www.jpmortier.com
BLOGS & NEWS
September 12, 2011
I am proud to announce that I am working on a new project :"The Only Bar", a play written by Alain Merceica with music written by yours truly.
The play has been staged in Montreal at Theatre Ste Catherine in Febrauary and at the Fringe Festival in June. The positive feedback has convinced my friend Alain and myself to record the definitive versions of these exciting songs. It is the first time I've collaborated on song writing this way. Alain`s words and my music make for a potent combination and I can't wait for you to hear it. I am sure a couple of songs will pop up on my next shows. Stay tuned.
I am starting to prmote my music in the U.S. and hope to have shows in the states sometime this fall or winter. Stay tuned for that as well. Take care.
OLD NEWS
February 11, 2011
Tour
2011
The 2011 Canadian Tour:
Feb
11 : Montreal, March 2 : Toronto, March 9 : Ottawa, March 16 : Toronto
April 8 : Winnipeg, April 15 : Edmonton, April 16 : Vern's, April 22 : Vancouver,
May 6 : Montreal.
VFebruary 1, 2011
Tour
2011
With the thitrd album out, J.P. embarks on a tour across Canada. So far, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary are confirmed with more on the way.
November 16 , 2010
New
CD release : November 16, 2010, 7 p.m.
La Sala Rossa, Montreal, Quebec
Finally, the long awaited third album is in the can and on the way. It`s with great pleasure that I announce the CD launch at the famed Sala Rossa in Montreal on November 16. Stay tuned for details.
July 4, 2009
Hello there. I am back from my cross-Canada tour and currently working on my third album. Stay tuned.
October 24, 2008
Hello there. Backpacker has gotten some success in university radios across Canada where it got airplay at stations from St-John's, Newfoundland to Victoria, B.C. It even made it to number 7 on CIUT's album chart this summer.
Keep yourself posted as shows will be announced for the coming months including shows in Ottawa, Toronto and out west in spring 2009.
September 10 , 2008
The CD is now avaialble in the following stores :
L'Oblique in Montreal, End Hits in Ottawa, Rotate This and Criminal Records in Toronto and 12Tonar in Reykjavik, Iceland...
August 10 , 2008
The CD is avaialble on itunes...get it there for your ipods.
This has been a hectic week with 2 shows: First was Casa Del Popolo. It was a greta evening. Laura Borealis with her hypnotizing set, Ninnie Naive who took the place of Tomlynson with a set featuring her amazing home-made instruments and finally, my own perfromance, here's the setlist :
Like
A Wave
Superblack
Blue Nile / White Nile
Bela Lugosi
Belt
Dry Martini Parlor
The Traveller
National Pinetop
Moon Over Indian Ocean / California
Who'll Watch Over Us ?
Jesus Just Left Chicago ( ZZ Top)
A Man Named Kennedy
Three days later was a gig at the Festival du Blé Dingue in St-Jude. This was a more bluesy set featuringa couple of blues tunes along with my own songs. A second set featires le Vieux Blues Band and myself covering all sorts of rock and blues classics :
California
You Shook Me
Superblack
National Pinetop
Jesus Just Left Chicago
The Stream
Free Man
Pride
And Joy (Stevie Ray Vaughan)
Proud Mary (CCR)
Honky Tonk Women (Rolling Stones)
Evil Ways (Santana)
Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry)
Boogie Chillum / Lazy (John Lee Hooker/Deep Purple)
Caline De Blues (Offenbach)
Bad Moon Rising (CCR)
I Saw Her Standing There (Beatles)
Cold
Shot (Stevie Ray Vaughan)
Next show : Toronto !
July 15 , 2008
hey...the
CD is avaialble on www.bluetracks.ca
and very soon on itunes...
I am proud to be announcing my first show in Toronto, august 20th at the Reverb,651 Queen Street, with AM Overcast...
May 26, 2008
Café Shaika was I my last show which was presented in conjunction with the vernissage for the art collective M.O.B.I.L. of which I am a member back on May 9th.
Here's the setlist :
A
Man Named Kennedy
Superblack
Who'll Watch Over Us ?
