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THE
TORONTO STAR
 1/2
(out of 4)
VIOLET ARCHERS
The End of Part One (Northern Electric/Universal)
Though Rheostatics singer and bassist Tim Vesely and his new band
launch their debut CD tonight at The Horseshoe, it would be a
mistake to assume that the Violet Archers — Vesely on guitars
and keyboards, pianist Ida Nilsen, drummer Steve Pitkin, bassist
Aaron MacPherson, and guitarist Yawd Sylvester — have dug
themselves into an identifiable musical niche. Folk forms are
the base of many of though songs here — "Simple"
and "Fool's Gold Rope," for example, sound like timeless
traditional ballads, and the CD resonates with echoes of Neil
Young, and the psychedelic-period Byrds — though the dressing
is an elaborate jumble of styles, from crunchy, guitar-laden country
rock to orchestral rock and pure pop, with big hooks, horn parts
and fully loaded harmonies. Vesely's tunes are clever and quirky,
his lyrics at times whimsical, ironic, sentimental and satirical,
and his light voice an extremely pleasant instrument in this new
setting. Best part about this CD is that Vesely has resisted the
urge to give it the big production treatment. Instead, he has
let this collection of eccentric musicians find their own way
to the heart of the songs, using simple, organic instruments and
eschewing grand gestures and synthesized symphonic arrangements.
-Greg Quill
NOW
MAGAZINE
NNNN
THE
VIOLET ARCHERS The End Of Part One (Northern Electric) Rating:
I'm sure being a Canadian icon and woefully underappreciated at
the same time is something Tim Vesely, the voice of the Rheostatics,
knows a thing or two about. Maybe his sidestepping project, the
Violet Archers, will vault Vesely to the NME-Rolling Stone buzz
stratosphere. Bringing in Ida Nilsen (Buttless Chaps) to play
piano and sing along shows Vesely's genius. She adds a nice touch
of introspective wonder to the set. Wayne Omaha boys Aaron MacPherson
and Steve Pitkin help flesh out the hook-laden melodies. By Divine
Right's Jose Contreras adds some of his mojo to a few tracks,
but it's still Vesely's vehicle, and he's driven into some pretty
tasty territory. - BR
EXCLAIM
MAGAZINE
Violet
Archers The End of Part One
September 08, 2005
Master
pop craftsman Tim Vesely steps out from the Rheostatics to deliver
the catchy melodies he¹s known for. The architect behind
the Rheos¹ biggest singles (³Claire,² ³Bad
Time to be Poor²), Vesely¹s gifted enough to send his
thoughtful lyrics into the air with cheery music hot on its tail.
Quiet and unassuming, Vesely modestly writes amazing songs that
often steal the spotlight from his domineering partners in the
Rheostatics. It¹s a real treat to hear Vesely venture into
solo territory with the Violet Archers. From the lethargic, slow-build
of "Co-ordinates" to the dark, Crazy Horse vibe of "All
the Good" and peppy charge of "Life and Then",
The End of Part One is an eclectic affair. The sparse folk of
³Simple² flows pleasantly after the hopeful tone of
"Saved Me", and Vesely makes such transitions seamless.
Rather than forcing erratic musical twists and turns, Vesely is
keen to let his songs develop naturally. The songs here are too
interesting to be straight per se, but are free of the idiosyncrasies
his musical day job is known for. Instead, we get a classic album
of understated pop music from one of the best writers around.
- By Vish Khanna
CHART
ATTACK
THE VIOLET ARCHERS The End Of Part One (Northern Electric/Maximum/Universal)
Tim Vesely could well be considered the "normal" Rheostatic
when put up against his songwriter cohorts, the goofier Dave Bidini
and loopier Martin Tielli. Of course in such a unique band normal
is relative, but Vesely's songs generally lean more towards straightforward
rock-pop — a trend he doesn't stray far from in his solo
side-project The Violet Archers. Nothing here would sound out
of place on a Rheos album, but without the competing frontmen
it becomes a thing all its own. Great Aunt Ida vocalist Ida Nilsen
contributes sweet harmonies, and while Vesely doesn't take any
wild artsy side-trips, he crafts gentle ballads and pop exuberance.
- David McDougall
VIEW
MAGAZINE
THE VIOLET ARCHERS
Tim Vesley and co. cultivate their roots
Tim
Vesely has long been known among Rheostatics fans as “the
quiet one,” or as the liner notes in their classic debut
Greatest Hits dubs him, “the Mystery Man.” Yet while
he may be the quiet one, he’s definitely not
the slacker. Throughout their storied career, the soft spoken
multi–instrumentalist has penned many of the Rheos’
most requested and commercially accepted tunes, with “Soul
Glue,” “Claire” and “Bad Time to be Poor”
being key examples. Tim has also had some extra creative momentum
come his way in the past few years, and the results can be heard
not only on the Rheostatics latest full–length, 2067, but
especially on the self–titled debut album of his own new
band, The Violet Archers,
released just a few weeks ago by Vancouver’s Northern Electric
Records.
