New Videos, Shows and Recording!

Hey there, just wanted to update a few cool things happening.

ONnneeeeeE:  New vids on my youtube channel.  I put up 2 videos from my Hugh's room set, and 2 videos from my NXNE set.   All four filmed by my good friend Cody Walker.  They include 2 unreleased songs, a song from the album, and an Arcade Fire cover!



TwWooooo:  Shows... it's a busy week this week, 3 shows in 2 cities.  Tomorrow night the gang and I will be at Not My Dog (1510 Queen St. W), opening for Abigail Lapell and Goose (from Montreal).  Thursday find the Green Hearts and I traveling to Waterloo to play Maxwells (220 King St. N).  And on Friday I'll be at the Free Times Cafe (320 College St), both those shows will feature opener Sara Ciantar!
Check back for some interesting gigs coming up in August and September!

ThreeEEeE: the biggest news, the gang and I will be going into the studio to record an EP!  It will feature the Green Hearts and special guest drummer Sean Lancaric (Wilderness of Manitoba).  This 4 song EP will consist of a few songs that weren't quite ready for "Like Birds Too Tired to Fly".  Hopefully I'll have more news on that later!

Thanks for reading to the end, here's that Arcade Fire cover I mentioned earlier, hope all is well!

Happy Canada Day!

Here is a quick off the top of my head list of the 20 albums all Canadian's should own (in no particular order)!

1. God Speed You Black Emperor "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven"
2. Gordon Lightfoot- "Lightfoot"
3. Neil Young- "On the Beach"
4. Broken Social Scene "You Forgot it in People"
5. Blue Rodeo- "Five Days in July"
6. Arcade Fire- "Funeral"
7. Bruce Cockburn- "Bruce Cockburn"
8. Leonard Cohen- "Death of A Ladies Man"
9. Martin Tielli- "We Didn't Even Suspect That He Was the Poppy Salesman"
10. Hayden- "Everything I Long For"
11. The Unicorns- "Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?"
12. Death From Above 1979- "You're a Women, I'm a Machine"
13. Leonard Cohen- "Songs From a Room"
14. Gil Evans "Out of the Cool"
15. Neil Young- "Harvest"
16. Gordon Lightfoot "If You Could Read My Mind/Sit Down 
17. The Band- "Music From the Big Pink"
18. Arcade Fire- "Neon Bible"
19. Valley of the Giants- "Valley of the Giants"
20. Joni Mitchell- "Blue"

OK, so enjoy the sunny day! 

Artists series Podcast on CBC Radio 3

A quick thank you to my good friend Olenka Krakus.  She recently recorded a podcast for CBC Radio 3 documenting the London Ontario music scene.  I was sincerely humbled to be included at the end (honorary Londoner i guess!).

Listen to the whole thing here:

On a side note, thanks to everyone who came out to the Free Times Cafe yesterday for my NXNE showcase!! It was amazing.  I'm running around like a mad man this weekend, seeing as much great music as I can.  I will need a good week or so to relax after this.

North By North East!! (new shows!)

Hey there, well that time of year is quickly approaching.  Soon I'll be sprinting from venue to venue, trying to see some of my favorite acts, and maybe discover something new.  It's NXNE time!  This year I've been lucky enough to secure 3 gigs (with one more possibly coming)!  It all starts for me tomorrow, so I hope to see you out!

The shows are as follows:

Saturday June 11 
Harbour Parkland Ferry Dock 
1:00pm - 2:00pm 


This is a solo set, just me and the sunshine!


Sunday June 12 
Airport
3-4pm & 5-6pm 


That's right, I'll be playing at Pearson airport, terminal 3 arrivals on Sunday!  May end up being the oddest place I play a gig!  This will feature a partial band; Guitars, Clarinet, Accordion, vocals!


Thursday June 16
Free Times Cafe
11pm-12pm


This is the big one!  The showcase.  This will also include the full band, so expect guitars, clarinet, trumpet, accordion, bass, and loads of vocals!  Come see us squeeze 6 people on the Free Times Cafe's tiny stage!


