Here's a nice article by Emmet Matheson in Regina's newspaper.
Northey beyond 'Corner Gas'
Emmet Matheson
Special to The Leader-Post
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Most Saskatchewan residents, if not most Canadians, are probably already familiar with the second track on the new album from singer-songwriters Craig Northey and Jesse Valenzuela.
"They know 30 seconds of it, at least," quips the Vancouver-based Northey.
The song in question is "Not A Lot Goin' On," heard every week as the opening theme for CTV's Saskatchewan-made hit sitcom Corner Gas, starring Tisdale-raised comedian Brent Butt.
A stereotype-debunking ode to the prairies and the people who choose to live here, the song is a natural fit on a show with the same aims. Still, Northey initially had his doubts that the show would survive, let alone flourish.
"I've know Brent for years. This is so great," Northey says. "Everything I like is either mildly successful or critically acclaimed. So I was really surprised that something as good as Corner Gas was allowed to exist.
"I saw a rough cut of the first episode before I solidified the song and I was calling everyone down to the room going 'He's done it, he's done it!' Everybody in the room said the same thing, so I figured, 'OK, it's doomed.' But I should have had more faith in humankind."
Writing and performing the theme for Corner Gas is hardly Northey's first exposure to Saskatchewan and its people. Since the break-up of his mildly successful and critically acclaimed band, the Odds, in the late '90s, Northey has frequently collaborated with stubble jumpers like Wide Mouth Mason and Jason Plumb, and even served a tour of duty as guitarist in Colin James's band.
"I love the place," he says. "I love hanging out there and I love the people. I guess it's a cliche, but there's some good, honest, intelligent people on the Prairies and all the pretenses seem to be stripped away, so you can get right down to what matters. In an artistic relationship, when you're collaborating with somebody, that's one of the most valuable things you could ever have. That's what you try to scrub all that artifice, in order to get to the heart. It seems with those people, it's easy to get right down to it."
When he's not writing songs for people like Roseanne Cash or former Kids In The Hall star Bruce McCulloch, Northey can usually be found writing songs with Jesse Valenzuela.
Valenzuela is best known for the on-again, off-again Gin Blossoms, who, like Northey's Odds, created some of the '90s most memorable pop songs. The two singer-songwriters have been friends since the early days of their respective bands, and the result of their collaboration, Northey/Valenzuela, is a smart and hook-riddled album in the classic pop vein.
"We unabashedly bonded one night when we met over a friend's collection of Nick Lowe records, and there are many quotes and rip-offs on our record, just as their are on his of the people he loves," Northey says. " We actually used the lyric 'Cruel to be Kind' in one song.
"We had fancied ourselves those sort of Memphis writing teams that are now extinct; y'know, like Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham. We thought we'd just write songs that singers would want to sing. Then we'll give them to them and they'll sing them and we'll be so happy to see our babies go out into the world. But really, that world doesn't exist. It's just a fanciful notion. So we had to record them ourselves."
Craig Northey and Jesse Valenzuela hope to tour their album across Canada early in the new year.
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2004
I have many essay style visions in my head. I'll get to them soon. Just got the architecture of the site re-worked so as not to be hacked and whacked by cyber idiots. People's creative energies could be directed in much better ways. Simple graffiti is quite nice. Setting a garbage can on fire is harmless fun. Nicky Nicky Nine Door anyone? Flaming bag of shit on the fornt porch? Ring the bell and run? A Dali moustache on every face in the old doctor's waiting room magazine? Its all better than filling my site with 10 gigabites of porn, low end mortgage and prescription drug bullshit ...isn't it?
I found this highly entertaining. You don't need to be a techhead to appreciate the beautiful bureaucratic idiocy. This is the correspondence between my webmaster/designer Alistair Calder and the fine tech department at our host server.
Hey there,
I am the administrator of Craig's site, and I notice that it is down
becuase of bandwidth problems.
