Tag: Folk-Rock

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Music

Remembering David Crosby, a folk-rock legend

David Crosby passed away at 81

The Laurel Canyon pioneer is the reason why a lot of artists you know and love are even around 

If you felt a little blue within the past week, I don’t blame you. David Crosby, one of the music industry’s most influential musicians passed away on Jan. 18. He was 81 years old. While they were notified about Crosby’s death through an intimate sourve, “they did not disclose a cause,” according to Rolling Stone.

The folk rock icon was most known for his albums If I Could Only Remember My Name, and Oh Yes I Can, Crosby was a founding member of the band The Byrds — founded in 1964. The Byrds played for almost four decades until their retirement in 2000. Crosby was also a part of the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, which was formed in 1968 by Graham Nash and David Crosby in Canadian Folk legend Joni Mitchell’s living room in Laurel Canyon, no less!  

To top all that off, he also juggled a third project: his solo career, which spanned nine studio records along with three live records. Crosby even collaborated with the likes of legendary folk artist Joan Baez, ’80s hit savant Kenny Loggins (“Danger Zone”), Carole King, and of course the neo-jazz group Snarky Puppy. 

He has had a controversial music career, often blurting things out without fully explaining them, which has caused a couple other musicians to fire back at him, like Phoebe Bridgers. On more than one occasion, Bridgers has used profanity against Crosby through twitter, one example in response to his disdain for smashing her electric guitar on SNL. In 2016, CSN (Crosby, Stills, and Nash) disbanded after Crosby and Nash had a bad fight. “I won’t tell anyone about that, but I will say that the damage between us is irreparable” said Graham Nash.

He is survived by his friends and family; his wife Jan Dance, and six children Beckett Cypher, Django Crosby, James Raymond, Bailey Jean Cypher, Donovan Crosby, and Erika Keller Crosby. His fellow colleagues and musicians who played with him over the years have shared their grievances through Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms. “It is with a deep and profound sadness that I learnt my friend David Crosby has passed,” said Graham Nash from CSN. American songwriter Brian Wilson shared his thoughts, saying “I’m heartbroken to hear about David Crosby.”

If you have the time, listen to some David Crosby today — trust me, you won’t regret it.  

Below is a list of songs that I recommend:

  • “Cowboy Movie” 
  • “The Us Below”
  • “Laughing”
  • “Orleans”
  • “Song With No Words (Tree With No Leaves)”
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Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: Fleet Foxes – Shore

On Fleet Foxes’ Shore, Robin Pecknold shakes off some of the idealisms of his younger self in order to look to the future

Fleet Foxes have been a major force in the indie-folk scene since its height in the late 2000s. Though their style may not be as trendy in 2020, Robin Pecknold continues with Fleet Foxes’ trademark lush autumnal style, while going back to a more gentle, simplistic sonic feel than the band’s last album Crack-Up. 

Throughout Shore, Pecknold wears his inspiration on his sleeve. The second track of the album, “Sunblind,” cites many of his inspirations who have passed away before their time, from Elliott Smith to Curtis Mayfield. As the chorus sings “I’m gonna swim for a week in warm American water with dear friends,” listeners are reminded of the recent tragic passing of David Berman of Silver Jews, whose lyrical stylings on the classic album American Water have surely inspired the introspective story-telling approach of Fleet Foxes.

Additionally, the track “Jara” invokes the martyred Chilean activist folk singer Victor Jara, whose music served as the soundtrack to the Pinochet resistance. In “Jara” Pecknold discusses his disgust at the privilege he saw from his fellow New Yorkers as they fled the city during the pandemic, as the singer-songwriter explained to Rolling Stone. With these songs, Pecknold sees the darkness in the stories of musicians gone too soon, but instead of dwelling on the sadness, he thanks them for their work. And by pairing the lyrics with upbeat and plucky tunes, the songs look toward the future with hope.

Shore doesn’t only look back on history in a big-picture sense, but also takes a reflexive look at Pecknold’s own past thinking. On “Young Man’s Game,” Pecknold critiques the naive immaturity of his younger self. With lyrics like “I’ve been solving for the meaning of life/No one tried before and likely I’m right” and “I could worry through each night/Find something unique to say,” he satirizes young people’s assumptions that their ideas are novel and important, despite what may be lots of information to the contrary.

This theme plays off of their cult-classic 2011 record Helplessness Blues, where Fleet Foxes looked to turn away from the chaos of the ordinary world to an idyllic rural life. With these records in conversation, it’s apparent that Fleet Foxes has grown up from a notion of escapism and fantasy of a pastoral life to an acceptance of the here and now. Pecknold isn’t happy with the current pandemic moment, but he tells the listener to ride through it rather than to escape into delusions of what your life could be that only exists in your mind. 

 

Trial Track: Can I Believe You

Rating: 8/10

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Music

Deep Rivers performs their new EP at La Vitrola

The Montreal indie folk-rock band will be releasing their EP Part One on Feb. 3

Deep Rivers, a brand new Montreal indie band, will be performing their first EP, Part One, at La Vitrola on Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. The band will officially be releasing their EP on Bandcamp on Feb. 3. Deep Rivers’ sound can be described as indie folk-rock with a twist, as they combine the intimacy of folk music with the high energy of indie rock.

The band’s lineup consists of André Pelletier on guitar and lead vocals, Stéphane Lemieux on drums, Blaise Borboën-Léonard on violin, viola and synths, and Cédric Martel on bass and backing vocals. Originally, these bandmates played together in a different band called Hôtel Morphée, along with lead singer, Laurence Nerbonne, who sang and wrote songs in French. It was in 2015 that they decided to leave that band behind in search of new beginnings. Pelletier decided to take on the role of lead singer for his new group.“After Hôtel Morphée ended, I kept on writing songs as I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try something new,” Pelletier said. “I practiced with Stephan and we started playing some shows. It was fun and it went well, and that was when we decided to give it a name.”

Part One’s cover album. Graphic by Nicolas Dufour Laperrière

The name, Deep Rivers, has a personal connotation for Pelletier. “Our band’s name comes from a small town in Ontario called Deep River where I spent most of my time writing songs,” he said. Part One is a personal album for Pelletier. “I was going through a lot of changes in life when writing these songs,” Pelletier said. “The lyrics and emotions of the album are about getting older, about dreams that fall flat and expectations that are broken.That’s pretty much the words expressed through it.” According to Pelletier, Bob Dylan and Buddy Holly were some of the band’s musical influences. Their EP’s cover photo is a picturesque, mysterious image of a tiny island surrounded by water. Nicolas Dufour Laperrière, a graphic artist and friend of the band, designed it.

Feb. 2 will be the first time Deep Rivers performs their new album live in their home city. It will be a free show.“I have to say, the song we are most excited to play is ‘In the City.’ We have a lot of fun performing this song live,” said Pelletier. According to Pelletier and Lemieux, the band is hyped for this show. “There is just something about performing live and letting go of everything—it’s freedom,” said Pelletier. “Playing live is all about making good mistakes,” said Lemieux. While Part One only has four tracks, the band is thinking about releasing more songs in the near future. “We like the idea of putting new music out there,” Pelletier said. “We are all big fans of the LP format and would want to explore that eventually.”

Deep Rivers will be playing at the the Caribü Festival in Longueuil on Feb. 19 and at Le Verre Bouteille bar on Mont-Royal on March 19. For now, they are more than eager to launch their new album. “It’s going to be a lot of energy, a lot of passion on stage and a lot of brotherly love,” said Pelletier.

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