This past summer, Kelp Records assembled Ottawa’s premiere instrumental outfits The Flaps and The Empiricals into a supergroup that backed a variety of Kelp Records’ vocalists and songwriters in what was known as THE KELP RECORDS REVUE. Guests included Jim Bryson, Rolf Klausener (The Acorn), Flecton Big Sky, Andrew Vincent, Chris Page and Mike Dubue (HILOTRONS). It was a hoot, and before the night was even over, we decided we’d have to do it again before year’s end.

Well, that time is nigh!

The Kelp Records Revue crew is back, but this time, we’re taking it up a notch, welcoming the brass buzz band about town MIKE ESSOUDRY’S MASH POTATO MASHERS, to add to the musical stew. The night promises two sets of high-energy sounds, with the Mashers kicking things off with a welcome march, followed by sets from The Flaps and The Empiricals.

Set two will be modelled after the Revue concept, with a common backing band fronted by various Kelp artists on vocals. This time we’ve branched out, and are very excited about the guests we have lined up:

THE JOYNT (http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/The-Joynt) emerges from Ottawa’s hiphop scene, with two solid albums and a mixed tape under his belt, and a live performance that is second to none; ANDRE M BLUTEAU (http://www.myspace.com/oakislandmusic) just released his debut album Crooked Teeth, echoing the sounds of M Ward and Tom Waits, and has been nominated in 3 categories for Ottawa Xpress’ BEST OF 2010.

LIZ MCDERMOTT of BANDITAS (http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/BANDITAS) will return to the stage, performing songs from the Banditas catalogue, one of Ottawa’s most-loved punk outfits of the past decade. CHRIS PAGE (http://chrispage.bandcamp.com) is back after a busy summer on the festival circuit, performing both under his own name, and with local songstress Jill Zmud. Expect some songs from his most recent Kelp release, A Date With a Smoke Machine.

FLECTON BIG SKY (http://www.myspace.com/flectonbigsky) is also back, with songs from his colourful catalogue, and will no doubt bring a have some tricks up his sleeve (more onstage wrassling?). ANDY SWAN (http://andyswan.bandcamp.com/), who recently adopted Ottawa as his new home, has been cranking out free releases under his Binary Series for the past few years (all available at themichaelparks.com). JON BARTLETT of RHUME (http://rhume.bandcamp.com) will also deliver a couple of Who/GBV sendups from the Rhume songbook.

Finally, Ottawa rock’s prodigal son JEFF KAINZ of WERBO (http://werbo.com) will make a much-anticipated return to the stage, in what should go down as Ottawa’s 2010 musical moment of the year.

THE FLAPS- http://www.myspace.com/the_flaps

THE EMPIRICALS- http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/EMPIRICALS

MIKE ESSOUDRY’S MASH POTATO MASHERS- http://www.myspace.com/MEMPM

This show will support the local bilingual campus station CHUO 89.1 FM (http://chuo.fm). Doors open at 8pm. Advance tickets are $10, and available at Compact Music locations and The Record Shaap!

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=161988407165318

THE KELP FALL CLASSIC

Saturday November 20th

Dom Polski SPK (379 Waverley @ Bank), 8pm

$10 advance at Compact Music and The Record Shaap

Kenny Voita is an alt-folk singer-songwriter in the vein of Gordon Lightfoot and Woody Guthrie. At the age of 21, his lyrics convey an astonishing maturity and his spare musical style, marrying blues-country with folk troubadour, appeals to cross-over audiences.

Born to an American father and Canadian mother, Kenny was raised in the small town of Young, AZ. Growing up to the music of Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, and Leadbelly, he got his first guitar at the age of 12, and began writing his own material at the age of 17. He began performing around this time and played most of the coffee houses in the Phoenix area, most notably Fiddlers Dream and Mama Java’s. At the age of 18, he was chosen out of several thousand submissions to appear in the Tucson Folk Festival.

Deciding to leave Arizona’s sparse folk scene, in 2008, he moved to Ottawa, the place of his mother’s birth and a city he had frequently visited throughout his life. In the first two weeks of his arrival, he was booked to play at the Rainbow, and was asked to open for Lynn Miles in the upcoming WESTFEST large-scale cultural festival in Westboro, Ottawa.

His debut album, Hard Road, released in 2008, is folk/blues record filled with songs about leaving, gamblers, trains, drifters, pain, lost love, and hippies on motorcycles. A Canadian-American who defies easy categorization, the songs on this album convey an astonishing maturity while staying true to the traditional music he grew up with in a small town in the American southwest.

In 2009, he appeared at the Mariposa and Tucson folk festivals as well as WESTFEST 2009.  

More on Kenny at:

http://kenvoita.blogspot.com/

http://www.myspace.com/kenvoita

Kenny Voita,  joins Max Cossette,

Andre Bluteau, 

Thursday, November 12th 

9:00 PM, ($5 cover)