Weekend will be Wailin'

Heather Masse, left, Ruth Moody and Nicky Mehta play their first gig in the city tonight. Ruth Moody is pretty sure the Wailin' Jennys are playing London for the first time tonight -- and that's not the only reason the gig might make history. Heather Masse, left, Ruth Moody and Nicky Mehta play their first gig in the city tonight. Ruth Moody is pretty sure the Wailin' Jennys are playing London for the first time tonight -- and that's not the only reason the gig might make history.

"We're recording it," Moody says of the Canadian roots music stars' concert tonight at Aeolian Hall at 8 p.m. "We're not sure exactly for what purposes yet . . . we're starting to gather material for a live record."

The Wailin' Jennys are just one attraction on a busy weekend in London and we're offering a selected guide to some of the other ones, including rock band Brown Brigade and a jazz concert by London musicians.

Moody and her fellow singing and songwriting Jennys, Nicky Mehta and Heather Masse, are touring to support a pretty good studio record, the Juno-nominated Firecracker (Jericho Beach/Festival). Since Firecracker, Annabelle Chvostek has been replaced by Masse.

"We have a new Jenny," Moody says of Masse, who lived for many years in Maine so "she's practically Canadian." Masse now lives in Brooklyn. She joined the Jennys in March.

"We have a boy Jenny," Moody says of fiddler Jeremy Penner, who plays on a track or two on Firecracker. Moody and Penner were once bandmates in Winnipeg roots band Scruj MacDuhk.

Moody, Penner and their MacDuhk pals are fondly remembered by Sunfest organizers. Back in the day, the MacDuhk gang partied in Quebec into the wee hours and then battled traffic all the way from Montreal just so they could help open the 2000 edition of the world-beat fest at Victoria Park with a Louis Riel reel.

After MacDuhk scrujed off in 2001, Moody moved on. She and Mehta became co-founders of the Wailin' Jennys, a roots trio who kicked butt with sharp, sensitive songs and attitude. A former Jenny, Cara Luft, was just in London on a solo gig.

These days, Masse -- who has a background in bluegrass and jazz -- has become the Jennys' first bass player. Mehta sometimes plays drums. "It's more of a textural thing," Moody says of the Jennys' drums 'n' bass moves.

"It's the same concept and mission statement," she says of all the changes since Firecracker.

Still the same for "the Wailin' Jennys 3.0" -- as fans are calling the new lineup -- is the group's place in Garrison Keillor's public radio show A Prairie Home Companion. The Wailin' Jennys have played the U.S. show seven times already and have a couple of 2008 dates tuned in.

"As Canadians, we didn't realize the extent to which that show reaches people down there," Moody says of Companion. "Garrison Keillor is such an interesting and brilliant person."

The Jennys are adjusting to the fame of keeping company with Companion. "We met Bonnie Raitt on there. We met Meryl Streep. They're a couple of big names," Moody says, joking about the Keillor connection.

Tonight, the Wailin' Jennys meet their London fans. Fine London bluegrass-minded band the Goin' Concern opens tonight's concert. "I think this will be the Jennys' first time in London," Moody says. Who's gonna argue?

The Wailin' wait is almost over.

Check out dozens of new Jennys pics in the Summer 2007 gallery, including some great shots from the Vancouver Folk Festival by Jamie Weber.

A warm Winnipeg welcome

Last Sunday, after almost a year away from Winnipeg stages, The Wailin' Jennys finally came home - and they brought a new friend with them. The Wailin' Jennys play first hometown show with newest member, Heather Masse (The Wailin' Jennys Oct. 14, Pantages Playhouse Theatre)

Last Sunday, after almost a year away from Winnipeg stages, The Wailin' Jennys finally came home - and they brought a new friend with them.

Presented by the Winnipeg Folk Festival and recorded for CBC Radio, the two-set, two-hour Pantages gig marked the Winnipeg debut of new Jenny Heather Masse, who replaced outgoing Montreal artist Annabelle Chvostek early this year.

Masse may be the perfect catch for the peripatetic band, which is rounded out by Ruth Moody and Nicky Mehta. The statuesque New Yawk singer introduced a song inspired by a drive to meet a boyfriend who was working upstate on an organic farm - sounds like a good fit for a band born in Winnipeg's granola belt.

Of course, there's also her voice: Masse's surprisingly deep vocal sent a ripple of reaction through the audience. It's a throaty voice, fit for sultry jazz (indeed, Masse is jazz-trained), and on Sunday night, it was best showcased on a spooky a cappella rendition of Lead Belly's Bring Me Little Water Silvy.

Now rounding out the instrumentation is Moody's old Scruj MacDuhk cohort, fiddler Jeremy Penner (aka "the boy Jenny"), whose restrained melodies added fullness without being overpowering.

As always, the Jennys' lush ballads were gorgeous, their a cappella trio harmonies mesmerizing, and their covers (like a finely-tuned rendition of Jane Siberry's Calling All Angels) well suited to their strengths. But their sets were weighted by the preponderance of slower tunes in their catalogue; adding a few more playful numbers would add more momentum to a sound that sometimes runs too pretty.

The Jennys' recent radio performance for Edmonton's CKUA will be broadcast 8-9pm (Central) on Friday, December 28. Click here to find out how to listen online.

We've got two new Jennys videos up on the video page! More to come...

Third time's the charm

As job interviews go, this one sounds pretty daunting: A tryout for acclaimed roots-trio Wailin' Jennys, conducted in a backstage bathroom, of all places. Wailin' Jennys add a new member to the sisterhood

As job interviews go, this one sounds pretty daunting: A tryout for acclaimed roots-trio Wailin' Jennys, conducted in a backstage bathroom, of all places.

