What The People Say - Burnettes Review

"We’re all over the map, but we’re consistently all over the map," stresses Cora Burnette, one half of the husband/wife Vancouver-based combo The Burnettes (you may recall hubby Chris from strumming duties in Furnace Maintenance).
"Our official term for our music is ‘new-wave-country-kitchen-party-pop’. It’s pretty accurate, in that it’s a little bit of everything. We’re not here to blow you away with our polished pop songs."
Their descriptor also captures the freewheeling vibe on their two records, the charmingly shambolic, consciously home-produced debut Album Schmalbum and the recent We’d Better Be Dreaming. Both releases feature sweet nuggets of songcraft playfully delivered by either Cora’s velvet purr or Chris’s more deadpan vocal approach; simple tunes about relationship promises, moms, and self-doubt.
Lullabies may be on the agenda for the next Burnettes CD, since they also have another Burnette in development–the couple are expecting their first child in August.
"We’re praying for a drummer or a bass player," Cora confesses. "There are enough guitar players in the family already."
The couple is playing a few dates in their former home province while on their way to NXNE, accompanied by drummer and honorary Burnette Kreg ‘Mung’ Brow.
"Mung’s awesome. He’s this big, huge guy who drums like a shaman." She adds, "Our live show is more consistent than the records–my acoustic guitar, Chris’ distorted acoustic, and Mung drumming, but every song is still a weird hybrid of different genres."

Half punk, half rootsy twang, The Burnettes make beautiful music together Preview
THE BURNETTES, Friday, May 27, The Castle Pub

Rock ’n’ roll history is littered with messy breakups and stunning albums that are created as a result. It’s not as common to have a happy couple make beautiful music together in both the literal and figurative sense. The Burnettes, however, have a pretty good handle on it.
Chris and Cora Burnette met in Calgary and started dating in early 2000. They started jamming together not long after that. After the long, cold Alberta winters took their toll on Chris (who grew up in the warmer climes of North Carolina), the pair relocated to Vancouver two years ago. Together they have released two albums of songs written with the easy comfort of an old married couple, which makes sense since they are (except for the old part).
"We just started playing on the front porch, basically, and songs just sort of erupted," says Cora. (Music) is a really big part of us…. The fact that we both dig music and that we can both do it together harmoniously is a big bonus."
A bonus, indeed. Most band members (or married couples) will tell you that those relationships can be fraught with tension. Marital stress combined with rock ’n’ roll friction probably accounts for those messy breakups we were talking about earlier. But, right from the start, The Burnettes have had a balance in place that keeps them from going the way of Fleetwood Mac (relationship-wise, not music-wise).
Chris is the old-school punk part of the equation while Cora is the rootsy twang. Chris waits for serendipity while Cora is more focused on the practical. Their website goes so far as to compare them to a 50-50 poly-cotton blend (Chris being the polyester). And while they both contribute songs to their albums, Chris is about the music, leaving Cora to get down to business.
"He’s all about writing and recording and he wants to get everything down," says Cora. "He’s got heaps of songs and albums that he has recorded on his own that he never did anything with in the typical sense – meaning release – but it’s cathartic for him. It’s important for him to get things down and have things as a record. I really respect it, but at the same time there’s the balance. Someone’s gotta promote the band. So I’m the shmuck who is on the phone… trying to get the word out."
That word would be the fevered promotion of We’d Better Be Dreaming, the band’s latest effort. A charming collection of laid-back twangy pop, Cora and Chris split vocal duties over shimmering guitars and sparse percussive accents. An understated gem, it has the lazy flavour you would expect from a band that had its humble beginnings playing on the porch.
It’s clear that the two love jamming together, but now that the record has been out for a few months, The Burnettes find themselves having to put creating new music on the back burner while they break in their new drummer, Kreg "Mung" Brow, and take to the road. Piling into a van to cross Canada (whether as a couple or as a band) isn’t always a picnic, but The Burnettes have recently returned from playing showcases in Toronto at North By Northwest, and Cora assures that getting to the shows isn’t usually a problem.
"Chris and I travel really well together," she says. "Touring is fun when things go right…. When it gets hairiest is when we are not producing, when we are not being creative, when we are not jamming. That has probably been the challenge of late. We are playing a lot of shows and we made this album and we recruited a new drummer and we have been jamming with him and getting him up to speed on the songs – tightening up the live show. That leaves little time for creativity and the front-porch jamming that we really like – the roots of us."
If The Burnettes thought that they had little time to jam together now, then things could get a little hairier come this August. In true happy-couple fashion, Chris and Cora are expecting a baby. However, given the fact that they have been able to find the balance so far, it doesn’t seem as though The Burnettes have anything to worry about. The practical Cora already has a plan.
"We are hoping for a drummer," she says. "We put DRI on and the kid goes crazy. I’ve got high hopes."

