Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: LE WEEKEND

1/23/09

LE WEEKEND

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BIO

Dubbed the urban denizens of Canada's country scene, $100 lends a window into what country music might have become had the industry not been overtaken by pop music production and trite subject matter.

Founders Ian Russell and Simone Schmidt met in 2006, singing George Jones and Tammy Wynette tunes, and were soon joined by pedal steel ace Stew Crookes. 2007 saw great movement and challenge for $100, who, having earned a steady following as a trio in the city, were set back by Russell's diagnosis with Leukemia. The scheduled release of their first EP "Hold It Together" was canceled, though the album leaked slowly, selling locally and over the internet.

Forging forth, $100 was determined to gig whenever possible - it was after a show at the Music Gallery (Toronto) that Rick White (RickWhiteAlbum, Elevator, Eric's Trip) offered to record their full length album. The band thickened up with Paul Mortimer (bass / lead guitar), Jonathan Adjemian (organ & whurlitzer) and Dave Clarke (the drums), rehearsing together 6 times before laying down 12 tracks live. July 2008 marked the release of "Forest of Tears," their first full length album on Blue Fog Recordings. Recorded in 13 hours at Elder Schoolhouse with Rick White, "Forest of Tears" has garnered critical acclaim for its sophisticated story telling and masterful performances. Toronto Star's Ben Rayner comments, 'Forest of Tears heralds the arrival of Schmidt as a preternaturally gifted singer and lyricist, and of Russell as perhaps the only extant songwriting foil with the talent to make her dense, poetic diction sound effortlessly musical.' Critics have given $100's country the prefixes "alt -", "traditional", "psych-", "real," alike, serving as testament to the band's ability to draw all audiences- even those who think they hate Country - into the genre. In June 2009, Forest of Tears was long listed for the Polaris Prize.

One Hundred Dollars is currently releasing a vinyl serial, called "regional 7-inch series" in which 45's which are thematically linked to the location of the label on which they are released. They'll be touring their album in 2009 throughout North America, slaying the shoe gazer in everyone with their live show.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

1/23/09

LE WEEKEND

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