A multi media exploration of the eight days in July 1917, when Tom Thomson went missing on the 8th,to the time his body was recovered on the 16th . Music will be composed by Wyatt Burton, Gerry Gregg, and John Climenhage for each of the eight days, and will be accompanied
by a series of short films, shot on Canoe Lake, which will be projected while the band performs.
The film and stills will be created by the three previously mentioned, with digital augmentation and editing by Mike Morrit, and Lester Alphonso
The show will be performed for two consecutive nights over the course of artsweek, by new Peterborough band “the Burgess Shale”. Comprised of Wyatt Burton on guitars , Gerry Gregg on bass, and john Climenhage on drums. A projection of images and film will be shown over the course of the event, on a specially constructed sculpture/screen. The intention is to develop a show which will tour to other communities as the 100th anniversary of Thomson’s death draws near.
The Burgess Shale
The Burgess Shale is the brainchild of veteran musicians Gerry Gregg, John Climenhage, and Wyatt Burton. Their songs are skeletal structures which allow for contingent performances, with the end results being necessarily different each time.
Drawing on various artistic practices, and work in varied genres the group are able to create an environment in which music becomes. The accessibility of pop/rock structures, with the volatility and spontaneity of jazz and progressive improv based musics.
The band’s rehearsals and initial engagements at intimate venues point toward larger performances and multimedia
installations.