I’ve been doing alot of thinking about “the full length album” these days. It saddens me but I think the truth is that for the majority of music listeners, “the album” is dead. Personally, I’ve always loved listening to my favorite record or CD with the artwork and lyrics laid in front of me and not only enjoying each song, but also how the sequence has been carefully selected by the artist for effect, purposefully.
If I had any real budget for the recording I’m doing right now, I’d love nothing more than to record and release a full length CD. As it stands, I’ve settled on releasing the songs in the next best way:
Over the next 12 months I will be releasing a series of singles. Each single will have their own release date, video and artwork by different artist. My idea is to make each song a concept, event and release of their own. To me, it’s a way of doing each song justice in a world that may not be conducive to that type of thing anymore and at the conclusion, the collection will be released for sale physically.
If you are an artist and would like to be involved, contact me. This should be a great opportunity for cross promotion. I’ll leave you with a live recording of the lead single from the new recordings: Stork.
Well friends, summer is starting to fade, the leaves are turning and for once, I’m happy about it. This summer was one of adjustment for me – a new city, new friends and exciting new adventures! Tucked at the back of my mind, though, is the truth: it’s been a bit tough. Things happened that I never thought could or would. I’ve had to confront things within myself that were hiding in the crevices and comforts of my old home city. But like everything else, with the bad also comes good. My good friends in Acres of Lions and Adaline have (or will soon have) released truly excellent records! This past weekend I watched two of my best friends get married and rekindled some relationships I thought were gone. I’m recording a Christmas tune with the lovely Steph Macpherson. The new band is close – it should be playing by November. Most importantly, the recording has started officially – the strings are being scored and I’m more certain than ever what I’m supposed to be doing.
I’ve booked some shows:
Sept 21 – Nanaimo (Diner’s Rendezvous)
Sept 29 – Port Alberni (The Academy)
Sept 30 – Vancouver (The Cellar)
Nov 5th – Victoria (Moka House)
More dates will be announced for Victoria and also a few in Kelowna and Kamloops so tell your friends!
I have also finally started to appreciate the talent that is Ray Lamontagne. I’ll leave you with one of the finest acoustic performances I’ve ever seen.
I’m tired! My FACTOR grant applications are finished – recording will be starting soon!
A reminder that If you’re in Victoria come down to the harbour tomorrow to see some great music for free on Canada Day including my buddies Steph Macpherson and Vince Vaccarro!
So, the last few weeks have been a bit odd for me. I’ve started to make a few life changes which have proved to be challenging but I’m making due and pressing forward. Also, my Canucks lost an abysmal game last night which has left me in a foul state of mind! C’est La Vie, right?
Rehearsals for the May 14th show have started! Unfortunately, Jordan Stringer will not be able to join me on the drums but percussion hottie Cam Ruley has stepped up to the plate to help out! Thanks broo! We’ll be playing the same type of set that we played at the last rendezvous gig plus a couple more so it really should be a gooder.
I’ve also started to demo for my recording this summer. Writing and getting prepared for this record has been really interesting and really challenging. Partially, I feel like I’ve lost alot of the momemtum I had around Christmas time due to the break I’ve taken and it’s proving hard to get it back. Additionally, it turns out that this record isn’t about what I thought it was about. I thought it was going to be a tribute to family and marriage and unity but it seems to be turning into a protest record of sorts. It seems confused about how we treat our fellow man and how family. children, marriage, sex and the little empires we all build fit into our society now with our dead (irrelevant) traditions and new opinions.
Anyway, I don’t even know what the fuck I’m talking about anymore. I’m going to write some music that gives me some validation and hope. I’m going to record it and then hopefully sell it somehow. That’s about it.
Come see the May 14th show, it should be really special. I’ll also be playing in Victoria May 21st with my homeboy Eric Harper. Pieces.
Join us one last time on Saturday, May 14th as Christopher Arruda bids farewell to his hometown at the Nanaimo Entertainment Centre. The intimate, 170 capacity remodelled Caprice movie theatre promises to be the perfect venue to see “THE young Canadian artist to watch” one last time before he leaves the city. Christopher will be performing songs from “God Hates a Coward” and “The SWAIN EP” with his 5 piece band as well as songs from his upcoming record “Find Someone, Build an Empire”.
Filling out the evening is the lovely Steph Macpherson from Vancouver and recently returned hometown favorite Johnny Good.
There will be a beer gardens with beer and wine available for those of age.
Tickets are $22 available at Fascinating Rhythm downtown and Delicados Cafe in the North End. As an FYI, the last show sold out within a week so get them fast if you’d like to get in.
If you are in Victoria, Vancouver or Courtenay, THIS is the show to come to. if you’d like to pay via paypal or have questions please call 250-618-5008.
Good Morning everyone! I hope the holidays were as kind to you all as they were to me. I just received news that the Jan 28th show at the rendezvous is sold out. Congrats to those with tickets, it should be a stellar night!
The SWAIN EP is finally available online! Please download the record, tell your friends and let me know what you think! You can pay as much as you’d like for it, so feel free to pay nothing! I just want to get it out there so burn it and distribute it freely.
Also, I’d like to take this time to announce one of my largest shows to date! On Feb 24th, I will be supporting Mother Mother at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo! I’m extremely excited so tell everyone you know! I’ll have ticket details soon! A big shout out to Tina Coldwell who helped make this happen.
I’ll have another winter video update posted soon so stay tuned! I’ll leave you know with the promo video for the SWAIN EP and some info below:
The Swain EP was recorded using a laptop and a 58 in my backyard, bedroom, an oak cavern, the Bowering’s living room and a hospital lawn. Christopher Arruda played all the instruments, wrote and sang all the words and decided how loud each part should sound. On one song he used Arlen’s dad’s guitar and Rex and Sherry’s grand piano. It was mastered by Jordan Stringer at Cabin Fever Studios and Daniel Bacharach helped make the box look pretty.
