booze, smoke, cigarettes, roadside mental breakdowns, buskers, beggers, campfires, morbid fairy tales, b-movies , beans with mustard..and a bit o' hot sauce, freak shows, solidarity, corruption, riots, fire fire fire, transients and tramps...and Nellie...the stinky, shaggy, grandma pooch.
The Rough Sea on Facebook...... The Rough Sea on CBC Radio 3...... The Rough Sea on iTunes!!
The Rough Sea was founded by Justin Hess and Christina Laurin. They started out as buskers, on the streets of Ottawa. They have recently included long-time friend Ted Hall to the group as bassist and banjo player.
It’s been a long haul for these kids, their first tour found them homeless, hitchhiking across the country playing a few house shows, bars, and a lot of street corners. Struggling to survive out on the road, they would play their music anywhere and everywhere for enough money to get by. Their songs reflect all of this, made up of metaphorical stories from these journeys they still live.
Since the first trip in 2007, they have done three Canadian cross – country tours, as far out there as the Yukon Territory, and they were invited to the 2008 and 2009 North by North East festivals in Toronto, ON, and the 2009 Cisco Ottawa Blues Festival, where they received an overwhelming positive response, from packed venues. They have shared the stage with great Canadian acts, Cuff The Duke, The United Steel Workers of Montreal, The Tom Fun Orchestra, Zeus and dear friends Hollerado, as well as up and coming American Folk/Country performers Austin Lucas and Mike Hale.
Their first performance of the New Year is with The United Steel Workers of Montreal and Washboard Hank, followed by performances with Clues (mbrs of Arcade Fire/Unicorns), and opening for Woodpigeon at the legendary Blacksheep Inn.
Their second release, EP, Drawn in Crayon: a tale, has been receiving great, positive reviews from across the country, even making it onto the campus radio charts. The title track, Drawn In Crayon, was named “CBC Radio 3 Song of the Day”. They have released the EP onto iTunes, through the help of John Kastner and Cobraside Distribution. Most recently, The Rough Sea filmed a piece for AUX TV, set to air in early 2010.
With hundreds of shows under their belts so far, there is no sign of this ride ending anytime soon. Their newest release, GRIM, is a 7 song demo EP of home recorded songs.
Their upcoming full-length album, CANKTANKEROUS, produced by Menno Versteeg of Hollerado, will be released in February 2010 and followed up with a two month, coast to coast Canadian tour, with plans of heading to the USA, Europe, South America in 2010.
From the street corners to packed venues and festivals, for these kids, no stage or crowd is too small.
I edited my profile with Thomas Myspace Editor V4.4 (www.strikefile.com/myspace)
yo folks i'm liveing in montreal now and i wanna come see you folks play on the 9th but as always strapped for cash and still underage! what kinda venue are ya playing at? is it skeezy enough for me to get in? hope to see you two then! happy new years too kt
What we wish is that you be healthy and happy doing what you like... and... in the year to come, we wish you will be able to “fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run”! Merry X-mas and Happy New Year! TulipJack from Lipetsk.
I see you guy's are playin' with washboard hank. I remember seein that dude in elementary school. Sweet that he's still around. Let's play togeha foo's. Steve
greetings from the big easy, new orleans is crazy. be careful if you ever make it here, the N.O.P.D will get ya. ive got one week to get to san francisco (yikes)
Momento de pre-posadas, posadas y post posadas estan en la puerta!!! Que a todo dar!!! Esperamos que te la pases de ultra lujo en estas fechas de familia, paz y tranquilidad.. mm. NAAAA!!!! (No sé porque dije eso).. VIVA EL DESTRAMPE, El ROCK y LA FIESTA!!!!!
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CHRISTINA.JUSTIN.TED.
