| Means & Ends 2002 independent; 2003 Paper Bag Records |
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Order The Album iTunes Canada:  iTunes US: |
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| Means and Ends was my first official record. I wrote the bulk of the songs while living in Hamilton, Ontario, doing my M.A. in philosophy. It was my first experience in a recording studio (discounting my stacks of home 4-track recordings), and my first time playing with serious backing musicians. Julian Brown played bass and Dean Stone played drums – together they play in the band Apostle of Hustle, but that band hadn’t yet released a record at the time. Julian has since played and recorded with Feist. I met Julian in Hamilton – he was also living there at the time and he became a musical sidekick of mine for several years, playing in my band and on the next two records. The sessions were quick and I had the arrangements pretty worked out ahead of time. One highlight was having the late Richard Bell play on a track. He played with Janis Joplin and the Band (in the 90s), and he added so much to the album. Means and Ends was well-received in the way only debut records can be, and it opened a lot of doors for me in my career. It led to a manager, a booking agent, a profile in the Toronto music scene and an indie-label (Paper Bag Records) that released it properly, with different artwork. It features my still most-requested song, "Cinnamon Hearts." | |
