On the Road with River City Junction

New Site up & Running!

2011-09-14T03:40:00.000-04:00

Just finished revamping the site, & will be adding some more new photos later on today & tomorrow. Some of the new features on the site that will be visible immediately include a new revamped store & shopping cart, Google calendar implementation & a better contact form. One of the biggest features that we're working on is that the site is being prepped for mobile device access. Another big thing coming down the pipe is a River City Junction iPhone app! We should have the mobile part of the site up & running in the next week or so & the app will follow in the next weeks after that. In other news, we've entered the Ottawa Blues Society's Road to Memphis Blues Challenge, we'll keep you posted on how things turn out! We're also nearing completion of pre production on our 2nd CD & will be posting some rough mixes in the upcoming weeks, & we hope to have the CD ready for Christmas!

Jason Fryer's Guitar Rig

2010-08-10T02:06:00.007-04:00

I get asked a lot about my guitar rig, so I decided that I’d dedicate a small space to it on our site to anyone who’s interested. My rig is pretty old school. There are no rack units, no multi effects units, & no complex switching systems. I like to keep my tone as sonically pure as possible & as a result have experimented with hundreds of different amps, guitars & effects over the years. Currently I use 2 different amplifiers: A hand wired Fender '57 Tweed Twin Reissue & a Marshal hand wired 1974x. Both amps are stock with the exception of Weber Beam Blockers being added to help disperse the tone more evenly. My main guitar is an Epiphone Sheraton II that I modded out with Sheptone Pickups, new wiring harness & caps, a Gibson TP-6 Tailpiece & a Graph-Tech ResoMax bridge. My other 2 guitars are a Fender American Strat Deluxe & a Gibson Les Paul Custom. (Both stock )For pedals I have a Diago Pedalboard & power supply & my pedals are all wired with George L cables. For any of you who may be wondering, they do make a HUGE difference & are very much worth the extra cash.

My signal chain runs like this:

Fulltone Standard Clyde Wah
Fulltone MDV II
Korg Pitch Black Tuner
Diamond Compressor
Xotic BB Pre
Xotic AC Boost
Xotic RC Boost
Boss/Fender ’63 Reverb

So basically, people see my board & freak out thinking that I have a ton of effects, but for the most part, they are more tone shaping tools than effects. I use my pedals in different combinations to create a wide range of tonal palettes that make for better presentation of the songs we play. So instead of having a 2 or 3 channel amp, I use the comp, overdrives, fuzz & boost pedals to create different combinations of "amp channels" allowing for a greater degree of flexibility & expressiveness in my playing.

Another big advantage to using pedals like this is that my stage volume is quite low compared to a lot of other players & this is beneficial in so many ways. For starters, not being a loud band opens up more opportunities to play. We can have the full band playing in a small Jazz Bistro & people can still talk & have a good time. So controlled levels allow you to get into smaller places & when you’re trying to make a living at music, you need ALL the gigs you can get. Also, when the night ends, everyone is thinking about what a good time they had that night & how they weren’t overpowered by the band & guess what? Spin-off gigs. Almost every place we play results in more gigs whether in the form of weddings, parties, corporate functions or other club gigs. More gigs = more $$$ = no day job. This I like! The second benefit is that when you’re playing larger venues, festivals etc, the sound technicians have way more control over the mix & they love you for that. If the sound guy loves you, he’ll recommend you to other contacts of his & this also results in more work for you. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE to unplug my pedals & crank my amp up & run straight in, it’s great! But I like more gigs better. I also like not going deaf. So now onto the breakdown of the signal chain:

