Canyon

From the Gern Blandsten Records website;

Seems like more and more artists these days are getting back in touch with the delicate and often overlooked art of songwriting, realizing that sonic arson and unrelenting esotericism don't necessarily equal quality. Yes, that's a good thing. The members of the DC quintet CANYON are of this mindset, creating delicate and introspective modern folk pieces that seek to harness the vast emotional power of their instruments. CANYON is a great name for this group: their music is dusty, earthy, vast, full of wind and shadows and secrets.

CANYON is an indie rock group -- or at least has an indie rock pedigree -- but clearly the group looks to the music of '70s country & folk singer-songwriters like Townes Van Zandt, Kris Kristofferson, and the acoustic Bruce Springsteen for inspiration. The band crafts pensive, melancholy canvases with simple strokes, giving as much musical space folky instruments like lap steel, harmonica, and accordion as to their assorted guitars, eclectic percussion, and electric piano. The music is poignantly beautiful, loaded with raw emotions and empty of rock 'n' roll pretensions.

Says the Washington Post, "This is one of the best bands I've seen in the last 10 years. And I'm not just talking local. I'm talking on any and every level, they are one of the greatest bands I have ever witnessed.”

RELEASES:

Empty Rooms (CD/LP)
Lap steel, Hammond organ, harmonica, accordion, and psychedelic guitars are not something you tend to expect from a band based in Washington, D.C., yet the unique sound of CANYON could not have been grown anywhere else. The band formed in the fall of 1999 when Brandon Butler and Joe Winkle (formerly of BOYS LIFE) and Dave Bryson of BLUETIP joined up with Evan Berodt and Derry DeBorja in an attempt to do something more than anything they had done in the past. With subtle winks and nods towards early PINK FLOYD and 1970s-era Neil Young, Empty Rooms evokes a giant cinematic background with earnest, direct songwriting in the middle.


(self-titled) (CD)
The predecessor to Empty Rooms, CANYON's self-titled debut puts some of the pushpins on the map as to the roads they went down to get to where they are today. Originally released on Slowdime Records, the reissue features brand new & improved artwork and packaging. Similar to Empty Rooms, but decidedly more understated, the band stumble through the hazy back roads lit by slide and lap steel guitars, accordian, fender rhodes, harmonium and friends. Recorded and mixed by Nate, Seb and Phil from TRANS AM in the summer of 2001, the overall feel is one of long nights, mile-high days and missed mornings.

Note: the album 'Radio Romance' is by completely different 1980's group with the shared name Canyon. The album of dog songs is an erroneous entry and is not related to Canyon. These will hopefully be fixed in the future when the musicbrainz implementation is complete.