The Schomberg Fair

Canadian Music Fest Day 3

A night full of fantastic female oriented music is somehow perfectly completed with a performance by one of the most masculine bands in Toronto right now: The Schomberg Fair. Watching the Schomberg is always somewhat of an out of body experience. Adding in the ethereal, glowy beauty of the Dakota Tavern stage resulted in a transcendent feeling. If everyone in the Dakota died in that moment, we would have been in rock and roll heaven and not known the difference. Between Matt Bahen blurred fingers ghosting over his guitar and banjo strings, Nate Sidon’s (bass/vocals)booming, other worldly voice echoing upon our ears, and drummer Pete Garthside spellbindingly rhythmic drum pouding, even the biggest nonbelievers were converted into devout Schomberg Fair followers. Playing songs from their spiritually titled albums Gospel, Mercy and Providence, the non-denominational rockers’ at the Dakota was, in a word, heavenly. - Examiner

Canadian Music Fest Day 3

A night full of fantastic female oriented music is somehow perfectly completed with a performance by one of the most masculine bands in Toronto right now: The Schomberg Fair. Watching the Schomberg is always somewhat of an out of body experience. Adding in the ethereal, glowy beauty of the Dakota Tavern stage resulted in a transcendent feeling. If everyone in the Dakota died in that moment, we would have been in rock and roll heaven and not known the difference. Between Matt Bahen blurred fingers ghosting over his guitar and banjo strings, Nate Sidon’s (bass/vocals)booming, other worldly voice echoing upon our ears, and drummer Pete Garthside spellbindingly rhythmic drum pouding, even the biggest nonbelievers were converted into devout Schomberg Fair followers. Playing songs from their spiritually titled albums Gospel, Mercy and Providence, the non-denominational rockers’ at the Dakota was, in a word, heavenly. - Examiner

The Schomberg Fair - Providence

(independent/Slick Monkey)

By Carla Gillis

NOW RATING: NNNN (out of 5)

The punk aspect of the Schomberg Fair’s brand of banjo-fuelled Americana is often played up in descriptions of the band. But on the Toronto trio’s newest EP, Providence, a companion to the Mercy EP released eight months ago, it’s a sludge metal influence that’s much louder. Hugely thick distorted riffs slink through the five tunes, still rooted in Matt Bahen’s nimble banjo-picking, Gothic narratives and rough-hewn voice.

Touched By Fire and Paper Cranes kick things off with the band’s trademark baritone group vocals and breakneck banjo and drum rhythms. The surprises come halfway through: the wistful Don’t Forget Me starts gently but veers into smashing, half-time drums and unhinged riffage layered thick like cement, The Fire The Flood brings a psychedelic edge, while Black Crow River slams you (almost) right off the top. Heavy and original.

Top track: Don’t Forget Me

• NOW | June 14-21, 2012 | VOL 31 NO 42 - NOW Magazine

Two onstage and two offstage live performances by the Schomberg Fair on Heartstrings TV, watch here! - Heartstrings TV

Lessons from The Schomberg Fair
The Ontario power-roots group is taking new material on the road, citing real life and gospel music as their influences.

by Allison Saunders @alliesaysrelax

By the time The Schomberg Fair's next album is released this fall it'll truly be tried and tested. The band is taking a break from recording the Touch By Fire to take the new material on the road, kicking off with a North by Northeast gig and wrapping up at St. Catharine's SCENE Music Festival. Not a shabby way to work out kinks. "It's going to be a hybrid of fast, high-energy songs and heavier gospel influenced numbers," says the band's banjo-wielding frontman Matt Bahen of the record. Garnering much of his songwriting inspiration from his street outreach work with the homeless, he says this record will be more "meta" using more poetry and metaphor as opposed to his usual country, storytelling style. "I like the strength of the language that's used in gospel music," says Bahen, referring to The Schomberg Fair's latest effort as more of non-denominational morality tale. "That's really what our music is about, overcoming adversity."

Wednesday June 22, The Seahorse Tavern, 1665 Argyle Street, 10pm, $6

- The Coast

By Jason Schneider
This Toronto, ON trio's previous full-length album, Gospel, was a major step forward, in terms of blending singer-songwriter Matt Bahen's dark visions with the group's genuine psychobilly sound. Mercy continues to show the Schomberg Fair developing that approach, and the combination of more fleshed-out arrangements and higher production values results in five tracks that rock as hard as anything else out there while remaining infused with the ghosts of their early 20th century touchstones. Although Bahen's banjo playing is the group's engine, the Schomberg Fair's advantage is still their bottom end. Bassist Nate Sidon, in particular, must be given credit for finding new ways to deploy his distinctive baritone backing vocals much more effectively, while at the same time giving a song like "Black Train" an irresistible, Sabbath-like grandeur. If their next full-length album can sustain such intensity, it's safe to say that the Schomberg Fair will deserve to be included in the conversation about not only Canada's best roots rockers, but Canada's best bands, period.
(Independent) - Exclaim! Magazine

