SONG OF THE DAY
“Roll On Oblivion” by Jason Collett (Here’s To Being Here, Arts & Crafts Records, 2008).
WHERE I HEARD IT
On this season of NBC’s Parenthood, the episode titled “If This Boat Is A ‘Rockin’ “.
INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)
– Jason Collett is a Toronto-based singer-songwriter.
– He is a member of Broken Social Scene but also tours on his own, having released seven solo CDs.
– His latest album, Rat a Tat Tat, was released in March, 2010.
– Born in Bramalea, Ontario, a Greater Toronto Area suburb, Collett began writing songs at a young age to escape the boredom of his suburban life. He lists Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson and Nick Lowe as influences.
– Eventually Collett moved to downtown Toronto where he worked as a woodworker and carpenter, doing renovations and custom home building, while he pursued his music.
– He was a part of the short-lived alt-country group Bird, of which Andrew Cash and Hawksley Workman were also members. Bird released one album, 2000’s Chrome Reflection.
– Collett also took part in Toronto’s popular indie music gathering, Radio Mondays. Collett, along with others such as The Weakerthans and artists on the record label Arts & Crafts, would perform and write songs together. Collett has mentioned how Radio Mondays were great community-building events, with five or six artists on stage at a time.
– It was his work with Broken Social Scene that allowed Collett to give up woodworking and become a full-time musician. Collett became a member of Broken Social Scene, serving as one of their guitarists, after the band’s album You Forgot It In People. Collett was eventually convinced by Kevin Drew to join the band once they moved from a strictly instrumental band into one that wrote their own songs.
– Though Collett took a break from touring with Broken Social Scene in the fall of 2005 to pursue his solo career and spend time with his family, Collett has made many musical connections through the band.
– His 2005 album, Idols of Exile, produced by Howie Beck, featured many prominent Canadian artists. Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew, Leslie Feist and Brendan Canning all contributed, as did members of Stars and Metric.
– Jason’s Here’s to Being Here was released in February 2008 and is different from previous albums. Instead of a group effort, with many collaborating artists, Collett decided to focus on making an album that was meant to be played live.
– Collett tours under his own name with backing band The Dark Horse.
– Collett, now based in Toronto, is married to a social worker. He has four children.
– Jason has been eating organic food since the mid-1990s and makes an effort to ensure that all the food on his tour bus is organic.
– Jason is also very politically involved. He is a member of Canada’s New Democratic Party and performed at an NDP kick-off rally in Toronto during the fall 2008 election. At a recent show at Queen’s University, Collett expressed his displeasure for Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He also brought a petition to get Canadian citizen Omar Khadr released from the Guantanamo Bay detention centre where he has been kept for some time.
– Here’s to Being Here is his fourth solo album. Produced by Howie Beck, the album features guest musicians Andrew Whiteman, Tony Scherr and Liam O’Neil of The Stills.