Indigo Joseph

“The Junos are in Regina,” the Sirius radio rep tells the rolling crowd, “and it feels good!”

The scene is the Lazy Owl Bar on the University of Regina campus, and Indigo Joseph is about to come out on stage. They’re a local band, the first of four to play the Owl tonight. It’s the first night of the Sirius-sponsored JUNO Fest: 18 venues and over 100 bands filling two nights of concerts. It’s like being a kid in a candy store all over again. There’s so much to choose from that you’ll never be able to take it all in.

So I’m definitely relieved when Indigo Joseph turns out to be an excellent choice; they’re the kind of musicians having so much fun on stage that you wish you were in the band with them.

“All I want to do is drink all day, yes drink all day, oh yeah,” the lead vocalist croons out. “Then I’ll be happy. Then I’ll be happy, yes I will.”

This is a sentiment the largely university-student crowd seems to be able to get behind.

I’d never heard of Indigo Joseph before, and I’m glad that I’m hearing them now. They’re the kind of small-town act that should hit it big. Earnest and intense vocals. Kickdrum so infectious it should be illegal.

Add a distinctly bluesy undertone to the unabashed vocals and the relentless kickdrum, and you’ve got a winning combination. Every third song or so drops into country roots, with wild-west guitar licks and a bass guitar played with the rhythm of a stand-up bass.

“I’m looking at these hands of mine,” he sings out, his voice an intense baritone with an edge of gravel. “And it won’t take long to build a house for you and I.”

It’s the kind of music you can hear in your soul, and your soul is secretly a little bit country, a little bit 80s rock, a little bit swing, and extremely willing to dance. They swap genres like some people swap sweaters, but the eclectic collection of inspiration somehow works; on their Facebook page, they call it “Moon Rock.” I buy it. The kick drum anchors every song, and the keyboard undertones would sound at home in the Doors. All in all, it’s a surprisingly delicious musical meal.

They were apparently out in BC not too long ago, but here’s hoping they head out to the west coast again sometime soon. Indigo Joseph is just too good for the prairies to keep hogging them.

- See more at: http://ufvcascade.ca/2013/04/20/concert-review-indigo-joseph-takes-over-the-lazy-owl/#sthash.RqfK7sER.dpuf - University of Fraser Valley

Imagine going on your first tour with four people and 26 instruments. Getting everything into the van is like a high-stakes game of Tetris, and what you thought would be a cozy ride across Canada is more cramp-inducing than anything else.

This is the new reality of Indigo Joseph, the Regina-based band that is making their way for the first time across Canada. Previously, the furthest the band has gone was Calgary and it looks like Indigo Joseph isn’t going to be Regina’s best-kept secret anymore.

“Records are good and fun to make but we’re pretty rookie in that regard and we like to put our effort into live shows,” said band member Sean McCanell. Indigo Joseph’s live shows have become things of legend, which makes their tour this fall particularly important.

“I think we just wanted to play the tightest and best show we could and connect with the audience, and then people were coming back and saying, ‘You have to see these guys live to fully see what they’re doing.’ That’s when we realized that is where our strength, at least at this point, lies.”

One of the reasons that Indigo Joseph is great at putting on a show could be attributed to each member’s multiple talents. “We’ve got everything,” laughed McCannell regarding the instruments each member plays. “We have to constantly switch instruments and move around stage. There’s a lot of planning and choreographing so we don’t get all of our cords wrapped up and stuff like that.”

The band doesn’t just play the standard: guitar, bass, drums. Indigo Joseph uses harmonicas, a cajón, various bongos and members pushing vocals through industrial tubing.

The band sounds at times jazzy, bluesy or mellow with the next song transitioning into world-inspired dance rock. “We’re not the kind of band that you hear the first song and you really like it and then six songs later you’re just hearing another version of that song,” affirmed McCannell.

As if that isn’t interesting enough, McCannell spoke about a rather surprising direction for the young band, who released their second EP Lilith in July. Two members of the band are Franco¬phones, a rare thing in Regina McCannell confirmed. He does not himself speak French but feels that it’s important to know and the band is considering moving in a French direction. “There is a lot of money in the French Canadian government to go towards French Canadian music and it’s not a very saturated market … it’s a hugely untapped resource,” he acknowledged.

