Well… it’s been a huge year for my 902 home-boy Joel Plaskett and Co. He’s dropped an epic 3-disc record (to pretty rave/critically accalimed reviews); Opened for Paul McCartney; Was mentioned on Perez Hilton for the 2nd time; Made the Polaris Prize Short List and was even in LA doing some shows. If you have (goodness forbid) not heard of Joel (consider yourself un-Canadian) or have only been blessed with his few hit radio songs… well this post’s for you. However, firstly may I select him as my hopeful to win the Polaris Prize. The guy has been at the game for over 15 years, going on 20 and through thick and thin he continually puts out amazing albums (6 solo; 3 as a member of Thursh Hermit — don’t worry I will get to them soon and even a live music DVD).

All the while he has refused to relocate to Montreal or Toronto (as many of his cohorts do to further their career — well that’s a simplified reason, it’s a lot more complex but I won’t get into it). Joel is a Nova Scotian and Haligonian through and through (and through) and is damn proud of it. As am I, along with a growing fan-base, young and old not only in New Scotland but indeed across the country and perhaps even into the US. Hell, this guy still does shows in tiny towns such as Sackville, NB – Springhill, NS (surely their only real rock show in since April Wine must have passed through in the 80s) and New Glasgow, NS. Gotta love him!

So, I wanted to ensure ya’ll had a chance to A) Hear lots from “3″, his triple album record with 9 songs per album but also shed some light on his earlier solo work and his days with Thrush Hermit. So to being with you can get an amazing cross-cut of Joel’s solo work over at CBC Radio 3, literally dozens of his songs (the first few are from “3″).

Here’s the hit single video from “3″:

However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. His 2004 album “Truthfully, Truthfully” and 2002’s “Down at the Khyber” offer even more rockier tracks which are amongst my favorites. Some of them: Come on Teacher; Extraordinary; Down at the Khyber; True Patriot Love;  Maybe We Should Just Got Home; Work Out Fine… ah the list goes on! Check them on CBC Radio 3 but I will post a couple of my fav videos here too:

Finally we cannot post about JP and not mention Thrush Hermit. Oh what a band. The boys formed in/around Halifax in the early 1990s and proceeded to put out 3 awesome records and even reached the MuchMusic countdown in 1998/99 (and I can remember being in junior high, coming home on Friday and simply rocking out to this song all by my lonesome):

And here’s how the rest of the story of the legendry “Thruh Hermit” went down, according to Wikipedia:

“Thrush Hermit returned north to release their final album, Clayton Park, on Sonic Unyon in 1999. Despite the critical success of the record, Thrush Hermit announced their amicable split on September 21, 1999. However, they would do a farewell tour just before permanently breaking up. During the tour, a few shows were canceled due to Plaskett’s health. Medical examinations showed that he had a dangerously low level of white blood cells. Later examination showed that he was back to normal and could continue remaining shows. Thrush Hermit played their final show on December 2, 1999 with The Deadly Snakes and split up thereafter. Plaskett’s medical problems inspired his own solo album In Need of Medical Attention.”