So Who's Going To Fill In For Stu And Blake?

[Who]

Matt announced on M+ (am I allowed to post this here?) that Stuart and Blake, also members of the band The Heartbroken, won't be going on tour with him but that things were "well in hands".

 

I wonder who's going to fill in...

Edited June 21, 2011 by Who

[uglyredhonda]

Well, he deleted the post about it, so who knows what's going on. Not sure it's even worth speculating at this point.

Edited June 21, 2011 by uglyredhonda

[Who]

That's odd...

[Moonlight_Graham]

i love them dudes! hope they stay on

[AnOceanPearl]

The post was accidentally deleted: "Sometimes, when I

[Moonlight_Graham]

I'm actually very sad to see Stu go. He was fantastic, and was a bit of an inspiration to me on the lead guitar. I wanted to ask for his autograph on my 'Vancouver' CD if i got to see Matt at his bus next tour. His work on stuff like 'Great Whales of the Sea' was epic, he had a bit of 'The Edge' in him.

 

Loved Blake's energy & enthusiasm on drums and backing vocals. Fuck man! They'll be missed. wish them the best.

Edited June 22, 2011 by Moonlight_Graham

[Guest jjazz]

They really had a good thing going, shame to see that spark will have to start all over again.

[johnny]

Drat, Stu's a good Caper and comes from a great family of musicians - small wonder he was playing with Matt. Blake was always great to watch and listen to too, so much energy. Those are some big shoes to fill...

[Curtster]

I have mixed feelings on this development. On one hand I like the idea of having a bit of a fresh sound on this tour and maybe have things changed up a bit. This will be my 3rd time seeing Matt live this fall and the 2 previous times were both with the Stu/Blake lineup, so I'm interested to see what some other musicians can bring to the table. On the other hand, this lineup had just got to the point where they had a good repertoire of back catalogue material available to them (all of Vancouver and HM along with most of the important songs prior to that). If it's a couple new guys in there, it could be like the first tour Matt did with Stu and Blake, where there wasn't much wondering what they would play that night because they didn't have much more than a setlist worth of songs they could play. If it's a new group though, there could be some interesting new twists put on older songs, which would be fun to see. From what I can see, Matt did a lot more of that when he played with Christian and Pat Steward.

 

It's good to hear Matt say the situation is well in hand though, whoever he is playing with I hope they are based out of Vancouver so he doesn't have to go to Toronto to rehearse (although I guess Milos would still have to be there somehow). I guess we might find out some names when dates start surfacing in the next couple weeks. It doesn't sound like this was Matt's choice, so he just has to work with what he's dealt and hopefully it turns out be a nice fresh sound this fall.

[AnythingYouWant]

It's interesting because when Matt ditched Christian, Rich, and Pat for Stu, Milos, and Blake, he said that outfit had run it's creative course, and he was talking about new takes on songs, which the 02-05 lineup was great at (Giant/Symbolistic White Walls, Load Me Up/X-Wing, Pledge, Near Fantastica). Not only did we not hear much of that with this lineup (except Apparitions and Empty's, which were awesome), but he even reverted to album versions of Load Me Up, Hello Timebomb, and Future Is X-Rated (slow version ftw!). So I'm very curious to hear what a new lineup will have in store, especially with the direction Matt took on this record.

[Who]

He didn't ditch anyone. Rich and Matt are no longer on speaking terms. I don't know what happened to Christian but Pat went back to play with The Odds after recording Hospital Music.

[Crusader]

Pretty sure The Heartbroken have also just released an album.

[Moonlight_Graham]

On the other hand, this lineup had just got to the point where they had a good repertoire of back catalogue material available to them (all of Vancouver and HM along with most of the important songs prior to that). If it's a couple new guys in there, it could be like the first tour Matt did with Stu and Blake, where there wasn't much wondering what they would play that night because they didn't have much more than a setlist worth of songs they could play.

 

This is what really sucks with starting with new guys in the band.

[Who]

Crusader: Yes they have

 

Moonlight: It's a 50/50 thing. There's that but also, Matt could show them new songs he hasn't played in a while like Near Fantastica.

 

When this band was formed, I think Matt said something like they had to learn the songs from the CDs (which is why Load Me Up was so slow at first I think). But he also said that they couldn't get Near Fantastica worked out with the loop.

 

Finally, with all what Matt said about the Vancouver music scene, I doubt they'll be Vancouverites...I could be wrong though.

[AnOceanPearl]

I also recall Matt saying he wanted to do Near Fantastica, but couldn't find the loop that he needed, which sucks, but it is what it is I guess. Wouldn't it be something if Christian and Ian came back into the fold? That would be pretty awesome, and incredibly unlikely.

[Curtster]

I also recall Matt saying he wanted to do Near Fantastica, but couldn't find the loop that he needed, which sucks, but it is what it is I guess. Wouldn't it be something if Christian and Ian came back into the fold? That would be pretty awesome, and incredibly unlikely.

