Fredericton’s blues funk trio The Tortoise, The Hare & The Millionaire have been a mainstay of New Brunswick’s music scene since 2016. They’ve been a constant presence at shows and festivals, making Matthew Carr (Vox/Guitar), Ted Nicholson (Drums), and Eric Allard (Bass) some of the busiest, and most readily identifiable musicians in the province. While the trio are used to appearing alongside guest performers, the band are making a permanent change to their lineup. Today they announced that The Tortoise, The Hare & The Millionaire will no long be a trio, but a quintet, with the additions of Adam Johnson (Trumpet) and Jenn Russell (Sax).
“For pretty much as long as we’ve been playing together, we’ve welcomed opportunities to play with other musicians,” says Eric Allard who, besides playing bass, we’ve long suspected represents the hare in the band. “It keeps things interesting and fun for us. We’ve made some of our best friends this way.”
Often playing alongside two of Fredericton’s most esteemed horn players, Kelly Waterhouse and Jeannine Gallant, absconded from The Hypochondriacs, they’re used to having a bit of brass in the band’s lineup. Waterhouse and Gallant both appeared on The Tortoise, The Hare & The Millionaire self-titled EP.
“We’ve played Kelly Waterhouse and Jeannine Gallant a few dozen times at this point, so when we were planning to record our EP we knew we wanted to include horns arrangements on a few songs. We asked if they could prepare some arrangements and what Jeannine came up with turned out better than we could have ever hoped!”
Apparently the band got used to having a full time horn section, and for a more permanent solution they turned to Adam Johnson (8 Track Mind) and Jenn Russell (The Jenn Russell Band). They’ve been playing with Johnson whenever possible since last Fall, and Russell has already begun joining the band in practices.
“Adam plays trumpet on the EP, actually,” says Allard. “We didn’t know Adam at the time, but he was recommended by Kelly for the session. He came in and did a great job on the recording and we’ve been playing with him every chance we get since that day!
“We had actually asked Jenn to come play with us last year, but we weren’t able to make it work until recently.
“Both Jenn and Adam are a joy to play with and are a great fit with us. We love what the horns add to our sound and are quickly working them into the remainder of our material.”
Aside from solidifying their live roster, Allard says that the band won’t dynamic won’t change drastically, with Matt Carr handling most of the songwriting for now…
“We’re open to anything. At the moment, Matt writes the core of the songs and we work together to flesh them out. We’re hoping to collaborate more and include Jenn and Adam,” says Allard.
The Tortoise, The Hare & The Millionaire’s first official show as a quintet will be this Friday at Peppers Pub for the Area 506 After Party, which will also feature Jonnie Price.
Tour Dates:
08.02.19 – Saint John, NB @ Pepper’s Pub
08.03.19 – St Andrews, NB @ The Red Herring
08.10.19 – Georgetown, PE @ Cloggeroo
08.17.19 – Fredericton, NB @ Feels Good Woodstock 50
08.31.19 – Miramichi, NB @ O’Donaghue’s Irish Pub
09.14.19 – Fredericton, NB @ Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival