This article was featured in a recent copy of the Lakeview News in Calgary.   Special thanks to Allie Tulick for doing a great job on the article!  Lakeview is the community that I grew up in and it was very flattering to be written about in this publication.  Could I get any closer to my roots?!

I am excited to announce that I have eight of ten songs recorded for my new album!  I have been hard at work at SymPul Studios in Calgary with my friend, peer, and co-producer Derek Pulliam and I am inspired by what we are creating.

Please click the hyperlink to listen to a rough mix of one of my new songs entitled “Medicine Fish”.  The new album is going to be an exciting and eclectic mix of my best and grooviest work to date.  It will be titled “Inner Alchemy” and should be ready for the world early in 2012!

I am also thrilled to report that my delightful and talented friend Angela Larson will be doing the artwork for the new album.  Angela does mesmerizing mixed media digital art.  Here is a link to one of her pieces that was inspired by my song “Wishing Well”:  To check out more of Angela’s work online please follow this link: http://goo.gl/e1chN.  For those of you in Calgary she will be exhibiting and selling her work at the Market Collective on October 22^nd and 23^rd.

I’m playing a few gigs around the Calgary area this fall so please check out the Gigs list.  There are new gigs posted all the time so please check back often and stay tuned for more news on my upcoming album!

Sincerely,

Ethan Collister

Last week my good friend Rafferty Baker (anotherenthusiast.com) came to visit me in Alberta.  He crossed the mountains all the way from Vancouver, British Columbia to arrive in the rolling prairie hills.  Rafferty and I first met in residence at the University of British Columbia where we were randomly paired together as room mates.  A friendship was born that has now lasted a decade.

Rafferty and I have always been a creative combination.  Our residence experience at University revolved predominantly around experimentation in a variety of art forms.  Through paint, pastels, written pages, music and performance art, we became unhinged through our creative explorations.  We painted for the sake of painting and sang for the sake of singing, and though our technical abilities were at times raw, our expressive pursuits seemed to represent  a mutual  commitment to walk a path less traveled.

For the better part of three years Rafferty and I were active in an alternative band we called “the Chirag”.  From electronica to folk to hip hop to industrial beats and noise jams, “the Chirag” was a wildly eclectic act.  We produced one self titled lo-fi album of admittedly challenging material that we printed and distributed ourselves.  Our unpredictable performances earned us a small cult following around the University of British Columbia.

These days Rafferty is studying broadcast journalism at BCIT in Vancouver and unfortunately he and I no longer live in the same city.  Still, we manage to convene once in a while for a good ol’ fashioned bro down which inevitably leads us through some sort of unique and creative landscape.  Our visit together this August at my family’s property near Water Valley, Alberta was no exception. I came away from the visit refreshed and inspired.

The picture included in this post was taken by Rafferty during our visit this August.  He recently shared this photo on his fantastic blog: anotherenthusiast.com.  Definitely check it out!

Sincerely,

Ethan Collister

Well friends, it’s been a busy couple of weeks!  Last weekend I performed in Red Deer, AB for the very first time.  I played at a colorful little venue called the Velvet Olive.  The audience and the staff were both terrific and I had a great time performing there.  It’s always exciting to discover a good venue in my own backyard!

For the August Long Weekend I had the pleasure of playing at the Fire N’ Water Festival in Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba (firenwater.ca).  I had an awesome time performing and there were all kinds of remarkable musicians from the Manitoba community sharing their talents.  I was particularly excited to see Romi Mayes play, and other highlights included Oh My Darling and the Webber Brothers.  The festival created an “artist village” out of a property on the lakefront where all of the performers could stay and hang out.  It was a beautiful spot and the campfire jams were incredible!

Back in Calgary I haven’t slowed down at all.  I’m still writing a lot of new songs and the next couple of weeks will see me working more on material for a new album forecast to be released in the New Year.  I should be announcing some gigs for the fall soon, so stay tuned!

