Blackie and the Rodeo Kings

You may have noticed I'm not posting about my workouts.  Um, that's just because I have so many other much more interesting things to tell you.  (I promise I will run tomorrow)   :)

(Photo stolen from their website :)

I was out at my favourite restaurant, The Minstrel Cafe, the other night and in between sets of a local band, a CD was playing in the background. There was one song with a guy that reminded me a little of James Taylor's style, although a little less mellow. I asked the waiter if he knew who was singing and he didn't but he was sure the owner would know - it was his CD.  In short order, the owner, Clare, was at our table with the name "Stephen Fearing".  He told us if we hadn't heard of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, we should go home, and buy every album they have made.  Apparently they are amazing, and knowing Erik's and my taste in music, Clare thought we would like them. He said to start with the album that has the song "Stoned" in it.

So I looked them up on itunes and found they have a whole slew of albums, in a roots-blues-country-rock style. Furthermore, the three members of this Juno award-winning band - Stephen Fearing, the multi-talented Colin Linden, and Tom Wilson, of LeE HARVeY OsMOND fame - are all amazing solo acts in their own right. At this point, I was embarrassed to admit that I had not previously heard of them.

Anyway, I bought BARK (which has Stoned on it) and loved it right away, and tonight I bought Kings and Queens, which is an album of duets with a long list of well known female voices. I am not a reviewer and do not have the words to do justice to their work, so here's a writeup of the album by my twitter pal, @penguinstorm, who writes music reviews for No Depression in his spare time.

http://nodepression.com/article/blackie-rodeo-kings-friends-vogue-theatre-vancouver-bc

Blackie and the Rodeo Kings have caught my attention like no other band has in a long time.

Fuckin' A - I love it when I find someone new to listen to - check them out!