When The Burnettes come back to Calgary they will be playing the recently re-opened Castle Pub. Originally slated to play the Night Gallery, some last-minute changes have forced a relocation of their show. This is the kind of thing that would typically freak out a touring band, but in the case of The Burnettes, it’s a twist of fate that fits their story perfectly. You see, that is where the tale of The Burnettes begins.
Cora Burnette relocated from Montreal to Calgary in the latter part of the last millennium and was waiting tables at the Castle when she met Chris Burnette. A transplanted Edmontonian who had lived for years in North Carolina he was a patron at the Castle who was smitten with his server. In a move that Cora likens to stalking, Chris mentioned his feelings to then proprietor (and member of Field Day) John Hebert. In true junior high fashion, Hebert mentioned it to Cora and after she gave up her no-dating-patrons rule Chris and Cora became an item. But the Castle connection doesn’t end there. A year later, after an intimate ceremony in Hawaii, The Burnettes were officially married by Hebert at the very pub that brought them together.

The Burnettes perform at The Castle Pub May 27
The last time The Burnettes returned to their hometown was to introduce their local fans to their latest offspring We’d Better Be Dreaming.

Well, their timing may be slightly off, but when Vancouver-based husband and wife country pop duo of Cora and Chris Burnette show up May 27 they’ll be bringing with them another child.
This one, though, is not yet fully formed, but an actual human being.
Cora, the vocalist for the band, is six months pregnant with their first child, which, she’s hoping, will pick up some vibrations and put them to good use when it’s old enough to walk — and old enough to exploit.
“We’re hoping for a drummer or a bass player so I imagine that this will help,” she laughs. “We’ve got to instill rhythm in this kid right from the get-go.”
As to how the baby bulge has affected things onstage, Burnette doesn’t think being a mommy-to-be has curtailed her performance. “My guitar is kind of sideways, but otherwise it’s all status quo.”
And status quo for The Burnettes right now is pretty fantastic.
Next month they’ll head to Toronto for the North By Northeast Music Festival, already with a great deal of momentum, thanks to their appearance earlier this year in Hogtown for the Canadian Music Week.
With little or no publicity push from them, they were named one of the Globe & Mail’s “dirty dozen” — the Top 12 picks of the whole CMW event.
Now, the clock is ticking on getting their third album recorded before their lives change forever.
“I want to get this thing in the can before the kid pops out because I have a feeling that I’m going to get all soft and start writing lullabies,” she says.
The Burnettes play May 27 at the newly reopened Castle Pub, where, oddly enough, the pair were married.
And if you go, do them and their future drummer a favour and smoke outside.

-Mike Bell

The Burnettes, March 3, 9 p.m., Clinton's. Couple Rock 1: Festivals should provide as many surprises as sure things. One curiosity catcher this year is this Vancouver husband-wife duo whose "new-wave folk" songs suggest screwball road trips in a junker whose wheels threaten to wobble right off. Just hope they don't play it too cute.

