New Music: OTTAWA SPLIT by Cory Levesque and Jon Creeden
Cory Levesque and Jon Creeden are known for their emotional and honest acoustic sets. In the new OTTAWA SPLIT they each assembled a band of merry men to help them out and the result is incredible.
The six-song split begins with Cory Levesque and Friends. Levesque’s normally softer folk tinged with punk undertones gets kicked into overdrive from the very first note of “Broken Chords and Melodies.”
Levesque shed some light on the album, “All these songs are based on happenings and feelings about Ottawa and the people surrounding me within it. The words might not be very direct but, trust me on this. I could not be more thankful or grateful for the amazing people involved in my life and my music.”
What I am thankful for is that there is now a high-quality recording of my favourite Levesque song, “What A Mess.” The powerful track of losing physical control in the face of anger and illogically taking it out on inanimate objects can certainly resonate with many of us. I know it does with me.
The next three songs belong to Jon Creeden and the Flying Hellfish (amazing Simpsons reference). These songs appeared on the Capital City EP Creeden released in December 2014. Hey, they were great then and they still are. “This is a few songs I wrote last year about Ottawa and a couple of my favourite places and people,” wrote Creeden. “It was inspired by a weird gift given to myself and Cory Levesque by our buddy JS.” The first two songs are about two infamous Ottawa house venues, Scum House and Robot!House!! The final song, “Clothing Optional” is about one of Ottawa’s favourite moustached concert goer, J-S. The song perfectly describes him, his antics and of course that wonderful perfectly maintained and groomed stache. There are very few people who attend more shows, sing at the top of their lungs to every local band, and have as much fun as J-S.
The amazing thing about this release is just how Ottawa it is. Six songs about people and places that are, or were, parts of the Ottawa punk rock scene. The other exceptional part is looking through the credits and seeing all these familiar names as band members and contributors to the gang vocals. A great snap shot of one wing of the Ottawa musical family.