Lori Yates

Biography

In the early 1980s, Toronto's thriving roots-rock scene included the likes of Blue Rodeo, the Cowboy Junkies and local cult heroes Rang Tango, fronted by Lori Yates.

After Lori went solo, she had hoped to make her mark on the Canadian music scene, but her first two CDs, the country-styled Can't Stop the Girl, and her major label debut Breaking Point, came and went without much notice.

"There were no hits with my other two records," concedes Yates. "But I look at that as sort of a fortunate position to be in because I can still experiment and find out where I want to go." Yates' third CD, Untogether, resulted from this experimentation and included collaboration with a group of young electronic upstarts known as Opium Concepts. Says Yates, "I was so damn excited after that first song we did together ... I was discovering my own voice again."

Lori Yates formed Hey Stella in 1998 with David Baxter, Michelle Josef and Blue Rodeo’s Bazil Donovan. They became Thursday-night regulars at the now defunct Bar Code in Toronto. Although Yates did not start Hey Stella with the intention of getting a record deal, their first eponymously titled CD (Hey Stella) was released in late 2001. "The biggest trip for me is that I've never done the indie thing. I've always been with majors, except for the first record I made, and that never got released."

Yates has a pragmatic vision of independent record sales. "I do glass painting and sell it at craft shows. I realized that I really like the idea of having something to sell, and the person who buys it gives you the money directly. We can put the money back into recording as opposed to have somebody do a job that I can never quite figure out. At least this way if it doesn't happen, we'll know why. It's a matter of being able to control your own destiny."

Lori has since contributed to a number of soundtracks including the movie Hanging Garden, and the cult TV series Forever Knight.

Source: Lisa Wilton, Canoe.ca

Relationship to Blue Rodeo

Lori Yates is connected to Blue Rodeo in a number of ways, including the following:

Lori Yates is listed in the album credits on several of Blue Rodeo's CDs, including The Days In Between, Lost Together and Casino.
Whenever possible, Bazil Donovan joins Lori Yates/Hey Stella on stage.
On Lori Yates' 1997 album Untogether, Bazil Donovan plays bass on the song "Free Me".
Bazil, Lori Yates and Michelle Josef are featured on Penny Lang's Somebody Else CD.
Both Lori and Bazil were among several Toronto area musicians who lent a hand to The Leslie Spit Treeo on their 1994/95 CD Hells Kitchen. Joel Anderson (of The Skydiggers and Jim Cuddy Band) was a member of The Leslie Spit Treeo.
In Lori Yates' 1994 release, Breaking Point, Bazil Donovan, James Gray and Cleave Anderson (formerly of Blue Rodeo) play on a number of tracks, and Jim Cuddy sings background vocals on "Make A Liar Out Of Me" and "Blue Confession". Other friends of Blue Rodeo on this album include Colin Linden, John Whynot and Anne Bourne.
Both Blue Rodeo and Lori Yates contributed songs to the 1994 Neil Young tribute CD, Borrowed Tunes.
In 1991 and 1994, Colin Linden (who is part of Blue Rodeo's circle of musical friends) produced some tracks for Lori Yates.

Quotes

On Blue Rodeo: "I've known them for years… I've played with Bazil Donovan for about eight years." - Lori Yates

On her band members (including Bazil Donovan): "They're great musicians, and it's so comfortable. We don't rehearse! Those years of musical experience are coming in handy." - Lori Yates