and keyboardist, Jeannine added the ingredient that really made the band cook--now it could be a horn section, or a guitar/keyboard/two vocalist setup, or three part harmony. The band that had opened for moe., Martin Tielli's rock tour and Matt Mays and El Torpedo could now also play jazz standards and music from the Great American Songbook.
Vetch expanded again in 2006 to include drummer Andrew Demerchant and bassist Scott Culligan. Andrew's specialties are jazz and heavy music; he and Matte played in a band over a decade ago, opening for Pluto, Madhat, Punchbuggy, and ECMA-winners Eric's Trip. Andrew, with his longtime punk act 283, has opened for the likes of Fugazi, and is also in demand among discerning jazz players in the Fredericton area, being the longtime drummer for The Thomists (a 20-piece big band in which all five Vetch members have played) and for multitudinous jazz combos. Scott Culligan is only nineteen years old, yet he already has to turn down gigs. Last count he was in four bands (plus combos), and is in high demand as a hot up-and-comer with an amazing ear and sensibility. Vetch is very pleased to have him on board.
Recently Vetch has toured with Harmony Trowbridge, played benefits at Fredericton's Playhouse alongside Casey Leblanc, and has been gearing up for a year of playing. Now that the Woolsey/Robinson recording project (mastered by Vetch friend and collaborator, Gemeaux-nominated Tim Rideout) is complete, the emphasis has been on composing new songs and booking gigs, and they have already started work on their second full-length studio album and a live album. Their performances are high-energy, engaging, entertaining, intelligent, and eminently danceable. They infuse their audiences with a love of music--not just rock or jazz, but pure music, of any and all genres. And that's what they're about: music.
There is the entertainment side of the live performance, though, and it comes from the band dynamic. They've known each other for years, cried, laughed, and argued together. Two were once married to each other, while Kora and Matte remain a healthy couple--fighting or kissing on stage, depending on how they feel at the time. Jeannine's expressively surreal; Andrew's taciturn and wry; Scott's favourite line is "I'm indifferent." Even though they sometimes argue, they're all serious about playing together, and they can read each other's minds.
Read more...