“Chiba” is here!

Today is the day! Chiba is here! Much thanks to everyone who helped along the way.

Firstly my girl, Jen Lane, who supported me through every step of making this album and sang her heart out on it.

Barrett M. Ross, for pounding out the drums for me when I was writing these songs and taking me back to the heart of rock n roll. And of course for engineering and mixing the album.

Also, a big thank you to Josh J Palmer for cutting the original demos for us when we were just getting started.

My band, Enver Hampton and Billy Tataryn who were there from the beginning! You guys brought these songs to life for me and I am forever grateful.

Malcolm Whyte and Brynn Krysa for stepping in when I needed them the most and making sure that the ship stayed on course.

Derek Bachman, you are watching me from above. Probably hanging out with my mom. Thank you for your guidance from beyond. Without you I wouldn’t have had the amazing Terry Massey and thirteen letter helping me promote this release.

SaskMusic, Creative Saskatchewan, SK Arts, and The Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent On Recordings (FACTOR) for all the things they do for artists like me! We are lucky to have such support for art and culture and I hope that never changes.

Amigos Cantina, Capitol Music Club, The Broadway Theatre, The Cameron House, and all the venues that gave me the chance to get up on stage and play my songs. I hope we can get together to celebrate live music again one day soon!

And it’s Bandcamp day! So if you feel like ordering some music today, this is the place to do it. https://smokekiller.bandcamp.com/

Have a great weekend everyone!

John

On Tour in Ontario/Quebec

Had a great summer tour with Jen Lane, who released her amazing new album on 180g vinyl just in time for festival season. Thanks to all the wonderful venues and fans who came out and supported live music. We couldn’t do this without you!

We are heading back out into the wild frontier of Ontario and Quebec this November and you can check out the tour dates tab for all the show info. Really excited to be back at the Cameron House for our residency. I’ll be on at 6pm sharp every Tuesday in November and then joining the Jen Lane band for 2 sets of sweet Americana roots!

This will be our last run of shows for the year and I will be testing some new smokekiller material in their pure, acoustic form. It’ll be a great opportunity to road test a few new tunes before we hit the studio in December to record a new album! Really pumped to share the new Smokekiller material with all of you. It’s been a little too long since we rock n rolled together and I can’t wait.

See you on the road!
john

2015 ISC SEMI-FINALIST!

Great news from the 2015 International Songwriting Competition, “The Way Home” from the album,Jen & John, is a semi-finalist in the Folk / Singer-Songwriter category. You can check out the song at this link to a Southern Souls video Jen Lane and I made in Toronto at the Cameron House! I feel very fortunate to get any recognition for song-writing as it’s why I do what I do. The ISC has been very kind to me the last few years with “Chicago” 2013 Semi-finalist, and “End of the World” 2014 Semi-finalist! I look forward to sharing new music this year but first up is a National tour with my girl, Jen Lane. Jen just released the best record ever called “This Life of Mine” and we had a couple great cd release shows in Regina and Saskatoon. You can pick up the new Jen Lane album on iTunes here and physically at CDBaby here! You can also get a copy in Saskatoon at McNally Robinson on 8th Street and the Vinyl Diner on Broadway.

Writing songs, booking tours, and in the studio!

Why hello there 2016! Figured I better get caught up and get posting on the ol’ website! It’s been a busy year so far and we are only in the middle of February! Thanks to FACTOR Canada and Creative Saskatchewan for supporting our trip into the studio at the beginning of January. I’ve been holding onto some heavy songs with a solid rock vibe and life decided that it was time for me to get them out of my head and into your ears! Thanks to Enver Hampton (bass) and Billy Tataryn (drums) for taking on the project with me. Their youthful energy is super apparent on the recordings, and they’ve inspired the hell out of me. We took the songs that we recorded and have reapplied for support for a full album. Finger crossed we can take it to the next level with FACTOR and Creative Sask, but as always, we’re going to make a record one way or another. All we really need is me, and you!

Things have been incredibly busy with my partner in life, Jen Lane, as of late too. She’s been dropping video bombs left and right and her new album is going to hit the streets on February 26th! Check out her website at www.jenlane.com for more details! I’ll be playing with Jen for her CD release shows on Feb 26th at the Artful Dodger in Regina and Feb 27th at the Bassment in Saskatoon. Click on the venues for tickets, or again, go to Jen’s website for more info! Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you soon. Lots more great news coming in the near future so stay tuned!
john

November Tour, New Website, New Songs coming soon!

Hey gang,

Hope everyone is having a fantastic November! Jen Lane and I are out in Ontario and Quebec on tour at the moment, check the tour dates tab for more details. We are back at the Cameron House for a residency Tuesday nights from 8pm-10pm. We are doing it a bit different this time, with me opening solo for a short set and then a FULL BAND Jen Lane set!! Yup, Del Cowsill (bass), Pat Phillips (drums), and Kevin Neal (pedal steel) have been joining us for a full set of Jen Lane songs. It’s sounds amazing. Hope you can come and check it out. I’ve changed themes on my website, still trying to find the right one for me. Gonna play around with this one for a while. Been so busy lately that I haven’t really had a proper update for too long, so here it is for now! : )  I also wanted to thank FACTOR for their support for Smokekiller to go into the studio in January 2016 to record some new demos. I’m very excited to share what I’ve been working on with you. I also want to thank Creative Saskatchewan for their support through touring, marketing, and recording. It’s an amazing level of support that is helping all the provincial talent put their best foot forward.
Have a great week and we’ll talk again very soon!
john

FOLK ALLIANCE IN KANSAS CITY! SPRING TOUR IN MARCH!

I’ve been spending a lot of time writing and rehearsing lately. Feeling very grateful to get to work on my music right now. I’m excited to get back into the studio and start recording. I’m hoping to be laying down some tracks come April! Before that, in February I’ll be attending the Folk Alliance International Conference and Festival with my good friend Geoff Smith (Gunner and Smith). I’ll get to play some shows with Geoff as well as a few of my own showcases thanks to SaskMusic. In March I’ll be hitting the road with Young Benjamins on a short tour of Western Canada. We had so much fun on the road last October that we decided to do it again. Hope to see you at a show in the future and thanks in advance for all the support.
john