Fresh from a summer of cross-Canada music festivals and gearing up for their winter roundabouts to promote their sophomore album, Wave North, Sunparlour Players’ frontman, Andrew Penner , discusses rural imagery, musical friends and some Kingston thievery.
Sunparlour Players, despite the plurality of their name, began with one member.
“It started more of a solo thing,” Penner said. “But I always wanted to turn it into a band.” Bass, keyboard, clarinet, banjo and percussionist Dennis Van Dine soon joined him, followed by drummer, banjoist and bassist Michael ‘Rosie’ Rosenthal, to combine their vast musical backgrounds into a sound some have dubbed ‘field’ music.
“It is our musical differences that attract us to each other. If it didn’t work, it wouldn’t have happened.” When asked about the influences behind their sound and the vibe it emanates, Penner politely declined to put a label on his own work.
“It’s hard—I usually leave that one to reviewers. People are going to write stuff anyways, and it’s often more interesting to see what others have to say. I’m a little too close to the writing process. I know that we play it and people hear it, and that’s where the creative part seems to happen.”
Sunparlour Players fittingly draw their name from Penner’s home in Northern Ontario. It’s known as the ‘sunparlour of Canada’ for its lengthy growing season. Much of that landscape translates lyrically into Wave North.
“While recording Wave North we really wanted a bigger, warmer sound. It felt like a lot of the tunes needed conflict and bigger stories,” Penner said. “By bigger that can mean a lot more personal.”
Penner shared mixed emotions about the band’s previous Kingston gigs.
“We played the Grad Club in early 2008 with Avaleros. We had such a blast—the space was very intimate and we had an amazing crowd. Last time we played Kingston we had just done a tour of the East Coast (Halifax Pop Explosion) and this was our last show before our break. Unfortunately, I had all of my pedals stolen while there. So, I have an old typewriter case filled with pedals floating around somewhere!” Despite losing some equipment, Kingston and the general atmosphere of college campuses still shine bright for Sunparlour Players. Their first tour in 2007 took them to universities across the country with Elliott Brood and The Acorn. Sunparlour Players are carving a name for themselves, and potentially their own niche with rurally enhanced, grassland sounds.
For the coming months, Sunparlour Players are promoting their album across Canada and hope to soon explore the American and Eurpoean markets.Also in store is the vinyl version of Wave North which will be available at their upcoming shows, and potentially a digital EP in early 2010. Their first album, Hymn for the Happy, was well received after their promotional Canadian tour.
On their personal playlists, Andrew notes some up-and-coming Canadian acts.
“The best show I saw this summer was, well there were a lot of wicked ones, but Think about Life and Balconies were amazing. Also Toronto singer Sandro Perri’s album Tiny Mirrors. There are just so many great artists an embarrassment of riches, almost. Our producer has introduced us to artists like Frightened Rabbit from Glasgow. TV on the Radio was huge for me, I absolutely loved it.”
The music of Sunparlour Players is perfect for autumn in Kingston whether you’re aboard the Wolfe Island Ferry, decompressing after a night of red plastic cups, or being studious on your front porch. “Field” music is the new brain tunes.
Sunparlour Players play the Grad Club tomorrow at 10 p.m. Tickets are $10.
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