Wednesday, March 14   10:00 p.m.
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  The Grass - Oranges
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After rescuing a box of old records from Value Village in Dartmouth, NS, guitarist/bassist Nicholas Wolfe asked singer/songwriter Patrick McNally to start a band that sounded like all the Neil Young, CCR, The Band, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan records he had found. Patrick had been writing his own songs for a while, but had never envisioned them performed by a band. He readily agreed to join.

Later, when Nicholas was at practice for his other band, Money, he mentioned the band he and Patrick were putting together. Willis and Dylan Ryan, who were the other members of Money, immediately signed on.

Dylan, who had always drummed at breakneck speed, finally had the chance to focus on the music instead of the speed. And Willis, with songs he'd written that could not fit into Money, had a venue to actually sing instead of screaming to be heard.

Finally, as the musicians who would become The Grass were assembling, their good friend Adam Burke witnessed one of the bands first practices and saw the potential they had together. Since there were already three guitar players (Willis, Nicholas, and Pat take turns playing the bass), Adam bought a piano and taught himself rock and roll chords. He proved adept at picking out songs and chord changes, and became a full member soon after learning his instrument.

Adam also thought up "The Grass" after a poem he read for one of his classes.

A few months later Lindsey Rogers, who occasionally played keyboard with Money, revealed she had been playing Violin for ages. She began playing with The Grass along with Young Geoffrey Tobin, a multi-instrumentalist who alternates between organ and slide guitar. Unfortunately for The Grass, Young Geoffrey decided to go back to school in the fall, and was not able to perform with The Grass on their first cross-Canada tour.

With every member in their early twenties, The Grass have the time and energy to play music together every day, record whenever possible, and play live anywhere and everywhere. This comradery stems from their long friendships together, as well as a shared desire to play music with each other. Their live show is, quite visibly, a perfect example of this; Willis, Patrick, and Nicholas pass their guitars and bass back and forth almost without thinking, set lists are tossed out the window as songs titles (whatever song a band member wants to play) are shouted out, then played, and laughs shared amongst themselves when someone messes up, even though no one but The Grass notices.

The Grass recorded the debut independent album, Mulgrave, in late 2005 at Sound Market Studios in Halifax and released it in January 2006. Mulgrave has recently been nominated for the 2006 Music Nova Scotia Country/Bluegrass Recording of the Year. The band quickly returned to the studio to record new material and improve on their technical skills, releasing Oranges (recorded at The Music Room and Sound Market Studios) in July 2006.

Armed with two fresh new albums, The Grass set off on tour from coast to coast across Canada. Playing for as few as two to as many as 200 people, The Grass has captivated audiences from Mulgrave, NS to Victoria, BC. The band is looking forward to heading back into the studio to work on their third full-length recording, to be released in early 2007.