St. Stephen’s Colourful Language headline an evening of music at The Capital Complex this Friday.
Matt Carter
When you think about St. Stephen, New Brunswick, the first thing that might come to mind is chocolate – specifically, Ganong’s chocolate. It’s also a border town, literally a stone’s throw from the United States. And when it makes the news, it’s usually because one of the town’s historic buildings has found itself on the chopping block.
While St. Stephen is not known for its art scene, it is recognized national as home to Canada’s smallest university – St. Stephen University – and that’s where musicians Dave Warne and Zoe Fitch first began writing music together over a decade ago.
“I’m actually from Minneapolis, Minnesota,” said Warne. “I came out to check out this strange little school in St. Stephen, NB on the advice of my friend. He had a beard and smoked a pipe, so I listened to him. And that’s where I met Zoe, who grew up in St. Stephen.
“We were both studying philosophy and literature, and then began studying each other. I guess that studying paid off because we ended up getting married during Zoe’s fourth year of university,” he said.
During their time at university, Warne and Fitch began writing and performing together in a band called The Geese.
“The Geese ended up moving to Vancouver as a band where we played quite a bit locally and toured a fair amount as well,” he said. “Out of that band, there arose a couple side projects that turned into full-time projects, one of which was Colourful Language.”
After six years in B.C., the pair have returned to New Brunswick, drawn by family, friends and the natural beauty of the province.
“Zoe’s love for this area cannot be overstated,” said Warne. “We’ll be driving in the car and I’ll think we’re about to die in an accident, when she’s actually just shrieking with delight at seeing yet another beautiful little river bend, or grove of birch trees catching the sunlight. It’s adorable and terrifying.
“A big part of why we moved back to New Brunswick is this incredible community of folks in St. Stephen, many of which are in some way connected to the university here,” he said. “It actually feels like a really vibrant little scene. There are a bunch of artists and musicians, and people just generally interested in seeing cool things happen. So, it feels like we’ve come back in time to get in on the ground floor of some pretty great things going on, from new venues to new interesting businesses.”
Following a few shows earlier this year including performances at Folly Fest, Paddlefest and St. Stephen’s very own Bonfire Festival, Colourful Language will headline an evening of performances at The Capital Complex that will also include sets by The Trick and Wangled Teb.
Colourful Language + The Trick + Wangled Teb | September 20 | The Capital | 9 p.m. | View Event
