The Grass

by Fateema Sayani

The Grass is made up of the building blocks of rock: country, blues and the singer-songwriter tradition, without any minor-key whininess.

That's according to Willis Ryan, who, along with Padtrek McNally, is the face of the Grass. The two frontmen are constantly switching instruments. You might find Ryan on the guitar or bass, while McNally reaches for the guitar, harmonica and bass. Brother Dylan Ryan sticks to the drums, Lindsay Rogers plays the violin, Nicholas Wolfe does double duty on guitar and bass, and Adam Burke plays the piano with verve.

"It's rare to see a rocking piano player," Willis Ryan says, but it shouldn't be. "Rock started on piano as much as it did on guitar."

Their goal is to get away from all the Chicken Little messages in music these days. "Yeah, the world is going to crap, but we don't need to hear your take on it," Ryan says. "We like to feel the soul of the music that's missing on the radio."

The band began in 2005 in Dartmouth, N.S., where they released two albums and toured all the way to B.C. Realizing that Ontario was a better launching point for tours, the band moved to Ottawa earlier this year. A half-dozen of them share a house in the Bank and Heron area. It's where they play, practise and record.

"We have a communal, creative thing going on," Ryan says. That freewheeling vibe extends to the stage, where the band plays a dirty ditty, amplified through mustard yellow, tweedy-looking gear, sourced from a vintage gear shop called Gig Street in Halifax. The performance is roughly hewn, but soulful.

"We're more about the feel of it than we are about the theory," he says, noting that while most members of the band can tune their guitars, they are closer to the "no notes range" of knowledge.

If it worked for one Mississippi musician, it can work for the Grass.

"The song Bo Diddley by Bo Diddley is one note all the way through," Ryan says, humming along. "It's just G."

People like the homespun feel. The band snagged a Bluesfest spot and will release their third album, Report All Ghosts, later this year.

"You go for what feels good."

The Grass opens for the United Steel Workers of Montreal at the Black Sheep Inn, 753 Riverside Dr., tomorrow. 9 p.m. $12 - The Ottawa Citizen

By Peter Bradley

With this, their third album in less than two years, Ottawa-via-Halifax’s The Grass offer forth their most focused collection yet. With significantly improved production and a considerably refined sound, Report All Ghosts is a jubilant journey which explores and (sometimes) reinterprets the touchstones of psychedelia and Americana which they unabashedly draw their inspiration from. Opening song “Crossfire” sets the standard, meshing the Kinks, Beatles and Rolling Stones before launching into the refrain from Sweet Sweetback’s Badasssss Song midway. Standout track “Shiny New Rifle” ventures more into hoedown territory, complete with sloppily timed group singing and scratchy violin. While previous efforts came off as a little bit too unpolished, the same lack of shine has been harnessed on Report All Ghosts to create an occasionally quirky, joyous sound. Usually sticking pretty tightly to Exile On Main Street, The Grass dwell in rather safe territory, though they do so with a certain degree of drunken style.

- !earshot

by Silvie Hill

Willis talkin' about the new, cut Grass



The members of East Coast band The Grass have more in common with their '60s role models than the inventive musical style and eclectic fashions. Add low- or no-paying jobs, commune living and recreational drug use, followed by friction and break-ups, reformation and a rumoured reunion tour, and it's clearly a reputation they come by easily.

The story goes that the Grass's original sextet uprooted from Dartmouth in winter 2007 to a house in Ottawa South so they could plug their alt-country hippy rock into the Ottawa music scene.

'Ottawa was great - great crowds, attention and more press than in Halifax,' says singer/guitarist Willis Ryan. 'In Ottawa, folk and roots music is more valued and treasured.'

So were the parties.

'It was sunny all the time!' laughs Ryan about the Ottawa days. 'It was too nice and we had too much fun,' he confesses, reminiscing about the potlucks and Wii bowling marathons that kept them distracted. 'And, in the end, we had different geographical and musical directions,' he says seriously of the split.

Cuts to the Grass include vocalist Pat McNally, violinist Lindsay Rogers and guitar/bassist Nicholas Wolfe, who remained in Ottawa to form the formidable Ship Shapes. Original Grass members Willis and Dylan Ryan (drums), and keyboard player Adam Burke, returned to Halifax, where they joined with Daniel Baldwin (bass) and Ryan Stanley (guitar).