The band is currently gaining steam, and McCannell attributes this to Indigo Joseph’s charisma when it comes to booking shows. “It’s not about being a good band … [booking agents] want to see that you’re sociable, that you’re a good person with good business sense and you’re reasonable,” he said. “And I think that’s what we’re focusing on. I mean we’re focusing on the music too but just treating people well and getting the name out there needs more than just being a good musician.”

The band plays their first Windsor gig on Oct. 20 at Phog Lounge. - The Windsor Lance

If I had a dollar.

I'd bet that very dollar that if you attend an Indigo Joseph show you would be wildly impressed; I'd go double or nothin that you would be up on the dance floor swaying side to side... Even if that was my very last dollar.. my only dollar, because I know I would soon have a few more after the set.

This Saskatchewan band has been the beat I tap my foot to, the start to my morning, and one of the greats that top off my playlist since the first show I witnessed of theirs. All they are is a 4 man blues-rock band with great soul, lyrics with thought, and a jam that gets your body movin about the floor. Their original "Prairie Heavy" sound makes it quite impossible to not rock out along stage, or drivin in your car, or on your iPod when you're out for an evening stroll. You can feel it in the air at their shows that this band is made for something big, their energy and stage presence screams it at you.

"You can pirate a CD, you can pirate a DVD, but you can't pirate the live experience, it's more about getting people out to your show in this day and age, stage presence is crucial" says a member of the band. That statement is evidently true when seeing the guys live, keyboard, drums, bass, guitar, harmonica, melodica, are just what they are currently working with, but after speaking with their lead singer, Etienne Fletcher I was informed that they are introducing a number of new instruments into the eclectic band. Soon looking to incorporate more tribal, traditional instruments. The band is heavily influenced by art, culture and historical traditions in music. I quickly discovered that not one member of Indigo Joseph is even closely alike. Etienne Fletcher, Byron Boutin-malony, Eric Tessier and Shawn Mccanell make up Indigo Joseph and I have been told they each listen to and respect different genre's of music and each bring that together to create their unique sound. This is evident when breaking down the reasons why their sound is so atrociously original. They are multi-lingual, extremely diverese and widely opinionated, and to see the four together makes no sense and perfect sense all at the same time. Their diversity is a recipe for talent, it brings a full variety of color to their craft.

Soon the band will be heading out on tour across Canada, with shows from east to west. You can find out dates on their Facebook Page "Indigo Joseph Canadian Tour" and be sure to check out their home page "Indigo Joseph" on Facebook as well. The band will be playing this coming weekend, Friday, Sept. 28th at The Artesian @ 9pm and Saturday Sept.29th at the Exchange @ 8pm in Regina for the Breakout West Showcase. If you can't make it to any of their gigs, check them out on itunes and youtube, i personally recommened "Mr Baker" or "Hello, Hello". Also, for all of you French-Canadians, the band will be releasing some French tracks in the near future. Stay tuned to see what this band has to offer to the music industry, I am not only curious to find out, but I am betting money on their success....

So please, have your dollars ready, I will be waiting with an open hand as you leave the show colored with excitement.

Much Music and Good Times In Your Direction

-Tara Osipoff - The Rooster

Catching up with Rococode’s opening act

Four-piece Regina-based Indigo Joseph has the spirit with them. Opening for Vancouver-based Rococode on Oct. 4 at the Gateway, these indie rockers thrive on sharing a good time with the audience.

Their latest work is a ticklish affair called Lilith, an album featuring the gruffness of 60s garage rock, Rolling Stones’ licks and everything in between.

The Weal interviewed lead singer Eric Tessier to find out what the band has in store for SAIT.

The Weal: How long have you been a band?

Tessier: Indigo Joseph has been a band for about two years now. I personally joined the band as the drummer about nine months ago. They lost their original drummer to a Chemistry program at U of T, so he moved out there fairly permanently. We met at a party once and talked about jamming and ended up jamming and it, just, was a really good fit. So long story to a short answer: two years.

The Weal: You pull a lot of stylistic ideas from other genres besides rock into your music, but what would you play if somebody told you to do a Saskatchewan-style song?

