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the HARPOONIST & the AXE MURDERER
HAM combines Rock & Roll swagger with decades-deep blues style. 'Blues that gets ya in the crotch'
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Posts
- May 14, 12
- Apr 05, 12
- Mar 29, 12
NEW SPRING SUMMER SHOWS ANNOUNCED!
MARCH 31ST – THE CHAPEL, VANCOUVER – OPENING FOR NO SINNER – 8PM
APRIL 1ST – RIVER VINTAGE ON COMMERCIAL DRIVE, VANCOUVER – WITH RICH HOPE – 8PM
APR 13TH – BEACH GARDEN’S RESTAURANT, POWELL RIVER – FUNDRAISER FOR POWELL RIVER BLUESFEST!!! 8PM
APR 14TH – THE RAVEN, NORTH VANCOUVER, 8PM
APR 15TH – BOZZINI’S UPSTAIRS, CHILLIWACK
- 9PM (OPENING FOR DAVID GOGO)MAY 4TH – THE MAIN ON MAIN, VANCOUVER – 9PM
MAY 5TH – HOWE SOUND BREWERY, SQUAMISH – 9PM
MAY 22 – WATER RATS – LONDON, UK – 8PM
MAY 24 – THE BLUES KITCHEN – LONDON, UK – 8PM
MAY 31 – HUMANITY – TOFINO, BC – 8PMJUNE 1 – THE RENDEZVOUS – NANAIMO, BC – 8PM
JUNE 2 – THE WAVERLY – CUMBERLAND, BC – 8PM
JUNE 3 – SAANICH ROAD HOUSE – VICTORIA, BC – 8PM
JUNE 22-24 – NORTH COUNTRY FAIR, DRIFTPILE, ALBERTA
JUNE 24 – JULY 2 – ALBERTA, SASKATCHEWAN TOUR TBAJULY 27-29 – KISPIOX VALLEY MUSIC FESTIVAL, KISPIOX, BC
AUGUST 3-5 – KALSO JAZZ FEST – OPENING FOR TAJ MAHAL!!! KALSO, BC
AUGUST 1 – 12 – BC, ALBERTA TOUR TBA
AUGUST 8TH – KICKING HORSE CULTURAL CENTRE OUTDOOR SHOW – SPIRIT SQUARE – GOLDEN, BC – 7PM
AUGUST 17TH – GULF OF GEORGIA CANNERY CONCERT SERIES – STEVESTON, BC @ THE CANNERY – 6:30PM
- Mar 22, 12
NEW SHOW ANNOUNCED – OPENING FOR ‘NO SINNER’ MAR 31ST AT THE CHAPEL. ALSO OPENING DAVID ‘BOXCAR’ GATES. GONNA BE AWESOME!
http://ow.ly/9Pk44
- Mar 11, 12
HAM is still holding to it’s spot as #29 on the canadian roots music charts.and #5 on US college radio http://ow.ly/9AzhL http://ow.ly/9Aziq
- Jan 26, 12
Big ups to Trish Lewis from WUCX-FM;s Eclectic Chair for featuring HAM on her show this week in Michigan. Bryon Tossoff, damn your impressive http://ow.ly/8HXCV
- Jan 26, 12
Big ups to Trish Lewis from the Eclectic Chair wucx-fm in Michigan for featuring HAM this week on her show. Bryon Tosoff damn you’re impressive! http://ow.ly/8HXtZ
- Jan 25, 12
- Jan 13, 12
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Bio
‘With a name like the Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer, you might be forgiven for thinking that the Vancouver-based duo is some sort of concept group, based on a hypothetical love story between Captain Ahab and Lizzie Borden.’-- Chris Oke, Yukon News
In fact, The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer is more like a sweaty fling between a sack full of harmonicas, a mess of foot percussion, and a very greasy Telecaster. Shawn Hall and Matthew Rogers say they’re making blues for a changing world, but a fan put it even better: this is ‘blues that gets you in the crotch.’
It’s also blues that gets rear-ends on the dance floor, while earning praise for its ‘decades-deep blues style’ (Scott Brown, What’s up Yukon). Combining the raw swagger of bands like The Black Keys and The White Stripes with a deep love for the roots of the genre, HAM reminds us that this kind of music was always supposed to talk to our nether regions. And if a lot of the blues made today seems a little limp, HAM finds its answer in the innovation that was at the heart of greats like Robert Johnson, Blind Willlie McTell and Muddy Waters. The duo has played festivals all over Western Canada, including The Beaumont Blues Fest, The Powell River Blues Festival, and The Gastown Blues and Chilli Festival. Along the way, they’ve shared the stage with some of the world’s finest blues acts, including Jim Byrnes, Dick Dale and MonkeyJunk.
You’re not supposed to pull this off with only two people, but early on, Hall and Rogers made the choice to limit their sound to whatever they could play between them, using only their mouths, hands and feet. Shawn Hall provides soul-tinged vocals and distinctly dirty blues harp, while Matthew Rogers simultaneously pours out throbbing drum grooves and guitar licks with the kind of coordination that usually spells ‘novelty act.' For HAM, the multi-limb workout is key to a sound that has to be earned: at a typical live show, it takes a matter of minutes for the pair to be drenched in sweat. HAM uses no programming, no pre-recording, and no looping. They could flash these kinds of tricks very easily; both Hall and Rogers work as studio engineers and producers, and between them they’ve amassed dozens of production credits on some of Vancouver’s best roots projects, including C.R. Avery, Mark Berube, The Fugitives, Sarah Macdougall and Dirty Bottom. Their willingness to get dirty pays off in the connection they have on stage: with only two people sharing all of the duties, the groove between rhythm section and vocalist is unquestionable.
