Thursday, January 5, 2012

Artist: Al & George, Album: CFNY New Music Search 1992, Song: Least Machiavellian

"I am the least Machiavellian person I know."  Al & George were a musical comedy duo from Toronto.  They were high school mates, Al Rae and George Westerholm.  Al was more into the literature aspect of comedy while George was more musically inclined, but together they were a perfect compliment.  They did some touring both at home and abroad.  They were actually nominated for an award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland.  They released one album in 1986 during their time together called, The Al & George Story, which featured the band, Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet.  That band became quite famous for their work with The Kids In The Hall comedy troupe.  Nonetheless, Al & George's big comedic break came in the form of a song in 1992 called, Least Machiavellian.  George had enlisted the support of fellow musicians, Chris Greaves and Dino Naccarato for the recording and the song was entered in a Homegrown talent contest, put on by local alternative rock station, CFNY 102.1.  The song received some very good exposure through that contest but unfortunately, was never released because the guys decided to break up.  George would form the band Sinphonic with Chris and Dino and re-record and release the song on their debut album called, Ammunition.  But other than that album, the song was likely only ever released on the CFNY New Music Search Compilation from 1992.  It is a very difficult disc to track down these days and it featured some great bands.  Both George and Al have gone on to have very productive careers in comedy.  Al is the artistic director for the Winnipeg Comedy Festival and has won the Just For Laughs National Comic Competition here in Canada.  He also writes for the show, Little Mosque On The Prairie and has won a Gemini award.  George has also had success writing for shows like This Hour Has 22 Minutes.  He released 3 albums with the band Sinphonic and has two solo albums.  His 2007 release included a very popular song called, Trevor, which garnered him an overwhelming response on CBC when it debuted.  You can watch him perform it live on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N-HhIYmHeo).  You can keep tabs on George at http://georgewesterholm.ca/.  At the time of this blog, I couldn't find any copies available of the CFNY New Music Search Compilation from 1992 or Sinphonic's Ammunition release which both include the song, Least Machiavellian.  You can hear the song on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBcqcGk19sc&blend=1&lr=1&ob=video-mustangbase).  Thanks for reading and enjoy!