ohbijou's Blog
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Back Home, The First of May
Hello Again,
Of late, this city has been feeling more alive than it has in a long time. Maybe it's something to do with the way that now the wind hints at warmth, instead of constantly trying to pierce through our skins. Maybe it's the way that the sun is less inclined to hide from us, and instead is hinting at the fact that it wants to hold us in its warmth for days on end. Maybe it's the fact that everyone seems to default to optimism when thinking about what the future holds, all seeming to hold a hope for things to get even better than they are for not just themselves, but for all. Whatever the reason, it is a wonderful time to be home in the city we call Toronto, and surrounded by the friends, family and co-conspirators who do the same.
We as a band have great reason to feel optimistic about the future. Our time in Montreal with Jace Lacek was, to put it simply, incredible. Jace took our music and fostered it, augmented it, molded it and captured it in a way that no one else could have. He found the spirit of our music and brought it forward; not just in the sounds he captured, but also in the performances and energy that he incited and reveled in each of us. And all the while, he did so with an ear to ear grin on his face, and a heartfelt laugh ready to launch at the drop of a hat. We come away from our days at Breakglass with not just wonderful memories of Prairie-inspired accents, family dinners, rooftop brews and views, karaoke, pint glass announcements, new vans, rain walks for take out, and the intense competition that only Words With Friends can provide, but also with an incredible documentation of the experience that we shared as 7 people working together as one on something that we are incredibly proud of, and incredibly excited to share with the world. It was an honour and a privilege to have been a part of that experience, and it is one that we will hold strong in our hearts for a very long time to come.
Thank you Jace Lasek, for all that you've done for us, and all you continue to do. We went to Montreal in hopes of making a wonderful album. We return to Toronto with an incredible album, and with you as someone we are all extremely grateful to call our friend.
The album will be out in the fall. More info will, of course, follow about it in the months to come. We couldn't be more excited about releasing it, playing shows, and sharing it with everyone who has been with us as we've grown into who we are as a band today. To have the privilege to be doing what we love doing, making music with each other, is something that we don't take for granted. Thank you all for your support.
From here, look our for more information as the release comes closer and closer. We will be gearing up for shows all across the continent come the Fall of 2011. Until then, there will be a few shows here and there. To start, here's one:
July 01, 2011 – Ottawa, ON – TD Ottawa Jazz Festival
And there will be more. Many more. But not just yet. Right now, we're going to take some time to sit in a park, on the ever greening grass, under the ever brightening sun, and just enjoy the feeling that comes with have created something special together with people you love.
jB
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It's the haulidaze
Christmas is in two days! I’ve realized these past few months have waltzed past us with incredible speed when only our summer tour seemed just a stone’s throw away. Ohbijou hasn’t been on the road for several months now, but we surely have been keeping busy with the preparation for our new album.
In November, we spent consecutive evenings practicing and writing in a beautiful rehearsal space belonging to Array Music. These writing sessions and rehearsals segued into the unveiling of a handful of new songs that we performed for the Tranzac benefit show on November 20th at the Tranzac. With several members of Ohbijou lending a hand, the lovely Lisa Bozikovic, whom we toured with in the summer, opened the show with her beautiful songs. If you haven’t already checked her out, please do so here: http://lisabozikovic.ca/
It was a wonderfully successful night. It felt incredible to play a show again in Toronto after several years. We played to a sold out crowd and all the ticket sales went towards an important cause: keeping the Tranzac open and running. The Tranzac is a non-profit member supported community organization with a focus on promoting arts, music and theatre and is being threatened to have its doors closed. If you don’t already have plans for New Year’s Eve, The Tranzac will again be hosting an amazing evening full of music and dancing. Jamie’s side project with Reg Vermue, coined “Light Fires”, will be performing along with many other Toronto musicians such as Hooded Fang, Sandro Perri and I Am Robot And Proud. For more information on this fun night, and ways you can help keep the Tranzac open check out: http://www.tranzac.org/
At the end of November, Ohbijou took another trip to Dyers Bay. We holed up in our trusty cottage for a week focusing on the writing and development of our songs for our upcoming album. We always look forward to our time here. It was a productive week. We approached and wrote several new songs and concentrated on tweaking the ones that have been on the go. This time of year, the landscape was masked in white but nonetheless beautiful. Aside from writing, we, again, took in the beauty of the Georgian Bay waterfront. We indulged in many games of Settlers of Catan, crafted delicious dinners and interesting snacks to fill our tummies, and had an incredible jam night filled with covers and improvisation with our friends here. We will again be visiting in January to wrap up the writing for this album, and then we leave Toronto to record in February.
It’s always around the holidays, when surrounded by friends and family, you’re affirmed of how fortunate you are. Ohbijou has been very fortunate. Thank you for all your support! We had a wonderful year filled with exciting travels and memorable shows and we are looking forward to numerous things in the upcoming year.
First things first, though: Christmas is in TWO days! I’m so excited to spend time with my family, eat an endless amount of pancit and cuddle with my niece and nephew on the couch while watching old episodes of Sesame Street. It will be perfect!
I hope you have a very happy and warm holiday and a wonderful New Year!!
love jenny
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Return to Dyers Bay
Current mood:
artistic
Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. - John Muir
Oh autumn! What a great season. With it in mind, we hopefully took some inspiration from the winds, and storms during our recent visit to Dyers Bay where we escaped the city to pen some new tunes for our third album.
