CANOE.CA: The Sadies team with Gord Downie

My how times flies….

The Sadies team with Gord Downie

By FISH GRIWKOWSKY – Sun Media

Given the Sadies secret status as one of the worlds wickedest bands – country, rock or otherwise – it was vaguely surprising to find them unscheduled on the mainstage at Folk Fest double-oh-eight.

But shucks – its just as easy not to complain right?, given their time among us has been subsequently partitioned throughout the weekend – including a gratifying whopper Canadiana session tonight at 7:30 p.m. on Stage 1, the eastern border of New Folkland.

The brothers Travis and Dallas Good call from between Canmore and Calgary, intending fully to have pulled up into town last night to sample our party culture once again. Their persistent friendliness has them in some spectacular collaborations coming up, but just read on …

SUN MEDIA: “New Seasons was one of my favourites last year. Can you tell me a little about what Gary Jayhawks Louris brought into the studio? Dudes a pro playa, obviously.”

TRAVIS GOOD: “He helped from the ground up. He helped with the writing, the arranging. Vocally, he really pushed us. He thinks of things Ive never really thought of when I sing. And he was there, looking over our shoulder, reading what we were writing.”

SUN MEDIA: “What would he suggest with your singing?”

TRAVIS: “Oh, to do another take. Laughs hard. In the earlier records, we would do a couple takes and Id say, Well, thats what I sound like. If its squawky, thats my voice. But hed get us to do it 10 times, a bit of a slave-driver, that man. For me the vocals are the hardest thing, so its the first thing I want to abandon … get right to the guitar as quick as I can.”

SUN MEDIA: “Eat your vegetables so you can have dessert.”

TRAVIS: “Yeah, exactly.”

SUN MEDIA: “You guys are obsessive collaborators – is there anything you can let out of the bag coming up youre working on?”

TRAVIS: “Oh, for sure We just did a thing with Garth Hudson and Mary Margaret OHara, a Band tribute record Garths throwing together. All Canadians, hes producing and playing on it. We just finished a country record with John Doe. And weve been chipping away recording with Gord Downie. Like with Gary Louris, weve been talking about how, Wouldnt it be nice if we did something one day? Weve been in the studio and done some work since. We did a couple songs thatll be on a compilation for the Waterkeeper Foundation.”

SUN MEDIA: “Part of making music together is friendship – you looking forward to hanging out with some musicians at the Folk Fest, onstage, backstage?”

TRAVIS: “Sexsmith should be pretty easy. Weve talked about doing stuff with him, too. So you never know. Laughs. We met Robyn Hitchcock at one of those and it went really good, we ended up recording with him. Same with Jim White. It can go either way, really good or really bad.”

SUN MEDIA: “As long as everyones joining in, its great.”

TRAVIS: “Yeah, I dont like the circle, going around, staring at the sun while a persons doing a solo thing. Not my bag. Hey, you want to talk to Dallas a bit?

SUN MEDIA: “If I have to. Just kidding – yeah. Extended phone rumbling. Dallas, whats the new album looking like?”

DALLAS: “Weve got a bunch of songs weve been working on with Gary, but I dont think well get a chance to revisit them until December. But considering the album that were working on with Gord is going to be original and with an equal amount of input, we dont want to sell anything short there.

“Even though we have three records on the go right now, not including our own or the stuff we did with Neko Case on her upcoming album, I still like to think of everything one project at a time. Last month in particular I was working on four separate projects simultaneously. Ive felt a little overwhelmed lately, because I do all the mixing, too. But Im a bully with that. But whatever. Dont cry for me, Im already dead. I dug my own grave and someday Ill gladly get to lie in it.”

The Sadies play tonight; tomorrow 1 p.m. on Stage 1 and 5 p.m. on Stage 2; finally, 11 a.m. Sunday on Stage 6.

Stars visit Lake Louise in support of clean water charity event

By LISA WILTON, SUN MEDIA

Sharon Witcombe had to take a second look to make sure she wasn’t seeing things when Alec Baldwin skiied past her.

“It was strange because the other night, my husband and I had just been talking about how funny the show 30 Rock is and suddenly Alec Baldwin’s standing two feet away from us,” said Witcombe.

The Surrey, B.C., native had finished a run at Lake Louise Ski Resort when she spotted the actor, but admitted she was too starstruck to say anything him.

“I would have just put my foot in my mouth,” she said with a laugh.

Baldwin was participating in the final day of this year’s Waterkeeper Alliance Sports Invitational and Fundraiser, which began on Thursday at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.

The 50-year-old star of such films as Glengarry Glen Ross, The Departed and the critically acclaimed TV comedy 30 Rock competed in a giant slalom race along with such celebrities as ER star Juliana Margulies, former Beverly Hills 90210 actor Ian Ziering, Olympic gold medalist Al Joyner, actor-director Chad Lowe and Sopranos wiseguy Joe Pantoliano.

Baldwin was in good spirits and hammed it up in front of his fellow competitors and an Entertainment Tonight camera crew.

He was recently named best actor in a comedy series at the 2009 Golden Globe Awards and told the media that the show had been picked up for another season.

“We’re really happy about it,” he said. “It feels great.”

The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie was scheduled to compete in yesterday’s slalom race but cancelled because of a hockey-related injury he sustained on Thursday night.

Downie was hit in the face with a puck and received a couple of stitches to close the wound near his eye.

A significant portion of the funds raised from this weekend’s charity event will go towards Waterkeeper initiatives in Canada.

“I don’t know how the economy will effect this year’s fundraiser,” said organizer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “But we’ll probably raise about a million dollars.”