National Pinetop
Here
The Traveller
Koto / Moon Over Indian Ocean
Something Solid
California
Like A Wave
Blue Nile / White Nile
Hawaiian Blight
The English House
Dry Martini Parlor
Are You Recieving Me Soyuz 11 ?
Hungry Heart (Bruce Springsteen)
Lilies
Bela Lugosi
Superblack
In other news, Beatpromo has been hired to promote my new CD in the printed media and to community and university radios in Quebec
I will also be playing at Pub Jacques Cratier on June 14th and also at the 10-30 complex in Brossard later in June.
Any day, my new CD should be online with Local and with Itunes. Stay tuned.
May 8, 2008
OK....Finally,my second CD is here.
I hope you enjoyed the lunch at le Petit Campus on April 30th. For those who didn' t make it...you missed quite a show. If you missed the show because of the Habs game...well, I forgive you... this time. Some fans told me this was the best one I ever did. My friends, Keru and Paul Krivanek, contributed to making the show a success with their guitaristic prowesses. Dan was solid and Sylvain gave us a fine performance on that amzing instrument that is the stick. We played a short set for the media launch. After as hort break, we played the entire new album track by track. Wwe ended the show with Bela Lugosi and a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll." Here's the setlist :
Intro
/ Superblack
National Pinetop
California
The
Traveller
Superblack
National Pinetop
Moon Over Indian Ocean
California
Hash House Harrier
Dry Martini Parlor
Blue Nile / White Nile
Los Andes
Londrina
Hawaiian Blight
Coast Of Azur
Here
Who'll Watch Over Us ?
Bela Lugosi
Rock And Roll (Led Zeppelin)
This show was augmented by photographic exhibition of pictures from my travels. Many of these photos are found on the CD cover and here on my site.
I hope to see you at Café Shaika where I will be performing solo in conjunction with the vernissage for the art collective M.O.B.I.L. of which I am a member. Check the shows page for details.
April 1st, 2008
Hum..ok... so it's been waaaaay overdue...finally, here is my new version of the website......about time...hope you like it.
And here are the bigger news, I will be distributed ...at least digitally by... ta-dah !!!! ......Local Distribution
The contract was signed last week and you will be able to download my new CD on their site and even on itunes...yayyy !!
And now the biggest news : April 30th will be the launch of my long awaited second album : BACKPACKER !!!
I know you've waited a long time for it...
The launch will be at Le Petit Campus, 57 Prince Arthur East in Montreal on April 30th at 7 p.m. It will start witha media event where I will perform a short set with Sylvain Auclair and Daniel Grégoire. There will be a formal show afterwards. The price for the launch ? Hey, pay what you want or what you can...donations are accepted... what more do you want?
Other shows will follow to support the new CD.
Looking forward to seeing you at the show. Ciao.
March 16th , 2008
Another solo show last night. Several songs from Backpacker were featured.
Pub Jacques Cartier on March 15th :
A
Man Named Kennedy
National Pinetop
Who'll Watch Over Us ?
Superblack
Hawaiian Blight
Sayonara Baby
The English House
Dry Martini Parlor
The Traveller
Hash House Harrier
Here /
Doo Doo Doo Heartbreaker (Rolling Stones)
California
January 1st, 2008
OK Here is arun down of what happened in 07. I know I wasn't active in keeping you updated. Basically, it was a year I spent recording and editing and mixing with only a couple of shows. Here below is a run-down of the setlists of 2007 shows. There were only three of them:
L'Alizee on May 10th:
Koto
Something Solid
The Traveller
A Man Named Kennedy
National Pinetop
Dry Martini Parlor
Shigoto
Bela Lugosi
Superblack
Pub Jacques Cartier on October 20th:
Windows
On The Sunset Side
The Traveller
Here
Who'll Watch Over Us ?
