>>PREVIEW
JON NORDSTROM
Sunday October 23
Pumphouse Theatres
In spite of keeping busy playing music with Captain Tractor, The Plaid Tongued Devils and James Murdoch over the past three years, Jon Nordstrom still had time to record his second solo album, Waiting For Summer. In between the notes, you might hear the sound of Nordstrom falling in love with a Captain Tractor fan, marrying her, moving to Calgary and even sometimes working on his part-time home business as a picture framer.
Nordstrom says he learned the trick of self-employment from his Plaid Tongued peers, as they are able to take off and tour on their own terms. However, the main source of his income remains music, which includes driving up to Edmonton at least twice a month to play with Captain Tractor. "I have a hard time saying no and I am fortunate that my day job, in a way, is playing bass," the affable Nordstrom says. "To be able to scrape by and make a living playing original music is awesome."
With so much on the go, it’s not surprising that the followup to Nordstrom’s first solo album, 2002’s Brick and Stone, took three years to record. He says that the solo thing rides on the coattails of his connections through the other groups, and work on solo projects has to be squeezed in around other band members’ schedules.
The songwriter says there are some interesting differences between working in a band and working solo. "The democracy is great in those bands, but being the dictator once in awhile for me is refreshing. Being in a band obviously is a compromise, so in a way it’s a reaction to what is not possible."
His time spent studying composition at Grant MacEwan College is put to good use on the album’s 10 tracks and Nordstrom had a specific goal in mind when writing these songs. "There’s a trend or leaning towards being different or wacky for the sake of being different or wacky, but I love songs (that have) a story to tell and a melody. It’s about the musicality. The majority of what I do is to try and make hummable melodies." |
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