By Jason Schneider
This Toronto, ON trio's previous full-length album, Gospel, was a major step forward, in terms of blending singer-songwriter Matt Bahen's dark visions with the group's genuine psychobilly sound. Mercy continues to show the Schomberg Fair developing that approach, and the combination of more fleshed-out arrangements and higher production values results in five tracks that rock as hard as anything else out there while remaining infused with the ghosts of their early 20th century touchstones. Although Bahen's banjo playing is the group's engine, the Schomberg Fair's advantage is still their bottom end. Bassist Nate Sidon, in particular, must be given credit for finding new ways to deploy his distinctive baritone backing vocals much more effectively, while at the same time giving a song like "Black Train" an irresistible, Sabbath-like grandeur. If their next full-length album can sustain such intensity, it's safe to say that the Schomberg Fair will deserve to be included in the conversation about not only Canada's best roots rockers, but Canada's best bands, period.
(Independent) - Exclaim! Magazine

Honestly, the incessant need to classify bands into a simple sound has probably hurt The Schomberg Fair more than almost any band out there. You can barely read a review without hearing someone slapping some sort of “speed gospel” or “death metal blues” sticker on the cover. Not only do the descriptions make no sense and probably turn casual listeners off, they overlook a lot of the creative elements the band brings to the table.



Matt’s ferocious banjo picks, Nate’s fuzzy bass and backing vocals (that are so deep they make James Earl Jones sound like Justin Bieber) and Pete thumping the skins like a deleted scene Higher Learning; these basic building blocks are required when it comes to the new waves of swampy, dirty blues but the band’s new EP, Mercy, finds the fellas defining a unique sound.



The title track explodes with the same spirited rumble that defines The Schomberg Fair, but the band transforms fire and brimstone into a more inspiring, spiritual affair. The damn near Bruce Peninsula group vocals and kick drum back beat feel like a call to God and make you forget about the whiskey fueled, bar room ready beginnings.



The real change in sound shows up on “Black Train.” The song starts inauspiciously, but slowly and assuredly the trio adds metal guitars and noise to the song. That huge swell of sound dominates the driving “Mark of Cain” as well. Nate’s fuzzed out bass sounds fantastic, and I’m not sure if they build banjos that look like Bill & Ted guitars, but if they do, Mr. Bahen needs to snap one up quick fast as the song’s could be played at any Headbanger’s Ball.



“Orphan Bones” is the most restrained and melodic song I’ve heard from the band, and proves that years of gigging hard has really helped the band fine tune their strengths. In past efforts, Nate’s vocals were more of a change up, a shocking addition to the mix but now he and Matt can share vocal duties on a tender song without breaking stride.



Remarkably, even with all of the new textures and growth the trio displays, the high water mark of the EP is the spiritual closer, “I’d Raise My Hand.” Again, the band experiments with a more traditional gospel sound — the group vocals on the chorus feel like the voice of a congregation — but it’s the heavy guitar, drum crashes and the almost space rock breakdown that really gives the song depth.



Mercy is just a teaser; the band will be delivering a full length in 2012 and chances are they will be heavy, spiritual and amazing, but it won’t be speed gospel. - Herohill

Honestly, the incessant need to classify bands into a simple sound has probably hurt The Schomberg Fair more than almost any band out there. You can barely read a review without hearing someone slapping some sort of “speed gospel” or “death metal blues” sticker on the cover. Not only do the descriptions make no sense and probably turn casual listeners off, they overlook a lot of the creative elements the band brings to the table.



Matt’s ferocious banjo picks, Nate’s fuzzy bass and backing vocals (that are so deep they make James Earl Jones sound like Justin Bieber) and Pete thumping the skins like a deleted scene Higher Learning; these basic building blocks are required when it comes to the new waves of swampy, dirty blues but the band’s new EP, Mercy, finds the fellas defining a unique sound.



The title track explodes with the same spirited rumble that defines The Schomberg Fair, but the band transforms fire and brimstone into a more inspiring, spiritual affair. The damn near Bruce Peninsula group vocals and kick drum back beat feel like a call to God and make you forget about the whiskey fueled, bar room ready beginnings.



The real change in sound shows up on “Black Train.” The song starts inauspiciously, but slowly and assuredly the trio adds metal guitars and noise to the song. That huge swell of sound dominates the driving “Mark of Cain” as well. Nate’s fuzzed out bass sounds fantastic, and I’m not sure if they build banjos that look like Bill & Ted guitars, but if they do, Mr. Bahen needs to snap one up quick fast as the song’s could be played at any Headbanger’s Ball.



“Orphan Bones” is the most restrained and melodic song I’ve heard from the band, and proves that years of gigging hard has really helped the band fine tune their strengths. In past efforts, Nate’s vocals were more of a change up, a shocking addition to the mix but now he and Matt can share vocal duties on a tender song without breaking stride.



