Well...enough lighthearted Tomfoolery. Down to business. The last time we spoke a spate of bad fortune had befallen Mrs. Foster's garden. We're happy (and relieved) to tell you that, after all the fuss and concern, the avocado seed produced a crop of cauliflower. And what's more, each head of cauliflower sports a near-perfect human face. How unexpected! Needless to say there'll be plenty of scrambling for names come harvest time. Good luck Mrs. F.
OK...enough whimsical chicanery. Since our previous epistle, we've put the initial - and finishing - touches on an album we've come to call "Wood". Wood being the best title we could think of to capture the album's spare acoustic sound. And what a blast it was to record. With the invaluable help of our Minneapolis-based friend, Michael Koppelman (he brought his Prince and Frente! experience to co-produce and engineer) we made each day a real play day. The onus was definitely on having fun, with the premise that the positive energy would shine through in the music. Tape usually got rolling around noon and the four of us did the bed tracks (instrumentation) live together. This was like being part of the famed French Connection line (Robert-Perrault-Martin) that took the Buffalo Sabres all the way to the Stanley cup final in the mid-'70's. Things really clicked in the "team effort" department. After the "beds" were down we might have a bagel or beverage, play some ping-pong or hacky-sack, shear a sheep, or slap another piece of clay onto the Pierre Elliot Trudeau bust we're working on. We finished a song a day, give or take, in the wonderful environment that is Dreamland Studios.
Dreamland is an old country church with wooden floors and ceilings that has been converted into a brilliant sound studio tucked away in the hinterland of New York State (near Woodstock). There are many photos in the sleeve of "Wood." And speaking of sleeves of wood, have you ever been roller-blading in the forest? Have you seen what the trees are wearing lately? Eh?
We invited some other musicians to play on our new album too. A quart of clarinet, a vat of violin, and a taste of tart trumpet...now, tune up and we'll begin! Sorry... enough sophomoric septameter. "Wood," the new album "Wood," the youngster, the stripling, will be released on Canada on June 27th. U.S. and U.K. release dates have not yet been confirmed, but check out how you can order the new album in territories outside of Canada with information enclosed in this Quill package.
This summer we will be out playing music festivals in Canada and the U.S. and following that up with mre extensive touring in the fall. It may be early '96 before we see our friends in the U.K., although there is the possibility of a U.K. mini-tour around September or October. We hope to see you in your town soon.
Finally, we received well over a thousand responses to our "name-the-album" sweepstakes. For this we thank you, and those who did send in a suggestion have likely received their special free preview mini-cassette of "Wood" in advance of this Quill. While we did end up choosing our own suggestion (Wood) we had many favourites amongst the ideas that came flowing in through the post box and email. Here's a sampling of 15 of our very favourites (in no particular order) and the people who sent them in:
1. Hippo (Christina Huang - Kingston, Ontario) 2. And Pooh Stumped Along (Bea Smith - Sidney, Nova Scotia 3. Reunite the Buffalo Springfield (Jessica Hymmen-Stills - Kitchener, Ontario) 4. Her Scream Was Louder Than a Foam Rubber Wind Chime (Casey Routhy - Calgary, Alberta) 5. Songs For Nat Gertler (Nat Gertler - Pasadena, California) 6. Jalopy (Larry Clebdon - Flesherton, Ontario) 7. Mesopotamia (Alan Jordan - Manchester, U.K.) 8. The King is Dead (Sarah Hoffman - Thorold, Ontario) 9. Jalopy-Dog (Corey Hafler - Brockport, New York) 10. Quentin's Trip to the Barber (Erinn Galbecka - Winnipeg, Manitoba) 11. Soccer is My Life (Andrew McDougall - Carleton Place, Ottawa, Ontario) 12. Bole (Genevieve Cory - St. Louis, Missouri) 13. Move Over Xavier Yemen (Melanie Dignard - Owen Sound, Ontario) 14. The Fisher Price Pain n' Sufferin' Orphanage (John Hetherington - Sanborn, New York) 15. Drop the Halibut or We'll Fire Rounds Across Your Bow (Michael Elves - Brandon, Manitoba)
Well... to wrap this all up, we're excited about the new album and getting out to play live again. Please come on out, dig the new tunes and share in this whole Moxy Früvous thing.
Till then, all the best,
The Guys of Früvous
Saturday, June 17 Bridgeton, NJ Bridgeton Folk Festival
Sunday, June 18 Alexandria, VA The Birchmere
Tuesday, June 20 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
Thur-Sat, June 22-24 Quebec City, PQ Nuit Black Festival
Le Drag
Friday, June 30 Chatham, ON Festival of Nations
Saturday, July 1 Fort Erie, ON Frienship Festival
Sat, Sun, July 8, 9 Winnipeg, MB Winnipeg Folk Festival
Friday, July 28 Toronto, ON Harbourfront
Sunday, July 30 Guelph, ON Hillside Festival
Friday, August 4 Edmonton, AB Fringe Festival Street Concertt
Sun, Mon, August 6, 7 Canmore, AB Canmore Folk Festival
Saturday, August 12 Morrisburg, ON Upper Canada Village / Folkfest
Sunday, August 13 Hamilton, ON Festival of Friends
Fri-Sun, August 25-27 Philadelphia, PA Philadelphia Folk Festival
Many more dates to be announced as they are confirmed.
Please stay tuned...
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