I don’t normally like to use this space to talk about my “other life” as a writer—much like Clark Kent, I like to keep my superheroic identity separate from my mild-mannered everyday persona—but I hope you’ll allow me to make an exception for the publication of my first book. It’s tangentially related to the WP, anyway.
Halifax-based Invisible Publishing has a series of books on Canadian music called Bibliophonic, and they’ve granted me the great privilege of writing something about one of my all-time favourite bands, Ottawa indie-rock legends the Wooden Stars.
The book tells the story of the band: their music, their career and their influence on the Canadian indie scene. All the members of the band, along with a number of their colleagues including Julie Doiron and Arcade Fire’s Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara, were kind enough to share their stories with me.
You can buy the book on Amazon, Chapters/Indigo, McNally Robinson, or—my personal preference—order it from your local independent bookstore. I’m told that an e-book version will be available soon.
***UPDATE: Here is a list of the indie stores across Canada where you can buy the book. It may also be available at your local big-box bookstore. You can get it in e-book format here.
Montreal
Librairie Drawn & Quarterly
Dépanneur Le Pick Up
Paragraphe
Toronto
University of Toronto Bookstore
Ottawa
Octopus Books
Guelph
Bookshelf
Kingston
Novel Idea
Halifax
Bookmark
Québec
Librairie Pantoute
Calgary
Shelf Life Books
Univ. Of Calgary Bookstore
Winnipeg
McNally Robinson
Saskatoon
McNally Robinson
I’m also going to be doing some launch events for the book in November. The dates are as follows:
Thursday November 14
Montreal – Librairie Drawn & Quarterly, 211 Bernard W., 7 p.m.
Saturday November 16
Toronto – Belljar Café, 2072 Dundas W., 5 p.m.
Sunday November 17
Ottawa – Raw Sugar Café, 692 Somerset W., 5 p.m.
You might not hear a direct thread from the Wooden Stars to the WP at first listen, but their melodies, harmonies, phrasing and lyrics have been greatly influential on me over the years. They are a great band, and if you haven’t heard them I strongly recommend checking out their music (it can be found and purchased online through the usual channels).
In conclusion: buy my book! Stay tuned for more specifically WP-related news soon.