Lost and Profound

About: Lost and Profound

Lost and Profound are back, and for that we can be grateful. It has been more than a decade since we have heard from the acclaimed Toronto-based duo of vocalist Lisa Boudreau and songwriter/guitarist Terry Tompkins, but new album Goodbye Mine confirms they remain at the height of their considerable creative powers.

Their previous release, Red Suede Red came out in 2002, after which Terry and Lisa turned their individual talents to their other successful musical activities (Tompkins as a composer and producer for film and TV, Boudreau as an in-demand voice actor and singer).

The itch to record together again returned, sparked in part by the fun Terry had making a new album with The Now Feeling, the Calgary-based psych band . "That went so well, I thought we should make another Lost and Profound record," he explains. "I had all these tunes that I started playing for Lisa, and before we knew it, we were working on a record.'"

The essential core of the Lost and Profound style is the combination of Terry's evocative songs and soundscapes and Lisa's pure and emotionally eloquent vocals. The potency of that musical marriage has not been diminished one iota, as Goodbye Mine triumphantly demonstrates. "We had a clear vision of the sound we wanted for the record," Tompkins recalls. "We wanted a production sound like that on all those early '70s albums we love, and we kept it simple and sparse.

Helping them realize their mandate was a supporting cast of A-list Toronto musicians, including guitarist Joao Carvalho (a long-time collaborator who also mastered the album), drummer John Obercian, multi-instrumentalist Darrell O'Dea (described by Terry as "our secret weapon," he played keyboards, drums, guitar, bass and contributed string arrangements), fiddle player Chris Bartos, bassist Greg Roberts, backing singers Renee Rowe and Kesha Wint (on "Iodine" and Bad Sister") and a string section.

Tompkins and Boudreau co-produced Goodbye Mine, with recording taking place at elite Toronto studio Revolution Recording. Lisa explains that "before going into the studio, we booked a gig so we'd learn the songs and figure out what worked.

All the bed tracks were recorded within four days. "The band's so great that we did most of it live." says Boudreau. "I did all my lead vocals in two days, so it was very focused and concentrated. The engineer was Dean Wilson, who did Beck's Mutations, and he was lovely." Revolution's house engineer (and partner in the studio) Joe Dunphy also made a major contribution, earning Terry's praise as "a wizard with guitar sounds."

The results were then mixed at Prairie Sun Studios in California by acclaimed veteran engineer Oz Fritz and old friend of Terry and Lisa's, whose lengthy resume includes engineering and mixing Tom Waits' Grammy-winning Mule Variations and albums by artists as diverse as Primus, John Cale, Herbie Hancock, Bob Marley, Bill Laswell and Wanda Jackson. Assisting Fritz in the mixing process was Terry and Lisa's son Jody Tompkins, an up and coming audio engineer. "In the morning, we'd all listen to the songs and Terry and I would say 'this is what we want here,'" recalls Lisa. "Then we'd go away for awhile and take advantage of California's medical marijuana laws. Then we'd come back at the end of the day to do minor tweaks to what Oz and Jody had done... and then we'd all go for dinner.

The mixing and mastering for Goodbye Mine was done to tape, with a view to the vinyl pressing of the album. "This will be the first time we've done vinyl for a Lost and Profound album, and that is really exciting," says Terry. The warm and intimate sound of vinyl is indeed the perfect medium for the record. There is a pleasing sonic excellence to Goodbye Mine. The full-blooded backing vocals on Iodine" and "Bad Sister" impart a gospel vibe, while the beautifully affecting and folk-inflected "The Rover" has a Celtic feel enhanced by the masterful fiddle playing of Chris Bartos. "I wrote 'the Rover' when Lisa's aunt died," Terry recalls. "I wanted a song that talked about dying as a journey. One verse was recited at her aunt's funeral, and I later finished all the lyrics in one night."

Tompkins takes the vocal lead on the aptly-named "Jewel," an upbeat track with a California Sunshine pop vibe, while the lush "Superhuman" brings classic Fleetwood Mac to mind. Soaring guitars, evocative strings and backing vocals mesh with Lisa's passionate vocal performance on "Goodbye Mine," another highlight on an album devoid of lowlights.

