The Rheostatics will be releasing their new album The Great Lakes Suite featuring Rush's Alex Lifeson this coming Friday, November 21st. The band (including Alex) will also be hosting a pair of SOLD OUT shows at TD Music Hall in Toronto this weekend where they'll be performing the album live. From last month's release announcement:
... The album celebrates the influential band's incredible 45-year anniversary, and features 18 tracks of primarily improvised music and spoken word, performed by longtime members Dave Bidini, Dave Clark, Don Kerr, and Tim Vesely, with newer additions Kevin Hearn and Hugh Marsh, alongside legendary guitarist Alex Lifeson. ... Recorded over two spontaneous sessions in Toronto, The Great Lakes Suite features an impressive roster of talented and award-winning collaborators: Inuk throat singer, songwriter, and novelist Tanya Tagaq; musician and filmmaker Laurie Anderson; poet and storyteller Chief Stacey LaForme; poet and essayist Anne Carson; poet Liz Howard, fiddler and singer Kendel Carson, singer-songwriter Maiah Wynne (Envy of None) and renowned singer-songwriter and activist, the late Gord Downie. ...
Both Dave Bidini and Kevin Hearn appeared on CP24 this morning to discuss the album, and Hearn had the following to say regarding working with Alex Lifeson:
... Working with Alex was amazing. He was kinda like an older brother in a way - just seeing him work. He was playing a lot of acoustic guitar on this record, which is an aspect of his playing that I'd never really heard before. So that was really cool. ...
The single Inland Sea from the album is currently available on all streaming platforms, and the entire album will be available this coming Friday, along with a double-vinyl release here and in record stores.