We’ll start with the amps - I usually only bring one amp out with me & in most cases it’s the Marshall just because it’s so much lighter to carry. Both amps sound amazing, both sound very different & I could never decide what to keep if I had to pick one over the other. For recording having both is ideal because you’ve got pretty much all your bases covered in 2 amps. Regardless as to which amp I use, I always use the pedals in the same manner although with slightly different settings depending on which amp I’m running & what the room I’m playing in sounds like. The Marshall is a much more aggressive sounding amp, so I automatically dial the gain down right away on all three Xotic pedals when using it. I never run a lot of gain anyhow, the RC & AC usually run between 9 & 10 o’clock & the BB sits between 10 & 12. Before each show I listen to the room acoustics & try each pedal to check the bass response. If the room’s real boomy, I’ll use the active EQ’s on the Xotic pedals to cut some low end. then I set each one to have just a slight bit of a boost over the clean tone getting a little louder with each pedal. The RC is used to get just a little bit of a Bluesy bite, the AC is just a bit more leaning towards overdrive & the BB is fully overdriven to a nice Classic Rock sound. Once they’re set, I check the comp & adjust it so that it goes as loud as the amp does clean if I’m hammering the strings. For most gigs I leave the reverb on unless I’m playing a really reverberant room in which case I’ll leave it off. The comp I’ll use in conjunction with the wah pedal & a clean tone to prevent any frequencies from jumping out of the mix, I’ll also use it sometimes to get a bit of a funkier tone & I also use it as a boost for leads. I’ll also use the guitar’s volume & tone knobs to set the tone. For quieter Jazzy tunes I run the amp clean & dry & use the volume knob as rhythm & lead boost, or sometimes I’ll leave the guitar volume at about 70% & just hit the comp for a lead. Every situation, song & room is different & using what you have at your disposal widely is critical if you want to work a lot. You have to keep listening & re-evaluating what it is you’re hearing & make the necessary adjustments. Just like everything else, it’s a matter of practice. After a while, you’ll walk into a room & just hearing the tone of the room you’ll have it in your head how you’re going to set up your tone. Remember also that as a room fills up, it’s acoustic qualities change drastically, so you may have to make small adjustments as the night goes on. Just remember one thing though, if the room fills up a lot & it’s a rowdy crowd, tell the sound tech that you’re turning up before you actually do so he’ll know to pull you down in the mix. Better to just ask for more in the monitors & leave the amp alone! If any of you reading this have any questions or need help with your rig, I volunteer on Allexperts.com & I’m also on Liveperson.com, or you can just shoot me an email or catch me on Facebook. Thanks for checkin’ out my gear page, hope you enjoyed your stay!

Peace - J

New review from Garageband.com

2010-01-13T00:09:00.010-05:00

Here's another really nice review we got of our song "Hold On" from one of the members at Garageband.com:

Janis meets Alanis
This song has radio hit written all over it. The mix is near perfect. The guitar solos really blew me away. I warmed up to the vocalist after after a little while into the song. She has a very bluesy, somewhat country twang at times in her vocals that reminds me of Janis Joplin... but I can also hear modern voices like Melissa Etheridge or even Alanis Morrisette (sorry if I spelled those wrong). To give the band as a whole any specific comparison would be an insult.... they're very original and I couldn't peg them with the sound of any other group in particular.... all I can say is, get this song to the radio airwaves!
Extra Credit: Guitars, Originality, Best Feel Good Track.

- 2fast4love

RCJ Updates

2010-01-12T06:25:00.006-05:00

RCJ's CD is finally out & is now available for purchase either directly from our website via PayPal, through our online distributor Indie Pool, with iTunes & a bunch more retailers on the way. We're now ranked # 8 nationally on the Reverbnation charts for Blues & are nearing the 1000 fan mark! We also just submitted one of our tunes "Hold On" to Garageband.com's online song contest & in the first day it managed to hit the charts in Blues Rock & get awarded "Track of the Day" Here's what one reviewer had to say about it:

Very Cool...
"Honestly I like it all, love the vocals. Reminds of Susan Tedeschi, and that's just fantastic. Gotta love that soul! Killer lead work, I will definately be giving this song a second listen!"

Extra Credit: Female Vocals, Guitars, Drums, Bass, Keyboards, Production, Lyrics, Melody, Mood.

Tripfix - Garageband.com Member

Visit River City Junction's Official Website

River City Junction Breaks Top 10 in National Blues Charts

2009-12-21T21:10:00.005-05:00

We just broke into the top 10 National scoring for Blues on Reverbnation's Band Equity Charts! We're currently ranked at #9 for all of Canada! Thanks to those of you who are keeping tabs on us, listening to our tunes & interacting with us through our various online means to keep our band equity score on the rise. We certainly could not have done it without you!

