 Advance
Tickets $15.00 or $20 at the door
Doors open at 6 PM for jamming and hall will open
at 7:15 PM.
When you see twenty-seven year old April Verch
perform, the first thing that strikes you is the
pure energy that infuses her fiddle playing and
stepdancing. When you listen to Take Me Back , her
third disc for Rounder Records, though, what draws
you in are more subtle things—her confident,
winsome singing, the finely detailed elegance of
her fiddle phrasing and the depth of a repertoire
that ranges through material from Americana mainstays
Buddy and Julie Miller, to simple country songs
and rollicking tunes from her native Ottawa Valley
to sparkling original instrumentals. Like its predecessors,
Take Me Back is rooted in a deep musical tradition,
yet it also serves notice that April Verch has taken
a bold step forward and stands on the threshold
of a new and exciting stage of her career.
Born, raised and now living in Pembroke, Ontario,
where her family has lived for generations, April
grew up in an area with a rich, distinctive musical
and stepdancing tradition shaped by the diverse
roots of the immigrants drawn to the region's lumber
camps. Emulating her older sister, she began taking
stepdancing lessons when she was three, but right
from the start, she was drawn to the fiddle, too—though
her parents made her wait for three years before
giving her a fiddle for her sixth birthday. Her
talents in both arenas quickly became evident, as
she began winning fiddle and dance contests on her
own, and performing with her sister and the Pilatzke
brothers (now touring with Irish music legends,
The Chieftains) as a member of the Dueling Dancers,
a troupe that earned regional and national attention
for its blend of innovative and traditional Ottawa
Valley stepdancing.
“By the time I was ten,” April recalls,
“that was it—I knew I wanted to play
fiddle and dance for a living. I just wasn't sure
how I could do it.” By the time she finished
high school, she had recorded her first two self-released
albums ( Springtime in 1992, Fiddle Talk in 1995)
and was appearing across Canada at concerts, as
an invited guest at fiddle contests and as a teacher
at fiddle camps, always integrating dance and fiddling
into a seamless, dynamic whole. Offered a job with
a leading fiddle ensemble after graduation, she
opted instead to attend Boston's Berklee School
of Music, where she was exposed to—and quickly
mastered—an array of musical styles. At the
same time, she capped her fiddle contest career
with a pair of impressive wins, earning the titles
of Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion and Canadian
Open Fiddle Champion.
Indeed, her success—and her determination
to pursue music for a living—were such that
April left Berklee after a year. “I only had
enough money to get a two year diploma,” she
says with a laugh, “and I knew that if I did
that, I'd be starting out with nothing but loans.
So I decided to take that money and use it to start
my career.” Moving to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan,
the home of her road manager, percussionist and
husband-to-be Marc Bru, she mixed a growing amount
of touring on her own with stints as a member of
other groups, including the band of Canadian country
music star Tommy Hunter.
By the time Rounder Records' Ken Irwin spotted
her at the annual Folk Alliance conference in 2000,
April—still in her early 20s—had matured
into a self-assured, vibrant performer. Signed to
the label on the spot, she released Verchuosity
, her first Rounder CD, almost immediately. Earning
rave reviews and a JUNO (“Canadian Grammy”)
award nomination, the album also served to introduce
her to new audiences in the US, where she has appeared
at venues ranging from Washington, DC's Kennedy
Center to bluegrass and folk festivals across the
country.
With the release of From Where I Stand in 2003,
April added a new dimension to her music, making
her singing debut on songs like the Carter Family
favorite, “I'll Be All Smiles Tonight”
and Greg Trooper's “Light In The Window.”
Produced by old-time music favorite Bruce Molsky,
the CD confirmed the growth of her musical palette
with a mixture of original and traditional tunes
in French Canadian, Appalachian and Latin-flavored
styles—along with a healthy measure of Ottawa
Valley material.
With roots music master Dirk Powell as producer,
and recorded with local musicians at his Louisiana
studio, Take Me Back builds on the strengths of
From Where I Stand with a new emphasis on songs
and arrangements with broad, yet roots-leaning appeal.
Dipping again into the inexhaustible well of the
Ottawa Valley repertoire, April resurrects undeservedly
obscure tunes from regional fiddle heroes like Reg
Hill, as well as the charming 60s era country song,
“This Ottawa Valley Of Mine,” and weaves
rare French Canadian tunes culled from the record
collection of the legendary Graham Townsend (bequeathed
to her by Townsend's family) together with originals
that reflect the depth to which she has internalized
tradition. Other originals testify to her grasp
of even more musical idioms, from the Appalachian
drive of “Tom, Brad and Alice” to the
jazz-inflected lope of “Monarch,” written
with frequent collaborator Taylor Buckley. With
backing from Powell, Marc Bru, pianist Benoit Legault
(who appeared on From Where I Stand ), members of
the Red Stick Ramblers and other colleagues of the
producer, April offers convincing proof that her
supple, inventive fiddling is more powerful than
ever.
Still, it's the remainder of the album that is,
in many ways, the most important, for here April
Verch shows that in the two years that have elapsed
since her vocal debut, she has pursued singing with
the same passion and determination that have informed
her dancing and fiddle playing from the very start.
Turning to songwriters Miller, Julie Miller and
Claire Lynch, and making occasional, tasteful use
of electric guitar and drums, April brings a new
dimension to her work, delivering songs of intense,
often dark emotion with an expressive vocal depth
that belies not only the short time that's passed
since she began singing, but also her age. Indeed,
whether you're a long-time fan of or a newcomer
to April Verch's music, these are performances that
will come as a revelation.
“My dad always says, ‘don't forget
where you came from,'” April Verch is fond
of telling audiences at her concerts, and as the
music on her new CD shows, it's clear that her roots
still lie at the center of her music. Yet it's no
less clear that April Verch is a creative artist
who isn't afraid to follow her instincts—to
take chances—and on Take Me Back , it is equally
clear that they've led her to create music that
can reach the hearts of a new community of listeners.
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