Geoff Berner
Encyclopedia
Geoff Berner is a Canadian
singer-songwriter
and accordion
player from Vancouver, British Columbia
.
Due to his insightful humor, politically inflammatory compositions and showmanship, Berner has gained a cult following over the years, especially in Canada and Norway
, where he recorded his first live album
, Live in Oslo (2004).
Following several years fronting the punk
band 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. The 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 a severe gastrointestinal infection 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 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, he released "Official Theme Song for the 2010 Vancouver / Whistler Olympic Games (The Dead Children Were Worth It!)", a satirical song he promoted as the official theme song for the 2010 Winter Olympics
, as an mp3 on February 19, 2008. The song asserts that the government of British Columbia closed a provincial coroner
's office which investigated the deaths of children to help pay for the games.
He later attracted controversy at the Winnipeg Folk Festival
in July when he opened his set with a performance of "The Dead Children Were Worth It!", followed by a joke which linked the festival's corporate sponsor, Volkswagen
, to Nazi Germany
.
In 2008 he released Klezmer Mongrels, the third album in his klezmer trilogy. Later in the year, Berner and colleague Bob Wiseman
were given the Key to the City
of Bruno, Saskatchewan
.
, and father of Margot Berner and Joseph Zeidler-Berner. He is also close friends with American
ukulele
player Carmaig de Forest
, and covers his compositions regularly on tour, and recorded his song "In the Year 2020" on his We Shall Not Flag or Fail, We Shall Go On to the End album. In 2008, he began covering songwriter Kris Demeanor instead of de Forest, and Demeanor's song "One Shoe" appears on the Klezmer Mongrels album. Additionally, Berner also often collaborates with fellow Canadian Carolyn Mark
, and recorded a duet with her, for her Just Married: An Album of Duets album in 2005.
Berner is Jewish, which is reflected in his klezmer
song "Lucky God Damn Jew".
and was a member of former leader Stuart Parker
's inner circle. He ran as a candidate at the federal and provincial levels in the general elections of 1991, 1993, 1996 and 1997.
His most high profile campaign, however, was as a candidate for the Rhinoceros Party of Canada in the 2001 provincial general election against future premier Gordon Campbell. His primary campaign promise in that election was to offer "cocaine and whores to potential investors."
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...
singer-songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
player from Vancouver, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
Due to his insightful humor, politically inflammatory compositions and showmanship, Berner has gained a cult following over the years, especially in Canada and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, where he recorded his first live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
, Live in Oslo (2004).
Musical career
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
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Terror of Tiny Town (its name borrowed from the 1938 film
The Terror of Tiny Town
The Terror of Tiny Town is a 1938 American film produced by Jed Buell, directed by Sam Newfield, and starring Billy Curtis. It is the world's only musical Western with an all-midget cast....
), Berner released his first solo EP, Light Enough to Travel (2000) on the Sudden Death Records
Sudden Death Records
Sudden Death Records is a Vancouver, British Columbia based record label run by Joe "Shithead" Keithley.Sudden Death Records arrived in Canada's burgeoning punk scene in 1978. It was only a part-time label until 1998, when they began to expand further into punk rock music...
label. Light Enough to Travel contained some of the songs he wrote while part of The Terror of Tiny Town. The Vancouver band The Be Good Tanyas
The Be Good Tanyas
The Be Good Tanyas are a Canadian traditional music group, whose influences included folk, country, and bluegrass. The style of music they performed can be referred to as alt-country or Americana.-Career:...
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
Kaizers Orchestra
Kaizers Orchestra is a Norwegian alternative rock group formed on January 1, 2000. The two leading members, vocalist Janove Ottesen and guitarist Geir Zahl, had known each other for years, and first played together in a band called Blod, Snått & Juling in 1989.Kaizers Orchestra are notable for...
, 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
We Shall Not Flag or Fail, We Shall Go on to the End
We Shall Not Flag Or Fail, We Shall Go On To The End is the first full length album by accordion singer-songwriter Geoff Berner.It was released in 2003, in Canadian and US territories.-Track listing:All lyrics/music by G...
(2003) featured the track "We All Gotta Be a Prostitute Sometimes", which has been covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
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
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, to study the traditional musical style klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
, from the many talented masters in Romania. In Romania, he suffered a severe gastrointestinal infection 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
Black Hen Music
Black Hen Music is an independent record label founded in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1995. The music label was established by record producer and musician Steve Dawson, originally of the band, Zubot and Dawson...
, with the help of Diona Davies of Po' Girl
Po' Girl
Po' Girl is a Canadian group whose style derives from folk, country and jazz. The style of music they perform is called "urban roots."The band evolved from a series of jam sessions, in 2000, between Trish Klein of The Be Good Tanyas and Allison Russell, then of Fear of Drinking...
, on the violin, and Wayne Adams of Zolty Cracker
Zolty Cracker
Zolty Cracker, was a Canadian band formed in 1989 based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The band members were Gilles Zolty , Annie Wilkinson and Wayne Adams .-History:Zolty Cracker toured Canada, the United States and Europe from 1989 to 1997, playing what has been described by The...
, percussion. They would later join him occasionally on tour. Whiskey Rabbi is the first of a 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
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
with the theme of marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, 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, he released "Official Theme Song for the 2010 Vancouver / Whistler Olympic Games (The Dead Children Were Worth It!)", a satirical song he promoted as the official theme song for the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
, as an mp3 on February 19, 2008. The song asserts that the government of British Columbia closed a provincial coroner
Coroner
A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...
's office which investigated the deaths of children to help pay for the games.
