Double bill promises fine yarns along with fine tunes

As Juno Award winners, The Good Lovelies have some of the country’s most winsome three-part harmonies. But the folk-pop trio also loves to tease its fans.

According to the band’s website, Sue Passmore remembers meeting her bandmates during a limbo competition. Caroline Brooks thinks they met at a chess tournament and Kerry Ough is convinced they crossed paths during a bar fight.

Unfortunately, the truth is a little less dramatic than the marketing hype. In an interview with the Gazette, Brooks mentioned they actually met in 2006 at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto.

When a band dropped out, they were invited to perform as a fill-in group. At the time, the threesome each had professional day jobs and they flirted with solo music careers.

“We liked singing together so much we decided to collaborate. We had this explosive energy and our voices fit naturally together. We were lucky to get a good harmony blend, and it’s the way our voices fit that makes us special,” says Brooks.

Well known to Edmonton audiences, The Good Lovelies have performed at the Full Moon Folk Club and the Blue Chair Café.

On Saturday, Nov. 12, The Good Lovelies blend their vocals on a double bill with The Human Statues at St. Albert’s Arden Theatre. To keep the act fresh, they’ve invited Edmonton bassist Thom Golub as a fourth.

At the moment The Good Lovelies are on a huge cross-Canada tour to promote their third full-length CD, Let the Rain Fall. They have always been at their strongest as folk-roots musicians, but this 13-track effort takes their music to a new joyful, light-hearted level with twinges of jazz, ragtime and an old time country sound.

“It’s a celebration of our life on the road,” Brooks says, adding they have 150 gigs planned for the year.

“The title Let the Rain Fall is about our love for each other and how we miss family and friends. It’s carefree but there are moments of sadness you can hear in the lyrics,” she says.

While some songwriters focus on delivering music, the charming threesome are also loaded with stories they like to share with the audience. Stories such as the time Ough saw a moose and thought it was a camel because it was moulting.

“We want to keep that upbeat levity coming through,” Brooks laughs.

The Good Lovelies have crossed paths with The Human Statues several times, and it’s their zany humour and passionate drive to producing good music that drew them together.

“We’re very theatrical and we have strong harmonies. That’s what makes us such a good pairing with The Good Lovelies,” says Jeff Bryant of The Human Statues. He adds that this concert is the duo’s debut in the Edmonton area.

Bryant and his co-conspirator Zach Stevenson first met at the University of Victoria and put themselves through school busking on the streets.

“Zach was Disco Man with a ‘70s powder blue suit and I was Johnny Be Gold in Elvis gold lamĂ©,” Bryant recalls.

Their gig evolved into a Buddy Holly show and in 2008, the duo put out a self-titled indie release.

Bryant compares the duo to a cross between Flight of the Conchords and Simon and Garfunkel with a hefty dose of theatricality.

“We’ve been working towards performing in a theatre setting. We want to create moments that will be memorable,” he says.

And they’ll be busting out making the crowd laugh.

“The more there’s laughter, the more I’m aware how people are connected to us.”

The Human Statues have a 40-minute set and they plan to not only sing, but also show off some of their tall tales and choreographed dance moves.