Compared to early Grass albums (Mulgrave and Oranges), the new Rogue Waves is less country and more up-tempo psychedelic rock with driving beats.

'We've been listening to a lot more garage rock and Sly and The Family Stone,' Ryan explains about the current direction. Helping create the sound was Charles Austin (former Super Friendz vocalist/bassist), whose Beatles-style sound-recording techniques are noticeable on tracks like Alcohol, Down at the Station, Skyline Daisy and Superserum #4.

But will the different strokes of genius work for folky fans of the former Grass?

'Some would still consider it old fogey music,' Ryan says. 'In Halifax, we're not considered cool because of it.'

Despite lacking cachet on their own turf, the Grass discography keeps on growing. According to Ryan, the songwriting comes easy to the group, but the challenge, he says, is writing 'something you want to play again.'

Back at the Black Sheep for another Ottawa party, the new Grass is something you will want to hear again. - Xpress

ROGUE WAVES
The Grass
Independent
8-out-of-10
The Grass comes to us from Nova Scotia. They are a rock band which proclaims itself psychedelic and southern rock. OK I might not go quite that far. In most cases they don't have the rawness for southern rock, although you can hear the influences in places in Rogue Waves.

They are however a pretty solid rock band, and the flavour of the '70's psychedelic rock is certainly evident on a number of the songs.

The Grass are prolific, with this their fourth CD. It follows after Report All Ghosts reviewed here last April.
Now one complaint off the top is the CD design. Here they went whole-hog for psychedelic, to the point you likely have to be in a Woodstock haze to read it, or a master in hieroglyphics. You don't do yourself any favours when the listener can't even determine what song they are listening too. You loose a half-point on that alone folks.

There are some great cuts here, starting with Ballad of Davey Jones, likely the truest psychedelic piece on the album.
I'd mention a couple of others, like the well-done Superserum, but I honestly couldn't come up with the name without searching it online, which is way too much work. The piece has a great instrumental intro, and again, is one which makes you think psychedelic.

In terms of the southern rock influence, that is most easily heard on Down At The Station.
Even with the jacket design miscue, this CD is a step forward in terms of music for the The Grass from their previous CD Report All Ghosts. The retro-'70s sound – love Hunter's Moon for that -- just works for me, although that may be influenced by the fact I cut my rock teeth growing up in that era. Yep I am getting old.
But with that age comes an appreciation of good music, and The Grass offers it up here. This one is certainly one to grab for all children of the '70s, and lovers of good music.

Check it out at www.thegrassband.ca
-- CALVIN DANIELS
- Calvin Daniels (SK)

http://itsnotthebandihateitstheirfans.blogspot.com/2009/07/like-freight-burning-down-track.html


The Grass - Rogue Waves

I don't usually listen to the CD's that I didn't ask for right away, simply because I can't listen to everything. But there are two reasons why I popped this one in my CD player earlier than usual: First of all, I quickly looked at the title and mistakenly thought it was a new album by the band Rogue Wave. But secondly, and this is the main reason, the CD's trippy cover looked like something circa 1967, leading me to believe that this is likely another psych-rock recording that I am sure to dig. Looks like, in this case, I can judge a book by its cover, because psych-rock this is, and sure enough, I'm digging it immensely.

Upon researching this band from Nova Scotia, I was blown away to find out that this is their fourth album. It certainly sounds like a band that has experience behind it, but how come I've never heard of them before? To pigeonhole them into the psych-rock genre isn't exactly accurate, since they seem to find inspiration in all of the music of the sixties. The album opens with the soulful piano of Ain't Runnin' Scared, which is a song that oozes a real Motown vibe. Spreadin' The Blues, as its title would suggest, is a bluesier number, reminiscent of some of the classic rock output of artists like Cream, or perhaps even the Grateful Dead without all of the jammy-ness. Songs like Lucky and Without You take us back to the early 60's, with a sweetly saccharine malt shop style; the latter song even boasting a syrupy female vocal that is hard not to be charmed by. The psych-rock tag gets more appropriate in the loud and freaky The Ballad of Davey Jones while their sense of melody in Down At The Station reminds me of Big Star, Matthew Sweet or even The Action's Rolled Gold album. And the whole things ends with the southern rock jam of Skyline Daisy, showing that the band still knows how to bring the country that earned them a nom for Best Country/Bluegrass Recording at the Nova Scotia Music Awards back in 2006.

