Warped And Liking It

Text and video by Mike Parker

It’s puzzling how greatness never arrives on the front porch. Instead, it often quietly unlocks the side door, does its magic and slips away without anyone being the wiser. That’s the way life often rocks and that’s the way the music business often rolls, especially when you’re a band touring the East Coast for the first time.

Take The Warped 45s, who have just finished their first East Coast tour. Last Friday, the country rockers parked their van in front of Backstreet Records, set-up on the sidewalk in front of the store for a For the Sake of the Song concert and played a scorcher of a set. Mandolin, slide guitar and a battered case full of hurtin’ songs, the five-piece band from Toronto performed a sublime concert that reminded me of summer nights around a bonfire and Merle Haggard on the stereo.

And the audience? Maybe six people, if you count the panhandler who hustled the band for spare change.

A Local Farewell To Jackson

Text and video by Mike Parker.

Last Friday, three local musicians performed at a tribute night  to the late Michael Jackson, the recently departed music celebrity and King of Pop, in front of an energetic and near-capacity crowd at Backstreet Records. The evening was part of the weekly For the Sake of the Song concert series held at the record store.

Jennifer Power Scott, Karen Palmer and Mike Biggar each took their turn at the stage in the corner of the record store, and performed their favourite songs from the Jackson catalogue. Yesterday, we gave you a video of Palmer singing Liberian Girl, the ninth and last single from the album Bad (1987).

At the time, we promised to release the videos of the other performers as well. True to our word, here is the second installment. Mike Biggar is the Communications Officer for the Bayview Credit Union. He is also one of the forty performers vying for the title of Saint John idol. But last Friday he set those duties aside to pay tribute to the late Michael Jackson.

King of Pop celebrated in song

Text and video by Mike Parker.

Michael Jackson, the American pop celebrity whose music touched the hearts of millions of fans, was honored in a memorial ceremony in Los Angeles today. Jackson, 50,  died June 25 from cardiac arrest.

Jackson is dead but his music and his legacy lives on in the hearts of many. Local fans of the King of Pop gathered at Backstreet Records last week to pay tribute to their idol and to celebrate his music, with singers Jennifer Power Scott, Mike Biggar and Karen Palmer performing songs from the Jackson songbook.  Serf City attended the evening and we videotaped the performances, which we will be releasing this week.

Back to Africa

Text and video by Mike Parker.

Faithful followers of Serf City are about to spot a familiar face: local singer Jen Jewett. The twenty-something musician popped into the Serf City studio last February to chat with host Mark Leger about her experiences living and working in Africa. Then Jewett returned to the website in March, when she performed at the weekly For the Sake of the Song concert series at Backstreet Records. We videotaped her performance and the clip quickly became a minor hit with our readers.

And now Jewett makes her third appearance on Serf City. Last week, For the Sake of the Song concert organizers Jeff Liberty and Gordie Tufts decided to host a night of inspiration and faith and Jewett was one of the first musicians they called. So naturally, we just had to dust off the camcorder and videotape her performance once again How could we not?

Holy rockers

Text and video by Mike Parker

As most of our readers know, Serf City has been taping the For the Sake of the Song concerts held at Backstreet Records each Friday evening. But concert organizers Gordie Tufts and Jeff Liberty have been busy prepping for this week’s tribute to American country icon John Townes Van Zandt. While this means that music fans will get an extra special evening this Friday, organizers had to cancel last week’s show.

So we did not have a new video for you this week. But fear not, music fans… we’ve dived deep into the Serf City archives and came up with this performance from the alt-country band The Schomberg Fair, who performed in Saint John last May. Call them the minnions of speed gospel. Call them alt-country. Call them bluegrass punk. Any way you label the band, one thing is certain – they’re a rockin’ good time.

A gentle awakening

Video and text by Mike Parker

Last Friday, local musician Andy Stevens performed at Backstreet Records, as one of the performers taking part in the weekly For the Sake of the Song concerts.

Stevens was the front man for the local prog rock band Born Under Satellites. But on Friday, he was performing solo to generate a bit of buzz for his upcoming CD Awakening, scheduled for release this fall. You can watch the musician perform the title track below.

Flipp’in for Filipowitsch

Thunder Bay folk musician Mike Filipowitsch performed at Backstreet Records last Friday. Filipowitsch is probably best known as one of the members from the jam band The Burt Neilson Band. But he has been busy carving out a solo career as an acoustic singer-songwriter and he was in town for a show at Boilerworks in Market Square.

For the love of a city

Text and video by Mike Parker

Last Friday, local musician Adam Mowery performed at Backstreet Records, as part of the weekly For the Sake of the Song concert series. In itself, this isn’t unusual. Many talented musicians have played at the Germain Street record store since owner Gordie Tufts started hosting the free concerts early in the new year.

Chords that bind

Text and video by Mike Parker

Last Friday, Toronto-based but Halifax-born singer Luke Doucet performed at Backstreet Records, as part of the weekly For the Sake of the Song concert series. The alt-country musician was in town for a show at the Blue Olive with Amelia Curran, and the two agreed to do a freebie for fans too busy to make the main gig.

An East Coast lullaby

Last Friday, Newfoundland-born singer/songwriter Amelia Curran performed at Backstreet Records, as part of the weekly For the Sake of the Song concert. Curran has been on a Canada-wide tour with label mate Luke Doucet and the two performed a full concert at the Blue Olive on Rothesay Avenue later in the evening.