Have A Happy Monstrosa Year

 Monstrosa is one of a dozen great Canadian musical artists featured on the Corby's Orbit radio show calendar for 2021.

Review of a New Release: Braden Gates' Kitchen Days

The dignity of labour has been central to the folk music tradition forever, but it became politicized over class lines, by songs and artists that polarized worker versus administration conflicts. Besides Corin Raymond and Corb Lund, I can't recall many songs over the last while that promote the values of honest work.  

But Braden Gates has really made a coherent go of it with a whole new album of proletariat pride.

 

Work humbles. Time and energy are dissipated. We sacrifice our only innate resources to appease our financial needs, and to improve the world, in accordance with our talents or our abilities. “Though working it can be a drag / I find some peace of mind,” sings Braden Gates, temporarily transcending his diurnal concerns with the spirit of song.

Braden Gates spends his days in Edmonton, working. “I've worked on and off as a dishwasher over the past few years,” he explains. “It offers a lot of time to reflect, especially if it is slow. This is when this villain of loneliness can be the most present. The best thing about writing songs is that the process can add meaning to any circumstance the writer desires. For me, it's the dish pit.”

He invites us into the kitchen’s backstage, into the pressurized steam room atmosphere and the regimen of robotic routines that correspond to what most of us have to endure in our daily labours. And he has spent his down time fashioning a fine new album, called Kitchen Days, for Borealis Records.

Drawing from the poignant and ironic sensations that occur throughout his working day, he focuses his lyrical imagination into a journal of character sketches, personal landscapes and after-hours confessions, sequenced in a refractory and episodic way, that spiral out from the nucleus of his job.

“I was inspired by a writer named Pete Jordan, known as Dishwasher Pete. He wrote about his quest to wash dishes in every state of America, and the result was his book, 'Dishwasher'. I was drawn to his depiction of the culture of the sud busters, their seemingly lackadaisical nature, which is inherent in me. That said, it can be hard work depending on how busy the restaurant is, and it's certainly not for everyone, getting down on all fours and unclogging the sink tubes after a busy Sunday brunch.’’

Braden’s formidable focus of conscience and care illuminate his portraits of characters from the restaurant milieu like dim Rembrandts. His subjects: an aging line cook who breaks into song when the work gets tough, a tattooed, omniscient waitress, a pool shark with anger management issues.

Their narratives are balanced on the record with high-spirited romps like “Norah Jones At Closing Time” and “Employee Of The Month” (galvanized by exuberant flautist Anh Phung), the comic recitation of “A Dishwasher’s Prayer”, and the melancholy nostalgia of “Lipstick On A Coffee Cup” and “Indecision”, which give Gates’ voice a chance to display its indigo ranges of expression.

There is even a snippet of voice mail from a supportive friend. “With sequencing, I try to have different keys and tempos for each song. That's the basis of it. I've always loved odd bits in recordings and I thought the voicemail would be just that.”

His raucous fiddle and folk guitar playing are emancipatory, and this recording, by Harry Gregg in Edmonton, captures all of his performing intensity, recalling his breakout performance at the 2018 Canadian Folk Music Awards in Ottawa, where he put the stage behind him and advanced on the audience. A rousing crew of supporting musicians, intimate in intention and muscular in execution, further stokes the sudsy energy.

And, fun fact: The grimy and faded, sepia-toned packaging of the record, so evocative of the tunes within, was designed by...Pharis Romero! Her long-time relationship with Borealis was the impetus for her involvement.

So by the final affirmation of “Dishin’ For The Lord”, the listener feels as if the day is done, and after the blessing of some quiet rest, another one very much the same will begin. You will find yourself reaching to press Repeat quite naturally.

And what’s coming up in Braden’s world? He responds, “I just got a new muffler, so things are quiet.”

First published at:https://www.rootsmusic.ca/

Playlist For Corby's Orbit Pre-Christmas Show of 18 December 2020 with Colleen Brown

 

Commissioner of Selection: Paul Corby 

( Brought to you by Jolly Roles, Charity Duty & Giving Sprees )

5-7 p.m. Fridays online http://www.radioregent.com/ and at iHeartradio  

Guest: Colleen Brown

Podcast here https://www.mixcloud.com/paul-corby/

Canadians in Asterisk’d RED. 

Click on photos to enlarge.

