When the noises of drills, hammers and miter saws against wood aren’t quite cutting it as a soundtrack, throw on these Bro-approved tunes for an instant boost. From Canadian classics to good ol’ acoustic guitar singalongs, these 10 songs handpicked by Andrew Buckles are sure to get you and your bros amped up at the cottage.
“Show Me Where to Go” by Heat and Lights.
This song is by New Brunswick singer-songwriter Tim Walker, who happens to be Walker’s [the Brojects’ engineering friend] brother. The guy is bathed in talent, and we throw his music on whenever there is a break in filming. It relaxes everyone and sets a great mood.
“The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” by The Band
More often than not, we break out the guitars and butcher a whole host of songs around the campfire. When this one comes up, the decibel level invariably increases. Some of the best times of Brojects are singing around the fire. Thankfully the cameras are not rolling.
Kent, the Brojects director and producer, introduced this one to us. The song has an offbeat sense of humor and is an earworm; you’ll find yourself singing the chorus for days after hearing it.
“Northwest Passage” by Stan Rogers
Listening to Stan Rogers is like cracking a lobster claw; it makes you feel like you’re living in Nova Scotia. Our cottage isn’t far from Stan’s childhood stomping grounds, and his music was around on cassette tapes growing up. It was either Stan Rogers or Richard Clayderman – I think we made the right choice.
“In Spite of Ourselves” by John Prine feat. Iris DeMent
This was Kevin and [his wife] Christie’s wedding song. If you have any sense of humour, it will make you smile or more likely laugh out loud. It’s also a fun one to sing.
“Ahead by a Century” by The Tragically Hip
We had the pleasure of having Mike Downie [Gord Downie’s brother] direct a few Brojects episodes. The last time he was down we pestered him with Hip questions and Kevin kept calling him Gord. But despite this, he hooked us up with backstage passes for the Canadian leg of the Fully Completely re-release tour – what a show!
“Rhyme O’Clock” by Wordburglar
Rap doesn’t make the rotation too much at the cottage, but one of our beloved sound guys “Beat Mason Dave” got us on to the Wordburglar, who he produces and makes beats for. If you’re not interested in rap, you might just want to give the Wordburglar a try anyway – his music is fun, clever and as catchy as a spider web.
“Look at Miss Ohio” by Gillian Welch
We have a friend that helps us out with shoots named Vern. We recently gave him the title of Ambiance Coordinator because he takes care of keeping spirits up and making sure the crew is well taken care of. He’s also a ukulele and guitar virtuoso and leads many a sing-a-long. This is one that he is fond of pulling out.
“Second Hand News” by Fleetwood Mac
It’s hard to tire of the Rumours album. Our other sound guy and good friend Jon Corwall moonlights in a Fleetwood Mac cover band, so when he’s helping out with Brojects, we usually force him to let his hair down and give us a Stevie Nicks impression or two.
Back in the day, we made one episode of a show we called Red Neck Green Neck, which was essentially an earlier version of Brojects. We put the whole thing together for a few hundred bucks. We “borrowed” a few tracks from Anne for the soundtrack. Our mom brought us up on Anne Murray and I guess it stuck. We hope to have her come down and make a cameo some day – Anne that is.
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