He later attracted controversy at the Winnipeg Folk Festival
Winnipeg Folk Festival
The Winnipeg Folk Festival is a summer folk music festival held in Birds Hill Provincial Park, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It features a variety of folk artists from all around the world, as well as a number of local folk performers....
in July when he opened his set with a performance of "The Dead Children Were Worth It!", followed by a joke which linked the festival's corporate sponsor, Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
, to Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
In 2008 he released Klezmer Mongrels, the third album in his klezmer trilogy. Later in the year, Berner and colleague Bob Wiseman
Bob Wiseman
Bob Wiseman is a Juno winning Canadian musician, filmmaker, singer-songwriter, and actor. Wiseman was an original member of Blue Rodeo.-Career:Wiseman was raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He studied piano at York University...
were given the Key to the City
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
of Bruno, Saskatchewan
Bruno, Saskatchewan
-Notable Names:Tyler Weiman -Notable Names:Tyler Weiman -Notable Names:Tyler Weiman (Professional Ice Hockey Goaltender for the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League-External links:...
.
Personal life
Berner is the stepfather of actress Genevieve BuechnerGenevieve Buechner
Genevieve Buechner is a Canadian actress. Her stepfather is folk musician Geoff Berner.-Biography:Genevieve Buechner was born in Edmonton, Alberta, to single parent mother Tea Buechner. When her family moved to Vancouver, she took a small course in acting from the Vancouver Youth Theatre...
, and father of Margot Berner and Joseph Zeidler-Berner. He is also close friends with American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
player Carmaig de Forest
Carmaig de Forest
Carmaig de Forest is a singer-songwriter, mainly on the ukulele, but also the guitar, originating from Los Angeles, California. Since starting his career as a ukulele singer-songwriter, he has mostly stayed in the creative musical underground of California and Baltimore, at one time touring with...
, and covers his compositions regularly on tour, and recorded his song "In the Year 2020" on his We Shall Not Flag or Fail, We Shall Go On to the End album. In 2008, he began covering songwriter Kris Demeanor instead of de Forest, and Demeanor's song "One Shoe" appears on the Klezmer Mongrels album. Additionally, Berner also often collaborates with fellow Canadian Carolyn Mark
Carolyn Mark
Carolyn Mark is a Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter. She has recorded as a solo artist and as a member of the duo The Corn Sisters with American colleague Neko Case, as well as with the bands the Vinaigrettes, Jr. Gone Wild, Showbusiness Giants, the Fixin's and the Metronome Cowboys...
, and recorded a duet with her, for her Just Married: An Album of Duets album in 2005.
Berner is Jewish, which is reflected in his klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
song "Lucky God Damn Jew".
Politics
Between 1988 and 2001, Berner was active in the Green Party of British ColumbiaGreen Party of British Columbia
The Green Party of British Columbia is a political party in British Columbia, Canada. It is led by former Esquimalt municipal councillor, university professor and businessperson Jane Sterk, she was elected by the party in 2007. Penticton realtor and columnist Julius Bloomfield serves as the deputy...
and was a member of former leader Stuart Parker
Stuart Parker
Stuart Parker was leader of the Green Party in British Columbia, Canada, from 1993 to 2000. In 2009, during the Ontario by-election to replace MPP Michael Byrant, he unsuccessfully sought the Ontario New Democratic Party nomination for the St...
's inner circle. He ran as a candidate at the federal and provincial levels in the general elections of 1991, 1993, 1996 and 1997.
His most high profile campaign, however, was as a candidate for the Rhinoceros Party of Canada in the 2001 provincial general election against future premier Gordon Campbell. His primary campaign promise in that election was to offer "cocaine and whores to potential investors."
Albums
- We Shall Not Flag or Fail, We Shall Go On to the EndWe Shall Not Flag or Fail, We Shall Go on to the EndWe Shall Not Flag Or Fail, We Shall Go On To The End is the first full length album by accordion singer-songwriter Geoff Berner.It was released in 2003, in Canadian and US territories.-Track listing:All lyrics/music by G...
(2003) - Live in Oslo (2004)
- Whiskey Rabbi (2005)
- Wedding Dance of the Widow Bride (2007)
- Klezmer Mongrels (2008)
- Victory PartyVictory PartyVictory Party is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Geoff Berner, released March 8, 2011 on Mint Records. The album is influenced by the Eastern European klezmer tradition, as well as elements of punk and folk.- Track listing :...
(Mint RecordsMint RecordsMint Records is a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based independent record label founded in January 1991, by friends and campus radio enthusiasts Randy Iwata and Bill Baker....
, 2011)
EPs/Singles/Others
- Light Enough to Travel (2000)
- "It's All Just a Matter of (Where You Draw the Line) - Duet with Carolyn MarkCarolyn MarkCarolyn Mark is a Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter. She has recorded as a solo artist and as a member of the duo The Corn Sisters with American colleague Neko Case, as well as with the bands the Vinaigrettes, Jr. Gone Wild, Showbusiness Giants, the Fixin's and the Metronome Cowboys...
, featured on her 2005 album Just Married: An Album of Duets - "Don't Play Cards for Money with Corby LundCorb Lund and the Hurtin' AlbertansCorb 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...
", non-album track released in 2006 as a download from his website - "The Rich Are Going to Move to the High Ground", non-album track released in June 2007 as a download from his website
- "Official Theme Song for the 2010 Vancouver / Whistler Olympic Games (The Dead Children Were Worth It!)", non-album track released in February 2008 as a download from his website
- "How to be an Accordion Player" - instructional booklet (2006)
- "Come All Ye Bold Canadians (Song of the War of 1812)," released on Henry Adam Sync's 2011 recording project, Folk Songs of Canada Now.