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July 2008.
Summer time is here again! A lot has happened since our last
update... sorry for the lapse! First of all, we got home from our CD Release tours
and had a CD Release Party at home in Victoria with our friends Headwater from Vancouver.
It was a crazy fun time! Shortly after that Jenny and Phaedra picked up and headed to the interior
for another season of tree planting arriving home just in time to load up the van and head out
on the first part of our summer touring. Right now we're in Saskatoon and I just figured out how
to update our website without a fancy program on my new computer! This means there will be a
tour journal after all... I'll have it figure out by the end of these days off.
March 2008.
We're only just back from our trip to Ontario and Quebec and are already getting
ready to shake the Goose out of hibernation and get her out on that road again.
If you've been keeping up with our adventures on our tour journal, you can check
out the beginning of the next installment of the journal if the last one left
you wondering about something scary happening in the kitchen. There are also
some photos of the last tour posted on the photos page. We've been hanging out
with our new CD and can't wait to have a big party to celebrate its existence
here in Victoria. In fact, we're having two. One all ages show at The Solstice
Cafe on April 17th and a bar show at Lucky Bar on April 19th. More details about
those shows will show up in our performance listing as we decide what those
details are going to be. In the meantime, we're heading for those prairies!
February 2008.
This year's M Awards Nominees are up and we're happy to announce that we're up
for nomination in the Favourite Roots Artist category. To vote in the M Awards
you can pick up a copy of this weeks Monday Mag or you can vote
here!
There is a link to the awards ballot in the margin at the top of the left
hand side of the page.
January 2008.
Happy New Year everyone! We brought in the New Year doing our favourite thing.
Playing music with each other. Yay! The show at Spinnies was great! We got all
dressed up and lots of people came and had a great time too! First thing we're
going to do this year is finish up a brand new recording and get it out there!
We'll be on tour in Ontario before we know it with our friend Kent McAlister and
then heading out to Alberta and back again in no time. We'll let you know when
you'll be able to get your hands on the new CD and keep you posted on an
exciting show we're planning here in Victoria sometime in the next little while.
In the meantime, we're still at Spinnaker's every Wednesday night from
8:30-10:30 and would love to see you all there! Our
December tour journal
is finally up and so are some
photos from those crazy two weeks.... Also, our
beloved Adrian made us a nice little Christmas present that you can all listen
to here: Gruff Christmas!
November 2007.
As the leaves are busy turning colours, The Gruff are busy turning heads. Haha.
Well, have you seen our new photos?! We just spent the most beautiful autumn
afternoon with our great photographer and friend Ariel Rubin (www.arielrubin.com)
and our friend Michael hanging out and having our photos taken, and they turned
out great! More good news: we've been nominated for Best New/Emerging Act in the
Canadian Folk Music Awards which will be held in Gatineau on Dec 1st. We also just spent three days at the Audio Garage in the studio with
Matthew and Winston recording a little demo of some newer songs. Shhhh.... a
little birdie told me there's a chance it might turn into a small taste of Gruff
that you just might be able to get your hands on at some point this winter if
you're starved for new Gruff to listen to at home. There are certainly plenty of
opportunities to catch us Gruffians live these days too. Spinnaker's and The
Fernwood are back on at full throttle (except for one hockey related Wednesday
night off in November), we've also got a bunch of shows coming up on the Island
and in Vancouver in December. Some of them are with our friend Kent McAlister
from Vancouver. Check out our performance page
for details on those shows. We've also got plans for Ontario and Quebec in
February (brrr!) and BC and Alberta in Mar/Apr so if you find yourself there,
don't fear, we're on our way!
September 2007.
Well, what a blast! We're home now from our very first cross country tour ever.
Boy oh boy was it a good time as I'm sure those of you who followed along with
our tour journal
know. You can look at other pics from the tour
here! Until we hit the road
again, the tour journal will get some well deserved rest as we make ourselves at
home back here in Victoria. First things first, we've got some shows coming up
in Victoria and Vancouver which will be really fun and we've also been invited
back to good ol' Spinnaker's on Wednesday nights starting at the beginning of October
and The Fernwood Inn on Tuesday nights starting about half way through October.
