What if Dark Orchard (Jim Casson’s experimental music project) and “The Blues” got together in New Orleans and watched Twin Peaks with Daniel Lanois?

This is the question that inspired “Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns”.

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The story – How it started

During the COVID19 lockdown, musicians were trying to find ways to keep busy.  Drummer Jim Casson was asked to record some backing tracks in his home studio "The Cherry Pit" for his friend, guitarist Steve Grisbrook with bassist Russ Boswell.  After recording a few cover songs for Steve, Jim approached Russ to see if he wanted to try to write something original.  Russ was game so Jim improvised a drum take while thinking with song form in his head, but with no firm idea of a song, just a funky New Orleans vibe.  Jim sent this track to Russ who then added a bass line with chord changes to Jim’s track.  They decided that the right person to add a guitar part was their old band mate Bernie LaBarge. Brent Barkman was then asked to contribute an organ part and the song “Marshville Station” was born.

Excited at the success of this first experiment, Jim decided to try another one, but this time the same magic was not repeated and the project was shelved.

Meanwhile, tuba player Jay Burr was working on a singer songwriter album and had asked Jim to contribute drum parts.  Jim decided to ask Jay if he would try to add a tuba part to the shelved project.  Jay agreed and it was magic again.  They continued to collaborate on several more songs using the same formula of improvised drum takes and then adding form with the tuba. 

Jim decided that the complimentary instrumentation for this project would be guitar (Wayne DeAdder) and slide guitar (Mike Branton).  With their additions, the project had a solid foundation. 

Other contributors to become “Green Lanterns” were Steve Marriner (harmonica), Al Lerman (harmonica), and Stephen Miller (dobro).

Jim felt that this album should in some way pay tribute to his home, The Niagara Peninsula in Ontario, Canada.  “Davis Hall” was the name of the community centre in his hometown where he attended nursery school and “The Green Lantern” was the soda shop in town when he was a kid.  All of the song titles are names or former names of villages in the Niagara Peninsula. 

The “Dark Orchard” element is the addition of samples, loops and spoken word elements into the songs.  Everything came together when Jim discovered a recording from 1963 of local disc jockey Bob Bowland from CHOW radio in Welland, the station that was most played in his home while growing up. 

With this addition, the tribute was complete.

The Story - How it's going

After much success of the first album, Jim decided it was time to embark on a second album - "Canboro Canborough".

While the first album took time discovering what the sound of the Green Lanterns was, "Canboro Canborough" focuses on the core group of Casson on drums, Burr on tuba, DeAdder on guitar, Branton on slide, with a guest appearance by Mark Lalama on keyboards.

The new album sounds more like a band than some of the cinematic adventures of the first. The recording concept remained the same with most of it done remotely in the member's home studios.

Once again, the song titles pay tribute to the history of the Niagara Peninsula and some vintage radio clips are back along with some other noteable audio samples.

Funky and uplifting, there is a lot of laughter on this album.

What people are saying about the album "Canboro Canborough"

“As sweet and juicy as a Niagara peach, this sophomore release by Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns delivers all the goods. It's an excellent collection of funkified jazz, blues & rock that finds its groove and stays there. The musicianship is exemplary, which is expected from artists of this calibre. If you like a nice bottom end (and who doesn't), you'll love this release.”
Scott Wilkinson - Host – The Blues Never Die, CHRW 94.9FM, London, ON

“Canboro Canborough will put some pep in your step.  Keep this one handy for when you’re in need of a spirit boost. It might be the only remedy you need….It’s not just funky; it’s of the filthy variety.”
Jim Hynes - Making A Scene magazine - Atlanta, GA – September 27, 2023

“Nothing heard as masterfully exciting since “You Know What I Mean” and “Scatterbrain” by Jeff Beck on “Blow By Blow” in '75”
Patrick Dalongeville - Paris Move, Blues Magazine – Paris, France – Sept 28, 2023

“It is a creation as surprising as it is delightful… a unique album of its kind… a path both chaotic and dotted with beautiful things on which we walk with the greatest pleasure. A must try!”
Fred Delforge - Zicazine, Mantes la Jolie, France - Oct 1, 2023

“I get a ton of new music sent to me all the time. People asking “will you play my music on the radio?” Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns are the only band I reach out to yelling, “send me more music!!!”... a speeding ticket album"
Ron Littlejohn - Host – Gumbo Kitchen, JAZZFM91 Toronto