Remarkably, even with all of the new textures and growth the trio displays, the high water mark of the EP is the spiritual closer, “I’d Raise My Hand.” Again, the band experiments with a more traditional gospel sound — the group vocals on the chorus feel like the voice of a congregation — but it’s the heavy guitar, drum crashes and the almost space rock breakdown that really gives the song depth.



Mercy is just a teaser; the band will be delivering a full length in 2012 and chances are they will be heavy, spiritual and amazing, but it won’t be speed gospel. - Herohill

Toronto's The Schomberg Fair have a very unique style that meshes dark themes with roots rock. The trio return with another small dose of that in the form of a new EP, Mercy, on November 8th.

An evil American Gothic shroud covers most of the EP. The record kicks off with the frenzied banjo-plucking rollick of "Oh Mercy", a song that's part hoedown, part sinister sermon.

The album is neatly bookended by "I'd Raise My Hand", which features an evil minister/congregation call-and-response that would make Nick Cave proud.

In between the band may be a little less ominous, but they show no less intensity with "Orphan Bones", "Mark of Cain", and the lilting "Black Train". Clocking in at five songs, Mercy is just the right length to be able to sustain that intensity throughout.

This record does what a good EP should: it makes you anticipate what The Schomberg Fair are plotting for their next full length.

The Schomberg Fair play a CD Release show at Sneaky Dee's in Toronto on November 10th.

Best tracks: "I'd Raise My Hand", "Mark of Cain" - T.O. Snobs Music

This Toronto trio could easily kick the ass of every other band playing the festival—musically AND physically. Teeming with testosterone, Schomberg Fair play punk/gospel/bluegrass at either speed-metal tempos or half-time heaviosity worthy of Black Sabbath. Whether it’s a barn-burning original or a traditional like “Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down,” they grab every song by the throat. The guitarist/banjo player has serious chops to spare, but it’s the bassist—he of the bullfrog baritone, the Paul Simonon stance and the surprisingly tasteful use of a wah-pedal—who glues everything together, while the drummer brings the thunder. I’d fallen hard for their 2009 album Gospel but for whatever reason had never seen them until now. What on Earth was I waiting for? If there’s a better young rock’n’roll band in Toronto, I don’t know who it is. - radio free canuckistan

From article:

Like a tsunami of sordid songwriting, mostly-naked-pasty-clad burlesque dancers, power tools, fire, sweat and booze, this past weekend's White Cowbell Oklahoma spectacle crashed into the Grand Theatre.

Supported by the psychobilly blues of Big John Bates and the Voodoo Dollz, and the gospel roots punk of the Schomberg Fair, the event was the unexpected party of the year.

White Cowbell's notorious and far-reaching reputation for impropriety has to be more than slightly intimidating when a relative newcomer to the scene is slotted into the opening spot.

Such was the case for Toronto's Schomberg Fair.

The band didn't have scantily-clad ladies or fire or power tools.

What it did bring to the event in spades was raucous and inspired speed gospel teeming with tales of the downtrodden hunting for salvation.

Matt Bahen, Nate Sidon and Pete Garthside peppered the unsuspecting audience with with breakneck banjo, thunderous beats and bone-rattling baritone vocals.

No spectacle, no gimmicks.

Just raw and remarkable music. - SooToday.com

To use a much over-used adjective when describing a band, Schomberg Fair are unique. And pleasantly so. The Toronto trio's combination of country, folk, blues, gospel and punk rock (yes, punk rock) makes for a potent potion of dancing, drinking and singing. Then there's the unabashedly masculine vocals, including a Paul Robeson-esque baritone that rumbles both seats and pants.

From humble roots, Schomberg Fair is named for the boys’ small hometown and the biggest thing to occur during the year. “We met in high school,” says lead singer/guitarist/banjo player Matt Bahen when referring to his and bassist and grand-canyon deep back-up vocalist Nathan Sidon's initial musical relationship. “We met again, after he went to University of Windsor and I went to OCAD, at a party and we both realized we both liked old blues like Robert Johnson and started jamming.” Drummer Patrick Garthside, who joined a year ago, is the newest addition to the three-year-old band.

The band has wasted no time in learning the value of touring and in putting on an engaging live show. “We've gigged extensively around Ontario, Quebec, the east coast, festivals and the Deep Blues Festival in Minneapolis,” says Bahen. “Our live show has lots of energy. We've copyrighted a move called the Poseidon swing. We have a lot of jumping around but we're not overly theatrical – we just love playing live.”

Through their reputation as a great live band, Schomberg Fair has shared the stage with some notables in Canada's country and roots scene, such as the Stables, United Steelworkers of Montreal, Parlour, and Black Hat Brigade, as well as some beyond the borders like BA Johnston.

