In With The Old

The old-time bluegrass and folk band is actually comprised of three young Saskatchewan teenagers, Ellen Froese-Kooijenga, 18, from near Osler (vocals, mandolin, guitar, banjo), Kasia Thorlakson, 16, of Kinistino (vocals, guitar, mandolin, stand-up bass)and Jaxon Lalonde, 15, of Saskatoon (banjo, stand-up bass, vocals). The three met at Ness Creek at the Northern Lights Bluegrass and Old Tyme Music Festival, which is run by Lalonde’s parents. “Kasia wanted to started a band; I remember her talking about it at the festival,” Froese-Kooijenga says. “Then we started jamming and soon after we were busking. It all happened pretty quickly. ”The busking led to a first show and they’ve been at it ever since late 2013. In With The Old played at the Prince Albert Street Fair last summer, where they were spotted by former E.A. Rawlinson Centre marketing director Linda Jensen. She chatted with them and it
obviously led places. They take to the stage at the E.A. Rawlinson Centre on Feb. 21. Tickets are $20. Froese-Kooijenga says music fans should know what they can expect.“A good mix of old-timey and bluegrass tunes and a bunch of hip originals,” she said, with her bandmates chuckling in the background. The band recorded its debut CD, Rollin’ On Down The Plains, last July. They have enough new material for their next album but haven’t figured out when they’re going to return to the studio yet. “It’s been positive,” Froese-Kooijenga says of the reaction to the debut. “Seven of the eight songs are originals and I think some people are surprised to see that we’ve been writing our own tunes so that’s nice to hear. ”The band hopes to do some shows during their February break and will be performing at Telemiracle in March, sharing the stage with other Saskatchewan performers such as Donny Parenteau, Jeffery Straker, Beverley Mahood, Brad Johner and the Johner Boys, Jason Blaine and actor Lorne Cardinal, best known as Davis on Corner Gas. In With The Old has also applied to perform at a number of festivals and hopes to do some shows in B.C. in the summer. “On stage we’re so comfortable around each other,” Thorlakson says. “It’s like an automatic thing; we’re best friends getting to play music with people. Lately it’s even more so like that. We’re getting a lot more comfortable onstage, coming together.”The band has a fun live cover of the Guns N’ Roses classic Sweet Child O’ Mine on YouTube. The girls are in dresses and barefoot, Thorlakson on the mandolin and Froese-Kooijenga on guitar. The girls do much of the vocal work whileLalonde, in a tie and fedora, picks the lead guitar line on the banjo. There’s an easy rapport between the three with lots of smiles back and forth. “It’s so great when you’re playing and you can tell you’ve made someone’s day,” Thorlakson says. “That’s one of my favourite things about playing music. ”Lalonde says the choice of genre makes perfect sense since he attends his parents’ Northern Lights Bluegrass Festival every summer. “I was basically raised on this kind of music,” Lalonde says. “Five years ago I decided that I wanted to take banjo lessons and I did. Eventually I met these two. ”But they are careful to add that they don’t consider what they do to be pure bluegrass.
“A lot of people say we’re bluegrass and we used to call ourselves that but we realized we can’t call ourselves that anymore,” Froese-Kooijenga says. “It’s more like old-timey folk music. Real bluegrass musicians would probably get a little annoyed with us for calling ourselves bluegrass. We do a few covers and we have some influences, mostly in the banjo and mandolin style." Lalonde agrees.“We play a couple of bluegrass songs but the songs that we write, they’re not bluegrass,” he says. With two of the band members still in high school, a lot will happen before the day comes when they can consider making music their full-time job. But they have obviously been thinking about it already.“That’s the goal. I’d love to have a career in music,” Froese-Kooijenga says. “Just being able to make a living and travel around would be a heck of a lot of fun.” - Perry Bergson, Jan 26th 2015