“The new Davis Hall & the Green Lanterns recording is one big swampy, wacky and groovy fun mix of tunes. Beautiful playing by all involved, with special mention going out to drummer Jim Casson for some wonderfully inventive playing throughout!”
Mark Kelso - Jazz drumming legend, educator, Natalie McMaster

“When the Davis Hall & the Green Lanterns self-titled debut appeared in 2021, I thought that the project was about as fascinating as an album could be. I mean, how could a collection of songs that includes tuba and vintage radio clips in its funky mix not turn some heads. A one-off, perhaps? No way. The 2023 sophomore release, “Canboro Canborough,” has a similar feel but takes things up a notch, a quirky and adventurous good time that surpasses even its predecessor.”
Brant Zwicker - At the Crossroads Blues Radio

“This is his second solo album, where Jim has developed a personal and unconventional sound. The recording presents a unique originality, including eleven songs fruit of his imagination and creativity, displayed with an evident class and distinction. “
Vincente Zumel - Host - La Hora Del Blues, Barcelona, Spain

“The music on this album struts on the edge of unusual and virtually defies description except for one word. Great!”
Ken Wallis - BluesSource Canada on INDI 105FM and Blues And Roots Radio

“This is one of those albums that pushes the boundaries of the blues in ways most people could never imagine.”  4.5 stars out of 5
Philip Verhaege - Keys And Chords Online Music Magazine, Noorderwijk, Belgium

“It's head and shoulders above the previous one on every level.”
Bernie LaBarge - Legendary Toronto studio guitarist

"Twisted, wildly imaginative, deliciously tuneful, and deeply groovy!"
Matt Allen - Host - Big Beat Bar-B-Cue Radio Show CKAR 88.7 FM The Bay, Hunters Bay Radio Huntsville ON

“It’s like The Allman Brothers being backed by a New Orleans Jazz Band…”
Brian Cunningham - Music Afficianado

“A funtastic CD”
Mike Sloski - Drum legend, Bruce Cockburn

"I am always excited when new DH&TGL comes out - the music can hop in, skip on in but either ways it sure does groove into a sweet spot of any setlist building".
MisterG - Music Selector, Green Arrow Radio, WSUM, Madison, Wisconsin

“Outstanding, and then some... Brilliant album...”
William “Bronte Billy” Rainey - Host – Hard Rock and Blues Show – 91.3 Bluewater Radio

“Sounds terrific… grooves are impeccable… the musicianship is spellbinding”
John Kereiff – Gonzo Okanagan, Okanagan, BC - October 15, 2023

"...a unique mix of blues, jazz and funk that will grab you instantaneously and have you yearning for more as they fill your ears with some of the most unique sounds you’ll hear this year."
Marty Gunther – Charlotte Blues Society - December 2023

"Like a good gumbo, Canboro Canborough has the essential ingredients—excellent musicianship, tight arrangements, and expert production to keep you coming back for another bowl of Casson’s artistic adventures and that superbly spicy musical stew."
Ken Billett – Blues Blast Magazine - February 2024

 

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REVIEWS - Canboro Canborough

Paris Move, Blues Magazine - September 28, 2023- by Patrick Dallongeville

Score - Indispensible - A Must

As a preamble, let us point out that no member of this group is named Davis, and that no one there is named Hall either. Davis Hall is the name of a community center where drummer Jim Casson attended preschool when he was little. As for the Green Lanterns, it was the name of a soft drinks place, which adjoined this school establishment. Based in the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario, Jim is none other than one of the most revered Canadian drummers, notably for his participations in Dark Orchard, Downchild, The Hogtown Allstars as well as the Maple Blues Band, and this provides the second part of his latest project (a first album from this collective was released in 2021 to a deluge of praise). The simple enumeration of its line-up already indicates its orientation since, in addition to Jim himself (who of course plays drums, but also keyboards, xylophone and various percussions, as well as occasional vocals most often sampled), there is a tuba (also a trombonist), two guitars (including a slide and a ukulele), as well as a pianist and accordionist guesting on three tracks.