Musically, Matt says that Nathan is “more into punk rock like Black Flag, and stoner-rock and doom-blues,” whereas Matt himself likes “Townes van Zandt” and Peter “adds a great dynamic to the band.” He continues to say that the band’s song structure “is based on old blues songs so the songs are good and very flexible as well.” As often seen in a new generation's roots music, inspiration is taken as much from a sweating, tattooed Henry Rollins as from a plucked porch front six-string that, when combined, takes the best of the traditional and the unconventional.

Luckily, Schomberg Fair is brave enough to tour the country as the band wants to expand beyond just playing in Toronto. “We realize the need to spread our net wider and go and play again and again and have people tell people,” he muses. “Because every show is an investment for our next show.”

Catch Schomberg Fair at New City Likwid Lounge (Edmonton) November 17, Henotic (Lethbridge) November 18, and the Palomino (Calgary) November 19.
- Beatroute Magazine Calgary

As far as I’m concerned The Schomberg Fair is one of the better bands Toronto has to offer, and to boot they were all over the festival this year. With three sets last the weekend, Matt, Nate, and Pete are your hot summer ticket. Gospel is lovely record and dirt-in-your teeth, country rock n’ roll is their game. Sick of seventeen year old’s and garage garbage? Me too. Bottom line, you’ll love ‘em when you see ‘em. -klv - Pink Mafia

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The Complicatist : Climb Every Mountie
Some reasons not to sneer at the home of Celine Dion

by Gordon Campbell

Canada is so used to playing second fiddle, even its superlatives sound somewhat second rate. Like…it has the second biggest land mass of any country on earth. Plus there are Mounties, and the currency is commonly called the loonie. Canada also has a good deal in common with New Zealand in that both countries have developed an inferiority complex from living in the shadow of a bigger, brasher and far more successful neighbour. At the same time, both countries also have a superiority complex about their virtuous inferiority. Like New Zealanders, Canadians say ‘sorry’ a lot, and feel the gesture is often not appreciated.

Today though, we’re here to celebrate the fact that despite the existence of some evidence to the contrary, Canada is also one of the coolest places on earth. Home to great cities like Montreal, Vancouver and on a good day, Toronto. True, Canada was the birthplace of Celine Dion and William Shatner – but on the upside, there’s Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell. Plus it has great film-makers like Guy Maddin, great writers like Margaret Atwood, William Gibson and Alice Munro, and excellent cartoonists like Kate Beaton of Hark, a Vagrant! fame. No one needs mention the ice hockey.

Even more so than New Zealand, Canada puts a considerable amount of state funding behind its musicians which helps them to record, and to tour. Here’s a list of some great (fairly recent) Canadian music.

1. Arcade Fire : “We Used to Wait”
Anthems and the people who sing them – Springsteen, Bono etc – get a critical hammering these days, mainly because the hope they’re peddling seems so cheap. So far, Arcade Fire has managed to anchor its soaring aspirations in songs that are good enough to seal the deal, and their Auckland show in 2008 remains a high water mark for the Big Day Out. This new track is taken from their The Suburbs album due out this month. For old time’s sake, here’s also a link to the live version of ‘Keep The Car Running’ that Win Butler, Regine Chassagne and the gang did for the Austin City Limits show in 2007.

2. Tegan and Sara : “Turnpike Ghost”
Tegan Quin and Sara Quin are twins, born in 1980. Six albums down the track, their success has been built on a gruelling touring schedule, and their knack for writing sharply melodic songs with earnest, conversational lyrics. They remain resolutely uncool with the indie crowd – but each T & S album since So Jealous in 2004 has had its share of killer tracks, from that album’s “Where Does the Good Go” to a swag of cuts on their breakthrough 2007 album The Con – “Hop a Plane” “Burn Your Life Down” “Soil Soil” and the title track were all pretty wonderful. Last year’s album Sainthood had one certifiable keeper in “Someday.”

“Turnpike Ghost” was released in June. For once, the song was not written by either Quin but is a cover of a song by Steel Train, the New Jersey band who have been opening for Tegan and Sara on tour this year.


3. Drake – “Karaoke”
Toronto rapper Aubrey Drake Graham aka Drake has had the blessing of Li’l Wayne. Drake’s Thank Me Later debut album certainly has had its critics – far too much whining in the lyrics about the downsides of stardom, for one thing – but it did debut at number one on the Billboard charts in June, on its first week of release. Drake has pedigree, too. His father used to play drums for Jerry Lee Lewis, and one uncle is Larry Graham, the groundbreaking bass player for Sly and the Family Stone, while another uncle is Teenie Hodges – formerly the right hand man for Willie Mitchell during his golden days in the 1970s with Al Green, and more recently the leader of Cat Power’s soul band.

