Later this month, The Banff Centre will welcome three of Canada’s top emerging young bands — Vancouver’s Gigi, Ohbijou from Toronto, and The Adam Brown from Montreal. They’ll be in Banff for a unique opportunity to rehearse, write and record new work, perform, and mix with recording engineers, faculty, and other young musicians as part of the first-ever Banff Indie Band Residency.
“The Indie scene in Canada is one of remarkable creativity and growth,” says Barry Shiffman, the Centre’s director of music programs. “The Banff Centre has a long history as a place of leadership in the support of new creative work in various genres. The three bands invited to this residency join a rich community of artists at the Centre, and I look forward to seeing these three bands and celebrated faculty contribute to an ever richer campus experience.”
The bands will work directly with recording engineers and producers including Los Angeles-based producer Tony Berg, who has produced albums by artists including The Replacements, Public Image Ltd., and Phantom Planet; Josh Dolgin whose intricately crafted Yiddish rap albums are recorded under the name Socalled; and Montreal-based musician and recording engineer Howard Bilerman, whose hotel2tango studio has worked with independent artists including The Arcade Fire, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Vic Chesnutt.
The residency will be strongly supported by the Centre’s Audio department. “In addition to the invited guest producers, the audio program is thrilled to bring back recording engineer Shawn Everett, an alumni of the audio program for this two-week residency,” says Theresa Leonard, director of Audio programs. “Shawn works closely in L.A. with producer Tony Berg, and he’s an example of the success of our audio program. He has a wealth of new experience to bring back to the studios for this exciting residency.”
About the bands
The bands chosen by faculty and directors for this first-ever program were selected based on recent recordings, professional and performing experience, and planned goals for the two-week residency. Ohbijou is a seven-member group based in Toronto with one EP and two albums already released. They have toured across Canada, have recorded with CBC 3, and have a third album in the works for release in this fall.
Montreal’s Adam Brown, Shawn Petsche, Matthew Foster, and Marc-Andé Grondin make up The Adam Brown. With one album and one EP recorded, they have a third recording, Lightnin’ Lightnin’ planned for this year. Winners of the award for most promising local songwriters at the 2006 Montreal Independent Music Initiative Awards, The Adam Brown has contributed multiple songs to the soundtracks of the film C.R.A.Z.Y. and the television show “Naked Josh.”
Based in Vancouver, the music collective Gigi has never performed live, but is self-described as “an ambitious experiment in the creation of pop music.” Made up of producer and engineer Colin Stewart, singer/songwriter Nick Krgovich, and more than 15 singers and musicians playing instruments including pianos, organs, bassoons, drums, electric guitars, and cellos, Gigi has recorded a series of throwback tracks that recall the best of Phil Spector, and the early denizens of the Brill Building.
“Being avid amateur music historians and fans of albums recorded in isolation (The Band’s Music from Big Pink) and in collaborative settings (Change of Heart’s Smile), we hope that our own band can benefit from similar environments,” The Adam Brown’s Shawn Petsche says about the residency. “Whether this creative environment vastly affects our creative process and output or not, we’re sure that the experience will seep its way into our own reflective rock n’ roll.”
Running February 25 to March 9, the residency will include two showcase public performances at Wild Bill’s Saloon in Banff March 2 and March 9. Each band will also be recorded and broadcast by CBC Radio Two.
The Banff Indie Band Residency is generously supported by the SOCAN Foundation and presenting partner Wild Bill’s Saloon.