A trio of young Saskatchewan musicians are taking their inspiration from an era that ended two decades before they were even born. In With The Old, which consists of Ellen Froese-Kooijenga, Jaxon Lalonde and Kasia Thorlakson, unveiled their first CD at a concert in Saskatoon last week. The bluegrass band, In With the Old, consisting of Jaxon Lalonde, Ellen Froese-Kooijenga and Kasia Thorlakson has released an eight song CD The album, entitled “Rollin’ On Down The Plains” is a collection of eight songs by the versatile group. Seven of the tunes are originals, while one is a 113-year-old classic that probably hasn’t been recorded since the heyday of the folk boom in the 1960s. It’s an eclectic mix that skirts the edges of bluegrass, folk, country and maybe even a little alternative jazz-rockabilly. The album, recorded at PulsWorks Audio Arts studio in Saskatoon, took several months to complete, but given the fact that the band only got together last fall, it’s still a pretty quick turnaround. Still, it has a professional, polished sound to it that stacks up well against much more elaborate recordings by artists who have been in the business for decades. What’s most impressive is the maturity of the music. These melodies are not just good, they’re really good. Part of that stems from the chemistry between the three teenage musicians, who all play a variety of instruments and like to change things up by shuffling from one to another depending on the song. It’s easy to tell they’ve all had a hand in shaping these tunes, working out the arrangements as they go along. Ellen Froese-Kooijenga penned five of the songs: “Paper ‘n Flies,” “Whiskey For My Heartache,” “Oh Honey Dear,” “I’m Gone, I’m On My Way” and “Ship of My Heart.” She contributes lead vocals on her own songs, backed up with Kasia Thorlakson’s tight harmonies.
“Paper ‘n Flies” is an edgy musical poem that has a bit of a mid-sixties Dylanesque feel to it, while “Whiskey For My Heartache” is a little more bluesy. “Oh Honey Dear” is a whimsical piece reminiscent of the 1920s. This is the song that scored the band big points in a recent CBC Radio contest, and also the one they performed live on Telemiracle last winter. “I’m Gone, I’m On My Way” is another introspective but musically-catchy tune with some nice mandoline licks in it. But the final number, “Ship of My Heart” is part-bluegrass, part sea-shanty, part love-song blend that really works well. Kasia Thorlakson contributed two originals: “Ball and Chain” – a blues-inspired story about a ghostly convict trying to get out of jail, grows on you thanks to Jaxon Lalonde’s mournful banjo licks; and “Tryin’ to rid Myself of You” – a tribute to the 1960s-travelling theme. Thorlakson sings lead on her songs. Jaxon Lalonde didn’t write “Goodbye Booze”, the only piece where he sings lead vocals, but he probably wishes he did, and is responsible for digging up the 1901 gem by Jean C. Havez. Froese-Kooijenga’s artistic skills aren’t limited to her beautiful voice, with its arresting quaver. She did the album design and contributed the original art portraits of the three band members that adorn the cover. The band is slated to be one of the acts at this year’s Northern Lights Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival at Ness Creek the weekend of August 15-17. If you get a chance to see them live, don’t pass it up. They’re really good. This album proves it. - Terry Pugh, Clark's Crossing Gazette, July 22nd, 2014

It’s common to hear a band say they’ve matured between albums, but the statement is particularly apt for Saskatoon-based In with the Old.

When they recorded their first album Rolling on Down the Plains in 2014, Jaxon Lalonde was 14, Kasia Thorlakson was 15 and Ellen Froese-Kooijenga was 17. At that age, three years is a lot of time.

“I think we’ve definitely grown up quite a bit,” Thorlakson says.

The group is preparing to launch their second album, My Mother’s Couch, at Amigo’s in Saskatoon Saturday.

“It’s funny when you listen to the first album, then the new one. You can hear how different our voices are, just because we got older,” she says.


Thorlakson is originally from Kinistino, with Froese-Kooijenga hailing from a dairy farm north of Martensville and Lalonde from Saskatoon. The three first met and became friends four years ago at the Northern Lights Bluegrass and Old Tyme Festival in Ness Creek.

A few months later Thorlakson, who was already playing music on her own, approached Lalonde about collaborating. Froese-Kooijenga got wind of the pairing and wanted in.

“So we just started jamming,” Thorlakson says.

She can’t quite put her finger on it, but something about the spirit of bluegrass music made it the natural choice for the group.

“It’s kind of hard to explain. It just gets your toe tapping. There’s something about bluegrass that’s really inviting to everyone, from all walks of life,” she says.

Within six months the group started to gel and they recorded their first album after a year.

“The songs started to come together more. People started coming up to us more often and asking if we would play at their venues or open for them,” she says.

Despite their youth, they’ve never had trouble finding places to perform. Minors can play in Saskatchewan bars provided they stay away from the drink.

Thorlakson says their ages can sometimes end up being a bit of an advantage as far as impressing people who’ve never seen them before.

“It’s always been kind of interesting. When we walk into a place and these other bands see us they’re like, ‘Yeah, right.’ Then we start playing,” she says.

There’s been no shortage of gigs. Last summer was spent touring Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

“Festivals are one of our favourite things to do,” Thorlakson says.

Tour logistics are made easier by all three members having large extended families spread out across the prairies.

“So when we’re touring, we have a lot of people to stay with, and they always feed us, so it doesn’t cost a lot. It’s really nice,” she says.
All three band members sing and share duties on a variety of instruments including guitar, mandolin, banjo and stand-up bass. Froese-Kooijenga is the most prolific songwriter of the three, but they all contribute.

