Written by David McConnell
“The Lifers,”an incredibly creative and innovative musical group, is a six-piece sister-fronted post folk band that hails from Guelph. While they have been making music for almost a decade, it is their “post folk” identity that continues to make them unique in many ways.
And what is “post folk” as a genre or musical style? It is certainly a fair question to ask given the continuous attempts made these days to pigeonhole groups into a specific brand. Liv Cazzola, one of the sisters along with her sibling Anita who heads this ensemble, explained that the artificial tagging of their music is not something they embrace or identify with. The “post folk” connotation, although it draws from folk sound and storytelling, allows them to blend and expand on this through exploration and experimentation that goes beyond traditional folk expression and evolving into something new. Because of this flexibility, it has allowed the group to address through sound and song some difficult personal life issues, as well as maintain their intense interest in social activism. According to Liv, their music has allowed them to heal individually and to also move forward communally on a variety of fronts.
One such communal entity that has garnered their interest and support is the “Draw the Line” campaign which will be organizing a rally at Royal City Park on September 20th at 10:00a.m. Its focus here will be on issues of peace, climate justice, and the need for real democracy. As Liv stated, their art has become a vehicle for the social justice issues that they feel they must engage in.
Which raises yet another question. How does the band sustain itself financially given the costs incurred in developing, promoting and maintaining their art? Like every other “starving artist” in Guelph and elsewhere, Liv joked, it is the other necessary “day jobs.” And these day jobs include, since all members have differing skills that define them: teaching piano and ukulele, working in tech support and design, mending garments, pouring pints at a brewery, scaling the Gordon Street hill towards the U of G and on and on it can go. Add to this the fact that while Guelph is still considered home by all members in the band, four of the six no longer live in town. Two currently reside in Toronto and two more further afield in Bear River, Nova Scotia. Still, this has in no way deterred the group from staying in touch and getting together when needed to produce new music, the latest of which is an upcoming album entitled “Honesty” set to be released on September 5th.
Now to the final, yet no less pertinent aspect of the article…their upcoming tour information. Exciting to say the least! “The Lifers” will be kicking off a brief, but important series of dates at places Liv said reflects areas of comfort and connection that the band currently feels it has with these locations. With a new album in tow, these are the conditions a band wants most. The first stop in their sojourn begins in Toronto on September 19th at Burdock. Guelph fans can see them the next evening, September 20th at Sonic Hall. After that they find their way to Ottawa, Bear River, Dartmouth, Fredericton, and finally Montreal. There is much more that can be said about this group. Those of you who read this article may know that another offshoot of “The Lifers” is the duo “Tragedy Ann”, a separate project involving Liv and her partner Braden. This is what music and other artistic endeavours within the Guelph community provide: collaboration, friendship and a voice for all, making the city a better place for everyone through public engagement. Go out and see this group on September 20th at Sonic Hall. If you can’t make it, get their new album when it is released. You won’t be disappointed.
