Beach Station Blues III

My friend Grant (bassist for Naysa) once said to me: “I am always curious on why people who call themselves “foodies” go try out and support local restaurants, yet a lot of people who call themselves music lovers seem to ignore the local music scene all together.”

So, how much do you know about Winnipeg’s music scene?

I am not going to pretend that I am totally in the know of the who’s who; it seems like this city’s musical talents are growing at an alarming rate and it’s hard to keep up. Gone are the days of only a few local stand-out bands, now it’s almost like every new Winnipeg band that’s born has real potential to go beyond our lovely city and into the rest of the world. I have always liked the thought that perhaps the several months of harsh Canadian prairie weather breeds exceptional talent – whether it is in music, art, or anything in between.

So let’s pretend you, the reader, has very limited knowledge of the local music scene and (hopefully) you wanted to change that. Where would be a great place to start? Well, lucky for you I am about to give you a huge step in the right direction!

*poster design by Lauren Elizabeth: [email protected]*

Beach Station Blues III is the third musical compilation instalment and baby (now tween) of local music makers, Gilad Carroll and Adam Soloway who are also known under their moniker, Real Love Winnipeg. If you think you have heard these names before it is probably because you have listened to their band, The Hours who capture a dream-gaze lullaby sound with a dose of Mazzy Star croon. Or maybe you’ve listened to Palm Trees, Gilad’s local favourite weirdo psych-out project. OR perhaps you’ve heard of the new festival Real Love Summer Fest, a weekend long music festival created and curated by Gil and Adam. It boasts all local acts and was held in Gimili earlier this summer. Needless to say: these boys have their schedules packed and are full on invested in creating, producing and helping out other local talent get their voices and songs heard.

The idea behind Beach Station Blues? It’s simple: Invite a bunch of local (and Manitoban) bands out to Winnipeg Beach, have them record a few songs inside a cabin and out on the deck. The cabin recordings end up on the compilation, and the deck sessions (as they are called) can be heard on Real Love’s website. These specific deck recordings are low-fi and intimate. All songs are done acoustically in the open air with birds and insects singing along in the back. It is quite wonderful and a treat, I’m sure, for the neighbours. Who wouldn’t love free live music all weekend? (I was told that all neighbours are made aware of this happening and Gil assured me that any song involving drumming is done recording at 9pm; no exceptions.) The bands span a variety of genres. For example, Roger Roger’s deck session sounded like classic two piece folk strumming, French Press was beautiful singer-songwriter vocals backed by swooning cello, Greek Riots sounded as if The Pogues and The Hold Steady had a baby, Naysa brought along their peppy jangle rock, and Paincave offered their hypnotizing shoe gaze sound - a little something for everyone.

The cabin is where the actual compilation is created. I was only there for a few short hours, and in that time only the band French Press fully recorded. With fourteen bands to record and only one weekend to do it in, this showed me just how dedicated Gil and Adam are to having the best sounding album come out. No band was rushed. Plus these musicians are serious about their craft and willing to put in the time and effort to make sure their song sounds perfect, as you would expect. This may be an unconventional way to record an album – gut out a cabin, make a makeshift recording studio (which had to be seen to be believed), then invite a slew of bands out. But from what I saw, it was all coming together perfectly. Sure it made for very long days, but this gave an opportunity for all musicians involved to meet their peers, have a beer in the sun and talk about the art that they love.

above: Greek Riots and French Press

The new album is out in October and from what I’ve heard so far, it’s going to be pretty amazing. We will keep you in the loop on when the record release will be as it is the perfect opportunity for you to check out and support your local music scene. Until then, go check out the last few years and see exactly what Beach Station Blues is all about here.

above: Bear Clones

above: Roger Roger

Now get out there and support your local music scene! Pick up a copy of Beach Station Blues III when it’s released and listen to all the music you have been missing out on.

Photography, Layout, Words, and Rock Fists by Brett Howe