**Bnb needs a new Bio Contest** Win Tickets to BNB@The Opera House

[bouche]

phish are making it cool again. indie band will wear out. every label does....or do they?

[Jay Funk Dawg]

how's this:

http://www.nufunk.ca presents...

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

Burt Neilson Band (Toronto, ON)

The Fat Cats (Hamilton, ON)

plus Gratefully Deadicated Soundsystem

Opera House - 735 Queen St. E

Doors 9:30 PM Show 10:00 PM

$15 Advance / $20 at the door

Tickets available in Toronto at Soundscapes, Rotate This, Play De Record, Shanti Baba and in Hamilton at Where Heads Meet

Online at http://www.ticketweb.ca

There’s little room for debate: The Burt Neilson Band (BNB) are Canada’s pre-eminent jamband. A double edged label at best- most often used by rock writers as a pejorative and followed by adjectives like ‘wanky’ and descriptions of audience members ‘noodle dancing’- most bands still would die for the loyalty particularly in terms of live shows that this band has engendered in their over thirteen year career.

Having formed in Thunder Bay in 1996 as a seven piece band, Burt Neilson Band gradually pared down to an airtight, turn on a dime, four piece ensemble. With over 1,000 live shows under their belt they’ve honed their chops and sound beyond their youthful dabblings with crowd pleasing versions of rock, soul and funk grooves. While one can still count on their live show to delve at any moment into looser improvisations their songwriting has showed a steadfast growth in both style and substance.

The fact that journalists get hung up on the label doesn’t seem to matter at all to the band members influential group of peers- the fellow musicians they would have themselves judged by. Not surprisingly veteran sideman (vocals/keyboards/organ/accordion) Jeff Heisholt tours extensively with the Trews who will admit that when they were underage they’d sneak into BNB’s legendary shows in their hometown of Antigonish, NS. Bassist Jeremy Little (in addition to his own project Everything All The Time) was plucked for Jason Collett’s backing band when the remnants of Paso Mino scattered to the winds and Zeus was formed. Drummer Gavin Maguire likewise plays in a handful of ensembles ranging from their cohort Pete Elkas’ band to Rodriguez (formerly know as Bodega) to Dearly Beloved. Meanwhile guitarist and songwriter Mike Filipowitsch has been focusing on his solo material. In addition to completing a cross Canada solo acoustic tour, Mike has been in the studio with producer Chris Wardman (Tragically Hip, Randy Bachman ) on Billy Manzik's latest release "Alltogether Now" (2009), and continues to collaborate on projects with a variety of musicians forwarding his own solo career.

On Saturday December 19th the Burt Neilson Band carry on a tradition of reuniting for their extended fanbase with a holiday show accompanied by fellow travelers Fat Cats (another group with a storied connection to their fans) and the Gratefully Deadicated Sound System.

Artist links:

www.myspace.com/burtneilsonband

www.myspace.com/hamiltonfatcats

www.gratefullydeadicated.com

Facebook link:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=185003082682

Online Ticket Link

http://www.ticketweb.ca/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=763505

[bouche]

here's your poster-boy photo....

[Velvet]

I, for one, wish jambands would call themselves jambands.

[edger]

I, for one, wish jambands would call themselves jambands.

Yup. I get tired of this tired debate.

Otherwise bio looks good.

[zero]

Yeah I like the small edits Jay and I'm glad you added the stuff about Mike's projects, I didn't know about that. And I think it's totally noble being a teacher or becoming one indie cred or no. I wanted to add a whole paragraph that listed the members of every band they've ever stayed up with to the blistering hours of the morning but it's basically impossible and would require some sort of flow chart of the Toronto music scene including Broken Social Scene, Constantines, Sea Snakes, Russian Futurists and 18 other bands.