The tone is set from the jovial opening “Carrottown”: Nola funk & fun on all levels! Beyond the jubilant tuba, which provides the bass parts, the pair of guitarists (Wayne DeAdder and Mike Branton) compete in inventiveness, exchanging rhythmic and solo notes with relish. And while we persist in trying to assume our role as a serious chronicler while vainly repressing a blissful tremor, the no less funky instrumental “Homer” concedes no chance to these inclinations. Switched to the Fender Rhodes, Mark Lalama adds a touch of Meters to spill the dishes, and when the tirle track comes (with its undulating slide and its vintage guitar reverb as desired), we notice with a smile that it refers to the name of the street where Jim once grew up (imagine an impromptu jam between the late Dick Dale and Bob Brozman, in the credits of a film by David Lynch). This mischievously retro-futuristic register then continues with the surf and western-swing rumba “Daincity” (listening to which, unless you are plastered from head to toe, it is impossible to restrain a St. Vitus dance, as its protagonists compete in communicative virtuosity). The languid “The Comfort Of The North” offers a welcome break, before the trembling resumes with “Lowbanks”, “Winger” and “Humberstone”, where the guitars express themselves in unison while a clavinet, a trombone and a xylophone cook in the background, and Jim distills an impeccable lesson in funky drumming: it's simple, nothing heard as masterfully exciting since “You Know What I Mean” and “Scatterbrain” by Jeff Beck on “Blow By Blow” in '75. Return to the Louisiana second-line beat for “Silverdale”, to which neither the rhythm nor the guitars intend to give the slightest respite again. With its polyrhythmic and Latin riff, “Sugarloaf” evokes the Allman Brothers Band of “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” (which already sets the level), and the concluding “White Toyota” closes the ban by waddling towards the horizon in the style of Leon Redbone. If the idea of ​​hearing the version of Duke Ellington's “East St. Louis Toodle-oo” remixed by Soul Coughing (after that of Steely Dan) presents the slightest appeal to your eardrums, this record will undoubtedly arouse a lot of interest in you. Other fantasies yet!

 

Blues Blast Magazine - Illinois - February 8, 2024- by Ken Billett

Canboro Canborough is the second full-length album from Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns, an eclectic mix of four Canadian musicians who came together during the lockdown period of the pandemic to create an eclectic funky blues sound full of soul, with a pinch of Americana roots, and a nod to New Orleans-style jazz from an earlier era.

The band and their style are the brainchild of Jim Casson, a renowned session and band drummer (2022 Maple Blues Award Drummer of the Year). In addition to the drums, Casson plays keyboards, xylophone, gamelan strips (a Javanese-styled percussion instrument), a handpan (or, hanging drum), along with loops and samples used on several of the tracks. Casson also handles vocals on the album’s final song.

As producer, Casson recorded, edited, and mixed the album at his home studio (The Cherry Pit) in Fenwick, Ontario (Canada). Canboro Canborough was mastered by L. Stu Young at El Studio in Toronto. Joining Casson on his self-described musical adventure are: N. Jay Burr on tuba and trombone (and recorded at PlugHead Productions in Dundas, ON), Wayne DeAdder on guitar and ukulele (his parts recorded at The Chicken Coop in Waterdown, ON), Mike Branton, slide guitar, and a “guest appearance” on several tracks by Mark Lalama, who plays piano, keyboards, and accordion.

According to the group’s information sheet, all the song titles pay tribute to Casson’s home of the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario, Canada, using the names of historical villages found on a 1907 military topographical map, which hangs in his office. Canboro Canborough (also the album’s title track) refers to the street where Casson grew up.

In fact, the band’s name pays tribute to Casson’s childhood on the peninsula. Davis Hall was the community center where Casson attended nursery school and The Green Lantern was his hometown soda shop. The website refers to several current and former band mates as “Green Lanterns.”

Other than the album’s final track (“White Toyota”), Canboro Canborough is completely instrumental. Casson describes his creative and recording process as building from the ground up…creating bass lines and chord structures…(editing) parts into song structures (and then) the soloists and melody players were added to the funky gumbo.

The gumbo is definitely funky and The Green Lanterns throw everything into the mix to create a truly unique and, at times, superbly spicy musical stew.

“Humberstone,” the strongest and tightest track on the album is truly funky and fun, and includes a keyboard and slide breakdown that will blow listeners away. Another funk-filled number, “Homer” starts off strong with snazzy guitar licks and a tuba back beat that’s almost hypnotic. Still in the funk groove, “Lowbanks” hits it higher and heartier with Branton’s slide guitar tearing through another toe-tapping beat.

