NOTE: Tickets are still available for tonight’s show at the door. Doors open at 7:30.

Who: Anders Drerup with Kelly Prescott and Adam Puddington
Where: Westboro Masonic Hall, 430 Churchill at Byron
When: 8:00pm January 21st, 2012

Rumour has it that Anders, Kelly and Adam are now officially a band called the Clay Tones (sp?) although I can turn up no references on the Internet to support this assertion. The name is derived from Clayton, the quaint village the Prescott clan calls home. If true, this logical extension of years of friendly collaboration is a very exciting development. More and tighter collaboration among these three extraordinary musicians can only be a good thing.

Individually, they are all remarkable. Anders, a diversified musician who easily strides the boundaries among folk, blues, and rock ‘n roll, is one of the most naturally talented musicians I have seen in years. Kelly’s smoky alto works wonders on her audience whether she is caressing a song on her own, or filling the corners and niches behind another voice. Adam, with one foot in the Ottawa Valley and the other in The Maritimes, is one of our strongest local singer songwriters.

What a treat to have them all on the same stage. Tickets are $20 and are available online on our e-store, at The Ottawa Folklore Centre 1111 Bank St., or at the Rasputin’s Open Stage at Whispers on Monday evenings. And here are some interesting live concert videos:

What: Play Me Sweet (official CD release)
Where: Westboro Masonic Hall, 411 Churchill at Byron
When: 8pm, Saturday November 19, 2011
Who: Missy Burgess accompanied by Keith Glass

Nov 19, 2011

Few people have had the privilege of reviewing Missy’s fabulous new CD Play Me Sweet but I’m one of the lucky ones and it is clear this is a very polished production where Missy has produced some of her best vocal stylings.  I remember just a few years ago she struggled with a throat problem that threatened to curtail her career. But with a lot of hard work and expert vocal coaching she not only recovered, she learned to exceed her past abilities. Now she absolutely shines on Play Me Sweet.

If you follow her website (http://missyburgess NULL.com/), you’ve noticed she has been rotating a few teaser tracks for the last few weeks.  As I write this, the one that is on her home page is Sundown Blues,  written by Keith Glass. The CD has one other written by Keith, as well as a co-write by Keith and Missy. The rest are Missy’s own originals with a few of her trademark “easy listening” standards completing the program.

This will be a concert to remember. Joining Missy and Keith will be Alrick Huebener on bass.

Tickets are selling briskly and are available at the Ottawa Folklore Centre, 1111 Bank St; Collected Works Bookstore, 1241 Wellington St W; and online here (https://www NULL.paypal NULL.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=CDJ4F4UGKLETY).

Hollis Morgan
President, Spirit of Rasputins

Spirit of Rasputin’s Presents Fearing & White in Concert

!! Sold Out !!

Who: Stephen Fearing and Andy White
Where: Westboro Masonic Hall, 430 Churchill Ave at Byron
When: 8pm, April 9, 2011

Spirit of Rasputin’s is the last stop by Stephen Fearing and Andy White in their cross Canada tour to promote their new collaboration CD Fearing & White. The album, a first for the two individually talented and acclaimed singer / songwriters (who boast nineteen solo albums between them), offers up a unique listening experience.  Ten years of writing, three weeks of rich analog recording with Scott Merritt (Fred Eaglesmith) at his Guelph studio, The Cottage, and a whole lot of miles spent on the road together have gone into this album, aptly entitled Fearing & White.  This eponymous debut duo album is the happy result of a long friendship that has survived both the tyranny of distance and the travails of the road.  White now calls Melbourne, Australia, home, while Fearing has recently moved to Halifax on Canada’s east coast. Over the past eight years, the two well-travelled troubadours have juggled schedules so they can meet up at least once a year to hang out and write songs. Fearing & White is a collection of 13 of those tunes.

Fearing is well known within the international folk and roots music community as one of its most accomplished songsmiths, storytellers and guitarists. A double Juno award winner in his native Canada, he has experienced commercial and critical success, both in his solo career and with roots/rock supergroup Blackie and The Rodeo Kings. Along the way, Stephen has toured and recorded with everybody from Merle Haggard to Shawn Colvin.

Northern Ireland born and raised White has earned a global following for blending folk and pop stylings with a poet’s sensibility. Working with the great names of Irish music  - Sinead O’Connor, Van Morrison  - and writing with the likes of Peter  Gabriel and Neil and Tim Finn, Andy has won Ireland’s top songwriting awards and toured the world many times. A published author, his recent on the road journal/novel 21st Century Troubadour has scored rave reviews.

Fearing & White is the first album bearing the LowdenProud imprint, and it marks an auspicious beginning for the new label. Although a duo project, Fearing & White is not the sound of two singers strumming acoustic guitars round a campfire. It features adventurous sonic atmospheres that perfectly compliment the eloquence of the lyrics, and both artists distinguish themselves on instruments with which they are not usually associated. White contributes melodic bass parts throughout (as well as acoustic guitar), while Fearing’s resonant and fluent electric and acoustic guitars shine consistently. Guest drummer/percussionist Ray Farrugia (Junkhouse, Lee Harvey Osmond, Mary Gauthier) supplies a robust and rhythmic kick.

