Great Lake Swimmers and Kate Maki Spring Tour

The Great Lake Swimmers and Kate Maki are going to kick off a tour in March that will take them through the Atlantic provinces, northern Ontario, the prairies and the west before winding up back in Toronto on April 25.

You can have a listen to the Great Like Swimmers performing live at NXNE on this episode of the CBC Radio 3 sessions it sounds something like this:



As good as the Swimmers are I like Kate Maki better!

"Born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, Kate Maki has a voice as wide and expansive as its moon-like terrain. Her music is “somewhere in the magical realm of Mazzy Star, Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood, and Belle & Sebastian” (San Francisco Chronicle), and "the kind you end up with a crush on and can't wait to play driving down the highway" (Edmonton Sun). When Kate is not on tour, she teaches Special Education, Science, and French to the next generation."

Read the full bio here.

March 06 - Cornerbrook - Black Thorn Stick Cafe
March 08 - St. John's - The Ship Inn
March 11 - Halifax St. - Matthews Church
March 12 - Fredericton - The Capital
March 14 - Quebec City - Le Cercle
March 19 - Sudbury - The Townhouse
March 20 - Sault Ste Marie - Loplops
March 21 - Thunder Bay - The Study
March 23 - Winnipeg - Instore Performance
March 24 - Regina - The Exchange
March 25 - Saskatoon - Amigo's
March 26 - Calgary - Grace Presbyterian Church
March 27 - Edmonton - McDougall United Church
March 29 - Vancouver - St. James Hall
March 30 - Vancouver - Norm Theatre - UBC
April 25 - Toronto - Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Reminder: Nathan and Kate are Coming

Nathan Lawr and Kate Maki are about to whip through Southern Ontario and Quebec starting tonight in Guelph.

Friday, September 5 @ 10:00pm - Carden Street Cafe - Guelph, ON
Saturday, September 6 @ 10:00pm - The Cameron House - Toronto, ON
Sunday, September 7 @ 4:00pm - The Black Sheep Inn - Wakefield, QC
Friday, September 19 @ 9:00pm - House Concert - Sault Ste. Marie, ON (email: ewainio@shaw.ca for ticket info)
Saturday, September 20 @ 11:00pm - Townehouse - Sudbury, ON
**Wednesday, October 15 @ 10:00pm - Casa Del Popolo - Montreal, QC
**Saturday, October 18 @ 8:30pm - Gordon Best Theatre - Peterborough, ON (**new dates, not in the summer, but...)

RVT: Kate Maki - We Are Gone

Kate Maki, who is about to embark on a mini-tour with Nathan Lawr has a new video out today for the song "We are Gone" - it was directed by Scott Cudmore and shot by Lee Towndrow.



Kate Maki - We Are Gone

Nathan Lawr & Kate Maki - Mini Reunion Tour

Not that they ever split up, but Nathan Lawr and Kate Maki are 're-uniting' to fill in a few blanks from their spring cross Canada tour.

"The dynamic duo will take turns singing each others songs and switching up on instruments for evenings of "the White Stripes meets the Everly Brothers meets Statler and Waldorf". - The Coast (Halifax Weekly)"

If you've never seen the two of them together (or either of them individually) you owe it to yourself to make it out to these shows:

Wednesday, August 27 @ 8:00pm - Pie Bird B&B - Nipissing Village, ON
Friday, September 5 @ 9:00pm - Carden Street Cafe - Guelph, ON
Saturday, September 6 @ 10:00pm - The Cameron House - Toronto, ON
Sunday, September 7 @ 4:00pm - The Black Sheep Inn - Wakefield, QC
Friday, September 19 @ 9:00pm - House Concert - Sault Ste. Marie, ON (email: ewainio@shaw.ca for ticket info)
Saturday, September 20 @ 11:00pm - Townehouse - Sudbury, ON

You can also download, for free the Nathan Lawr and the Minotaurs session from CBC Radio 3.

Kate Maki - To Please



Nathan Lawr - Righteous Heart

This Saturday In Toronto: Kate Maki and Country French

Kate Maki and Will Currie and the Country French will both be playing this Saturday in Toronto. Unfortunately they are not playing at the same venue.

Kate Maki "& Guests" will be playing at Mitzi's Sister. The Guests in this case include Nathan Lawr (obviously) as well as Cindy Doire, Ryan Bishops, Andrea Ramolo and Sean Pinchin.

Will Currie and the Country French will be playing at the Horseshoe Tavern with The Golden Dogs and 6ixty8ights.

Have a hard time being in two places at once? I know. It's hard but North by Northeast is just around the corner - time to hone those skills!