Tessier: I grew up listening to my uncles and they played in a kind of a blues band, and they played just a lot of covers— stuff like Eric Clapton. That, I very much identify as, because growing up that was first sort of music I heard—that’s the kind of band that plays in Saskatchewan.

The Weal: Since you have such a wide variety of influences, what are some that people might not guess just from listening to your music?

Tessier: One interesting thing is that one of our guitar players, Sean McCannell, is very heavily influenced by metal riffs so a lot of what he’s playing comes stylistically from that palm-muted kind of metal.

The other thing is that we’ve released music only in English up to this point although both of our songwriters speak French as a first language, so that’s something upcoming for Indigo.

The Weal: It said in your online bio that the live environment comes naturally to you. Why do you think that is?

Tessier: We very much have fun playing music together and when it’s fun, it’s easy. Before I joined the band it seemed to come naturally too, I remember walking into one of the venues in Regina one evening and seeing these guys playing and as a musician in the city, it really knocked my socks off, like, “Holy, this is what’s coming up, eh? Holy crap.”

It wasn’t polished, it was very raw. Byrun was playing guitar on the song that I walked in on and he was doing this heavy syncopated strumming pattern and he was practically levitating jumping up and down playing it.

Maybe it’s going to come down to how we start recording music in the future, but I think our live music is our bread-and-butter and if we can get someone who’s a music lover to come out, I think they can connect with that.

The Weal: You have this track, “Indigo”, with the chorus “We’re the Indigo Band”, with the same phrasing as the Sgt. Pepper’s line – is that your anthem?

Tessier: You know what, again, before I joined the band I totally thought it was the anthem. It’s a song that, at shows, people would be singing along and it was this crazy thing, but then I joined the band and the guys were, like, “Yeah we’re kind of tired of that song, I don’t really want to play it anymore, it’s like two chords we can do better.” And I was like, “Guys I just joined the band! I’m all excited to play this song called Indigo because I’m in the Indigo Joseph band!”

So that’s been an on-running joke because we haven’t played it a lot. Personally I think it is an anthem, pretty clever way to get people to remember your name is to put it in the song and repeat it.
It’s been the encore, recently.

The Weal: What’s the highlight of a typical Indigo Joseph show?

Tessier: Personally, for me, we play this one song called “Others.” It’s a little bit more down tempo but it’s got a really wicked build to it. If you think like a Weezer drum-build—very mathematical, little components added gradually. We get a very good response. There are a lot of different moments. We’re getting better at reading the crowd and seeing, based on their energy level, what they’d be into.

Indigo Joseph opens for Rococode at the Gateway on Oct. 4. The show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets $12, visit www.ticketmaster.ca for more information - The Weal Student Paper

Ever find one of those bands that you can see again and again and love each show? If not, I highly recommend Regina's local indie blues dance group Indigo Joseph. Blending a soulful combination of blues, rock, and indie music, Indigo Joseph creates an exciting atmosphere for their fans that becomes contagious the moment they start playing.

Saturday night at the German Club was no exception to this tradition, as Indigo Joseph unveiled their newest release, their Lilith EP. This three track EP perfectly represents their band as an upcoming name in the Canadian music scene. A combination of their up tempo songs as well as a slower jam help balance out a solid three song release.

The band is also a strong supporter of the arts, which was obvious upon entering the German Club. The band had set up the venue in the theme of an enchanted forest. Trees and flowers lined white picket fences, creating a warm entrance and prepared the audience for the night of dancing. The first part of the night also involved an art show, with local artists showcasing their talents. The support from both sides of the music and art scene were evident that night, and it was a welcome sight.

The music itself was just as welcoming and impressive. Starting off with one of the bands newest singles off of Lilith, which feels like a perfect summer jam, reminded everyone that tonight was a celebration of the bands hard work. The amount of time it takes to create a release, and the effort required from the band is something to be highly respected. Although that evening there were difficulties with the sound, such as when microphones were cutting out, the band proved they could be adaptive, and didn't panic under difficult circumstances, using second mics and getting the crowd involved. Playing a long set list that covered some of the bands older songs, and playing all three of their new songs, the nearly hour and a half long set flew by in the excitement of dancing and good company. Getting to hear some of the bands older songs and favourites such as “Black Jack” and “Mr. Baker” got the fans in the crowd excited, which helped create an inviting atmosphere to people who may not have seen the band before.

