Spotlight: Peterborough Singer-Songwriter Andrea Gauster

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Singer-songwriter Andrea Gauster, who attended St. Peter's Secondary School in Peterborough, is now recording her first full length album—it's due out early August—and an Eastern Canada tour will follow in August, along with a CD Release Party at Supermarket in Toronto on August 26th.

Gauster, who is also in med school at Queen's University, explains to PtboCanada how her music career got started:

"I always played guitar and sang but rarely did so publicly (major stage fright)... until my sister asked me to sing at her wedding, for which I wrote my first song, 'I Knew', in 2008. The recording studio Euphonic Sound in Toronto was offering free studio time... I went in to record 'I Knew' so my sister could have a tangible copy of the song.

I met James Pew (my producer) at the studio and he liked what he heard, asked for more, and encouraged me to do an EP with him. My first album Reverie was born! The rest is history."
Gauster, who's back in Peterborough for the summer (when not recording or touring), says it's tricky juggling her music career with school but plans to continue to pursue both. In September, she returns to Kingston to begin her second year of med school but hopes to continue playing live shows within Ontario until next summer when she can tour again.

Here's a promo video that looks at the making of the new album:



And here's this cute song, "Follow Me", Gauster wrote about Twitter that we're totally digging:



[Andrea Gauster back in the studio; Follow Me - Andrea Gauster's Twitter Tune; Andrea Gauster on Twitter; Andrea Gauster on Facebook; Andrea Gauster on MySpace; Andrea Gauster - CBC Radio 3; YouTube - andreagauster's Channel]

[Related: Peterborough's Music & Arts Scene Rocks (Exhibit A: Bear Trees)]

PtboCanada Review: Sarah Harmer's Gig at Gordon Best Theatre

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Sarah Harmer
Gordon Best Theatre
June 11, 2010

Intimate shows are a real treat for fans, especially when they happen as a warm-up to a bigger tour. It's a sneak peak which affords fans the chance to see new songs performed, old songs rekindled and personal connections to be formed between artist and fan.

Last night, Canadian roots-rocker Sarah Harmer took the stage with a full band for the first of two live shows at the Gordon Best Theatre, just days before the release of her new album Oh Little Fire. Since this was Harmer's first live gig in a while, the night was a chance for presenting all her new songs in a live setting. And I can tell you, the new songs didn't sound the least bit unpolished.

The lively lead single from the new album, "Captive", was very well received. Other new songs of note from last night's show included the brooding "The Marble In Your Eye" and the self-confessed most political new track on the collection, "Washington".

New songs might have been the order of the day, but it was the older songs generously peppered throughout the two-hour long set that garnered the best response from the enthusiastic crowd.

Harmer opened the show with "The Hideout," a gem of a song culled from her early album You Were Here. Others which seemed to pull people from their seats included the bluegrass flavoured "I'm A Mountain" and fan favourite "Basement Apartment". 

The closing of the main set had the entire centre portion of the floor filled with couples sashaying to the lovely and lilting song "Open Window". It was a summertime moment to behold and one I will cherish.

Harmer wasn't going to go out so sweetly though. A bang was in order. Responding to what had to be the most requested song of the night, Harmer and her band launched into a smoldering take of her classic track "Lodestar", finishing the show in real rock and roll style.

—Jeffrey Macklin, PtboCanada contributor

[Related: Sarah Harmer's New Album "Oh Little Fire" Is Coming Out (And She Plays Peterborough This Weekend!; Sarah Harmer performs to sold-out crowd at Gordon Best Theatre]

Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter @Ptbo_Canada.

Peterborough's Sean Cullen Playing Smee in Stratford's Peter Pan

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As the Examiner reports, actor/comedian/singer/author Sean Cullen—who was born here in the Peterpatch August 29th, 1965, and is a graduate of PCVS—is playing Smee in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival production of Peter Pan, which is opening this Saturday at the Avon Theatre. Here's some production clips with Cullen from the play:

 



And below is a great interview conducted with Sean where he talks about his idea of perfect happiness, his greatest fear and more:

[Peter Pan with Sean Cullen opens at Stratford Saturday; Sean Cullen's website; Sean Cullen on Twitter]

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Sarah Harmer's New Album "Oh Little Fire" Is Coming Out (And She plays Peterborough This Weekend!)

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Sarah Harmer's new album Oh Little Fire is coming out June 22, and she's starting her new tour in—where else!?—Peterborough, with gigs here this Friday and Saturday (June 11 and 12th) at the sold-out Gordon Best Theatre.

For those lucky enough to have tickets to hear her play her new and old material, enjoy!

 


Here's an excellent YouTube video where she talks about the making of Oh Little Fire :

  

And here's some of her music!



