ver The Edge Pag

Sean Macdonald
Parasites & Kings
Nettwerk

Art Space, for those of you
who don’t know, is a warm,
cozy little alcove above
Books & Company on 3rd
Ave. No place could have
been more perfect for
Canadian folk guitarist
Stephen Fearing’s appear-
ance on October 14th.
Stephen’s bluesy, expressive
mix of folk, country, and rock
created an ambience that
made for an_ incredible
evening in this tiny room,
which was stuffed with about
150 lucky listeners. Brought
to PG. by home-grown pro-
moter Calico Concerts, this
was a fantastic opportunity to
witness one of Canada’s best
(but unfortunately less well
known) guitarists. Stephen is
probably best known for his
involvement with Blackie and
the Rodeo Kings; a band
made up. of _ Fearing,

Sean Macdonald isn’t a
new face to the Canadian
scene, but don’t be sur-
prised if you haven’t heard
of him before. Born in
Winnipeg, schooled on
Vancouver Island and liv-
ing in Vancouver since the
age of 19 to pursue a
career in music, Sean is
ne of the more dedicated
rtists to the Canadian
scene and an artist which
the Northern West Coast
can be proud to call our
own. Maybe you remem-
ber him by his last band,
The Ids (Psycho Babylon,
1997 - yeah we reviewed
that one in SoundScape a

democracy of a band.”

So without a band where
does all of the background
noise come from? Sean is
a multi-talented musician,
playing guitar, harmonica,
piano, organ, and drums.
He writes music because
“he has to” he claims. “It’s
more of a compulsion than
an effort.”

Sean is an astute writer
of lyrics as well. Each of
the 13 tracks of Parasites
& Kings offers thought pro-
voking questions which
explore a variety of differ-
ent themes. One of the
recurring ones is God.
Sean explores the ques-

while back). Since its tion of Godfrom“anumber nice mixture.” So...a lec-
release Sean has gone his. of interesting perspec- ture in 7-11?

own way, claiming that its tives.” Sean isn’t singing

easier to express himself praise and he isn’t offering -Kevin Milos

solo “outside of the criticism, but he simply

Junkhouse’s

Tom Wilson,
and Toronto
guitarist and

producer Colin
Linden. Having
released 6 solo
albums and 3
collaborative
ones, Stephen
is no stranger to
the Canadian
music scene.
Stephen’s per
formance was a
lesson in wha
is actually pos
sible with one
person and one
electro-
acoustic guitar.
Close your
eyes and you would not imag-
ine that one guitar was capa-

Canadian Folk Guitarist Stephen

Fearing played in PG on Oct. 14.

into two moods: Stephen’s
Happy Hour and Stephen's
Love Songs. Both were rid-

ble of creating that much dled with rambling medleys
melody. He divided his set

shares a complex relation-
ship with us.

Don’t get scared off by all
this deep talk of God}
though. Sean Macdonald) 7* |
knows that he is an enter-/~ 7
tainer and even though
Parasites and Kings tends
to deal with some disturb-}» un
ing imagery, Sean demon-| cus
strates a “razor-sharp wit’}
with soothing and lush} —
music.
er,” he says, “I’m paid tof
entertain. lf people want-
ed pure pain they'd go toa
lecture (| can vouch for
that one).
pure pleasure they’d go to
7-11. | try to give them a

“’m an entertain- —

If they wanted

Sean Macdonald - Left The Ids
to become a Canadian rising

star on.the Pacific Coast.

Review: Stephen Fearing at Art Space

which showed off his  six-
string prowess, dropped in
between songs such as
“Industrial Lullaby,” “Cain’s
Blood,” and “Dog on a Chain.”
Fearing also paid homage to
a few of his influences, play-
ing covers by Canadian song-
ster William P. Bennett (an
artist to whom an entire
Blackie and the Rodeo Kings
album was devoied), Scottish
guitarist John Martyn, and
Neil Young.

Fearing’s fluid guitar playing, .

deep baritone, and attention
to imagery-rich lyrics, (“I’ve
got a thin black raven/in my
side/beating wings/against
my spine”), are at one
moment reminiscent of
Gordon Lightfoot and at the
next closer to Blue Rodeo or
Kenny Wayne Sheppard.
Defining his style is difficult to
impossible, but the constant

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If you have a contribution to make to SoundScape, please contact Over The Edge at
over-the-edge @ unbc.ca or (250) 960-5633

change-up-gave something to
be enjoyed by everyone.
Stephen’s instrumentals were
undéniably show highlights,
which featured everything
from Irish folk melodies (“The
Lark and the Open Field”), to
a children’s television show
theme, (imagine the “Mr.
Dressup” song - which is
actually a traditional song
named “Roberts Waterloo” -
done entirely in harmonics)! It
was a perfect way to spend a
relaxed Saturday evening,
and so next time you want to
go to a concert to really enjoy
a talented musician instead
of just screaming over the
music, check out who’s play-
ing Art Space. | think you'll be
glad you did.

-Michelle Dubuc