Grindstone cowgirls

>> Oh, we are the Ladies of the Canyon,
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RAMBUNCTIOUS: Ladies of the Canyon

by LORRAINE CARPENTER

“Honestly, I don’t like Joni Mitchell at all,” says Jasmine Bleile, who was unaware that her band was named after Mitchell’s 1970 record until it was too late. “That can cripple you as a band sometimes, making that kind of association, but it’s obscure enough that we don’t usually get Joni Mitchell requests.”

What they do play is acoustic country/folk, with guitar, piano and vocals by Bleile, Maïa Davies and Senja Sargeant, with jazz pro Anna Ruddick on bass. The quartet’s roots fusion is most evident in their vocal harmonies, Bleile having led a swing band in her early 20s, Davies and Sargeant still working on folk-pop and blues solo projects.

Ladies of the Canyon was a casual endeavour when the band formed in the summer of 2006. “It was something we all really loved to do but we weren’t looking at this band as a career until we received a bit of interest from a few people,” says Bleile. “Then we thought it would be wise to take it more seriously. For the last six months, we’ve really been putting our noses to the grindstone.”

Recording with rented equipment at a friend’s place, the Ladies have been making their debut EP (untitled for now) with the backing of a production deal. They hope the finished product will earn them distribution for a February release.

They’re also playing gigs this month after a dry spell, at la Sala Rossa as well as on Mondays at Honey Martin, a tiny Irish pub in NDG where two of them work.

“Thank God for the couple of bars in this city that still support live music,” says Bleile, who had a very different experience growing up on a farm 15 minutes southeast of Alexandria, Ontario. “At the country bars, people will pay $5 to see a band they’ve never even heard of, just because they’re curious and they like live music.”

Despite often playing to crowds more interested in getting hammered, yakking or watching the game (or all of the above), the Ladies have had their share of great shows, such as a recent record launch for the Echo Hunters at Petit Campus, or their Honey Martin residency, which affords them the freedom to let loose.

“We can be quite rambunctious when we get together,” says Bleile. “We play subdued music but we’re all kind of crazy.”

With Lee Mellor at la Sala Rossa
on Friday, Jan. 18, 9 p.m.
Go to lotcmusic.com for updates