Brock Zeman
Encyclopedia
Brock Zeman is a singer-songwriter from the Ottawa Valley
based in Carleton Place
, Canada
. He has released eight albums and is known as a prolific performer having given more than two hundred live performances across North America every year for the last decade.
Before his mid-20s, Zeman had signed with indie label, Busted Flat Records
, had played most major music festivals in Canada and performed on stage with some of the top talent of the contemporary roots
and Americana
scenes, including Steve Earle
, Lynn Miles
, Fred Eaglesmith
, Corb Lund
, Toby Keith
, Prairie Oyster
and the Rodeo Kings.
Exclaim!
magazine calls Zeman “a songwriter worth hearing over and over again” while CKUA hails Zeman’s work as “intelligent, tuneful, heart-felt songs served up with an authentic but understated style.” The Waterloo Region Record says that “Zeman doesn’t surrender an inch to any Texas singer/songwriter you care to name. Closer to home, he has the chops to join the likes of Fred Eaglesmith on the lonesome outskirts of town after the street lights come on.”
Recently Zeman has taken a new direction and founded Mud Records (2011), his signature label for releasing his own material and the imprint for showcasing emerging roots talent in Canada, including albums by Robert Larisey and Brothers Through the Hill, which Zeman also produced. The Ottawa Citizen
says that Zeman “recognizes talent when he sees it” and Rootstime named Mud Records “a promising young label.”
Ottawa Valley
The Ottawa Valley is the valley along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec along the Ottawa River. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield...
based in Carleton Place
Carleton Place, Ontario
Carleton Place is a town in the eastern portion of Eastern Ontario, Canada, in Lanark County, about west of downtown Ottawa. It is located at the crossroads of Highway 15 and Highway 7, halfway between the towns of Perth, Almonte, Smiths Falls, and the nation's capital, Ottawa...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He has released eight albums and is known as a prolific performer having given more than two hundred live performances across North America every year for the last decade.
Before his mid-20s, Zeman had signed with indie label, Busted Flat Records
Busted Flat Records
Busted Flat Records is a critically acclaimed independent music label founded in 2002 by Mark Logan and based in Kitchener, Canada. Musicians on the roster include blues artist, Matt Andersen , as well as Paul MacLeod, Brock...
, had played most major music festivals in Canada and performed on stage with some of the top talent of the contemporary roots
Roots rock
Roots rock is a term now used to describe rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid sub-genres from the later 1960s including country rock and Southern rock, which have been seen as responses to the...
and Americana
Americana
Americana refers to artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States. Many kinds of material fall within the definition of Americana: paintings, prints and drawings; license plates or entire vehicles, household objects,...
scenes, including Steve Earle
Steve Earle
Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
, Lynn Miles
Lynn Miles
Lynn Miles is a Canadian singer-songwriter and winner of the 2003 Juno Award.-Early life and education:Miles was born outside Montreal in the town of Sweetsburg, Quebec. Her father was a harmonica player and jazz fan while her mother listened to both opera and country music. Miles learned to...
, Fred Eaglesmith
Fred Eaglesmith
Frederick John Elgersma , known by the stage name Fred Eaglesmith, is a Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter, one of nine children raised by a farming family in rural Southern Ontario. As a teenager Eaglesmith hopped a freight train out to Western Canada, and began writing songs and...
, Corb Lund
Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans
Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans are a Canadian country music band, formerly known as the Corb Lund Band.-Corb Lund:Corb Lund, the lead singer, grew up in Southern Alberta living on his family's farm and ranches near Taber, Cardston and Rosemary. He is proud of being an Albertan...
, Toby Keith
Toby Keith
Toby Keith Covel , best known as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. Keith released his first four studio albums — 1993's Toby Keith, 1994's Boomtown, 1996's Blue Moon and 1997's Dream Walkin, plus a Greatest Hits package for various divisions of...
, Prairie Oyster
Prairie Oyster
Prairie Oyster is an award-winning Canadian country music group from Ontario. They were named Country Group or Duo of the year six times by both the Canadian Country Music Association and the Juno Awards. The band also won the Bud Country Fans' Choice Award from the CCMA in 1994...
and the Rodeo Kings.
Exclaim!
Exclaim!
Exclaim! is a monthly Canadian music magazine that features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with special focus on Canadian and cutting-edge artists...
magazine calls Zeman “a songwriter worth hearing over and over again” while CKUA hails Zeman’s work as “intelligent, tuneful, heart-felt songs served up with an authentic but understated style.” The Waterloo Region Record says that “Zeman doesn’t surrender an inch to any Texas singer/songwriter you care to name. Closer to home, he has the chops to join the likes of Fred Eaglesmith on the lonesome outskirts of town after the street lights come on.”
Recently Zeman has taken a new direction and founded Mud Records (2011), his signature label for releasing his own material and the imprint for showcasing emerging roots talent in Canada, including albums by Robert Larisey and Brothers Through the Hill, which Zeman also produced. The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Citizen
The Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...
says that Zeman “recognizes talent when he sees it” and Rootstime named Mud Records “a promising young label.”
Discography
- Ya Ain't Crazy Henny Penny (Mud Records, 2011)
- Live @ the Acoustic Grill (Acoustic Grill Records)
- $100 Difference (Busted Flat RecordsBusted Flat RecordsBusted Flat Records is a critically acclaimed independent music label founded in 2002 by Mark Logan and based in Kitchener, Canada. Musicians on the roster include blues artist, Matt Andersen , as well as Paul MacLeod, Brock...
) - The Bourbon Sessions (Busted Flat Records)
- Welcome Home Ivy Jane (Busted Flat Records)
- Brock Zeman and the Dirty Hands (Busted Flat Records)
- Songs from the Mud (Busted Flat Records)
- Cold Winter Comes Back (Self-released)