5:00 Yuletide Is High But I'm Holding On

Kelly Finnigan ~ The Miracle Is Here ~ A Joyful Sound NEW RELEASE

Christone Kingfish Ingram ~ The Ghost Of Christmas Past (Alligator) NEW RELEASE

* Bill Colgate ~ I Forgot That It Was Christmas ~ Cadre NEW RELEASE

* Q & A ~ The Strangest Christmas Ever ~ NEW RELEASE

Transglobal Underground ~ Tromba Marina ~ International Times

The Lettermen ~ Our Winter Love ~ Holiday Legends

Charlie Parker ~ White Christmas (King Kooba Remix) / Czechoslovakia Philharmonic Orchestra ~ Good King Wenceslas (Patrick Kouchian Remix) / Mahalia Jackson ~ Silent Night (46Bliss Remix) ~ Christmas Remixed

5:40 Quarantine-Agers

* Reggaddiction feat. Yanick ~ James Brown's Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto ~ NEW RELEASE

* Colleen Brown ~ What Do You Want For Christmas? / Interview / Isolation Situation / The Garden / The End Of The World (Again) / Gentle ~ Isolation Songs NEW RELEASE

6:15 Perpetual Emotion

* George Crotty & The Visitors ~ Prayer Dance NEW RELEASE

  Tekno ~ Enjoy NEW RELEASE

* Fortunate Ones ~ Hold On To Christmas Day ~ NEW RELEASE

* Jason Battacharya & Granny Smith ~ Delusions Of Grandeur NEW RELEASE

* Terra Spencer ~ Feels Like Home ~ Chasing Rabbits NEW RELEASE

* Leahy ~ O Come All Ye Faithful ~ NEW RELEASE

* Friggin' Arab Orchestra Company ~ Arab Ladies Sing Christmas Carols Written By Jews ~ NEW RELEASE

Skinner & Twitch ~ Dreaming Of A Safer Christmas ~ NEW RELEASE

The Rockin' Rebels ~ Having A Wild Weekend

Darlene Love ~ Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) ~ A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector

Amadou & Mariam ~ Mogo ~ Folila

Cosmic Music From Colleen Brown and New Christmas Releases Galore

 Today's show will feature large & lovely new seasonal songs and nuclear numbers by Leahy, George Crotty & The Visitors, Fortunate Ones, Q&A and the FAOC (FRIGGIN’ ARAB ORCHESTRA COMPANY) singing their new  ✨Single✨ "Arab Ladies Sing Christmas Carols Written by Jews"

Playlist For Corby`s Orbit Show of 11 December 2020

 Commissioner of Selection: Paul Corby 

( Brought to you by Trance & Dental Meditainment, Convoluted Infolution & Avalanchualities )

5-7 p.m. Fridays online http://www.radioregent.com/ and at iHeartradio  

Podcast here https://www.mixcloud.com/paul-corby/

Canadians in Asterisk’d RED. 

Click on photos to enlarge.

5:00 Nocturnal Memos

* Justin Paladino Band ~ Honey ~ Live NEW RELEASE

Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite ~ West Helena Blue ~ 100 Years Of Blues (Alligator) NEW RELEASE

* Layla Zoe ~ Pray ~ Nowhere Left To Go NEW RELEASE

* The Smoke Wagon Blues Band ~ Mescaline ~ The Ballad Of Albert Johnson

* Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar ~ Meet Me In The Morning ~ The Reckless One NEW RELEASE

Sugar Pie DeSanto ~ Going Back here I Belong ~ Down In The Basement (Chess 1959)

Danny Gatton & The Fat Boys ~ After Hours ~ American Music (1975)

Commissioned & The Clark Sister ~ Lift Up Your Head All Ye Gates ~ Handel`s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration (Reprise 1992)

* Cootes Paradise ~ Until The Rain Stops ~ Downstream NEW RELEASE

  paintings by Kim Dorland

5:45 Electroblue Scoot

                               

* Griffith Hiltz Trio ~ Roberta`s Quest ~ Arcade NEW RELEASE

Warsaw Village Band ~ Skip Funk ~ Infinity (2010)

* Alex Bird ~ Baby I`ll Have You ~ Whisky Kisses NEW RELEASE

* Big Little Lions ~ Turn It Off ~ Singles 2020 NEW RELEASE

* Shaye Zadravec ~ Biloxi ~ Now And Then NEW RELEASE

* Pharis & Jason Romero ~ Old Chatelaine ~ Bet On Love NEW RELEASE

* Colleen Brown ~ Isolation Stimulation  listen here .. Isolation Songs  NEW RELEASE

6:15 Curated Cures 

* Jesse Ryan feat. Joanna Majoko ~ The Way ~ Bridges NEW RELEASE

  Jeri Brown ~ Billy Preston`s Will It Go Round In Circles ~ New Wonderland

* Laura Smith ~ It`s A Personal Thing ~ As Long As I`m Dreaming NEW RELEASE

* Joe Nolan ~ How I Used To Be ~ Drifters

* Andy Shauf ~ 13 Years ~ The Neon Skyline

* Sarah MacDougall ~ Out Of This Blue ~ Home For The Holidays 2 (Arts & Crafts) NEW RELEASE

The Yardbirds ~ A Certain Girl / The Who ~ Cut My Hair / Booker T. & Yim Yames ~ Progress ~ Mojo`s Road To Quadrophenia

6:45 Heavy Beauty

Reading : Jack Gilbert`s A Brief For The Defense from ``Refusing Heaven``*

Aswad ~ Day By Day ~ Rise And Shine - Again! 

