Ironwood Stage & Grill

1429 9th Avenue SE

Calgary

July 17, 2008, Thursday 8:00 PM

Tickets: CA $15.00

For Tickets Call Ironwood Stage & Grill at 403-269-5581

GEOFF BERNER

Click HERE to check him out at MySpace.
Click HERE to listen him Now.

Geoff Berner (early in his musical career known as "Potty Mouth" Berner) is a Canadian singer-songwriter on the accordion originating from Vancouver, British Columbia.

Berner has gained a cult following over the years, due to his insightful humor, politically flammatory compositions and showmanship, especially in Canada and Norway, in which he recorded his first live album, Live in Oslo (2004).

Berner, in his youth, studied the piano. However, at a party, somebody asked him why he didn't play the accordion. Berner actually did not know, and as a result, he began learning how to play the accordion.

Following several years fronting the punk band The Terror of Tiny Town (its name borrowed from the 1938 film), Berner released his first solo EP, Light Enough to Travel (2000) on the Sudden Death Records label. Light Enough to Travel contained some of the songs he wrote while part of The Terror of Tiny Town. Vancouver band The Be Good Tanyas covered the title track, and had some chart success with their version in England, which helped to kickstart Berner's career. In 2000, Berner was deported to Norway, where he discovered the Norwegian band Kaizers Orchestra, for whom he would later become a support act. His first full-length album, We Shall Not Flag or Fail, We Shall Go On to the End (2003) featured the track "We All Gotta Be a Prostitute Sometimes", which has been covered by a surprising number of artists, considering Berner's relative obscurity.

In the years between We Shall Not Flag or Fail, We Shall Go On to the End and 2005, Berner travelled to Romania, to study the traditional musical style klezmer, from the many talented masters in Romania. In Romania, he suffered alcohol poisoning and was rushed to a Romanian hospital, which inspired him to write "Song Written in a Romanian Hospital". After his return, Berner released his second studio album, Whiskey Rabbi (2005) on Black Hen Music, with the help of Diona Davies of Po' Girl, on the violin, and Wayne Adams of Zolty Cracker, percussion. They would later join him occasionally on tour. Whiskey Rabbi is the first of a planned trilogy of Klezmer-themed records.

Berner released a humorous instructional booklet called How to be an Accordion Player in 2006. In 2007, Berner released The Wedding Dance of the Widow Bride, a concept album with the theme of marriage, and second in his planned trilogy of klezmer records. He also collaborated with the Norwegian band Girl from Saskatoon on their 2007 album.

In 2008, in a newsletter, Berner announced that he had been contacted by the government of British Columbia to compose the official theme song for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The song is called "Official Theme Song for the 2010 Vancouver / Whistler Olympic Games (The Dead Children Were Worth It!)", and was released as an mp3 on Berner's official site on February 19, 2008. More about Geoff Berner...