Matte Robinson on Trumpet, Keyboard, and vox;
Kora Woolsey on Guitar and Vox;
Jeannine Gallant on Trombone, Keyboard and Vox;
Andrew DeMerchant on Drums;
Scott Culligan on Bass.
Influences
Andrew is influenced by Explosions in the Sky; Matte, Kora and Jeannine are all influenced by Big Band music and various jazz greats; no one is sure what Scott's influences are because he never talks about his musical tastes.
"Artists as talented as these, music as entertaining as this, and an album as utterly brilliant as Life is Not That Hard do not come around very often. Folks who have grown weary of the lacklustre music they are inundated with every day will welcome the extreme breath of fresh air that is Vetch." --Lisa Johnson (Ember Swift's press agent).
Vetch has never had much patience with the genre thing. Even when Vetch meant Kora Woolsey, it was difficult to come up with a category that fit the mix of folk, blues, and jazz that went into her songwriting. Then it became a duo with a trumpet player, then a trio when the trombone player joined. Since they've added bass and drums and bought a keyboard, the list of influences extends from dixie to country to funk to motown to power-pop to indie-rock. They even do a tango. Call it indie or call it alternative (the category in which the last album was nominated at the ECMAs) call it whatever you want; the band's about music, and it puts on as good a show at a university pub as at a jazz festival.
Kora began as a singer-songwriter, touring with Juno-winner Julie Doiron, opening for Genie-winner Oh Susanna, Veda Hille and ECMA winners Sol. She collaborated with Isaac and Blewett, Brent Mason, and members of Hot Toddy, and she showcased at the Junos and the ECMAs. She comes from a family of folk musicians, received training in bebop vocals in Montreal, and has played a host of instruments. Matte Robinson originally joined her on trumpet, and later on keyboards and vocals. They clicked and morphed the band into a duo, showcasing at the Nashville New Music Conference, the ECMA sneak peek showcase, and Canadian Music Week. Their collaboration as a duo lives on in their work for film; they have three film projects under their collective belt, including the feature-length Original Music for the Film Margaret and Deirdre, and theyve appeared on a CBC Roundup special about couples who work together. But both were eager to expand Vetch--they knew that there was still growing to do.
After Life is Not That Hard garnered national attention resulting in feature interviews on the Roundup and Atlantic Airwaves, coverage on Definitely Not the Opera and an ECMA nomination for Alternative Recording of the Year, the band added Jeannine Gallant on trombone. She and Matte had played together for years in a funk band, gigs ranging from reggae to blues, and all three had been together in an experimental collective and a big band. A schooled trombone player and a good singer and keyboardist, Jeannine added the ingredient that really made the band cook--now it could be a horn section, or a guitar/keyboard/two vocalist setup, or three part harmony. The band that had opened for moe., Martin Tielli's rock tour and Matt Mays and El Torpedo could now also play jazz standards and music from the Great American Songbook.
In 2006 Vetch expanded again, adding drummer Andrew Demerchant and bassist Scott Culligan. Andrew's specialties are jazz and heavy music; he and Matte played in a band over a decade ago, opening for Pluto, Madhat, Punchbuggy, and ECMA-winners Eric's Trip. Andrew, with his longtime punk act 283, has opened for the likes of Fugazi, and is also in demand among discerning jazz players in the Fredericton area, being the longtime drummer for The Thomists (a 20-piece big band in which all five Vetch members have played) and for multitudinous jazz combos. Scott Culligan is only nineteen years old, yet he already has to turn down gigs. Last count he was in four bands (plus combos), and is in high demand as a hot up-and-comer with an amazing ear and sensibility. Vetch is very pleased to have him on board.
Recently Vetch has toured with Harmony Trowbridge, played benefits at Fredericton's Playhouse alongside Casey Leblanc, and has been gearing up for a year of playing. Now that the Woolsey/Robinson recording project (mastered by Vetch friend and collaborator, Gémeaux-nominated Tim Rideout) is complete, the emphasis has been on composing new songs and booking gigs, and they have already started work on their second full-length studio album and a live album. Their performances are high-energy, engaging, entertaining, intelligent, and eminently danceable. They infuse their audiences with a love of music--not just rock or jazz, but pure music, of any and all genres. And that's what they're about: music.