As far as the double edged blah blah. Of course it's a damned if you do damned if you don't thing. It sort of has to be mentioned and hopefully deflected. I was talking to nero Jay elsewhere and he was expressing his challenge with the label too, I said jambands are like pornography - they're hard to define but you know one if you see them. His response was 'making enjoyment of both problematic'.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

this'd give guitarzan some indie cred: the porn flick equivalent of a silent film piano player– him noodling away on his guitar in a cinema that's playing a porn film with the sound down

possible with Booche using a microphone to fill in the spoken/verbal parts

the only challenge would be to keep Gentlemonkey out of the back rows

[Booche]

I can hear him fapping from here!

[gentlemonkey]

oh geeez!

i'd go see that show... (licks chops while rubbing hands together)

[bouche]

oh geeez!

i'd go see that show... (licks chops while rubbing hands together)

I just heard all the ladies on the board go "EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!" and one "HURRAH!!!" from Large Marge

[p.p.]

the "jamband" thing is played out for sure...I will say this in all honesty, it is also impossible to escape

Especially when your main source of promotion/publicity is on a website called "jambands.ca"

I, for one, wish jambands would call themselves jambands.

Amen!!!

Also, I love it that the very first person to ever criticize or say something negative about the band on the internet is now writing the bio. Think of the irony!

It's good though. Good work.

Have fun at the show everybody!!!

[p.p.]

On the topic of BNB, here's some nostalgia for ya...... If my memory serves me correct, This weekend (I think Dec. 6th), 13 years ago (1996?), marks the first time that BNB left Thunder Bay to play in Toronto at the Opera House where the Fat Cat's had graciously welcomed us to be their opening act.

[zero]

I love it that the very first person to ever criticize or say something negative about the band on the internet is now writing the bio.

I think you're mistaking healthy engagement with blithe acceptance.

[GUITARZAN]

I would have to agree with healthy engagement..

[bouche]

While this site has a good history of the evolution and devolution of the burt neilson band via the forums (there is 9 YEARS of canadian jambands content right here folks!), I love the content history of BNB thanks to the archive.

.... and you thought we were bitches

So what's the deal with the Burt Neilson Band? It seems a fairly innocuous comment I made on Phishsanctuary.com has sparked a raging debate as to the state of Canada's Finest. We at Northern Heads were shocked a few weeks back to see the 'discussion board Zealots' on Phishsanctuary.com clamp down on an honest head who thought "there hasn't really been much of an effort to keep shows unique and interesting and it's really starting to show. Some nights you can really tell they are just going throught the motions." After a spate of anti-honesty comments Jeff Heisholt finally chimed in and conceeded they were surprised no one had called them on it sooner (in this case the lack of variation in their setlists). Early reports had been coming in from those who attended their Friday night gig for the Pop Explosion that the band was in full 'rockstar' mode.

Our new correspondent Zeno's Paradox reports that they barely made eye contact throughout the first set and that the hoop earrings crowd were working to rule, not dancing unless the boys kicked Papa Was A Rolling Stone. Apparently Zeno was mistaken as Darryn 'Hundermug' Marcus Burt Neilson's Chief Groupie has clarified - Papa was played for "two of the hardcores who have seen shows all across the country over the last year". Hardcores like Darryn Marcus that is.

We're going to get the full report as to exactly what went down Friday (check out the setlist from the last couple of shows- both look sick). We'll bring you all of the bitchy comments everybody's been making since I opened my trap. We'll bring you all of Burt's upcoming dates- which is one. We'll help get the word out about their Halloween show at Alfie's in Kingston. Hell we'll even suck their dicks. Because they are the coolest mo fos on the planet. The Northern Heads love the Burt Neilson Band. They can do no wrong in our eyes. They could molest small woodland creatures in their spare time and we would be cool with that. Jeff could go out on the stroll hiding the candy with a bunch of Tranny hookers and we would be cool with his lifestyle choice. Because again they are the greatest Jamband that has ever graced Canadian soil and god bless us they're our native sons.

[ed.

To be completely unsarcastic for a moment we should say the Northern Heads are incredibly big fans of Burt Neilson. Pulling out Torn and Frayed for an encore makes them #1 in our books as far as classy covers goes. We are not however fans of overly sensitive sots that can't take a little ribbing about their pet band.]

