Six albums, 20 ECMA awards, and one Juno later, Joel Plaskett is coming home to rock a free Canada Games concert at Celebration Square on Monday February 14th at 7pm.
“I spent a lot of time touring with my acoustic guitar,” says Plaskett, “To get out and play a rock and roll show is what I’m really looking forward to.”
Plaskett says he is psyched to be a part of the Canada Games. “Its nice that they decided to have a music element to a sporting event.”
Plaskett enjoys sports, “I like any high level of competition things like the Canada Games and Olympics,” he says. “Its fun to watch people at the top of the game.”
Plaskett will not be able to catch any of the sports action due to his concert schedule. Following Celebration square, Plaskett is headed to Memphis for two concerts later that week. “Its nice to be a part of something,” he says, “But at the same time if you’re a musician, you end up being a part of something then moving on to be a part of something else.”
Plaskett who is from Halifax is excited about playing in his hometown. “I just like any opportunity to play for the hometown crowd” he says. “For me its just a way to make some noise in the winter.”
Plaskett recommends taking the ferry to Dartmouth as part of a good day. “I think people often over-look Dartmouth, and I think downtown Dartmouth is cool. It’s because it kinda feels like a small town,” says Plaskett. “There is a great coffee shop over here now called Two If By Sea, which you’ll find me in all of the time if I’m around town.”
When in Halifax Plaskett likes to visit the Wooden Monkey and the Carleton restaurants. “If you want a quick lunch I got to Tarrek’s in the north end its kinda like a little take-out Middle Eastern place that’s good,” he says.
His other favourite places to visit are the Last Word on Windsor Street for used books and record shops like Taz Records and Obsolete Records because both carry lots of vinyl.
Vinyl records are Plaskett’s passion. His record label, New Scotland Records, produces on vinyl. “I really like vinyl and so part of reason for making the record label was to release things on vinyl,” says Plaskett. “I like it from a sound and from a collectability and presentation point of view.”
When Plaskett started acquiring his record collection as a teenager in 1988-89, he collected cassettes and vinyl. “I grew up before CDs came into vogue,” he says. “Vinyl is probably, I think, the most robust of formats. It’s the one format that even if it develops a skip or something, it still retains value. You can still get information off it. You have to really scratch and wreck a record for it not to play. “
New Scotland Records is also a way for Plaskett to develop a community of artists.
“I just thought that the label would be a way of drawing attention to people in my world of music,” says Plaskett. “It’s just fostering a collection of cool records and artists and creating a community around music because I kinda feel like everyone’s doing their thing and there’s great stuff happening but there is something to be said for the curation for them to be a place.”
Plaskett is currently writing his seventh album. Previous albums, Astray Rock and Three both had clear themes, but Plaskett wants to move away from that. “I’m sure there will be things connecting the dots but I’m not sure if I will make it as heavy on the concept as I have in the past,” he says. “I want the next record to seem a little more spontaneous.” He expects the new album to be released in October or November of this year.
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