Speaking of...
Emergency gigs, summer colds, The Order of NS, McLuhan & Tom Power, CMJ '99 VHS, Matthew Grimson, Erin’s birthday, Leeroy’s record, guitar tutorials and more...
Howdy Howdy,
Loooong overdue on this one, so get out your reading glasses and bookmarks because this newletter is CHOCK FULL AND RAMBLING. I suppose I could have broken it up into five separate posts over the last two months but I make quadruple albums - it’s all or nothing, baby…
The Emergency had a rocking gig with The Arkells in Fergus at the end of May. Max snapped this picture of me when I joined them on stage for Something’s Gotta Give. I kind of look like Mr. Rogers playing Springsteen. I’m still waiting on my film to come back from developing for the photos that I took of them with that camera around my neck.
I’ve since spent the last few weeks recovering from a whopping summer cold (cue Dan Mangan). It’s still bringing some gravitas to my speaking voice. Between a round of antibiotics and some work on a cracked molar I’ve been running pretty ragged, but I think I may have turned a corner today. I’ve not shaved yet, could use a hairbrush for that mop under the Festival Baddeck cap and should probably fix my collar.
Speaking of unwieldy shirt collars, I should have adjusted mine after receiving the Order of Nova Scotia from Lieutenant Governor Savage back in April. It’s truly an honour to be recognized by the province in this way. Nova Scotia has supported and inspired me and the communities and people have shaped my way of being. Thanks to Mike and Darlene for hosting the ceremony and dinner at Government House. It was a privilege to be there and to speak with the other esteemed recipients - Darryl Dexter, Carolyn G. Thomas, Jack Flemming and Rankin McSween.
Speaking of Dan Mangan in the third paragraph above, I’m sharing the stage with him and his band in Burlington on July 2nd at the Royal Botanical Gardens. My good pal, Peter Elkas will join me for some my set and we’re going to BRING IT. Still tickets left here and for many of the other summer gigs with the Emergency.
We’ve also just announced a fall solo run of shows in Ontario in October. Alexander Gallant, no stranger to those who frequent 45 Portland and the Window Inn Wednesdays, will be opening the shows. He’s got a great new record called The Prince of Birchy Head that dropped today.
Seems fitting I was just coming down with my cold when Alex and I spoke with Scott Stoneman for his aptly named “Pretty Heady Stuff” podcast. We talked songwriting, 45 Portland Street and more. The audio version is here if you’d rather listen and fill in the blanks.
Speaking of Fill in the Blanks I appreciate the great response and enthusiasm for the new Emergency track. We debuted it in Fergus and I look forward to playing it more this summer. It’s available on 7” single here. On the b-side is the 4 track “low def” version I recorded for a “Media Hot & Cold” assignment for Andrew McLuhan’s online UMI reading class on his grandfather Marshall’s classic book, Understanding Media. I’m told Andrew will be running the class again this fall in case any of you need to get a better understanding of why “the medium is still the message”. The book and the class really flipped the phase switch in my thinking about technology and how it affects us.
Speaking of McLuhan and Fill in the Blanks- I did just that with Tom Power on CBC Q a few weeks ago. You can listen to it here. The only thing I’d fine tune is in Tom’s introduction when he says “Joel put together a permanent band after Down at the Khyber”. This was no doubt from his reading of our press release mentioning it’s the Emergency’s 20th anniversary with Chris on bass, but it’s important to note that Dave has been at the trap kit since In Need of Medical Attention gigs in late ’98 and all the Emergency members who were there along the way (Charles Austin, Tracy Stevens, Andrew Glencross, Tim Brennan and Ian McGettigan) helped build the momentum. I was never actively thinking “I’ve got to put together a permanent band” and every phase of the Emergency has clicked in its own unique way. That said, I’m pretty blown away that Dave Marsh, Chris Pennell and I have been making music together for this long. It’s still a joy taking the stage with them.
Speaking of Down at the Khyber and Tim Brennan - the effortlessly cool bass playing photographer who played on that album- Tim will be joining The Emergency at our July 9th show in Sydney when we revisit the whole record. Here’s a photograph Tim took of us at Fang a couple months ago as I tried on Dave’s shades.
Speaking further of bass players - here’s Chris with first wave Emergency Band bassist Tracy Stevens along with Dana Baroni checking in on Chris’ new daughter, Esme, on Portland Street. I call this one Three Men and a Baby.
Speaking of Tracy Stevens and the original five piece “Joel Plaskett & The Emergency Band”, I was digitizing old VHS tapes from the archive in my spare time at Fang last month and I unearthed a tape of us playing songs from In Need Of Medical Attention at Arlene’s Grocery at CMJ in NYC in September of 1999. It was shot on camcorder by our New York fans and friends, Jane and Dollie. In a wild synchronicity - the day after I digitized the tape, they walked into 45 Portland on their first visit to Nova Scotia and we caught up.
