hey everyone! here's some current

news from the land of cabbage

Table 'O' Contents:

• "Black Cabbage: a recording" sold out the first run of 1,000 in two months of release
• the CD charted at #1 on CFRU in Guelph, #2 on CKMS in Waterloo, and #9 in Halifax (that's CKDU)
  Update 13 May 96: I just found out the Cabbage charted in New Brunswick, too, at CHSR.
• stayed on the independent chart at Sam's downtown store for over two months, peaking at #4 (the only non-Sonic Unyon band in the top 5!!)
• broke sales records made by Pearl Jam and the Tragically Hip at Looney Tunes, Guelph

Black Cabbage are an eight-piece configuration of musicians from the town of Guelph. They released their 14-song debut album on DROG records in late August 1995, and have received national airplay on CBC and campus radio. Since their incarnation in early 1993 they have:

1. become one of the most entertaining, dynamic, passionate and eclectic live bands in Ontario;
2. recorded their debut album with the legendary Lewis Melville, the lovely Dave Clark (Rheostatics, Inbreds), and the luscious John Oliveira (Skydiggers, John Bottomley);
3. were told after one of their first gigs that they had that "pan-Canadian sound," whatever the hell that might be;
4. had their hometown daily rag define what they do as a mix of "rock, folk, punk, Motown, blues, African, Celtic, country, and gypsy influences"... which is about as specific as comparisons get;
5. rented an accordion from none other than Grammy-winning polka superstar Walter Ostanek one starstruck evening in St. Catharines;
6. played softball against Change of Heart and King Cobb Steelie at the 1994 Hillside Festival (and got their folkie butts kicked - watch out for CoH's John Richardson on second base!);
7. appeared on the nationally acclaimed Guelph Happens compilation (it spent six months on the national campus radio chart; Black Cabbage's tracks were also played on CBC's Brave New Waves, Night Lines, and Real Time);
8. posed for the cover of the Guelph campus paper (The Ontarion) with Elvis Costello.

If you want ready-made comparisons for lazy media types (just add water!), may I suggest the following: Sly and the Family Stone get picked up by The Band hitchhiking along the 401; the Pogues challenging Parliament to ice hockey on a frozen lake in the Canadian Shield; Ani DiFranco and Michelle Shocked take David Lowery and Daniel Lanois out on a double date to see the Rheostatics and the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir.

But seriously, folks, they use a lot of folk instruments like acoustic guitar, accordion, violin, and tin whistle alongside electric guitars and your standard rock and roll line-up. In case this all makes them sound like yet another hippie jam band, let me shamelessly appropriate the word punk (even though their music doesn't fit into the traditional definition - hey, if you've read Greil Marcus' Ranters and Crowd Pleasers, the definition can get a little stretched) because:

1. their anarchic live shows bubble over with energy;
2. that's what a lot of them grew up listening to, and in some cases, playing;
3. they believe firmly in DIY; and
4. it's a word you have to drop these days for any shred of credibility, and they're well versed in media manipulation.

So sit back, lower your expectations after the shameless promotional material you've just endured, and enjoy the debut recording by Black Cabbage.
- Billy Shears, September 1995 (updated in Jan '96)

Some you might have heard of: Lewis Melville, Jeff Bird, King Cobb Steelie.

• Tristan plays lead guitar with ex-members of Weasel, House of Velvet and Apollo 13 in punk-ska band Flashlight (they recently released a tape).
  Update 11 May 96: Flashlight's CD is almost done!;
• Spike & Sheila have co-operative solo careers, and Spike is currently recording his own album;
• Although he's not with the band anymore, Sam Cino used to play with Taxi Chain and appears on their newly released album Bagpipe Juke Joint - he's also the been the drummer for King Cobb Steelie;
• Mark Agnew doesn't have a lot of on-stage experience but paradoxically, he does have a large number of enthusiastic fans. I await a full explanation.
• Nick Craine hosts an open stage every Monday with Jeff Bird and Pat Mooney, and also plays electric guitar in Aaron Riches' Nuclear Family Band (as does Sam sometimes - check out Aaron's wonderful new album on DROG);
• Kate Richmond plays in a percussion-driven band called Milk;
• Michael Barclay is a musical slut; and
• Dave Withers is a founding member of the educational theatre troupe Ruckus in the Rainforest and used to play in Billy But.

  Most of Black Cabbage also appear on Lewis Melville's Niagara album.

The band is currently in an intense writing period (spurred on by new rehearsal space) and hopes to start recording their second album by the end of the summer.