“Winger” begins the grungy, gritty, and guitar-driven numbers: foot-stompers familiar to any country blues and roots music fans. Fast and furious, with a great guitar duel— “Winger” is a terrific tune. Title song “Canboro Canborough” continues the grittiness with a little more Americana along with another excellent slide guitar performance from Branton. “Daincity” speeds things back up with a Calypso-themed tempo and excellent guitar picking (presumably from Wayne DeAdder), and then Mark Lalama cranks up the accordion and we’re suddenly transported to New Orleans, or, more likely, a Cajun hoedown. That funky gumbo is hot and spicy.

“Silverdale” continues the Bayou State experience with a brassy Bourbon Street vibe, which then morphs into a 1970s electric jazz number…and completely works. Canboro Canborough ends with “White Toyota,” the only vocal number, sung by Jim Casson. A playful love song with sweet lyrics like I’ll build you a big pagoda, I’ll sit and drink orange soda…with you.

A curious twist to the eclectic gumbo stew, but one that seems fitting.

Like a good gumbo, Canboro Canborough has the essential ingredients—excellent musicianship, tight arrangements, and expert production to keep you coming back for another bowl of Casson’s artistic adventures and that superbly spicy musical stew.

 

Making A Scene Magazine - Atlanta - September 27, 2023 - by Jim Hynes

Canboro Canborough is the second album from Toronto-based drummer/multi-instrumentalist Jim Casson and his band, The Green Lanterns. Admittedly, this writer is perplexed at how “Davis Hall” fits into this, except to guess that the character, like the song titles, relates to where Casson grew up on the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario, Canada. Specifically, the titles reference the names of historical villages that Casson found on a 1907 military topographical map that hangs in his office. The album title, for example, refers to the street that Casson grew up on.  Consider this a musical adventure of sorts. What’s even more interesting is the instrumentation of the unit.  Casson, the 2022 Maple Blues Award Drummer of the Year (with Downchild a prime piece of his resume), plays drums, keys, xylophone, gamelan strips, handpan, loops, samples, and vocals. N. Jay Burr (tuba, trombone), Wayne DeAdder (guitar, ukelele), and Mike Branton (slide guitar) round out the unit with guest Mark Lalama (piano, keys, accordion) joining on three tracks.

The music is an odd concoction of blues, jazz, funk, and spoken word, with no easily identifiable reference points. It will get your body parts moving and makes for a great car ride. Casson has his own process in building these eleven tunes, beginning with drum improvisations, adding bass lines (in this case mostly played on a tuba), then chord structures. Once the structure is complete the soloists and melody players (in this case, the remaining three to four musicians) improvise around the framework. A weird aspect to the recording are the audio clips from local disc jockey Bob Bowland on CHOW 1470AM in Welland, and some other amusing clips. For example, the opener “Carrottown” has the repetitive refrains of “Good Morning” and “Have a good day.”

The funky “Homer” rides on insistent beats, the tuba bass line, and interweaving guitars and keys. It’s not just funky; it’s of the filthy variety. The title track plays off the familiar “Spoonful” blues riff and features impressive slide from Branton. “Daincity” is choogling rhythmic exercise that just seems to dare one to try dancing to it. (Good luck). As the title suggests, the ballad “The Comfort In The North” gives us a breather with DeAdder stating the charming melody on his reverb-soaked guitar.

The rousing “Lowbanks” begins with audible hilarity before the band unleashes a funky vamp with some voices and samples mixed in, with Branton’s slide and clavinet-sounding keys delivering the punch. The guitar driven “Winger” rocks hard, rockabilly style while Burr’s opening tuba bursts signal the return of funk in “Silverdale” followed by the syncopated and funky “Humberstone,” the latter with Casson giving his xylophone a workout. “Sugarloaf” is a feature for the two guitarists, propelled by Casson’s churning rhythms and the brief “White Toyota,” obviously not the name of village, has the only fully blown vocal (‘’gonna get to my smiling quota with you”) in the set, with Casson’s low baritone cast perfectly against Burr’s tuba.

Canboro Canborough will put some pep in your step.  Keep this one handy for when you’re in need of a spirit boost. It might be the only remedy you need.

 

Zicazine Magazine - Mates la Jolie, France, Zicazic.com - by Fred Delforge – October 1, 2023

It was to stay busy during the confinement linked to the Covid pandemic in 2020 that drummer Jim Casson decided to form Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns, an atypical group which takes its name from the community center where the artist was educated in kindergarten, Davis Hall, and the soda store he frequented in his town, The Green Lantern.

