Andrew Scott (Canadian musical artist)
Encyclopedia
Andrew Scott, born Robert Andrew Scott on September 27, 1979, is a Canadian musician and song writer, specializing in Alternative Country
, Alternative Folk
, and Folk Rock
, with additional interests in Folk Music
and Blues
. He is from Grande Prairie, Alberta
, Canada
, and is married to Julie Sauve Scott.
, violin
, keyboard
, concert flute
, pianica (melodica), accordion
, harmonica
, kazoo
, and the autoharp
. In addition, Scott has incorporated various vocal styles in his work, and is particularly adept at yodeling
.
Themes which are often heard in the lyrics of his songs include both the frustrating and gratifying aspects of everyday interpersonal and romantic relationships, often with a humorous bent. His more recent songs humorously lampoon aspects of life in Japan from the point of view of a foreign resident. His most popular original songs have been River of Tears, Sweetie Pie, and I'm Gonna Bust Your Head In. In live performances, Scott has also been known for his talented cover versions of many songs. His renditions of the songs Rawhide
and We Do
(also known as The Stonecutters' Song) in particular endeared him to members of his American audience. Scott is known among his fans for his gregarious stage presence, charismatic personality, and clarion voice, sometimes reminiscient of the late Frankie Laine
.
. During his time there he joined The Turncoats, a popular local group, as guitarist and lead vocalist
. With Scott as their frontman, The Turncoats recorded two CDs (Bloodrunnin and Teeth Like A Chainsaw) and played at venues and festivals throughout western Canada.
From 2007 until 2010, Scott and his wife Julie lived and worked in Aichi Prefecture
, Japan
, as English teachers in public schools. He continued to perform while in Japan, mostly at venues in the cities of Toyohashi and Nagoya, where Julie frequently accompanied on percussion. In May 2009, Scott released a CD entitled 13 Birds of Prey. Songs were recorded in both Canadian and Japanese studios, and featured the collaborative efforts of Japanese, Canadian, American, Australian, and Irish musical artists.
Scott and his wife returned to Lethbridge, Alberta, in July 2010. Scott reunited with The Turncoats for a series of live performances in September 2010. Although The Turncoats have taken an indefinite hiatus, they occasionally re-unite whenever possible. Scott is currently working with Julie and Takuro Otani on a new album tentatively titled My Time In The Empire. This album is scheduled for release online and in stores in early 2011.
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
, Alternative Folk
Indie folk
Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s from singer/songwriters in the indie rock community showing heavy influences from folk music scenes of the 50s, 60s and early 70s, country music, and indie rock. A few early artists included Lou Barlow, Beck, Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith...
, and Folk Rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
, with additional interests in Folk Music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and Blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
. He is from Grande Prairie, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and is married to Julie Sauve Scott.
Artistic Style
While the instrumental portion of Scott's songs rely primarily on the acoustic guitar, Scott has drawn upon the talents of numerous musicians with a variety of sometimes unusual instruments (especially in relation to the genre of the song) to create a particular ambience through an innovative blend of instrumental sounds. Such instruments include the ukuleleUkulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
, violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, concert flute
Western concert flute
The Western concert flute is a transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, or flute player....
, pianica (melodica), accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, kazoo
Kazoo
The kazoo is a wind instrument which adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton, which is a membranophone, a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane."Kazoo" was the name given by...
, and the autoharp
Autoharp
The autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when depressed, mute all of the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither. -History:There is debate over the...
. In addition, Scott has incorporated various vocal styles in his work, and is particularly adept at yodeling
Yodeling
Yodeling is a form of singing that involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the vocal or chest register to the falsetto/head register; making a high-low-high-low sound.The English word yodel is derived from a German word jodeln meaning "to...
.
Themes which are often heard in the lyrics of his songs include both the frustrating and gratifying aspects of everyday interpersonal and romantic relationships, often with a humorous bent. His more recent songs humorously lampoon aspects of life in Japan from the point of view of a foreign resident. His most popular original songs have been River of Tears, Sweetie Pie, and I'm Gonna Bust Your Head In. In live performances, Scott has also been known for his talented cover versions of many songs. His renditions of the songs Rawhide
Rawhide (song)
"Rawhide" is a Western song written by Ned Washington and composed by Dimitri Tiomkin in 1958. It was originally recorded by Frankie Laine...
and We Do
Homer the Great
"Homer the Great" is the twelfth television episode of The Simpsons sixth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 8, 1995. In the episode, Homer discovers that Lenny and Carl are members of the ancient secret society known as the Stonecutters...
(also known as The Stonecutters' Song) in particular endeared him to members of his American audience. Scott is known among his fans for his gregarious stage presence, charismatic personality, and clarion voice, sometimes reminiscient of the late Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
.
Musical career
Starting in 2002 Scott studied music at the University of LethbridgeUniversity of Lethbridge
The University of Lethbridge is a publicly-funded comprehensive academic and research university, founded in the liberal education tradition, located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with two other urban campuses in Calgary and Edmonton. The main building sits among the coulees on the west side of...
. During his time there he joined The Turncoats, a popular local group, as guitarist and lead vocalist
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
. With Scott as their frontman, The Turncoats recorded two CDs (Bloodrunnin and Teeth Like A Chainsaw) and played at venues and festivals throughout western Canada.
From 2007 until 2010, Scott and his wife Julie lived and worked in Aichi Prefecture
Aichi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region. The region of Aichi is also known as the Tōkai region. The capital is Nagoya. It is the focus of the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area.- History :...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, as English teachers in public schools. He continued to perform while in Japan, mostly at venues in the cities of Toyohashi and Nagoya, where Julie frequently accompanied on percussion. In May 2009, Scott released a CD entitled 13 Birds of Prey. Songs were recorded in both Canadian and Japanese studios, and featured the collaborative efforts of Japanese, Canadian, American, Australian, and Irish musical artists.
Scott and his wife returned to Lethbridge, Alberta, in July 2010. Scott reunited with The Turncoats for a series of live performances in September 2010. Although The Turncoats have taken an indefinite hiatus, they occasionally re-unite whenever possible. Scott is currently working with Julie and Takuro Otani on a new album tentatively titled My Time In The Empire. This album is scheduled for release online and in stores in early 2011.
Awards
- 2010 - Top 10 category, "Gaijin Sounds Songwriting Contest" featured in JapanzineJapanzineJapanzine is a Japan-based English-language magazine, published by Carter Witt Media. Now 20 years in publication, it is the successor magazine to "The Alien" and caters largely to the expatriate community in Japan...
, for his song I'm Gonna Bust Your Head In. - 2007 - Second Place, Calgary Folk Music FestivalCalgary Folk Music FestivalThe Calgary Folk Music Festival is held in late July each year at Prince's Island Park, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. While known for attracting both established and up-and-coming folk music, the festival features a wide variety of artists including hip-hop, alternative, blues, and world acts...
Songwriting Contest, for his song River of Tears. - 2006 - "Best Performance", Calgary Folk Music FestivalCalgary Folk Music FestivalThe Calgary Folk Music Festival is held in late July each year at Prince's Island Park, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. While known for attracting both established and up-and-coming folk music, the festival features a wide variety of artists including hip-hop, alternative, blues, and world acts...
, with original song Artillery. - 2001 - First Place, Grande Prairie 97.7 Sun FM Songwriting Contest, for his song She Don't Want My Money.
External links
- Andrew Scott Website
- Andrew Scott on Sonicbids
- Andrew Scott's MySpace (with video clips of selected songs)