Rogue Waves is a really good album that makes me want to go back and examine the rest of their catalogue since they seem to find inspiration amongst many of my personal faves.
- http://itsnotthebandihateitstheirfans.blogspot.com

by Kim Mannix Vermette

Nova Scotia ex-pats thrive on local scene

If your ears were tuned to the soundtrack of Ottawa about two months ago, you might have noticed a sudden increase in guitar twangs, pounding piano chords and raw vocal harmonies.

In a city already boasting scads of folk troubadours and roots rock masters, it seems strange that a band like The Grass would stick out. But this particular six-piece outfit, originally from Dartmouth, N.S., is nothing if [not] memorable.

A joyously jumbled mix of country, folk, rock and blues, The Grass formed in 2005 and quickly attracted fans throughout Eastern Canada who appreciated their energetic, refreshingly unpolished live show.

With two albums under their belts - Mulgrave and the recently released Oranges - their indie band star was beginning to rise even higher.

So why make the move to Ottawa?

"Well, I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time," piano player Adam Burke says with a laugh.

"Nova Scotia is great and it's home, but you can only play so many shows and we wanted to be more in the middle of things and a little less isolated, and we just thought there would be opportunity here."

The band had toured through Ottawa prior to becoming permanent residents, and Burke says they were "somewhat aware" of what the musical scene here had to offer, but they didn't expect to be booked for multiple shows within weeks of arriving. Nor did they expect to land a spot on the main stage at this year's upcoming Bluesfest.

"We are very excited about that, yes, and we're opening for Hedley, which definitely isn't our sound, but it will be good to have all those young people there to play for," says Burke.

But don't let their love for classic sounds and throwback twang-fuelled rock fool you into thinking they play what Burke calls "old music."

Burke says he and the other youthful band members - Nicholas Wolfe, Patrick McNally, Lindsay Rogers, Willis Ryan and Dylan Ryan - appreciate the harder rock and punk styles more akin to their generation, but they were ready to try something a little different when they formed The Grass.

"Suddenly our parents could like our music too," jokes Burke. "And I think other people like it too. I mean if people are already drinking at the bar they won't get up and leave."
- metro Ottawa

The Grass has accomplished a lot in just two years together.

There are the two full-length albums with a third on the way; a March visit to the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Tex., a move to Ottawa, where most of them are roommates in a house in the south end, and last night's gig opening for Hedley on the Ottawa Bluesfest main stage.

That happy event, played before a sparse crowd in the hot setting sun, came about after the six-piece, Dartmouth, N.S., band failed to land a spot at the Ottawa Folk Festival last summer and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

The youngsters, who look to be barely out of their teens, boast a laid-back, hanging-out-in-the basement vibe, with a sound that could best be described as grunge meets country. All male, save for tutu-wearing fiddler Lindsay Rogers, they are well-rounded and unassuming.

The crowd was treated to tunes such as Oranges, the bluegrass-tinged title track from their second album, and the East Coast ode-to-home Mulgrave, from their debut.

Hey, when you admit it like that, it's just an homage.

The band's forthcoming album is called Report All Ghosts at the urging of good-friend-to-have Dan Ackroyd. It will be fun to see where the group, one of those collectives who tend to rotate through their instruments, goes from here.

With the Vancouver-based nouveau rock-punk outfit Hedley headlining the main stage, much of the crowd at Lebreton Flats was of the twentysomething variety. But with standard-setter Buddy Guy the main act at the River stage and once-child guitar prodigy Jonny Lang taking the 8 p.m. slot on the Rogers, there was plenty for fans of old-school blues to take in, too.

The Fargo, N.D., native was just 12 when he caught the Bad Medicine Group in concert. A couple of months later he became their leader. His weathered vocals have deepened since then, veering from grainy to breathy to a bit like Michael McDonald, who pitched in for the studio recording on a tune from his last album, the gospel-flavoured Turn Around.