After a first album which sought to give a very particular sound to the group, Jim Casson, crowned with the Maple Blues Award for best drummer in 2022, this time focused on creating pieces from his improvisations on the drums before dressing them himself with keyboards, percussion and samples and inviting his group with N. Jay Burr on tuba and trombone, Wayne DeAdder on guitars and Mike Branton on slide to give the result some crazy funky accents that make the whole thing explosive. We add the excellent Mark Lalama as a guest on keyboards and accordion and we obtain instrumental music punctuated with vocal samples of personalities but also unknowns and it is a creation as surprising as it is delightful which is offered to us with bursts of laughter, snippets of radio broadcasts dating from 1963 and unexpected interventions, so many ingredients which intelligently combine the xylophone or the ukulele to make “Canboro Canborough” a unique album of its kind which once again makes homage to the artist's native Ontario through the names of villages appearing on a military topographical map from 1907. We will inevitably be destabilized but totally thrilled by pieces like "Carrottown", "The Comfort In The North", “Silverdale” or even “White Toyota” which we knew how to trace a path both chaotic and dotted with beautiful things on which we walk with the greatest pleasure. A must try!

 

Keys And Chords Online Music Magazine, Noorderwijk, Belgium - by Philip Verhaege - October 2, 2023

This is one of those albums that pushes the boundaries of the blues in ways most people could never imagine. Some blues purists would say it's not blues, but if you listen carefully you'll hear a lot of blues undertones in every song on this CD. After a short radio tune, the tuba bursts unconditionally through the woofer in 'Carrottown'. The following 'Homer' is exciting New Orleans funk, the title track is a smooth blues number, just like the Mardi Grass-inspired 'Daincity'. The track 'The Comfort In The North' is beautiful slow blues and that diverges with a very funky 'Lowbanks', the seventies rocker 'Winger', the Crescent City sound from 'Silverdale' and the southern instrumentals 'Humberstone' and 'Sugarloaf'. The swampy 'White Toyota' is a more than worthy ending. Good looking!  4.5 stars out of 5

 

Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns "Canboro Canborough" on "Best Of" Lists

JazzFM 91.1 Toronto - Jazz In The City with Jaymz Bee - Best of 2023

Brent Morrison's Rockin' Blues Show, Vancouver, BC - Top Albums of 2023

 

1. Carrottown - Casson/DeAdder
Jim Casson – drums
Jay Burr – tuba
Wayne DeAdder – guitar
Mike Branton – slide guitar
Mark Lalama- piano

2. Homer - Casson/DeAdder
Jim Casson – drums, malletts, handpan
Jay Burr – tuba
Wayne DeAdder – guitar
Mark Lalama- keyboards

3. Canboro Canborough - Casson
Jim Casson – drums, keyboards
Jay Burr – tuba
Wayne DeAdder – guitar
Mike Branton – slide guitar

4. Daincity - Casson
Jim Casson – drums
Jay Burr – tuba
Wayne DeAdder – guitar
Mark Lalama- accordion, keyboards

5. The Comfort In The North - Casson
Jim Casson – drums, atmospherics
Wayne DeAdder – guitar, bass

6. Lowbanks -Casson/Burr/DeAdder
Jim Casson – drums, keyboards
Jay Burr – tuba
Wayne DeAdder – guitar
Mike Branton – slide guitar

7. Winger - Casson
Jim Casson – drums, loops, piano
Jay Burr – tuba, trombone
Wayne DeAdder – guitar
Mike Branton – slide guitar

8. Silverdale -Casson/Burr/DeAdder
Jim Casson – drums, organ
Jay Burr – tuba
Wayne DeAdder – guitar
Mike Branton – slide guitar

9. Humberstone - Casson/Burr/DeAdder/Branton
Jim Casson – drums, malletts, synth bass
Jay Burr – tuba
Wayne DeAdder – guitar
Mike Branton – slide guitar

10. Sugarloaf -Casson/DeAdder
Jim Casson – drums
Jay Burr – tuba
Wayne DeAdder – guitar
Mike Branton – reverse guitar

11. White Toyota - Casson
Jim Casson – drums, vocals
Jay Burr – tuba
Wayne DeAdder – guitar, ukelele

1. Temperanceville - Casson/Burr/DeAdder
Jim Casson – drums, samples
Jay Burr – tuba
Wayne DeAdder – guitar
Mike Branton – slide guitar

