February 24-March 3, 2005
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Joe Lapinski has been a fixture in the local music scene for many years. I remember him carrying his guitar around in high school-a decade ago-sort of like the Ritchie Vallens of Niagara. He'd bust out a song or two at a session in a south end garage, sing and play a tune while sitting atop the escarpment by the Decew electrical generating tubes, or provide the soundtrack for a crackling bonfire at Municipal Beach. Back then, everyone played guitar. The thing about Joe's licks was they were always appropriate and always good; they hit the spot like that very last can of warm beer. Lapinski kept on with his music and, after years of working with a number of different combinations and in varying capacities, he's just released his first solo album, Here Are The Postcards I Forgot To Send You on his own Yummy Recordings imprint.

Lapinski's solo debut is a result of finding his true voice after exploring a plethora of musical terrain: working for years as a part of Palooka and Suitcase In Point Theatre Troupe, playing solo shows at NAC and The Merch as well as offering his mixing and marketing skills to likeminded local musicians through his label and studio, Yummy.

There's no doubt that the songs on the current album partly developed through the live solo sessions Lapinski hosted at The Merchant Ale House under the title, Joe Lapinski's Easy Listening Classics. The songs on Postcards are injected with a uniquely Canadian bent that will surely find a home on the airwaves through frequencies like the CBC and Campus Community radio stations. Acoustic and electric guitar work lay the background for inspired emotional and often funny lyrics. Lapinski's honesty and wit are punctuated by his straightforward vocal delivery coupled with flowing melodies and glowing harmonies.

Although Lapinski is a talented singer songwriter, his instrumental songs and soundtrack work particularly shine. Having scored music for live theatre in three original productions with Suitcase In Point (Be Wearing Wolf, Emily Chesley, and Groundwater), Lapinski has tuned his ears to work in tandem with his eyes and action on stage. The deceptively simple live soundtrack for Be Wearing Wolf, consisting of Lapinski on electric guitar with analog effects and Edwin Conroy Jr. of The Regards handling percussion, totally complemented the action on stage by helping animate the crazy characters. The resulting score flutters and flirts wildly, yet surprisingly, works even when the visuals are stripped away and all that is left is the sound and music.

Lapinski’s latest outing with Palooka, an album entitled Shrimp Ring released earlier this year, has been making waves and bringing the band critical acclaim. Shrimp Ring features party songs that have made Palooka a favorite live band around the region and it captures the interaction and intimacy of their performances. My favorite song, “Tuner in My Back Pocket” was recorded live at a Christmas party in SPK’s living room here in St. Catharines. The screams, clapping and singing along coupled with the crisp recording take me there every time. Shrimp Ring earned the band a deal with Zunior.com, a Canadian online MP3 distribution site which also hosts The Woodchoppers Association and The \Inbreds among others.

I visited A–Frame, a spacious attic studio filled with instruments and equipment above Lapinski’s downtown apartment and the home of Yummy Recordings. Yummy  represents a number of local bands including The Regards, Garrett Lacroix, Readable Ink, The Sweater Girls and many others. A–Frame is the home base for music production, including everything from recording, location recording, mixing, editing, mastering, art–oriented web design and they even have a roster of professional in–house musicians. Most recently, Lapinski worked with the Niagara Artists’ Company to create their award
winning website www.nac.org and compile and mix the soon to be released second installment of the Arts and Literary Supplement. I had a chance to reminisce about old times and talk to Lapinski about music at Otter Paw Print studio while Steve Remus screen printed the covers for Here Are The Postcards I Forgot To Send You. I was curious about how playing in a variety of situations would change the way
one approaches performance and how different environments, studio and live, effect playing. “Playing solo is totally different than playing with a band,” says Lapinski. “You end up feeling as they say ‘naked’.

You’re open to everyone in that room to see and hear exactly what you're doing all the time. In a band, you have the power to fall back sound wise behind your band mates. The dynamics are different in a band, and you end up having more possibilities and surprises. As a solo performer, you control, as the individual, exactly what is being heard and seen by the audience. I love both the live and studio environments. The studio is where I most feel at home because at this point in time, it is my home. The studio is comfortable and relaxed, a good place to explore ideas. But live, I get off on the energy of who's watching me, the crowd. It’s kind of euphoric.”

I asked Lapinski about running an independent label, band and a production suite, how has technology changed the way he works, records, promotes, networks, distributes, etc. He answered in a monotone voice, “Technology is my friend. It is your friend too. It rules us. I am a robot.” I laughed as Lapinski continued, “Seriously, it’s very helpful. My computer is my main tool in this music biz stuff. It has helped me to expand my label Yummy Recordings in that there is a web–site, and that people can buy our albums off of it. I can promote show and new releases via email and web ads. And I can record all my music with is damn box too. Craziness, vive la kom-pu-tar! I do want to venture to the analogue world as far as recording goes though. One thing a computer does well is suck you in, so I want to try and step away from that in some aspects of my work.”

As someone who has seen Lapinski perform live on a number of occasions, it’s easy to be curious about the songwriting process and what happens when the audience isn’t around to hear the ideas that are being explored.

“Songwriting makes me feel like I'm Dr.Frankenstein,” began Lapinski. “I start with bones which is usually the melody and chord progression on an acoustic guitar. This can be influenced by anything from watching Dawson's Creek on TV to a melody that pops in my head while I'm walking to Vaughn's for my Belt Buster sandwich. Then I start adding the flesh and organs to it by flavouring up the arrangement and such. That involves just playing around with it, and letting your self go free with it. Then I add the skin and hair and stuff. That to me can be the lyrics. For some reason lyrics come last. “I think that's because I feel that the melody should be able to stand on its own without lyrics, so I work on that the most. Lyrics are something that most people can easily recognize a song by. Instrumentals are a bit different though. You have to find a voice through another means like a solo instrument, or through accenting the melody or arrangement. It can be a long process, but it’s all fun, and I love to do it.”

by Marinko Jareb