I am sure any new comers will be coming back in the future, as Indigo Joseph delivers a performance few bands can capture, and an energy that is hard to create. - Rage Regina

Local rock band Indigo Joseph is on the rise as one of Regina's most popular local bands. The band still has time, however, to give back to it's community. Indigo Joseph played a benefit concert for the Imagine... No Bullies campaign this Wednesday at noon in the Downtown Plaza.

Drummer Eric Tessier, recently added to the band this winter, has a friend at the Red Cross who organized the event. "He contacted me and I thought it would be a good opportunity to do something good for kids and youth in our city," said Tessier.

"I think we've all had our own individual experiences with bullying at some point in our lives whether we were on one end or the other," said Sean McCannell, "once you get to your early 20s you kind of reflect on your youth. It's definitely a good cause and there are a lot of kids out there who need to stop bullying."

"At the time it seems like the end of the world," added Tessier. "When you reflect on it, you're like, well that wasn't really that big of a deal, but at the time it was so we'd like to communicate in any way to people that bullying is inappropriate."

"Creative people are especially easy targets to bullying," said Byrun Beets, "like weirder people and eccentric people. Now that we've kind of gone through that it's nice to give back, to the generations coming. I find it's a good fit for a band."

The band is gearing up for some out of province shows this summer and will be releasing a new EP.

"We have a couple shows lined up outside the province," said McCannell, "and we got accepted to Lilac festival in Calgary, it's a one day street festival. We're playing some show in Winnipeg and we're also working on a new EP so we're in the studio right now."

"We'd like to get as much out of the province as we can and spread the word a little bit," said Tessier.

Indigo also plans to play many shows in Regina over the summer and you can look forward to the release of their EP by June, 2012. - Rage Regina

BuzzCity's Brian Ganong catches up with Regina band Indigo Joseph while enjoying some fine food at La Cucaracha on 13th Avenue. - Buzz City Magazine

It's hard to put a label on Indigo Joseph: a blues-rock band, a folk-funk band, maybe a post-cabaret style band, or, all of the above? It's all on their play-list, it's well performed, strong lyrics, too, and it's all original.

So was their interview with BuzzCity. "Let's do it on a bus!" they said. BuzzCity thought that was pretty cool so we contacted Regina Transit who agreed. (Thanks, Gail Lambert) and they contacted a photographer, Cal Fehr, to come along. Then Birdsong Communications got wind of the impending event, and their film crew, Don List and Bill Warriner got on board along with BuzzCity's Brian Bowman and Steve McDonnell. We started from the Riddell Centre at the University of Regina and the bus was rocking before we made it to the parkway.

Indigo Joseph has charisma, and, in addition to solid training and evident talent, the band seems to have a magic touch. In the short time they've been together, they've been getting enviable attention. They have played numerous Regina venues and their recent audition for the Sask Sampler earned them a place on the line-up for the Regina Folk Festival AND The Bengough Gateway Festival this summer.

To really appreciate their talents, you need to see them live. On nearly every number the members switch instruments, and they use several, like musical chairs. Impressive. Fairly hot, bluesy, folky, funky Indigo Joseph. The name's a good fit. - Buzz City Magazine

It’s “Indigo Joseph”! Really, you can just call them Indigo Joseph, though.

Indigo Joseph are a Regina band, so Regina in fact that I guess Transit decided to put them on a schedule.

(Previously seen when Whitworth dug their cover of “Psycho Killer” at the Regina Folk Festival that they did with folks from Library Voices and Rah Rah. So there’s that.)

“We’re on a bus schedule??” said band member Etienne Fletcher when I messaged him about it.

He wasn’t super surprised by the sounds of it. The band had asked Regina Transit if they could play a song and film an interview with BuzzCity.ca on a city bus, and Transit agreed, getting so excited about it they sent along their own photographers. And then Transit went ahead and threw them on the Campus Express schedule, probably because they’re all young looking guys.

That’s how you get a Facebook message from me: by winding up on a bus schedule without knowing about it.