There is the entertainment side of the live performance, though, and it comes from the band dynamic. They've known each other for years, cried, laughed, and argued together. Two were once married to each other, while Kora and Matte remain a healthy couple: fighting or kissing on stage, depending on how they feel at the time. Jeannine's expressively surreal; Andrew's taciturn and wry; Scott's favourite line is "I'm indifferent." Even though they sometimes argue, theyre all serious about playing together, and they can read each others minds.
.. Hi there Vetch first of all we'd like to say thanks for being our myspace pal. We wanted to make sure you knew the reason incase we suddenly vanish off of your friends list. The movement we've started for indie artists has grown significantly and consumes all of our time these days. We seldom sign into our myspace account and this is making several people believe that we are ignoring them. We are not ignoring anyone, we wanted everyone to know that. What we're doing has become so busy we just don't have the time for myspace any longer, so in all honesty we are probably going to just close our myspace account.
Many people wanted to use us in the future so if you were one of those people you can click the link below to visit our profile which wlil provide you with more information and also give you the link to our website! I wish you the best of luck in your music career. Thanks again for being our myspace pal.
Hello guys! just listened to your music for a while, it is always a good moment! Do you plan to put some new tracks on the page? if yes let me know! Good work! Great vibration from France!
hey I looove this :) I was especially impressed with the Margaret and Deirdre music. The energy in the song Sword and Shield is just great! Keep rocken.
Salut! Thanks for adding us you guys! Your songs are full of hapiness, and it helps! (A lot,..today!) The draw on your page is soooo cool! Lots of good vibrations from France to you all!!
This promo mixset is a sampler of the slower stuff I like to play as Tao Jones. It's basically a condensed version fo the hour and a half to two hours I normally play. It starts off all chunky and hiphop, gets glitchy, rages it, catches it's breath, and then get's all wobbly in the low end. The last track I probably wouldn't play at an event unless it was really appropriate, but it's one of my favourite songs ever so I thought I'd share it with you.
If you like the music on this set, please support the artists by buying their music and going to their shows.
Thanks and props go out to ana sia, lorin, the glitch mob, and sean conlon, who did shut em down with me.
Much love
Dylan
1. Cyne - Nothing Scared 2. edIT - Dirt Off Your Hova Cutup 3. Freakon - Badman Mash 4. Funkstorung Feat Tes - Chopping Heads 5. Tao Jones - Shut Em Down 6. TTC - Dans Le Club (Instrumental 6a. M.I.A. - Galang (Acapella) 7. Dabrye - Lost 8. Kelis - Bossy (SebastiAn Remix) - Tao Jones' Non-Dairy Edit 9. Hitch Glop 10. Mochipet - Bass Against The Machine 11. 8 Frozen Modules - Low Bite Riddim 12. Kraddy - Dangerous 13. Tao Jones - Collateral Damage 14. Louis Couture - Backative 15. Soteg - Ebeneezer 16. Vibesquad - Swivel 17. Breakbeat Buddha feat. Shugga - Endurance 18. Si Begg - Bangin 19. Bassnectar - Amorphous Form 20. Exile and Soft Focus - Silicon Chop 21. World's End Girlfriend - Singing Under the Rainbow
Hey there, thought I’d drop you a line and say hello, and to let you know we’re in the process of hiring employees for our 2008 tour. If you have any interest, or know a friend that might have interest in running away and joining a touring circus now is your chance. Click on the photo or visit our website at www.nonprofitcircus.com
Hope to hear from you,
Lisa
HR ~ The Great American Royal Circus
I love you Vetch!!!
Really love you.
I keep missing your shows. But someday the time will be right. I've already worn out my first copy of your Life Is Not That Hard CD. Gotta buy another one quick!!!
Love, Jules
Just wanted to drop by and say a friendly hello, and see how things are going for you. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. We've had some exciting big breaks and are way ahead of schedule. Looks like we’ll be opening the show a little earlier. Take care. Thomas at >www.nonprofitcircus.com
Thank you so much for showing your support by becoming our friend. We are respectfully requesting your help again by answering our short questionnaire on our myspace profile, or by visiting our web site at www.nonprofitcircus.com . This will help us greatly when we show our sponsors we have the support of the “community “.
If you have already answered our questionnaire, we thank you very much! Please do not answer the questionnaire twice.
Thank you again for your support. Together we will feed hungry families across America.
Sincerely,
Thomas Hand
The Great American Royal Circus
[VetchVetchVetchVetchVetchVetch
