 From playing big-name festivals throughout North America to performing with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra at Winnipeg’s always grand Canada Day at the Forks, alt-pop group, Mise En Scene has been making some significant strides in music both locally and nationally.
Currently, in the midst of recording their latest full-length record, Stefanie Blondal Johnson and Jodi Dunlop spoke with us about their start in music, and giving Harvest Sun audiences an exclusive sneak peek of their brand new tunes. How did you both get involved in music and how did Mise En Scene begin? Stef: Jodi and I were both in Fine Arts School when we started hanging out and painting together. I got into music kind of late in my life. I’m self-taught, and taught myself to sing, how to play guitar and write songs. Jodi played in jazz band in high school and played in a punk rock band growing up. When we were both in art school and started painting together, and we started writing songs together. Then we got out of art school and pursued music. Did you both come from musical families? Stef: My family has always appreciated music, and I grew up knowing a lot about the history of rock and roll. I’ve always been a major lover of music, but we didn’t have a family band or anything. I started going towards it because it made me feel good. It made me feel great. It felt like being on this cool creative adventure. Jodi: For me, growing up in Gimli, during the winter there wasn’t a lot for kids to do there, so I got into music and started a band with my best friends to fill the void during winter. Music was always a huge focus in my life to basically try to get through the winters in Gimli.
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 Melding a laid-back, go-with-groove vibe and their collective love for jazz and funk, Ego Spank wows their audiences with danceable tunes and a performance full of laughs.
The guys in the band have played together for over 20 years, and throughout have built a solid brotherhood both on-stage and off. We spoke with Murray Pulver and Gilles Fournier about the group’s history, their expertise in musical improvisation and all the fun they have on stage. Can you go into how you got into music and how the band eventually came to be? MP: My parents had a band, and they would practice in the basement, and so music was always in the house. One day their guitar player couldn’t make a gig, and my parents didn’t know what to do. He said to them, ‘oh, get Murray to do it, he probably knows all the songs already anyways,’ from there it just morphed. By listening and getting interested in music, I started playing with my parents’ band. Then I went to college for music and then took a million different gigs and ended up getting to do some pretty decent and higher profile gigs; got to tour the world with the Crash Test Dummies, and then later on with Doc Walker. Through all of that I’d always play with the guys in Ego Spank. It’s a bit of a brotherhood. Through all my musical journeys, from the time I was 21 years old, I’ve played with some form of this band. GF: I grew up in a relatively musical family. My mom played piano and the organ, and both my parents were very involved in choirs. We participated in a lot of choirs when we were very young. I started getting involved in playing bass when I was about 12 years old, playing electric bass and playing rock and roll. Did you guys grow up together, and that’s how the band started jamming and stuff? MP: No just in our twenties we started. We’re all older. For the last 20-something years we’ve played together. Oh wow, that’s a long time. Most bands don’t make it past ten years. MP: Yeah, it’s probably because we don’t take ourselves very seriously.  Twin fiddlers Double The Trouble, made their Harvest Sun debut last year and awed audiences into requesting an encore. The group captivated the crowd playing a plethora of classic fiddle tunes and their unique twist on new hits, solidifying their spot as one of last year’s fan-favourites.
The group has spent the first half of the year traveling around the country continuing to wow audiences. We spoke with Luc, Aidan, and Rob Wrigley, about their busy year, the joys of writing music and what they look forward to the most at Harvest Sun. Can you talk a bit about how you have been evolving in your style of fiddling? Rob: We have been writing a bit more original music. Our latest song is a collaboration the three of us put together, called “Mémoire.” I wrote the music, and the boys wrote the lyrics in French. We’ve been continuing to learn new songs we enjoy. The boys are always picking up new tunes. I came home the other day, and they had both worked out different parts of the Game Of Thrones theme song, which is pretty cool. It’s a popular new song we’ve been playing. We’re also thinking about doing another album, so we’re just continuing to write some new music for that. What’s been your favourite parts of learning older songs and putting your spin on it as well as now writing original music? Luc: It’s the customization. When it’s our own, we can always change something that we don’t like or if there’s something we just want to change we can because it’s our song. For covers, we can do something different, add some fiddles to the songs, and different customization choices. Rob: I think what’s neat about making your own music is there’s really no rules. We can always adjust things if things aren’t fitting right. As the boys get older, we’ve had to lower the key of some of our original songs because they’ve been having some trouble singing the higher keys. And it’s fun to experiment and explore, especially when it’s your own music.  