Kate Maki Tour Dates

Dates have been announced for the upcoming cross-Canada Kate Maki tour. There is also a new Facebook Group if you'd like to follow along and be reminded when the tour swings your way!

Your chance to see Kate will be

May 8, The Cavern: Winnipeg, Manitoba
May 10, The Velvet Underground: Edmonton, Alberta
May 11, The Boomtown Casino: Fort McMurray, Alberta
May 12, Paddy McSwiggin's: Fort McMurray, Alberta
May 14, The Canmore Hotel: Canmore, Alberta
May 16, Lorenzo's Cafe: Enderby, British Columbia
May 17, The Minstrel Cafe: Kelowna, British Columbia
May 18, The Railway Club: Vancouver, British Columbia
May 19, The Garage Showroom: Duncan, British Columbia
May 20, Caffe Vicente: Tofino, British Columbia
May 22, The Old Firehall: Rossland, British Columbia
May 23, The General Store: Twin Butte, Alberta
May 24, Ottoman Lounge: Medicine Hat, Alberta
May 25, Lydia's Pub: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
May 27, Shooter's: Kenora, Ontario
May 28, The Apollo: Thunder Bay, Ontario
May 29, Loplops Lounge: Ste Sault Marie, Ontario
May 30, The Townehouse Tavern: Sudbury, Ontario
May 31, Mitzi's Sister: Toronto, Ontario
June 1, The Black Sheep: Wakefield, Quebec (Kate only)
June 4, The Montreal House: Peterborough, Ontario
June 5, The Carden Street Cafe: Guelph, Ontario
June 6, The Artel: Kingston, Ontario (Kate w/ Nathan Lawr and the Minotaurs and The Gertrudes only)
June 7, The Black Sheep: Wakefield, Quebec (Nathan Lawr and the Minotaurs and Kyrie Kristmanson only)
June 8, Le Divan Orange: Montreal, Quebec
June 11, The Shadowlawn Inn: Rothesay, New Brunswick
June 12, The Capitol: Frederickton, New Brunswick
June 13, Stutt's Gallery: Sackville, New Brunswick
June 14, Gus's Pub: Halifax, Nova Scotia
June 15, Mersey House: Liverpool, Nova Scotia
June 17, Baba's Lounge: Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Concerts on Demand: Kate Maki

Kate Maki, the celebrated musician and Sudbury school teacher who recently released the widely acclaimed album "On High" featuring the single Blue Morning and is reportedly working on a "cool new band" with partner and frequent collaborator Nathan Lawr has a full concert up on the CBC's Concert's On Demand site.

"In February, Sudbury artist Kate Maki finally released her CD "On High" after almost two years of healing a serious case of pinched nerves which halted her musical career.

She's back in action, and brought her northern folk-pop to rock the house at the National Library of Canada in December with music that's been called Jazz, Folk, and Americana...and compared to early Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams."

This is rapidly becoming one of my favorite parts of the CBC website and, because it's Sunday and Kate Maki's music is close to perfect for Sunday listening - go and give it a spin (or whatever we do now that everything is digital).
http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/cod/concerts/20071207kmaki - you can also visit http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/cod/ for the Concerts on Demand home page.

Nathan Lawr's Busy Winter

Nathan Lawr has posted a bit to his Myspace blog about

Playing shows with Kate Maki

Working on a new Fembots Record

Writing radio theme songs for the CBC and

Working on a new record with Kate Maki and a "cool new band"

So if you wondered what people do all winter in Sudbury - now you know.

Kate Maki, New CD and Tour

Kate Maki has a new CD 'On High' coming on February 12 - which you can pre-order right now on Maple Music. I heard bits and pieces of it at Nathan Lawr's CD Release party in October and, I'm pretty definitely sure you'll like it but you don't have to just trust me on it. You can read reviews here and here (There are even a few songs you can download.) You can also find more at katemaki.com or on New Music Canada, Myspace or even Wikipedia.

There is a bit of a CD release tour coming as well.

Friday, February 8 @ 9pm - Album Release - Loplops Lounge - Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Saturday, February 9 @ 5pm - Performance/Interview - Bandwidth - CBC Radio One
Saturday, February 9 @ 8pm - Album Release - Little Montreal - Sudbury, ON
Friday, February 15 @ 10pm - Album Release - Cameron House - Toronto, ON
Saturday, February 16 @ 9pm - Album Release - Black Sheep Inn - Wakefield, QC

School is in and Kate is teaching so the rest of us just get the weekends. See you at the Cameron House I hope.

Breaking Links: Saturday, December 1

Via Boing Boing: Renowned alt. copyright and 'participatory culture' system Creative Commons turns 5 on December 15.

