Whew! Apart from just completing a new CD (with guest cameo by Roxanne Potvin), Porkbelly Futures performed recently in Sault Ste. Marie, Winnipeg, Brandon, Dryden, Thunder Bay and in Minden (Twisted Pines Festival) as well as Toronto for NXNE (at the Gladstone Hotel) and The Toronto City Roots Festival. July is a time for developing new material. Look for us next at The Black Swan, Toronto August 17, and in The Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Refuge (!), August 25.

Porkbelly Futures will forever be grateful for its association with the late Richard Bell, who performed and recorded with the band over a five year period. A wonderful tribute to Richard (by the Toronto Star's Greg Quill) can be found HERE Another very informative article (by the Globe and Mail's Nicholas Jennings) can be found HERE

(Stuart) The sound of our band has changed recently with the addition of pedal steel guitar on some tunes. Derived from the Hawaiian guitar, its most striking feature is the sustain of the notes, which never seem to die away. (The notes don’t even stop when you want them to, which is why I have a volume pedal under my right foot.) My steel guitar has ten strings, six of which are tuned to a major chord. Like its Hawaiian cousin, the pedal steel is played (in part) by sliding a steel bar up and down the strings, but a system of 4 foot pedals and 5 knee levers mechanically alter the tunings while you play, giving a much richer tonal palette. This system also means that the notes don't consistently appear in the same place. Middle C, for instance, appears in 4 different positions on the same string! Our instrument - named "Rosebud" by Paul, though some call her Rosie- was made in Penetanguishing, Ontario, by the remarkable Ed Fulawka. See the pedal steel guitar (and order Ed’s fantastic barbeque spices) HERE

Porkbelly Futures performs at the Toronto City Roots Festival, 10 PM Saturday, June 23.
As TORONTO LIFE'S Jason Anderson reports: "As one of the city’s most unique historical sites, the Distillery District is an appropriately old-fashioned locale for a celebration of traditional-minded music. Now in its third year, the Toronto City Roots Festival features a wide array of performers doing their thing in various venues and open-air locations... [A] highlight of the fest will be the set by Porkbelly Futures, a rambunctious crew fronted by Paul Quarrington." Learn more HERE

(Paul) Sadly, Porkbelly Futures must report that their friend and colleague Richard Bell passed away on June 15th. In the words of his dear friend Chas Elliott, "He was a great guy and a great keyboardist." Now there is a wise-cracking organist accompanying the Heavenly Choir, and God is going to want to take away his pitchwheel.

Be sure to visit our website: www.porkbellys.com And our MySpace site HERE

The band has just completed its new CD, a sophomore effort, though not "sophomoric" we hope. Produced by the remarkable David Gray, release will be in the fall, and the title will be... Porkbelly Futures.

Welcome to our blog, the home of "Toronto's Most Excited Band."