Switching her attention between writing and performing and her leatherwork business; creating unique, and custom made masterpieces, artisan and singer/songwriter Talie Polischuk lives and breathes various avenues of art in the spotlight and out. Although she has been writing songs for almost a decade, hitting the stage and sharing them with the masses is her newest, and sometimes scary endeavour. Talie spoke with us about balancing life and art, overcoming stage fright and her favourite parts about Harvest Sun. You’re a maker and a musician, so how did you get involved in both of those aspects of art? I’ve been writing songs for ten years. I’ve written a lot of songs but only really started performing in the last few years. I’m kind of shy and secretive about my songs for some reason. I really enjoy the process of creating [them], and now I’m trying to get more comfortable with performing and sharing them. As far as my leatherwork business and my background in art, I do have a background in art history. When I got pregnant, I decided I wanted to start a business and had this idea that I could be self-employed and have my daughter at home with me. I started doing farmer’s markets, craft sales, and music festivals, and I found my favourite place to vend is music festivals. I love music so much, and I enjoy the culture of it; being around all the musicians and all the creative people that frequent festivals. They have the right energy and vibe for what I do. I’ve always had a bit of a fantasy of touring and vending at festivals while playing at them. It would be so fun to do both and make the most of my time if I’m going to be away from home for a weekend. You mentioned you’ve been writing music for ten years but just started performing recently. Was the reasoning behind keeping those songs to yourself a bit of a vulnerability thing? For me, performing is vulnerable. I have incredible stage fright. I’m an extrovert, but for some reason when I get on stage it switches, and I feel extremely introverted and shy. Everybody’s looking at you, and it’s different than engaging with people in the world. It’s funny because some people are introverted and then they get on stage, and they just blossom and completely come out of their shell. I’m not that way. I get really shy, and sometimes I have laughing fits on stage or just anxiety about performing. I think my stage fright has impeded me from performing, but I love sharing my music with people, and they do appreciate it, and that motivates me to want to do it. I think that’s a common thing among some musicians, but then they have to bring themselves to becoming excited. I imagine it is exciting but also nerve-wracking, especially when you write songs, you’re pouring yourself out there on top of putting yourself out there. Yes, it’s very personal. Not only are you writing the songs, but it’s your voice, it’s the way you play your instrument, your stage presence, it’s all part of it. Whereas a lot of other artistic mediums, you go away, create something and then you share it. With my art and leatherwork, I create it independently and come out with it on my own terms when I think it’s ready and present it as a final product. With live musical performance, there’s always an element of surprise and chance involved with how you’re feeling that day, who’s in the audience and you never know what venue is going to receive your music well. Sometimes you play in a bar, and you think everyone is going to be loud, but then they’re actually listening, or sometimes you play a house concert, and then everybody gets drunk and are partying. I think the best part for me about starting to perform is my friends and local musicians that never knew I was writing songs are now hearing my music, and I’m getting the chance to collaborate with them. That’s been rewarding to have other musicians, and songwriters get to listen to my stuff and share and swap songs. I’m glad that you mentioned collaborating because that’s a big thing that happens at Harvest Sun every year. Out of the other musicians heading out this year or other local musicians and who would love to work with someday? Oh gosh, there are lots of musicians I’ve seen on the list that I’m excited about. I’ve been a fan of Shotgun Jimmie since high school. I’ve gotten to see Scott Nolan and Richard Inman play there, and that was a treat. Madeleine Roger is an inspiration. Everything she does is great, and I’m inspired by her championing of female musicians, and the independence of taking on her recording. Rob [Waddell] and I ended up jamming around the fire during the first time I went. He was really supportive and excited about my songs and encouraged me to try to play at the festival. It was really nice to get his feedback because I love his songwriting, I’m most excited about this festival because it’s a little gem and not a lot of people know about it. As soon as I went there, I was like ‘oh this is like a big family.’ Everybody knows each other, and it always feels nice to go back every year and start to get to know the locals and the people in that area. You’re on both sides of what this festival celebrates, the artist and the musician. Why do you think a festival like Harvest Sun is so important? I think music festivals are an important place for everybody because music is for everyone. It’s a great opportunity for makers and artisans to share their work with people. People who go to music festivals generally appreciate the arts and appreciate creativity. They attract supportive audiences for both mediums. Catch at Talie Polischuk The Harvest Sun Music Festival in Kelwood, MB - August 16 -18th. Follow Talie on Facebook, and Instagram. Be sure to check out @harvestsunmusicfest on Instagram on July xxxth, as Talie takes over our account for the day! Interview by Janet Adamana
Janet Adamana is the Founder/Editor-In-Chief of Sound, Phrase & Fury Magazine - a Winnipeg-based digital publication dedicated to promoting independent artists and industry professionals from all over the world. More than just about inciting hype, she interviews/writes to capture an artists’ essence and their greatest passions to ignite meaningful connections between fans and really great bands.  Singer/songwriter Martin Finnie first fell in love with music when he began playing in a cover band in his teens. Shortly after, he got his first guitar and has never looked back.
Although he’s played in several local groups throughout the years including with The Farmers and The Route 10 Collective, he now plays under the moniker of Old Bones Buffalo and serves his audience, a multi-genre and awe-inspiring blend of folk, rock, indie, and country. Finnie spoke with us about getting his start and how his fellow Manitoban songwriters and the gorgeous landscape of our province has helped shaped his music. Can you take me through your musical journey? How did you get started in music? I first started singing in a local cover band when I was about 17 years old, and then I got a guitar for my graduation and began writing songs and fell in love with that. I think the first place I started recording was with Del Clark at Studio 1 in Brandon. It was a very awesome experience. I was in there doing some recording, and Murray Pulver was around and started inspiring me, and I just kept with writing and composing songs. |
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August 2019
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