Fearing & White explores diverse lyrical terrain, though Andy reflects, “the album’s tone I find is one of yearning. It is emotionally bare, and coy and mysterious too. The songs will definitely keep you guessing.” Plus, as Stephen observes,  “there is plenty of humour in there too.”  For instance, the stream of conscious-psychedelia of the infectious ‘Silver Sky’, the breezy upbeat vibe of opening track ‘Say You Will’, the cod-Irish humour of ‘Heart O’ The Morning’, and the musically quirky yet haunting groove of ‘Mothership’.

Fearing and White have cleared their busy schedules to take these songs on the road. Duo tour dates take them from BC and Alberta to  Ontario through  March and April, after which Stephen will be active with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, who release their keenly awaited new album, Kings And Queens, in May 2011. Andy remains on the road for most of the year in Australia, North America and Europe, as a fully paid up 21st Century Troubadour.

On Saturday, February 19th, at 8pm, David Woodhead — bass player for every roots JUNO winner you can think of — brings his fabulous Confabulation to the Spirit of Rasputin’s concert series. We expect the Westboro Masonic Hall at 430 Churchill to be filled to the chandeliers again. Joining David is actor, performer, poet extradinaire Cedric Smith, who adds more than his weight in atmosphere and drama. Some of you may have seen their performance at Blue Skies last summer. The Confabulation is now a regular treat at Hugh’s Room in Toronto. And that treat is coming here!!

To confabulate is to engage in conversation, to talk or to fabricate imaginary experiences as compensation for loss of memory. David Woodhead’s confabulation is a unique musical experience, a unique collaboration of adventurous performance veterans with like-minded stellar young players.

It’s about interplay – musical conversations and fabrications from an imaginary coffeehouse, not unlike Rasputin’s, late one night in a distant past or, perhaps, an imminent future.

Check them out at their website. (http://www NULL.davidwoodhead NULL.com/confabulation NULL.html)

Here are some audio files:
Coffee House Days – featuring Cedric Smith (http://www NULL.davidwoodhead NULL.com/Coffeehouse%20Days NULL.mp3)
Clap Your Hands, Charlie (http://www NULL.davidwoodhead NULL.com/Clap%20Your%20Hands%20Charlie NULL.mp3)
Bozeny Parasy (http://www NULL.davidwoodhead NULL.com/Bozeny%20Parasy NULL.mp3)

And a video!!

The Spirit of Rasputin’s is proud to present, Juno Award winner, Jenny Whiteley, in concert January 15 at the Westboro Mason’s Hall, 430 Churchill Ave at Byron.  For this show, Jenny will be accompanied by her husband and musical collaborator, Joey Wright.

An accomplished, gifted, and musically rewarding singer and songwriter whose lyrics capture the soul of real-life experiences, Jenny Whiteley would have you believe she has decades of anecdotes to draw from. Her evocative, self-titled debut won the Juno Award for Best Roots & Traditional Recording: Solo in March 2001. The daughter of renowned blues musician Chris Whiteley, being a prodigy of a musical family meant her destiny was determined long ago. Her peers have recently recognized Jenny’s incredible voice. Prairie Oyster invited Jenny to sing on their re-released “Man In The Moon” (a song written by Jenny’s father Chris, incidentally), and that is Jenny singing background vocals on Sarah Harmer’s hit song “Basement Apartment.” Jenny has been awarded showcase opportunities at a number of exclusive North American festivals, including the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals, The North American Folk Alliance, and South By Southwest Music Festival & Conference.

For more about Jenny, please see http://www.jennywhiteley.com/bio/index.php (http://www NULL.jennywhiteley NULL.com/bio/index NULL.php) or http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/Jenny-Whiteley (http://radio3 NULL.cbc NULL.ca/#/bands/Jenny-Whiteley)

On November 20 at Westboro Masonic Hall, you’ll find a sweet distillation of family tradition with an alternative sound. Prescott is Kaylen and Kelly Prescott, a brother and sister duo, third generation musicians. They carry the tradition of performing through both sides of the family. Their young world was a revolving door of varied and talented musicians and songwriters, who came to ply their trade at their well renowned family recording studio. As children and grandchildren of musicians, they were part and parcels of the tour date life, rolling along in a tour bus, or streaking across the skies. It seems natural that they now embark on their own musical journey. The Prescott sound is distilled from a wide range of musical influences. Their new CD called “The Lakeside Sessions” is an impressive collection of songs textured with hillbilly, heartbreak, and love. Pooling their rich songwriting strengths and unique, beautiful harmonies, Prescott are performers who embody the beat of generations. Their strong 2008 performance at the Ottawa BluesFest opened the door for Kaylen and Kelly to go into the studio to create their first collaborative c.d., writing and co-writing all original tracks.

Read more about Prescott… (http://www NULL.myspace NULL.com/theprescottsound#ixzz13yJgOjST)

Adam Puddington is one of Almonte, Ontario’s golden sons, and he wears the legacy proudly. Rural Canadiana seeps into his songs, infusing his lyrics with the curious beauty of rivers, wildlife, rosaries and trains. Especially trains, for Puddingtons Canada is primarily two different worlds joined by a spine of railway; while his sensibilities are firmly rooted in Ottawa Valley soil, maritime themes in songs like Deer in the Headlights and Footprints betray Puddingtons affinity for the east coast. There he found kindred musical spirits in the Halifax scene, performing and recording with the citys most innovative musicians and having his deftly-crafted songs covered by many local musicians. Read more about Adam… (http://www NULL.adampuddington NULL.com/)