Something Solid
Dry Martini Parlor
National Pinetop
Like A Wave
Bela Lugosi
California
Superblack
Pub
Jacques Cartier on December 1st:
Bela Lugosi
Shigoto
Blue Nile / White Nile
Hawaiian Blight
Like A Wave
Lilies
Girl From Prague
The Traveller
Hash House Harrier
National Pinetop
Moon Over Indian Ocean / California
Burnin' And Lootin' (Bob Marley & The
Wailers)
Here /
Doo Doo Doo Heartbreaker (Rolling Stones)
Ignited
Superblack
Something Solid
January 1st, 2007
Hey happy new year one and all... All the best for '07 and health for everyone out there. This should be a big year. First of all, the second CD Backpacker will see the light of day sometime in 2007.... More sessions at DNA are scheduled in February. This will be the last sessions for drums, bass and acoustic guitars. The other instruments and the vocals will be finished in my hideout at the Basement.
One important piece of news... like everyone else, I am now on myspace... look for me at www.myspace.com/mortier and add me as a friend if you rae already part of the wonderful world of myspace. Soon my video will pop up on youtube. Watch for it.
Also, I have 1 or 2 illustrations that are part of a traveling collective artshow. This month, it's happening at JavaU Café on St-Denis in Montreal.
C U Later.
October 29, 2006.
As of November, I will have an artwork up in a collective show. This show groups about 30 Montreal artists and its theme is the trials of the workplace. On November 1st, there will be a vernissage at Café Touski on Ontario St. in Montreal. In December, the show will move to Café L'Utopik. Every month, the show will mve to a different location. Hope to see you there.
Recording sessions for Backpacker have started in september with more sessions in november at DNA Production studios.
June 25, 2006.
Here's the setlist for the Bela Lugosi video launch at Café Chaos :
A
Man Named Kennedy
The Traveller
Something Solid
I'll Damn You To Hell
California
Dry Martini Parlor
National Pinetop
Shigoto
The Stream
Sayonara Baby
Like A Wave
Here
Bela Lugosi
June 9, 2006.
Coming up on june 21st.... the launch to my very first video. The song featured in the video is, of course, track 15 from The English House CD : "Bela Lugosi". ...about time, doncha think ? This will be my last promo push for The English House. After that, I am moving on to CD number 2.... Backpacker !
The launch will be on june 21st at Café Chaos where I had done the cd launch last year.
The video will soon be available on my site in a 2 weeks....watch for it !
A well deserved thank you goes out to the Aquarium Café Bar for having my artwork exposed there. This is ending on june 11. Photos from the exhibit will be up on my site soon.
Setlist from the Aquarium show May 10th :
Koto
Something Solid
The Traveller
Who'll Watch Over Us ?
Tokyo 2 A.M.
Here
California
Dry Martini Parlor
Bela Lugosi
Ignited
Superblack
/
All Along The Watchtower (Bob Dylan-Jimi Hendrix)
The English House
May 1, 2006.
OK... Big news... The video for Bela Lugosi directed by Ian Morin is done and will be released late may-early june. Watch for the announcement concerning the video launch very very soon.
My artwork is currently being exhibited in an exhibition I call POSTCARDS FROM THE ORIENT which consists of landscapes from the ...... orient....well, duh! This is taking place at the AQUARIUM CAFÉ BAR 2923, Masson St., Montreal and the artwork will be on display from May1 to June 11, 2006. The exhibit has 14 ink drawnigs and 4 paintings. There is a vernissage on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 from 5 to 9 p.m. There will be a musical performance @ 7 p.m. where I will play a few songs from English House, acouple from the upcoming Backpacker CD and a couple of other odd things.
January 31, 2006.
Hey long time no speak....sorry I was ssssssssssssssssssoooooooooooooooo busy First of all, a happy 2006 to you all and all the best and all that crap.........Here's a brief run down of the latest news :
First, the Zeke show is available on CD. It's a rough recording of a performance at Zeke's Gallery in Montreal dating from May 15, 2005. It's been a long time coming but I finally got around to make it available. This performance was unplugged with 2 mikes recording the event. If it interests you, you can contact me and I will happily send you a copy for a measly 10 $ plus postage and handling... it features my usual accomplices: Sylvain Auclair, Daniel Grégoire and Stéphane Pelletier. The sound is kind of "bootleg" quality for those of you who are old enough to remember the golden age of bootlegs.... I don't think I need to add more to that.
