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PAWNSHOP DIAMOND
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by Shain Shapiro
March 4 - 10. 2010 |
 Pawnshop Diamond
Friday March 11th
Maxwell’s Music House
220 King Street North
Waterloo
519.498.5705
Saturday March 12th
Carden Street Cafe
40 Carden Street
Guelph
519.837.2830
myspace.com/pawnshopdiamond
Since he begun his worldwide tour three years ago, the world has once begun to embrace and discover the gorgeous music that Leonard Cohen penned. While the man never wrote singles for commercial radio, his poetry and way with words punctured each orifice on the listener, so much so that one was now stuck with Cohen, forever, entrapped in his sombre but effecting brood. And with his music came its influence of scores of bands, from Patrick Watson to Neko Case. Yet, one Vancouver-based act has taken his teachings to their very core, choosing to name their band on the basis of the phrase in one of his songs. This band, Pawnshop Diamond, does not resemble Cohen's own musings, but in every note they play, his influence his omniscient. But instead of simply retracing his steps, Pawnshop Diamond have created their own brand of adult-rock, one that is beginning to be an influence of its own across Canada.
The result is a full-length that emerged last year independently, their second to date, titled Leaning to the Sun. The long-player, distributed through CD Baby, has garnered positive reviews nationwide, prompting the band and its leader, chanteuse Katie Ormiston, to back up the van and go on the road. "The album was recorded mostly at the Factory Studios in Vancouver in the spring of 2008," explains Ormiston. "We decided to go that route because we had won studio time there from the Music BC Songbird Contest for our song, ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’. We recorded the bulk of it in just a couple of days as that’s all we had. For our first record, we had recorded tracks separately, which was good because the band was still shifting form and at that point lacked the cohesion that comes from playing live together. That said, I much preferred the recording style the second time round because we basically set up in this fantastic studio and recorded together live at the same time. The only thing we added was that I laid the vocal tracks overtop, and I think most of them were just the first take. I remember being taken into a little room with velvet curtains, romantic lighting, headphones and a stool. And one by one, I sang the songs."
There is a certain underlying sense of romance with Pawnshop Diamond, something Mr. Cohen and others obviously influence, but in so much as Ormiston wears what she loves on her sleeve, it is her voice and way with words that creates the sensuality inherent within the troupe. But within this heat comes shots of cold, thematic realizations, as these songs are not about falling for one's better half. With this lot, it's significantly more complex. "I think, if there is an inherent theme permeating the record, it would be a carpe diem slash mourning of idealism through the eyes of an eternal optimist variety," explains Ormiston. "I’m not sure that my themes will ever change. I experienced death and heartbreak starting from a young age and I think that has left me torturedly aware of impermanence and the impending end of my and my loved ones’ existence. That said, I sure as hell don’t want to spend this short time feeling sorry for myself or scared of the unknown. I remember once I had a dream after my first love died as teenagers that I had two minutes to live. I was petrified, but just before waking I remember thinking that I didn’t want to spend my last moments scared. When my stepfather died recently, I could feel the fear as well as the love in his eyes. I think dying is the bravest thing we do in our lives. Perhaps I’m one of few that takes time to lie on my couch and practice taking my last breath. I don’t know. All I do know is that my obsessive preoccupation with death pushes me to enjoy the people I love and to pursue my life dreams. Without it, I’m not sure I would be as focused in my desire to play music or to use music to share my fear of the looming end so as to not feel so alone in it."
And these dark, more personal thematic nodes alongside Ormiston gorgeously dark voice, is what is pushing Pawnshop Diamond up the charts in Canada, a trait that is sure to continue as more discover the beauty and the morbidity the band propel. And of course, there is no better place to discover this than live, as the band is in both Guelph and Waterloo this week. " You might think a Pawnshop Diamond show would be dark and depressing, given our influences, but this is where the eternal optimist in me comes out to shine," concludes Ormiston. "When I write, I go to dark places but when we play music, we celebrate. At a Pawnshop show, one can expect big smiles, warm welcomes, toasts to your health and feel good melodies laced with heartwarming harmonies." Here's hoping one day Mr. Cohen drops by and sees what he has influenced. He'd be pleased.
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