Category: Northern Lands
Josh Cournoyer at The Met
with Vinnie Caruana and Brandon Reilly
The Met
1005 Main St
Pawtucket
6:30pm doors
7:30pm show
$12 advance
$15 day of
All ages
Motif Magazine Interviews Northern Lands’ Josh Cournoyer
You can read the interview here
One of the best things about the holiday season is friends coming home from afar. What’s even better is when they come back home and play a show with their old band and put on a party. Current Nashville resident and Rhode Island native Josh Cournoyer will perform with his high octane rock act Northern Lands at The Parlour on the day after Christmas for what should be one hell of a homecoming. Sharing the bill are the psychedelic folk of Viking Jesus and local rockers Jealous Fuck. Ahead of the weekend’s festivities, I caught up with Cournoyer about adjusting to Nashville, new musical projects and where he’ll be spending Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Rob Duguay: You first moved down to Nashville while being a member of the current Los Angeles rock band Runaway Saints. How was adjusting to a new city?
Josh Cournoyer: I think it was definitely sensory overload at first. From a musician’s standpoint there are a ton of great players down there and there are a lot of really great songwriters. You have a lot of different genres of music that are taking off out of Nashville right now and it’s all really great stuff. It was super fun starting to experience what the city is like, but I also kind of missed the camaraderie of the Providence music scene because it takes a little bit longer to find a group and a niche down there.
RD: You’re not in Runaway Saints anywhere and like I mentioned before they’re in Los Angeles now. What made you want to stay in Nashville rather than come back to Rhode Island?
JC: Well, I really love the energy of Nashville and the music that’s coming out of there. As much as it can be overwhelming at times from being with Runaway Saints, then working down there now and playing and writing, it’s great to feel challenged constantly. Nashville is kind of a melting pot, I have a group of friends that are musicians from all over the country. It’s constantly forcing me to grow, change and evolve a little bit. I’d never lived anywhere outside of Rhode Island prior to moving to Nashville so I felt like at this point in my life that I owed it to myself to experience something new. My fiancé and I decided to make a go of it in Nashville, try it out for a few years and see how we liked it.
RD: It seems that you’re enjoying yourself down there. Outside of Northern Lands, which particular music projects are you involved with in Nashville?
JC: Right now I’m writing a new record, I don’t know whether I’ll release it as Northern Lands or as a solo record, but I’ve been working on that for about a year and I’ll be recording it this spring. I also started doing some production work with a few different artists, along with working on the record.
RD: Do you plan on making the record in Nashville at a studio or do you plan on just doing it at your apartment?
JC: I’ve been demoing it both at my home studio in Nashville and at a studio that belongs to a friend of mine. Eventually I’ll record it at a studio in Nashville, but I’m doing the writing and pre-production either at my apartment or at my friend’s studio.
RD: It must be a lot cheaper to do that rather than do the writing and everything else at a studio right from the get-go. You said before how you missed the camaraderie in Providence where in Nashville it can be a tad difficult to network yourself. Is that what you miss the most about Providence or are there other things you miss about the city as well?
JC: I think Providence is such a great city, I’ve played in a lot of bands here over the years and I’ve made a lot of really great lifelong friends so it’s really difficult at times to be away from all of that. Smith & Weeden have stayed with me a bunch of times on tour, Dan Dodd has come down and played shows with me and I absolutely love when that stuff happens. It’s really cool to see those people come down, but you kind of miss that small town feel a little bit. Nashville is super collaborative so it’s not hard to necessarily network yourself, it’s that I had a routine and a pattern in Providence that I definitely miss. You have your favorite bars, I loved working at The Met and getting to see a ton of live music all the time. I get to see music in Nashville, but my pattern and my routine has shifted a lot from living in a new city.
RD: There can definitely be a little change in everything when you immerse yourself in a new environment. With it being the holiday season, who are you spending Christmas with and what are you doing for New Year’s Eve?
JC: I am going to be splitting time between my fiancé’s family and my family in Rhode Island for Christmas along with spending a lot of time with friends while I’m in town. For New Year’s Eve I haven’t actually decided yet. I’m going to look and see what the best thing going is and I’ll probably go with that.
– See more at: http://motifri.com/motif-interviews-northern-lands-josh-cournoyer/#sthash.J0m1JKkU.dpuf
Northern Lands at The Parlour
with JFCK and Viking Jesus Band
The Parlour
North Main Street
Providence, RI
9pm
Joshua Cournoyer of Northern Lands and Six Star General at The Met
with Less Than A Felony
The Met
Main Street
Pawtucket
9pm
Northern Lands at the Ocean Mist
Final Show!
with Smith & Weeden and Dan Dodd
Ocean Mist
895 Matunuck Beach Road
Matunuck, RI
Northern Lands at The Parlour
with Everett Brothers and Government Cud
The Parlour
1119 North Main St
Providence, RI
Northern Lands at The Met
with Jay Berndt & The Orphans, Brian McKenzie, Michelle Lewis, Jeff Byrd
The Met
Pawtucket, RI
8:30pm
Dan Baker, Six Star General reviews in December issue of Motif
Along with coverage of upcoming shows with The McGunks and Northern Lands.
You can read the article here.
