Who does what and we aren't Yanks thank you very much.

As I have mentioned numerous times in the past I love Robertson Davies' writing. In his novel "A Mixture of Frailties" some of the characters have a magazine called "The Lantern". In it they take critics to task for their inaccuracies and ignorant assumptions. Named after Diogones and his quest for an honest man, the magazine ostensibly gives a forum for the artist to correct his critic's unbased assumptions, but in reality is nothing more than a chance to rebutt the opinion's formed and published by them (which in itself is a pretty cool idea).

I remember talking to Guy Leblanc from Nathan Mahl about similar ideas where he would review the reviewers. As vindicating as it might appear I think it ultimately would do nothing more than reveal the artist as petty, thin-skinned and childishly nurturing his sour-graped grudges.

Nonetheless I also think having a blog allows me to address certain issues I have with some reviews we have been getting, so at the risk of looking petty I'm going to set certain trifling yet niggling details straight.

To begin with; WE ARE NOT YANKS!!!! I realize that to some Europeans, making a distinction between Americans and Canadians is a silly and unreasonable one, after all we essentially share a continent, a language (I'm honour/honor bound to say that) and much the same media, but as ridiculous as it might seem, we actually consider ourselves pretty different.

To our German friends who consider my son's "Evil Clock" story as a typically "Yank" (said with a disparging sigh no less) endevour, let it be said that he was only 10 when he wrote it and the Walmart in question (it's a strange tale, but in my son's story the Evil Clock in question gets bested and ends up working at Walmart) is a few kilometers from us and has been a growing (and highly unwelcomed) presence in most Ontario small towns. Working for Walmart then would be a just punishment for the fallen Evil Clock. Weird eh? Maybe there is a language barrier at work, but missing out on THAT nuance is actually missing the point of my kid's brain-power and sense of irony. Calling us typical Yanks as a result would be about as insulting as if we called our erstwhile German critic Norweigan (or Swedish, Dutch, South African whatever, they're all kinda the same aren't they? non-english ie).

To our French critic who thinks that by naming some high-profile (can that term even be used in reference to progressive rock?) prog bands as influences we necessarily think we sound like them; grow up! I grew up listening to Zappa and Gentle Giant and they were huge inspirations to me (among others like Antonio Carlos Jobim, Igor Stravinsky and John Coltrane) but that doesn't mean I write about yellow snow in 4 part counterpoint, play a recorder and love dirty-worded Doo-wop any more than some author who loves Ernest Hemmingway is going to pepper his novel with a thousand "fines" and write about characters who've had their balls blown off.

I guess being stupid enough to play in the "prog-rock" idiom invites these kind of
assumptions.

Ok. That's the vitriolic part of today's post. The other stuff is simply some clarification on who does what. Some reviewers are having an understandably hard time figuring out who is still in the band (we do change line-ups a lot and at any given time have tracks from members who are on their way out sitting cheek to jowl with those who have just joined) and just what each person does. The latter can be attributed to the very small info page included on the CD. It uses a arty little font that, along with its miniscule size, doesn't make sussing this stuff out any easier. The fact we all play keyboards at any given time and the fact that often I'll play bass as well as guitar doesn't help either. So..here's the inside scoop:


Evil Clocks P1
Aaron Clark: drums
Claude Prince: bass on the verses
Guy Dagenais: 5-string bass and fretless bass solos on the chorus,
David Campbell: opening industrial synth ambiences, programmed drum loop, electric guitars (dbl'd left and right), synth solo, acoustic guitar, vocals,
Ange MacIvor: alto sax, vocals.
Composed by David Campbell and arranged by the band.


Klak
Aaron Clark: drums
Claude Prince: bass
David Campbell: vocals, electric guitar, keyboard drones (bass swells at beginning and after solo) and mellotron pads in chorus,
Ange MacIvor: distorted organ, string synth pads in chorus, soprano sax solo
Music by David Campbell, words by Geordie Robertson. Arranged by the band.


Wordplay
Aaron Clark: drums
David Campbell: electric guitars, mellotron pads at intro, bass, acoustic guitars, synth solo, organ and electric piano.
Ange MacIvor: vocals, soprano sax solo
Composed by David Campbell, Ange MacIvor, Aaron Clark. Words by Ange MacIvor.


Scales of the Ebony Fish
Aaron Clark: drums
Claude Prince: bass
David Campbell: vocals, keyboard ambiences, acoustic guitar, electric guitar,
Guy Leblanc: synth solo
Composed and arranged by David Campbell.


Settling of Bones
David Campbell: electric guitar, synths , bass, vocals, drum loops, pads
Ange MacIvor: lead vocals
Music by David Campbell. Words by David Campbell and Ange MacIvor.


Convent
Aaron Clark: drums
Claude Prince: bass
David Campbell: electric guitar, synth solo before sax solo section, vocals
Ange MacIvor: keyboards, alto sax, vocals
Composed by David Campbell. Arranged by the band.


Hags 1
Aaron Clark: percussion
David Campbell: classical, steel string and 12 string acoustic guitars, ambiences, mellotron (strings, vocals and flutes), vocals
Ange MacIvor: vocals
Composed and arranged by David Campbell.


Mad Night
Aaron Clark: drums
Claude Prince: bass
David Campbell: electric guitar, synth line after guitar (leading into B section), B-section synth swells, electric guitar solos, synth solo, vectory loop, whispers, autoharp
Ange MacIvor: main synth bass riff, B-section synth pads, alto solo
Composed by David Campbell. Arranged by the band.


Hags 2
David Campbell: classical, steel string and electric guitars, ambiences, mellotron (strings, vocals and flutes), vocals
Ange MacIvor: vocals
Composed and arranged by David Campbell.


Invitation To The Dance
Aaron Clark: drums
Claude Prince: bass
David Campbell: electric guitar, mellotron at intro and exit, electric piano
Ange MacIvor: soprano sax
Rick Barkhouse: electric piano solo
Composed by David Campbell. Arranged by the band.


Hags 3
David Campbell: acoustic guitar, mandolin, electric guitar, ambiences, mellotron (strings, vocals and flutes), vocals
Ange MacIvor: vocals
Composed and arranged by David Campbell.


Invitation To The Dance
Aaron Clark: drums
Claude Prince: bass
David Campbell: electric guitar, loops and ambience, screams and hollers
Ange MacIvor: synth lead
Composed by David Campbell. Arranged by the band.


Evil Clocks 2
David Campbell: synths and ambiences