"..and they're having parties all over the world to celebrate! The main one, in San Francisco, is on Dec 15 from 10PM to 2AM, at the Terra Gallery at 511 Harrison Street."

VoCA on an art project gone horribly wrong.

"According to City News, "The prank cost CANFAR, the Canadian Foundation for Aids Research, at least $100,000.""

Just as Canada reconsiders the safety of police tasers and the UN rules that they are a form of torture , a new, less expensive consumer model is sweeping the US.

"A few months ago, the world's biggest stun gun maker revealed a lower-cost model primarily for civilians. The device has energized a mini-revolution in Taser sales, fuelling everything from designer colours for the fashion-conscious to Tupperware-like Taser parties for Southwestern soccer moms."

It would appear that even big business no longer backs Conservatives: Via Vive le Canada Global business leaders call for a legally binding climate change pact.

"The leaders of 150 major global companies today called for a legally binding and comprehensive international deal on climate change.

In a communiqué, the businesses said they needed a mandatory agreement on emissions reductions to give them the confidence to invest in low-carbon technology."

If you don't know who Kat Maki is, that's only because she lives in Sudbury, not Toronto or Montreal. Kate is about to release her 3rd Album - I've heard parts of it (at Nathan Lawr's CD Release party) and you really want to get it when it comes.

""Kate Maki's music is kind of up and percolated.  She's a hardy country type of pioneer woman.  Her acoustic guitar pickin rhythm is like a drum and she can belt out, even when she is quiet, like a storm." – Howe Gelb



"With its near conversational style and unfettered, natural delivery, Kate Maki's voice is an instrument of immediate comfort and charm where every utterance is a delight." – Toronto's Eye Weekly



"There's something disarming about her gently fluttering country-folk delivery." – Uncut Magazine




"High school teacher by day, singer-songwriter by night Kate Maki comes over as a countrified Neil Young and doesn't need her behaviour management skills to force appreciation from the crowd for a smart and witty performance." – Soundsxp  



 "In her own way, Maki rocks as hard as the fiercest metal band.  Anyone that can get an audience stomping their feet and silently swaying in the course of a 20 minute set is well on their way to musical success." – ChartAttack"

You Have to like Nathan Lawr

The more I find out about Nathan Lawr the more I like him. It's not just his resume - having played with Royal City and the Fembots, and it's not just his music (don't worry I'll get to that). If you go to his Myspace page he lists his influences as "the sea, the moon, electromagnetic fields, planetary orbits, solar wind, food and sometimes alcohol. If you read his recent interview with blogto he is asked "What does the future hold for you?" and responds

Oh, lord only knows. What's the funniest joke you can tell god? "I have a plan!"

Personally I'd always heard the saying "If you want to make God laugh tell him your plans for the future" but the sentiment is the same.

In brief Nathan's music (at least one the new album) sounds like a Torontonian transplanted to Sudbury. It has all the complexity of the city (guitar, bass, percussion, horns, cello, and complex harmonies) but the thoughtfulness that only comes to you when you get away from the city for a bit. The album "A Sea of Tiny Lights" has a bit of everything. As savedbyradio puts it

"like the story of Jim Loney, the Christian kidnapped by insurgents in Iraq ("Footsteps"), Gus Van Sant's Columbine interpretation Elephant ("There's A Devil"), and Uruguayan author Eduardo Galleano's Book of Embraces ("Swimming Like a Needle in the Haystack of the Sea")."

Go ahead and read this from Wolves, Hawks and Kites well.

Nathan Lawr's CD Release Party at the Supermarket on Thursday was everything an indie show should be...well from a fans point of view anyway. First of all there was Nathan Lawr who is an amazingly talented musician and songwriter, and alot of his friends including opening acts Andy Swan and Kate Maki. There were, of course, the Minotaurs and then there were friends and family of many of the above. Beyond that inner circle were maybe thirty people who had come to see the show without the bonds of family or friendship to pull them in.

Then there's the important part, the part that happened on the stage. There was the new album, which was brilliant. You can get a taste of it at the Myspace (go ahead and download Righteous Heart and We Go Down) and old favorites like "Barking at Your Door" there were seemingly improvised collaborations, and obvious mistakes without embarrasement - "What's the point in continuing when you've so obviously fucked it up."

note: only at small indie shows do you get free do-overs

It is intimate, it is fun, and it is participatory in a way that no stadium show ever will be. I know it's not ideal from an artists point of view. It's hard to pay the bills on shows like that (That's why you've always got to buy the CD) but if you really, genuinely like music you can't do better.

Also, just a heads up, Kate Maki's new CD is out in February, based on the previews Thursday you'll want to go ahead and grab that too.