Mark Berube

Banff Centre / St Ambroise Bursary / Coyote visit

Mark — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:58:19 +0000

Hello everybody,

Just sitting at by the window in the Cardinal cabin in the Leighton Artist Colony at the Banff Centre in the Rocky Mountains. Life is pretty amazing right now. I’ll be here for 6 weeks in total, finishing up the songs for the upcoming album and writing some other ones for a little side thing of mine. This is where I am (see photo below…. the snow melted yesterday…I think spring is here now….we’ll see)

ALSO, I’d like to send a big THANK YOU to the Centre St Ambroise and Brewery for awarding us one of their 5 $1000 bursary scholarships for 2012. Basically they choose 5 groups of all the groups that played the venue in 2012 and give them this lovely token of their appreciation and support. What an amazing surprise to receive the news a few weeks back. It will be a great help with the upcoming album.

This summer will be pretty quiet. We’ll have a show in early July in Montreal with Amelia Curran, but details to come. Otherwise, we won’t be hitting any asphalt til October. The new album will be coming out with our good and dear friends at Bonsound Records. They are good good people.

With love,

Mark

Banff Centre

Two more shows before a nice break / Banff Centre

Mark — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:10:13 +0000

Hola,

We’ve got two shows this weekend coming up ::

vendredi, le 12 avril :: Centre culturel de Beloeil @ Beloeil, QC
saturday, April 13th :: Le Mouton Noir @ Val David, QC

We also just pretty much finished 7 songs for the new album. We spent 10 days at Breakglass Studios with the one and only Jace Lasek (of The Besnard Lakes). It was very very productive and we got some killer sounds and goodies that will come out in October. 3 more to be recorded in July.

I’ll be spending 6 weeks at the Banff Centre in May and June composing in one of their Leighton Colony Cabins in the woods. I simply cannot wait for this.

A small photo of ‘to do’ list from day 7 I think….

Upcoming shows

Mark — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:07:06 +0000

Alo alo,

We’ve got three shows coming in the next two weeks, two of them on the Island of Montreal:

Friday, March 15th – Bibliothéque de St Leonard, St Léonard, QC
Saturday, March 16th – l’Entrepôt, Lachine, QC
Friday, March 22nd – Vieux Poste, St Romuald, QC

Here’s a little video of myself and CR Avery performing Shiny Plastic Bags / Barber Shop with Karissa Barry dancing and the Dances for Small Stages Festival in Vancouver, BC June 2011.

Hola Printemps / Konichiwa Springtime

Mark — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 22:28:11 +0000

Salut salut everybody,

It’s nice to be back on the bike, in early March Montreal. Il fait quand-même un peu froid aux mains, mais mille fois mieux que le métro:)

Tomorrow night night we’ll be in St Damien at the Maison de la Culture de Bellechase. J’aime bien ce coin de Québec.

Have a look at our other shows around Québec in March and April this year to your left.

Hasta pronto…….

Western Canada / Jet Lag / Land of Tim Hortons

Mark — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 17:53:42 +0000

Hello all,

After 2 days off in Montreal back home, we jumped on another plane to Vancouver. Just played the Centennial Theatre last night in North Vancouver. Was a great show with the nicest Yamaha Grand piano I’ve played yet. Such a treat. We’re heading to Chilliwack tonight, then Calgary (house concert), Regina, Swift Current, Bragg Creek, and Edson. Playing all the grand metropoli of the West:) I love it!

Here’s some photos from our last show in France (Besançon) with Sophie Hunger. Many thanks to David Glassey for taking them:

Photo by David Glassey

Photo by David Glassey

Photo by David Glassey

Halfway to the beginning

Mark — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 17:54:46 +0000

After a month of touring Europe, we’re still feeling that fresh-start-of-tour zing thanks to the recent arrival of drummer Tonio and bassist Amélie, survivors of the recent Montreal record-breaking weather conditions. After a good Swiss Fondue, we were ready to get the ball rolling with a warm up appearance on Switzerland’s National Radio programme Radio Paradiso. Then it was off to the races with shows in Lausanne at the Bleu Lézard, in Zürich at Moods im Schiffbau, and in Bern at Dachstock.

Tonight is our last night in Switzerland for a while at our home-away-from home Le Bout du Monde in Vevey! Over the years it has become a cherished tradition of the Mark Berubes that no tour in Europe shall pass without at least one good night steaming up its welcoming walls with music and convivial conversation.

Up next we’re happy, pleased, tickled even to embark on our official Album Launch tour in Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein. Have a look to your left for all the details, and hope to see you there! We’ll be back soon with an update after we cross the border. In the meantime we have to get in shape for the kilometers ahead….

Getting ready to hit the road for Germany!

Cintra Cancelled – Fribourg, CH

Mark — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:08:01 +0000

Hello everyone, sorry this is last minute, but due to circumstances beyond our control, our show at Le Cintra in Fribourg, CH tonight had to be cancelled.

Désolé! More news coming soon….

European Dates / Sophie Hunger / NEW VIDEO !!

