Music lovers will be treated to a doubleheader Nov. 4 at the Waverley Hotel.
Wil and C.R. Avery return to the Comox Valley to perform in Cumberland. Our very own Kevin Haughton will accompany Wil on the drums.
Wil was born to parents who were both musically proficient. On Friday nights he would sit and listen while his parents played and sung along to the old crooners and guitar legends such as Johnny Cash, Chet Atkins and Hank Williams.
Wil spent the winter of 2009 at home on Vancouver Island writing the songs for the 2010 release In This Together.
Wil admits, “I love writing about the darker things in life — songs about baskets of kittens don’t interest me,” he says. “Life is about hardship and beauty all at once and I like to explore these topics in my songs.”
After touring the album, Wil went home and spent the fall and winter writing songs for a new album as well as honing his talent for creating music for film. The result comes by way of a new album titled Heart of Mine as well as landing a host of commercial work in both Canada and the USA.
Wil is and will remain, the consummate touring musician, developing his expansive roots-rock sound and world-weary lyricism while building a dedicated following for his famously intense live shows.
Heart of Mine contains nine tracks written entirely by Wil then recorded/produced in a small Victoria studio with the help of his drummer, producer/engineer Jason Cook. Those who have heard it feel it is his best work to date, honest and raw.
If one were to label it, roots/rock or indie roots; this is a studio album yet it manages to defiantly capture the energy of Wil’s famous live performances.
Wil is and will remain, the consummate touring musician, developing his expansive roots-rock sound and world-weary lyricism while building a dedicated following for his famously intense live shows.
Wil has always preferred to play live either solo or with “just a drummer.” He says that freedom allows him to immerse himself onstage utterly and completely. One such performance was written up by the Calgary Sun as having so much “power and soul it could stop your heart.”
Whether performing to thousands at the Royal Albert Hall or the lucky few who made it inside the packed past capacity speakeasy, C.R. Avery is a unique, raw and dynamic performer. His genius lies in many genres — blues, hip-hop, spoken word and rock and roll.
He is a one-man band, but one for this generation; with the rare ability to sing poetic verse while beatboxing simultaneously while pounding the piano and adding harmonica like a plot twist. A multi-talented front man for his Legal Tender String Quartet; a crazed lead singer/harp player for his rock & roll band The Special Interest Group; a lyrical dynamo & the musical backbone of the spoken word trio Tons of Fun University.
Whether playing in front of thousands on the folk festival circuit or in a small cafe in Berlin or Edinburgh, C.R. Avery is a unique and electrifying performer. He simultaneously beatboxes, sings, plays harmonica and a Herbie Hancock ’80s-style red rocket keytar. Having drawn from a well of influences, C.R. is to hip-hop what Jimmy Reed was to Chicago blues; a one man travelling troubadour — but he is one for these modern times.
C.R.’s lyrical skills and vocal delivery have brought him to the forefront of the international spoken word scene. He is a past winner of the CBC national Poetry Face-Off. Scratchy, smoky, beaten by years of cigarettes and off-mike shouting in cabarets all over the world, C.R. Avery’s voice is instantly identifiable.
C.R’s lyrics come from his slam poetry pieces, honed by the merciless, sudden death, one-victor-and-all- others-cast-aside competitive nature of the slam world. As such, having been performed in front of an audience that demands both intellectual clarity and visceral honesty, competing against the very best work of the very best poets, his pieces are crafted to a necessary perfection.
Tickets cost $12 in advance at Bop City, the Waverley or by phoning 250-336-8322. Doors open at 9:30 p.m.
— Cumberland Village Works