2. Marshville Station - Casson/Boswell/LaBarge/Barkman
Jim Casson – drums, samples
Russ Boswell – bass
Bernie LaBarge – guitar
Brent Barkman - organ

3. The Right Road To Boyle - Casson/Burr/Branton
Jim Casson – drums, samples
Jay Burr – tuba
Wayne DeAdder – guitar
Mike Branton – slide guitar

4. Finding Tintern - Casson
Jim Casson – drums, keyboards
Wayne DeAdder – guitar
Mike Branton – slide guitar
Russ Boswell – upright bass
Steve Marriner - harmonica

5. Gasline - Casson/Burr/DeAdder
Jim Casson – drums, keyboards, Hammond Rhythm 2, samples
Jay Burr – tuba
Wayne DeAdder – guitar
Mike Branton – slide guitar

6. Formerly Diffin’s Corners - Casson/Burr
Jim Casson – drums, samples
Jay Burr – tuba, trombone
Wayne DeAdder – guitar
Mike Branton – slide guitar
Stephen Miller - dobro

7. Crowland - Casson
Jim Casson – percussion, keyboards, autoharp, bass
Wayne DeAdder – guitar
Stephen Miller - dobro

8. White Pigeon - Casson
Jim Casson – drums, synth bass, loops, samples
Jay Burr – tuba
Wayne DeAdder – guitar
Mike Branton – slide guitar

9. Sulphur Springs - Casson/Burr/DeAdder
Jim Casson – drums, keyboards, theremin
Jay Burr – tuba
Wayne DeAdder – guitar

 

10. The Dream Of Chantler - Casson/Lerman/Branton
Jim Casson –keyboards, samples, field recordings
Al Lerman – harmonica
Mike Branton – slide guitar

What people are saying about the album "Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns"

"Are you f*cking kidding me???? I LOVE THIS ALBUM!!!... Tears are streaming down my face...so beautiful, the playing on this album.  My favourite album of 2022!!  I can barely type, I’m moving so much listening to this album."
Alex Lifeson - Rush, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (yes... that guy)

“An album that will lift your spirits and put a smile on your face. Joyous playing!"
Holger Petersen - Broadcaster CBC Music, Saturday Night Blues and CKUA, Edmonton AB

"…a progressive blend of blues, jazz and funk - the freshest sound I have heard in years. Modern music with a dash of retro, and a whole lot of soul."
Brant Zwicker - At The Crossroads Blues Radio

"I’m loving it!  So funkified!  Great instrumentation, arrangements and of course, masterful playing, bravo!"
Cindy McLeod - Calgary International Blues Festival, Host of The Blues Witness CJSW, Calgary, AB

“Swampy, greazy and so refreshing... I needed to hear this album”
Ron Littlejohn, Host of The Gumbo Kitchen on JAZZ.FM91, Toronto, ON

"A modern and imaginative approach to a timeless musical style. Unique blues for the 21st century."
Terry Parsons, Host of Blind Lemon Blues, CHMR, St. John's, NFLD

"This is an extraordinary album that transcends the norm and delights the ears."
Ken Wallis, Host of Blues Source Canada, The Hawk FM, Hamilton, ON

“The album is killer… These songs will make any set list better.”
MisterG, Music Selector, Green Arrow Radio, WSUM, Madison, Wisconsin

“funky, cool, fun, loose, awesomeness!”
Charlie Cooley, Manteca

“This album is so good will be in my music listening rotation for many years to come….quite possibly all of the years to come.!”
Tom Nemes, music aficionado

“Dude... this is great”
Danno O’Shea, My Son The Hurricane

“That’s what I call FUNKY!  The Meters would approve”
Bucky Berger, Canadian drumming legend

“What a beautiful and funky record. Lovin' it all!”
Mark Kelso, internationally renowned drummer, Head of Humber College Percussion

“Cool!  I like it!!!”
Paul Delong, internationally renowned drummer

“This is fabulous stuff. Go ahead; try not to boogie when you hear it.”
David Vest, award-winning pianist/bluesman

“Killer album…Thanks for making original, original music Jim.  Great stuff!”
Jaymz Bee, Host of “Jazz In The City”, JAZZ.FM91 Toronto

“Who knew the fruit belt could be so darn funky”
David Olds, DISCoveries Editor - The Whole Note, February 2022

“Some kinda funky! ...really fresh and original”
Morgan Davis, Canadian Blues Legend

“Muy Bueno”
Vicente Zumel, "La Hora Del Blues", Barcelona, Spain

 

REVIEWS - Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns

Toronto Blues Society - John's Blues Picks - February 1, 2022 - by Terry Parsons

This is one of those albums that pushes the boundary of Blues in ways most people could never imagine. I am sure some blues purists would say that it is not blues, but if you listen closely you can hear blues undertones throughout every cut on this CD. 

