The Newfoundland-based duo of Jordan Coaker and Kirsten Rodden-Clarke, better known as Quote the Raven, are doing their best impressions of a couple of magpies. They’ve teamed up with award-winning bluesman Charlie A’Court for a song about the unwitting influence of shiny objects and what can go wrong when you’re an artist on the road who is expected to juggle everything at once.
In 2019, while Charlie A’Court was making a tour through Eastern Canada, he invited the members of Quote the Raven to have a meal with him, and, as is the nature of such things, they found some common ground to discuss. In particular, how the more distractions you’ve got at hand, the more likely you are to find yourself scrambling.
That’s a problem that often gets painted into the picture of a touring musician, and it’s pretty easy to recognize that the ones that are successful also happen to be the ones with the strongest support networks.
“After chatting about the trials and tribulations of being road warriors, it wasn’t long until guitars were taken out and music was being made,” explains the duo. “Reminiscing about some of the absent-minded things we all do in our daily lives and how we beat ourselves up over them, the group realized that it’s the people closest to us that help us through those hurdles. The people who help balance out the good and the bad are the ones we’d do anything for because we’re better together.”
The song laments a short list of the things that go wrong when your mind is elsewhere; from missing the bus to simply not being present. They seem minor things, but if done consistently can make up the entirety of someone’s character. Sometimes all it takes is someone who is prepared to give you a gentle nudge now and then to keep you on the right path and those people can be invaluable.
Tour Dates:
09.23.21 – Moncton, NB @ Contact East Showcase
09.25.21 – Tatamagouche, NB @ Grace Jollymore Joyce Arts Centre
10.01.21 – East Margretsville, NS @ Evergreen Theatre
10.02.21 – Lunenburg, NS @ Lunenburg Bandstand
10.03.21 – Sydney, NS @ Daniels Alehouse and Eatery