The Allison Cameron Band

Bio:

Hi folks! Stephen Parkinson and Eric Chenaux are both self-taught guitar players coming out of different rock music traditions (70’s British blues/rock and 80/90’s post-punk). Allison Cameron is a composer of mostly chamber music, an experimetal performer and an amateur banjo player. Eric Chenaux (www.myspace/ericchenaux.com) is famous as a singer-songwriter, player and composer in a variety of Toronto groups ranging from alternative folk, alt. jazz and free improvisation. Stephen Parkinson is also an improviser and composer. The Allison Cameron Band explores the combined talents and varied musical backgrounds of Cameron, Chenaux, and Parkinson. The group began playing in the winter of 2007 working on Cameron's compositions based on traditional folk music. While most of the music is original, several pieces borrow tablature notation from traditional/anonymous English folk tunes in a non-conformist manner, using re-tuned guitars and banjo, new rhythm, free rhythm and sometimes no rhythm to re-invent and create new pieces out of the old work. One analogy is similar to the definition of a palimpsest: a manuscript on which two or more successive texts have been written, each one being erased to make room for the next with the earlier writing incompletely erased and often legible. The group combines approaches to composition and improvisation often found in rock and jazz bands with that of contemporary music composition. The pieces are composed for a variety of instruments including guitars and banjos in different tunings, a variety of electronics, and harmonicas. Allison Cameron would like to thank and acknowledge the generous financial support of the Toronto Arts Council (2006) and the Chalmers Family Fund (2007-8 year).

Member Since:

December 02, 2008

Members:

Eric Chenaux: guitars, lap steel, harmonicas, violin, other stuff; Stephen Parkinson: guitars, banjos, harmonicas, electronics; Allison Cameron: banjo, keyboards, tapes, harmonicas, electronics, other stuff.

Influences:

Experimental composition, free improvisation, out-jazz, fried folk...

Sounds Like:

fried-folk, free improvisation, experimental composition, out-jazz...

Record Label:

Rat-Drifting