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Mattawa quartet, Broken Down Lori to record with JUNO-nominated producer

“I like experiments. I find that not knowing how something will turn out to be liberating. Nothing interesting ever comes from predictability."
broken down lori 2016
From left to right – Kevin Pecore, Whitney Jodouin, Brent Ogletree, Mason Keall

With studio time booked for November 2016 with North Bay’s Ben Leggett, Mattawa-based band Broken Down Lori is set to begin work on their first studio offering, Methamorphosis

Leggett is a JUNO Nominated Producer (Best Producer/Engineer for Craig Cardiff's nominated album Floods & Fires) with an earned reputation for commitment, professionalism and passion for creativity – all determining qualities for Broken Down Lori when deciding on who to work with for the project.

The genesis of the band dates back to November 2015 when musician Kevin Pecore and long-time musical collaborator, Whitney Jodouin began working on an acoustic treatment of Pink Floyd’s seminal multi-media masterpiece, The Wall. 

“We’ve been working together for over a decade so I figured she’d be in. She’s got the voice of an angel and the attitude of a long-haul trucker,” says Pecore.

During early rehearsals, it became apparent that for the sake of theatrics and verisimilitude, the duo would need to bring in reinforcements in the form of bass player and guitarist, Mason (Manson) Keall from Corbeil, Ontario, and seasoned Mattawa drummer, Brent Ogletree. Pink Wall, according to Pecore, was now evolving into more of a social experiment than anything.

“I like experiments. I find that not knowing how something will turn out to be liberating. Nothing interesting ever comes from predictability. I figured that if four people could commit to working together with a sense of blind faith in a cramped, smelly bunker without fist-fights and drop kicks, this would be the makings of a tight band. I was right.”

Before the last notes of ‘Pink Wall’ faded, the ‘ensemble’ became a ‘band.’ Broken Down Lori was baptized by the fire and smoke of that one-off show in May, held at Mattawa’s historic Champlain Theatre in May of 2016.

As for the origin of the name? 

The band name Broken Down Lori originates from hourly BBC Radio 2 traffic reports presented by such on-air notables as Sally 'Traffic' Boazman and Rebecca Pike. It seems that in London, England there are lorries breaking down all over the place interrupting traffic and causing all sorts of mayhem, possibly spilling bananas and such.  ‘Lorry’ lent itself to wordplay, morphing into 'Lori' to reflect the fact that the quartet is headed by a woman. And now you know. The logo was designed by Austin based graphic artist, Geoff Taylor.  

Non-Floyd live gigs followed, providing additional opportunities for Broken Down Lori to gel, and to consequently morph into a vessel for the back-catalogue of original demos penned by Pecore & Jodouin dating back to 2004. For more information on the Broken Down Lori Methamorphosis Project, visit Broken Down Lori on Facebook.