Some 30 years of living and making music together has inevitably meant that Terry and Lisa have forged a beautifully idiosyncratic Lost and Profound sound, but they're not afraid to cite musical influences and inspirations. For the new album, Terry singles out Pink Floyd. "We referenced them over and over in the making of this record," he notes. "Darrell's slide guitar playing on 'Iodine' is very Floyd." The ability of Pink Floyd to create a huge sound in a sparse manner is certainly replicated on Goodbye Mine.

Other key inspirations include Leonard Cohen, Lee Hazelwood, Jimmy Webb and Townes Van Zandt. More contemporary sonic reference points would include Elliott Smith and such so-called 'slo-core' artists as Mazzy Star, Low and Red House Painters, while the haunting purity of Lisa's vocals has elicited comparisons to the likes of Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval and Portishead's Beth Gibbons. "I do think the sweet spot for Lisa's voice is a melancholy lyric, and I do seem to primarily write relationship songs.", Tompkins explains.

The couple's creative process has remained relatively unchanged, as Lisa explains."Terry will demo his songs himself, on acoustic guitar and piano. He naturally has great phrasing, and I will take from that and add whatever I can do." Tompkins adds that "I'll have the demos on in the background around the house. If Lisa reacts to one, we'll work on it, If she doesn't react, then that song isn't going to work.

Discography: 

Lost and Profound

1992: Lost & Profound (Polydor/Polygram) 5132512

1994: Memory Thief (Polydor/Polygram) 5195182

1996: Love's Sweet Messenger

2015: Goodbye Mine

Other Projects:

The Psychedelic Folk Virgins

1989: The Bottled Romance of Nowhere

1990: The Psychedelic Folk Virgins

Red Suede Red

2002: Red Suede Red

CONTACT: http://lostandprofound.ca/contact/

Sell music online at ReverbNation.com

Bad Sister (2015)

Miracles Happen (1994)

Brand New Set of Lies (1992)

Winter Raging (1992)

Curb the Angels (1992)

Lost and Profound – Official Website

http://lostandprofound.ca/

Lost and Profound - Reverbnation

https://www.reverbnation.com/lostandprofound

Lost and Profound - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_%26_Profound

Lost and Profound - Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/www.lostandprofound.ca

Lost and Profound - Twitter

https://twitter.com/lostnprofoundCA

VIDEO

Lost and Profound - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFd0jGkoXUXXjL1SwJhqU-w

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Lost and Profound – Official Store

http://lostandprofound.ca/store/

Lost and Profound - iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/lost-profound/id452030505

Lost and Profound - Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Mine-Lost-Profound/dp/B00UNZ2THY

Lost and Profound - eMusic

http://www.emusic.com/artist/lost-profound/14222857/

Legends of Rock: Ian Thomas

 

 

About: Ian Thomas

Ian first hit internationally in 1973 with "Painted Ladies". With a Juno award, four SOCAN classic awards for Painted Ladies, Right Before Your Eyes, Hold On and Pilot, a UNICEF Danny Kaye Humanitarian award, Juno and Gemini nominations,15 albums and nearly as many top twenty records later, Ian has now added author to the mix with two novels, Bequest (Manor House 2006) and his latest The Lost Chord (Manor House 2008).

Ian’s lyrics have been utilized in English textbooks while his songs have found international success with many artists such as Santana, America, Manfred Man, Chicago, Bette Midler and Ann Murray. He also records and tours the country regularly with good friends Murray McLauchlan, Marc Jordan, and Cindy Church in a band called Lunch At Allen’s. From 1990 to 2000, Ian wrote &recorded four albums and toured with his band “The Boomers” who were comprised of some of the Canada’s finest musicians - Peter Cardinali, Rick Gratton and Bill Dylan. When you add twenty movies as a film composer, six seasons on the Red Green Show as character Dougie Franklin and over a thousand commercials voicing characters from Clive Firkin of Firkin Pubs to Snap the Rice Crispie, the credit list starts getting ridiculous.

