Elliott Brood is a 'They', not a 'Him'...

So there I am watching game 5 of the Edmonton/Carolina Stanley Cup finals and the game is tied at 3 a piece...it's going into overtime. I am suddenly torn...stay to see an amazing short handed goal by Edmonton (the team I am cheering for, obviously) in overtime on Carolina ice, or go to the Downbeat to see Elliott Brood. I decide it is more important to not miss one note of Elliott Brood. I grab my camera and head out the door despite the sighs and rolling eyes of disgust from my fellow hockey fans.

At the bar, the first thing the band (who have not yet hit the stage) asked me was the score of the game. I guess they would have understood had I missed their first song or two in the name of overtime. The call came in to me not moments later that Edmonton had won. I relayed the good news loud enough for everyone in the bar to hear and we all cheered. It set the perfect tone to enjoy an evening with one of the best Canadian indie bands around.

Elliott Brood is a 'they', not a 'him'....there is a Casey Laforet, a Mark Sasso and a Stephen Pitkin but no Elliott Brood. As Mark explained in a 2005 interview with EYE, the name comes from the movie The Natural..."Well, sort of. There's a dark character I thought was named Harriet Brood. I imagined that if she had a brother, his name would be Elliott Brood, and that it was a good name for a band. Except her name was actually Harriet Bird."

The bands 2005 first full length release Ambassador was nominated for the Roots and Traditional Album of the Year award at the 2006 Junos, losing to Corb Lund's Hair In My Eyes Like A Highland Steer. ( It is interesting to note that Corb Lund's tall, handsome mug has also graced the tiny stage at the Downbeat Lounge...and Corb Lund is a 'him', not a 'they'...)

Elliott Brood's music can be described as alt-country acoustic folk-rock. They call it death country, which is fitting since Ambassador was recorded in an old slaughter house, now Monumental Sound near Kelle and St. Claire in Toronto. I just call their music great.

The bands Wednesday June 14th show was their second highly anticipated appearance at the Downbeat Lounge. There was a banjo-playing man in black, a drummer who used a suitcase as a kick drum and a guitar player who also played bass with his foot as he danced better sitting down than most people do standing up. After the show, I described them to a friend as the new Neil Young...breaking ground and expanding the spectrum of Canadian roots music.

Their intense gritty songs energized the packed house, creating one of my most memorable band experiences. Although disappointed I missed Edmonton's spectacular win, I am elated I was fortunate enough to have experienced this truly inspired Canadian band for a second time. Had you been there, you would understand.


...casey laforet...



...stephen pitkin...



...mark sasso...

The First Time

I have been photographing so many live bands the past few weeks, I hate to say that I'm starting to get them all mixed up. I do know one thing...they all kicked ass and can't wait for them to come through the Sault again.

However, one band in particular sticks out in my mind because they granted me an amazing honour...they asked me to do photo shoot for them....my first real official band photo shoot!

From Chimpan-A to Chimpan-Z played the Downbeat Lounge to a small but appreciative crowd Sunday June 4, 2006. I loved their stuff and found them a blast to photograph live. After the show, we got to chatting. They were in no hurry to take off in the morning and decided to stay in the Sault to hang for the day. They asked me to do a shoot. I said yes and got nervous...never done this before...what will they expect of me?...where should I take them?...what if the pictures suck?

I decided to take them to the train yard. I told them it would be cool...there's never any activity there during the day and we could climb trains and sneak around...it would be fun. Stupid Murphy and his pain in the ass law foiled that plan. As we drove into the yard, we could hardly see the trains from the dust being kicked up by all the activity and stuff and things going on. Crap.

Plan B...the waterfront...corny, I know, but there are some interesting spots there so off we went. It was insanely sunny and hot that day so lighting proved to be a bit of an issue, but I managed to work with it. Here are a few of my favourite shots......











The day was a hoot but we finally had to stop because we were all sweating our balls off and my battery was dead...poor planning on my part. Afterwards we headed off to Lone Star for a nibble then to Casa Case for an enjoyable evening of VEX drinkin', poker playin' and hockey watchin'...good times, good times. Jay and Carrie let the band crash there for the night and I thank the two of you on behalf of the band once again for your hospitality.

I welcome all comments and suggestions regarding the pictures. Please let me know what you think.

BONUS QUESTION: Anyone who can tell me where their name comes from gets a free butt grab from yours truly. Jay, Carrie, Dan, Trevor, Amanda, Krista and Rob...you guys are excluded from the contest because I know you already know...I'll probably end up grabbing all your butts at some point anyway...