{"id":3454,"date":"2017-02-17T08:31:20","date_gmt":"2017-02-17T13:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/youvechangedrecords.com\/?post_type=product&#038;p=3454"},"modified":"2023-07-24T07:05:01","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T11:05:01","slug":"richard-laviolette-taking-the-long-way-home","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/youvechangedrecords.com\/product\/richard-laviolette-taking-the-long-way-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Richard Laviolette &#8211; Taking The Long Way Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>&#8220;As a songwriter, Richard Laviolette should be celebrated, quoted, and covered around campfires by anyone who appreciates the sincere craft of this kind of work. His songs are personal and political, poetic and literal, uplifting and challenging, and all-together free of bullshit. His voice is true and he knows what he&#8217;s doing.&#8221; -Bry Webb, The Constantines<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=2416803114\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" seamless><a href=\"https:\/\/youvechangedrecords.bandcamp.com\/album\/taking-the-long-way-home\">Taking The Long Way Home by Richard Laviolette<\/a><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Taking the Long Way Home, Guelph ON singer-songwriter Richard Laviolette\u2019s fourth full-length album, is a record to warm the heart as well as the dance floor. Combining all the grace and grit of the classic country music of his childhood with a masterful lyricism, Laviolette explores resiliency in the face of change, illness and death. Weaving together humour and despair, these songs are, as he sings, \u201cfull of grief and praise; stories we all know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Produced with Andy Magoffin (who recorded Richard Laviolette and The Oil Spills\u2019 All of Your Raw Materials in 2009), Taking The Long Way Home owes its warmth, rhythm, and country flair to a rough and ready ensemble of musicians, including Lisa Bozikovic on piano, Matthew Reeves on lead guitar, Jessy Bell Smith (Skydiggers) on vocal harmonies, Julia Narveson (Ever Lovin\u2019 Jug Band, Lake of Stew) on fiddle and double bass, Aaron Goldstein (Cowboy Junkies, Bry Webb, Daniel Romano) on pedal steel, Heather Kirby (Ohbijou, Vag Halen) on electric bass, and Aaron Curtis (Two-minute Miracles) on drums.<\/p>\n<p>When Richard started writing songs for the album it was intended to be a collaboration with his father, Darrell Laviolette. Ultimately, Darrell was unable to participate in the recording due to his responsibilities as a caretaker for Richard\u2019s mother, Marie (who had Huntington\u2019s Disease), but this initial concept set the tone for the rest of the album. The opening track \u2018Grey Rain\u2019 takes a nostalgic trip through Richard\u2019s childhood home, small-town life, and the longing to move away. \u2018Old Country Music\u2019 acknowledges the early impact of country music in Richard\u2019s life, recalling in detail those weekend mornings being woken early by his father\u2019s record player blaring George Jones, Patsy Cline and Hank Snow. The title track \u2018Taking the Long Way Home\u2019, written while recovering from a major surgery, was originally a document of Richard\u2019s health, chronic pain and long surgical history, but in the context of the album it has come to represent the roads we all end up on in our lives.<\/p>\n<p>Each song here is a different way home. It is an album about exploring old memories through the lens of the present day. It\u2019s about family, relationships and home. It\u2019s about remembering what the motivating forces are in your life and thinking about how they have changed over time. It\u2019s about honoring the music you were raised on and making an honest attempt to capture a piece of that in your own words. And it\u2019s about creating connections that pass the music and the stories on through generations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Taking the Long Way Home, Guelph ON singer-songwriter Richard Laviolette\u2019s fourth full-length album, is a record to warm the heart as well as the dance floor. Combining all the grace and grit of the classic country music of his childhood with a masterful lyricism, Laviolette explores resiliency in the face of change, illness and death. Weaving together humour and despair, these songs are, as he sings, \u201cfull of grief and praise; stories we all know.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3455,"template":"","meta":{"kt_blocks_editor_width":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/youvechangedrecords.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/3454"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/youvechangedrecords.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/youvechangedrecords.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youvechangedrecords.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/youvechangedrecords.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}