The non-profit Waterkeeper Alliance was founded by Kennedy in 1999 as an umbrella organization to give scientific, legal and policy support to Riverkeeper, Baykeeper and Soundkeeper environmental associations. For more information visit http://www.waterkeeper.org

CANOE.CA: The Sadies team with Gord Downie

The Sadies team with Gord Downie

By FISH GRIWKOWSKY – Sun Media

Given the Sadies secret status as one of the worlds wickedest bands – country, rock or otherwise – it was vaguely surprising to find them unscheduled on the mainstage at Folk Fest double-oh-eight.

But shucks – its just as easy not to complain right?, given their time among us has been subsequently partitioned throughout the weekend – including a gratifying whopper Canadiana session tonight at 7:30 p.m. on Stage 1, the eastern border of New Folkland.

The brothers Travis and Dallas Good call from between Canmore and Calgary, intending fully to have pulled up into town last night to sample our party culture once again. Their persistent friendliness has them in some spectacular collaborations coming up, but just read on …

SUN MEDIA: “New Seasons was one of my favourites last year. Can you tell me a little about what Gary Jayhawks Louris brought into the studio? Dudes a pro playa, obviously.”

TRAVIS GOOD: “He helped from the ground up. He helped with the writing, the arranging. Vocally, he really pushed us. He thinks of things Ive never really thought of when I sing. And he was there, looking over our shoulder, reading what we were writing.”

SUN MEDIA: “What would he suggest with your singing?”

TRAVIS: “Oh, to do another take. Laughs hard. In the earlier records, we would do a couple takes and Id say, Well, thats what I sound like. If its squawky, thats my voice. But hed get us to do it 10 times, a bit of a slave-driver, that man. For me the vocals are the hardest thing, so its the first thing I want to abandon … get right to the guitar as quick as I can.”

SUN MEDIA: “Eat your vegetables so you can have dessert.”

TRAVIS: “Yeah, exactly.”

SUN MEDIA: “You guys are obsessive collaborators – is there anything you can let out of the bag coming up youre working on?”

TRAVIS: “Oh, for sure We just did a thing with Garth Hudson and Mary Margaret OHara, a Band tribute record Garths throwing together. All Canadians, hes producing and playing on it. We just finished a country record with John Doe. And weve been chipping away recording with Gord Downie. Like with Gary Louris, weve been talking about how, Wouldnt it be nice if we did something one day? We’ve been in the studio and done some work since. We did a couple songs thatll be on a compilation for the Waterkeeper Foundation.”

SUN MEDIA: “Part of making music together is friendship – you looking forward to hanging out with some musicians at the Folk Fest, onstage, backstage?”

TRAVIS: “Sexsmith should be pretty easy. Weve talked about doing stuff with him, too. So you never know. Laughs. We met Robyn Hitchcock at one of those and it went really good, we ended up recording with him. Same with Jim White. It can go either way, really good or really bad.”

SUN MEDIA: “As long as everyones joining in, its great.”

TRAVIS: “Yeah, I dont like the circle, going around, staring at the sun while a persons doing a solo thing. Not my bag. Hey, you want to talk to Dallas a bit?

SUN MEDIA: “If I have to. Just kidding – yeah. Extended phone rumbling. Dallas, whats the new album looking like?”

DALLAS: “Weve got a bunch of songs weve been working on with Gary, but I dont think well get a chance to revisit them until December. But considering the album that were working on with Gord is going to be original and with an equal amount of input, we dont want to sell anything short there.

“Even though we have three records on the go right now, not including our own or the stuff we did with Neko Case on her upcoming album, I still like to think of everything one project at a time. Last month in particular I was working on four separate projects simultaneously. Ive felt a little overwhelmed lately, because I do all the mixing, too. But Im a bully with that. But whatever. Dont cry for me, Im already dead. I dug my own grave and someday Ill gladly get to lie in it.”

The Sadies play tonight; tomorrow 1 p.m. on Stage 1 and 5 p.m. on Stage 2; finally, 11 a.m. Sunday on Stage 6.

SETLIST: 2008-02-23 – Kingston, ON

Kingston Regional Sports & Entertainment Centre

01. The Lonely End Of The Rink
02. New Orleans Is Sinking
03. Fully Completely
04. Grace, Too
05. It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken
06. Ahead By A Century
07. In View
08. Pigeon Camera
09. Courage
10. World Container
11. Fiddler’s Green
12. Fireworks
13. 50 Mission Cap
14. Poets
15. Bobcaygeon
16. Yer Not The Ocean
17. At Hundredth Meridian
18. 38 Years Old
19. Family Band
20. My Music @ Work
21. Blow At High Dough

Encore 1:
22. Locked In The Trunk Of A Car (With Dan Aykroyd on harmonica)
23. Wheat Kings
24. On The Verge

Encore 2:
25. Little Bones

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For fans looking for a recording of the show, sign-up for an account at www.thehiptracker.com and sit tight. We’ll try to get this one released quickly.

Waterkeepers Booth at Kingston Show

Thanks to the incredible support of The Hip. Waterkeeper will have a booth at the Sports and Entertainment Centre Saturday night. Come speak with Waterkeeper staff about key issues on the Lake and check out these offers:

For $20 buy a copy of At the Barricades: Volume 1 (ft. Gordon Downie) and a Waterkeeper T-shirt.
Enter a draw to win 1) A Kingston Frontenacs jersey signed by Gordon Downie OR 2) A dinner with Kyle Paige and another member of the Kingston Frontenacs.

Read more about Waterkeeper’s first music compilation At the Barricades: Volume 1 at www.waterkeeper.ca/barricades.

Enjoy the show!

Avi Grand
Producer, Living at the Barricades
Communications Coordinator
Lake Ontario Waterkeeper

www.waterkeeper.ca
www.waterkeeper.ca/radio
www.waterkeeper.ca/music
www.myspace.com/lakeontariowaterkeeper