4. Schomberg Fair : “Drunkard’s Prayer” These three guys named themselves after an agricultural fair held annually near Toronto since 1850, and they draw heavily on punk and bluegrass sources to play fast, really loud gospel songs. Personally, I think Schomberg Fair would eat alive their much touted British equivalents, Mumford and Sons. This great version of “Drunkards Prayer” was recorded live in a record shop in New Brunswick. - Werewolf (New Zealand)

The Schomberg Fair – I’ll be honest, I was skeptical as I started to listen to this Toronto trio. I mean, speed-gospel? What is that? But boy, I was knocked over by just listening to it on my computer. It is for sure quick, references angels and devils and the like, but it also is hardcore blues, country and everything they’re going for. And if the banjo and train-track like beats aren’t the things to catch your attention, it will be Nathan Sidon’s really really low voice. - Dorkshelf.com

The National Beat: Music news
Ride the rock'n'rollercoaster at The Schomberg Fair
You'd have to be iron-hard-hearted, deaf drunk, dead, or all three to not appreciate the rumbling blues-punk roots of Toronto tripod of "speed-gospel" The Schomberg Fair. Named for the agricultural community north of Toronto that the band hails from, the trio - Matt Bahen (acoustic/electric guitar, banjo, harmonica, lead vocals), Nathan Sidon (bass, backing vocals), and Pete Gathside (drums) - have been burrowing into the collective brain of indie rock Toronto since their 2006 formation.

By happenstance or not, The Schomberg Fair are the archetypal good-music-for-bad-times band, which may go some way toward explaining their blossoming popularity currently. Indeed, their admitted influences - "judgement day, war, whiskey, back home, murder, broken hearts, disappointment, redemption, drinking for fun, drinking to mask pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, adultery, the bible, the past, the blues, women, running from the law, hard times, love, desperate people and trains" - should be able to tell you almost everything you need to know about the philosophy powering this compact juggernaut. Almost. What they omit is the concomitant fun that the band folds into the fray.

Following up on the release of their debut album last year, Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground, The Schomberg Fair are hitting the bricks, taking the show on the road in Ontario and Quebec on these dates: Feb. 22, Toronto, Sneaky Dees + Feb. 25, Kingston, BarNone + Feb. 26, Montreal, Le Divan Orange + Feb. 27, Ottawa, Babylon + March 4, Kitchener, The Boathouse + March 6, London, ON, Pandemic Nightclub + March 7, Toronto, The Horseshoe + March 13, Toronto, The Horseshoe (CMW)



Published Feb 19 2009, 09:15 PM by Jamie O'Meara

http://community.hour.ca/blogs/music_news/archive/2009/02/19/ride-the-rock-n-rollercoaster-at-the-schomberg-fair.aspx - The Hour

The National Beat: Music news
Ride the rock'n'rollercoaster at The Schomberg Fair
You'd have to be iron-hard-hearted, deaf drunk, dead, or all three to not appreciate the rumbling blues-punk roots of Toronto tripod of "speed-gospel" The Schomberg Fair. Named for the agricultural community north of Toronto that the band hails from, the trio - Matt Bahen (acoustic/electric guitar, banjo, harmonica, lead vocals), Nathan Sidon (bass, backing vocals), and Pete Gathside (drums) - have been burrowing into the collective brain of indie rock Toronto since their 2006 formation.

By happenstance or not, The Schomberg Fair are the archetypal good-music-for-bad-times band, which may go some way toward explaining their blossoming popularity currently. Indeed, their admitted influences - "judgement day, war, whiskey, back home, murder, broken hearts, disappointment, redemption, drinking for fun, drinking to mask pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, adultery, the bible, the past, the blues, women, running from the law, hard times, love, desperate people and trains" - should be able to tell you almost everything you need to know about the philosophy powering this compact juggernaut. Almost. What they omit is the concomitant fun that the band folds into the fray.

Following up on the release of their debut album last year, Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground, The Schomberg Fair are hitting the bricks, taking the show on the road in Ontario and Quebec on these dates: Feb. 22, Toronto, Sneaky Dees + Feb. 25, Kingston, BarNone + Feb. 26, Montreal, Le Divan Orange + Feb. 27, Ottawa, Babylon + March 4, Kitchener, The Boathouse + March 6, London, ON, Pandemic Nightclub + March 7, Toronto, The Horseshoe + March 13, Toronto, The Horseshoe (CMW)



Published Feb 19 2009, 09:15 PM by Jamie O'Meara

http://community.hour.ca/blogs/music_news/archive/2009/02/19/ride-the-rock-n-rollercoaster-at-the-schomberg-fair.aspx - The Hour

Disc Review

The Schomberg Fair
Gospel (Hi-Hat)By Richard Trapunski

Toronto has its fair share of indie roots acts, but few are as captivating as the Schomberg Fair. Gospel delivers a collection of visceral bluegrass- and gospel-influenced tracks that hit like a swift kick to the gut.


