Friday 16 October 2015

Calgary Songs Project: A Whole Bunch of Musicians Weigh In

This is one of those embarrassing situations where suddenly you realize that you have a week left for people to give their ideas for the High Performance Rodeo Calgary Songs Project, and you ALSO realize that you're sitting on a crapload of suggestions from folks that you personally reached out to that you haven't shared yet. Oops. Sorry. To make up for that, here's a heckuvapost, with a whole lotta lists for you to mull over, all from Calgary musicians (hey, who better to ask?). Which of these songs deserve to be on our final list of 30 songs to celebrate Calgary and 30 years of the High Performance Rodeo?

Brendan Tincher - The Neckers, The Pygmies
1. Bar-B-Cutie - Huevos Rancheros
2. I Feel Like Gerry Cheevers (I've Got Stitch Marks On My Heart)- Chixdiggit
 
3. Misbehave - Dojo Workhorse
4. Six Flags - The Primrods
5. Foot and Mouth - The Summerlad

Bob Keelaghan - The Puritans, Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir, Muerte Pan Alley
"Can't Remember Names" by Wagbeard
"Vacant" by Straight
"Burn 2 Ash" by Chad VanGaalen
"Mother's Worry" by Color Me Psycho 
"Hillcrest Mine" by James Keelaghan (Yeah, he's my brother, but he deserves an ass-load of credit for what he did as a Calgary indie musician.)
"Mendoza Line" by the Dudes (Honorable mention)

Mary-Lynn Wardle - The Funeral Factory
Cigarette by Same Difference
Sybil for Free by Big Bang Theory
So Elvis by The Funeral Factory (it was not my song, though we credited things equally. It's Religion Darc's.)
Finders Keepers by Lorrie Matheson
Gravity of Ruin by Tom Phillips
Mr. Invisible on it by Colour Me Psycho
Match Made in Hell by The Walking Dead

Dan Vacon - The Dudes, Dojo Workhorse, HighKicks
Sikome Beach - Chixdiggit
the 403? - Great Evil
Blood Machine - Chad VanGaalen

I'm A Truck - A-Team
Let's Play in Traffic - Hot Little Rocket
(Damn it! Also, the Fall by Forest Tate is maybe the best song I've ever heard.)

Chantal Vitalis - Same Difference, Maud, The Lovebullies and Kris Demeanor & his Crack Band

ONE SHOE by Kris Demeanor. The true story of Neil Stonechild, Lloyd Dustyhorn, and a number of other First Nations men in the Saskatoon area found frozen to death after last seen in the company of Saskatoon police officers. A haunting tale sung/told in a manner fittingly detached, remote…

INSENSITIVE by Anne Loree (made famous by Jann Arden). Fabulous melody, great lyrics and something everyone can relate to: Unrecoited love. “I really should have know by the time you drove me home, by the chill in your embrace the expression on your face that told me, maybe you might have some advice on how to be insensitive…” I was there, with a handful of others, the first time Anne played that song live at a jam that Jann Arden was hosting at the now-defunct club Cover to Cover. Jann was blown away by the song, as were we all, and I’m so glad that it received the attention it deserved.

THE FOOL IS THE LAST ONE TO KNOW by Billy Cowsill/Ralph Boyd Johnson. Billy was ADORED by the Calgary music community and this tune, co-written with another favourite Calgary songwriter, Ralph Boyd Johnson, is why. Here’s some info on Billy...
RIBBONS AND BOWS by Tom Phillips. Love this song and love the way he sings it. “If it has to change well, that’s the way it goes. Ribbons and bows can turn into chains…”

MOUNT PLEASANT by Dragon Fli Empire. One of the most ‘Calgary’ songs I know! “Up and down the #2, Killarney 17th Avenue…” That’s MY BUS, dudes!

Daren Powell - Brenda Vaqueros, Beaver Squadron
Color Me Psycho - Sacred Valley Penetration

Sacred Heart of Elvis - Black Snake Moan
Curse of Horseflesh - Liberty's Cannonball
Cripple Creek Fairies - She Sells Stems Cells

Brent Crosson - Brenda Vaqueros, Beaver Squadron
She Sells Stem Cells - Cripple Creek Fairies
Creepsville - Forbidden Dimension
Sin - Sacred Heart of Elvis
Atom Smasher - Primrods
Mr. Invisible - Colour Me Psycho

Phew. That's a lot of stuff for us to go listen to now. We're really happy to see the Sacred Heart of Elvis and Cripple Creek Fairies show up on someone's lists... We also like how no one can seem to agree on which Chixdiggit or Huevos songs should be included!

Anything else we should be considering? Let us know in the comments below!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

No one seems to have suggested a Steve Pineo song yet which is just plain criminal. Maybe the song that Paul Brant covered (Canadian Man) or the song Prairie Oyster covered (Too Bad For Me)?