December 16, 2006:
Sipreano with Decaf and The Stunt Man represents the
culmination of a 17-year Vancouver experience. Although I lived in British
Columbia for a spell in the eighties it was this second lengthier go round that
opened my ears and mind to different frequencies, let me explore the night, and
share countless experiences with so many good folks.
It’s when I first played out records with James Bell (aka
Lockjaw, R.I.P.), hosted nuff events, shebeens, and multi-media one-offs
with the one and only Kamandi, met the creatively inspiring
Decaf, and spent a great deal of energy digging deep and deeper for long forgotten sounds. I also developed a fundamental passion for Canadian music via another
deceased pal, For The Record's Ty Scammel, the only vinyl dealer that I’ve met with golden ears and an influence that I truly miss.
When I was lucky, Ty would have me over to his house and
we'd just groove on his mind blowing record collection filled to the brim with the
heaviest psychedelic records from around the world, long before the Internet
opened the floodgates. We'd drink whiskey, smoke weed, and he'd tell me of his
late-blooming Vancouver hippie days. For “Edwards/Blake” and “Cousineau,” I
thank you.
Another key impact was a 6-year stint at a large UK-chain CD
store. It was here where I bonded with "Lunatics" co-conspirator Paul
Anderson. This was our musical playground, elementary, high, and post-secondary
schools all rolled into one. Andie Maddalozzo also entered my sphere during
this period and continues to be a dear friend. It was an honour to have her
contribute to “Steal” in a unique way that only she can pull off.
In Vancouver, there is such a dynamic between the street and
nature. Over time, I've become immersed in city life, the hustle and bustle,
enjoying cheap eateries, bars, and working to get by. It wasn't until recently
that I started to appreciate the other aspect–the mountains, lakes, woods, and
ocean. The summer of 2006 will go down as a return to these solitudes where the
sand and surf of Third Beach washed over my existence. I spent a great many
moments like this with 1777rex's Steven Balogh, the one-time bass to my drums
in short-lived mid-nineties combo, The Afterglow, as well as with the ever
patient Stunt Man on two Powell River (Without End) getaways. Brothers.
Canada also played its part in the creation of this album.
In both 2005 and in 2006 (accompanied by Decaf), I hit the road in my trusty
Corolla, heading east like CN Rail and on the prowl for vanishing Canadian
sound heritage. Apart from finding records that I would have never found in
coastal bins, I got to experience the larger than life Rockies, rolling prairie
ghosts, and endless big sky. Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg,
and points in between gave me a new perspective on our country and my place in
it.
Consequently, it’s been with serious consideration that
Heather and I have relocated to the big league of Toronto to pursue both collective
and separate goals. Another transition to say the least. My archival work has
led me to the source and it feels like my Vancouver love affair will have to
wait for a future space. Still, before I left, and with the help of these close
friends, I was able to complete a letter to my adopted home. It celebrates all
that I cherish.
Please take a toke, lay back, and walk with us...
February 13, 2017:
It’s crazy to think, but 10 years have passed since Vancouver-based
1777rex released Sipreano with Decaf and The Stunt Man. Like the label’s other releases
(Anemones, Points Gray, Ice Palace, and Ex-Dead Teenager), each CD-R and
cardboard sleeve were personally put together with stitching, stencil/spray
paint, cut and pasted photos, as well as hand numbered text by 1777rex mastermind Steven Balogh. Inserts and cover
images were cut with scissors and assembled with care. Each title was limited to 100 copies: 50 were distributed to
local stores and sold to customers worldwide and 50 were given to the artists,
a solid model for a labour of love such as this.
The 1777 in 1777rex was a nod to 1777 Frances, an east
Vancouver apartment building that Balogh and I lived in during the middle part
of the first decade of the 2000s. We had initially met around ten years prior,
as a short-lived rhythm section in a Mod/UK-inspired rock band. Reconnecting with
Balogh around a different crew of musicians and friends, I was excited to be
asked to contribute to his new imprint. Initially, ODB, as he was sometimes
called, wanted a DJ mix as my 1777rex release. I had been active as a selector
since the late 1990s, but felt that I wanted to create something more original
than simply stringing a few old tunes together. Since 2004, I had been
collaborating with Seattle-based Light in the Attic Records and producing the Jamaica-Toronto
reissue series, an extension of my record collection and personal history with
Jamaican and Canadian music. I had also recently put together a streaming loop-based
music project for Tokyo’s Sandinista/2Step clothing brand called Voluntary In
Nature, which I performed as a live PA at local art space Blim in the old B.C.
Electric Building on Pender Street.
To execute an expanded vision, I immediately asked for help from two good friends: producer/artist/photographer Kelly Claude Nairn (then known as Decaf, now wzrdryAV) as well as
The Stunt Man (Suite Sound Labs owner/audio engineer, Greg Mindorff). Two more
old pals (Paul “The Driver” Anderson and Andie Maddalozzo) were brought on as
guest vocalists. Records, voice, keyboards, and drums were hashed together
along with Decaf’s trademark sound processing and the editing, mixing,
and mastering touch of The Stunt Man. Two cover songs were attempted, the
first, a short edit of a Red Rider song (“Crack The Sky (Breakaway)”) along
with re-sung vocals from Tom Cochrane’s Can Con classic “Big League,” the
second, a straight recreation of “The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum” by
the Fun Boy Three. Additional inspiration was taken from my record collection and reflected
my explorations into regional Canadian and global psychedelic sounds. Drum
tracks were recorded at a rehearsal space on Hastings where my kit was set up
for jamming. The CD-R’s cover image was taken by Kelly at the edge of
Victoria Park on Salisbury Drive and the album was promoted prior to its release in an interview given to CiTR’s Discorder Magazine in the fall of 2006 as well as on a 1777rex Myspace page (which hosted the song "CN Rail").
Of all of the fourteen tracks, “Steal,” which features vocal from
Gangbang’s Andie Maddalozzo, still resonates with me deeply. In fact, it pointed towards today’s
current state of unrest (has anything changed?). The musical backing is meant to reflect and recreate a
late afternoon Third Beach session with the sun beginning to set and the surf
slowly crashing against the shore in varied repetition. An edit of Decaf’s
empathetic sample treatment, it has made me cry on more than one occasion and continues to fill me with emotion, over ten
years later. For those who haven’t
heard it yet, I hope that you enjoy.
PEACE,
Sipreano
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