Linda McRae has a special place in our hearts here at Roots Music Canada, and not just because she’s such a great person. Notwithstanding her busy schedule of touring, recording and teaching songwriting workshops, she also was one of the very first peop
“We weren’t necessarily going for an animal name,” Bison BC co-guitarist/ co-vocalist James Farwell tells me when I ask about the name Bison. “We’d tossed around these Godawful made up words - ‘what looks good in a good metal fo...
Hush Hush Noise - Band Of The Month
Deb Rhymer has worn numerous hats over the years, from Bette Midler impersonator to daycare operator. But the one that fits her best is blues booster.
Rhymer, a Victoria native, spends almost all her waking hours dedicated to blues, eith...
GWAR – Oderus Urungus Does Not Smoke Crack Well With Others
Oderus Urungus is not the sort of intergalactic barbarian warlord who minces his words. I spoke with the leader of GWAR recently, and between copious puffs on his crack pipe,...
Interview with Dope Soda was done in June, 2012 by D'Arcy Briggs
Ska Fest: When and where do you guys meet? When did you decide to form the band?
Dope Soda: Well Dope Soda was a project I have been wanting to do for a v...
Bison members I spoke to agree that the closure of The Cobalt would (or is it will?) be a “huge blow” for the Vancouver music scene. “Bison has played The Cobalt probably about five times,” guitarist/ vocalist James Farwell tells me...
1. Hi John. First off, can you introduce yourself, your band and dancers?
You can call me John - I play a big Gretsch guitar and do the main vocals - I also do most of the songwriting. The band really began when sCare-oline (upright...
Over a pitcher of Molson Canadian at the Princeton Pub, while a startlingly able roots-rock ensemble hosts the open stage night behind our table, we ask Bison’s vocalist-guitarist James Farwell how he feels about his band’s recent signi...
For those unknowing, Bison are Vancouver’s currently-reigning champions of The Riff, trafficking in mercilessly heavy, sludgy, and addictive sonic terror. Think discarded beer cans peppered with shotgun holes, full-size back-patches, pall...