Like any good romance or fling, the component parts of HAM weren’t always on an arrow-straight path towards each other. When Shawn Hall was a twelve-year-old living in Toronto, his grandmother gave him a harmonica and a book called, Harmonica for the Musically Hopeless. At the same age, but on the other side of the country, Matthew Rogers was falling in love with the guitar, spellbound by a counselor at his summer camp who could play ‘Under the Bridge.’ Their meeting wasn’t exactly promising, either. They met at a studio session for a radio jingle, recorded for a hole-in-the wall joint called ‘Jamaican Pizza Jerk.’ In between takes, the two bonded over the music they’d grown up on, eventually naming their new project for an odd moment in a classic tune. In Kris Kristofferson’s version of ‘Bobby Mcgee,’ Kristofferson sings, ‘I took my harpoon out of my dirty red bandana.’ The ‘harpoon’ is the blues harp, making Shawn Hall ‘the harpoonist,’ while Matthew Rogers plays the ‘axe’ (aka the guitar), to become the ‘axe murderer.’ The ‘death metal’ ring to their name may lose HAM some gigs at senior’s homes and community halls, but the band has made their peace with that. They are currently planning a Spring\Summer 2012 tour in support of their new album, Checkered Past. True to form, it finds HAM addressing classic blues themes like heartbreak, addiction, and lay-offs, and aiming it all straight at your crotch.
‘The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer add a fresh take to the roots music genre via contemporary lyrics and arrangements, but maintain traditional structures and emotion. A welcome addition to the Canadian blues and roots music scene.’-- Holger Peterson, CBC Saturday Night Blues
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Tracks
- 3 tracks (10:45)3 new songs from our upcoming album including our 'official single' 'Roll with the Punches
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Favorites
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Shows
- MAY 1ST - THE ASTORIA, VANCOUVER - OPENING FOR DOUBLE FUZZ - 9PMMAY 4TH - THE MAIN ON MAIN, VANCOUVER - 9PMMAY 5TH - HOWE SOUND BREWERY, SQUAMISH - 9PMMAY 31 - HUMANITY - TOFINO, BC - 8PMJUNE 2 - SAANICH ROAD HOUSE - VICTORIA, BC - 8PMJUNE 3 - THE RENDEZVOUS - NANAIMO, BC - 8PMJUNE 21 - MIKEY'S JUKE JOINT, CALGARY, AB - 9PMJUNE 22-24 - NORTH COUNTRY FAIR, DRIFTPILE, ALBERTAJUNE 26 - THE DOWNSTREAM - JASPER, AB - 9PMJULY 12-14 - THE GARDEN BAY PUB - PENDER HARBOUR, BC - 9PMJULY 27-29 - KISPIOX VALLEY MUSIC FESTIVAL, KISPIOX, BCAUGUST 3-5 - KALSO JAZZ FEST - OPENING FOR TAJ MAHAL!!! KALSO, BCAUGUST 8TH - KICKING HORSE CULTURAL CENTRE OUTDOOR SHOW - SPIRIT SQUARE - GOLDEN, BC - 7PMAUGUST 9TH - THE DICKENS PUB (WITH DOUBLE FUZZ) - CALGARY, ABAUGUST 10-11 - ST. JAMES GATE, BANFF, AB - 9PMAUGUST 12 - MUSIC IN THE PARK - KAMLOOPS, BC - TIME TBAAUGUST 17TH - GULF OF GEORGIA CANNERY CONCERT SERIES - STEVESTON, BC @ THE CANNERY - 6:30PMAUGUST 25TH - HOWE SOUND BREWERY, SQUAMISH BC, 9PMAUGUST 26TH - LIVE AT SQUAMISH - DETAILS TBA
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Photos
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Albums
- 13 tracks (00:00)
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Reviews
- Holger Petersen -CBC Saturday night Blues
'The Harpoonist & Axe Murderer add a fresh take to the roots music genre via contemporary lyrics and arrangements but maintain traditional structures and emotion. A welcome addition to the Canadian blues and roots music scene.'Vancouver Weekly'HAM has just brought back the sound of the deep South to our local airwaves with their new album Checkered Pastand has proven to the music world that blues is far from dead.'http://www.vancouverweekly.com/checkered-past-the-harpoonist-and-the-axe-murder-album-review/'Airplay' with Dave White, CBC Radio North
Shawn Hall and Matt Rogers are used to making a racket without a lot of help.
As The Harpoonist and The Axe Murderer, the duo have played plenty of big clubs, and turned them into sweaty dance parties.
What's Up Yukon
The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer combine rock-n-roll swagger with decades deep blues style
Scott Brown, What's Up YukonYukon News
They’re about blues - the type of blues that you have to go out to the crossroads to learn - with a dash of rock and soul.
Chris Oke, Yukon News
The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer aren't scary
Lisa Wilton - The Calgary Sun
http://www.calgarysun.com/2011/09/01/the-harpoonist--the-axe-murderer-arent-scary
Editors Pick of the Month - Beatroute Magazine
http://www.beatroute.ca/view_article.php?sectionID=16&articleID=4674
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