With the release of their sophomore album, We’d Better Be Dreaming (Go-Rock Records), Vancouver’s Chris and Cora Burnette are set to hit Toronto with songs about “friends, foes, family and the end of the world.” Matt Blair spoke with Cora just moments after she had installed MSN Messenger.

WHAT EXACTLY IS “NEW WAVE COUNTRY KITCHEN PARTY POP?” Who knows? We’ve been having a hard time describing our music, and that was a compilation of a few different suggestions. I guess we’re just trying to get across the various genres we like and see them come across in the songs. Every song is a little different, so that makes for a long description. Chris and I are very different musically in a lot of ways, and that’s just what comes out.

YOU PRESENT YOURSELF AS BEING FROM A ROOTS BACKGROUND, WITH CHRIS BEING MORE PUNK ORIENTED. WHEN YOU COME TOGETHER TO WRITE, IS IT GENERALLY THE TWO OF YOU PLAYING THOSE SAME ROLES? It’s hard to say. Every song is different. We both have a long-lived love for punk rock, but Chris has actually been playing in punk bands since he was like 12, and I have always leaned toward writing rock, folk and blues based songs. I guess that’s what happens when you’re locked in a room with just you, a guitar and a shitload of Zeppelin albums. Chris definitely adds an electrical element, and our songs are a combination of both. But I must say, they all stem from good old-fashioned down-home front porch jamming.

DO YOU FIND THAT YOUR RELATIONSHIP AFFECTS YOUR CREATIVE PARTNERSHIP? We don’t try and hide the fact that we’re together on stage or anything, and we’ve even been known to bitch at each other pre-show (okay, just me bitching at him). But what it comes down to is that we love playing together, and making music together. A huge part of it is the recording process. We do everything ourselves at home and love it. I won’t lie and say its all roses. Anyone who’s ever worked with their mate knows that it’s a lot of work and not always easy, but it’s very rewarding. Besides, Chris is my guitar hero, so what’s not to enjoy? Plus, now we have a mediator on tour with us, which is always nice! We call him “the Ref.”

THE REF? Our new drummer. His name is Kreg “Mung” Brow, and he comes from a post-industrial noise background, but we convinced him that folk music was good for the soul. And when things get ugly between me and Chris, he’ll just stare off into the distance until we shut up. It works out great.

YOUR MUSIC IS OBVIOUSLY THE PRODUCT OF A VERY INVOLVED LEVEL OF COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU. DO YOU FIND THAT ON STAGE, YOUR SUPPORTING MUSICIANS BRING A LOT OF THEMSELVES INTO THE MUSIC? Yes. We much prefer that whoever plays with us writes their own parts. And no, what you hear on the record is not necessarily what you’ll hear at a show. The albums are quite layered, with Chris and I adding and playing whatever instruments and parts we feel, and whatever noisemakers are at our disposal. But at a show, or the ones on this tour anyways, you’ll be hearing two dueling distorted acoustic guitars, and a full drum kit. No bells and whistles this time.

ON YOUR FIRST ALBUM, THERE’S MORE OF A PLAYFUL SOUND. THE NEW ALBUM, IN CONTRAST, SOUNDS A LITTLE BIT MORE SOMBRE. I’ve heard that. We’re always evolving, I guess. For this album we had a lot of songs we wanted to get out of us. It’s all cathartic in a way, isn’t it? So it just wound up that way. Chris actually calls it a really dark album, so it’s interesting that you pointed that out. I think we were experimenting more with different sounds and techniques. Hey, who knows? Maybe the next album will be all banter! I don’t know.

BY MATT BLAIR

Soulshine - Canada's Essential Guide To Music (February 2005)

The Burnettes Take a Look Around Ontario
Published: 2005-02-25
Husband and wife team The Burnettes are half from Montreal and half from North Carolina, but now base themselves out of Vancouver. And early next week they’ll be packing things up and heading off to Ontario for a CMW performance, and making use of their time in the eastern half of the country. The “Wooly Winter Tour 2005” begins next Sunday in Toronto for Wavelength, and then it’s on to Montreal. After a stop-over in Ottawa, the band will head back to Toronto for their Canadian Music Week gig.

