Tribute To Jon Bartlett As A Free Download

I've always been a huge fan of Jon Bartlett's bands from my first exposure. I have no idea when it was exactly but it was around the year 2000 when the first Rhume album, Snack Of Choice, came out. They were playing a show in Windsor at the now defunct Press Club, where I worked the door sometimes and I had played a couple of songs on my radio show to plug the gig. I really enjoyed the record and a friend played on it as well so I grabbed a copy of it before their gig started.

Well then the live show blew me away that night and that would be repeated every time I saw them after. I've been trying to remember how many times they came down here. To my best recollection it was three times as Rhume and once as Bartlett's country outfit Greenfield Main. In the course of the three times I saw Rhume I saw Jon Bartlett do such memorable things as

-in mid song going to the pool table, removing his shoes and socks and putting baby powder on his feet, while not missing any part of the song
-once again in mid song followed a female in the washroom with the mic, not missing and lyrics. Unfortunately the female did not see the humour in this and promptly left the bar right after.
-did the worm across the floor at The Coach & Horses here in Windsor. This may not seem like much but if you've ever been there you know that it takes a great deal of bravery.

From what I've heard these type of things happen often at his show. This video below is one of the most infamous.



For me though it wasn't just the crazy, high energy live shows. I've always been a fan of his music. I always find myself pulling out Rhume's Snack Of Choice and Jeu De Puissance and Greenfield Main's Hunting Tips For Everyone and Barnburners & Heartchurners. He was also in Steaming Toolie but I've never got around to really getting into them but that will be changing.

Sadly there hasn't been much of his own music out the last few years but he's kept busy with his label Kelp, which has put out music from many great bands like The Acorn, Andrew Vincent, Hilotrons and Andy Swan to name a few.

This April Kelp celebrated it's fifteenth anniversary with a mess of shows. On a radio appearance Bartlett was "completely floored on CBC Morning here in Ottawa when John Higney and Alan Neal did their big "reveal" of this compilation. Secretly, throughout the spring, Higney, Rolf Klausener and several schemesters got together and recorded old songs of mine, producing this flattering disc of covers, pretty much all of which are way better than the originals." Here is the track listing.

Snack Of Choice-Recoilers
Brethren, She Will Never Lose
Home Tonight-Andy Swan
Jump Shooting For Ducks-Jim Bryson
Roadfill-Catriona Sturton
Greasy Tongues-Flecton Big Sky
Surprising Upenders- The Acorn
Kerosene Clean-Estee Tabernac (featuring Jail Curse, Sawtooth, and Chef George)
Under The Gun-Greenfield
Red River Valley-Andrew Vincent
Squirrels Too? -Portolan
Soleil Moonfrye-Silkken-Laumann
Empoissssssonne (RMX)-B/A/C/O/N
Game Over-C.C.R. (Crack Cocaine Revival)
Turn Up The Jets-Camp Radio

As a huge fan of his work I love this album. Definitely worth checking out which you can easily do. He's put the compilation up on the Kelp website as a free download.

Download "Turn Up The Jets: A Tribute To Jon Bartlett"

You should also do yourself a favor and check out the original material. There are four songs from Rhume and Greenfield Main on the page of free Kelp downloads.