Baaba Maal feat. Ernie Ranglin ~ Koni ~ Live At The Royal Festival Hall

* A Brief For The Defense 

Sorrow everywhere. Slaughter everywhere. If babies
are not starving someplace, they are starving
somewhere else. With flies in their nostrils.
But we enjoy our lives because that's what God wants.
Otherwise the mornings before summer dawn would not
be made so fine. The Bengal tiger would not
be fashioned so miraculously well. 

The poor women
at the fountain are laughing together between
the suffering they have known and the awfulness
in their future, smiling and laughing while somebody
in the village is very sick. There is laughter
every day in the terrible streets of Calcutta,
and the women laugh in the cages of Bombay.
If we deny our happiness, resist our satisfaction,
we lessen the importance of their deprivation.

We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure,
but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must have
the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless
furnace of this world. To make injustice the only
measure of our attention is to praise the Devil.
If the locomotive of the Lord runs us down,
we should give thanks that the end had magnitude.

We must admit there will be music despite everything.
We stand at the prow again of a small ship
anchored late at night in the tiny port
looking over to the sleeping island: the waterfront
is three shuttered cafés and one naked light burning.
To hear the faint sound of oars in the silence as a rowboat
comes slowly out and then goes back is truly worth
all the years of sorrow that are to come.

Music For The Orbital Family

 Photo by Mehgan Pawlett

All refreshing music today something old, something blues, something cosmic, something to amuse. And a poem.

Tune up and  listen in today from 5 - 7 pm  Corby, Orbitally

  on Radio Regent, out of Regent Park Toronto.

The Music That Helped Us Orbit Above It All - The Best Of 2020

 

Picture based upon an illustration by Jean Yves Lemoigne

I must admit that Taylor Swift sure made a nifty album this year, but so many artists were given the time to work intensely on their craft, it is no surprise that almost every one of them was raising the bar to new levels of perfection and new styles of achievement. Here are my favourite and most memorable albums of 2020, amongst many others:

*Canadian Artists in Red

Nathan Smith            Let It Rest Let It Rise  Soul Motivators                Do The Damn Thing  Robert Lee feat. Mingjia                                 Ascension  Sarah Harmer   Are You Gone  100 Mile House                          Love And Leave You _______________________  Songs Of Tales   Life Is A Gong Show  Matty Stecks & Musical Tramps  Long Time Ago Rumble  Harrow Fair   Sins We Made  Clara Engel                  Hatching Under The Stars  Kari van der Kloot  The Architects ____________________________  Dion       Blues With Friends  Sherman Downey    New Beautiful  Sarah Jarosz         World Gone To Ground  Truths & Rights 1981               Time For Us To Unite  Julian Taylor     The Ridge __________________________  The Smoke Wagon Blues Band        The Ballad of Albert Johnson  Lynn Miles   We’ll Look For Stars  John Finley    Soul Singer  Emilyn Stam & John David Williams                               Honeywood  Mario Romano                   The Journey So Far ------------------------------------------  Manteca      The Twelfth Of Never  Rae Spoon       Mental Health  Paul Reddick     Live In Italia  Dione Taylor   Spirits In The Water  Al Qahwa       African Routes

Rick Fines               Solar Powered Too  The Barrel Boys    Mainline  Will Boness   Change of Plans  Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar           The Reckless One  Braden Gates  Kitchen Days     ________________  Braids       Shadow Offering  Colleen Brown                      Isolation Songs  Rose Cousins   Bravado  Pharis & Jason Romero                           Bet On Love Kelly Finnigan  A Joyful Sound  ____________________   Rebecca Hennessy       All The Little Things You Do  Shaye Zadravec                        Now And Then  Joe Nolan      Drifters  Crystal Shawanda                Church House Blues  Chelsea Stewart                    Forever Your Girl ________________________ Mike McKenna Jr.       At The Edge Of The World  Wheel It Studios Vol. 2              Parallel Intersections  Alex Bird & The Jazz        Mavericks  Whisky Kisses  Dan Pitt   Monochrome  Justin Saladino Band  LIVE ____________________  The Griffith Hiltz Trio  Arcade Terra Lightfoot Consider The Speed Tamar Ilana & Ventanas                               Mistral  Angela Turone & Chris Platt                Sounds Of Brazil  Lynn Harrison                   Something More

Canadian Folk Music Awards Nominees Rife with Orbiteers

 

  

Congratulations to friends of the Orbit who have just been

 nominated for Canadian Folk Music Awards: 

The Barrel Boys, Pharis & Jason Romero, Lynn Miles, 

Emilyn Stam & John David Williams, Julian Taylor, 

OKAN, Sarah Jane Scouten, 

Coco Love Alcorn, Mike McKenna Jr., 

Moscow Apartment, Dayna Manning, 

Aviva Chernick, Gordon Grdina 

and 

Big Little Lions.