2009 saw Ian touring both as a solo artist and with Lunch At Allen’s, while completing the music for the animated series The Adventures Of Bob and Doug McKenzie and scoring two Hallmark Movies, The National Tree and Fairfield Road. With the new Lunch At Allen’s CD completed and 2010 underway Ian is currently writing and recording a long awaited new solo album. To hear him live is to spend time with a master songsmith and humorist. Ian lives with his wife of nearly 40 years in the Niagara wine region of Ontario because he likes both wine and his wife.

Discography: http://www.ianthomas.ca/Ian_Thomas/Discography.html

Contact: Robert Wilson: bob@firebonesmanagement.com

Ian Thomas – Official Website

http://www.ianthomas.ca/
Ian Thomas - Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Thomas_(Canadian_musician)
Ian Thomas – Last FM
http://www.last.fm/music/Ian+Thomas
Ian Thomas - Twitter
https://twitter.com/IanCThomas
Buy Music!
Ian Thomas - iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/ian-thomas/id26132996
Ian Thomas – Amazon
http://www.amazon.ca/Looking-Back-Hits-Ian-Thomas/dp/B0000262US

 

 

JP Cormier

About: J.P. Cormier

J.P. Cormier appears from the shadows at the side of the stage—an unsmiling mountain of a man in dark glasses—and stalks almost angrily to his seat in the spotlight. He picks up his instrument, adjusts his mic stand and asks the audience: “How’re ya now?” in a rumbling baritone.

Then he starts to tell his story.

His lyrics and melodies illicit every emotion you can muster as he paints picture after picture of loves lost, towns disbanded, fishermen killed by their trade and the most important moments of his own life. His voice is surprisingly sweet and soft-sounding, completely unexpected coming from his 6’4” frame.

He begins an instrumental on one of the five or six instruments he may have on stage with him and you realize that this man is not just a singer or a songwriter. As his fingers fly, with such speed and precision, upon each instrument in turn, you get another picture—one of pure joy and boundless energy; total spiritual abandon bordering in its execution on genius. It’s a word that is used to describe him again and again.

Then just as you think you’ve seen everything, he begins to speak to the audience. He’s more comfortable now. He’s getting over the shyness he feels when meeting new people. Now he feels he can connect safely. Opening up with a few one-liners, he moves on to amusing anecdotes and true tales from his own past. Some bring a roar of laughter from the audience that can be heard outside the theatre, others bring a tear to the eye. He’s home now, his banter is easy as he draws the crowd into each song and tune. The connection is complete and he is one with his audience. Even behind his dark glasses, you can tell that he too sheds a tear when his audience does.

J.P. has a profound effect on audiences, but those who know him know his heart far exceeds his stature. His acts of random kindness in and out of the music industry are legendary. There are many stories of the “big fella” going to play for someone on their deathbed, helping fledgling artists, or generally standing up for people who couldn’t do it for themselves. He spent two weeks in the theatre of war entertaining the NATO troops in Afghanistan and is always quick to do what he can for a good cause. Maritime artists like Dave Gunning, Darren McMullen, Douglas Cameron and many others have benefited from J.P.’s assistance and patient guidance. His charity work is endless, once raising 4 tons of food for Feed Nova Scotia. A man well aware of the plight of the needy, he celebrates his birthday each year with a fundraising concert for Christmas Daddies in Cape Breton.

Accolades for J.P. have come from far and near over the years. He’s been described as “the quintessential Maritime musician” and having “the ability to make the brilliant appear effortless”. His early years playing in Nashville and the southern states have earned him high praise from folks like long time pickin’ partner and collaborator Marty Stuart, who says, “He’s just incredible, one of the best players I’ve ever seen.” Country music legend Waylon Jennings has said, “I would be proud to share the stage with this man anywhere, anytime”, and J.P.’s greatest hero, Chet Atkins has honoured him as “…one of the most important guitarists of his generation.” Closer to home, former Governor General of Canada, Adrienne Clarkson proclaimed, “What you have to say as an artist is incredibly important and a treasure to our Nation” and Gordon Lightfoot reveals, “I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Cormier.”

J.P. takes it all in stride.