Most are propelled by banjo and delivered at a breakneck pace closer to the Ramones than Pete Seeger. Even the slower Trouble Will Soon Be Over conjures images of whisky-driven hoedowns and church revolt. And while Matt Bahen’s compositions are impressively authentic, it’s Nathan Sidon’s punk rock bass and impossibly low counterpoint vocals that steal the show.

The local trio’s music belongs to a tradition that reaches back centuries, but Gospel is as fresh as anything occupying record-store shelves today.

Top track: Drunkard’s Prayer

The Schomberg Fair play Sneaky Dee’s Friday (March 12) as part of CMF.

- Now Magazine

When a band says that their influences are “whiskey, murder and broken hearts” you tend to think they’re prone to a little exaggeration. But then you start listening to Toronto-based three-piece musical outfit The Schomberg Fair and hear lead vocalist Matt Bahen’s gravel-toned vocals, you quickly start to realize that may indeed be the case.
Combining elements of deep blues and folk rock with punk (think of Johnny Cash with less of a country drawl and more of a punk edge) they have a unique sound that is all their own. Originally from a small rural farm town in Ontario called Schomberg, Matt Bahen, Nathan Sidon and Pete Gathside decided to pay homage to their roots by naming the band “The Schomberg Fair” to capture the spirit of Schomberg’s local annual agricultural fair; an event that they claim any teenager in their right mind gets excited about because of it's Demolition Derby and party atmosphere. In 2008 the band released their first full length record "Dark was the Night, Cold was the Ground" with a CD Release at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern and have been building up quite a fan base in Toronto.

Mixing traditional instruments like the banjo and harmonica with electric guitar, The Schomberg Fair fuse the soul and spirit of the deep blues, singing about desperate times and desperate people, while still managing to do it with a frenetic energy that is undeniably fun. It’s no surprise then that they will soon be teaming up with our very own bluegrass working-class crowd-pleaser of a band, The United Steelworkers of Montreal for a series of performances in March.

In the meantime, however, they will be performing at Le Divan Orange (4234 St. Laurent) this coming Thursday, February 26 in support of their latest CD. For more information on the band and their music, you can log on to: www.myspace.com
- The Monitor

Schomberg, ON isn't really known as a hotbed of indie rock. Tucked up along Aurora Sideroad, it evokes images of horseback riding and jumping schools rather than the clattery rock of trendy Queen West clubs. The aptly named Schomberg Fair are out to change that impression with their forthcoming album Gospel.


It's true that Gospel is firmly rooted in the traditions of roots music. Banjo is more prominent than guitars on nearly every track. Mountain music and bluegrass twang form the backbone of the music. Songs like "Drunkard's Prayer" and "Heaven's Rain", not to mention "Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down" with it's demonically deep vocals, are rife with the traditional southern themes of faith.


From the breakneck pace of "Angel's Wings" it's clear that The Schomberg Fair are not your typical indie roots act. "Wayfaring Stranger" is a warp speed road classic while "Tall Grass" is a high octane stomp that almost dares you to try to keep up the toe-tapping pace.


When the trio do slow things down it's in tempo only. Tracks like "Strange Kind Of Grace" and "Trouble Will Soon Be Over" may not give you whiplash, but they are no less intense than their faster counterparts.


In making Gospel The Schomberg Fair have made a statement that shouts loud and clear that roots music doesn't need to be stuck in a nuanced rut.


The Schomberg Fair hold their CD Release Party at the El Mocambo in Toronto on October 24th.


Best tracks: "Angel's Wings", "Tall Grass"


Track listing for Gospel:
Introduction
Angel's Wings
Drunkard's Prayer
Tall Grass
Wayfaring Stranger
Strange Kind Of Grace
Trouble Will Soon Be Over
Pretty Bird
Can't Go Home
Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down
Heaven's Rain
7.5/10
- Snob's Music

Those Schomberg, Ont. boys know how to have a good time.

When Matt Bahen (vocals, guitar, banjo) and Nate Sidon (bass, vocals) show up at my apartment for an interview, they're both already one beer into their respective sixers. Keeping up with those guys ain't easy. They play hard.

The Schomberg Fair are the perfect act for the second latest time slot at a Canadian Music Week showcase. They're scheduled to perform at the annual CHARTattack/Horsehoe CMW shindig at 2:10 a.m. on March 13 after an outstanding bill that includes Handsome Furs, The Bicycles and Dinosoaur Bones.

Just when everybody's feeling a little too drunk and tired, these guys will swagger on to the stage and tear the place up with their unusual style of speed-gospel. People who were putting their scarves on will be tearing off their shirts.

Their name obviously refers to their smalltown Ontario roots. In fact, there were rumours that the actual Schomberg Fair — the annual fair that takes place in the town of Schomberg — was none too happy with a band stealing its name.