The healthy crowd cheered and whistled, calling for more each time Lang laid down their favourites, including Angel of Mercy.

Over on the Black Sheep stage, a tiny crowd was treated to the sound of one of the East Coast's biggest draws, In Flight-Safety. Frontman John Mullane possesses a Chris Martin-style tendency to an easy-on-the-ears falsetto.

The relaxed four-wpiece possesses a rich, lush, slightly orchestral sound as evidenced on last year's The Coast is Clear.

Decorated with regional awards, they've also earned Juno and MuchMusic nods for their videos, which makes Fear, the one they just shot, one to look for.

- Ottawa Sun

Grass
Rogue Waves
By Sheena Lyonnais

Canada's response to the Beatles comes in the form of Nova Scotia's the Grass, unfortunately 40 years too late. But the decades passed don't stop this five-piece from tearing into 12 psychedelic rock tracks on fourth full-length album Rogue Waves. While it's clear they draw influences from a variety of sources, including early Rolling Stones, the pop sensibilities found on "Casino Taxi" and "Ballad of Davey Jones" give this record more of a toned-down Brit rock feel. Husky vocals and a cigarette swagger, combined with brass and piano additions, show the band filling out in areas that previous sounded a little too light and slightly cookie-cutter '60s. While psychedelia is clearly their heaviest influence the album is peppered with welcome elements of country, blues and cowbells. Sometimes the lyrics are a little lame, however. Example: "Superserum #4" begins with, "I was trying to jack off." Not quite as subtle as their idols but otherwise this record is good fun. (Independent)
- Exclaim!

by Fateema Sayani, Ottawa Citizen

Repeat impressions and word of mouth -- those are two tactics the Halifax, N.S., band The Grass is employing to get the word out about their fifth album, expected this fall.
The band will play a show every Monday in June at Zaphod Beeblebrox.

"The first week will probably be a bit sparse. Mostly friends we're in contact with will show up," predicts frontman Willis Ryan. "They'll tell their friends to come the next week. We're hoping to build a following that way."

Based in Ottawa during their country phase, the band chose to return to home turf two years ago. That same year, they released Rogue Waves, which marked a shift from roots to a grungier sound. Finding affinity and a great reaction on the dance floor with the rascally sound, the band forged further in that direction.

"We're leaving our comfort zone in blues and folk and moving into post-punk," Ryan says. "It's been a long road back to a faster tempo. You get back to playing the songs you started playing in your garage and realize, hey, that's what a lot of other people want to hear too." - Ottawa Citizen

By Paul Terefenko

The Grass’s rear-viewing rock sure is tight. On this re-release of their 2009 debut album, they blend garage rock with country and 60s psychedelia and manage to avoid rehashing Dad’s record collection.

Ain’t Running Scared’s twangy guitars swap effortlessly with piano, Spreadin’ The Blues could use a little less Ringo, and Without You offers up drive-in doo-wop that morphs into hazy 60s sonic disorder. Ever-present echoing organ acts as a uniting thread throughout.

The Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, foursome are most successful on The Ballad Of Davey Jones, the closest thing to a purely psychedelic track and a sign of the Grass’s great promise.

Top track: Ballad Of Davey Jones
The Grass rock the Garrison Wednesday (June 23).
NOW | June 17-24, 2010 | VOL 29 NO 42 - NOW Magazine

Or: I travelled all the way to Toronto to see a Dartmouth band play?

“Good things are coming our way,” sang Walter Schreifels (Gorilla Biscuits, Rival Schools) last night. He wasn’t lying, but more on him in a future post.
I’m writing today from the patio of a Queen street coffee shop at the beginning of day three. My hair’s quietly forming into gross dread-y clumps, I’m covered in cat hair from couch surfing and my shirt still smells like stale booze. I’m not quite Alison Lang at Bonnaroo, but after two long, long nights, we’re getting there.
So it begins. After picking up my press lanyard, I scoop up scrappy, talented local photographer Marianne Madeline Lau, whose work usually appears with Basics. Now, if any of these photos end up looking like Last Night’s Party, we have her to thank. And beyond her photos, she’s the human equivalent of a clown wig — she makes any situation 10 times more hilarious. It’s a good fit, I think.