Secondly, shooting for my first ever video ( for Bela Lugosi ) was started in december. Hopefully, the thing will be available soon.... keep eyes peeled on that... The video is directed by Ian Morin, check him out on his site www.finalbaton.ca
I just did a quick promo trip to Toronto and Ottawa. It's about time I show my face over there....I will soon be announcing events for those areas soon.
Also...podcaster extraordinaire Julien Smith features one of my tunes ''A Man Named Kennedy" on his january 23rd podcast. Take a look and listen at www.inoveryourhead.net. Download his shows on your ipod and check it out.
Another podcast is available at
A big thank u to everybody at the Pop Montreal Festival for having me in their fest. It was a ball and I hope to it again .....Also, a tip of the hat to Brian Bordecht and his remains and to Drew Danburry who I shared the stage... Here's my setlist :
A
Man Named Kennedy
Something Solid
California
The English House
Like A Wave
Sayonara Baby
Superblack
Bela Lugosi
encore:
Shigoto / Wheel This One
More soon...
September 15, 2005.
Here's a look back at what I did this summer :
June 16th- Yeah! What a show... the best one yet. It was good to be back with amplification. The stage was kind of sticky with some kind of goo.... weird but the show went well and we were all happy. Here is the setlist:
Wheel
This One
Something Solid
I'll Damn You To Hell
The English House
Free Man
345 Days Away From You
Koto
A Man Named Kennedy
Like A Wave
Inland Sea / Boats
The
Traveler
National Pinetop
California
For Kirsten
Dry Martini Parlor
Tokyo 2 A.M.
Shigoto
The Stream
Sayonara Baby
encore:
Bela Lugosi
Câline De Blues (Offenbach)
June 20th- Two days after the show, I was on a plane to France to play my
first shows overseas, visit family and promoting my CD to distributors and
musical types in Paris.
This summer was turning out great. The amazing thing was that even before the trip, I have been on an intense writing period where I am coming up with some amazing tunes. This continued during my traveling. You will have to be patient for these songs cause it will be a couple of years before there are ready to be listened to.
July 1st - There we go. My first official gig outside Canada! Obviously, I couldn't afford to bring the band with me but that did not deter my enthusiasm. Playing solo was fine. The show took place in a town called Montauban, a semi-large city 50 km north of Toulouse in southern France. The venue's name is "Le Son de L'Innocence"...the sound of innocence. It was a very eco-friendly hang out where local independent bands came to play.... punk bands, metal bands...all sorts really. ...Yet with a very relaxed atmosphere. The show was a double bill. I was sharing the stage with a local heavy band called Du Orden.
Before the show, I was invited to play an impromptu set. Just outside the venue was a town square in front of a church where some festivity was going on. I took my acoustic set and played a 4-song set out there totally unplugged. The crowd seemed to enjoy and I invited them to the performance inside the venue.
Finally, back at le Son, it was time for me to go on. Here's the set list:
Outdoor
performance :
You Gotta Move (Mississippi
Fred McDowell)
California
Untitled Song June 30, 05
Like A Wave
Koto
Something Solid
A Man Named Kennedy
I'll Damn You To Hell
The Traveler
Wheel This One / Inland Sea / Boats
Dry Martini Parlor
The English House
Like A Wave
You Gotta Move
Bela Lugosi
Sayonara Baby
encore :
National Pinetop
with
Du Orden :
Lucky (Radiohead)
Rape Me (Nirvana)
Afterwards, Du Orden came on. During their set, I joined them onstage and we covered Radiohead's "Lucky" and Nirvana's " Rape Me." The nirvana cover was a blast as we got in heavy metal screaming mode....
A good time was enjoyed by all...
July 2nd. This time, I was in another town called Gaillac where I performed at "Le Bel Aspect." Gaillac is sort of the hometown on my mom's side of the family. My grandpa who is 93 still lives there. A hall was rented for the 50th wedding anniversary for my aunt and uncle. A good 60 people were there. A dj provided the entertainment...and I was part of it too... I played a quick set with just guitar and vocals.
