Artist
CURATOR
MEMBERS:
- Andrew Whiteman
- Daniel Stone
- Dean Stone
- Julian Brown
It’s a long Hitchcockian zoom-in, the omniscient clouds part, the
sleazy waterfront scene is set. Like Steve Zissou’s Belafonte
cross-section, we can see a number of little hives of activity: a young
man loiters behind a cramped bar; faces light by low lights listen
intently while one speaks, gesturing wildly;
a captain barks orders at
his crew to hurry the fuck up; someone throws flowers into the sea; a
vintage jukebox amuses the hipsters on a crawl. Welcome to the borough
of a possible nowhere.Apostle of Hustle first took shape after
a two-month sojourn in El Barrio Santo Suarez, in Havana, in 2001. This
experience was mind blowing for Apostle of Hustle’s lead (Andrew
Whiteman) from the ground up: the community, the fashion, the speed and
the music. Whiteman returned to Toronto invigorated about a possible
music that did not yet exist. Knowing he wanted to create it, Whiteman
took up residency at a local dive as Apostle Of Hustle, a quartet. The
band played Brazilian and Cuban folk songs, as well as Tom Waits/PJHarvey/Marc
Ribot covers. Whiteman played guitar and tres; plus he recruited Dean
Stone on drums and Julian Brown; an old buddy from the mid 90’s indie
scene – on upright bass. The fourth position was a kind of ‘opendoor’
to whomever might show up on their nights. Anyone from Bryden Baird
(Feist) on flugel horn to Daniel Stone (cache) on percussion.Apostle
of Hustle’s first endeavor, Folkloric Feel, was released in July of
2004. It was a Frankenstein of a record – recorded in over four
different locations at different times. By this point, Whiteman was
almost completely consumed with recording and touring with Broken
Social Scene and finishing the Apostle of Hustle record could only
happen in between tours. A collection of tracks and mixes and ideas was
brought to BSS producer David Newfeld’s door and he somehow was able to
create the psychedelic debut that came out on the Arts & Crafts
label.National Anthem of Nowhere was recorded in Montreal at
Studio Masterkut in March of 2006. This time around the band sought the
production talents of Martin Davis Kinack (BSS/Sam Roberts
front-of-house man, as well asSarah Harmer producer) National
Anthem of Nowhere was finished in Whiteman’s bedroom in September and
mixed in the woods at Marty's secret studio locale. The vibe was almost
completely vin rouge, even after the Montreal stint. A few guests lurk:
Liam O’Neil from the Stills, Evan Cranley and Chris Seligman from
Stars, Lisa Lobsinger who sang with BSS on their 2006 tours. Daniel
Stone is present on almost all the tracks playing conga, bongo, and
especially caja. The record sounds so good, he even decided to skip
part of the salsa season to tourwith Apostle of Hustle in 2007. Nice one, compañero.
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