Quick & Dirty - Evening Hymns
By: Andrew Horan
December 2, 2009 – Peterborough, Canada
The title of Evening Hymns' latest effort has taken on a special meaning for founding member Jonas Bonnetta.
Spirit Guides has literally been a spiritual guide for Bonnetta. He was going through a difficult time when he worked on the sophomore album, his first full-length under the Evening Hymns moniker after releasing a solo effort under his own name in 2007.
"I'm not a religious person but I think of myself as being somewhat spiritual, and I think that the record, for me, was happening in a certain part of my life where it was the only thing that was keeping me going forward, and so I thought of it very much as a spiritual guide," Bonnetta explains.
While it may sound cliché, he says that working on the album helped him to stay positive. Though the bet he made with Casey Mecija of Ohbijou also helped with the motivation. They were chatting online when Bonnetta confided he was having trouble writing. Mecija told him that she was as well. Meanwhile, Ohbijou were putting the finishing touches on their sophomore release, Beacons.
The two eventually settled on having to have their albums recorded by the spring. It was then that Mecija recommended Ohbijou drummer James Bunton to Bonnetta for production duties.
Bunton was a fan of Evening Hymns' starkly beautiful country and folk songs and agreed immediately. The pair completed Spirit Guides over the course of four days during the holidays at the end of 2008 at an art gallery in Peterborough, Bonnetta's hometown.
"It's this beautiful room. It (has) wood floors and really huge ceilings that are 20 feet high," Bonnetta says.
It was a bit of a change from his past home recordings. It was also a reflection of the transitory stage Evening Hymns is in right now. The one-time solo project has evolved into a not-quite full-fledged band that has just started to test drive on the road.
According to Bonnetta, playing with a band came about out of necessity. There are some nights where playing a quiet acoustic set is fine, but other nights require something a bit louder.
"I've definitely wanted to make the sound bigger and do more with it live because, as a solo musician, you can only do so much on your own before it becomes a real magic show," he says.
So, he's been gradually integrating the band into Evening Hymns' sets. When SoundProof caught up with Bonnetta, he hoped to have the group on stage for most of the set within a couple of weeks.
Having recently moved to Toronto from Peterborough, the band isn't the only thing changing in Bonnetta's life. Though the move to the city was a "no-brainer" given his association with Ohbijou and the Bellwoods scene, Bonnetta confesses that he misses living in Peterborough. He's still in the process of trying to balance his day job operating a sawmill with his music.
"I find that more difficult being in the city now, to flip the switch on and off like I used to be able to do," he confides. "It's more difficult to be a city guy, staying up late and playing shows. To go out and operate my sawmill is friggin' impossible now."
Video: "Port Hope" by Evening Hymns