For
Laura
Bela Lugosi
The English House
Like A Wave
Free Man
California
Inland Sea / Boats
Sayonara Baby
encore :
Together
The rest of my trip was great. The weather was fine, the food terrific although it was not just play and visiting relatives since I took the opportunity to make some contacts with music people over there. It's too soon to tell if anything will come of it. We shall see.
Back home, I resumed work on some of my songs for the upcoming album. Also, I started working on the details in order to shoot my first video. The director will be a gentleman by the name of Ian Morin. More on him later. The song that will be featured will be Bela Lugosi. WE worked on the concept and the script and we are presently looking for the technical team and the actors.
Also, I will get back to you about the Zeke CD.... promise...
September 1st- Next show... at L'Alize this time... This show featured 2 other artists, Dan Potvin and Gerald Cabot. This time I had the band with me...well, almost... Stephane was away in B.C. and could not be part of it so this was my first time as a trio. It went very well... actually, this was the heaviest show yet. For the first time, I played California and Superblack in a band context. I can't wait to record them. Both songs sounded awesome. Here's the setlist for that one...
Free
Man
Something Solid
California
Shigoto / Wheel This One
Tokyo 2 A.M.
Like A Wave
Sayonara Baby
Superblack
Bela Lugosi
Finally, here are the latest big news... I will be performing at the Pop Montreal Festival. The show will be at Missy Bar ( 250, Rue Mont-Royal Est ) on September 29th with Drew Danburry and The Remains of Brian Bordecht for a measly 5 $. Again, it will be a trio show since Stephane won't be back till late October. Big names are performing at that festival: Beck, Interpol, Sam Roberts and plenty of local, national and international talent. I don't think I'll get to jam with Beck but hey...it's a start... my first festival. Hope to see you there....
June 10,2005.
Hello people. I am preparing for my odyssey to France. I will be playing at "Le Son de l'Innocence" in Montauban, France on July 1st. Montauban is located in southern France. It's a medium sized town 50 km. north of Toulouse. Also on the bill is a local band called Du Orden. I will also be performing the next night in Gaillac at a family reunion. Looking forward for the partying.
Meanwhile, the next Montreal show is at La Place a Côté on june 16. Contact me for advanced tickets.
The Zeke's Gallery recordings have been delayed but will be available very very soon. The show itself went well although the turnout could have been better. Sunday evening was probably not the best time to hold that event. Oh well, live and learn... It was a good challenge to play unplugged though. Here's the setlist:
first
set :
Koto
Wheel This One
A Man Named Kennedy
The Traveler
For Kirsten
I'll Damn You To Hell
The English House
Like A Wave
Something Solid
second set :
Inland Sea / Boats
Sayonara Baby
Tokyo 2 A.M.
Shigoto
Dry Martini Parlor
345 Days Away From You
The Stream
California
Free Man
encore :
Bela Lugosi
May 1, 2005.
Hey there. Just letting you know that the album launch at Café Chaos was a blast ! I was so happy with the performance of the band that we broke out in an impromptu blues jam that seems to have pleased the crowd. I was also happy to see some new faces and hope this will be a growing trend. ....could have used a few more journalists at the launch though... .....looks like we will have to redouble our efforts in that department.. One media guy who was there was Mr. Bolduc of CIBL station. There will be a radio interview this week on CIBL with François Lemay. He does the 4 to 6 show on CIBL ( 101.5 fm on your dial ) . Check it out. Also, take a peek at the photo page for photos of the CD launch. Here is the setlist for the CD launch:
Koto
Wheel This One
A Man Named Kennedy
Something Solid
For Kirsten
I'll Damn You To Hell
Like A Wave
The English House
Bela Lugosi
encore:
Tokyo 2 A.M.
Blues Jam
OK . Here are new, upcoming shows and this one will be special:
Sunday,
May 14 at 7:00 p.m.
ZEKE'S GALLERY
3955 St-Laurent, Montreal
THIS SHOW WILL BE RECORDED !
That means that a CD will be made and sold and that this is your chance to own a CD of a show you have actually been to. The band will be the same as at the launch: Stéphane Pelletier on guitars, Sylvain Auclair on stick, Daniel Grégoire on drums and myself, of course. This will be an unplugged show ...more or less so this is going to be VERY INTERESTING !