That CMJ gig was really memorable - we rolled to that show from NS in a hurricane in my ‘69 Pontiac Parisienne- the gear filling up the huge trunk. I’d never driven in NYC, let alone in a MASSIVE green Pontiac. Here’s Weigh It Down and the full video of the whole show (all shaky singing included) is below the paywall at bottom for all you paid subscribers who wanna party like it’s 1999.
I’m writing this on June 18th and I woke this morning realizing that it’s eight years ago today that Matthew Grimson passed away. Matthew was a friend and the most prolific and imaginative songwriter I’ve ever met. I recorded and played with him in the 90s, covered his song Drifters Raus on Three and wrote a tribute to him in the wake of his passing that’s appears on 44. He came to mind the other day while talking influences with a journalist. My song Drunk Teenagers wouldn’t exist without Matthew. Matthew’s titles always made you want to hear the song. Get Lost Helen of Troy, Save The Narwhal, the list goes on & on & on. Drunk Teenagers felt like a Matthew title.
I found this scrappy phone recording I made on June 18th in 2020 of me singing his song Falling in Love on his SG guitar which his mother Kitty entrusted me to keep safely at the studio along with his audio and lyric archive. So many of Matthew’s songs were dark, funny and intense but every once in a while he’d write a straight up Hallmark card love song like this and you couldn’t quite tell if he meant it ironically or earnestly. My guess it that it was a touch of both - he was unique, nuanced writer and a thoughtful and sensitive guy. I miss him.
Chris Murphy, Clive MacNutt, Erin Costelo and I started recording a tribute record of Matthew’s songs back before the pandemic hit. We’ll need get back to it one of these days- there are some good recordings there.
Speaking of ERIN COSTELO - my incredibly talented friend and former guest of the Window Inn- she turned 50 last weekend. Erin sang a beautiful version of my song Old Friends for the Songs From the Gang surprise tribute for my 50th birthday last year. I couldn’t be there for her party at the Buffalo Club on Saturday so I tracked a version of her rockin’ song, Fighter, on a my Tascam eight track out at my pal, Leeroy Stagger’s studio in Langford, BC last week. I was working quickly and playing all the instruments myself so it’s pretty scrappy. I will likely remix at some point to sharpen it up but here’s the unpolished version. Happy 50th, Erin! Welcome to the club.
Speaking of Leeroy Stagger - he’s got new record out now called Pilgrimage. I co-produced it with him and we had a blast making it. I played drums, some mandolin and guitar. Kendel Carson and Daniel Lapp played fiddle, and Leeroy’s band (Tyler Lieb, Ryland Moranz and Rick May) all brought their talents. It was really fun playing drums with Rick on bass. He’s improvisational and melodic and he used to tour with Rickie Lee Jones. He has stories of jamming with Mitch Mitchell so just being in the room with him ups one’s game. If I recall correctly, he’s got a bumper stick on his car that says something like “I just wanna play the bass”. Mine will say, “I’m a guitar player, but I only play drums with people who just wanna play the bass”. This is all to say - Leeroy made a cool record with some cool people and a lot of heart and soul.
Speaking of Rickie Lee Jones, I just saw she writes here on Substack, so if somehow she sees this I just want her to know how much I love Last Chance Texaco. In Canada when you hit Wawa it’s the Last Chance Husky.
In other news, subscriber Gary asked for a guitar tutorial of Waiting to Be Discovered. I’ve posted it here for Gary and anyone else looking to try it out- it’s pretty scrappy but you’ll get the idea.
Olive (whose version of Fill in the Blanks rocks) asked for a six string guitar tutorial for You’re Mine. Here ya go!
I’m writing this missive from a place we’re renting on Vancouver Island. I’ve been a guitar-slinging ping pong ball for the last few years, bouncing between here, Dartmouth and wherever the gigs take me. My wife, Rebecca, grew up on the Saanich peninsula and it’s been great to be closer to her folks. Our son, Xianing, just graduated high school in Victoria the other day and I needed a hankerchief to dry my eyes (and blow my nose). Xianing’s been doing fun portrait drawings at the Sidney Street Market to make a few bucks. Here’s the cool sign he made with driftwood - if things go as planned, someone will walk up and pay him an infinite amount of money.
He also drew a groovy new summer postcard for 45 Portland that’s at the printer as I type this. We’ll have ‘em for sale in the shop soon. (Speaking of the shop - paid subscribers of the Window Inn get 10% off at Friction Books and we do mail order). Take that, Bezos.
I’m a guy who draws stick figures and I’m living with two talented artists, so to prove to them I’m no loafer (and to pay a few bills), I’ll be back in Nova Scotia for much of July and August to play some Maritime stages before a trip to the Edmonton Folk Fest. I hope to see some of you at a show- here, there or anywhere.
So it appears we’ve arrived at the paywall. This post must feel like Game of Thrones. Thanks to all you paid subscribers for helping me keep the Window Inn lights on, even when I’m slow to deliver. If any of you free subscribers wanna head over the wall with the Wildlings for an archival deep dive, I welcome you virtually, with open, digital arms.
Signing off for now. - JP
JOEL PLASKETT & THE EMERGENCY BAND - LIVE AT ARLENE’S GROCERY, NYC 1999
