Revel-ations of a Protest Singer
Alberta artists sing out for a cause
Preview
Hold Your Ground CD release party
Featuring Tariq, National Dust, Dave McCann, Maria Dunn, Toupey Luft, Andrea Revel
Bridgeland Hall
Saturday, March 9
Ever been to a CD release party where no CDs were available? It’s happened occasionally in Calgary, usually because eager bands jumped the gun and booked gigs before their discs arrived back from the factory. But in the case of Hold Your Ground, a collection of political songs from Alberta artists, the problem won’t be that the product hasn’t arrived, it will be keeping it in stock long enough to bring it to Saturday’s gig. After all, in a somewhat inverted Spinal Tap universe type turn of events, the initial run of 1,000 CDs sold out before the actual release party was even planned, and then the City of Calgary purchased another 500 CDs.
Organizer Grant Wheatley says funds raised from the CD will support the Activist Network, most particularly the Web site (www.activist.ca), which offers postings regarding job opportunities, events and research. Wheatley admits the looming G8 conference has deepened both interest in and the need for information.
"The whole issue of the activist term has taken on new meaning in the last six months. This demonstrates that a lot of people have concerns at different levels, whether it’s around race issues or environment issues or labour issues."
More CDs have been pressed and are ready for Saturday’s release party, and Wheatley is so optimistic that he is considering doing a similar project next year.
Calgary songwriter Andrea Revel is one of the artists who both contributed a song to the CD and will perform at Saturday’s release party. Revel turned her early passion for music – she formed an "East Indian-African-Western pop-folk group" during her teenage years – into a career. Her Mile 0 album was released in 2000, and since then she’s picked up distribution through Festival Records and been thrilled to hear her songs played about four times daily on commercial radio.
Revel’s "Plump Little Devil" closes the 15 track Hold Your Ground compilation on a light note, but it is difficult to overlook the debt-slashing, law-mangling politician the singer satirizes in her song.
"I listened to a lot of folk artists because folk generally is associated with that right to dissent and question things and be a little obnoxious at times. Not all my songs are that way, but I decided I don’t want to write about fluff, I don’t want to write cotton candy music all the time," she says.
"But ‘Plump Little Devil’ is a dessert. It’s a political song about a serious matter, but it’s fun and simple. Music and politics, and humour and politics, and art and politics mix so well, ’cause no one likes someone to sit down and lecture them."
Perhaps it is because Revel is also a teacher that her parody of Ralphie is a direct hit. And perhaps the chubby Klein would do well to ease the burden on the health care system by taking a page from Revel’s own life – a lifelong runner, she will complete her first marathon in Vancouver in May. By that time, she and musical colleagues Chantal Vitalis and Kris Demeanor will have begun their Rogue Folks tour, debuting April 18 at the Engineered Air Theatre and continuing May 18 at the Cochrane Folk Club.
Tickets are available at Hot Wax, Megatunes, The Campus Ticket Centre, and Sunnyside Market. |