The product of “Dark Orchard” mastermind and Downchild drummer, Jim Casson, Davis Hall and the Green Lanterns is not so much a collection of blues songs, as an exploration of the unexpected places that blues can go. 

This album asks what happens if Dark Orchard took their uniquely ambient sound and applied it to tinge a blues idea. Add in Jim’s experimental percussion, sampling and loops to create something completely different, and yes enticingly familiar. 

One of the great pleasures of Music is Experimenting with new ideas, new sounds and sharing those with likeminded people. This project was pieced together through a series of other projects that bought guitar, bass and even tuba into play. Authored and created by a group of friends socially distanced but musically connected. 

A Monument to musical creation through exploration, every song on this album draws its name from a place somewhere in the Niagara region. Even the band name does that. “Davis Hall” was a Community Centre near where Jim went to nursery school while the “Green Lantern” was a soda shop. 

The album opens with “Temperanceville”, lively with a cool New Orleans groove, it features brilliant interplay between tuba (Jay Burr) and guitar (Wayne DeAdder) with some sweet slide (Mike Branton). The second cut is the fun and funky “Marshville Station”, this time with a new lineup including Russ Boswell (bass), Bernie LeBarge (guitar) and Brent Barkman (organ). The music brilliantly mimics the hustle and bustle of a downtown station as people scurry from home to work to home, heads down never noticing the people around them. Not necessarily constant motion, more the flow of humanity in closed circumstance. 

Up next, “The Right Road To Boyle”, another feisty New Orleans offering with tuba undertones and smooth guitar over the top. I am not sure what the geographical reference is here, but it has a frantic energy that is infectious. 

The fourth cut is the spooky “Finding Tintern”, which features the haunting harmonica of Steve Marriner. The echo-ish nature of the sound belies a large and expansive space, lending itself to the mystery of dark places. The fifth cut, “Gasline”, is a quirky jam, rich with funky guitar and smooth rhythm. A jittery little jump that would be well at home in a smoky New Orleans club at 2 in the morning. 

Up next is “Formerly Diffin’s Corners”, which brings the dobro of Stephen Miller into the fold, and adds a trombone to the tuba and the brilliant percussion one expects from an incredible player like Jim Casson. It has a dramatic feel straight out of a 70’s cop movie feel. The seventh cut on the album is the low, slow and atmospheric “Crowland,” a swampy little tune that would go perfectly with fire flies on a hot and humid southern night. 

Up next, “White Pigeon” launches you right back into the funky world of Jim’s rhythmic percussion, counter-pointed by Wayne and Mike’s guitar and slide, each playing off the other. The ninth cut is “Sulphur Springs”, probably the most atmospheric cut on the album. The only way I can describe the sampling is that it seems to cycle through sounding like wind through wires, howling wolves and singing whales. Kind of creepy, but very cool! 

The album closes with the tenth and final track, “The Dream Of Chantler” brings the brilliant harmonica of Al Lerman in for what is probably the bluesiest cut on the album, fueled by the rhythm of crickets. There’s something about that sound that just speaks to the soul, and Lerman’s harp works perfectly with it.

This album is an intriguing collection of original sounds and ideas that challenges the listener and defies the idea that blues is just one thing. It’s Not! In this case, it is all things.

The Whole Note - Editors Corner - February 2022 - David Olds

And now for something completely different, although I find joy here too. “What if Dark Orchard (Jim Casson’s experimental music project) and ‘The Blues’ got together in New Orleans and watched Twin Peaks with Daniel Lanois?” That’s the premise behind Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns. Originally conceived in the early days of COVID-19 as a remote collaboration with bass player Russ Boswell, Casson laid down drum tracks in his home studio that he shared with Boswell who added funky bass licks and a song outline. They invited Bernie LaBarge to add some guitar lines and Brent Barkman on organ; and Marshville Station, the second track on the current album, was born. Although the project was shelved for a while, the ongoing pandemic has provided the perfect opportunity to revisit the idea. 

