MapleMusic.com Feature - March 1, 2001
Nothing half-assed about it
Lister does its part for the Ottawa music scene
On first meeting last fall Stuart Lister, lead singer of the band that bears his name, was lamenting the closure of Zaphod's II in his hometown of Ottawa.
"It's a real hit for the scene," said Lister. "Zaphod's was the hub, so hopefully it will get re-opened by someone."
Up until then the intimate Zaphod's II, situated next to Barrymore's, had been a haven for up-and-coming acts like Lister. That's why it was no surprise to hear that Lister has begun a Sunday New Music Night of its own to help pick up the slack.
Every Sunday at Zaphod's I in the Market, newer acts are invited to perform as an opener of sorts for Lister. Local bands and those from out-of-town are welcome with the end goal being an easy Sunday evening for music lovers of all sorts.
Stuart and his bandmates seem to know the challenges of being an indie band in a cold non-radio friendly environment. If you lose a good venue, don't put off for others what you have to do yourself.
Lister formed in 1997 with Stuart on vocals, brother Michael on lead guitar and Marco Rayes on drums. At that time they were known as Zoe but decided to make a change.
"There were too many Zoes around," said Stuart. "Someone said 'Why don't you just go with your name.' That sort of took the whole pressure off. The fact that we're brothers," he says pointing to Michael across the table. "I mean you can't get any closer than that. Besides I was so sick of trying to come up with some name. It can be so contrived."
After close to a year of recording - laying down a couple of tracks every few sessions - the band completed and released the eminently audible Half-Built Set in September of 2000.
"We took our time," he said. "We did it at a small studio in Ottawa called Little Bullhorn. It was just a really cool sort of place. Very old style, with vintage equipment and when I say low-tech I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean it was all about the vibe. It was just a great place to record."
"We'd go in for three songs at a time," he
continued. "So we'd go intense those days and then have a
break. And then come back a few months later. As the songs were
evolving, the record sort of charted our growth as a band."
"For instance "Set Us Off" was done later versus
"Wasted Days" which was done earlier. They were all
pretty much recorded during the same time but not really."
Shortly after that release the band went through a lineup change losing their bassist. A lengthy search followed before they found Stephen Clarke, who interestingly enough came aboard after making a play for the band's promoter! No doubt the opportunity to gel as a band while helping the local scene was good enough reason to kick-start the Sunday New Music Night.
"There's lots of good stuff happening in Ottawa," added brother Michael when asked about his town.
"That's one of the good things about being outside of a
major center. You're not in the middle of everything and for a
band that's starting out - to be able to develop your sound is
the most important thing."
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