When I logged into his Control Panel, I noticed that the problem was the
Movable Type mt-comment.cgi file that was being bombed, sending his
bandwidth usage through the roof.
I have disabled the file for now (you can see that I re-named it
mt-comments.cgi.old), and I want to disable the adding of comments on
his posts so this won't happen any more, but I need to have his account
re-enabled to do this.
I could make this request through his Panther Client Account section, but
his password isn't synced to his Control Panel account.
Thanks,
Alistair
- - - Tech - - - : Jayan 2004-11-22 / 18:35:13
Hi,
Thanks for writing in.
Please let us know if you would like to add some bandwidth to the domain
craignorthey.com.
If you have any further queries, please feel free to contact us.
--------------
Regards,
Jayan
Panther Technologies
+ + + Client + + + : 2004-11-22 / 20:15:15
The question is not whether he wants more bandwidth... this was a hack
on his account. Someone came in and bombed his comments section, which
filled his bandwidth to over the max.
He doesn't need more bandwidth, he needs his security settings changed.
I will fix if I can get the account re-enabled.
- - - Tech - - - : Luke 2004-11-22 / 20:34:22
Hi,
Thank you for writing in.
In order to re-enable your account craignorthey.com you have to increase
the bandwidth of your account.Please let us know if you would like to
add some bandwidth.So that we will be able to re-enable your account.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for any further assistance.
Warm regards,
Luke
Panther Technologies.
+ + + Client + + + : 2004-11-22 / 20:55:49
Well, rather than just repeating the same thing twice to me, how about
giving me an indication as to:
1. What does his account entitle him to right now (I see that he has
Package Special_1027 as his package, but it doesn't say what his
bandwidth limit is)
2. Does he have to add this bandwidth permanently? Is it for just one
month? What?
3. What is the cost?
Thanks,
Alistair
- - - Tech - - - : Luke 2004-11-22 / 21:09:03
Hi,
Thank you for writing in.
1.Bandwidth limit for his account is 8000Mb/Month
2.Monthly Bandwidth is 8000mb
3.Additional bandthwidth charge is 1$ for 1GB/month.Hope this helps you.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for any further assistance.
Warm regards,
Luke
Panther Technologies.
+ + + Client + + + : 2004-11-22 / 21:26:09
So, his account is currently at 8159mb bandwidth.
If I do my calculations correctly, he is over his limit by less than 2%
of his total allowable monthly bandwidth. This can be corrected with a
$1 payment?
Wow.
Was he sent a letter informing him that his bandwidth limit was approaching?
- - - Tech - - - : Luke 2004-11-22 / 21:34:03
Hi,
Thank you for writing in.
His account is using the bandwidth of 8159mb.This can be corrected with
the pay of 1$.Also we have't recieve any mail from the client.hope this
helps you.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for any further assistance.
Warm regards,
Luke
Panther Technologies.
+ + + Client + + + : 2004-11-22 / 22:02:54
Hey there Luke,
I understand you are trying to help.
I also understand that he has used 8159mb on his account.
Please answer this question: was the owner of the craignorthey.com
account notified that his account was nearing his bandwidth by e-mail
before his account was disabled?
Yes or no?
- - - Tech - - - : Luke 2004-11-22 / 22:19:34
Hi,
NO..we have't recieve any mail from the owner of craignorthey.com
Please do not hesitate to contact us for any further assistance.
Warm regards,
Luke
Panther Technologies.
+ + + Client + + + : 2004-11-22 / 22:27:32
Hey Luke,
You need to read my question again:
I am asking if *Panther sent any mail* to the owner of craignorthey.com
about the bandwidth problem.
Thanks,
Alistair
- - - Tech - - - : Luke 2004-11-22 / 22:38:16
Hi,
Thank you for writing in.
Sorry for the confusion caused.No we have't send mail to the owner of
the account craignorthey.com.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for any further assistance.
Warm regards,
Luke
Panther Technologies.