I’ve been a sucker for blues tuba since I saw Taj Mahal at the Mariposa Festival 40-some years ago backed by a quartet of tubas headed by the late, great Howard Johnson (1941-2021). Well, that’s how this adventure begins, with the funky, N’awlins-flavoured Temperanceville co-written by Casson, tuba player N. Jay Burr and guitarist Wayne DeAdder, with Mike Branton sitting in on slide guitar. The personnel of the Green Lanterns changes from track to track, with Casson on drums, keyboards, autoharp and even theremin the only constant, but the result is always bluesy and frequently scorching. Burr, DeAdder, Boswell and Brandon make numerous contributions and guests include Steve Marriner and Al Lerman on harmonica, Stephen Miller on dobro, and an archival appearance by 60s DJ Bob Bowland from CHOW radio in Welland, Ontario. Casson explains the name of the group, and of the songs, as a tribute to the Niagara Peninsula, the stomping grounds of his formative years. “Davis Hall” was the name of the community centre in his hometown where he attended nursery school, “The Green Lantern” was the soda shop in town when he was a kid and the names of all the songs correspond to place names on the peninsula. Who knew that the fruit belt could be so darn funky? This one is guaranteed to lift your spirits (and your heels)! 

Bman's Blues Report 12-29-2021 - Scottsdale, Arizona

Who has been playing Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns?

• Jaymz Bee - Jazz In The City - JAZZFM 91.1FM - Toronto, ON
• Ron Littlejohn - Gumbo Kitchen - JAZZFM 91.1FM - Toronto, ON
• Bill King - Soul Nation - JAZZFM 91.1FM - Toronto, ON
• Holger Peterson - Saturday Night Blues - CBC Radio 2- National broadcast
• Danny Marks - BLUZFM - JAZZFM 91.1FM - Toronto, ON
• John Tackaberry - Black And Blues - CKCU 93.1 - Ottawa, ON
• Ron Simmonds - Blues In The Dark - CFRO 100.5- Vancouver, BC
• Shrimp City Slim - Good Mornin' Blues - 105.5FM The Bridge - Charleston, S.C., USA
• Brant Zwicker - At The Crossroads Blues Network - International Syndication
• Ken Wallis - Blues Source Canada - The Hawk 101.5FM - Hamilton, ON
• Terry Parsons - Blind Lemon Blues, Sunday Morning Hangover - CHMR 93.5FM - St. John's NFLD
• Brent Morrison - The Rockin' Blues Show - International Syndication
• Paul Corby - Corby's Orbit - Regent Radio - Toronto, ON
• Tim Dennis - iHeart Radio / Newstalk 610- St, Catharines, ON
• Kevin Hardy - Main St. Blues - KCOR - Kansas City, MO, USA
• John Detcheverry - Cha Cha Cha in Blue - CKUT 90.3FM- Montreal, QC
• Pete Feenstra - Rock & Blues Show - Get Ready To Rock Radio - U.K.
• Mister G - Green Arrow Radio - WSUM 91.7FM - Madison, WI, USA
• Matt Allen - Big Beat Bar-B-Cue Radio Show - Hunter's Bay Radio - 88.7FM - Huntsville, ON
• Top Blues Radio - Internet station, Tuscon AZ,USA
• Erhard Albrecht - Bluespower - Radio Wesser - Bremerhaven, Germany
• Serge "Sonny Boy" Bellerose - CFID Radio Acton, Acton Vale, QC
• Vicente Zumel - La Hora Del Blues, Barcelona, Spain
• Ron Simmons - When Swing Was King - CFBX, Kamloops, BC
• Steve Marlow - The Top 30 Show- CFBX, Kamloops, BC
• Michel Faton - Cross Blues Station - Ram 05 Radio Libre - Embrun, Fance
• Sister T - Groovin' With Sister T - Three D Radio 93.7FM - Adelaide, Australia
• Deborah Cartmer - Eclectic Blues - CFBU - St. Catharines, ON
• Open Air - Jefferson Public Radio, Ashland, OR, USA

Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns on "Best Of" Lists

JazzFM 91.1 Toronto - Jazz In The City with Jaymz Bee - Top Albums of 2021

CHMR 93.5 St. John's NF - Terry Parsons - Producer's Picks Best of 2021

CKUT 90.3 Montreal - Cha Cha in Blue - John Detcheverry - Best Canadian Blues of 2021

610 CKTB - St. Catharines - Jacob Bergsma - Niagara Music Year In Review - 2021