Upon hearing that Meligrove Band at CN Tower is packed to the, ahem, nichons, we decide to up the punx by heading to the Juicebox and Underground Operations showcase at Queen West’s Bovine Sex Club. And, as it turns out, the place is perfect for all things punxuppery: they’ve got cheap cans of PBR. It’s a space that, with roughly 15 people, feels full. The bathroom’s straight out of Trainspotting.

First up was Kitchener, ON’s Wayfarer. There’s something entirely commendable about a group of twentysomething understudies paying tribute to their heroes (and we’re guessing that their name is a nod to a Hot Water Music cut rather than Tom Cruise in Risky Business). The slight roots inflection, the mid-tempo jangle-punk, the tri-blend of gruff vocalists — this was No Idea minus the beards. This ain’t life-altering stuff, but it was perfectly competent.

Next were Toronto locals Cavaliers. My NXNE guide compared them to Ryan Adams, and I get their point: this is urbane country, and really, a Waylon or Merle comparison wouldn’t fit. And they’re good: honey-smooth co-singers Mich Verrier and Britton Allison are pitch-perfect, rarely taking a break from harmonizing.
While the band’s primarily acoustic, their rhythm section reminds you why they’re playing a punk show: hard-hitting drummer Reed Neagle ensures the pace is upbeat, while bassist Adam Pariselli gets his pogo on. Top it off with a guest appearance by the Flatliners’ Chris Cresswell and a Chuck Ragan (of… you guessed it, Hot Water Music) cover, and I’m leaving pleasantly surprised.
We’re quickly discovering that Toronto, apparently, loves Hot Water Music.

But we’ve had our fill of cheap Pabst, and instead elect to head over to The Garrison to catch Dartmouth’s The Grass. I’ll be honest, here: I never paid ‘em much attention in Halifax, and I’m feeling pretty stupid right now.
Despite being on the tail end of a residency tour taking them across Ontario and Quebec, the foursome were greeted by folded arms, a half-empty venue and a 10-foot buffer in front of the stage. It was typical Toronto hostility (and I’m allowed to say that. I grew up here).

Not the best of circumstances, but they did as any good hockey player would: they kept their heads down, worked hard, gave it 110%. And that’s just not reviewer-ese; let this sweat-drenched image, taken after their set, do the talking.

Luckily for them, Toronto’s a town that reveres Ian Blurton; the crowd’s quickly won over by their loud, loud and louder brand of Detroit-inflected blues. By the end of their set, they’ve got their fair share of photographers and showgoers pressing up against the stage. And us? We're sold.

“They were so fucking amazing, I want to fucking kill someone,” Marianne raved to me after their set. “Boys with Fenders. There’s something about boys with Fenders.”
And they know how to use ‘em. Here’s proof, taken from an end-of-set jam: - The Coast

by Allan Wigney

Nova Scotia sextet commit to music full time and now call Ottawa home

There's one thing you can say for full-time musicians -- they'll take those low-paying jobs others won't. At least, for a while.

"We quit our jobs to go on this tour," The Grass' lead guitarist Nick Wolfe says over the phone from somewhere in Nova Scotia. "We were all working, but the jobs weren't important enough to come back to."

You might have noticed the corresponding increase last week in the number of 'Help Wanted' signs gracing windows of local restaurants, thrift shops and gas stations. But Wolfe is confident similar employment awaits all six members of The Grass once they return to Ottawa at the end of September.

"The band comes first," Wolfe declares. "It does feel weird sometimes because we all went to university and all our friends now have real jobs. But since we graduated, music has become a career."

And Ottawa, home.

"Officially, we live in Ottawa," Wolfe says of the sextet that for two albums and nearly four years was based in Dartmouth, N.S. "Officially, we all live in Ottawa in one big house ... but we still kinda live here (in Nova Scotia)."

Call it one of the privileges of not having a job to come back to. And a handy excuse to kick off The Grass' 20-date cross-country tour with a Halifax celebration of the arrival of Report All Ghosts, the combo's stunning third full-length release.

On Friday, Wolfe and bandmates Willis Ryan, Patrick McNally, Dylan Ryan, Lindsay Rogers and Adam Burke will celebrate once more -- in their official hometown.

