Songs You May Have Missed #735

02 Jan 2023 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

The Bills: “Bamfield’s John Vanden” (2005)

Folky Victoria, B.C. quintet the Bills eschew the usual mandolin, fiddle and accordion for an infectious a cappella sea chantey.

Though this song sounds for all the world like a traditional, it was actually written by the Bills’ Chris Frye in honor of his great uncle, Bamfield, British Columbia coastal fisherman John Vanden, who passed away in 2011 at age 96.

Since its appearance on 2005’s stylistically diverse Let Em Run LP, the song has found favor (and inspired cover versions) in folk circles, so maybe it will attain “traditional” status.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/03/12/songs-you-may-have-missed-47/

Songs You May Have Missed #47

12 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

the bills

The Bills: “Nowhere To Be (And All Day to Get There)” (2005)

The Bills’ 2005 album Let Em Run is one of the most stylistically schizoid albums I’ve ever had the confusion of listening to. It touches equally deftly on folk, jazz, bluegrass, zydeco, ragtime…and sea chantey. The record begins with the type of overture you’d associate with an opera, in which several of the melodies to follow are represented, each in a distinct style. Genres change with dizzying frequency throughout the rest of the album, sometimes mid-song.

The Canadian band who shortened their name from the Hill Billy Band to simply the Bills hasn’t been heard from since this, their third album. But clearly they were a unit whose competence over a diversity of styles was quite impressive. And this particular track is still the only song I know to use the word “insouciance”, for what that’s worth.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2023/01/02/songs-you-may-have-missed-735/