{I don't give a fuck about any of you hippy chumps!.abe)

[GUITARZAN]

like i said healthy engagement

[Jay Funk Dawg]

RIP NORTHERN-HEADS!

[bouche]

RIP NORTHERN-HEADS!

I remember when I first discovered that site and wondered how many people were behind it. Did we ever learn who Abe was?

[GUITARZAN]

ha ha me to, I used to picture this really busy,smokey 70's style newsroom...everyone running around frantically trying to pin down the latest on Canadian Jam news...i a pretty sure;however, that is was simply luke

[Davey Boy 2.0]

...and that's not to say that it wasn't a "really busy,smokey 70's style newsroom...everyone running around frantically trying to pin down the latest on Canadian Jam news..."

despite it likely being "simply luke"

[AD]

If yer gonna use the piece for a press release and bio, I don't feel all that guilty in pointing out some very small typos that could be easily fixed.

1. Space in 'accordion';

2. Space in between Randy Bachman and the end bracket;

3. Billy Manzik's record is called 'AllTogetherNow'

[zero]

{I don't give a fuÇk about any of you hippy chumps!.abe)

As the above quip points out Northern Heads really was me and my dear friend Abe Robins from Lemoncester, MA (the Plastics capital of at very least Massacheusetts). I guess understandably, perhaps because his name was actually Abe and he was a bluntly honest Abe there was some speculation that he did not in fact exist. In fact when we first met Dave, Jay and Shane as nero at Evolve and I turned to introduce them to Abe they were genuinely perplexed: "Oh, we thought he was a figment of your imagination". I highly doubt he follows anything in these parts but having not talked in years he just posted this on my facebook wall:

Wow B N B they are the shit have an awesome time ---Silver Backed Gorrila----

Admittedly explaining the full lore of the Silver Backed Gorilla and what it meant to us at the time would be very difficult at best.

[zero]

It is funny to think of that time though. We really did take a lot of shit over saying some, well some of it is fucking hilarious in hindsight (Heisholt hiding the candy on the tranny stroll and applauding his lifestyle choice for instance), pretty innocuous stuff. It was funny too cause the guy who actually wrote that 'review' of a show at the Attic (who we called Zeno's Paradox a reference to the presocratic philosophers paradox) in Halifax was a music student and a fan of Burt Neilson and just thought the show was a little 'meh'. I wrote all the trash talk afterwards but it really was this young smart music student who wrote it.

And in hindsight while the Burt guys would have perceived lots of doldrums and troughs amid the swells of their performing careers I would guess that was probably actually a challenging time. If I'm not mistaken it was not long before they had to make the hard decision to part with Kornbloom and go it as a four piece (maybe I'm wrong about the timing though). As difficult as that was of course it was an important and healthy transition.

Amidst this whole conversation though it goes without saying that for I guess university going kids of a certain age and generation (or probably a generation and a half) Burt Neilson really was a big deal. When they came through town, especially on the coast say in Halifax, it was always an epic night and the fodder of all sorts of memories. Honestly the only thing I can compare it to was the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir a few years earlier.

[Jay Funk Dawg]

Thanks for those typo clarifications AD, the spaces happened by just dropping the text in the forum.

Abe was a real person and those Northern Heads times were so funny - I think the whole idea was to get people talking and stirring up the scene and I think although some people didn't get the sarcasm (some of it biting) the idea was really to help propel the scene by criticizing it.

Abe later ended up in a very bad accident, not sure the whole story - but from what I heard he spent at least a month in the hospital recovering...

[zero]

Yeah it's true Abe's accident was awful. He fucking hated Nova Scotia in a lot of ways and just wanted to get back to making good money in Mass, all his friends and the browness that is Ween. He finally got back and was ripping down a country road, friend driving and they hit a moose. From what I can remember the top of car peeled back like a sardine can. At the roadside, thrown from the vehicle Abe told me he said to the ambulance attendants: 'Hit by a Moose!' (imitating Trey's 'hit by a comet' from Sugarbush '94). He maintained his grim humour even in the grimmest times.