Six Star General – Hair Supply (75orLess Records)
Six Star General has had a difficult year that forced them to be on the sidelines for several months due to various medical maladies. In the meantime, they managed to finish another album, Hair Supply. In addition to being my motto, “I Don’t Know Where We’re Going (But I Know That It’s Not Good)” is a return to form noisy rocker that has been missing from the last couple of Six Star records. “Christopher Walken” and “I’m Expanding Slowly” are like stoner indie rock powered by hypnotic grooves. “Way Out of Control” is a noisy fun punk romp. “Life in Vain” is an infectious ditty powered by a cool hook and probably the closest thing to a single on Hair Supply. I look forward to hearing the new tunes live at the CD Release for Hair Supply at The Parlour on January 4.
Dan Baker – Pistol in My Pocket (75orLess Records)
I didn’t know what to make of Dan Baker at first on the title track of Pistol in My Pocket that comes off as a howling Beck imitation on one of his independent albums. Then things started to get good. “Threw Me Down the Well” is a blues number that comes across as an Americanized version of Nick Cave, thanks to the violin from Rob Flax. “Never Alone” and “Up On the Roof” are winners as spacey piano ballads that remind me of sitting out on my porch staring up at the stars. “Down in the Canyon” has kind of a later-day Dylan feel at times. On “She’s Not Going To Call,” Baker channels his inner Tom Waits with an added Americana touch on the outro. Baker’s best material is so raw it hits you straight in the gut on tracks like “Coming Home.” I didn’t know anything about Dan Baker before, but after listening to Pistol in My Pocket, I certainly want to know more!
– See more at: http://motifri.com/alt-nation-some-new-discs-and-shows-to-bid-2013-goodbye/#sthash.mdmZLpMf.dpuf
Six Star General – Hair Supply (75orLess Records)
Six Star General has had a difficult year that forced them to be on the sidelines for several months due to various medical maladies. In the meantime, they managed to finish another album, Hair Supply. In addition to being my motto, “I Don’t Know Where We’re Going (But I Know That It’s Not Good)” is a return to form noisy rocker that has been missing from the last couple of Six Star records. “Christopher Walken” and “I’m Expanding Slowly” are like stoner indie rock powered by hypnotic grooves. “Way Out of Control” is a noisy fun punk romp. “Life in Vain” is an infectious ditty powered by a cool hook and probably the closest thing to a single on Hair Supply. I look forward to hearing the new tunes live at the CD Release for Hair Supply at The Parlour on January 4.
Dan Baker – Pistol in My Pocket (75orLess Records)
I didn’t know what to make of Dan Baker at first on the title track of Pistol in My Pocket that comes off as a howling Beck imitation on one of his independent albums. Then things started to get good. “Threw Me Down the Well” is a blues number that comes across as an Americanized version of Nick Cave, thanks to the violin from Rob Flax. “Never Alone” and “Up On the Roof” are winners as spacey piano ballads that remind me of sitting out on my porch staring up at the stars. “Down in the Canyon” has kind of a later-day Dylan feel at times. On “She’s Not Going To Call,” Baker channels his inner Tom Waits with an added Americana touch on the outro. Baker’s best material is so raw it hits you straight in the gut on tracks like “Coming Home.” I didn’t know anything about Dan Baker before, but after listening to Pistol in My Pocket, I certainly want to know more!
The McGunks Holiday Party
Truth be told, The McGunks really don’t need much of an excuse to throw a party, as anyone who has been to one of their shows can attest. The McGunks are straight-on pub punk with bits of bands like the Supersuckers mixed in. Check out their recent CD, Highlights for Lowlifes for even more sweaty, booze-drenched rock & roll hi-jinks!
The McGunks and The O’Tooles will throw a punk rock Holiday Bash at Broad Street Tap in Cumberland on December 21.
– See more at: http://motifri.com/alt-nation-some-new-discs-and-shows-to-bid-2013-goodbye/#sthash.mdmZLpMf.dpuf
The McGunks Holiday Party
Truth be told, The McGunks really don’t need much of an excuse to throw a party, as anyone who has been to one of their shows can attest. The McGunks are straight-on pub punk with bits of bands like the Supersuckers mixed in. Check out their recent CD, Highlights for Lowlifes for even more sweaty, booze-drenched rock & roll hi-jinks! The McGunks and The O’Tooles will throw a punk rock Holiday Bash at Broad Street Tap in Cumberland on December 21.
Northern Lands
Narragansett Beer put together a beast of a party to celebrate their 123rd anniversary. Of course, I’d contest the year because they should have to subtract all the years the brand was dormant, but nobody listens to me anyway. This show has something for almost everyone. You want straight-out rock? Northern Lands and the slightly country tinged Jay Berndt & The Orphans will be there. Want something acoustic? Brian McKenzie will be there to deliver. Jazz? Michelle Lewis for the win! The only thing missing is metal, which is odd considering Berndt and McKenzie were in the ‘90s local juggernaut, Kilgore. In addition this will be the annual unveiling of the Gansett Girl Calendar. Narragansett Beer 123rd Anniversary Party featuring live performances by Northern Lands, Jay Berndt & The Orphans, Brian McKenzie Michelle Lewis and Jeff Byrd hits The Met Café on December 27.
Northern Lands ‘He Took a Dive’ review in The Noise
You can read the review here.
Northern Lands at The Parlour
with Neutral Nation and Natural Element Band
The Parlour
Providence, RI
8pm