He still has his ritual three beers before the show, and prefers to be outside the venue where he can smoke and talk to folks as they enter. He’s either there or hanging out backstage with the fans and fellow musicians who show up and don’t feel there’s any reason why they can’t go right back stage and see him. There are no real walls around J.P. and he likes it that way. This may be why he’s stayed so far from the mainstream. He never wanted the barriers that great fame brings between an artist and their audience. The people who listen to J.P.’s music are his lifeline and his inspiration. One man’s simple story might inspire the next great J.P. song. Another’s may be about someone whose life has been changed by something that he wrote or played. He likes to hear about these things first-hand. But if the compliments get too heavy, he’ll just look uncomfortably at the ground and say, “I didn’t write nothin’, I just held the pen.”

With all of that said though, his modesty belies a long list of accomplishments. J.P.’s impressive body of work has earned him a vast and loyal fan base around the world and he has played extensively throughout Canada, Great Britain, Europe, and the USA. His songs have been number 1 hits on American and European radio and he’s won 12 East Coast Music Awards, 5 Music Nova Scotia Awards, and a Canadian Folk Music Award. His album, Another Morning, was nominated for a Juno in 1998 and has since sold nearly 100,000 copies. Performing countless times on television and radio, J.P. released 13 solo albums since 1995 and won more than 30 awards in 20 years of fiddle, guitar, banjo, and song-writing competitions.

In the 30 years since he made his first paycheck at a “Union” gig, going professional at the tender age of 13, he’s traveled hundreds of thousands of miles spending months at a time on the road. It’s no wonder he looks a little tired sometimes!

No matter what you call him–genius, recluse, friend, foe, outgoing, unapproachable, giving, kind, or thoughtful–there is so much more beneath the surface. Celebrated as a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, recording artist, teacher, collaborator, innovator, and award winner, J.P. Cormier’s talent is comparable to none. He’s praised in superlatives, but even these don’t do the man justice. The best way to get to know J.P. is to listen to his music. That is where his real heart lies. It is a world where everything is done fairly, no one wants, and there are no broken hearts allowed. In his song “The Messenger” he speaks not from himself but something much greater when he says:

“I am just the Messenger
I speak to every man
Every woman, every child
Who lives upon the land
My face is often hidden
Many do not wish to see
But when you’re in the mirror
Sometimes you look at me.”

J.P. Cormier is not to be missed. Stuff this good only comes around so often

Contact: contact@jp-cormier.com

Booking: ryan@ibookshows.com

 

 

J.P. Cormier – Official Website

http://jp-cormier.com/
J.P. Cormier - MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/jpcormiermusic
J.P. Cormier - Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._P._Cormier
J.P. Cormier - Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/jpcormiermusic
J.P. Cormier - Twitter
https://twitter.com/jpcormiermusic
Videos!
J.P. Cormier - Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/user/CormierRecordings
Buy Music!
J.P. Cormier – Official Store
http://jp-cormier.com/music/
J.P. Cormier - Bandcamp
http://jpcormier.bandcamp.com/
J.P. Cormier - eMusic
http://www.emusic.com/artist/j-p-cormier/11569909/
J.P. Cormier - Amazon
http://www.amazon.ca/s?_encoding=UTF8&search-alias=music-ca&field-artist=J.P.%20Cormier
J.P. Cormier - iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/j.p.-cormier/id4248765

Discography:

Somewhere in the Back of My Heart (2012)

The Messenger – J.P. Cormier Sings (2008)
Noel – A J.P. Cormier Christmas (2008)
Take Five – A Banjo Collection (2006)
The Long River: A Personal Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot (2005)
Primary Color: The Owner’s Manual (2005)
Looking Back – Volume 1: The Instrumentals (2005)
Looking Back – Volume 2: The Songs (2005)
X8… a mandolin collection (2004)
Primary Color (2002)
Velvet Arm Golden Hand (2002)
Now That the Work Is Done (2001)
Heart & Soul (1999)
Another Morning (1997)
Return to the Cape (1995)

Albums That Are No Longer Available
Out Of The Blue (Out Of Print)
The Gift (Out Of Print)
Lord Of The Dance (Out Of Print)
When January Comes (Out Of Print)
The Fiddle Album (1991) CBC UG 1003