[Sarah Harmer's website; Sarah Harmer on Twitter]

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Spotlight: Peterborough Mural Artist John Leacy

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John Leacy, a self-taught artist who lives in Peterborough (he's a long ago Crestwood grad), has been painting murals for almost 15 years now—both in the corporate and private sector.

Below is a sampling of mural art he's done for clients here in the Patch. The Hollywood mural, for example, was created for a home theatre, and the clients wanted their favourite movies, actors and actresses included on it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
To contact John Leacy about his mural art, click here. 

[All photos provided by John Leacy]

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Peterborough Artist Creates The Fastest Painting Ever!

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Peterborough's Music & Arts Scene Rocks (Exhibit A: Bear Trees)

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Bear Trees are a new local pop band, spreading their collective wings across the local music scene. The band is lead by Mike Duguay, a multifaceted scenester who seems to display an unending energy to explore all facets of his creativity. On any given night, you might find him and his band opening for any number of touring musical acts passing through town. Then again, you might find him taking the stage for a play or performance piece as part of a local, improvised theatre troop.

It’s people like Mike Duguay, and projects like Bear Trees, which are forever springing out of the local arts scene. The lush arts community we are blessed to witness here in Peterborough on a daily basis would be nothing without people like Duguay and dozens just like him.

This town is ripe with folks wanting to collaborate, organize, promote and spread the gospel of the talented folks who create here. Peterborough's vibrant arts scene is a known calling card across this country. This town has long been a draw for artists of all disciplines, bringing great music, leading edge visuals and dynamic performance to venues across the city.

Renowned painter David Bierk and a team of like minds put Peterborough on the visual arts map when they initiated Artspace in the mid-seventies. Artspace was and remains a cutting edge nest of creativity where local and touring visual ideas brew. Recently, the much lauded debut album by roots-centric band Evening Hymns was born from a series of recording sessions within those same art covered walls.

You needn’t look very hard to discover music in this town. The Peterborough Symphony Orchestra, choral groups, and singer-songwriters alongside punk and metal bands carry on a thriving existence here. Welcoming venues are peppered throughout the city, hosting live music on a nightly basis.

It’s this tangible, communal, supportive nature which benefits both the artists and performers as well as the audiences who have witnessed the spoils of this for decades.

--Jeffrey Macklin, PtboCanada contributor

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The Clock is Still Right, Twice a Day

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While renovation continues on Market Hall (reopening in March 2011), one of Peterborough's most iconic landmarks is stuck in time.

 

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Peterborough's The Spades Rock. Just Sayin'

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And they're playing the Historic Red Dog this Saturday! Bring it.



[The Spades website; The Spades on twitter; The Historic Red Dog]

[Related: The Spades lucky to survive latest road tour]

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Peterborough's Art Supply Stores (We Are Pretty Lucky To Have Some Gems)

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I must confess to being a bit of a sucker for an art supply store. When I was a kid, growing up in Peterborough, I wasn't aware of any art supply stores. In those days, you picked up "art supplies" at Towers on Lansdowne Street. They were hardly art supplies as you might think of them, but to me, being 10 years old, I guess they fit the bill. Construction paper, scissors, bottles of glue with the red rubber squishy top—they were all readily available.

When I left Peterborough to go to art school in Toronto, that is when I discovered what a real art supply store could be. While the college where I went to school had some art supplies, they had nothing on Curry's, downtown on Yonge Street in Toronto. Walls of tactile papers, markers, paints and pencils, all taunting money from my pocket. In the years that followed, I found stores like Gwartzman's on Spadina and Aboveground Art Supplies that seemed to have a impossibly comprehensive selection.

These days, here in Peterborough, we are pretty lucky. Things have changed. We have more than department stores now as a resource when it comes to art supplies. If I suddenly run out of Yellow Ochre oil paint, lino-block or those nice small bottles of black india ink, I’ve got choices. Sure, I could go to Michael's on Lansdowne—they've pretty much got anything you might be looking for. But the ambiance is not really in keeping with the artsy feel I’d become used to. I like to go where like minds meet.

The Blue Tomato Art Shop on Hunter Street has art supplies. They also have gallery space, where they show and sell local art. Finding art treasures alongside lino-block and a lovely selection of Japanese paper makes for a nice experience. There is a gallery upstairs, too, which pretty much demands a visit. Local art is a top priority at the Blue Tomato.

Victory Art Supply, located in the Cox Terrace on Rubidge Street, has most anything you will need, sans the gallery space of the Blue Tomato. Here you will find a compact space, filled with everything from ready stretched canvases to fine pencils, and a wide selection of watercolour papers and frames. While the space is not large, there is still a lot of poking around to be had, which is all part of the fun.

If I were a young artist growing up in Peterborough, the resources are aplenty for creating and experiencing visual art. Make it.

—Jeffrey Macklin, PtboCanada contributor

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