Come on by! A small Island tour is in the works for December with our friend
Kent McAlister from Vancouver. Now that one'll be loads of ridiculous fun so keep your eyes and ears
open for that. We'll let you know when everything is all set up.
July 2007.
The arrival of summer brings the long awaited Gruff departure! We're all set up
with a brand new van named Midnight Goose and are set to depart the Island to
explore all sorts of new and exciting places in this country we call home. To
start the adventure, we're having a kick off party at Lucky Bar with our friend
Corwin Fox. It'll be great fun and we hope to see you there. If you'd like to
check our progress across the country as we go, please visit our new tour
journal page: Where Are
We Now?
See you soon!
Apr 2007.
Spring for The Gruff was and is lovely. We
spent lots of time at Spinnakers Brew Pub with all our friends new and old, and
also spent some time with more new friends at a new hot spot The Fernwood Inn.
In the middle of April, we had the pleasure of being invited to the 2007 Vancouver Island Music
Awards where we were honoured to be presented the Artist of the Year award! The
end of April finds The Gruff in a few different places, but they will be
re-united soon enough to embark on an epic summer tour!
Jan 2007.
Oh where, oh where did the rest of the year go! Howdy there folks, and Happy New
Year! Gosh have we been busy since October. First we had just about the best CD
release party ever and then took our new baby CD far away to the other side of
the country and had many adventures and lots of Tim Hortons bagels. Our little
fella is flying off the shelves at
CD Baby and is even available on
iTunes now. This winter has been a crazy one what with all of our
windy rainy messes and the big X(mas) as usual. We've started to settle down a
bit now though and have some new tunes to share over a pint of Twenty at
Spinnakers on Tuesday nights as well as some exciting concerts coming up in
February. We're also thinking about the summer which will find us in a brand new
(to us) van for our very first cross-country driving tour. (do I hear a
yippee?!) If you have any leads on a nice gruff van... let us know!
Oct 2006.
It's finally here! Well... almost. The CD has gone into
manufacturing! The release date is fast approaching get your tickets while
they last! They're on
sale now at Lyle's Place or email
here to reserve tickets. Just let us know
your name and how many you want. Saturday Oct 21 is shaping up to be a
pretty exciting night! We're super happy to have Clay George to kick off
the night, CDs will be available for a special first night
price, and you might even be able to win lovely prizes made by us crafty Gruffies if you buy a raffle ticket.
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August 2006.
As August quickly draws to an end, and all the little ones head back to school,
Gruffies are getting all ready for our new CD! (Mom, can I get new clothes
for my CD release party?!) The Victoria release will be on Saturday Oct 21,
ticket details will be posted soon on our
performance page.
You can also go there to check out where we'll be bringing the CD in late
October and November. That page will be getting new details all the time
so stay tuned!
August sure was fun in Gruff country. We played at a couple of really fun
festivals in BC: The Islands Folkfest in Duncan and Artswells in Wells.
The Islands was super fun and super hot. We spent the whole weekend
melting away on Providence Farm where we met and played with fun new friends
like Women in Docs and The Fates; had a sing-along in the basement with a whole
assortment of musicians and festival go-ers; and played a sauna-esque afternoon
performance in the chapel. Great fun! After that it was off to the
wilds of Wells on a Gruff Family Band Tour. We brought Jenny's dad and
Adam's mom and little sister along. Convoy! It was an amazing
festival where we met tons of great people and musicians; saw the Northern
Lights for the first time; and even worked in a night of jamming at our new
friend Dustin Bentall's dad's ranch (that'd be Barney.) We had a great
adventure there with half of The Bottle and the Truth complete with hay bale
jumping and a moonlit, country song singing night in the hayloft of the barn.
Check out some pics!
July 2006.
This past week has found Phaedra at the sewing machine, Terri at the computer,
and Jenny armed with pen and ink in the creation of "Pre-release." These
limited edition CDs will only be available for a short time... there are only 52
of them...
Visit our music
page for details.
July 2006.
The Gruff are back! We had a bit of a vacation this spring... I'd like to
say that we were in various tropical places drinking fancy drinks on the beach
and generally having a great time but really we were just off participating in
various money making schemes. And now we're back and happier than ever to
be here... money making schemes are not what they're cracked up to be. We
just finished a wonderful little tour of Vancouver Island, and Vancouver with
our new friends Headwater from Vancouver (www.headwaterband.com)
during which we had a fantastic time. There were occasions where we just
might have had Too much fun.. if such a thing exists.
