Dale Morningstar
Encyclopedia
Dale Morningstar is a Toronto-based Canadian rock musician and recording engineer and producer, originally from Chippawa, Ontario
.
, an avant-garde rock band based in Toronto in the early 1990s. The band was known for an unconventional approach to music, Morningstar once even playing the stationary bicycle live at Massey Hall
.
Dale Morningstar, however, is perhaps best known for co-founding The Gas Station Recording studio, which has been called "the hub of the Canadian indie rock sound" with Don Kerr
in 1990. The studio started off in his basement apartment in an old Liberty Street warehouse (by King and Dufferin). They quickly outgrew the space and moved around the corner to 53 Fraser Avenue. After over 7 years at the Fraser Ave. location Morningstar received an eviction notice on March 30, 2000. He and other musicians, colleagues and friends staged a demonstration and circulated posters opposing the eviction. This brought the situation to the attention of ArtScape Toronto who offered them an old portable schoolhouse at their Gibraltar Point location (the former Toronto Island Public and Natural Science School), on the Toronto Islands
, where the studio remains today.
Morningstar has provided record production, mixing, and engineering for countless musicians over the years including Gordon Downie
, Julie Doiron
, Neko Case
, Thrush Hermit
, Tristan Psionic
, The Cowboy Junkies, Yat-Kha
, Barenaked Ladies
, hHead
, The Inbreds
and Kyp Harness
.
Recently Dale Morningstar was one of the contributing artists for the National Parks Project, recording an EP of atmospheric music in Prince Edward Island National Park
with Sophie Trudeau
of Godspeed You! Black Emperor
and Chad Ross of The Deadly Snakes
and Quest for Fire
.
Chippawa, Ontario
Chippawa is a community located within the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario.The village was founded in 1850, and became part of the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario by amalgamation in 1970. It is located on the Canadian shore of the Niagara River about 2 km upstream from Niagara Falls. It is...
.
History
Morningstar was the founding member of The Dinner Is RuinedThe dinner is ruined
The Dinner Is Ruined is a Canadian indie rock band. Formed in 1991 by Dale Morningstar, the band plays an experimental and improvisational brand of blues rock.The band members are Dale Morningstar, Dave Clark and Dr. Johnny Pee...
, an avant-garde rock band based in Toronto in the early 1990s. The band was known for an unconventional approach to music, Morningstar once even playing the stationary bicycle live at Massey Hall
Massey Hall
Massey Hall is a venerable performing arts theatre in the Garden District of downtown Toronto. The theatre originally was designed to seat 3,500 patrons but, after extensive renovations in the 1940s, now seats up to 2,765....
.
Dale Morningstar, however, is perhaps best known for co-founding The Gas Station Recording studio, which has been called "the hub of the Canadian indie rock sound" with Don Kerr
Don Kerr
Don Kerr is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist and record producer.He was a member of Rheostatics from 1995 to May 2001. He plays in Ron Sexsmith's band, and sometimes with The Kelele Brothers. He and Sexsmith released an album together, Destination Unknown, in 2005...
in 1990. The studio started off in his basement apartment in an old Liberty Street warehouse (by King and Dufferin). They quickly outgrew the space and moved around the corner to 53 Fraser Avenue. After over 7 years at the Fraser Ave. location Morningstar received an eviction notice on March 30, 2000. He and other musicians, colleagues and friends staged a demonstration and circulated posters opposing the eviction. This brought the situation to the attention of ArtScape Toronto who offered them an old portable schoolhouse at their Gibraltar Point location (the former Toronto Island Public and Natural Science School), on the Toronto Islands
Toronto Islands
The Toronto Islands are a chain of small islands in the city of Toronto, Ontario. Comprising the only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the city centre, and provide shelter for Toronto Harbour...
, where the studio remains today.
Morningstar has provided record production, mixing, and engineering for countless musicians over the years including Gordon Downie
Gordon Downie
Gordon Edgar Downie is a Canadian rock musician, writer and occasional actor. He is the lead singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. He has released three solo albums, Coke Machine Glow in 2001, Battle of the Nudes in 2003; and The Grand Bounce in 2010...
, Julie Doiron
Julie Doiron
Julie Doiron is an award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter of Acadian heritage.-Background:Doiron started playing guitar in Eric's Trip at the age of eighteen, having joined the band at the insistence of her then-boyfriend, Rick White, also of Eric's Trip...
, Neko Case
Neko Case
Neko Case is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her solo career and her contributions as a member of the Canadian indie rock group The New Pornographers....
, Thrush Hermit
Thrush Hermit
-History:Thrush Hermit was formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1992 by Joel Plaskett , Rob Benvie , Ian McGettigan , and Michael Catano...