Also, here is another date that is now officially confirmed:
Thursday,
June 16 at 9:00 p.m.
LA PLACE À CÔTÉ
4571, Papineau, Montreal.
Finally, I will be in France from June 18 to July 10. I will be performing at least one show on:
Friday,
July 1 at 9:00 p.m.
? venue to be announced soon ?
Montauban, France.
That's it. Oh yeah.....one more thing, please don't be shy and call your local station and ask one of my tunes as a request. Thanks.
March 1, 2005.
OK...Sorry about the delay.... It shouldn’t take me seven months to update my correspondence with my fans.... Sorry again.... All right, now that this done, here are the BIG announcements....
As of march 1st, my debut album, "The English House" is now, even as we speak, distributed through Eclectra Records for the territory of North America. Technically, that means that you could be able to find it in your favorite record store or CD outlet. However, reality being what it is, chances are it may be hard to spot since I am a new artist and that there are only so many copies printed. If you would like to purchase the CD, I encourage you to ask the retailer to order it: "The English House" by J.P. Mortier on the Eclectra Records label, catalogue number EC-1008. This will help me in creating a demand at the store and this may incite the retailer to order more copies.
My CD will also be available through the internet on CD Baby. Info to come very soon.
Again, since this is not a perfect world and that Santa Claus, the Loch Ness monster and the Sasquatch nor his little cousin exists, I am not expecting the CD to sell itself. I am hard at work promoting that sucker. I'll save you the gory details and tell you what I am doing to promote it starting with the album launch (or should I say re-launch )... So here it is, folks...the official announcement...
THE
ENGLISH HOUSE ALBUM LAUNCH
Thursday, April 14 at 8:30 p.m.
CAFÉ CHAOS
2035 St-Denis, Montreal.
Be sure to tell your friends. Headcounts are important!
Performing with me will be Stéphane Pelletier on guitars, Sylvain Auclair on "stick" and bass and Daniel Grégoire on drums. They are terrific musicians! This is an album launch so this is not your average show. I hope to be doing more shows with them and solo so be on the lookout for the announcements. I hope to be doing shows in and around Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and even in France.
I am also busy promoting my album to the printed media and, of course, radio
stations across Canada. I will ask you fans out there a really big favor:
As of April 1st, call up your favorite station and request them to play "
Bela Lugosi ", the official single from my CD
or any other song from my album. Word of mouth is powerful and I will need
your help for that one.
Thank you very much for your help and I will keep in touch...promise!
August 1, 2004.
Hello everybody and welcome to my new, improved website. This is the newspage where I will regularly let you people know what's going on with my musical and artistic career ........and whatever the hell I feel like talking about. Feel free to let me know what you think.
By the way, thank you for your patience as I am slowly learning how to piece this site together.... I am learning something new everyday....
From the homepage, you will be able to click to the other pages. The musicpage is where you will be able to sample some of my tunes. The lyricspage has the lyrics to all my songs as well as notes and insight on how these songs came to be. The biopage has....of course....my biography. The artpage features my paintings and drawings. ( If you would like to commission me to make you a painting or drawing, e-mail me ) The photopage has pictures of my travels through the years. For now, there are pictures of my stay in Japan. Eventually, more photos will be included. You will also find a page for my upcoming shows, a page for links to some of my favorite sites, a contact page where you can order my CD and this newspage which will be updated regularly.
O.K. Let's get started.....
First, I am proud to announce that the English House CD will be distributed under license through Eclectra Records for North America. The CD, although already available on this website and at my shows, will be officially released this fall. An official album launch show will be announced soon.
On Sunday, august 15, there will be an artistic event called "La Fou'art" to promote Montreal artists and performers. It will take place at Carré St-Louis at the end of Prince Arthur street between St-Denis and Laval streets starting at 11:00 a.m. It will go on throughout the day. This event is organized by Les Toiles, a nonprofit organism that promotes young local talent in various fields of artistic activity. The show will consist of a public performance in the square that will include artists at work and exhibiting their artwork. I will be one of the artists painting during the afternoon.