Sincerely,

Ethan

Last night I returned bright eyed and sleepless from a brilliant and spirited time at the Sasquatch Gathering Festival (www.sasquatchgathering.com) held in Rangeton Park, Alberta.  Included in this post is a clip from my performance at the festival on Saturday, July 23.  It’s a new song entitled “Red Tambourine”.

There was tons of great music including performances by The Low Flying Planes and Bill Bourne to name a couple of my favorites.  The site was incredible – perched along the ebb and flow of the Pembina river and nestled in a cozy bowl of soaring hillsides and swaying spruce.

Aside from terrific music, I have to take my hat off to all of the tremendous people who came together to support the festival.  It takes good people as well as good music create such a special weekend!

Thanks for a great festival, Sasquatch!

Sincerely,

Ethan Collister

Since first sharing this song in my last blog post, “If Dreams Were Dollars” has evolved to include guest performances by two fantastic musicians.  Click the following link to listen to a new and improved version of my song If Dreams Were Dollars.

One guest performance is by my friend Martin Reisle who plays guitar in a brilliant and inimitable band from Vancouver who call themselves Maria In The Shower (mariaintheshower.com).  I invited Martin into the studio and coerced him to pluck his way through “If Dreams Were Dollars” on a tenor banjo.  The result is a sparkle and twang that adds a lot of color and texture to this song.  Much obliged, Martin!

The other guest is Alberta’s own Jane Hawley (janehawley.com).  Jane has a distinct and exceptional voice.  She delivered a performance that I would describe as the sweetest homemade pie you can imagine steaming away on a sonic windowsill in the countryside.  Homemade and homegrown…….delicious!  Thanks Jane!

I hope you enjoy the new and improved version of “If Dreams Were Dollars”.  Stay tuned for more updates as I continue to develop material for my upcoming new album!

Sincerely,

Ethan Collister

Good news, good news. I’ve begun to gather material for a new record!  To celebrate the start of a new phase I thought that summer solstice would be a perfect occasion to share one of my new tunes.  Please click the following link to check out a rough mix of my new song called If Dreams Were Dollars.

“If Dreams Were Dollars” was recorded by my friend Derek Pulliam at Sympul Studios in Calgary, Alberta. Derek played bass on the track and also helped program the drums.  I’ve known Derek for a number of years and have always admired his work.  He’s performed and recorded with a plethora of players on the Calgary roots scene including Tim Buckley, Bryan Bayley and the Circus, and Country Music Hall of Famer Harry Rusk.

I originally approached Derek in March 2011 to record some rough demos with me, but before I knew it he had begun helping me produce an album!  What can I say?  When a wave begins to gather momentum it only makes sense to ride it in to shore.  I’m thrilled to have an album in the works and I’m excited to be working with such a talented and creative character as Derek.

A fresh take on a classic narrative, I first started developing “If Dreams Were Dollars” in October of 2010.  I broke it in at the open mics around Calgary and it was featured in the sets that I performed for my Spring Mini-Tour in May.  “If Dreams Were Dollars” emerged as a crowd favorite and so it was only natural to commit it to record.  The arrangement that Derek and I came up with is simple and direct and swings with a sweet little groove that ought to get your toes a tappin’!

I hope you enjoy the new track.  Happy solstice everyone!

Another spin of the wheel, another turn ‘round a star……may your spirit burn as light and bright as the day is long.  May you dance and jive to the rhythm of the earth!

Be well and stay tuned.

Sincerely,

Ethan Collister

I’m excited to announce some Ethan Collister performances coming up in May!

I will be performing in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and some small towns throughout the BC interior.

Please check the calendar on this site for details.  I’d love to see you out at any of these concerts!

Sincerely,

Ethan Collister

Welcome to my new website!

Please check in regularly for updates on my blog, calendar and for other announcements.

If you haven’t already done so I’d like to invite you to sign up for my newsletter.  To show my gratitude for your interest and support you will receive a free download of some choice MP3s when you submit your email address to my list.

You can also find me elsewhere on the web.  Please be sure to look me up on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.  I’d love to connect with you in any of these other forums as well.

Thanks for supporting my music and I hope you’ll visit this site often!

Sincerely,

Ethan Collister