Rheostatics tribute thread
direwolf74
Posts: 1,622
Over the next couple of days, one of Canada's greatest bands, The Rheostatics, will be playing their final two shows in Toronto before hanging it up. Chances are that maybe 4 or 5 people on this forum even knows who they are, meaning this thread will probably disappear by this afternoon. Oh well. I was first introduced to the Rheos way back in 1992 when a friend of mine gave me a copy of "Whale Music" for my birthday. Needless to say I've been a huge fan ever since, and I've seen them live at least 8 or 10 times...I can't really remember. My best Rheostatics story goes something like this:
Back in 2001 while I was taking journalism at Algonquin College in Ottawa, the major project for our final semester was to be a 5,000 word feature story on anything we wanted. I decided to do mine on the Rheostatics. At the time, the band was scheduled to do their annual week-long residency at the Horseshoe Tavern, which they called "Fall Nationals". I contacted Dave Bidini and asked him if I could come down and interview the band. Being the nice guy that he is, he told me to meet him in front of the 'Shoe before soundcheck and he'd get me into the gig for free and do an exclusive one-on-one interview with me. So I drive down to TO, check into a hotel, and make my way over to the Horeshoe to meet Dave. I waited for a while and he didn't show up, so I started to get a little pissed off. Suddenly I see Martin Tielli making his way across the street towards the bar. As he approached I introduced myself and told him I was there to meet Dave for an interview. Martin replied "He's probably just late as usual. Typical Dave, getting all his plans mixed up. Do you want to interview me instead?" I said sure and we walked into the bar together and sat down at a table near the stage. The crew had just started setting up their gear, so we had plenty of time to chat before soundcheck. We grabbed a couple of beers, sat down and did a nice hour-long interview. In fact it wasn't even really an interview. I just turned on my tape recorder and we chatted for a while. We talked about everything from the current state of Canadian music, to his disgust over the Toronto smoking ban ("I wish we were more like Europe", he said), to the pros & cons of spending an entire career as an obscure underground Canadian art-rock band. It was a great conversation, and Tielli is by far one of the nicest and most sincere musicians I've ever met.
Eventually the rest of the band showed up and Bidini apologized for being so late. I ended up staying to watch the soundcheck, watched the actual show, and then hung out with them again after the gig was over. It was a fantastic experience that I'll never forget. I hope people realize that without bands like the Rheostatics, today's massively successful Canadian indie-rock scene probably wouldn't even exist. These guys are the original pioneers, and they will be missed. Anybody else have any good Rheos stories to share?
Oh, I almost forgot. Here's an article from today's Toronto Star about the their final shows:
http://www.thestar.com/artsentertainment/article/196682
"This is for the Rheostatics. We're all richer for having seen them tonight."
-Gord Downie, Detroit, 11/23/96
Back in 2001 while I was taking journalism at Algonquin College in Ottawa, the major project for our final semester was to be a 5,000 word feature story on anything we wanted. I decided to do mine on the Rheostatics. At the time, the band was scheduled to do their annual week-long residency at the Horseshoe Tavern, which they called "Fall Nationals". I contacted Dave Bidini and asked him if I could come down and interview the band. Being the nice guy that he is, he told me to meet him in front of the 'Shoe before soundcheck and he'd get me into the gig for free and do an exclusive one-on-one interview with me. So I drive down to TO, check into a hotel, and make my way over to the Horeshoe to meet Dave. I waited for a while and he didn't show up, so I started to get a little pissed off. Suddenly I see Martin Tielli making his way across the street towards the bar. As he approached I introduced myself and told him I was there to meet Dave for an interview. Martin replied "He's probably just late as usual. Typical Dave, getting all his plans mixed up. Do you want to interview me instead?" I said sure and we walked into the bar together and sat down at a table near the stage. The crew had just started setting up their gear, so we had plenty of time to chat before soundcheck. We grabbed a couple of beers, sat down and did a nice hour-long interview. In fact it wasn't even really an interview. I just turned on my tape recorder and we chatted for a while. We talked about everything from the current state of Canadian music, to his disgust over the Toronto smoking ban ("I wish we were more like Europe", he said), to the pros & cons of spending an entire career as an obscure underground Canadian art-rock band. It was a great conversation, and Tielli is by far one of the nicest and most sincere musicians I've ever met.
Eventually the rest of the band showed up and Bidini apologized for being so late. I ended up staying to watch the soundcheck, watched the actual show, and then hung out with them again after the gig was over. It was a fantastic experience that I'll never forget. I hope people realize that without bands like the Rheostatics, today's massively successful Canadian indie-rock scene probably wouldn't even exist. These guys are the original pioneers, and they will be missed. Anybody else have any good Rheos stories to share?
Oh, I almost forgot. Here's an article from today's Toronto Star about the their final shows:
http://www.thestar.com/artsentertainment/article/196682
"This is for the Rheostatics. We're all richer for having seen them tonight."
-Gord Downie, Detroit, 11/23/96
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
-Tom Waits
-Tom Waits
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Comments
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070329.wxrheo29/BNStory/Entertainment/home
-Tom Waits
I have seen the Rheos live more than any other band - at least 25 times (usually 4 or 5 times a year since I was in highschool). Back in highschool we tried desperately to get the Rheos to come and play my friends birthday party. In hindsight it was a pretty silly idea - but if any band would have been up for it, it would have been the Rheos - and it actually led to several phone conversations with the band (usually Dave) They actually seemed quite interested in the idea....it never happened BUT they did invite my friend up on stage years later and dedicated a rousing version of Happy Birthday to him at the end of one of their epic shows at the Horseshoe.
....your story is great - everytime I got a chance to talk to the band they were always extremely friendly and accomodating....always up for a good conversation (usually about music, hockey or fishing)
....anyone who has ever seen the Rheos live will completey understand where Gord is coming from -they enriched my life everytime I got to see one of their shows. I feel sorry for any music fan who never got the opportunity to see Martin Tielli squeeze these incredible sounds out of his guitar with an intensity that can be rivalled by very few.
I really hope that some people out there take the time to go out and discover/rediscover this hidden gem - they are a truly unique artistic and creative force and there is no doubt that our music scene would not be nearly as vital as it is if it were not for their guidance and inspiration.
I hope you'll be able to hear the standing ovation tomorrow night all the way in (EDIT) Calgary - they deserve nothing less
and they all eat rainbows and pooh butterflies!
-Tom Waits
Marginalized
Making Progress
Sweet, Rich, Beautiful, Mine
Feed Youself
All The Same Eyes
The Idiot
A Mid Winter Night's Dream (to close the show)
Saskatchewan
Bad Time To Be Poor
Shaved Head
Self Serve Gas Station
California Dreamline
Horses
Stolen Car
Jesus Was Once A Teenager Too
Record Body Count
Christopher
Row
In This Town
Me And Stupid
You Are A Treasure
Onilley's Strange Dream
Aliens
Northern Wish (Group Of 7 style)
PIN
The Fire
Satan Is The Whistler
I Fab Thee
Loving Arms (with Sarah Harmer)
King Of The Past
The Headless One
Dope Fiends and Boozehounds
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
....I'm not asking for much, eh?
and they all eat rainbows and pooh butterflies!