, Tristan Psionic
Tristan Psionic
Tristan Psionic was a Canadian indie rock band.Formed in the early 1990s in Hamilton, Ontario, the band consisted of vocalist Sandy McIntosh, guitarist Mark Milne, bassist Gary "Wool" McMaster and drummer Tim Potocic...
, The Cowboy Junkies, Yat-Kha
Yat-Kha
Yat-Kha is a band from Tuva, led by vocalist/guitarist Albert Kuvezin. Their music is a mixture of Tuvan traditional music and rock, featuring Kuvezin's distinctive kargyraa throat singing style, the kanzat kargyraa.-Biography:...
, Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
, hHead
HHead
hHead were a Canadian alternative rock band in the 1990s. The band consisted of Noah Mintz, Brendan Canning and a succession of drummers. They were originally known as Head, but added the second h after discovering that another band was already recording as Head.The band's first album, Fireman, was...
, The Inbreds
The Inbreds
The Inbreds were a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1992. Originally from Kingston, Ontario, Canada the band relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1996. Three of the four albums released during the band's existence reached number one on the Canadian national university charts, and the band...
and Kyp Harness
Kyp Harness
Kyp Harness is a Canadian social activist and folk singer, known for the poetry of his lyrics.-Biography:Harness was born in Sarnia, Ontario in 1964...
.
Recently Dale Morningstar was one of the contributing artists for the National Parks Project, recording an EP of atmospheric music in Prince Edward Island National Park
Prince Edward Island National Park
Prince Edward Island National Park is a National Park located on Prince Edward Island. Situated along the island's north shore, fronting the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the park measures approximately 60 km in length and ranges from several hundred metres to several kilometres in width...
with Sophie Trudeau
Sophie Trudeau
Sophie Trudeau is a Canadian musician. She is best known for being a member of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and co-founder of Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band with Efrim Menuck and Thierry Amar...
of Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Godspeed You! Black Emperor is a Canadian post-rock band which originated from Montreal, Quebec in 1994...
and Chad Ross of The Deadly Snakes
The Deadly Snakes
The Deadly Snakes were a Canadian indie rock band influenced by garage rock, punk, folk rock, and early r&b.-History:Formed in Toronto in 1996, the band's final line-up consisted of Andre Ethier on vocals and guitars, Matthew Carlson on guitar, trumpet and bass, Chad Ross on guitar, bass and...
and Quest for Fire
Quest for Fire
Quest for Fire is a 1911 Belgian novel by "J.-H. Rosny", the pseudonym of two brothers; the author was likely the elder of the two, Joseph Henri Honoré Boex . It was first published in English in 1967....
.
The Dinner Is Ruined
- 1991: Burn Your Dashiki (self-released)
- 1993: Love Songs from the Lubritorium (Raw Energy)
- 1994: Worm Pickers Brawl (Gas Rackett)
- 1996: Ice Cream, Drugs, Rubber Goods (Sonic UnyonSonic UnyonSonic Unyon Recording Company is an independent record label based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The retail store is located on Wilson Street near James Street North)...
) - 1997: Elevator Music for Non-Claustrophobic People (Sonic UnyonSonic UnyonSonic Unyon Recording Company is an independent record label based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The retail store is located on Wilson Street near James Street North)...
) - 1999: A Maggot in Their Heads (Sonic UnyonSonic UnyonSonic Unyon Recording Company is an independent record label based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The retail store is located on Wilson Street near James Street North)...
) - 2001: Ray Charles Kinda Party (Sonic UnyonSonic UnyonSonic Unyon Recording Company is an independent record label based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The retail store is located on Wilson Street near James Street North)...
) - 2005: Legion Hall (self-released)
Gordon Downie
- 2001: Coke Machine Glow (Zoë RecordsZoë RecordsZoë Records is an independent record label in the United States. It is a part of the Rounder Records group.Zoë predominantly distributes albums by folk rock and alternative pop artists...
) - 2010: The Grand Bounce (Cobraside)
Various Artists
- 2011: National Parks ProjectNational Parks ProjectThe National Parks Project is a Canadian music and film project. Released in 2011 to mark the 100th anniversary of the creation of the National Parks of Canada system, the project sent three Canadian musicians and a filmmaker to each of 13 Canadian national parks, one in each province and...
: Prince Edward Island - EP (Last Gang RecordsLast Gang RecordsLast Gang Records is a record label that was formed by Canadian music industry lawyer Chris Taylor and concert promoter Donald Tarlton in the Fall of 2003 at the Pop Montreal Music Festival....
)