Too Many Sisters
May 2006, Carla MacNeil, violin in hand, and Stephen Stanley walked on stag… Read Full Bio ↴May 2006, Carla MacNeil, violin in hand, and Stephen Stanley walked on stage at a low-key gig at Mitzi’s Sister in downtown Toronto. In Carla’s own words, the night was a “glad you missed it” affair, but the rehearsal leading up to the gig excited Stanley enough to dig into a major change of musical direction. “I knew that I wanted to introduce a violin into the new songs, but I hadn’t bargained on finding someone to share lead vocals with.” Instantly, it became clear that the new duo was where it was going.
Stanley first came to prominence as a founding member of Toronto’s indie faves Lowest of the Low. During their celebrated career the band released four CDs, sold more than 100,000 records, and toured endlessly. Perhaps their high-water mark was the release of their 1991 certified gold album Shakespeare My Butt... which ranks sixth on Chart magazine’s best Canadian albums of all time and received the coveted lifetime achievement award from Toronto’s 102.1, the Edge. The band was inducted into the Canadian Indie Hall of Fame in 2008. Stanley released his first solo disc That Thin, Wild Mercury in 2003 and supported it by exercising his renowned performance muscle in various venues throughout Ontario and Western New York.
While Stanley first learned to play guitar at age 13 in a class with six senior citizens, MacNeil, who grew up in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, honed her craft under more auspicious guidance; namely Canadian East Coast music royalty Kendra MacGillivary, Sandy MacIntyre and Dwayne Cote. These internationally celebrated musicians each shaped MacNeil’s approach to her instrument of choice. A million square sets and kitchen ceilidh’s later, MacNeil moved to Toronto in 2001 for a brief stint with pop band Tenzing Norgay.
The duo’s music might best be described as East Coast Alterno-Folk. That is to say, East Coast as in Greenwich Village in the early sixties (you know, Dylan, Ochs, Van Ronk), but that’s just a jumping-off point. MacNeil refers to it as “traditional enough that I get a little homesick at certain points of our set, but rock enough to keep me in Toronto.” It seems Stanley could never really abandon his Lowest of the Low roots after all.
With a new, exciting sound in mind, Stanley began to write songs that fit the duo’s style, and more so, songs that suited MacNeil’s sweet ethereal vocals. The “glad you missed it” gig soon became a dusty memory, and two year’s worth of extensive gigging in Toronto was well underway. Some high points included a set opening for UK legend Lloyd Cole at the Mod Club, a four-day collaboration with Australia’s Mick Thomas of Wedding, Parties, Anything, and a now annual weekend set with Ron Hawkins at Graffiti’s in Toronto’s Kensington Market, infamous for drawing a batch of cops due to overcrowding.
Stanley & MacNeil first recorded the track “Take Me in Your Hands” for the Rheostatics’ tribute record, The Secret Sessions, in 2007, and have now completed and released their debut album, Non Barking Dog.
Stanley first came to prominence as a founding member of Toronto’s indie faves Lowest of the Low. During their celebrated career the band released four CDs, sold more than 100,000 records, and toured endlessly. Perhaps their high-water mark was the release of their 1991 certified gold album Shakespeare My Butt... which ranks sixth on Chart magazine’s best Canadian albums of all time and received the coveted lifetime achievement award from Toronto’s 102.1, the Edge. The band was inducted into the Canadian Indie Hall of Fame in 2008. Stanley released his first solo disc That Thin, Wild Mercury in 2003 and supported it by exercising his renowned performance muscle in various venues throughout Ontario and Western New York.
While Stanley first learned to play guitar at age 13 in a class with six senior citizens, MacNeil, who grew up in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, honed her craft under more auspicious guidance; namely Canadian East Coast music royalty Kendra MacGillivary, Sandy MacIntyre and Dwayne Cote. These internationally celebrated musicians each shaped MacNeil’s approach to her instrument of choice. A million square sets and kitchen ceilidh’s later, MacNeil moved to Toronto in 2001 for a brief stint with pop band Tenzing Norgay.
The duo’s music might best be described as East Coast Alterno-Folk. That is to say, East Coast as in Greenwich Village in the early sixties (you know, Dylan, Ochs, Van Ronk), but that’s just a jumping-off point. MacNeil refers to it as “traditional enough that I get a little homesick at certain points of our set, but rock enough to keep me in Toronto.” It seems Stanley could never really abandon his Lowest of the Low roots after all.
With a new, exciting sound in mind, Stanley began to write songs that fit the duo’s style, and more so, songs that suited MacNeil’s sweet ethereal vocals. The “glad you missed it” gig soon became a dusty memory, and two year’s worth of extensive gigging in Toronto was well underway. Some high points included a set opening for UK legend Lloyd Cole at the Mod Club, a four-day collaboration with Australia’s Mick Thomas of Wedding, Parties, Anything, and a now annual weekend set with Ron Hawkins at Graffiti’s in Toronto’s Kensington Market, infamous for drawing a batch of cops due to overcrowding.
Stanley & MacNeil first recorded the track “Take Me in Your Hands” for the Rheostatics’ tribute record, The Secret Sessions, in 2007, and have now completed and released their debut album, Non Barking Dog.
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