+ + + Client + + + : 2004-11-23 / 09:42:11
Okay, if all of this is over $1 and your customer was never informed
that they were nearing or going over their bandwidth, then I am pretty
disappointed that Jaguar took the action they did.
Regardless, Craig's site needs to be up ASAP, as it is his only method
of advertising. So, do whatever needs to be done. Charge him the dollar,
or charge it to me.
If it is faster to charge me, then do it. Right now.
- - - Tech - - - : Masood Nasir 2004-11-23 / 09:43:57
We do send automatic notification even before the bandwidth is
completely utilized (at 80%). Please ask the user to login into their
control panel to update the email address where they want to receive
notifications. The information Luke provided that we did not send email
is not correct.
1GB has been added to the account of craignorthey.com
Please make sure that enough bandwidth is pre-purchased or it will be
automatically suspended again if the 1GB just added is also used before
the end of the month.
Let us know if you need further assistance.
Regards,
Masood
+ + + Client + + + : 2004-11-23 / 09:58:12
Okay... but until yesterday when I logged into his account, there was no
contact email address at all. I had to add my own in there becuase it
was just two brackets.
This should be filled in by default... it doesn't seem right that the
user should have to fill that in. I think any user would expect that the
contact e-mail that they have set up when their account is created would
be used as their Control Panel contact e-mail. Why make them go through
another step?
Anyway, thanks for correcting the account, I appreciate your taking
quick action for me. However, I am still upset that all of this happened
over $1, and believe me... Craig is more than just a little upset!
- - - Tech - - - : Les 2004-11-23 / 10:12:17
Hello,
Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.
Regards,
Les
Enjoyed a rock n' roll blast last night as "Odd Mouth Manson" romped through a fast and loose collection of archival Odds material and Wide Mouth Mason hits -- me, Doug Elliott, Pat Steward & Shaun Verreault. It was the private "official" opening of Vancouver's new "Buffalo Club". The proprieter, Brian Peers, is intending to develop a new live music venue for you music lovers. We wish him the best in his courageous venture.
Not one to wax nostalgic I must say I enjoyed the pure rock outburst. "Radios of Heaven" and Wide Mouth's "Why" were particular favourites of mine. I really enjoy playing the ones I helped write for Wide Mouth. It seems to complete the cycle for me. Shaun is such a mega guitar talent that its pretty easy to cruise along while he does the stunt work.
Here's a picture for my day of nostalgia.
Here's another review. Its from "chartattack". I believe it to be positive although I wouldn't have considered the Odds to be "country-pop wonders". Closer to "the Wonders" than "country" I'd say. Look out Uncle Kracker.
NORTHEY/VALENZUELA S/T (MapleMusic)
In one corner is Craig Northey, former vocalist of Vancouver's harmonizing country-pop wonders The Odds; in the other is Jesse Valenzuela, former guitarist of Tempe, Arizona's own harmonizing country-pop wonders, The Gin Blossoms. They're perfectly matched and together, making some fairly standard, blues-drenched adult-pop that would make Uncle Kracker jealous. "Not A Lot Goin' On," the theme song for CTV's Corner Gas, is a power-pop gem, while "Something Good" gets the Hammond organ whirling for a breezy, porch-ready singalong. What they lack in innovation, they make up for with catchy, Everly Brothers-style wholesomeness and solid bar-rock songwriting. Brian Wong
'The Man" shut off the site after what it said were "massive traffic spikes". My popularity grows to ridiculous proportions? I've been trying to run around the world but haven't decided how to tackle the oceans when I get to them. Mountain ranges are no problem. Ain't no mountain high enough. Ain't no valley low enough. Ain't no server slow enough. In lieu of creative output I offer you this moviedepicted a portion of my 'round the world run. Two more days 'til the prairies.