Peace & Love & Happy Holidays to everyone!

- RCJ

Godspeed Toby Kinsella 1948-2009

2009-03-01T13:35:00.000-05:00

I just learned of a dear old Friend & Mentor's passing from another dear friend of mine - his Daughter Isabeau. I wanted to share it with everyone because Toby was a great & gentle man who made the world a better, richer & more colorful place ours is a great loss. He & Mike Burns had a huge impact on my re-awakening to my Scots/Irish ancestry & brought back to me a sense of my true identity through my lost culture & heritage. Because of them my life is richer & more meaningful today & I see the world through different eyes. Though I can only hope to someday possess a fraction of the Wisdom these two men hold, they have given me hope through kindness, caring, counsel & Love, & a point of reference to which I might navigate my vessel through the uncertain seas of Life in the hopes that I may one day find my way home & take my place amongst them & those who came before me. Isabeau has set up a proper online memorial for Toby -

view it here

God Speed You Toby Kinsella - and as Mike once taght me in the old toungue:

Ar do bhealach San Saol, Iosa Leatsa.

RCJ Tops Local Blues Charts On Reverbnation!

2009-01-20T05:56:00.000-05:00

A huge thank you from us to all of our fans for getting us to the top of the local Blues charts on Reverbnation! We certainly couldn't do it without you & we're grateful for all your continued support! We're stoked to hit the studio in Toronto this weekend & hopefully we'll have the CD available for electronic release in the next 2 weeks. (Hard copies are gonna take a bit longer) We'll be making the full CD available for download to fans for free from Reverbnation Fan exclusive, so please be sure to forward this email to any one who might be interested & get them to sign up & help us spread the word! Just a couple of other small things - We've also been climbing the global charts & are currently ranked # 108 in Blues worldwide, with an overall global ranking of 4317. That's not too bad for a band that doesn't even have a CD out yet in a world full of amazing talent! One last thing, we'll also be implementing a paypal form on our site for a second round of pre-orders for those who want a hard copy of the CD. The Paypal form will be going up later on today after I get some sleep! lol Once the CD is officially released, it'll be available several different ways online, or you can get a copy from us personally when we do a bit of touring locally before we hit the road this summer for an eastern/western Canadian tour! We'll keep you posted!

Thanks again everyone, we couldn't do this without your support!

Peace & Love - Jason, Caroline & Tom.

The Rainbow Bistro

2009-01-13T23:15:00.000-05:00

We’re pleased to announce that we’ve been given the opportunity to host the Sunday Open Jam Sessions at the Rainbow Bistro in Ottawa. This is a great honor for us as The Rainbow is a big piece of Blues history in Ottawa & the surrounding area, & we’re very proud to be able to be a part of it. We’ve been playing at The Rainbow for a few years now & have been hosting the Sunday afternoon jam sessions once a month for the last few months, & will now be hosting them every last Sunday of the month. The jams are open to all ages & run from 4:00 - 7:00 PM. There is a $5.00 cover charge at the door, jammers get in for free. Jammers will sign up on the jam sheet at the door & each jam session lasts for 3 songs. Drums & amps are provided, you only need to bring your instruments. (But you can bring your amps if you want to) If you require any more info, shoot me an e-mail, or give the Rainbow a shout!

Peace - J.

http://www.therainbow.ca

River City Junction on Blog Spot

2009-01-09T07:29:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone, welcome to our new website & our new Blog Spot! We’ve redesigned the site so that it’s not only easier for you guys to use, but also easier for us to keep it updated. We’ve been getting progressively more & more busy since moving to Ontario, & I just don’t have the time anymore to spend on coding HTML in order to keep everyone up to date with what’s going on. Now with iWeb, it’s all one click desktop publishing. We’ve added some cool new features to the site to try & keep it interactive & interesting, this Blog being one of them. You can also add comments to our blogs & photos now, & we’ve also integrated several Reverbnation widgets into our website which you can also use on your own webpages simply by clicking on the share button of any widget that has the share function enabled. We hope you dig the new site, & welcome any comments or suggestions you may have.

Peace & Love - Jay, Caroline &