Elliot Brood,
Sometimes when musicians revisit an old song it’s like an actor revisiting an old role.
Case in point: “Ghost Gardens” by Hamilton-based roots music trinity, Elliott Brood.
“We had a lot of stuff lying around,” said singer-guitarist Casey Laforet. “Mark (Sasso) and I starting playing together in 2001/ 2002. We had done a bunch of demos and started songs. There was this hard drive that (band drummer) Steve (Pitkin) ended up having that he dumped everything onto, some of the earlier recordings, and some of what would become “Tin Type,” says Laforet.
During a move from Toronto to Dundas, Laforet was cleaning out the garage and found an old suitcase with the drive in it.
“There were some old scratchy demos and we decided we should finish them. They never fit on any other records. These songs got left by the wayside a little bit. We thought these are good songs — let’s see if we can do something with them 15 years later.
“We looked at the sketches that we had and yeah, I guess because we did have that much more experience — we added to them and eventually finished them. Some of them, like ‘Dig a Little Hole,’ was an idea melody-wise. It did not really have a fully fleshed idea, and then that came together. It was really cool.”
Elliott Brood has been working on their next album as well in addition to a live album.
“But we also wanted to get these older songs out there and bring them back to life,” says Laforet. “2468” was one of the songs we’d play as part of the first six or seven songs we ever knew. It’s nice that these songs have come to life now.”
In addition to vocals and guitar Laforet plays keys, ukulele, harmonica and bass pedals. Mark Sasso joins him on lead vocals, and guitar, plus banjo, uke, harmonica, and kazoo. Stephen Pitkin plays percussion, sampler and also supplies back vocals.
Elliott Brood’s albums include “Tin Type” (2004), “Ambassador” (2005), “Mountain Meadows” (2008, also shortlisted for 2009 Polaris Music Prize), (2013 Juno winner) “Days Into Years,” inspired by The Great War, and “Work and Love” (2014).
The band has toured extensively across North America and Europe playing major music festivals and opening for bands like Blue Rodeo, The Black Crowes, Corb Lund, The Sadies, Wilco and War on Drugs.
“Ghost Gardens” (self-produced at their Hamilton studio The Office) is the band’s sixth full length studio album.
The album’s concept is based on perennial gardens that thrive without being attended to, long after old buildings have been abandoned or forgotten.
Each song on the album is a character unto itself, from sweet sonnet “Adeline,” dedicated to Mark Sasso’s daughter, to the tale of “mountain man” T.S Armstrong who Laforet and Sasso met on their first Western tour.
“We were in Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta. One day we will get all of the video put together for this,” says Laforet. “But we had this crazy experience. We are Ontario guys and we hiked up this mountain. When we got to the top we meet his guy with his dog. The first thing he said was ‘Do you guys have any bear bells or bear spray with you? What are you guys doing up here?’ We immediately went ‘What?’ He said ‘You guys are in prime grizzly country!’ He told us he was a tracker and a tour guide — a really interesting guy but he scared the living hell out of us!”
“We have this video footage of us running out of the forest. It took us two hours to hike up there and as he was talking to us the sun started going down and we were thought ‘Oh god, oh man, oh man!’ He told us to be loud on the way down and we made it out safely,” recalls Laforet. “He was of the first characters we met on that trip out there — a true sort of mountain man and outdoorsy guy. He was really cool. That song is from 2003.”
“Three songs — “T.S. Armstrong,” “Searching,” and “For the Girl” are essentially one song but like three acts, I think,” says Laforet.
“Steve (Pitkin) did a great job with all of the weird synths and noise,” he adds. “We wanted that sort of chaotic portion in the middle. And then it calms down at the end for the last part,” explains Laforet, adding that there will be more synth sounds incorporated into the next album.
The band’s name, Elliott Brood, actually stems from the 1988 Robert Redford drama “The Natural” which features a mysterious maniacal character named Harriet Bird played by Barbara Hershey.
“Mark thought if she had a brother his name would be Elliott,” says Laforet.
“In the early days Elliott Brood was described as this guy at the corner of the bar — a creepy dude taking it all in and watching everything happen,” he adds. Hence early descriptors like “blackgrass,” “death country” or “frontier rock.”
Elliott Brood is indeed on the verge of a new roots music frontier as they continue to explore different sonic realms in the albums yet to come.
“The three of us have a lot of ideas that we bring to the table,” says Laforet.
“We’ve been out here a long time. We are still doing it; we still love it so it’s always nice to know that people are interested.”