Press release –
John Schwirtlich has been a professional photographer for the past 25 years, based in Kamloops, British Columbia, shooting everything from his twin passions for skiing and live music to working on film sets and architectural projects.
Still, John never gave up on his dream to make music, dating back to his youth in Kitchener, Ontario during the late 1980s when a scene blossomed around emerging singer/songwriters such as Danny Michel, Paul MacLeod and Shannon Lyon. With the harmonica as his instrument of choice, John became a member of Lyon’s band Strange Days, which went on to play across Canada, crossing paths with other bands like Blue Rodeo, The Tragically Hip and Skydiggers that were establishing a national touring circuit.
Now, John’s musical aspirations have come to fruition with his debut album, Apertures, a roots rock feast that sounds like someone who’s actually been in the songwriting game for a long time. Produced by Craig Smith of the band ONTARIANS, the 10 full-band songs on Apertures are a reflection of the title in terms of exposing various degrees of personal experience, with John’s rough-edged voice ideally suited to tell his story.
Not surprisingly, much of the subject matter on Apertures deals with the complexities of love and relationships that all of us who have been around the block a few times must deal with. There’s the good stuff—as on “Night Like This” and the album’s first focus track “Kimberley”—as well as the less good stuff, as heard on bittersweet tracks such as “7 Days” and “What You Want.”
Then there are a few simply fun, straight-ahead rockers like “Idaho Rain,” “Ain’t No Joke” and “Somebody” that display the full extent of how well John and Craig collaborated together. If Apertures was made in the 1970s, it would have possibly resembled a ragged-but-right solo album by someone like Rick Danko or Ronnie Lane, but Smith’s stellar production keeps each song bright, tight, and filled with unexpected sonic surprises.
As John says, “I think anything you do that involves a creative process—whether it’s photography, music, woodworking, sculpting, whatever—it can all be inspiring in different ways. I would say that music inspires my photography, and not the other way around. I also produce mountain scenery video projects and music plays a big role in the way I see images and edit them together. Working with Craig on this album was truly inspirational. We’ve been friends for a long time, and he’s always been one of the best songwriters I’ve ever known.”
For many of us, achieving goals takes longer than we expect. But with the release of Apertures, John Schwirtlich can not only appreciate what he’s accomplished, he can also take pride in having made one of the best Canadian roots rock albums of the year.
Track Listing:
01 Night Like This
02 Kimberley
03 7 Days
04 On My Way
05 Collingwood
06 Intuition
07 Idaho Rain
08 Ain’t No Joke
09 What You Want
10 Somebody
