This isn鈥檛 the typical gathering of singer-songwriter folks.
When Jason Kodie, Jody Shenkarek and John Guliak take 麻豆精选鈥檚 Milkcrate Records stage May 15 and Lorenzo鈥檚 Cafe in Ashton Creek May 16 for their In the Round and All Together tour, they will each act as a cog in a well-oiled music machine.
鈥淔rom the beginning, I didn鈥檛 want it to be three singer-songwriters who have never played together,鈥� Kodie said over the phone from his Edmonton stomping grounds. 鈥淚 wanted to take note of the tones of the set, not jumping keys from song to song, just find what鈥檚 complimentary for our voices and harmonies. We鈥檝e put some thought into our sets and what would sound best.鈥�
Kodie, who rocks the accordion and keys, has jammed with roots legend Guliak for about three years. Finally, the pair decided to add a tertiary element and their In the Round and All Together tour was born.
鈥淭oo many dudes in a van makes for a long time, so we thought we鈥檇 bring Jody,鈥� Kodie laughed. 鈥淭his is the first time we鈥檝e gone out as a trio and exploring new material. We鈥檙e just keeping it interesting for ourselves.鈥�
Shenkarek, also an Edmonton product, entered the folk community in the 鈥�90s as a founding member of Edmonton鈥檚 All Woman Brothers Band. Nowadays, Shenkarek takes the stage with her band Country Vulture with Gavin Dunn on the axe, Brian Golightly on the skins and Tim Balash towing the bass line.
Guliak, drawing from his more than three-decade career in the Canadian jams scene, juxtaposes his prairie roots against his later urban experiences in Glasgow, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto for songs that are reminiscent of Canadian greats Gordon Lightfoot and Leonard Cohen.
Kodie, a lifelong musician with University of Alberta smarts who has a solo release on the horizon, is stoked to return to Lorenzo鈥檚 after many years.
鈥淟orne鈥檚 a great guy. It was a different lifetime ago, but we had a wonderful time,鈥� Kodie said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e really looking forward to getting back to Lorenzo鈥檚 and getting out of this crappy winter.鈥�
Kodie, Shenkarek and Guliak鈥檚 two-week tour sees eight B.C. stops with gigs in the Interior before moving on to the Lower Mainland and the Island.
And for the trio, the opportunity to rock live stages across Canada is their proverbial sum and substance.
鈥淚n Edmonton, we鈥檝e lost a lot of live venues. It鈥檚 pretty much a trend in western Canada,鈥� Kodie said.
鈥淕iven the digital commodity nature of music, these days we鈥檙e down to ones and zeroes, and then there鈥檚 playing live 鈥� that鈥檚 where the connections are made. It鈥檚 the tangible emotion of live music, that鈥檚 what gives us juice to go on.鈥�
The In the Round and All Together tour hits 麻豆精选鈥檚 Milkcrate Records May 15 at 7 p.m. Cover is $10. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The trio鈥檚 Lorenzo鈥檚 gig is May 16 at 8 p.m. Cover is $10 and doors open at 6 p.m.
Parker Crook | Reporter
@MrParkerJCrook
Send Parker an email.
Like the The Morning Star on Facebook.
Follow us on Twitter.