“For some reason, about two or three years ago, my writing
just seemed to come together. I seemed to hit some sort of stride
and I guess it was, coincidentally, during a summer that the Rheos
had off altogether. Dave (Bidini) was in Italy writing a book
or something,” Vesely recalls, adding that he’s “…already
got another whole album worth of songs ready to go.”As stated
by the group’s website—thevioletarchers.com—the
album was “constructed on the fly,” mostly by Vesely,
who laid the bed tracks down with an old gigging buddy, Steve
Pitkin, on drums. Tim then overdubbed a substantial portion of
the instrumental work with his own able hands before calling upon
a few friends to spice up and complete the mix.
First came Yawd Sylvester and Aaron MacPherson of Woodstock’s
own Wayne Omaha to fill the essential ‘rhythm section’
position, then Vancouver’s Ida Nilsen, who brought an angelic
voice and extensive keyboard ability to the fold. While there
are a few more guest appearances made on the record, most notably
by Jose Contreras of By Divine Right, the aforementioned folks
comprise the working lineup of the Violet Archers. Wayne Omaha
have been gig openers for the Rheostatics on several occasions.
“They recorded their first record at the Gas Station with
Dale Morningstar,” Vesely reminisces. “They just went
in for a night and did this album, and Dale told us about these
guys who came in and called everyone ‘dude’ and brought
all this beer into the studio and just had a party. That just
sort of stuck in our minds.“Then we did a Maritime tour with
them a while ago and they drove this stretch Suburban thing that
they bought from a military base. It doesn’t run anymore,
but it was called Mandy. It had three or four doors down the sides…
it was just an awesome vehicle.” Obscenely cool touring vessels
aside, Tim obviously saw some serious talent in these young party
dudes. As he simply explains, “When it came time to find
musicians, I just go for what I like, so I called these guys up.”
Ida Nilsen’s own group, Great Aunt Ida, also has a new record
under its collective belt and Vesely endorses it fully. “When
I asked her to sing and play in my band,” he notes, “I
hadn’t even heard her album yet and once she sent me a copy,
it pretty much became my favorite record of the year.” We’ll
be lucky enough to see for ourselves as Great Aunt Ida are also
on this Sunday’s bill. Websites for both Great Aunt Ida and
Wayne Omaha are linked from the Violent Archers’ site.
When Vesely needed to come up with a name for this project, he
couldn’t clear his head of a lovely piece of music that he’d
heard on the radio by a late Canadian composer with a beautiful
name. Ironically, the piece itself didn’t stick with him
so much as the name of its composer. “It’s the name
of a woman composer who spent most of her life working in Edmonton,
through the ’50s and ’60s,” Vesely explains. “She
passed away maybe a decade ago.” Violet Archer was indeed
a fine prairie–based composer and music educator who left
us just five years ago. “I was just listening to the CBC
one day and one of her pieces came on. Once they announced who
it was, I thought it was a really beautiful name. I also thought
it was cool because it relates to Canadian music history and another
side of music completely… and I just couldn’t get it
out of my head, so I went with it.”
If you’re already familiar with Tim’s work in the Rheostatics,
then you aren’t likely to find his solo material to be that
drastic of a departure. If anything, one may detect a more streamlined
approach to his rootsy songwriting than that of the more collaborative,
“gotta have a little prog” policy of the Rheos’.
One song in particular, “Path of Least,” actually had
early life in a few Rheostatics set lists but as Vesely frankly
notes, “…the guys thought it was too plain, too boring.
So I went away from that discussion and ended up writing “Here
Comes the Image” (one of Tim’s eventual contributions
to 2067) keeping in mind that I shouldn’t be writing such
simple songs for the Rheos.” Lyrically, Vesely seamlessly
blends the personal and the political into his songs. In his own
words, “First the Wheel,” from the new disc, “is
about feeling helpless in a world that’s controlled by multi–national
corporations, getting their genetically altered fingerprints on
the food you’re eating at home with your family.” When
asked if “Saved Me” is a just a nice little love song
for the wife, he replies, “There you go, you got it”
with a proud giggle.
Okay, so maybe it’s not always so “seamless,” but
he consistently covers both areas with a poetic grace and folky
strength that is all too often underappreciated, if not undermined,
in today’s pop world.
The Violet Archers, along with Great Aunt Ida and local dream
rock ambassadors A Northern Chorus, will grace the stage of the
Casbah this Sunday evening to share their latest works with anybody
who seeks a more relaxed and tuneful evening out, in one of the
city’s more
endearing small venues. V
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