National Music Centre to Present Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer “Live at the King Eddy” Concert and Film Screening on May 12 and 13
National Music Centre (NMC) is pleased to announce a double-header live concert and concert film screening event with Vancouver-based rock ‘n’ blues duo The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer.
The pair will return to the legendary King Eddy in Calgary on May 12 for a live performance. Then, on May 13 at Studio Bell, fans will get to see the Premiere of the electrifying concert film that was the culmination of the band’s three-night residency in 2019, and a live Q&A will follow.
In 2019, The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer recorded a live-off-the-floor album at the Eddy using the adjacent Rolling Stones Mobile Studio (RSM), a marquee component of the National Music Centre (NMC) recording collection. Created over three raucous nights, all the unfolding magic resulted in a spectacular live album and concert film. The live album (released in early 2022) also garnered the band a 2023 JUNO Award nod and 2023 Western Canadian Music Award win for Blues Artist of the Year.
“We’re so excited to bring our award-winning live album to the venue where it all started,” said Shawn Hall of The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer. “If you were part of the live audience in 2019, we hope you’ll join us to relive those magical nights and make some new live music memories.”
“When The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer came to Calgary in 2019, they were given a once-in-a-lifetime recording opportunity. And they did not disappoint – the result was utterly unforgettable,” said Andrew Mosker, NMC’s President and CEO. “Since then, other artists have followed suit with their own projects recorded in partnership with NMC and the King Eddy. The intention behind NMC’s ‘living collection’ of musical instruments and recording equipment is to provide artists with these rare recording opportunities, so we hope to see many more of these partnerships in the future.”
Over 15 years, The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer’s Shawn Hall and Matthew Rogers have been crafting their unique twist on the blues, earning a justified reputation as one of Canada’s most incendiary live propositions. And what better way to emphatically underline that reputation than to release a live album? Live at the King Eddy bears ternary significance as a sizzling auditory document of a phenomenal live band, a much-needed salve for the soul, and a mouth-watering reminder of the ecstatic collective experiences we were briefly deprived of over the pandemic – the intense euphoria, emotional release, and human connection that only live music can deliver – and can now revel in once more. Together.
Carefully assembled from the most powerful performances at a storied music venue, Live at the King Eddy is no ordinary live album. For a band of their prominence and notoriety in the live arena, the recording had to be special, an event. And so it was, captured by none other than the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, which was used to record a breathtaking array of classic masterpieces, including four Led Zeppelin studio albums, three by Deep Purple, two by Fleetwood Mac, The Who (Who’s Next), Bob Marley & the Wailers (Live!), Santana, Dire Straits, Ten Years After, Iron Maiden, as well as Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street by the Stones themselves, and many more.
Now, audiences are invited to experience two nights of scorching blues-rock grooves from The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer, in concert and on screen.
Tickets for The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer performance on May 12 are $35 or $55 for admission and a copy of Live at the King Eddy on vinyl. Tickets for the concert film screening and live Q&A with the band on May 13 are $25 for general admission and 15% off for NMC Members. Tickets to both events are available at studiobell.ca/whats-on.
Watch “Pretty Please” recorded Live At The King Eddy below and learn more about the band via our mini-interview.
First off, care to introduce yourselves to our readers?
Shawn Hall: Hey Good People, my name is Shawn Hall from The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer. I blow harp and sing with Matt, and we have been doing this for 17 years together.
Matt Rogers: Matt, the Axe Murderer here, I play the six-string ‘axe.’
Back in 2019, you recorded a live-off-the-floor album at King Eddy and released it in 2022. Tell us a bit about why you decided to do this style of album.
SH: We’ve always romanticized the live album and feel like it’s fallen by the wayside during the age of digital consumption and cheap technologies. As well, we’ve always been known as a live band first, and having a live record to capture the elusive spirit of a live show was challenging, to say the least.
You are set to do a double-header, concert, and film screening at King Eddy in Calgary on May 12 and 13th. The event will feature a live performance of the album on May 12 and the premiere of the concert film, and a Q&A on May 13. Tell us a bit about what attendees can expect from the two nights.
MR: These events are unlike any other we’ve ever done. The live show, May 12th, is a ‘Harp Axe and Friends’ show with guests from our past and future. It’ll definitely be full of unexpected twists and turns. The film premiere on May 13th is a bit of a time capsule of the sound and songs we have performed for the past 17 years.
Do you have any other shows planned for fans outside of Calgary?
SH: Outside of Calgary this May, our battle horse of a band is winding down playing shows together, and we’ll be celebrating our final few this summer at Fort Langley Jazz and Blues on July 21st & Snug Cove Festival on Bowen Island on July 22nd. I’ll continue to play live as Harpoonist, doing shows all over Canada with various guests…so keep your eyeballs peeled.
MR: Indeed, watch out for the Harpooonist (sans Axe Murderer) coming to a stage near you soon!
You’ve been in the Canadian music industry for over 15 years now. What advice would you give to a new artist just starting out?
SH: Don’t live your life online and continue to suffer from FOMO and unnecessary comparative measures with other artists. Get out in the trenches where the magic will always be there for you to explore – whether it’s late-night jams at house parties or strange collaborations at folk fests. When seeking management or a booking agent, continue to breathe life into your artistry and challenge yourself often and KEEP THE FUN!!!. It’s easy to play it safe and give a premeditated show night after night, it’s way more rewarding to fall flat on your face and push yourself into some forced growth. That’s the hard part.
MR: Immerse yourself in what it means to put on a good live show. Attend festivals, and apply to festivals. Go to shows, learn, and keep refining your craft.
What’s up next for you in 2023?
SH: Well, I’ve got a single coming out called Richard Pryor with my Satellite and the Harpoonist venture. The track features Geoff Hilhurst of DDW, Bradford Reed, and Theo Vincent – a very groovy band of misfits I assembled at the beginning of Covid and recorded here in Nanaimo last winter. I’m also releasing a Harpoonist solo record this summer that I made with Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar, and I have a Harpoonist-meets-Big Sugar-sound LP. Think Finley Quaye soul reggae mashup, and you’d get it.
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