The Weakerthans

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The Weakerthans
The Weakerthans performing in Montreal, 2004
The Weakerthans performing in Montreal, 2004
Background information
Origin Flag of Canada Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Genre(s) Folk punk
Years active 1997-present
Label(s) Epitaph Records
Associated
acts		 Propagandhi, Broken Social Scene, The FemBots, Greg Graffin, Christine Fellows
Website Official site
Members
John K. Samson
Jason Tait
Stephen Carroll
Greg Smith
Former members
John P. Sutton

The Weakerthans are a four-piece (and sometimes six-piece[1]) Canadian indie rock band, whose blend of punk-inflected folk rock with literate, witty, introspective lyrics[2] have made them one of the more popular bands in the current Canadian indie music scene.[3]

Formed in 1997 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the band was started by John K. Samson after he left the popular punk band Propagandhi to write and start a publishing company. Samson hooked up with bassist John P. Sutton and drummer Jason Tait, and created The Weakerthans as a vehicle for a more melodic, introspective brand of songwriting than his time in Propagandhi.

The band's debut album, Fallow, was released in 1997 on G7 Welcoming Committee Records, and garnered the band positive reviews from Canadian music critics. Guitarist Stephen Carroll joined the band later, and in 2000, Left and Leaving was released.

In 2003, the band released Reconstruction Site, moving from the G7 Welcoming Committee imprint to Epitaph Records, and were awarded with rave reviews [4] from Canadian and international critics for their ambitious combination of punk, rock, folk, country, sonnets and lyrics about getting an emotional pep talk from a cat. It also became their best-selling record to date, and their airplay breakthrough on Canadian radio.

Sutton, who played on all three of the band's albums, left the band in August 2004 and was replaced by Greg Smith.

In 2005, Left and Leaving was named one of the ten best Canadian albums of all time in Chart magazine's reader poll. [5]

In 2006, the Weakerthans, with the exception of Samson, performed on Greg Graffin's second solo album, entitled Cold as the Clay. Tait has also recorded and performed with Broken Social Scene. Samson frequently collaborates with his wife, Christine Fellows; Tait, Samson and Fellows have all also collaborated with poet and filmmaker Clive Holden.

Contents

[edit] Members

[edit] Current Members

[edit] Live Show Help

MacKinnon and Poirier also have their own band, The FemBots, and were previously associated with the bands Dig Circus and Hummer.

[edit] Former Members

  • John P. Sutton (bass)

[edit] Discography

In a 2006 interview with CBC Radio 3, Samson indicated that he could not provide a definite release date for the next Weakerthans album, stating that it takes him some time longer to write an album's worth of songs than it does many other songwriters he knows [1]. The band has, however, performed several newer songs in concerts through 2005 and 2006, including "Utilities", "Night Windows", "Civil Twilight" and "Sun in an Empty Room"[citation needed], which may or may not be included on the album.

However, on Wednesday, March 21, 2007 the band updated their MySpace blog with the following:

Ok, We've taken over this myspace. To everyone who wrote us asking about the next record/next tour.....
We ARE recording the next record right now and hopefully,it should be in your hands by October. Live performances will resume after its release.
As the record takes shape we'll be posting some teasers of what we've been working on. maybe some videos as well.
Thank you for your patience,
Jason

[edit] Compilations

  • Return of the Read Menace (1999, G7 Welcoming Committee)
  • Hopelessly Devoted to You Vol. 3 (2000, Hopeless/Subcity Records)
    • "Watermark" (from Left and Leaving)
    • "Confessions of a Futon Revolutionist (Country Style)" (previously unreleased)
  • Hopelessly Devoted to You Vol. 4 (2002, Hopeless/Subcity Records)
    • "Past Due (Pre-Reconstruction Site acoustic version)" (previously unreleased)
    • "Aside" (from Left and Leaving)
  • Hopelessly Devoted to You Vol. 6 (2006, Hopeless/Subcity Records)
    • "Diagnosis" (from Fallow)
    • "Aside" (from Left and Leaving)
  • Operation: Punk Rock Freedom (2003, Hopeless/Subcity Records)
    • "Watermark" (from Left and Leaving)
    • "Confessions of a Futon Revolutionist" (from Fallow)
  • Punk-O-Rama Vol. 9 (2004, Epitaph Records)
    • "Plea from a Cat Named Virtute" (from Reconstruction Site)
  • Take Penacilin Now (2005, G7 Welcoming Committee Records)
    • "My Favourite Power Chords" (alternate version of Left and Leaving's "My Favourite Chords")
  • Wedding Crashers Soundtrack (2005, New Line Records)
    • "Aside" (from Left and Leaving)
  • Help: a Day in the Life (2006, Sony BMG Music)
    • "Utilities" (previously unreleased)
  • The Secret Sessions (2007, Zunior)

[edit] Related Albums

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ MySpace Band Member Description. MySpace (2006-08-30). Retrieved on October 1, 2006.
  2. ^ The Weakerthans Lead the Poetry Positive Revolution. The Cauldron (2003-10-27). Retrieved on February 7, 2007.
  3. ^ Weakerthans stick to their punk rock roots. The Brock Press (2005-03-30). Retrieved on February 7, 2007.
  4. ^ Album Review: The Weakerthans, Reconstruction Site. Toronto Sun (2003-08-22). Retrieved on February 6, 2007.
  5. ^ "The Top 50 Canadian Albums and Songs of All Time", Chart, Issue 164, 2005-03. Retrieved on 2007-02-07.

[edit] External links

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