Bob Wiseman
is a Canadian singer-songwriter and filmmaker. Raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, his outsider music blends folk, rock jazz and very often contains explicitly political themes.
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BOB WISEMAN TICKETS
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Career
He was a member of
Blue Rodeo from that band's inception (1984) but left the band after their 1992 album
Lost Together
. His first solo album was
Bob Wiseman Sings Wrench Tuttle: In Her Dream
in 1989. The first pressing (2000 copies) was destroyed by Warner Music Canada because the song "Rock and Tree" (about the murder of
Salvador Allende) was deemed libelous. "Wrench Tuttle", the credited songwriter, was in fact simply a pseudonym for Wiseman himself. This record yielded the video "We Got Time", a minor hit on
Much Music.
His best-known songs include "Have a Nice Day" (from 1993's
City of Wood
), a harsh attack on controversial Canadian lawyer and
Western Canada Concept founder
Doug Christie, who often defends
racist and
neo-Nazi clients, and "What the Astronaut Noticed and Then Suggested" (from 1991's
Presented By Lake Michigan Soda
), an
existential zydeco ditty which was later used as the theme song to the
CBC Television series
Material World
.
Since 2000 he has made
super 8 films and videos which he accompanies live on accordion, guitar or piano. His he travelled extensively with this unique performing style, recently travelling as far as New Zealand, which he toured in early 2009.
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Touring and collaborations
He has toured with
Feist,
Final Fantasy,
Scott Thompson and has been a guest performer with
Wilco,
The Wallflowers,
Edie Brickell. He was also a member of
The Hidden Cameras and
Slutarded.
He has collaborated theatrically with
Scott Thompson of
Kids In The Hall on
Scottastrophe
and
Anand Rajaram on
Cowboys and Indians
and Sean Dixon for the
Barbara Gowdy story "The White Bone".
In the early 90s he offered to take up
Prince's name when the purple one decided he no longer wished to called
Prince. The cease and desist letter remains laminated in Bob's lavatory to this day.
Producer
Wiseman has also produced recordings for
Ron Sexsmith,
Bruce McCulloch,
The Lollipop People,
Katie Crown,
Kyp Harness,
Bourbon Tabernacle Choir,
Eugene Chadbourne,
Bob Snider,
Edie Brickell,
Andrew Cash, Sam Larkin, and
The Lowest of the Low.
He is presently on the board of directors for TAIS and the
Blocks Recording Club label in
Toronto.
Bob Wiseman is a brother to Ron Wiseman, a Jewish Jazz/Reggae singer/songwriter and to
playwright Gabriel Emmanuel and to director Howie Wiseman.
Solo Discography
- Wet Water
(1984)
- In Her Dream: Bob Wiseman Sings Wrench Tuttle
(1989)
- Hits of the Sixties and Seventies
(1990)
- Presented by Lake Michigan Soda
(1991)
- City of Wood
(1993)
- Beware of Bob
(1994)
- Accidentally Acquired Beliefs
(1995)
- More Work Songs from the Planet of the Apes
(1997)
- It's True
(2004)
- Theme and Variations
(2006)
- The Legend
(2008)
- In Her Dream
(2009) - 20th anniversary edition made available on vinyl and through the free music archive (http://freemusicarchive.org/) along with previously removed tracks from 1989
References
- http://www.myspace.com/bobwiseman