| Joel Plaskett | |
|---|---|
Joel Plaskett talking with fans at the 2011 Vancouver International Folk Music Festival |
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| Background information | |
| Born | April 18, 1975 Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Origin | Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Genres | Indie rock Folk Folk rock |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, drums, mandolin, keyboards |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Labels | MapleMusic, New Scotland Records |
| Associated acts | Joel Plaskett Emergency, Thrush Hermit, Neuseiland |
| Website | www.joelplaskett.com |
| Notable instruments | |
| Fender Stratocaster Gibson RD |
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Joel Plaskett (born April 18, 1975) is a Canadian rock musician originally from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. He grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia and now resides across the harbour in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He has been a prominent figure in the Canadian indie rock scene of the 1990s and 2000s.
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In 1992, Plaskett created alternative rock band Thrush Hermit with Rob Benvie (vocals, guitar), Ian McGettigan (vocals, bass), and Michael Catano (drums).[1] Plaskett was the lead singer and guitarist for the Halifax-based band as well as the band's primary songwriter, until their breakup in late 1999.
In late 1998, Neuseiland was formed by Plaskett of Thrush Hermit, as well as members of popular Halifax bands The Super Friendz and Coyote, the Euphonic, both of which had also recently broken up. Taking the name of the band from a Dutch children's book by Annie Schmidt called The Island of Nose, the band consisted of Plaskett on drums, Charles Austin and Drew Yamada on guitar, Andrew Glencross on keyboard and Tim Stewart on bass. They cited King Tubby, Kraftwerk, Pink Floyd, Ray's Chicken Pita and Willie Nelson as influences. The goal of the band was to mix conventional song structure with experimentation inspired by krautrock, stoogian protoplasm and the subtractive mixing techniques of "version" reggae.[2] The band released one album, the self titled Neuseiland, recorded and released in 1999.
After the breakup of Thrush Hermit and Neuseiland, Plaskett embarked on a solo career. His first release, In Need of Medical Attention, consisted of leftover songs that were written near the end of his days in Thrush Hermit. It was successful, but not until the release of 2001's Down at the Khyber featuring a new backing band, The Emergency, did Plaskett begin to enjoy widespread solo appeal. The Emergency consisted of Plaskett, drummer Dave Marsh and bass player Tim Brennan, though old friend Ian McGettigan could often be seen playing bass at their shows. The third album of Plaskett's post-Thrush Hermit career and second of the Emergency's, Truthfully, Truthfully was a commercial success. MapleMusic Recordings is the current recording label for both The Emergency and Plaskett's solo efforts. Plaskett and the band have toured throughout North America and Europe with such performers as The Tragically Hip, Sloan and Kathleen Edwards.
The Joel Plaskett Emergency has been nominated for two Juno Awards, both in the alternative album category. The group won Rock Recording of the Year at the 2005 East Coast Music Awards, for the album Truthfully, Truthfully.
Plaskett released his second solo album, La De Da in 2005, which garnered him two East Coast Music Awards in 2006, Male Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year, for the song "Happen Now". He was also nominated for the Songwriter of the Year Juno Award, but lost to Arcade Fire.
La De Da was released in Australia on March 6, 2006 by local company Code One Entertainment. In April 2006, Plaskett toured the east coast of Australia (in solo mode) extensively to promote the release.
In March 2006, Joel Plaskett Emergency released their first DVD, Make a Little Noise. It included an EP of three songs. The single "Nowhere With You" has received the most mainstream radio airplay of any Plaskett release to date, and was featured in a Zellers television commercial. Make a Little Noise had three wins at the 2007 East Coast Music Awards: DVD of the Year, Single of the Year ("Nowhere with You"), and Songwriter of the Year (Joel Plaskett, for "Nowhere with You").
On March 3, 2007, Joel Plaskett Emergency released an Australia-only compilation, Make a Little Noise, a collection of songs from Down at the Khyber, Truthfully, Truthfully and the EP from the DVD. The DVD is also in included in this package as a bonus. The band toured Australia for the first time in March–April 2007, supporting Australian band Augie March.
On April 17, 2007, their first album to include their new bassist, Chris Pennell, was released. The album, Ashtray Rock, is described by the band as a concept album. Ashtray Rock was on the shortlist for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize,[3] but lost to Patrick Watson's album Close to Paradise. The album's single "Fashionable People" was nominated for the 8th Annual Independent Music Awards for pop/rock song of the year.
During the week of December 10, 2007, Plaskett and the Emergency played six consecutive shows at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto as part of the music venue's 60th-anniversary celebrations. Each night, a different album was performed in its entirety, starting with In Need of Medical Attention on Monday and finishing with Ashtray Rock on Friday night and Saturday night.[4]
Joel Plaskett Emergency were nominated for seven East Coast Music Awards in 2008, more than any other act. They won six of those awards, which is tied with a previous record.[5][6]
His most recent studio album, Three, was released on March 24, 2009. It consists of three discs each consisting of nine songs for a total of 27 songs. The first single from the album is "Through and Through and Through". The triple album was nominated for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize short list.[7] In the same week that the Polaris shortlist was announced, Paul McCartney announced that he had selected Plaskett and the band Wintersleep as the opening acts for his July 11 concert at Halifax Common.[8]
In November 2009, he recorded a new song, "On the Rail", for CBC Radio 2's Great Canadian Song Quest.
In May 2011, he became the first artist ever to reach one million plays on CBC Radio 3's online music streaming site,[9] and released an exclusive acoustic version of "Nowhere with You" to the network for the occasion. In June, he is scheduled to release a B-sides and rarities compilation titled EMERGENCYs, false alarms, shipwrecks, castaways, fragile creatures, special features, demons and demonstrations.[10]
In recent years, Plaskett has embarked upon a number of projects. He has acted as record producer for Atlantic Canadian artists such as Polaris Music Prize-nominated Two Hours Traffic and Little Miss Moffet. As well, in 2004 he made his television debut as a rock coach on the CBC Television documentary series Rock Camp. In 2008, Plaskett and his father Bill were featured in an episode of the Bravo! television concert series The Berkeley Sessions. Plaskett also appeared as a busker in the film One Week.
He sings a duet, "Gold Soul of Rock n' Roll", with Emm Gryner on her 2010 disc of duets Gem and I.
Plaskett is married to Nova Scotia graphic artist and cartoonist Rebecca Kraatz, who provided the artwork for the cover and liner of Ashtray Rock,[11] La De Da, and In Need of Medical Attention. On tour, Plaskett frequently mentions his childhood stay at Camp Wapomeo, a residential summer camp located outside of Yarmouth.
| Year | Song | Chart peak | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Alt [12] |
CAN Rock [13] |
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| 2011 | "Jimmie's Still Jimmie" | 26 | 25 | Jimmie's Still Jimme / That's Not Joel (with Shotgun Jimmie) | |||||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | |||||||||