This is a record about lovers. I dedicate these songs to knives in backs, frantic phone calls in the dead of night, tearful goodbyes, past lives and shaky starts. Here’s to storming forth dedicated to a fresh wall of sound! Here’s to carrying on with delicate imagery and the hope of love conquering! Here’s to us all finding a dance in Dakota.
It’s official, winter is here. I’ve been hearing Christmas Carols, there’s talk of putting up the family tree, snow has made an appearance and I finally purchased a carton of eggnog and some spiced rum.
I’ve been getting nervous and prepared for the big show in Nanaimo on the 28th of January. It’s a bit of a relaunch for me with a new band and a new live sound which (hopefully) matches what I’m trying to do a little better. The lineup looks great, I have Jordan Stringer on percussion, Jeremy Young on guitars, Jesse Janzen on bass, Natalie Germann on pianos, guitars and voice (and conductor). I hope to add a cellist and additional vocalist before we’re done.
4 years ago, the winter destroyed my 1988 Honda Accord that i had named Begbie. I have been trying to write a piece to commemorate my old friend and recenly, it poured out of me. It ties in nicely with how I’ve been feeling lately about the path i’m about to take. if you’re unsure about what an “impact winter” is you can check up on it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_winter
Winter Killed Begbie
Oh, my old friend, the answer to your question is a resigned “yes”. I’m still scared, but I can’t stop.
I should have known an impact winter would arrive, men who see their true freedom won’t forget.
I’m off the floor, the drugs had left me there to waste, it’s been eight years and only now do I see
I’ve been chained to a chair and now my heart beats too damn hard, my teeth might break but I will bite right through this cage
Seriously, if I hadn’t already coded a myspace link to this page, I would delete my profile immediately. Yesterday, I decided to update my profile to the new Myspace 2.0. I hadn’t updated my page in almost a year – it was clunky and some of it didn’t work properly so I thought hey, maybe there’s something to this 2.0 idea. There was this wonderful promise of being able to customize your own profile adding backgrounds and widgets without having to go through and code it all yourself. Sounds awesome, right?
Wrong, myspace fucked the dog again. Now, my profile is “updated” but I’m unable to actually change anything. Don’t reread that sentence, you got it the first time. Oh, I was able to change the colours! And add a background (which does not allow you to change the size, just stretch. congrats, a throw back to the frustrating Windows XP days!) but I could not change any of the content. Well, that’s not entirely true – if I log in it appears Ive changed the material (all the boxes are updated with fresh exciting text and information) but the page itself does not update. Isn’t that swell??
In short, give me my 3 hours back, I hate you. Also, take the advertising off of my Goddamned page immediately you fucking shysters.
Alright, that said, I’d like to post some images from what my friends and I are calling the annual Mustache Day. Mustache Day 2010 was a huge success. I hope you enjoy.
Well friends, It’s been just over 12 months since I released God Hates a Coward and I can honestly say it’s been a long and successful year! When I put the album out I didn’t expect things to go over like this, I just wanted something for people to have who saw me at local shows and liked what they heard. After a music video, touring Western Canada, another EP release and 6 long months in The Peak Performance Project, I’m looking at myself now and realizing just how much of a rut I was mired in before. I’m not quite sure what caused this massive paradigm shift in attitude and ambition to occur but the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that it was a very basic and simple decision: to try. To attempt. To let go of any fear holding me back and go at it, regardless of the consequence. I could offer any number of lame and cliche motivational quotes (“you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take”, “nothing to fear but fear itself”) but ultimately, they’re all bullshit. I was able to do this – to try – because somehow I found a way to manifest hope out of nothing. By some luck or fortune, I overcame an overwhelming fear of failing to do this. It was an internal battle, it wasn’t easy. It’s been a slow growth but the initial explosion happened all at once with one quick decision.
That said, the work is only getting started. I’m taking a tiny break from shows but I will be playing The Rio Theatre in Vancouver with a grand Piano on December 16th. In the meantime I’m planning a move to Vancouver or Toronto, putting some demos together with Adam Sutherland and planning another video shoot with Tash Baycroft. I’m also putting a new band together for my show at the Diner’s Rendezvous on January 28th. It will feature strings and hopefully some horns to create a new feel, something more faithful to my sound. And of course, this is my new website! It will be updated very regularily with blog posts, videos and demos.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the following people. Arlen Pelletier, Brittany Buuck, Taylor Isherwood, Daniel, Stacey and Mackenzie Bacharach, Kenn Mackay, Spencer Brawn, Shawna Beesley (one of my new favorite people), Vince Vaccaro, Paul Cimolini, David Sponaugle, Booth White, Jesse Janzen, Acres of Lions, Music BC and last but certainly not least, Kristen Eccles, who pushed me and forced me to move forward when I didn’t think I was ready and my family. A family as supportive, loving, and helpful as mine is the greatest blessing a man could have and I am truly grateful. I love all these people and without their assistance and care, none of this would have been possible for me.
Recently, people have been asking me what they can do to help. The greatest thing people can do is to tell people about my music. Come to shows, burn my CD’s, give them away for free, help people hear me. I’ll leave you now with a live performance of a new song “Copper Leaf Pageant”. It was inspired by the fall – the feeling of another year gasping it’s last breath while the hope of a new and fresh beginning burns brightly beneath. An excerpt:
it’s so cumbersome stumbling through the fall with summer’s weight still strung ’round my neck
but i’ll come alive in copper leaf pageant, snowy panes and frosted lawns
i try to paint
a picture that
recreates
and illustrates
the humbling truth
i still compensate.
