Blue Rodeo

Keelor's solo path becomes brighter
Adrian Chamberlain, Times Colonist
Published: Thursday, October 19, 2006

PREVIEW

Who: Greg Keelor with the Sadies

Where: Central Bar & Grill

When: Monday, 8 p.m.

Tickets: $15 advance, $18 door

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Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo admits a rave review from Rolling Stone almost 20 years ago made him go, well, slightly ga-ga.

In 1987, the powerful music magazine wrote of the band's debut, Outskirts: "The best new American band might very well be Canadian."

"I remember the day I bought that Rolling Stone," said Keelor, who is performing with The Sadies in Victoria on Monday. "It was at Yonge and St. Claire in Toronto, in a drugstore. I picked it up, I saw the review. I thought it was world domination."

Hey, who wouldn't? The citation did indeed garner Blue Rodeo global attention. But they never quite exploded into the Next Big Thing internationally. Still, Keelor thinks the steady build the band achieved throughout Canada (where the group is indeed famous) and in pockets of the U.S. was better, overall. He suspects becoming a superstar would, at least in his case, have led to rapid burn-out.

His new solo album, Aphrodite Rose, is the work of a rocker who has managed to reach the ripe age of 52 with mind and soul more or less intact. The collection of mostly acoustic-style songs -- recorded with The Sadies' Travis Good on guitar and drummer Mike Belitsky -- is replete with echoes of classic rock.

Keelor, who says his favourite period in rock is 1966 to 1972, is clearly influenced by such acts as the Byrds, Neil Young and Buffalo Springfield.

Keelor originally intended to write and record Aphrodite Rose by himself at his home studio near Toronto. In May, The Sadies -- old friends of his -- asked him to join them for an October tour. Keelor said OK, but only if they would lend a hand so he could get his solo album out quicker.

The singer-songwriter said it's a sunnier disc than his previous, more introspective solo recordings. Gone (1996) reflected his search for his birth mother after finding out he was adopted. Seven Songs for Jim (2005) was dedicated to his deceased father.

"This one isn't about anything especially; it's just about playing music," Keelor said. "This one's a totally different vibe."

The work of a more mature artist, perhaps?

"Maybe it's mature. I just see things differently now. I have a wider perspective of myself inside the machine, rather than just bein' the guy making sure I'm getting my part done. I don't think I could have ever done a record like this when I was a whipper-snapper."

Stylistically, Aphrodite Rose seems a lot different from Blue Rodeo. Keelor agrees. He said he enjoys making a solo album mostly because he calls all the shots. In Blue Rodeo, everyone's a producer with their own two bits to contribute.

The singer-guitarist said he's looking forward to playing with The Sadies (he appears as a guest on their new disc, The Sadies: In Concert, Volume I). As far as his own career -- both solo and with Blue Rodeo -- Keelor hopes it lasts until he's an old duffer.

"I love performing and I love being on the road," said Keelor. "I like the whole thing."

Thanks again Steve for another GOOD read

I have to agree that I think Greg's style in the cd has alot to do with his association with the "great" SADIES
They do seem to influence each other I see.

Former Hi Fi Greg Keelor revisits his musical past

By adrian mack

Publish Date: 19-Oct-2006

He looks groggy, like he just rolled off the couch after a three-day pot coma, but Greg Keelor's memory is very much intact when he meets with the Straight at a West Side coffee shop to discuss his newest solo album, Aphrodite Rose. Recalling Toronto's late-'70s punk milieu, the Blue Rodeo cofounder speaks warmly about his salad days, fresh out of high school, when he played in a band called the Hi Fis with his friend Jim Cuddy.

"There weren't many records getting made," he says, dropping names like the Demics and the Forgotten Rebels. "But there were lots of great bands at the bar."

