THE HARPOONIST & THE AXE MURDERER

With a name like the Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer, you might be forgiven for thinking that the Vancouver-­‐based duo is some sort of concept group, based on a hypothetical love story between Captain Ahab and Lizzie Borden.’ [Chris Oke, Yukon News]

In reality, The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer stir up a lot more than just violent nautical imagery. Armed with a sack of harmonicas, a mess of foot percussion and a road - worn Telecaster, Shawn “The Harpoonist” Hall and Matthew “The Axe Murderer” Rogers kick out raw and primal blues; continuing in the tradition of a ‘decades - deep blues style’ (Scott Brown, What’s up Yukon), while electrifying the genre a with a lightning bolt of new life. Their sound pays homage to influences ranging from Robert Johnson to Jack White, but its smothered in greasy, gritty soul, and punched with funk. Early on in their career, Hall and Rogers made the choice to limit their sound to whatever they could play between them, using only their mouths, hands and feet, and eventually the sound became larger than the band itself. Shawn Hall provides soul - tinged vocals and blues harmonica, while Matthew Rogers rips on the guitar and foot percussion simultaneously. Their music is not polite; it slaps you on the face and refuses to apologize. It somehow manages to cut through all the layers of clutter, all the anxieties, tensions and phobias and hit people directly at their core. It is how the blues are meant to be played.

The two met and bonded over music while in a recording session for a radio jingle, and named their new project after the blues harp reference lyric ‘I took my harpoon out of my dirty red bandana’ from Kris Kristofferson’s ‘Bobby Mcgee’, as well as the common reference to a guitar as an ‘axe’. And while their name may lose HAM some gigs at senior’s homes and community halls, the band has made their peace with that. The Harpoonist and The Axe Murderer released their inaugural album “The Blues Can Kill” in 2007, and have enjoyed a steady climb up to the widely acclaimed 2011 release, “Checkered Past”. They were top 20 finalists out of hundreds of bands in the 2012 Peak Performance Project in British Columbia, rocked on to win ‘Blues Artist of the Year’ at the SiriusXM Indies as well as nominations for Blues Recording of the Year at the 2012 Western Canadian Music Awards, and New Artist and Album of the Year at the Maple Blues Awards (2012). This year, HAM are nominated for Entertainer Of The Year in the Maple Blues Awards and Shawn “The Harpoonist” Hall is nominated as Harmonica Player Of The Year.

Several of their songs have gained placements in TV and film, including “Roll With The Punches,” in Arctic Air (Season 3, Episode 1), “Wake Up,” in The Good Wife (Episode 90) and “Are You Listening Lord” and “Shake It,” in Lizzie Borden, the film starring Christina Ricci. They were also a recipient of the Public Records and TELUS Music Video grant for “Shake It” (2013) and were the featured artist for Playground + TELUS’ experiential music video event in Vancouver at Iron Works (2013).

They have recently created a big buzz by jetting around to showcases such as SXSW (2014), APAP in New York City (2014), Breakout West (2013), The Toronto Blues Summit (2013), Folk Alliance and South by Southwest (2013), CIMA BBQ (2013), Big Sound (2013), Canada Blast @ SXSW (2013), Folk Alliance International Toronto (2013), SOCAN Songwriters Circle (2013), Toronto Blues Summit (2013), Break Out West Regina (2012).

Shawn and Matthew have also seen their fair share of festival stages including Vancouver Jazz Festival (2013), Montreal Jazz Festival (2013), Winnipeg Folk Festival (2013), Calgary Folk Festival (2013), Salmon Arm Roots and Blues (2013), Mount Tremblant Blues festival (2013), Canmore Folk Festival (2013), Heritage Music Festival (Wheeling, West Virginia) (2013), Ottawa Blues Festival (2013), Kitchener Blues Festival (2013), Limestone Blues Festival (2013), LIVE At Squamish (2012), North Country Fair (2012), Kaslo Jazz Festival (2012) and The Beaumont Blues Fest (2011).

Along the way, they’ve been honored to share the stage with Taj Mahal, Colin Linden, Carlos del Junco, Chali Tuna, Joan Osborne, Dick Dale, The Sheep Dogs, White Horse, Jason Collette, Hayes Karl, Steve Strongman, Chic Gamine, Royal Canoe, Elliot Brood and Blind Boy Paxton, to name a few. The Harpoonist and The Axe Murderer show no signs of wear and tear despite the fact that in every show, before the end of the first song, the pair is already drenched in sweat. In fact, they are preparing to record the next down and dirty collection of tunes for release next year. So whether you’re listening to The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer at a festival, in a bar or on record there is an unquestionable connection, passion, and groove. As one fan put it: ‘this is blues that gets you in the crotch’.