I was almost thinking the same thing, Matt saying that things are well in hand seems like it might imply there might be familiar faces coming back, but who knows.

 

When Matt did that question and answer thing in December, I asked him if he would ever play Near Fantastica live again and he said that he probably would, so we can still hold out hope that it could be included in this tour. I also remember him saying when he first started with Blake and Stu that Near Fantastica wouldn't be played because he couldn't find the loop. Shouldn't be too hard to make a new one though.

[adrianf74]

It's interesting because when Matt ditched Christian, Rich, and Pat for Stu, Milos, and Blake, he said that outfit had run it's creative course, and he was talking about new takes on songs, which the 02-05 lineup was great at (Giant/Symbolistic White Walls, Load Me Up/X-Wing, Pledge, Near Fantastica). Not only did we not hear much of that with this lineup (except Apparitions and Empty's, which were awesome), but he even reverted to album versions of Load Me Up, Hello Timebomb, and Future Is X-Rated (slow version ftw!). So I'm very curious to hear what a new lineup will have in store, especially with the direction Matt took on this record.

+1 -- the 02-05 lineup was fantastic. I had the luck of seeing him in Hamilton, Toronto and Orangeville at differing points during those years and loved seeing/hearing "NF" played (it's probably STILL my favourite Matt Good song to date).

 

I think this change _COULD_ be a good thing as I found the performances technically great on "Hospital Music" (Oshawa) and "Vancouver" (Massey Hall) but I somehow still felt a little cheated by comparison. Indeed, with the direction taken on this new record, I'm wondering if we might hear some of those older gems like "Load Me Up/X-Wing" , "Giant/White Walls" and "NF" again... This'll be interesting to say the least.

 

I was almost thinking the same thing, Matt saying that things are well in hand seems like it might imply there might be familiar faces coming back, but who knows.

 

When Matt did that question and answer thing in December, I asked him if he would ever play Near Fantastica live again and he said that he probably would, so we can still hold out hope that it could be included in this tour. I also remember him saying when he first started with Blake and Stu that Near Fantastica wouldn't be played because he couldn't find the loop. Shouldn't be too hard to make a new one though.

Well, there we have it then - I, along with many others here, are glad to hear that it's a possiblity that he'll play it again.

 

Fine, the sequence "has been lost" but a new one can always be created or sampled from the master tapes of the album. And as technology has grown in leaps and bounds since he last played it, there are many different ways he could pull this one off. ;)

[Moonlight_Graham]

Why did Stu and Blake have to leave, and Milos remain? I don't pay 40 bucks to see a stone-faced zombie stand for 2 hours making no physical movements besides wiggling a couple of fingers. Decent bass player, shitty entertainer.

[Who]

I don't think the sequence was lost, I remember him saying they couldn't get around it. Which surprised me so maybe I'm wrong. Then again, he could easily resample it from the record or play it with the guitar like Last Parade.

 

As for Milos, he's not in the Heartbroken. That's why he's still on board. Only Stu and Blake are in that band.

 

And given that Matt and Ian are the only MGB members still talking, I agree, it would be awesome if Ian joined back. Christian too.

[Curtster]

Why did Stu and Blake have to leave, and Milos remain? I don't pay 40 bucks to see a stone-faced zombie stand for 2 hours making no physical movements besides wiggling a couple of fingers. Decent bass player, shitty entertainer.

Stu and Blake left to focus on their band, The Heartbroken. They are probably touring with them instead. They are leaving on good terms, Matt sounded understanding in his post and encouraged everyone to go out and see The Heartbroken.

 

I agree Milos needs to be a bit more enthusiastic on stage, but I think it's pretty hard to get into playing bass. At the show I was at in Vancouver in 2009, he was actually quite involved in the banter and actually said a few words I think. It seems like him and Matt are good buddies.

[Guest jjazz]

If this is the last of the *new* band, then I can say that I saw them play their second last live show ever. Everyone was is great form, including Milos. He's got a great grasp of the songs, who gives a shit if he doesn't move around as much. He's still plenty into it, and you can see he's having a lot of fun.

 

Yeah, though. Stu, Blake, AND Rich were a lot of fun to see on stage.

 

Hmmm, maybe we can welcome back Ryan Dahle back into the mix? He's an incredible guitar player, and vocalist. Meegee can slap a mean bass, too.

[AnythingYouWant]

I would adore to see Ryan in Matt's band permanently, though I doubt that'll happen without Meg, and since Milos is still there, seems like a long shot. I'd love to see Matt, Ryan, Meg, and Pat, plus some keyboard player. 90s Can-Rock supergroup!

[AnOceanPearl]

Milos definitely has the chops. Just listen to the Massey Hall versions of Weapon and 99% Of Us is Failure (with bass boost on so you can actually hear the bass guitar)- he just kills it.

[Guest jjazz]

It's true.

[Who]

Oh it is. I don't like the way he plays Great Whales but that's probably the way Matt asked him to do it. But I prefer the way Matt did it on the record.

 

Otherwise he's an awesome bass player and does a good job with and without a plectrum.