It was a return to a familiar place, we visited Dyers Bay this past March to begin writing new material, so it was wonderful to see it again in the fall. We were able to catch up with our lovely friends, like Scott whom we met in the spring, who is a wonderful man and musician, you can hear listen to him via his myspace. We played a lot of Settlers of Catan, ate way too much, watched some crazy storms, hung out on the dock in the middle of the night, oh and we wrote some new songs that we are pretty excited about. The song we are most excited about is called "There's a bear down there" and it is a barbershop style song about a bear living underneath the barn. Definitely going to be a hit. Well ok, that song was a result of too much revelry, and will not likely make the album, but it had some real gusto.
Here are some pictures highlighting our adventures:
Ryan and Jamie be jammin'
Casey reconnecting with our pal Patch.
Petting some goats that will be running around at this years GoatStock.
Overall it was a fun and productive week, and we look forward to returning to Dyers Bay in November to continue writing.
In other news, after 8 years of awesomeness, the Ford Plant in Brantford, ON is closing. The Ford Plant is an amazing venue, and was the location of some of our very first live shows. Needless to say, it is very dear to our hearts, especially since Brantford is Casey and Jenny's hometown. To celebrate and honour the achievements of the Ford Plant, we will be playing a show there on October 22nd, along with Rah Rah , Henri Faberge and The Adorables and The Dead Love Triangles (reunion). For more info, please click here.
Another important venue that is currently facing tough times is the Tranzac in Toronto. The Tranzac is a warm, welcoming venue that showcases a wide variety of musical acts as well as several community groups. You can help support the Tranzac and prevent their closure by making a donation via their website.
If you are planning to head to Pop Montreal this weekend, you should definitely check out James' sexy dance music project with Gentleman Reg - Lightfires. They will be playing at Le Divan Orange on October 2nd.
I think that about sums it up. Enjoy wrapping yourselves with warm fuzzy scarves, and kicking up the autumn leaves.
Til next time,
Anissa -
Summer tour wrap up
Current mood:
breezyHello!We drove almost 11,000 kilometers. We pulled at every inch of road heading west. The insidious rumble of tarmac has been grafted to my brain. Now being home for almost 3 weeks, my legs are still rubber and in the mornings I’m confused about whether or not I’ve actually left the van.
Touring is a peculiar way to spend your time. You are always moving, but mostly sitting in the same spot. Limbs are atrophied, your organs begin to shrink– along with your vocabulary. A juvenility sets in and when you are about to lose your mind the audience sings along, or you stand in front of a stretch of gold canola, or you get to chat with Buffy Sainte-Marie and feel lucky. We were confronted with many memorable moments on our tour of Western Canada. Some furnished by grandiose landscape, some encountered with inspiring strangers, some comforted by whispers of nostalgia; so many familiar faces, recognizable truck stops, friendly sound people, delicious venue food, etc.Here are some highlights:- Calgary Folk brought late night pizza and a happy reunion with Taylor, Mika and Simone of Timber Timbre.- Having Lisa Bozikovic join us on a number of stops on this tour. Her music is beautiful and it was such a treat to have her come along.
- At The Icelandic Festival (Islendingadagurinn) in Gimli, Manitoba, Anissa and I screamed for our lives on a midway ride called “The Brain Buster”. Our show at that festival was definitely a highlight, as members of the audience jumped around on stage and sang along to “The Woods”. Thank you to Robbie for showing us an outrageous time.- At Regina Folk we ate some of the best food we’ve ever had at a festival. We also befriended the band Ghostkeeper from Calgary. Check them out at: http://www.myspace.com/childrenofthegreatnorthernmuskeg- In Regina we played an amazing workshop with the boys from Calexico. They showed us that seamless musicianship mixed with charisma and charm make for an inspiring performance.- We stopped in Clearwater, Manitoba for 3 days to write in an old school house run by the Harvest Moon Society. The population of this town is ,I think, 67 people. We were humbled by their generosity and kindness. Please check out their amazing work at: http://www.harvestmoonsociety.org/A big thank you to Gavin and the rest of the Gardiner family for helping to arrange our time in Clearwater and for showing us a great adventure at their cottage. I think we all have scars from water skiing. Ok, well maybe just Anissa and Jenny….oh and Ryan.
- Salmon Arm, BC was breathtaking. One of the most hospitable festivals in Canada and we are so grateful to the organizers for inviting us.- When you’re on tour you have the opportunity to meet many memorable people. While in Canmore, Alberta, a couple named Mike and Sharon, presented us with six individually wrapped gifts with our names on them. Each package contained a book that they thought we might enjoy reading while in the van. We were so touched by their kindness. It was the nicest surprise and we were so grateful to meet them.Looking forward, Ohbijou is traveling to Dyer’s Bay for a series of writing sessions. We are containing musical ideas, melodies, harmonies and sounds and hope to complete a new record in the upcoming year. Thank you to everyone for your support and hopefully you’ll be hearing new music from us soon.Be well,
CaseyHere are more pics from our 2010 summer tour:
Bocce at the Gardiner's.
Ryan chasing internet.
Preparing for our set in Clearwater, Manitoba.
The front of our van. Bug death, bug art.
Trying to win big.