And now... the news you've all been waiting for:
We got tired of waiting.
We're releasing our album!
Soon.
Or the monkey gets it.
March 2006.
Well, we're back from our annual St Patrick's Day adventures in Fernie BC.
And adventures they were! We had a blast with all the drunk folk who came
out for a St Pat's Party, almost got our first touring speeding ticket (but were
let off with a warning by the very, very nice, and pretty, and nice cops), made
a new friend in Grand Forks, made new band friends in Vancouver with Headwater
(who you should check out if you can). We also got to spend a lovely day
in an industrial park in Delta while our broken van went to the doctor.
Good times had by all!
click here for pics.
January 2006.
Our website has had a wee makeover! We spent a chilly afternoon out with
the fabulous Sarah snapping some photos at an art gallery downtown and at the
beach on Dallas Rd. Check out the Pics page for some extra fun.
November 2005.
Here we are half way through November already. We here at The Gruff are
pretty excited these days about a few different things. First and foremost
is the new CD with is shaping up to be quite lovely indeed. Other big news
is that our friend Old Man Luedecke from Nova Scotia is on his way to our little
Island! Old Man, aka Chris, is a fantastic banjo songster. His words
and melodies are like a mug of something warm and sweet on a cold, cold day...
with a little bit of whiskey in there. We'll be doing a big show with him
up at the Duncan Garage Showroom which is a fantastic little venue that warrants
a trip. If you can't make that show, he'll be making a special appearance
at Logan's. We're also happy to say that Sara Hart of Rant Music will
continue playing with us at Spinnakers for the next little while and will be
joining us at such exciting occasions as the Garage and the Logan's show with
Barley Wik and more. Check our
performance list for details. See you
soon!
November 2005.
Winter is coming, and what better way to spend it than in a nice warm pub with
your friends! After a successful October at Spinnaker's Brew Pub, The
Gruff is happy to announce that they will continue playing there every Wednesday
night from 9 to 11. Come on down and say hello!
(this entry has been sponsored by our friends at
Spinnaker's Brew Pub)
September 2005.
Oh boy, oh boy! It's almost time to get back in the studio, or bathroom
covered in blankets depending on how you look at it, to record our new and
upcoming CD!!! The album will be packed with original material all about
our travels and travails, and loves and not-so-muches from the past two years.
Be prepared for pirates and cowboys and stories of hard working, fun loving gals
(someone called us that once)!
On another note, we are both unhappy and happy to announce that Heather has
decided to leave the band. We're more than sad to see her go, but she's
very excited about all the possibilities that are now hers which makes us happy.
Phaedra, Jenny and Terri will remain happily tied together. Let the search
for a new fiddling gruff begin.
August 2005.
Duh-duh-duh!!! The Gruff are back from their very first tour of Nova
Scotia!!!
We have discovered that everything everyone has ever told us about the East
Coast is true! Everyone we met is so amazing, music is widely appreciated,
and there's nothing that quite compares to a party in the Maritimes. Our
trip started with a little pit-stop in Guelph Ontario for the Hillside Festival
(www.hillside.on.ca). It
was honestly one of the best festivals we've ever been to! All the music
was wonderful as was the line-up. From there it was off to Halifax and
Nova Scotia. We spent a few days in Halifax, a bit of time in the
Annapolis Valley and as much time as we could on the South Shore. We swam
in the Atlantic, ate seafood (well, some of us did...), repeatedly stayed up all
night playing music with some amazing musicians, became a little softer thanks
to Alexander Keith and Tim Horton (whose "restaurant" is now more affectionately
referred to as "starts with a T, ends with an S and has a HO in the middle"),
and fell in love with Nova Scotia and her people.
July 2005.
Hey everybody! What DO?!!