I may also be playing another park gig next Saturday the 18th, but I'll get you the details as soon as I know.  If you end up at any of these places, please come say hello!


Here's a couple videos from our gig at Hugh's Room last week, incase you're wondering what we sound like these days.  Have a good NXNE!

Two Really big Shows!!! (Discovery Series and NXNE!)

HUGH'S ROOM MAY 31st

Jane Harbury is a pretty important gal on the Canadian folk scene.  She ran the famous Riverboat Cafe in Yorkville back when the place was a mecca for hippies and folk singers (Gordon Lightfoot, Bruce Cockburn, Tim Hardin... etc....).  Three times a year Jane puts on a "Discovery Series" at Hugh's Room, and this month it includes me!  You can check out ticket info at the Hugh's Room website here.

NXNE JUNE 16th

I've also been accepted to perform in Canada's premier indie music fest, North by North East!  I'll be at Free Times Cafe 11pm on Thurs June 16th.  I absolutely love this festival.  I'll be seeing so much wonderful music, my head may explode.  Come on out!

In other show news, I'll be hosting the annual Bob Dylan tribute show on May 24th (my birthday!), this year being held at the Drake in Toronto.  I will probably play a few solo Dylan songs.  Also featuring Dave Borins, MJ Cyr, Andrea Ramolo and Cleo Brown.

Annnnnd it looks like I'll be opening for my good friends Knock Knock Ginger at their CD release June 9th, Starlight in Kitchener/Waterloo!  Apparently it's a great venue!

Thanks for reading the whole way through, feel free to download a couple songs for the trouble!


Download: Untitled (Feat. Wilderness of Manitoba)

Download: Hurt Before

Download: To Think I Once Was Lost

Free Download Part 2!

Howdy, so a couple weeks ago I put up a free download of "Hurt Before" from my album "Like Birds too Tired to Fly". It received a great response! I'm glad you guys enjoyed it.  So, I've decided to repeat the process, this time with the last track on "Like Birds..." called "Untitled". This is my favorite track on the album, and gives an idea as to the direction I may be heading on my next recording (whenever that is). It also features the wonderful vocals of Wilderness of Manitoba!!

Download "Untitled" Here!!

Tell your friends!

Free Download!

Hey folks, how are things?  I've got some big news coming up in the next week or so concerning 3 really cool gigs!  Keep checking in for those, but in the meantime I just wanted to let you guys know that for this weekend you can download my song "Hurt Before" for free!  It's at the below link.  It's a song about a breakup, and there is a repeated cuss word!  Who doesn't like cuss words?!
The track was recorded by Marty Smith, and features Mark Hart on banjo, Darren Wall on bass, and Marshall Bureau on drums!

Download "Hurt Before"!

One last thing, if you're looking for something to do this coming Tuesday (the 19th) I'll be  playing at Rancho Relaxo with the full band!  More details here:  Facebook invite page! Shawn Clarke at Rancho Relaxo

Whipping Wind, Slightly Sightless

I can't stop (and won't stop) playing this song.


Slightly Sightless by Whipping Wind by Oh! Records

In case you missed it...

Best Interview I've been a part of so far! David Newland at Roots Music Canada knows his stuff.  Check out the rest of the site, the Woodshed Sessions in particular are great, some highlights are The Donefors, Jay Aymar, Twilight Hotel, and David Woodhead's Confabulation. 

Roots Music Canada: Woodshed Session

A couple days ago, I got the opportunity to interview and perform for Roots Music Canada.  They are really one of the best websites around for Canadian Roots and Folk music and information.  I brought along my friend and guitarist Mark Hart, and performed 3 songs. 2 new songs "A Song of Peace, A Protest Song","Zombies, Clash Cars and Kinks", and mild internet sensation (!) "To Think I Once Was Lost".  After the performance I sat down with David Newland, and discussed Indie Folk music, beards, and art.  My eyes also lit up when he mentioned interviewing Leon Redbone.  Anyways, here's the preview clip of me performing "A Song of Peace, A Protest Song", click on the moose image below to see the full interview and  performance!






Click the moose for full interview and performance!  CLICK IT!