kc Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 Their last show with Diesel Dog rocked! Cape Breton's Slowcoaster is coming back to Pepper Jack's Wednesday, February 23rd. Very well worth the mid-week show. www.houseofrock.ca Slowcoaster Coming from the island of Cape Breton, Slowcoaster offers something different from the traditional Celtic tunes for which the area has become so well known - something which reflects another side of the island's music scene. The band represents a younger generation who has grown up with the honesty and sense of tradition so evident in the Celtic scene, but also with the 1960s pop and country records of their parents, the flashy sounds and visuals of Much Music, and the unique, original sounds coming from the vibrant local underground scene. This mish-mash of influence and style has produced irresistibly catchy songs which are both honestly written and undeniably danceable. The music is a fusion of funk and reggae, with hints of rock, jazz, hip-hop and even afro-Cuban rythyms forming a distinctively original sound. Slowcoaster started to take shape in November 1999 when singing, song-writing, guitarist Steven MacDougall and drummer Devon Strang returned home to Cape Breton Island from Vancouver, British Columbia and hooked up with Mike LeLievre, a well-traveled local guitar player who took to playing bass guitar like it was his birthright. MacDougall brought with him a lifetime of tales which came to life in his songs. LeLievre and Strang provided a solid and innovative rhythm section when driving MacDougall's epic guitar and vocal melodies, sometimes taking center stage during sparse ballads, hip-hop influenced funk, or the nearing-the-edge-of-insanity of some nonsensical scrum song. Lelievre's innovative grooves blend with MacDougall's guitar work and vocals weaving complex counterpoint melodies that are the fruits of inspiration, intuition and a whole lot of attention. In the Summer of 2002, percussionist Darren Gallop joined Strang and set into motion another interweaving duo, both offsetting and supporting the strings. Congas accentuate syncopated funk-leaning songs and add a well-considered fullness to an already rich sound. Slowcoaster has performed hundreds of shows in their hometown of Sydney, NS and throughout the Atlantic Provinces, building a fan-base by touring constantly and selling self-produced recordings from the stage. During the summer of 2002, a compilation of songs from their first album Jody's Garden and their second album Volume II replaced those recordings and became known as Leaves, as in "the one with the leaves on the cover". The band is currently working on their debut full-length recording which they expect to be ready by Spring 2004. Recently the band has been nominated for two East Coast Music Awards: "Best New Group" and "Alternative Recording of the Year" and singer Steven MacDougall will represent the Maritime Provinces in the 16th Annual National Songwriting Competition after winning the Regional portion of the contest for his song "Spanish Bay"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradm Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 Somebody in Hamilton, please tape this! Tapes of Slowcoaster shows are rare finds indeed, and we need more of them. I hope to be taping their Feb. 26 Mavericks show, and it'd be great to get as much of a SoOn run as possible. Aloha, Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esau Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 Brad,I will make it down with my laptop to record this,no way can I miss getting to this one. Last time SloCo hit the stage at PJC it was a non stop frenzy of rockin/jammin/out of control music from the first second to the last.... Right on kc,great call bringing these boys back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Funk Dawg Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 Slowcoaster rulez! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Sweet Esau, cheers to you! I'll be seeing a full Slowcoaster show for the first time on the 26th, I can't wait. People are saying good things... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esau Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 You won't be disappointed Del,I figured you'll dig em.Loads of energy....loads! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Sweet. Sloth recommends them pretty highly, and I dig most of what he's into (Ween and Bisco I'm not sold on yet...). Good to hear another trusted source talking them up. I'll definately check it out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisley Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 great band... left me in Hamilton last time with their sound guy playin celtic accordian (the small ones) and their bass player rockin the guitar to Shady Grove/Celtic wonder songs on the porch at 9 am... beautifullife long fan here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave-O Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Slowcoaster is great, they've got a bit of a Sublime-Manu Chao thing going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Funk Dawg Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 in Toronto we have them playing with Hamilton's Flatt Street. I totally agree with the Sublime/Manu Chao influences... But I also hear a Canadian-indie rock sound like Victoria's HOT HOT HEAT and also that dancy-indie rock a la Franz Ferdinan. These guys have been going for a long time, and have turned out to be a very solid quartet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchoulia Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Just how slow *is* this coaster? It is it, like, scary slow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backbacon Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Somebody in Hamilton, please tape this! Tapes of Slowcoaster shows are rare finds indeed, and we need more of them. I hope to be taping their Feb. 26 Mavericks show, and it'd be great to get as much of a SoOn run as possible. Aloha, Brad I taped the last show when they were in Hamilton a while back. (Date of that show, anyone?) THe seamless sets one with Diesel Dog. From the soundboard. I'll put it onto cd in the next couple weeks sometime and then maybe I can send a copy to someone who can put it up on the 'internet.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazlo Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 It had to be on a fu©kin' wednesday Kenny? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted February 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 bump it like it's hot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kookycanooky Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 yea! pepper jack cafe is the shizzzle. faty cats were amazing on saturday. i saw coaster in january. very very very looking forward to wednesday.... why is it listed as thursday on jambase? peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamo Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Saw Slowcoaster in Halifax on the 12th and enjoyed the show very much. They were a hell of a lot of fun! If you're into musical exploration from a "jamband", then this doesn't quite do it, but they certainly know how to lay it down and keep your head bobbing the whole time. This is better drinkin' music than smokin' music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisley Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 why is it listed as thursday on jambase? think they were originally booked for Thurs but there was a mixup so Wednesday it is yeah, not what I'd call a jamband at all but definately an awesome original band who put on a super sweet show see ya's there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazlo Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 fu©kin' wednesday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted February 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Hurray, it's wednesday, the new saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esau Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Well its not lookin to good for me being there,trying to track down some $$ owed to me and to no avail,so I relunctantly may have to pass tonight....too bad.Hope someone brings out some recording gear... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGoodRev Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 That's rough Esau, can't count how many times I've been in that boat. If I wasn't just slipping this show in to the budget tonight I'd gladly get your cover, but the Rev is near the bottom of the collection plate himself, if you dig. Next time. Speaking of Wednesday being Saturday, every day is Saturday during Reading Week. The only responsibility I've had this week is to show up at work everyday...at 4pm. I'll be there tonight, with a bit of a crew in tow, including kooky canooky, visiting the Hammer from Halifax. Should be a good time, looking forward to seeing Slowcoaster for the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGoodRev Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 p.s. re: taping, I might have it covered. My roomate used to tape a lot and sort of got out of it over the past few months, but I think all his gear is still around and in working order...I'll see what I can do. Don't know if we can be bothered to pull the mics out, but a soundboard grab might be doable. I'll let y'all know tomorrow I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esau Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Thanks for the offer Rev its much appreciated but not necessary.Looks like I may (about 25% chance) be able to borrow a few bucks,which is really a drag given I shouldn't have to. Just waiting on the doctors to finish their assments on my back and other medical issues and hopefully going back to a full time work week within the next month.Two more tests to do,one next week and the last in march 15..(fingers crossed) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGoodRev Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Right on, fingers crossed here for ya too bud. Hope to see you tonight if it's feasable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now