The Gruff have returned! Buff, bruised, bug-bitten and beautiful, we're back
from three months hard working in the bush. Tree planting in the
Okanagan and Chilcotin valleys was yet another bonding experience for us, not to
mention inspiring. Buckets full of tunes were birthed, songs about labour, pain,
new friends, small towns, and big hearts. We scaled mountains on our hands and
knees, and jammed tiny trees into fields of boulders. Rain, snow, hail, blazing
sun, plagues of locusts and the wrath of the gods only served to make us
stronger. During our time off (scanty though it was) we devoted ourselves to
discovering our "Inner Hosers". Yes, you can't deny we all have a little
hoser inside us somewhere. We drank copious amounts of Pilsner and cheap
whiskey, cussed like never before, danced in cowboy bars, and learned to skid
hoot at the top of our lungs. Don't worry, we're still the sweet goats you
knew before, just with a little extra... edge.
The Gruff have come out of this experience with so much new music, we're
starting the preliminaries for recording album #3! We'll go into the studio
again with Adrian Dolan (of The Bills) in September/October to create the love
child of pirates and cowboys, the next stage in Gruff development. We don't want
to tell you too much, it's a surprise! Thursday, we're off to play at the
Hillside festival in Guelph, Ontario (www.hillside.on.ca)
which is very exciting. A prestigious festival, there
are so many bands we love and admire there. Then we're off to the East coast for
our first Maritimes tour. Nova Scotia, here we come! Lots of good stuff
happening in our world, we'll keep y'all updated.
March 2005.
We missed the snow so much being back in Victoria that we took a little trip to
Fernie for St Patrick's Day. We had a great time! Now we're getting
ready for a big change. Jenny, Phaedra and Heather are going tree
planting! Then, when the planting is over sometime in June, we're going to
pick up Terri in Victoria, and tour the country!
February 2005.
It's nice to be home! It's true what they say about Ontario, Quebec and
snow. We had a wonderful time during 'The Gruff Take Winter by Storm Tour'
last month. We met lots of great people with couches and spare beds,
played house concerts, pub shows, folk cafes, went skating on the Rideau Canal,
and stayed up all night at Folk Alliance in Montreal. We made snow goats,
caught Ontarian colds, and discovered our alter ego super villain band called
'The Happy'. You'll have to ask about that for details... our website
isn't big enough to do the description justice. We can now officially say
the entire band are true Canadians. Here we are being Quintessential
Canadians: hockey skates and Beaver Tails.
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Check out our photo gallery for more snowy pics.
January 2005.
Winter has been treating us well so far this year. Heather spent some time
in California where it was nice and warm. Jenny got herself a new job, a
new house, and a really cute, blue, cable knit sweater. Phaedra made a lot
of clothes and had some new gums installed. Evan went on vacation.
We're getting ready for our second trip to Ontario, and our first to Quebec.
Unfortunately, Evan has some classes to attend so he wont be able to come with.
That's where our new friend Terri fits in. Terri plays bass, and will be
joining us for a wee trip Back East. The trip will be during the second
half of February (brrr!) and will include some time at the Folk Alliance
Conference in Montreal! We are having a small, intimate gathering before
we go to introduce Terri, and share our newest songs. The show will be at
The Spiral Cafe on Friday Feb 4 (check performance page for details). Come
on out to say hi, and wish us well on our trip!
August 2004.
We're back from our first tour of Ontario! It sure was fun. We were
there for almost two weeks, and played in Ottawa and Kingston before heading
over to Toronto where we lasted one night before seeking refuge at a beautiful
farm near Georgetown. We did some shopping, and family/friend visiting...
Then it was back to Ottawa for the folk festival which was super fun. We
got to meet lots of cool people, and hear tons of amazing music. There
were lots of boys for Evan to hang out with, a wave pool/exercise room for
Heather to play in at the hotel, a rainy storm for Phaedra to play in, and tons
of Tim Horton's coffee for Jenny.
We've been invited to showcase at Alberta Contact and the WCMAs (Oct 17-19), the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils annual conference
(Oct 30 - Nov 1) and Arts Northwest in Eugene Oregon (Oct 13 - 16)!
New album!
February 2008 brings "A Trail of Missing Thoughts" which is now available from CD Baby! (So is "The Gruff") (www.cdbaby.com)
Click here
to order!
You can now collect your favourite tunes off of our latest albums from iTunes! Download and be merry.
Pick up the Spring 2007 issue of Penguin Eggs magazine to read our new article!
Yay us! We're happy to announce we were presented "Artist of the Year" at the 2007 Vancouver Island Music Awards.