Following the Passion of Sadie Hell
The days are short and heavy with lounge. Folks are caught in the vortex between Christmas and New Years. An impressive press release called me to the Canteen Art Shop and Gallery for a media presentation celebrating Sadie Hell’s new LP/CD. It’s my first media-only event and the experience is fascinating. This in-store concert featured a stripped down version of an ever-changing line up. The band gave an emotional performance to a gaggle of press people in front of a big beautiful banner. Soon you’ll be able to see video recorded by the good people at Bands Undone.
There are many different descriptions of Sadie Hell’s music, and they are all pretty bang on. The tunes feel symphonic at times, there’s some grunge, some emo and Ben Welland’s self-confessed love for dirty skate punk even comes through at times. While waiting in line to interview Sadie Hell, I stumbled across a coffee table book about the Obey Andre the Giant logo. The creator was simply having fun with stickers at first and eventually it grew into an international brand. On Obey’s website. I found some interesting information pertaining to Sadie Hell: Heidegger describes Phenomenology as: ” the process of letting things manifest themselves, The FIRST AIM OF PHENOMENOLOGY is to re-awaken a sense of wonder about one’s environment.”
Sadie Hell is phenomenology to a ‘T’. Some years ago, Welland recognized his innate talent and allowed it to grow, taking on wild shapes, sounds and momentum. The timbre and tonal qualities of his music are constantly shifting, but the vocals and guitar work remain unmistakably, Sadie Hell. It’s a brand that’s becoming more recognizable, associated not with a particular sound, but with a distinctive feeling.
During the interview, Ben and May-Jun came across as passionate and intelligent musicians. They love what they do and give over their whole hearts to the process. Ben speaks of dark lyrics and somber messages, but comes across as quite a happy person. He recognizes the allure in all things dark while not letting it consume him. Influenced by the rock and roll tradition of despair and gloom, he understands the disillusionment of the Smashing Pumpkins and it’s his pleasure to further the notion that this world is a dark and scary place sometimes. The result is a quest for expression that is a riveting journey through growth and destruction, love and pain, melancholy and the joy which is created when we follow our passions.
Here’s my interview with Ottawa’s newest phenomenon, Sadie Hell…
Maxim also blogs here: http://maximk7.blogspot.com/
Tags: Bands Undone, Ben Welland, Club SAW, Maxim Cossette, Music, Sadie Hell
