Charlatan - February, 2001
Lister Hosts New Music
Night on Sundays at Zaphod's
By: Stephanie Lewis
"We're gonna find our own space. We're gonna make it
real," sings Stuart Lister, Michael Lister, Marco Rayes and
Steve Clarke, members of the local alternative band Lister.
And they have found their own space, as they said they would, at
Zaphod Beeblebrox located at 27 York St. in the market.
This is where, starting at 9 p.m. every Sunday, Lister will be
joined by special guest musicians and bands from the area in
playing at what has been deemed "The Ottawa Music Scene
Hangout."
"This is not an open mic", says Eugene Haslam, owner of
Zaphod's and one of the 100 most important people in Ottawa
according to Ottawa Life magazine. "It's a place where
seasoned musicians can come to play and socialize as well as a
forum for the public to discover new bands and try out new
music."
In the spirit of making the music accessible, Janie Rocks,
founder of Janie Rocks Productions and promoter of these
evenings, reveals that the music, promotion and technical work
are all being done for free.
"We're doing this because we love the music and we want
people to be able to come down and enjoy it," says Rocks
speaking on behalf of Lister and all who contribute to the
evening. "It's about getting the music you love
heard."
You may even have heard some of the music before. Lister
songs have been played o episodes of the popular TV shows Party
of 5 and Dawson's Creek.
Harvey Glatt, who worked in the music business as a promoter
believes that Lister has alot of talent. "They are
very good song writers." he says.
He goes on to explain that rehearsal can only go so far and they
need to practice more in front of an audience.
"They're using Sunday nights to develop their performing
skills," he continues. After personally witnessing
several performances, I can say that the afore mentioned skills
were decent to start out with and have only improved with each
new performance.
The fact that Haslam sees talent in them speaks volumes. As
a judge of the Juno's, he feels he has the ability to spot
musical talent before the rest of the world can. The list
of popular bands that played at his club as unknowns include the
Tea Party, Our Lady Peace, Jewel, Ani Difranco, Great Big Sea and
Ben Harper. If the same eyes that spotted talent in these
big names see it in Lister, there must be big things ahead.
While Lister does have an agent in L.A. and is hoping to get a
record deal, right now it's not about getting discovered it's
about the fans.
In the words of Stuart Lister, "Record deals will come and
go but audiences who support what you're doing will be faithful
regardless and that's priceless."
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