The Burnettes are playing their short tour in support of their newly released album “We’d Better Be Dreaming”. Put out this month, it’s the duo’s second LP of “new-wave-country-kitchen-party-pop-rock”, and the follow up to their 2002 debut “Album Schmalbum”. They’ve been compared to both Ween and Willie Nelson, and are called the Buckingham/Nicks for the modern age – but hopefully things work out a bit better for The Burnettes relationship wise.

Four – count ‘em, four – songs from “We’d Better Be Dreaming” are free to download at http://www.telusplanet.net/public/melvins/gorock/theburnettes.html.

The Burnettes’ upcoming gigs:

February 27 Toronto, ON – Sneaky Dee’s
February 28 Toronto, ON – “The First Word” (CIUT radio performance)
March 1 Montreal, QC – Café Chaos
March 2 Ottawa, ON – Irene’s Pub
March 3 Toronto, ON – Clinton’s (CMW)

Writer: Jaclyn Arndt

The Calgary Sun, Calgary, AB (September 2004)

Burnettes Warm Up

"...The pair will venture out of the tropical paradise and return to the frosty berg they once called home in order to launch The Burnettes’ sophomore CD We’d Better Be Dreaming with a show at Broken City, September 4. Recorded in the duo’s home studio, it’s a wonderfully lazy and fuzzy indie pop outing — a la Yo La Tengo or Spent — which has been polished up with easy charm and easier melodies.
“Everything is very at-home, as you can probably tell,” Aronoff says with a laugh. “Could you hear the construction in the background? Jackhammers have been going all summer long.” As with the band’s previous release, Album Schmalbum, it’s the construction of the CD jacket itself that’s initially striking about The Burnettes’ release. It’s all homemade D.I.Y. packaging, which, itself, adds to the charm of the disc..."

-Mike Bell

Somewhere in the gray mist that exists between musical genres, a duo called The Burnettes have set up camp. One show-goer recently described them as "the new-wavest country" that they’d ever heard; a slew of others have compared them to everything from Ween to Yo La Tengo; and still, for certain songs, the most precise categorization that can be applied (albeit hesitantly) is "folk-punk-shoegazing-pop." All right, Burnettes, you have some ’splainin’ to do.

"I’ve always sort of said [we’re] somewhere in between folk and punk, just because we use a lot of acoustic guitar but it’s not your conventional music," begins Cora Aronoff, one-half of the husband and wife team. "A lot of the songs are quite different from each others. It’s kind of a collage, I guess, which sounds really arty –we’re not an art band, I swear!"

The non-art folk-punk band came into being when Chris Burnette (who completes the duo) and Aronoff met in January 2000. Drawing from influences as diverse as Led Zeppelin, Ethel Merman, Janis Joplin, Elvis and Frank Black, The Burnettes released their first CD, Album Schmalbum last September.

As of late, The Burnettes have become a ménage-a-trois, so to speak, with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Tanya Gordon, formerly of Edmonton’s All Woman Brothers Band. It is as a three-piece that The Burnettes are hitting the road. "We have a minivan. We’re quite excited–the Ford Aerostar. We’ll see how that pans out. It’s a ’91, so God knows," jokes Aronoff. "We’ve got a shitload of instruments [six between the three of ’em]. We’ve got so much crap that we bring with us, it’s ridiculous. We bring props [because] a backdrop is critical to me, and not everywhere you go has a nice stage, so we’re going to bring our own silver, glitter stripper curtain, which I’m quite excited about."

If you have a psychic premonition that you just won’t be satisfied with seeing The Burnettes only once in Edmonton, check them out in Jasper the night before (July 16) at Pete’s.