From Leslieville to Wales

Jam Master Jam presents

From Leslieville to Wales: Following the long tail across the pond from my local record shop

1. One Too Many, Luke Doucet – Veal frontman, Luke Doucet’s 2001 solo album, Aloha Manitoba, was the first official release of Six Shooter Records, a label and management company whose office is just down the street from my house in Leslieville, a happening in hood in East Toronto. One Too Many is from 2005’s Broken (and other rogue states) and if you’re in the mood for just the right amount of twang, this is the album for you. Luke’s married to a fellow Six Shooterite, Melissa McClelland, who guests on Broken and is a great songstress in her own right.
*sad note – since I began work on this CD, Six Shooter has shut their
Leslieville doors and moved to Toronto’s West end. I will miss their
backlot barbeques.

2. The Spinster’s Almanac, Christine Fellows – So many great Six Shooterites to choose from (seriously – check them out at sixshooterrecords.com) but I chose Christine because this song makes me smile everytime I hear it. I defy you not to do the same.

3. Sold, Dan Mangan – Follow Six Shooterites Jenn Grant or Elliot Brood on tour across Canada and you may find them gigging with
Vancouver’s Dan Mangan. I found him by searching “robot” on iTunes but that’s another story. This song can be found on both his recent release, Nice, Nice, Very Nice, and his earlier Roboteering EP.

4. Lucklucky, Veda Hille – Veda backs Dan on a few of the songs on Roboteering (the same songs also appear on Nice, Nice, Very Nice).
Lucklucky makes me want to march in place and throw my hands in the air with musical theatre-style abandon. Veda’s also a member of Duplex!, a self-described “indie rock band for small people and their minders.” Shaun Brodie is Duplex!’s trumpet player.

5. There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve, A.C. Newman – Shaun Brodie is also AC Newman’s trumpet player. A.C. Newman, when not busy putting out solo albums, is putting them out with The New Pornographers (a
band who made, if I recall correctly, DJ Schwa’s desert island list).

6. People Got a Lotta Nerve, Neko Case – When not busy putting out solo albums, Neko is putting them out with The New Pornographers.

7. Eyes on the Prize, M. Ward – Among the many guest artists on Neko’s Cyclone is M. Ward. The quiet Eyes on the Prize is from his 2006 album, Post War. Volume One, the album he released with Zooey Deschanel as She & Him is a fun frolic.

8. Girls, Eleni Mandell – Becky Stark is the real link here. She’s toured with She & Him. Becky also guest vocalled on the Decemberists’ Hazards of Love and sings in the trio, The Living Sisters, with Inara George and Eleni Mandell. Frankly, I find Eleni more enjoyable than Becky so here she is.

9. Engine Driver, The Decemberists – See above.

10. With a Gun, The Minus 5 –. Scott McCaughey’s collective most frequently stars R.E.M.’s Peter Buck; 2006’s self-titled album boasted many guests including The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy and Wilco’s Jeff
Tweedy.

11. You are my Face, Wilco – You may have heard this song in a Volkswagen commercial, but don’t hold that against it.

12. I Don’t Want To Die (in the Hospital), Conor Oberst – Conor, of Bright Eyes fame, spent some time touring this summer with Wilco. What a gig that would’ve been. In 1993, Conor, with his brother, founded
Saddle Creek Records, in Omaha, Nebraska, of all places.

13. Lovers Need Lawyers, The Good Life – The Good Life’s frontman (also Cursive’s frontman), Tim Kasher, grew up with Conor Oberst; The Good Life’s albums, including Album of The Year, on which Lovers Need Lawyers appears, are released by Saddle Creek Records.

14. Carpetbaggers, Jenny Lewis – I’m more a fan of Jenny’s solo albums than those she did with Rilo Kiley, whose 2002 album, The Execution of All Things, was released on Saddle Creek Records. Let’s hear it for middle America. You can also hear Jenny on Album of the Year. Word on the internet chatrooms is that Tim Kasher is the “Tim” she names in You Are What You Love, which many of you heard on Rocket’s first disc in this club. Carpetbaggers stars Elvis Costello
and appears on her second solo album, Acid Tongue. And who says child stars can’t find longevity (Troop Beverly Hills, anyone?)?

15. What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace Love and Understanding – Stephen Colbert, Elvis Costello, Feist, Toby Keith and John Legend – This version of this classic Elvis Costello song is from Stephen Colbert’s 2008 Christmas special. What a motley crew. With Elvis dressed as a bear for this song, which explains the “roar.”

16. Working Together, Gonzales – Gonzales and Feist are label mates over at Arts + Crafts. If you’re not tempted to play this song at your office status meetings, then you must work alone.

17. You Throw Parties, We Throw Knives, Los Campesinos! – Like Six Shooter or Saddle Creek, it’s so hard to just pick a couple artists to showcase. How Los Campesinos! found their way from Wales to Toronto’s
Arts + Crafts is beyond me. But I’m glad they did.