Steve Dawson - Bug Parade - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Over the past decade or so Steve Dawson has become such an indelible fixture on the Canadian musical landscape that it's tempting to take him for granted. One of the drawbacks of being so talented is that Dawson makes everything he does sound so effortless. The music that continually flows out of him is so natural and unforced that it's possible to forget all of the toil that went into producing it. Behind the organic, flowing guitar work, the crisp arrangements and the laconic singing voice, resides one of the brightest, hardest working musicians the country has ever produced. In addition to working on his own music, he's kept very busy producing memorable albums by such luminaries as Jim Byrnes, Kelly Joe Phelps, Old Man Luedecke, The Sojourners, and The Deep Dark Woods, as well as bringing the award winning Mississippi Sheiks Tribute Project to fruition. Add to that his session work and touring commitments and it's amazing that this 2-time Juno award winning artist (not to mention 3 other Junos for his production work!) ever finds the time to create any new work under his own name. Because Dawson is such a diverse artist, you're never quite sure what kind of mood he'll be in when he finally makes it into the studio to record. A master of many genres from gentle acoustic ditties and gut bucket blues through to free flowing experimental compositions, Dawson is comfortable in almost any musical setting you could name, and his newest album, InchNightshadeInch draws from these many interests to form his most satisfyingly complete album to date. Though InchNightshadeInch continues in the vein of his four previous solo recordings, it nevertheless expands upon the language of his guitar work and offers more complex and fully realized songs than ever before. The riveting InchDarker StillInch sets the direction and mood as listeners encounter Steve Dawson, storyteller and ch

This is the record that Steve Dawson's growing number of fans have been waiting for. Rattlesnake Cage finally gives them the opportunity to hear Steve interact with his guitar in a way that has never been captured on record before. These new simple and unadorned recordings hearken back to the InchAmerican PrimitiveInch sound that John Fahey and other artists such as Peter Lang and Leo Kottke recorded on Fahey's iconic Takoma record tag in the sixties-instrumental music informed by the deep traditions of blues, ragtime, jazz, and even Hawaiian music, but taking those influences in unexpected directions. The LP component is pressed on 180 gram vinyl. Album Tracks 1. Blind Thomas at the Crime Scene 2. Flophouse Oratory 3. Medicine Show Comes to Avalon 4. Rattlesnake Cage 5. Lighthouse Avenue 6. Butterfly Stunt 7. While the West Was Won, the Earth Didn't Know It 8. J.R. Lockley's Dilemna 9. Flagpole Sketer Laughs from Above 10. Chunky 11. Altar at Center Raven

Steve Dawson has always been hard to pin down. A guitarist, a composer, asought after musical enabler and sideman? Of course, he's all of those thingsand more, but none of those descriptions really do the seven-time JunoAward-winning musician justice.Since moving to Nashville in 2013, it's been full tilt for the Vancouver native.When not producing albums for a slew of roots artists, touring and recordingunder his own name, or putting together his acclaimed 'Music Makers andSoul Shakers' podcast (now clocking in at well over a hundred episodes),Steve was usually out on the road supporting friends such as the Maritimepowerhouse Matt Andersen, or Birds of Chicago, with whom he's played over250 shows in the past three years.In 2019 and coming into early 2020, Dawson was as busy as he'd ever been inhis life. So, when the pandemic hit, like everybody else, he had to re-assessand figure out what to do to stay afloat. It's an old story by now, but the realityis that the same quarantine that closed so many doors in our daily lives,created the opportunity for Steve to work on a large volume of music thatwould never have seen the light of day otherwise. While perfecting his remoterecording techniques producing and playing on tracks for many other artists,this flurry of activity resulted in enough solo material for three distinct albums,the first of which, 'Gone, Long Gone' reflects Dawson's mastery of song-craft.Like all of Steve's albums, 'Gone, Long Gone' features brilliant instrumentalperformances from some of the finest players in roots music. Jeremy Holmesholds everything together on bass with drumming split between Gary Craigand Jay Bellerose (both drummers play together on 'Six Skeletons'), whileKevin McKendree and Chris Gestrin laid down the piano, organ and otherkeyboards. Keri Latimer joins in on vocals on two songs, and Steve's old'Birds of Chicago' band-mate, Allison