TwoTwentyTwo

Formed in 2005, Two Twenty Two is the magical combination of two established solo singer songwriters. Amanda Brewer and Warren Muzak have brought very different songwriting styles together to create a sound which ranges from traditional country, to folk and blues, to modern rock and jazz. Brewer’s sweet melodies are paired with Muzak’s driving rhythms and their powerful voices weave together to draw listeners in to stories of love, loss and life on the road.

Brock Zeman

Brock Zeman may only be twenty-five years old, but already he’s released three previous albums with his signature roots style, and been praised by critics for the maturity of his vocals, the depth of his storytelling and his impressive live performances – which he shares with audiences widely and regularly, across North America and Europe.

His fourth album, Welcome Home Ivy Jane, produced by Keith Glass of Prairie Oyster fame, along with Zeman and Steve Foley at Audio Valley, cements Zeman’s talent as a songwriter who balances the grit of everyday life with a lyrical heart. Sung in his deep, rich and twangy vocals and backed by a first rate band, Zeman is, as one reviewer has said, “certainly a rising star” (Atlantic Seabreeze).

Zeman’s vocals often illicit immediate comparisons to Americana greats; Country Music News has said that Zeman has “a voice that begs to be compared to Steve Earle” while Rootshighway claims that “Brock Zeman should have been born in Austin Texas.” But it is Zeman’s songwriting that makes the comparisons to the great singer-songwriters stick.

Stagg’s relentless tour schedule has him playing over 300 shows annaully, including two US tours with Brooklyn rockabilly rouser, ‘Guitar Bomb’, and 3 Eastern Canada tours with former ‘Skydigger’, Paul MacLeod.

Residing in his new home of Toronto, Stagg continues to write and will be recording his next two CD’s throughout 2009. The first, a big country/rock affair Produced by Rick Hutt, and featuring a hugely talented cast, including: Dan Walsh, Tom Bona, Steve Hogg, Jason Barry, Tanya Phlipovich, Simon Wilcox and more. The second, a rock album with The Lucas Stagg Band, a power trio featuring former ‘Droops’ smokin’ hot rhythm section, Danny Alac on bass, and Chris Flannigan on drums. Both recordings will take place at River Edge Recording Studio.

Late 2008 saw the release of Stagg’s latest acoustic/roots album, ‘Great Big Gone’! The CD has been Produced by Dan Walsh, and is the first release for Lucas on Busted Flat Records. Label mates Walsh, Duane Rutter, and Toronto songstress Tanya Philipovich lend their talents to this batch of tunes. ‘GBG’ was recorded and mixed at Dan’s Studio on Lake Erie, and mastered by Paul Riemens at Grant Avenue Studio.

Alan Rhody is one of today’s more effective and respected solo acoustic artists in that great expanse known as the singer-songwriter.

“Boxcars Of Memories”, the latest of his eight album releases, showcases his “pull you in” story telling, his uncommon honesty and poetic tenderness, as well as his deepseeded kick-out-the-jams side. His emotive guitar playing and wise and rugged vocals also demonstrate why this collection is destined to further validate his already solid reputation. Whether singing the disc’s six new originals (including a co-write with Tom Russell) or the four covers by Paul Siebel, Bob Dylan, Freddie Pompeii and Kris Kristofferson, his singing, playing and message all shine.

Rhody’s music has taken him to every corner of North America, to festivals, concert halls, schools, coffee houses, saloons, universities and house concerts as well as national television and radio. And though his songwriting has earned him recognition and many Gold and Platinum Record Awards, Rhody still loves making that connection in a live performance setting.

It’s been a long but steady climb since FATHEAD’s debut CD in 1995, and the band has been tearing it up on the North American festival circuit ever since – winning over new fans every time they play – making FATHEAD one of the country’s top roots acts. Signed to the world renowned ELECTRO-FI RECORDS’ imprint, their latest release “BUILDING FULL OF BLUES” garnered them a second coveted JUNO AWARD (Canada’s “GRAMMY”) in 2008 for “Blues Recording Of The Year”.

That they have been described as a Blues Tour De Force comes as no surprise. Georgia-raised lead singer JOHN MAYS has had a storied career that began in the Southern gospel tradition, crossing over into Doo-Wop, R&B and Blues, not to mention a stint with the Godfather Of Soul JAMES BROWN. Hooking up
with band leader AL LERMAN (harp and saxophone) in Toronto some years later, FATHEAD’s core has remained constant since 1992, offering ace musicianship, soul stirring harmonies and incendiary live performances. The writing tandem of Lerman and bassist OMAR TUNNOCH have produced an impressive body of work that has enjoyed time on the US, European and Canadian music charts. Guitar ace TEDDY LEONARD (who left the band in 2006) is back and better than ever, along with iconic drummer BUCKY BERGER. Elements of funk, soul, and R&B are fused into the group’s strong blues backbone, creating a fresh sound that is immediately recognizable as their own.

Acclaimed and award-winning singer-songwriter Fred Eaglesmith has been nominated for yet another honor in his distinguished nearly-four decade recording career: a Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year: Solo for his 17th album, Tinderbox. The nomination is Eaglesmith’s third time up for a prestigious Juno, which he won in 1997 in the same category for his album Drive-In Movie.

Tinderbox continues to garner critical praise since it was released in May of last year, and was cited on a number of year-end Top 10 lists. San Jose Metro recently hailed it as “one of the best albums of last year.” And the Santa Barbara News Press just named it as “one of the more intriguing albums of the last year… with its hypnotic array of swampy grooves, obsessive refrains, hymns and hollers.”

Acoustic Guitar Magazine likened MacDonald’s vocals, lyrics, and intricate fingerstyle guitar style to “a collaboration between Nick Drake and a mid-1970s Bruce Cockburn”.

Ross deals in subtlety, intimacy and nuance with a tunesmiths hand that coins songs and music with a haunting and poignant quality.

Born of a jazz musician father he returned to his musical roots after some years underground as a geologist and now plies his trade not only as an internationally touring songwriter but also as a jazz turned folk-roots drummer for the acclaimed Australian group The Waifs.

Having played with and opened for such luminaries including John Renbourne,
Tony McMannus, Kelly Joe Phelps and Chris Smither, Macdonald constantly tours
internationally armed with his 1935 Gibson guitar and a carpet bag of songs that he illuminates in his own inimitably reserved yet intense, poetic style.

“[David Ross Macdonald] is one of those few songwriters like Nick Drake,
Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), and Josh Ritter that can captivate his listeners
armed only with a voice and guitar.” American Songwriter Magazine

Sounds tacky but this is what happened: In the late August of 2004 Maren met Scott in St. Hippolyte, Quebec, where both came to chill out for the weekend with some friends. She clicked instantly with the Rock’n Roll singer-songwriter and became an admiring fan of his unique guitar style before the third log was thrown on the campfire. He was infatuated with her versatile style and singing and also with her painted toenails. Both decided to relocate to Ontario to record and produce their own songs themselves. So they went back to Montreal, got more of her sandals and the hell out of the province. Together they wrote lots of new songs, repaired their guitars, bought new mics, kilometers of new strings, about a truckload of milk and and have been playing lots of live shows up and down the Rideau River and Canal.