A marathon studio session with Mike Biggar

Mike Biggar’s music career started at the age of six when he was propped up on piano bench behind a church pulpit, and told to belt out a tune for the assembled congregation. Three decades later, the Rothesay singer-songwriter has released the EP, ‘Mike Biggar and The Big Breakfast Special’, and is looking forward to a showcase event at the East Coast Music Awards in Sydney, Nova Scotia, in March 2010.

Saturday night songwriters’ circle

By Mark Leger

A songwriters’ circle is a rare treat that’s usually part of music awards weeks, and something you get to enjoy only if you happen to live in or travel to the host town. So don’t pass up the opportunity to attend The Canadian Songbook performance Saturday night at the Louis Vermeersch Theatre in the north end.

The line-up is truly impressive. Two of them are children of Canadian music legends, and great singer-songwriters in their own right. Catherine MacLellan is the daughter of the late Gene MacLellan, who wrote such classic songs as Snowbird and Put Your Hand in the Hand. Nathan Rogers is the son of Stan Rogers.

The other two performers are veteran Canadian singer-songwriters Bernie Bentall and Murray MacLauchlin. (One of his tunes was part of the soundtrack of my youth: ‘Try Walkin Away’. You can hear it on his myspace page.)

On Thursday afternoon, I chatted with Catherine MacLellan before her show at The Playhouse. We aired that interview on this week’s edition of Serf City. She talks about her music, the magic of songwriters’ circles, her family and her father. You can listen to the interview here.

The South End has the bear necessities

The following commentary kicked off the October 8th edition of ‘Serf City’. ECMA award-winner Dave Gunning was our guest this week. He was in town touring his new album, ‘We’re all leaving’. The full broadcast can be heard here.

By Mark Leger

I realized this week that I’m entering the Baby Bear phase of my life. You remember Golilocks and the Three Bears. She stumbled upon their house in the woods and wanted to take a nap. Papa Bear’s bed was too hard and Mama Bear’s was too soft, but Baby Bear’s was just right.

Growing up, I fancied myself a man of extremes. Either I was going to live in a big, bustling city or a really small town. No mediocre middle ground, which for me meant the suburbs. Now, I’m not about to move to one of Saint John’s bedroom communities, though I’ve softened my views over the years and no longer think of them as “mediocre middle grounds.”

I’m talking about making peace with the city centre of Saint John. I no longer long for it to be big and bustling like New York or Toronto, or even Halifax. I’m actually embracing its small-town character.

It’s not too big, it’s not too small. It’s just right.

Mainville releases ‘Out of Nowhere’

In March we interviewed local singer-songwriter Stephanie Mainville about her upcoming album, and she also played some tunes live in studio. Well, that upcoming album, called Out of Nowhere, is now out and available at Backstreet Records in Saint John and Noah’s Ark in Halifax. It’s also available online at Mainville’s website. Listen to the broadcast of our interview with her here.

Autumn’s Here

The following commentary kicked off the September 24th edition of ‘Serf City’. Listen to the full broadcast here.

By Mark Leger

I always get this queasy, unsettled feeling when fall starts to set in at the end of August. The feeling comes with the fall winds and cicadas, you know, those insects that make that buzzing sound beginning in mid-August. A character in Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes thinks of them as ancestors speaking to her from beyond the grave.

Not to overstate it too much, but sometime the feeling I have is bit like I’m sick to my stomach; other times it’s like I’m on the verge of tears, sentimental about another summer season gone by.

My family goes to a cottage in Maine in late August, and it always stirs a mixture of emotions in me. On the one hand, it’s quite wonderful. It’s one of the times of the year we all get together (the other being Christmas) and spend a lot of concentrated time together – drinking coffee and chatting on the porch overlooking the lake, or eating dinners together as the sun sets.

On the other hand, there’s also a mournful quality to it. Sometimes, I have this powerful sense of the fleeting and precious nature of time; I count the minutes as they pass with an eye toward heading home and taking on the fall.

Be (employed) in this place

The following commentary kicked off the September 17 edition of ‘Serf City’. Listen to the full broadcast here.

By Mark Leger

This is the first fall edition of the show after our extended summer break. And what a lovely September summer evening it is in New Brunswick…a great time to Be In This Place.

Unless, of course, you’re an unemployed tradesperson hoping to get some work on the LNG project out in Red Head. They staged public protests this week because people were brought in from Alberta to work at the LNG plant. Skilled tradespeople here were overlooked, they say, in favour of temporary workers from outside the city.

By the way, did you notice I slipped in that reference to New Brunswick’s new slogan, the one that now appears on our license plates – Be In This Place. It’s part of the campaign to entice expatriate New Brunswickers to move back home – to become part of the 21st century workforce that will help revitalize the province’s economy and reverse our population decline.

Young People Plucking

Text and video by Mike Parker.

It’s almost the start of another school year and that can only mean one thing – one last chance to celebrate summer!

And what better way to mark the end of  the holidays than with the infectious tunes of  The Belle Comedians. Hailing principally from the salty town of St. Andrews, the five member band is a new collective to the province’s music scene. But one we hope to see return to the Port City.

FTSOTS: Lincoln Ortega

Video and text by Mike Parker

Country crooner Lincoln Ortega isn’t your typical Port City musician. In a city filled with nouveau hippies, wannabe hipsters and faux Irish warblers, Ortega has the guts to unabashedly wear his heart on his sleeve, or to be more precise, on his cowboy hat.

Last week, Ortega dropped by Backstreet Records to perform his signature set of  heart break, whiskey fueled country tunes as part of the For The Sake Of The Song concert series. Serf City was at the store and we recorded the musician as he performed for a small handful of faithful fans and curious shoopers.

Glad To Be Got Again

Text and video by Mike Parker

Last Friday evening, as the sun set on another work week, the Halifax band The Got To Get Gots performed at Backstreet Records.

The show was part of the weekly For The Sake Of The Song concert series and it marked the second time that the seven-piece collective performed on Germain Street. The first time was for Record Store Day last fall, when they had the crowd of indie kids and old fogeys dancing in the street. At the time, Mark, Eleanor, Brad, Adam, Haley, Rachael and Robbie promised to return and now – thankfully – they have made good.

Direct To The Point

No Direct Route
By Clyde A. Wray

There’s
no direct route
to happiness
to joy
life is full of lifts
and many a down
there’s no direct route
no road
without twist and turns
no path
without smooth or curved stones
to stumble
twist your ankle on
no freeway without accidents
or mishaps
there’s no super highway
no overhead passes
to get you
to the nearest exit
to get you to a life
full of only joy
laughter
there’s no secondary road
without getting a flat
but you can always get it pumped up
as you crawl along
just keep moving
you’ll get to joy
but you’ve got to keep moving
down the road
even if life is being deliberately slow

Clyde A. Wray
August 8, 2009
All Rights Reserved

Clyde A. is a poet and playwright seeking happiness in the uptown. If you enjoyed this poem, check out his website.