Despite the unusual setting, newly recruited member Heather Masse appears to have made an impression, becoming the third lucky lady to handle alto duties for the act in as many years.

So just what does it take to be invited to join the Jennys' ranks?

Founding member Nicky Mehta, speaking from a tour stop in Pennsylvania, says it's all about skill, experience, and most of all, chemistry.

"First of all, the (vocal) blend has to be good," says Mehta, who started the Jennys in 2002 with fellow songwriters Ruth Moody and Cara Luft. "That's never easy, so the fact we've found it for a third time is amazing."

When Luft left in 2004, following the release of the trio's debut disc 40 Days, she was replaced by Montreal transplant Annabelle Chvostek, who contributed to the followup album Firecracker.

Then Chvostek made it known she'd be following Luft's lead sometime last year, so when Masse -- a Maine singer who also fronts the N.Y.C. group Heather & the Barbarians -- showed up at a concert in Philadelphia, the remaining Jennys were only too happy to test-drive some vocals in the venue's loo.

"It's been working out beautifully," says Mehta. "She's a fantastic musician and a singer, and she's a really great songwriter as well."

In addition to the aforementioned "blend," prospective Jennys should have some stage experience to draw on, since the trio is a regular fixture in the international roots community, not to mention Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion stage.

She also has to know her way around a song -- all three Jennys write separately, though they're inching closer and closer to a more collaborative process -- and she has to be able to convince audiences what she's singing actually means something to her, Mehta adds.

And of course, it helps if she gels with the other Jennys, both onstage and off. "Onstage, there has to be a camaraderie, and a similar sensibility," she says. "But there also has to be a personal chemistry, because we're essentially living together on the road."

While the lineup changes no doubt go a long way in helping the Jennys rejuvenate their sound, they don't always work out as well for fans -- since any songs written by Luft or Chvostek have to be dropped from the live show set lists.

"That would require us to sing the lead on someone else's song, and we might not do it properly, or do it justice," Mehta explains.

But Masse -- who's also taught herself standup bass since landing the Jennys' job -- is already a contributing songwriter, and Mehta says her compositions are slowly being worked into the act.

In the meantime, the ladies are keeping up a near-constant touring schedule -- one that's seen them crossing continents with a fair bit of frequency in recent months. Oh, and for anyone keeping track, Mehta says she's now been hit by lightning -- while in a plane, of course -- a total of three times, once more than when we last checked in with her about a year ago.

"Apparently it's a lot more common than you'd think," she laughs. "And this time it wasn't nearly as dramatic -- just little bursts. Even the people around me were like, 'Whatever.' "

The Wailin' Jennys will be performing at XM Satellite Radio on Sept 26. This is a recording date only. We will let you know when XM broadcasts TWJ concert on XM15 The Village. Meanwhile here is an XM discount for The Wailin' Jennys fans: Go to http://friends.xmradio.com. Then enter MarySue.Twohy@xmradio.com.

BC Tour Highlights and Preparing for the UK

We're off to the UK again soon. It's starting to feel pretty comfortable, touring in the UK, although this will be Heather's first time overseas so I'm sure in some ways it will be like experiencing it for the first time. Nicky and I are very excited to introduce Heather to all of you over there, and of course we're very happy to be bringing Jeremy over with us again as well. Grant will be also be accompanying us as our road-manager and sound-man (it makes all the difference!) and I have a feeling that good times will be had.Last tour was mostly spent in British Columbia and it was nice to be playing in Canada again after so many months. We had a true 'Northern' experience at Crab Fest up in Kincolith/Gingolx, a Nisaga'a community nestled in the Nass River valley, surrounded by mountains. It was incredible. We each saw at least a dozen bald eagles, ate fresh crab straight out of the ocean, and met some truly beautiful people. Oh and we rocked out to Nazareth - how could I forget. We also met Jethro Tayler who, back in 2006, created a video of the Hobiyee celebration of the Nisaga'a nation, using 'One Voice' as the background music. When I found out we were going to Crab Fest I had no idea that we would be so close to where the video was filmed, or, as Jethro informed me afterwards, that some of the children in the video would be in the audience for our set! It's a very moving video, you can check it out here Youtube. Thanks Jethro, it was great to meet you in person.Next came Vancouver where we did a photoshoot for the Georgia Straight (with crustaceans crawling between our toes) and then rehearsed for two days before the festival in the crazy heat (very unusual for Vancouver). It was intense, especially for Jeremy, who is pretty sweaty at the best of times. But we made it through and came up with a pretty cool arrangement for a new song that Heather brought to the band. Hopefully we'll incorporate it into the show in time for the fall tour. The Vancouver Folk Festival was great. I believe it's the only large Canadian festival that doesn't have any corporate sponsorship, and I think that is part of what is so special about it. There is such a feeling of love, support and enthusiasm from the audiences and the volunteers. They are serious about their music and serious about their festival. We got to reconnect with old friends and jam with lots of musicians - one of the great things about playing festivals. We shared workshop stages with The Fugitives, Oh Susannah, Rae Spoon and Dougie McLean, to name a few. We'll be posting some photos and videos from the workshop stages soon.Finally we flew to Idaho for two shows, one in Driggs and one in McCall for the Roseberry festival. Idaho is still such a mystery to us (are we in the desert? what century are we in? where are the potatoes?) but we love it there and always meet the kindest people. And we got to spend some time and share the stage with Karen Savoca and Pete Heitzman at the Roseberry festival - what more could you ask for? Check them out at www.karensavoca.com, they are awesome.Stay tuned for the new pics, videos, and hellos from Nicky and Heather soon....Ruth