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| Steve Sinnicks is a Hamilton songwriter-musician who is not afraid to address issues of abuse, be it physical or mental (and encompassing substance, domestic and employment-related abuse). "Bad Night" nails a typical scenario of domestic abuse and offers accurate motivations and reactions on the part of the abuser, the victim and the interested third party. The otherwise sweet vocals are a bit over-extended here but that's easily overlooked due to the intensity of the lyrics (e.g. "You start at zero or you stay right here."). Speaking of vocals, Carolyna North-Loveless, on harmony vocals, is perfectly matched with Steve in a duet on the tragic "One Heart" (co-written by Tom Wilson of Junkhouse). Mr. Sinnicks has also rounded up a passel of Hamilton musicians to add layering to his (and other's) compositions, which he is equally comfortable performing in a solo acoustic guitar setting. Among those contributing to this production by Michael J. Birthelmer (who also plays mandolin and acoustic guitar here) are: Carolyna North-Loveless on beautiful harmony vocals; Mike Daley on electric guitar; Rob Lamothe sessions players Shelley Woods (also with Mike Trebilcock) on bass; Dino Verginella (also with Dave Murphy Band, Guitar Mikey) on keyboards and bass, and Ron Elliot and Ed Roth on accordion. Dobro/steel pedal guitarist Kim Deschamps, despite having played with innumerable big-name bands, and releasing a solo CD - Take Me Away - has yet to reach his much-deserved superstar recognition, evidenced here on Ray Materick's "Reasonable Doubt" and Steve Sinnicks' "Guide Me Pilot" and "Nineteen Ten and Four". Steve pays tribute to French-Canadian culture on both "Nineteen Ten and Four" (with Birthelmer on acoustic guitar), a romantic ballad about Qu�bec's Royal 22nd Regiment (satirized as "The Vandoos" in a cartoon strip by Jean-Fran�ois April), as well as the bilingual Cajun Zydeco swinger, "Girl from Gasp�". Quite a few of his songs deal with personal relationships, so you get the impression that his observations are made not simply for grandstanding purposes but because the psychology of human behaviour seems to be of genuine interest to him. Examples of this are "Communication" and "Link in the Chain". Jesus gets a nod, in a straightforward country and western vein, in "Guide Me Pilot", although I'm not sure what the message was here. The CD closer, "Get Out of Town", which includes a reference to Frankie Venom of the infamous rock band, Teenage Head (who perhaps personify Hamilton's "bad boy" reputation), is a catchy guitar strummer that speaks to the love-hate relationship Hamiltonians seem to have with their "town that no one can stand". If an encyclopedic history of Hamilton music is ever compiled, it would not be complete without this collection. N.B. Subsequent to this CD, Steve Sinnicks released "Five Songs for Five Dollars" (which is exactly what you get) in 2002 and "If You Don't Want the Genie, Don't Rub the Lamp", released in January 2003 to a sold-out crowd at Hamilton's Ontario Workers Arts and Heritage Centre.. |
| SLOW LEARNER - STEVE SINNICKS |
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