After spending the past few years honing their craft on stage, The Tortoise The Hare & The Millionaire are ready to share their first official release.
Matt Carter
The Fredericton-based trio The Tortoise The Hare & The Millionaire have been making waves throughout the province over the past couple years. Propelled by a boundless energy and an unapologetic love of guitar-driven rock and roll, the trio of Matthew Carr, Eric Allard and Ted Nicholson have earned themselves an impressive following with little more than a handful of rough demo recordings to their credit, choosing instead to make their live show a priority these past few years.
And that’s just what they’ve done. With a sound reminiscent of The Allman Brothers’ – complete with extended guitar solos and captivating dynamic control – the band have been known to welcome guest performers to the stage to bolster their exploration of this time-tested formula.
For their self-titled debut EP (She Said Feck), The Tortoise The Hare & The Millionaire invited several guests into the studio to help expand a few ideas in an attempt to capture a true representation of the live energy they’re become known for. Working with engineer Dylan Ward (David in the Dark) and producer Kelly Waterhouse (The Hypochondriacs), the group’s first proper recording finds the trio in fine form delivering all the boogie-woogie and foot-stomping riffs audiences have come to expect.
“Working with Kelly was really great,” said guitarist Matthew Carr. “It was her first time producing but she was able to give us direction, encouragement and her input on song structure was a huge help. She knows her stuff.”
Jeannine Gallant, a longtime bandmate of Waterhouse’s and frequent guest of the band handled the EP’s horn arrangements.
“We knew the horn arrangements were going to be good but what Jeannine put together blew us away,” said Carr.”The addition of horns takes us from southern rock, to swamp funk rock. The EP is like a refrigerator, it has some leftovers in there but it has some new elements too.”
Other guest performers on the EP include Fredericton mainstays Jonnie Price, Dillion Anthony and Adam Johnson.
“The single from the record, When the Blues Comes to Town, was chosen as it was the first song we received back from the rough mixes from Dylan and the band in union said, ‘this is the one’,” said Carr. “It has great upbeat vibes, and shows the dynamics of the band, and in a way it’s a nod to The Allman Brothers.”
The Tortoise The Hare & The Millionaire will celebrate the release of their debut EP with a performance at The Capital Complex on November 3.
The Tortoise The Hare & The Millionaire + Kendra Gale Band | November 3 | The Capital Complex | Fredericton, NB | View Event
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