Saturday, September 09, 2017

AccuRadio Song Of the Day-Rock Plaza Central

Artist:Rock Plaza Central
Song:I Am An Excellent Steel Horse
Album:Are We Not Horses?




Novelist Chris Eaton began performing music in the late 90s. Then he turned it into the band Rock Plaza Central performing in Toronto clubs. The 2006 CD Are We Not Horses? generated enough buzz to get them a deal with Yep Roc. The band is currently on hiatus but a return is possible. Eaton was born in Moncton, NB in 1971. He moved to Toronto and he started performing as Rock Plaza Central in 1997. He released the album Quantum Butterass backed by the band People From Earth. For the next few years, Eaton would come to gigs and ask musicians in the audience to join him on stage. In 2003, he turned Rock Plaza Central into a real band with Don Murray, Blake Howard, John Whytock, Scott Maynard and Rob Carson. They released the mostly improvised 2003 CD The World Was Hell To Us and continued to perform in local clubs. Apparently they never rehearsed as Eaton wanted to keep the music fresh. Meanwhile Eaton published his first novel The Inactivist in 2003. The band added violinist Fiona Stewart and had a residency at the Tranzac Club. The 2006 CD Are We Not Horses? is a science fiction concept album about six legged robotic horses. When the album got international critical acclaim, Eaton signed a Canadian distribution deal with Outside Music and in the US with Yep Roc. The band toured and released the 2009 CD ...At The Moment Of Our Most Needing. But with Eaton's writing starting to gain momentum and some of the other members have other gigs, Rock Plaza Central was never meant to be a long term band. They went on hiatus in 2010. Eaton published his third novel Chris Eaton, A Biography in 2013. Rock Plaza Central reunited last month a the Toronto club The Dakota as part of Summerworks 2017. Apparently this was a one off gig but anything is possible in the music business. Here's the video for I Am An Excellent Steel Horse by Rock Plaza Central.

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