A magnetic performer acclaimed for her resonant lyrics, raw guitar riffs, and potent, vulnerable voice, Cherie Pyne started writing these "songs for a solitary road trip" from a background of playful, raw, experimental punk and pop rock. In her hometown of St. John's, Newfoundland she was a vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for The Peep-holes, The Literally Gay, Mechanical Bull, and Her Majesty's Secret Cervix as well as singing on albums and stage for a variety of local indie rock bands. Now living in Montreal, she is working on a new album and playing under the band name Slippery Rabbits / Rusées Lapines. She also plays in Harbourcoats, a side project of the Constantines' Bryan Webb.
Cherie's first solo demo, also called Slippery Rabbits, was a co-pro with Brian Borcherdt of Holy Fuck, recorded reel-to-reel in a bedroom closet in Toronto. A year later in St. John's, she and her friends recorded Little Springboard in an attic, pooling the know-how, resources and input of bandmates Jon Hynes (Trailer Camp, Geinus), Andrew Robinson (Magnus Svensons, Good Kids Pretend They're Bad) and Victor Lewis (Jim-Jims, Mudlarks, Hanging Horses). Both albums got rave reviews on the local scene from musicians and media, and as well as national media props, Little Springboard was rated the MUSE's Best Local Album of 2006, made Fred's Records' bestseller wall, and got Pyne nominated for MUSIC NL Female Artist of the Year. Since her first release Pyne has played Halifax Pop Explosion, The Labrador Creative Arts Festival, Rockrgrl Seattle, Ladyfest Toronto, Catcall in Montreal, Rock Can Roll St. John's, The Sound Symposium's NIGHT MUSIC, Peace-A-Chord, The Victoria Park Lantern Festival, the odd show in Toronto and Montreal and many, many shows in the bars of St. John's. Her songs have been used in a few films and videos and she has performed as a musician in theatre/dance stuff by Andy Jones and Mark Bragg, Artistic Fraud, White Rooster, Sheilagh's Brush, Lori Clarke, Sarah Joy Stoker, Tammy Forsythe, and the Life & Limb collective. Cherie has been an invited speaker at conferences about d.i.y. and the status of women in music, and "Rock School for Girls", a video doc (see video to left) about the Newfoundland workshops co-created by Pyne, Liz Pickguard and Rhiannon Thomas, has played at Montreal's Volatile Works festival, The Rock Can Roll Festival, and The St. John's International Women's Film and Video Festival.
for bookings/info: cheriepyne at gmail
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REVIEWS:
"This much-anticipated album was the best critical success of 2006...Every aspect of [Little Springboard] is seriously awesome...Pyne may have moved off to Montreal, but she will not be forgotten by St. John's audiences." - TOP LOCAL ALBUMS OF 2006, The Muse
"I listened to [Little Springboard] more than a hundred times. I bought copies for my car, my bedroom, my living room, and my friends...Pyne's lyrics are profound. They are honest and mature, accurate and playful, spontaneous and thoughtful...tremendous courage" - Newfoundland Quarterly
"Newfoundland's Cherie Pyne is no longer a mystery girl...fusing the patchy guitar work of PJ Harvey with the robust, sultry vocals of Cat Power...She also combines the artful nakedness of Julie Doiron's Eric's Trip era vocals with the cocksure guitar meddling of early Sonic Youth" - Chart Attack/ Canadians Making News
"brilliant and unique...ethereal but strong...hypnotic, pulsating rock...richly produced... [on Little Springboard] Pyne sings of love, heartache and reality most raw, creating songs that are subversive, intensely engaging and full of sweet moments...she has certainly stirred things up in Newfoundland." - Downhome Magazine
"Cherie Pyne's Little Springboard is like buying a cold case of beer with a GST rebate cheque, it's unpretentious and awesome at the same time...intense, thought-provoking songs" - MUSE RECOMMENDED LIST, The Muse
"this St. John's artist is ready to leap onto the next level...she rocks" -The Scope
"A multidisciplinary artist of the highest order, Cherie Pyne's work is balanced by the ever so rare combination of passion and intellect, anger and compassion." -Robert Chafe (Playwright, Actor)
"For all of St. John's self-proclaimed musical cred, it was Pyne's scream that took me by the short-hairs and put my money where her mouth is...It's more than seeing all the room's misfits swaying to her like The Pied Piper's rat-army; It's that she takes up space while making more of it." - Mikiki (Performance Artist, Video Artist)
"Marrying musical threads as diverse as Bjork and Neil Young, Pyne crafts a sound that is familiar and still uniquely her own. The stand out track for me is 'Little Springboard' but they're all solid." - cd review, Product of Newfoundland
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CHERIE PYNE ALBUMS AVAILABLE AT:
Fred's Records online: http://www.freds.nf.ca/artists/PyneCherie
Fred's Records (198 Duckworth St., St. John's)
O'Brien's Music (278 Water St., St. John's)
CD PLUS (Avalon Mall, St. John's)
LOCAL 23 (23 Bernard West, Montreal)
REQUEST SONGS on the RADIO:
CBC RADIO CANADA
CKDU HALIFAX
CKUT MONTREAL
CHMR ST. JOHN'S
VOCM ST. JOHN'S
