River City Junction Comes to The Cove

River City Junction Comes to The Cove - theHumm July 2024

By Seamus Cowan

For almost 30 years, River City Junction has been playing big festivals like RBC Ottawa Bluesfest, Montreal’s FestiBlues, and many of the clubs in Eastern Ontario and Quebec. They have had the honour of performing with artists like Jerry Mercer, Harpdog Brown, Jerome Godboo, Eric Shenkman, Steve Marriner, and Matt Sobb. They played The Cove for the first time this past February, and will be bringing their funky soulful sound back on Saturday, July 27. I caught up with lead singer and drummer Caroline Addison, and her husband and guitar player Jason, to find out more about these seasoned veterans of the Canadian music scene.

Seamus Cowan: Making music is a special thing, but is there a different feeling when you’re doing it with someone close to you?

Caroline: Making music is definitely a sharing of souls in my opinion. I’ve been very fortunate to share that experience with many great players, but it’s something else altogether to share that with Jason, because each of us is able to intuit what the other is feeling, both on and off stage. So it definitely makes for something very magical. It makes the very best of friends even better!

A lot of people are taken by how much soul you sing with, and how you play the drums at the same time. Can you tell us about your singing drummer influences?

Caroline: There are definitely some greats, but Levon Helm of The Band is by far my favourite singing drummer. I just love his groovy feel and attitude. I got to meet him the night he played our very own first big festival gig — Ottawa Bluesfest in 2010 — and got to thank him for all the years of inspiration he gave to me.

Another great inspiration of mine has always been Jerry Mercer. He didn’t sing much in April Wine, but let me tell you, that man could sing like a bird! I used to sneak into the bars when I was underage back in the day in Montreal to catch him playing in a local band called Big City. Jerry used to do an a cappella version of Desperado, and it was so good. Years later Jerry played in our band for five years until returning to April Wine to record Back to the Mansion with them, but that’s another story!

Submitting your creative self to working with a great producer can be liberating. What were some of the tools and alternate ways of thinking about performing and recording that Rob Fraboni gave you?

Jason: Rob is a brutally honest guy in pretty much every way, so working with him was one of the best experiences of my life. He really cares and was totally open with me about everything from the very first moment we met. I was completely overwhelmed with the fact that I would be meeting this guy because to me, he is huge. He’s worked with The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Band, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Keith Richards, and many more. He’s right up there with Daniel Lanois and Rudy Van Gelder. These people are the masterminds who coax the best sounds and performances from the people that they work with, and are also the ones that massage all those instruments and frequencies together, and turn it into the beautiful music that we all know and love.

As we were talking, he said to me, “Wait a minute. Are you the guy who did the remake of that Joe Bonamassa tune The Ballad of John Henry?” When I answered yes, he just blurted out, “Oh thank God. After I heard that song, I was like: ‘What am I going to show this guy that he doesn’t already know?’” I think maybe he was expecting someone who was not aware of his accomplishments or contributions, but when he realized how much respect and admiration I already had for him, I think that broke down any possible barriers that could have existed between us and we just instantly became friends.

That brutal honesty from each of us to the other forged a bond in my heart and I have loved that man from that very moment. He not only showed and explained a lot of his personal approaches to recording, but also showed me that how you approach the whole process is also very important. He does so with a very light heart and was a great mentor to me in the little amount of time we got to spend with him. And don’t get me wrong, he is also the kind of guy that if you make the mistake of approaching him in the wrong way, it’s not likely to go well for you, so I was extra appreciative of every moment we spent together.

Can you tell us about the evolution of the sound of your newest record coming down the pipe?

Jason: That’s a very hard question to answer, because the evolution of our sound is in step with the evolution of our souls, so hopefully it will sound great! Caroline has become an incredible songwriter and has written all the songs for the fourth record. I think the biggest evolution will be the fact that we will be living in a small cabin and doing most, if not all, of our recording there with zero interruptions or disturbances. Maybe I’ll write you back in six months or a year and I’ll be able to quantify it better!

River City Junction will play a summer patio party at The Cove on July 27. It’s always a good idea to reserve early, so call 273–3636 to book your spot.

Hookking Up with Teri Bell and Chris Wynnyk! - theHumm July 2024

By Sally Hansen

Art… and Soul

These two Valley sisters have hook(k)ed up in a deliciously creative undertaking titled Hookk Creative Crochet. For the past three years these two fabric artists have played and experimented and thoroughly enjoyed themselves developing a line of crocheted jewellery. Suspend any initial reservations, and take a serious look at their eye-catching results.

Matched with the right outfit, their colourful, organic, wildly original pieces can spice up your wardrobe and your life. Each croche......

River City Junction Comes to The Cove - theHumm July 2024