“With a name like
The Harpoonist and The Axe Murderer,
you might be forgiven for thinking that the Vancouver-based duo is some sort of
concept group based on a hypothetical love story between Captain Ahab and Lizzie
Borden.” (Chris Oke, Yukon News) In reality,
Shawn ‘The Harpoonist’
Hall and
Matthew ‘The Axe Murderer’ Rogers evoke much
more than just grisly nautical imagery. Armed with a sack of harmonicas, a mess
of foot percussion, and a road-worn Telecaster, the duo kick out raw and primal
blues in the tradition of a ‘decades-deep blues style’ (Scott Brown, What’s up
Yukon), while infusing the genre with a jolt of renewed
energy.
Scheduled for release June 17, their new
album, A Real Fine Mess, explores complicated
dichotomies. Like how one’s life can appear successful on one hand, yet be
clouded by doubt and struggles on the other and how all that is celebrated hangs
in the balance with the potential to fall apart at any moment. Recently the band
found themselves increasingly inspired not only by the electric ‘groove blues’
of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s but also by the music of their peers. A wee hours
stairwell jam led to vocal collaborations featured on the record and an
awkwardly mis-matched festival workshop forced them to think about ‘upping their
game’ as songwriters and lyricists.
Recording the album came with its
own challenges as the two live in different cities and much of the recording was
split between Vancouver and Nanaimo. 8 float plane rides, 18 ferry trips and a
barrage of text and e-mail arguments later A Real Fine Mess was born like
the offspring of Zeus and a cancan dancer.
Hall and Rogers have received
considerable recognition in the last few years. They were nominated for four
Maple Blues Awards and won ‘Blues Act of the
Year’ at the SiriusXM Indies in 2013. The duo has also
pounded their fair share of festival stages including SXSW,
Winnipeg Folk Festival, Ottawa Blues Festival,
Calgary Folk Music Festival, and Montreal Jazz
Festival. Along the way they’ve shared the stage with Taj
Mahal, Booker T Jones, David Wilcox, Mother Mother,
and The Sheepdogs. They’ve also had songs featured on
television shows such as the ‘The Good Wife’, ‘Blue Bloods’,
and the aptly named TV movie ‘Lizzie Borden Took An
Axe’.
Beginning June 5 the duo sets out on tour across
Canada and the US and have no plans to slow down after their hectic summer of
festival hopping. They’re on a continuing journey, constantly finding
inspiration from musicians they meet or collaborate with. These encounters
challenge them to write better music and lyrics, and to keep performing with
their trademark fervor and honesty. And the result? As one fan put it, ‘is blues
that gets you in the crotch’.
LISTEN TO “DON’T MAKE ‘EM
LIKE THEY USED TO” HERE
TRACK
LIST
01 – Black And Blue
02 – Do Watcha
03 – Tea
For Two
04 – Mama’s In The Backseat
05 – Closer To Death
06
– Feel Me Now
07 – Don’t Make ‘em Like They Used To
08 – My
Paradise
09 – In And Out Of Love
10 – Sweat This Pain
11 –
Cry A Little
12 – In The End
13 – Act Your Age
14 – A Real
Fine Noise
NORTH AMERICAN SUMMER TOUR
DATES
Jun 5 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street
Entry
Jun 6 – Chicago, IL – Beat Kitchen
Jun 7 – Champaign, IL –
Highdrive
Jun 8 – Goshen, IN – Ignition Music Garage
Jun 10 –
Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
Jun 11 – Indianapolis, IN – The
Slippery Noodle
Jun 12 – Saint Louis, MO – Oyster Bar
Jun 13-15 –
Salina, KS – Smoky Hill River Festival
Jul 4 – Sudbury, ON – Northern
Lights Festival
Jul 5-6 – Orillia, ON – Mariposa Folk Festival
Jul
11 – Victoria, BC – Rock The Shores
Jul 12 – Kelowna, BC – Keloha
Festival
Jul 17-18 – Saskatoon, SK – Ness Creek Festival
Jul 24 –
Toronto, ON – Dakota Tavern
Jul 25-27 – Guelph, ON – Hillside
Festival
Aug 1-2 – Kaslo, BC – Kaslo Jazz Festival
Aug 3 –
Invermere, BC – Pynelogs
Aug 8 – Kamloops, BC – Music in The
Park
Aug 9 – Burnaby, BC – Buranby Roots & Blues
Aug 10 –
Regina, SK – Regina Folk Festival
Aug 15 – Comox, BC –
Atmosphere
Aug 16-17 – Winnipeg, MB – Winnipeg BBQ & Blues
Festival
Sep 12-14 – Fredericton, NB – Harvest Jazz & Blues
Festival
Sep 17-21 – Nashville, TN – Americana Music Festival
Oct
4 – Chilliwack, BC – Chilliwack Cultural Centre
Oct 5 – Vernon, BC –
Vernon PAC
Oct 8 – Winnipeg, MB – Park
Theatre
MORE
DATES TBA
ARTIST SITE: www.harpoonistaxemurderer.com
