NEWS: Long Distance Runners announce tour dates throughout Eastern Canada this October
Long Distance Runners has announced a series of tour dates throughout Eastern Canada this October in support of their acclaimed debut LP, Tracks. Dates are as follows:
Thursday, Oct. 18th - Halifax, NS - The Seahorse (Halifax Pop Explosion)
Friday, Oct. 19th - Fredericton, NB - The Cellar
Saturday, Oct. 20th - St. Andrews, NB - The Red Herring
Sunday, Oct. 21st - Charlottetown, PE - Baba's
Monday, Oct. 22nd - Moncton, NB - Plan B
Wednesday, Oct. 24th - Toronto, ON - The Piston
Thursday, Oct. 25th - Montreal, PQ - Barfly
Friday, Oct. 26th - Ottawa, ON - The Elmdale Tavern
Saturday, Oct. 27th - Wakefield, PQ - Kaffe 1870
For
the past two years, The Long Distance Runners has built a reputation as
one of Newfoundland’s hardest working and dynamic up-and-coming bands.
Their self-titled EP (2010) solidified their place in the east coast
music scene with a handful of ECMA (East Coast Music Association) and
MusicNL (Music Newfoundland and Labrador) award nominations. The release
of their debut LP, Tracks, saw them earn acclaim with critics across the country.
Recorded at Kilbride’s Lab Of Chaos with Krisjan Leslie over the winter of 2011, Tracks
marks a significant shift for the band as they head into new territory
in their songwriting and growth as musicians. Soaring three-part
harmonies, swirling organs and jangly guitars set against singer Chris
Picco’s humourously dark lyrics invoke late-60’s era Beatles, Kinks and
Velvet Underground. As with their debut album, the band played most
instruments themselves even in situations where experience was nil.
“We’d
borrow a banjo or lap-steel or mandolin and took on the challenge to
learn the parts as quickly as possible,” recalls guitarist Dicky
Strickland. “If the part fit, we kept it.”
Another key ingredient was the spontaneous approach in which many of the songs came to be, like the opener, “Election Day” that hadn’t been heard by the other members until the day Picco brought it into the studio.
"“The Island,” “Credits Roll,” “You Don’t Answer Anymore,” and “Treading Water”
were all new songs that Chris brought in last minute,” drummer Adam
Cardwell explains. “We arranged and rehearsed them at the start of the
session, and had them basically done by the end of the day.” Bassist
Matt Hender agrees, “A complicated song like “The Island” with its
changing time signatures and multi-layered bridge was a real thrill to
watch come together in the studio. It’s now become everyone’s favorite
cut on the record.”
The songs themselves range from the defiant pronouncements of “Knuckles” and un-apologetic finger-pointing of “Credits Roll” – the latter showcased in a recent episode of CBC’s Republic of Doyle – to desperate pleas for relief such as “The Island” and “If I Forget to Say I Love You.”
The album is rife with characters that appear and reappear. In the
comic jazz number “Treading Water,” we find our narrator struggling to
keep his head above the water and later in “He Doesn’t Stare Into The Sun No More” getting sucked down in the undertow.
“I
guess it’s fair to say that all of the characters are related in some
way,” explains Picco. “It really wasn’t until the end of recording that I
realized we had a common theme running through. I think it makes for an
interesting experience for listeners who like piecing puzzles
together.”
Press release provided by Pigeon Row
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