Not all of the guys pictured here are Regina boys today, though. The fellow on the right is Kelly Molnar, and he had to leave the band recently since he’s going to school somewhere other than Regina. (Kelly, along with a couple of other dudes from the band, is an old high school classmate of mine and I wish him all the best.) Regardless, Indigo have an EP they’re releasing sometime soon. Watch their page for updates.

Check out after the jump to watch that BuzzCity.ca interview and performance. - The Prairie Dog Magazine

One argument for getting your hair cut by professionals and not friends: the sweet connections.

So it was with Eric Tessier. Indigo Joseph’s drummer was hooked up with the producer of their new EP Lilith while getting a trim.

“He was halfway through cutting my hair and said, ‘So, how serious are you about the band you’re playing in right now?’” says Tessier. “I said, ‘I wouldn’t say I want to do it as a job, but I want to give it an opportunity as much as I can.’

“He said, ‘Well, my friend is a producer and has worked out in L.A. with a few big-name artists in his past. No guarantees, but maybe if you send your EP to him he’d be interested in working with you.”

That man turned out to be Brian Dobbs, who worked on Tal Bachman’s 1999 hit “She’s So High”, and the band recorded three tracks with him in a couple of Regina studios.

(This qualifies them for a rambling intro by Tal’s dad Randy on Vinyl Tap, I think.)

The guys seem happy with the results. The four-member band — Byrun Boutin-Maloney, Sean McCannell and Etienne Fletcher are the others — have two previous releases: a 10-track home-recorded album and a live-off-the-floor self-titled EP. They wanted a more professional sound this time around.

“It was pretty much the same budget to record 10 quick-and-dirty songs or three take-your-time songs,” says Boutin-Maloney.

A problem: it’s hard to pick only three. Indigo Joseph chose songs that represent a couple of the band’s directions –– there’s “Only You”, a Latin-influenced number, and “Lilith” and “In Memoriam”, both dancey, rockey numbers.

“I think there are two schools of thought when it comes to Indigo,” says Boutin-Maloney. “Either we’re playing on genre, like a blues song or a Latin song or just playing off a genre, or there’s like a couple of songs that are moving into their own territory.”

Tessier seems glad to be part of this new focus. He joined Indigo Joseph when its original drummer, Kelly Molnar, moved east for school. The band had seen Tessier in another local band, Ink Road, and had been impressed even before the need for another drummer presented itself.

Tessier seems a match for the band’s consensus-loving spirit, too. For instance, take what he says about Molnar’s drum parts: “If you walk in and try a different beat, you haven’t given the other beat an opportunity to breathe in your body yet.”

Co-operation seems to be an essential part of the essence of Indigo Joseph. It’s certainly something they’re aware of.

“Because it’s so emotional and because it’s so intense, a lot of it was like going back to kindergarten,” says Boutin-Maloney. “You have to respect other people’s feelings. They care about this just as much as you. You have to treat each other nicely or it won’t last. It’s more important to stay friends than it is to always get your way.”

Right now, Indigo Joseph are in the process of locking down their touring game. By the time this hits stands (and whatever the Internet equivalent of stands is) they’ll have played the opening night of Swift Current’s Long Day’s Night Festival with the Ness Creek Music Festival on deck. And of course, their Regina EP release show. From there, they’re looking into fall touring across Canada. - The Prairie Dog Magazine

From Regina in Saskatchewan, Indigo Joseph throw blues, funk, folk and rock together with great aplomb. We like the cut of the Canucks’ tunes like “Black Jack” and “In Memorium” and recommend them for anyone looking for new some stonking jams. - Irish Times

New single from Indigo Joseph entitled "In Memoriam." - Hype Machine

In anticipation of their Lilith EP coming out next weekend, Indigo Joseph have released the new single “In Memoriam” for our listening pleasure. It starts off soulful and deep, but turns up the funk as the song progresses. Indigo Joseph have been owning the local music scene in Regina, Canada for the past year and are ready to show the rest of the continent their unique breed of indie music. They call themselves blues-rock meets folk-funk, but basically they are indescribable until you have seen them live, and even then sometimes you are left without words. By Jon Herriot - Blah Blah Blah Science