Recent reviews for 'Whitewater'

Some very kind reviews beginning to roll in of the 'Whitewater' EP. I'm humbled and floored at the same time:

"Echoes of Paul Simon and Neil Young...authoritive and humble at the same time" — The Province

"An honest and wondrous collection of songs that very well may hold the power to change people’s lives" — Mass Movement

“An undeniable little gem of an album” — This Great Society

“Whitewater shows off Pick's knack for melody” — Given & Taken in Ink

Top listens of 2011

It feels like I’ve been listening to more music this year than ever, but I probably say that every year. My collection keeps growing, increasingly scattered between CDs, Vinyl, and all sorts of bits and bytes — I keep meaning to get it organized, digitized, or cloud-ified (if that’s a word), but then get distracted listening to something and forget about it.

Whatever the format, I’m sure most of us are usually listening to a mix of things classic, current, and/or eclectic, which makes it hard to narrow down favorites, especially in 2011 — a year full of brilliant records. Fortunately, I've decided to consult my iTunes/Rdio play counter and this is what I've been listening to the most out of the year's releases (I've also put together a playlist to sample on iTunes):

1. James Vincent McMorrow - Early in the Morning
2. Emmylou Harris - Hard Bargain
3. Wilco - The Whole Love
4. Dawes - Nothing Is Wrong
5. Bry Webb - Provider
6. Paul Simon - So Beautiful or So What
7. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
8. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
9. The National - High Violet
10. Feist - Metals

Honorable Mentions:
Lisa Hannigan - Passenger
The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow

Notable Locals (friends):
Jonathan Inc. - Lost Time
Noah Gundersen - Family
Joshua Hyslop - Cold Wind EP
Ryan McAllister - Music for a Rainy Town
The Belle Game - Sleep to Grow EP

12 Bands of Christmas

This Friday morning bright and early (the crack of 8AM, anyways), I'll be playing a set at the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver, as part of the '12 Bands of Christmas' fundraiser for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. Joining me will be Jay Stewart on drums and percussion, and Pete Davyduck on upright bass. Looking forward to throwing in a few Christmas songs too. The event is free, but don't forget to bring coffee or some other non-perishable food item to donate.

Christmas

A few weeks back I wrote and recorded a Christmas tune, called 'Finding Christmas', which as of today is  available for streaming and download through Bandcamp or on iTunes.

Recorded at Buena Vista Audio with the help of Jonathan Anderson (Aidan Knight, In Medias Res), it features my debut on record behind the drum kit and glockenspeil as well as some pretty smooth organ and guitar licks from Jon. We had a great time working on this one - super relaxed and fun. Just like the best parts of the Christmas season. Hope you enjoy it.