And Report All Ghosts is cause for celebration. A joyous, dizzying psychedelic journey through rootsy rock, country and folk influences, the album is a worthy complement to the band's previous efforts, and properly ups the ante. Idols such as Richard Manuel and Rick Danko would be proud -- even if, unlike on those first two CDs, The Grass neglected to include the late Band vocalists' names in its list of acknowledgments.

"I think we forgot to thank them this time," Wolfe sheepishly confesses.

He does, however, stress his band has not forgotten the driving forces behind The Band. Upon settling in Ontario, Wolfe says, members offered to pool their meagre savings for vanity licence plates that read either 'MANUEL' and 'DANKO,' only to be denied.

"I guess they both still have family in Ontario," Wolfe concludes.

MASS EXODUS

As do the members of The Grass, which explains in part the move to Ottawa. A second reason, Wolfe notes, is the presence here of the band's manager. ("We wouldn't be able to do anything without him," he admits.) A third is, well, "In Halifax, the places to play are limited."

Whatever the reason for the mass exodus to our fair city, rather than to certain more obvious career choices, is appreciated. And the feeling, according to Wolfe, is mutual.

"We love it here," he enthuses. "Ottawa is a great city, even if people seem to think it's a little dry. There's a lot ... of options."

And a lot of restaurants, thrift stores and gas stations.

Moreover, there is now, officially, The Grass, a band whose Ottawa connection extends even to the inspiration for the title of its latest, Nova Scotia-bred album.

"Dan Aykroyd suggested we call the album Report All Ghosts, as in Ghostbusters," Wolfe explains. "He was in Halifax to promote his tequila or wine or whatever (it's wine, Ontario wine) and we went to meet him. We didn't have any money, so we didn't buy anything, but we got to talk to him.

"He's a pretty cool guy. And he's from Ottawa." - The Ottawa Sun

by Sylvie Hill

The Grass's third album channels '60s spirit

If Value Village had a house band, The Grass would be it. The band's third album, Report All Ghosts, is a throwback to the '60s, which could surely score regular rotation on classic rock station CHEZ 106.1's Psychedelic Rock Weekends.
Still in their early 20s, The Grass come by the '60s vibe honestly.

"We don't have any records that aren't on vinyl and that you can't buy at thrift stores," says Willis Ryan of the laidback, high-fun/lo-fi Nova Scotian sextet. "Pretty much all our music is 8-tracks, cassettes or records we've inherited." And their creative process is not unlike how Bob Dylan absorbed all that Woody Guthrie and company and channelled it into Highway 61. "It was the same kind of music but with different electricity going through it," he says of Dylan's effort. "That's what we wanted to do."

After their debut, Oranges, and its follow-up, Mulgrave, The Grass's new record recreates their signature retro sound and fuses Beatlesesque psychedelica with the swagger of old-school Rolling Stones and Neil Young. It's done with impressive originality similar to early Verve, The Black Keys, and Detroit's Deadstring Brothers.

"A lot of our songs are upbeat compared to what most people do nowadays. We do have some downers as well but we have a lot of basis in country music and rhythm and blues, and that's naturally 'up' music made for dancing and having some drinks."

In the winter, the band relocated from Dartmouth to a house in Ottawa South - a strategic move

to keep the good times a-rolling. "It's closer to Montreal and Toronto and the surrounding towns, and there are tons of places to play," says Ryan about the benefits of being in Capital City - so far that's included shows at the Black Sheep Inn, Barrymore's, Concert on the Clyde, and a place on Bluesfest's main stage.

With The Grass's roots in indie and grunge bands, they inject into the '60s mix their own flavour of "young scrappiness, punk rock attitude and a little bit of piss and vinegar," according to Ryan. That makes for a spirited live delivery that's as infectious off stage.

For example, last spring when they played SXSW, they energized folks with their half-kneel "Grass Lunge" - a move that Ryan describes as "the Stuffy Test, to see if you are fun or not." If you visit www.thegrass.ca/moneyshots you'll see Daniel Johnston, Badly Drawn Boy, Iggy Pop, the Buzzcocks, Buck 65, David Cross and whole bunch more lunging with this band, giving you more reasons to get down with Canada's newest cultural export that's laying roots in our own backyard. - Ottawa Xpress