Most of those great bands never made it out of the bar-the Edge at Gerrard and Church streets to be specific, run by the legendary Two Garys, and a ground zero for first-wave Hogtown punk. Keelor and Cuddy went on to achieve enormous domestic success, meanwhile, after dropping the skinny ties and broadening their musical palette with Blue Rodeo. For his third solo release, Keelor has examined those roots and the music that inspired him in the first place to produce a charming exercise in evoking his past. Even the one-inch eight-track deck he used has its significance, and not just because he wanted to capture the "heavy air" intrinsic to analogue recordings. "It's the same machine that we did Diamond Mine on," he says, referring to Blue Rodeo's classic 1989 release. "It felt really good to bring that machine home."

Keelor also resurrected one of his first songwriting efforts from the predigital Hi Fis era: a delicious wedge of power pop called "Colour and Rhyme" that he's proud to announce was recorded in its original key. ("It took me quite a while to warm up to it," he admits.) The rest of the album tackles the various shades of golden-era pop, rock, and country that have long bubbled beneath Blue Rodeo's comparatively polished surface. "No Man's Land" opens the album with a jangly folk-rock statement that could have been nicked from a lost Searchers B-side, while "Prisoner" takes CCR's version of "I Put a Spell On You" and bumps it up against the Yardbirds, making for an elementary demonstration of Keelor's intention that Aphrodite Rose should recall "the effect the British invasion had on American music". In its second half, the album extends into meatier stretches of psychedelic country, like in the extraordinary "Alaska". In a rather nifty move for a man whose heart maybe beats a little bit faster for the barroom than it does for the concert hall, Keelor turned to the Sadies for assistance on much of the record.

"They're a cosmic band," he continues, "and they play everything with such sincerity and authority, whether it's Syd Barrett or Clarence White-they just do it." The collaboration gives Aphrodite Rose much of its excitement.

"The influence of the Sadies is like a young pup teaching an old dog new tricks, and really, I thank the day that I bumped into them. They put the vibration in my head again. They rang the bell." Peering up from his coffee, he concludes, "I might have been a little bit on automatic pilot there for a while."

Greg Keelor plays the Commodore Ballroom on Sunday (October 22).

Where on earth do you find these articles? They're all so very GOOD and they all bring a different taste to the table don't they Each one has a different flavour  Thanks for sharing them with uscause I know I would never have found them and therefore, would have missed out on all this info

Yes thanks Steve!

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Don't let your feet touch ground
and don't look down ~Ash Koley~

They are great, aren't they?  Here's another that ran in our local paper yesterday:

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....formerly "LJo"

HA HA HA ....."He's a brat as well.  How refreshing."

I LOVED that part!!

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....formerly "LJo"

Him being a brat makes him even more appealing eh LJo2

I've always thought of him as funny and fun to be with, I guess I've just always been lucky to catch him in his GOOD moods  Plus, like I've said before, I'm sure it's the company he keeps these days  That being the Sadies

"If You Go was a song Blue Rodeo often played live but never recorded."

It was?  Did anyone here, ever hear it live?

Yeah, I think that article pretty much nailed it!   I think Greg has a great sense of humor....he comes up with some real 'originals' at times!  hee hee

I am going to see him and the Sadies tonight (an early b'day gift from my hubby!) ... so we'll see how he's behaving! 

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....formerly "LJo"

If You Go was a song done in the early years of Blue Rodeo and it is done far different on Greg's new cd than when BR did it. I have heard it live 5 times Twice during there 20th Anniversary shows at The Rivoli and Lee's Palace then at The Spectrum in Mtl and then way back in 1991 at a few shows. They used to do this song with Jack Dekeyser along with Crying Over You that was done on The DVD. Crying Over You was a cover song that BR also did during this time. It was a song most notably sung by Rosie Flores on her debut album called Rosie Flores and was written by James Intveld I have live recordings or have obtained live recordings of both if anyone would like to hear the BR version let me know and I will send it too you.

Have a wonderful time LJo2.  Enjoy and let us know how it goes.

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Greg Keelor met Jim Cuddy and then I met you people. Serendipity is a marvellous thing.