“Usually what will happen is (Froese-Kooijenga) will bring us the bones of the song. She’ll have all the lyrics ready and she’ll say, ‘I want a solo here and a solo here, and I want to make things really weird in the middle,’ ” Thorlakson says.

My Mother’s Couch is mostly original with a few covers thrown in. Without revealing too much, Thorlakson says they’ve been working on some special touches for the launch party at Amigo’s.

“It’s going to be pretty wild,” she says.

So far winter has been the slowest season for the group, but she says that should change after Lalonde graduates high school this year. Once that’s out of the way they hope to tour Canada and the U.S.

“We just want to go spread our music and meet as many people as we can,”Thorlakson says. - Bridges magazine

Ellen Froese-Kooijenga, Kasia Thorlakson and Jaxon Lalonde bring an ageless sound to In With the Old. As their bio states, “their performances showcase a very full sound including fiery-hot banjo and mandolin licks, thoughtful songwriting, and beautiful three-part harmonies.”

What’s new with In With the Old? How about a new album? As the kids say, here’s the deets (do the kids say that?):

Album Title: My Mother’s Couch.

Release date: Feb. 4, 2007.

Producer: Barrett Ross.

Studio: Ghetto Box Studio, Saskatoon.

Who played on it: In With The Old (Ellen Froese-Kooijenga – Guitar, Harmonica, Mandolin, Vocals; Kasia Leigh – Mandolin, Guitar, Banjo, Vocals; Jaxon Lalonde – Banjo, Double Bass, Vocals).

Sounds like: Bluegrass meets folk meets 60’s psychedelia.

Lead single: Adeline: A high-energy harmonica and banjo-driven old-time tune about the struggles of finding love in this modern world.

Deep cut: My Mother’s Couch: We don’t exactly know what else to call it but “trippy riff-driven psychedelic rock on bluegrass instruments.”

Fun fact: It was recorded in an old church hall in Riversdale that was converted to a studio.

Upcoming shows: Feb. 4: Release show with Old Towns at Amigos, 10 p.m.

Feb. 10: Show with Roger Roger from Winnipeg at the Underground Cafe.

Feb. 15-20: Showcasing at the Folk Alliance International Conference in Kansas City, Missouri.

March 31 to April 9: Live music for the play Southern Dandy 75 at Live Five. - Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Saskatoon’s In With the Old discover “unique” style on sophomore release

Saskatoon-based old-time country music trio In With the Old is back home following a busy touring season that saw the group play to audiences from Alberta to Manitoba and, for the second time, the United States.

“When summer ended I didn’t really know what to do with myself,” band member Jaxon Lalonde said.

“I felt like getting in the car again.”

The group — Ellen Froese-Kooijenga on vocals, guitar, mandolin and banjos; Kasia Thorlakson on vocals, mandolin, guitar and stand-up bass; and Lalonde on vocals, banjo and stand-up bass — has been touring in support of their new album, My Mother’s Couch, the follow-up their debut eight-song EP from 2014, Rollin’ on Down the Plains. Copies of the CD have been available at In With the Old Shows, but the group only recently announced that the record will be released online on Feb. 4, 2017. - Prince Albert Daily Herald

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The next day, since the festival doesn’t start until 6pm, I’ve got a bit of time. I’ve been hearing about an off-campus event called Banjos & Bison (pronounced Bi-zon, not Bi-sohn) that brings festivalgoers horseback riding in the nearby Prince Albert National Park to see bison and listen to bluegrass, and I jump at the chance to get in on this. These trail rides are run by real-life Saskatchewan cowboy Gord Vaadeland, something of a celebrity in these parts as a tracker and modern cowboy. In the early afternoon, Gord leads us out with twelve horses and two draft horses pulling a wagon. I’m in the wagon going into the park, and we roll over a bumpy dirt path (that eventually blows out one of the wagon’s tires), moving deeper and deeper into a landscape of birch trees packed so thickly that you start to imagine phantoms passing between the nestling layers of trees that surround your vision. It’s a beautiful trip, and we move to a small clearing for lunch plus a concert from the young Saskatchewan band In With The Old. These three kids grew up in the Northern Lights family, and came to bluegrass the honest way: through community. Speaking with singer, guitarist and mandolinist (the three were constantly swapping instruments back and forth while playing) Ellen Froese-Kooijenga, she talks about her early inspirations at camp. “Campfire jams were always a good time, they made me feel like I could jam with all these people!” After her early inspirations at Northern Lights, Ellen says, she “went home and listened to every Stanley Brothers album I could find!”
... - No Depression magazine