“After the News” hits Bellrock

Julie Druker | Jun 18, 2015

A capacity crowd filled the Bellrock hall on June 6 for the official release of “After the News”, the self-titled album and latest musical offering from Lee Casement and the band, many of whom are long time collaborators who have written and performed together in the past on the In the Guestroom series of recordings. The group, comprised of Casement on bass/guitar, Lisa Menard on vocals, Shaun Weima on vocals/lead guitar, Jamie Young on vocals/guitar, and drummer Matt Piper were joined on stage by Kelli Caravan on trumpet and Josh Lyon on keyboards. They performed the complete song list from the album, which was released to the public the same day that the event took place.

Casement said the project represents something brand-new for him. “My cousin Lisa and I were always talking about writing songs together and Shaun, whom I had formed a partnership with during the In the Guestroom series of albums, just started writing songs together and wanted to record and perform them.”

The band is stacked with talented vocalists and the trio of singers - Shaun, Lisa and Jamie took turns centre stage, with each adding their own individual style and flavour to the diverse repertoire that makes this collaboration work. Each singer’s voice is distinct. Lisa is the group’s diva. She offers a strong, solid and silky smooth vibe, and proved she can funk it up at the drop of a hat. Jamie by contrast sings in a breathy lament and took the lead in tunes like “I'm Drawing You” to great effect. Shaun's delivery is wildly dramatic and energetic - his precise and pointed delivery so masterfully other worldly at times it had me doing double takes.

The songs also invite the three to come together as they did in their opener “Stand”, the only tune from the album that has been made into a video, which was recorded at local metal artist Stefan Duerst's studio near Godfrey and features Duerst and some of his work.

The other band members each offered solid performances, with Piper keeping the beat, Casement holding down the bottom end and Caravan and Lyon bringing a distinct density to the show. Casement said he wanted to hold the party in Bellrock since it was close to home and he wanted to promote the band in his own backyard. He paid respect to the musicians who inspired this album and invited the Evening Hymns (Jonas Bonnetta with Jon Hynes) who inspired the band’s tune “Morning Hymn (Wake Up)”, which was a highlight. The Evening Hymns, who do not often play locally, performed a generous set that showcased Bonnetta's work and also Hynes' talents as a recent member as well as his own solo efforts. Bonnetta is an amazing singer and poet and he performed a number of older tunes including “Arrows”, plus a number of brand new songs like “Evil Forces”, which will appear on a new release. From his acclaimed CD titled “Spectral Dust” Bonnetta invited Casement to play bass for the tune “You and Jake”, a song that was featured in the 2015 Cameron Crowe film starring Emma Stone, Bradley Cooper and Rachel McAdams, which wowed the crowd.

For his closer Bonnetta performed “Mountain Song”, a fascinating and demanding looping number that defined this unique artist’s seemingly limitless talents. Hynes sang a few of his own originals from his album titled “Watchful Creatures”. His tunes “Sea Diver” and “One More California” show him to be a talented singer and energetic performer.

Well known and loved local troubadour, Jon McLurg, had opened the evening with a number of his own mesmerizing solo numbers including “True Blue” and “Big Band Theory”, which warmed up the crowd, demonstrating his virtuosity as a writer, singer and player. His version of “CC Rider” was a delight as was his stream of consciousness number inspired by North Carolina legend Etta Baker.

The evening demonstrated that original top-notch music is alive and well in these rural parts. After The News will be performing a house concert in Kingston on Friday, July 17 and will be taking to the stage at the Westport Music Festival on Saturday, August 15 and in Harrowsmith at the County of Frontenac's 150th Anniversary celebrations on Sunday, August 30. They will also be appearing on Saturday, November 7 at the Daily Grind Art Cafe in Ottawa. For more information visit www.tinyracket.com/bands/afterthenews