Northey Valenzuela
(Universal)
Put a member from the now defunct Odds together with a member from the reunited Gin Blossoms and what do you get? Well, well-crafted catchy pop
songs. The musical apple doesn't fall too far from the tree with these songs
beginning with the sweet but laid back "Talk To Yourself" and the roots
riddled "Not A Lot Goin' On", the latter the theme for the CTV series Corner
Gas. The pair of Craig Northey and Jesse Valenzuela also shows their soulful
side on "Something Good" and "Let It Go".
The group also seems to take The Monkees‚ "Last Train To Clarksville" as the
starting point for a somewhat rollicking "Counting On You". The highlight has
to be the acoustically leaning"The Little Things" although the Orbison-like
"Hurting On The Outside" isn't bad either. It‚s a good first step for these
odd blossoms.
-- Jason MacNeil, Special To The Sun
Yes "NV" does sound like "envy" -- stole that from Arlene Bishop & Blair Packham by fluke. "NV" made their debut performance courtesy of a fine patron of the arts in the Adidas "Outdoor" department. This patron, Lawrence Motola, requested their presence at a party that was part of their meeting in Scottsdale AZ. This worked well in the "NV" plan. "NV" convened to rehearse the day before at Mayberry Studios in Phoenix and played their first show on November 12th 2004 at the Scottsdale Resort & Convention Center. We like to do our risky business in relatively safe environs and this was just perfect. We are now ready for consumption. Photos are here in the gallery.
Some early press:
Anti Hit List (eye)
NORTHEY / VALENZUELA, "Not a Lot Going' On": like the keenly observed sitcom Corner Gas -- for which an abbreviated version of this track by the Odds' Craig Northey and Gin Blossom's Jesse Valenzuela serves as the theme -- it's easy to overlook this collaboration's considerable merits: unlike virtually all pop songs about small towns, it neither vilifies nor romanticizes the experience, just gently reminds you that there's more going on then meets the (outsider's) eye.
(From Northey/Valenzuela, www.craignorthey.com)
I think we're maplemusic #5 this week. Wooohooo.
I know a few of you...OK ...more than a few of you have been urging me to put up more archival stuff on the web...OK...more Odds stuff. That was a while ago for me so it just feels like a waste of time to be working on putting that stuff up on the net when its mostly out there somewhere already. I even found a vintage Odds site. What do you call these types of nooks and crannies in the web? Its a site that must have last been updated in 1996 and its a bit of a trip to flip through it. I really appreciate people leaving these things up on the web because the web then becomes more like a real library. Books are not constantly liquid. There is such charm to pulling something from another time off the shelf and experiencing it just as it would have been experienced when it was issued. If I had my old Performa Mac and a dial-up connection these sites would feel so right. I wish they could make the web smell musty when it hit these sweet spots.
The border collies had chased each other around the trampoline for an hour and a half. The lawn was never really a lawn and the moss, which substituted as an ornamental green binding agent, was not tough enough to take all that clawing and gouging. A perpetual drizzle turned to a steady downpour and the dark moist soil became mud. Dogs don’t stop. Viscosity dropped and the cold bitter inedible chocolate bubbled and spat outward to spackle the surrounding grass. A trench was formed in a perfect circle. Cherry and plum leaves were pressed in dog paw contours into the folds of the shallow trench. The dogs were called in at the back door and toweled off just as early darkness called for the porch lights. Tomorrow was moving day. The trampoline would be the last thing to go. The house would be torn down to build condos. Subdivide. Subdivide again. Ten thousand years pass and the earth-churning machine finds the fossils. It is determined that wolves had been chained up to power a rotating assembly used to irrigate the orchard.
I encourage all my American brothers & sisters to get out and vote. You can really make a difference this time.
Things are going well at maplemusic.com. "Northey Valenzuela" is their #7 best seller today. Since that is my favourite number I'm happy to stay at #7 for awhile.
Ottawa was fun with the CJBand. I shot another episode of TSN's "Motorcycle Experience" with David Hatch while in the capitol. It was a fine fall day and the riding was very short yet sweet. Here's a shot of me and my ride for the day.