Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Artist: Grievous Angels, Album: One Job Town, Song: Gordie And My Old Man

"Gordie and my old man on a Saturday night watching the Blackhawks and getting tight.  Nothing ever changes in this world of mine.  It's Gordie and my old man on a Saturday night."  The Grievous Angels were a folk rock band from Toronto, Ontario.  They were Chuck Angus, Peter Jellard, Tim Hadley, Michelle Rumball and Peter Duffin.  Angus was previously in a band with Andrew Cash (see blog 2/12/11, 3/23/12) called, L'Etranger.  Angus then formed the Grievous Angels in 1986 and Andrew Cash went on to develop his career as a solo artist.  Both Chuck and Andrew's music has always had strong social and political themes and perhaps it's not surprising today that they are both members of Parliament.  The Grievous Angels released their debut album in 1989 and followed it up with this Juno nominated album, One Job Town, in 1990.  The album was produced by John Switzer (Jane Siberry, Fat Man Waving, Andrew Cash, Laura Repo, Andrea Florian) and released with Stony Plain Records.  The band's songs often drew upon the theme of every day life in Canadian, rural communities.  Chuck Angus would actually relocate to northern Ontario during the band's tenure.  One tune from this album that received a significant amount of airplay was, Gordie And My Old Man.  You can check out the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTpo2eYNwKo.  The band has released 6 albums but this was the last with Michelle Rumball as a vocalist.  They don't play much anymore as a result of Chuck's new political career but they have released some great music worth seeking out.  Another spectacular release from the band is their album, Waiting For The Cage, which was about life in a mining town.  You can purchase most of their albums including, One Job Town, from Itunes.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!