Mark — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 16:54:54 +0000

Alo Alo,

We’re excited to present to you our new video for the song Above the Ground (w/ Emily Loizeau) directed by Frédérique Bérubé (no relation) ) It was inspired by the work of Scottish artist Andy Goldsworthy. Maybe you’ve heard of his installation when he brought giant snow balls into downtown London, England back in June, 2000. He creates the temporary in a way that you won’t easily forget. Since the song Above the Ground touches on the subject of how we are temporary in all our faults and glory, so it seemed like a natural fit. We hope you enjoy it.

As well, as you can see to your left, the dates for our European Tour are posted. We’ve got 4 concerts in December opening for Sophie Hunger in Bâle and St Gallen in Switzerland as a duo (Kristina and I).

We would also like to thank all the kind folks that came out to all of our shows around Québec this autumn. It was amazing for us to do so many shows around the province where we live. Un grand grand merci à vous!

You can see the video here:

———–

Nous sommes contents de vous dévoiler notre nouveau clip pour la chanson Above the Ground avec Emily Loizeau (June in Siberia) réalisé par Frédérique Bérubé. Le Clip a été inspiré par l’artiste écossais Andy Goldsworthy. Peut-être avez-vous entendu parler de son installation quand il a mis des boules de neiges au centre ville de Londres, Angleterre en juin, 2000. Il crée l’éphémère de façon à ce qu’on ne l’oublie pas. La chanson Above the Ground parle de ce sujet-là….

En plus, vous pouvez voir à votre gauche toutes les dates pour notre tournée européenne qui commence la semaine prochaine en Suisse avec Sophie Hunger à Bâle.

On a bien hâte pour cette tournée. ET, nous aimerions dire un grand merci à tout le monde qui est venu à nos concerts partout au Québec cet automne. C’était ben le fun.

Europe / Québec / Nuns and Priests

Mark — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 14:46:31 +0000

Hello friends,

It’s been an amazing Fall/ early Winter around Québec. We’ve already played about 17 shows, with 2 left this week (Thursday – St Thérése….Friday – Waterloo). We truly want to thank all the venues/Cultural Centres for their great hospitality and all the people that came out to the shows. We’ll be back….hopefully with the new album in the Fall of 2013.

Kristina (cellist) and I will be flying out to Europe next week for a string of duo shows with Sophie Hunger (dates to be added to your left shortly), then in Janaury Tonio (drummer) and Amélie (bassist) will be joining us for the big tour around Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and France. Can’t wait to get back over there. Dates to be posted shortly.

After our show in Richmond, Qc, where we played in an old convent-turned-concert-hall, our hosts Louis-Phillipe and Annie let us raid the old costume room up in the attic. We’ve been ordained……

Alo les amis,

Il faut dire que cet automne était vraiment excellent. On a déjà joué 17 concerts au Québec et il en reste deux cette semaine: jeudi – St Thérése, vendredi – Waterloo. Un grand merci à tous les gens qui nous ont accuelli et aux publics très chaleureux. On va revenir j’espère en 2013 avec le nouvel album!!

Kristina (violoncelliste) et moi allons partir la semaine prochaine en Europe pour quelques concerts en première partie de Sophie Hunger en Suisse, puis les autres (Tonio et Amélie) vont nous rejoindre en janvier pour la grosse tournée en Allemagne, Autriche, Suisse, et France. Je vais mettre les dates bientôt à votre gauche et sur Facebook.

Après notre concert à Richmond, Louis-Phillipe et Annie, nos adorables hôtes, nous ont amené dans l’entretoit du vieux couvent (où se trouve la salle de spectacle actuelle) pour essayer de vieux habits….on a été ordonnés ce soir-là…..(la photo au-dessus)

Bande à Part : Radio Canada // Sophie Hunger

Mark — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 00:45:23 +0000

Alo, it’s been a while.

We did a show with Pierre Lapointe on the Ubisoft rooftop back in August. It was one of the most memorable shows we’ve ever done. AND, happily, the program Bande à Part of Radio Canada, caught the whole thing on tape and video. You can view an excerpt from the show here:

Ubisoft rooftop concert

As well, we’ll be doing 4 concerts with Sophie Hunger this upcoming week. See to your left for the details. This Saturday we’ll be in Shawinigan, then next week in Gatineau, Sherbrooke, and Longueuil! We love what she does and look forward to doing what she does.

Check out some videos of hers here:

Sophie Hunger

à bientôt…

New song…

Salut tout le monde,

Alo, ça fait un moment. Nous avons fait un concert avec Pierre Lapointe sur le toit de Ubisoft à Montréal en août. C’était une soirée très mémorable. Vous pouvez écouter et voir le concert grace à Bande à Part (Radio-Canada). Cliquez sur le liens au-dessus.

Nous commencons demain soir notre premier concert (de quatre en total) avec Sophie Hunger à Shawinigan. Vous pouvez voir les détails à votre gauche. Nous avons très hâte pour ces shows-là. Elle est bonne! Son groupe joue pas mal aussi:)

Hasta pronto…