"I guess they'd heard about us and they didn't really approve," explains Sidon. "This was all through the grapevine, but it hadn't gone through too many people, that they were looking into maybe getting a lawyer and if they could get us to not use that name anymore.

"They thought that we were giving the actual Schomberg Fair a bad name."

Eventually, instead of a cease and desist letter, the Schomberg Fair sent The Schomberg Fair an offer to play the Schomberg Fair. Sadly, the band will be touring on the east coast and will have to miss their namesake gig, which they insist is the best party of the year.

"All other kids looked forward to Christmas, but as a kid in Schomberg, you looked forward to the Schomberg Fair," says Sidon.

"It was insanity. You'd go with your dad or something and you'd go to see a demolition derby, and there are these wankers just smashing into each other for hours.

"But then when you got to be a teenager, it was about this party. There was this epic party. It would go all night. There were field parties afterwards. Nothing could possibly be a bigger party."

It's easy to connect Sidon's wide-eyed account of his local fall fair with his band's performances. The aggressive speed of the demolition derby, the wild field party atmosphere, the sentimental connection to home and family, the abundance of flannel: these are all represented in his band's music. Seeing them on stage is the next best thing to actually going to Schomberg.

See The Schomberg Fair party it up here:

March 4 Kitchener, ON @ The Boathouse
March 6 London, ON @ Pandemic Nightclub
March 7 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern w/Jon-Rae Fletcher and United Steel Workers Of Montreal
March 13 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern w/Dinosaur Bones, Daniel Wesley, The Bicycles, Human Highway, Handsome Furs and Hot Panda (CMW)
March 28 Montreal, QC @ Club Lambi w/United Steel Workers Of Montreal
May 30 Halifax, NS @ Gus's Pub
July 18 Minneapolis, MN @ The Deep Blues Festival


by Evan Dickson (CHARTattack)

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Those Schomberg, Ont. boys know how to have a good time.

When Matt Bahen (vocals, guitar, banjo) and Nate Sidon (bass, vocals) show up at my apartment for an interview, they're both already one beer into their respective sixers. Keeping up with those guys ain't easy. They play hard.

The Schomberg Fair are the perfect act for the second latest time slot at a Canadian Music Week showcase. They're scheduled to perform at the annual CHARTattack/Horsehoe CMW shindig at 2:10 a.m. on March 13 after an outstanding bill that includes Handsome Furs, The Bicycles and Dinosoaur Bones.

Just when everybody's feeling a little too drunk and tired, these guys will swagger on to the stage and tear the place up with their unusual style of speed-gospel. People who were putting their scarves on will be tearing off their shirts.

Their name obviously refers to their smalltown Ontario roots. In fact, there were rumours that the actual Schomberg Fair — the annual fair that takes place in the town of Schomberg — was none too happy with a band stealing its name.

"I guess they'd heard about us and they didn't really approve," explains Sidon. "This was all through the grapevine, but it hadn't gone through too many people, that they were looking into maybe getting a lawyer and if they could get us to not use that name anymore.

"They thought that we were giving the actual Schomberg Fair a bad name."

Eventually, instead of a cease and desist letter, the Schomberg Fair sent The Schomberg Fair an offer to play the Schomberg Fair. Sadly, the band will be touring on the east coast and will have to miss their namesake gig, which they insist is the best party of the year.

"All other kids looked forward to Christmas, but as a kid in Schomberg, you looked forward to the Schomberg Fair," says Sidon.

"It was insanity. You'd go with your dad - CHARTattack

The Schomberg Fair
Gospel
By Jason Schneider

When I first heard this Toronto, ON trio on their 2008 debut album, Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground, I was under-whelmed by the too-raw mix of punk and old-time country, punctuated by over-the-top baritone backing vocals. Happily, the band have refined their sound immensely on this 11-track, 32-minute follow-up. The production values are higher, the performances are blazingly tight, and even those back-up vocals, courtesy of bassist Nathan Sidon, are no longer as distracting. This leaves front-man Matt Bahen plenty of opportunities to show off his Dock Boggs-on-speed approach to both songwriting and banjo playing. With most of the original material inspired by Bahen's day job as an outreach worker, there's a constant tug-of-war between sin and salvation throughout the album, and well-executed covers of "Wayfaring Stranger" and "Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down" fit in nicely with Gospel's overarching theme. While it can't be said that the Schomberg Fair have yet to plumb the same dark depths as the Gun Club or 16 Horsepower, they're well on their way. (Hi-Hat/Sonic Unyon)
- Exclaim Magazine

The Schomberg Fair – Gospel (Hi-Hat Records/Sonic Unyon)

