Haven't heard of Jesse Rivest? You know - guitarist/singer/songwriter from Alberta and British Columbia. Sounds a bit like Justin Rutledge and Martin Sexton having breakfast together around a campfire in the mountains. Sound familiar? Lucid Forge said he “...has written some good tunes to show off the fact that he's got plenty of soul.” Not ringing any bells? Well, that's not surprising – he's still quite unknown to the world. He has no hit singles. No critically acclaimed or award winning releases. He has a very brief list of accomplishments, so this bio should be short and sweet, even with a bit of fluff.
Jesse is enjoying a liberating phase he calls “the podcast years”, where he digitally releases songs as soon as their little wings will carry them. Unlike offspring, younger and newer songs are often more mature than older ones. A follow-up to his 2006 release Seventeen Oh-Two Oh-Six is ever-formulating, with aim for a 2010 release. When will “Jesse Rivest” become a recognized name in the world of music? He believes that it all reduces to the quality of his songs and performances, and his persistence throughout the wrinkling of time. Thus, with growth and exploration always at heart, he continues to perform in Canada and New Zealand (his other home), while he continues to watch, listen, and create.
A writer most of his life, Jesse even won an award in grade school; he was singled as best writer of a creative short story (about train safety) in the Parkland School Division (west of Edmonton). Many years later, he was accepted as a Best Newcomer Finalist in the 2005 Calgary Folk Music Festival Songwriting Contest for his song Deadbeat Blues, a frustrated and colorful rant about downstairs tenants. Next up was his independent release of Seventeen Oh-Two Oh-Six, an acoustic roots/blues-influenced long-play of original songs. After promoting it in Calgary (his home at the time) he took it on the road through British Columbia, and abroad through New Zealand and Australia. It was around then that he began podcasting.
“Olive oil skin and a birch-bark dress... olive oil skin and my heart's a mess!” Jesse's passion for love and imagery is evident in songs like The Romance of Kaslo, an earthy-bluesy slide guitar track named after the town in the Kootenays, and the fruit-stealing caper Summer Grace: “As they dried they lay side-by-side and dined on cherries in the buff.” Meanwhile, his melancholy heart flutters to a catchy, Americana rhythm in Down Again: “I am a shipwreck, sunken off your shore.” Motion and scenery are recurring themes in his work. In Greyhound Through the Rockies, he laments, “Follow a stream until it turns to snow... follow a dream that let's you down so slow,” during what appears to be an escape from the highway and coach ride that the song is named for. Finally there's the eerie, should-I-or-should-I-not-be-laughing, Australian road-kill hymn Silent, illustrating familiar tragedies with his endearing baritone and falsetto: “While two of us men looked for an axe or a shovel, the girl picked it up and ripped its... head off!” Jesse is a multi-dimensional songwriter with an unforgettably natural voice that radiates through even the low-fi episodes of his podcast.
So, perhaps you have heard of Jesse Rivest. It would greatly delight him if you listened to his podcast, subscribed, and came back for more. It would delight you greatly to see him at an upcoming show!
Check out the Press section of his website for a one-sheet and photo.
(September, 2008)