"I guess I don't know if I believe in God but
I know a song can make you feel good once
in a while." ~Greg Keelor~

Music the old-fashioned way
Greg Keelor's latest solo album had a little help from his friends

Lynn Saxberg, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Greg Keelor likes old stuff. Whether it's a car, motorcycle, camera or studio gear, he prefers vintage technology to the latest in gadgetry, a predilection that's evident on his new solo disc, Aphrodite Rose, one of my favourite Canadian releases this year.

The lyrics are spiked with social commentary but the music is ripe with jangly guitars, throwing back to early British invasion and American psychedelia. Plus there's a warmth to the sound that comes from recording on tape.

"No computers," Keelor points out over lunch at Chez Lucien, a downtown Ottawa watering hole that features a jukebox stocked with hits from days gone by. Keelor would be impressed, but the bustling lunch-hour wasn't the right time to introduce it.

Besides, I didn't want to distract him from either his Caesar salad or the topic of discussion. Keelor is half of the core songwriting duo behind Canadian country-rockers Blue Rodeo, and I've always found him an intriguing guy. His partner, Jim Cuddy, can be counted on to crank out love songs that please the ladies, but you never know what to expect from Keelor. He's responsible for some of Blue Rodeo's most dark and moody songs, while his two previous solo outings have exposed a hefty amount of personal pain. He never struck me as outgoing by nature, and can be a challenge to interview.

But there's little emotional baggage on Aphrodite Rose, and Keelor was keen to talk about it. Wearing a Western-style shirt and rose-coloured aviator shades, he says it's no coincidence that he and Cuddy both released solo discs this fall.

"When we came off the road last time with Blue Rodeo, Jim said he was going to do one so I knew I was going to have a lot of time on my hands, so I thought I'd better make a record," Keelor says.

He set out to make the record entirely on his own -- from the writing, singing and playing to engineering and artwork -- but soon realized it would take forever to finish. When his good friend, Sadies' musician Travis Good, called to see if he would join them on their fall tour, he decided to step up the pace.

"That sounded like a good idea, so I said, 'You gotta come over and help me finish the record,' Keelor recalls.

"If Travis is playing on it, you know it's going to be that much better when it's finished."

Keelor values the musical connections he has with his friends. With Good, it started years ago when the Sadies played a one-off show with Blue Rodeo, then joined them on the Palace of Gold tour. Keelor and Good went on to form a side band, the Unintended, with Rick White, formerly of Eric's Trip and Elevator.

"I was blown away by his musicianship," Keelor says.

"Travis is one of those rare musicians that just plays it right and plays it beautifully. He just knows exactly what works."

Another high-profile friend on the album is Sarah McLachlan, who lends her angelic voice to four songs. Again, it's a creative relationship that dates back more a decade

"She's always been one of my favourite vocalists, even before she was 'Sarah McLachlan,'" Keelor says, emphasizing her name as if it were in lights, "and I always liked singing with her. She's very busy but she made time for old friends."Most of the new disc was recorded in Keelor's home studio near Peterborough. The 24-track facility is equipped with Pro Tools, the computer-based music-editing and fix-up program, but Keelor stuck to his favourite "archaic" technology: one-inch, eight-track tape.

"Whatever you put on really has to count. It's gotta be a statement that means something because you only have eight tracks," he says.

"It is a little bit like having a hotrod -- if you put headers on it, you gotta make sure they're working well. If you put dual exhaust on it, it's got a certain sound and the only way you can get that sound is to use dual exhaust. Same with tape. It has a certain transience at the bottom end that is not transferred in the digital world."

Keelor and the Sadies play Barrymore's on Nov. 1. Tickets and times, 613-755-1111.

© The Ottawa Citizen 2006

Thanks once again Steve for the interesting article.

justaroundmidnight:

Him being a brat makes him even more appealing eh LJo2

I've always thought of him as funny and fun to be with, I guess I've just always been lucky to catch him in his GOOD moods  Plus, like I've said before, I'm sure it's the company he keeps these days  That being the Sadies

I've been lucky enough to catch Greg in his many moods...

Great articles...especially the one from the Star Phoenix, LJo2!