Named after the small town of Schomberg, Ont., as a tribute or rural allegiance, this three piece have managed to capture their rousing live show on this debut disc. Despite the Ontario reference, the group sounds like they’re from the blue hills of Kentucky with Southern country licks, melancholic lyrics lifted from old spirituals, hillbilly banjo solos, and gospel style deep bass call response. This all might sound dated and traditional, the Christian imagery even a bit creepy, but the Schomberg Fair put all this through their sweat-soaked, high-energy punk filter and the result is a unique and thrilling hybrid. The group sounds like they're playing for their lives. Their energy and enthusiasm oozes out of the speakers to smash a beer bottle on your head. It’s invigorating restorative stuff that makes for a perfect soundtrack to either a murder or a lager fuelled Friday night.
Recommend if you dig… The Pogues, Gogol Bordello or Tom Waits. - TV Guide

In classic herohill form, we go from a band that recorded in a church, to one that might make you want to burn the whole thing down or show up every Sunday to play for your eternal soul. The Schomberg Fair - a scorching three-piece now based out of TO – channels the emotion of the lost, the hurt, the sad, the damned and like the manic street preachers that populate Kensington Market, they know that before you can be saved you must lose everything you hold so dear.

I know the battle between the devil and the lord is about as stereotypical as it gets when bloggers start talking about the blues, but with tracks like Angel Wings it’s obvious the questions that plague these boys are more than just traditional subject matter for the style-du-jour. These farm boys have gone through pain and loss and come out on the other side and the music they play is full of those painful and powerful questions you ask when you are left without answers.

For anyone lucky enough to have seen the trio burn it up on stage in the last few years, you will notice that Gospel shows a shift in sound that the band really needed to make to keep going. Any hint of acoustic guitar is gone, as are the country roots and in their place are frantic picked banjo, distorted punk rawk bass lines (like the muddy sounds that thicken Tall Grass), crashing drums. Gospel is a natural evolution of modern blues, one fueled by the energy of the crowd but more by the unforgiving society we live in.

But Gospel also shows the whiskey guzzling men tightening the screws. Stronger harmonies grab you, and the power they offer up on slow numbers like Can’t Go Home show that they have more than one option in the playbook. The drunken regret the plods through Strange Kind of Grace is one of the most emotional tracks I’ve heard from the band to date. They offer up some surprises (like the surf guitar that chimes on Wayward Stranger), but all in all, you are left with the most consistent set off songs they've ever put on record.

At the end of the day however, The Schomberg Fair hits you right in the mouth with good old time blues, and if you don’t like it they don’t care. There's a reason they've shared stages with the Black Diamond Heavies and The Speaking Tongues and there's a reason why people turn up every time they play. They make you sweat and they make you sway. More importantly, they make you feel alive.

The Schomberg Farm hits Gus’ Pub on November 7th. Pretty fitting that it’s a Saturday night, as after surviving to a killer set by these gospel bluesers, you might be thinking salvation isn't just something that can be found, it's required.
- Hero Hill

CBC Radio 3 Track of the Day - The Schomberg Fair - CBC Radio 3

If you're looking for an ear-catching blend of modern and traditional sounds, you've got to check out Ontario's The Schomberg Fair this weekend at The Capital Bar.

The talented three-piece has carved a niche for itself in the Canadian music industry by blending folk, roots, and neo-bluegrass sounds in its music - often describing its music to fans as speed-gospel, perhaps in reference to the title of their critically acclaimed 2009 album: Gospel.

Matt Bahen, who sings and plays guitar and banjo with the group, said it's true that some people have difficulty pinning down precisely what kind of band they are, but he's not going to concern himself with putting labels on their sound.

Although, he admits, that sometimes that can be confusing for new fans.

"We were in Sarnia recently and the lady that runs the pub there said she got a call from an 85-year-old woman who was looking forward to the gospel band that would be playing there Saturday night," he said.

"I think the lady told her that there would be drums, that it wouldn't be (conventional) bluegrass and gospel. I'm not sure if she came and I didn't get to meet her, but I think it would be OK."

He said he believes the ways people access music these days may also be contributing to the broad range of sounds that many bands are exploring.

"Everything is just such a mixed bag of tastes, hybrids and so on. It's not very often that you get something completely unique," he said.

"Take a look at The Band, who were mixing rag-time, country, folk, blues and rock and doing it in a very natural way. Nowadays, people are listening to their iPods and they're listening to Rihanna and then Slayer and so on. I think it's pretty normal to mix a variety of sounds into your music."

Bahen said the band is looking forward to returning to the East Coast for another tour, explaining that the band started its career struggling to win over dismissive indie-rock crowds in Toronto.

"In the East Coast, we didn't find that we had much trouble at all. People seemed to get it right away," he said.

The Schomberg Fair has started the writing process for its next record and are hoping to get into the studio in the coming months.

"I think we really found our feet as a band with the last record. I think that tends to happen in the studio because you get to hear back exactly what you're doing. So we were able to experiment with some different song structures and sounds and I think we've continued to grow since then," said Bahen.

The show will happen on Saturday night, kicking off at about 10:30 p.m. - The Daily Gleaner