2015-12-06: Creaking Planks with Professor Gall and Carolyn Mark at the WISE Hall

OK, time to inaugurate this "new" website with a fresh gig promotion post! (Don't go back too far, folks, or the pages might break on you -- but we're working double-time to get all seven years of the website up to snuff.) We've never yet had a successful intersection with Portland's Professor Gall (even the most recent failed attempt was over a year ago, at a now-closed venue! The locations change but the urge remains constant...) and as for Victoria's Carolyn Mark, well she burned things down with us at Bernerland in February, but before that we haven't crossed paths since the Blackberry Wood house concerts at the Big Blue House in 2012... so clearly we've got some catching up to do!

This show is coming up this coming Sunday night, December 6th, running from 8 pm until late (but not too late, it's a Sunday night people 8) at the WISE Hall (upstairs 1882 Adanac at Victoria.) Tickets are $10! See you there!

Get your dancing shoes ready for December 6th at the WISE!

Professor Gall
A Tincture of Junkyard Folk and Steampunk Jazz, Professor Gall seeks to uncover the contradictions of an ambiguous and native-less society, "dreaming the existentialists' dream", while at the same time pleading for individualism, peace, and more fun at funerals.

Carolyn Mark
The Queen of Vancouver Island, Mint Records recording artist and all 'round sweety with a dark side! Country, folk and Americana delivered with a smile. Please welcome all the way from Vancouver Island: Canada's Best Country Cabaret Trio Carolyn Mark and the New Best Friends. Featuring Joel Fernandes (aka The Portuguese Stallion) on lead guitar and Dennis "The Ingrate" Siemens on the (barely) upright bass. Carolyn and her band sure love playing The Wise Hall and are glad The New Asshole Neighbours didn't get it shut down. The New Best Friends are delighted to share the bill with ...

The Creaking Planks

(Come on, you know us already!)

2015-02-06: Bernerland: the Songs of Geoff Berner!

Though our paths have not crossed all that often (usually at the ArtsWells festival!), local accordionic songwriter Geoff Berner nonetheless looms large in our band's history, inviting us to headline his show at the first annual Accordion Noir Festival, after which he sagely proclaimed: "every night some band is the best band in the world for that night, and tonight I think it was you guys." We debated long and hard whether to perform his "Dalloy Polezei" when we performed at the fundraiser for the Police Museum. (The verdict was unanimous: we totally should, and we definitely wouldn't.) In fact, a turn-of-the-century appearance opening for folkie weirdo Dan Bern at the Britannia Elementary auditorium was entirely responsible for Blackbox Squeezebeard being inspired to pick up the accordion in the first place.

So finally we have an opportunity to give back some of what he has given to us: we didn't take the chance to cover any of his numerous amazing original songs on the Festival Man album, but we will be giving up two at the fabulous Bernerland roast / tribute show coming up this Friday night!

The roster is a gallery of big talent including his old friends in the Burnettes, Jeff Andrew, Dave Lang, Demon Squadron, E.S.L., Ford Pier, Carolyn Mark, Rae Spoon, fellow Monster of Accordion Jason Webley... and us! All hosted by Ken Gordon... one night only, 8:30 pm at the WISE Hall (1882 Adanac St. at Victoria), tickets will be $20 at the door (only $15 advance!) and all proceeds will be generously donated to the WISH drop-in centre. It has no option but to be quite a show.

...

January was unexpectedly busy for us -- in addition to the big 10th-anniversary blowout, we performed two more gigs last week you never found out about here. First off was Support Resistance!, a brief but punchy appearance at a fundraiser for the Carnegie Newsletter on Jan 24th (at which Mr. Berner also weighed in!), and then on the 29th we had a fascinating chance to provide ambient and improvisatory instrumental wallpaper for a pecha kucha at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at UBC, where we drifted among cello pedal loops beneath the skeleton of a blue whale.

Here we are living the dream of re-enacting @TheDecemberists Mariner's Revenge Song at @beatymuseum . pic.twitter.com/8tNdtndhla

— Creaking Planks (@creakingplanks) January 30, 2015

Show business! Even after 10 years, it can't help but surprise you!

We sure are an animated bunch!

In celebration of our Jaan Pehechaan Ho video breaking 15 thousand views (and the Heineken campaign fuelling its accidental virality showing no sign of slowing), here's a low-fi video -- an animated .GIF made out of snapshots virtuous band photographer Jonathan Dy took of us the same night as that viral video was made, three-quarters of a year ago. We have listened to the masses, tightened up our arrangement, and even learned the words to the second verse! There's a round of recording coming up and this tune is definitely on our hit list.

(Haven't you always wanted to have a little band in your desk, to take out and put on the shelf to caper and cavort for your amusement at the drop of a hat? I'm of half a mind to violate every design tenet on the book (where's my blink tag?) and put this little animation on the top of our website, for viewers to enjoy on every page.)

Two items of further note: we missed telling you about a gig we played Tues, Jan 31st, fundraising for the Federation for the Organization of Open Desire at the Little Mountain Gallery (where we'll be back Thurs March 1st presenting you a re-match with Portland's Underscore Orkestra -- but I get ahead of myself) and this Saturday night, Feb 18th, we'll be joining Blackberry Wood at the Big Blue House again for another jam-packed album fundraiser show there, shuffled among such luminaries as Geoff Berner, Carolyn Mark, and the Orkestar Slivovica. Just keep your ears open as you walk along Salisbury Street, there's no way you'll miss it.