James Kasper

James Kasper is an award-winning folk-noir singer-songwriter whose 2009 sophomore solo release "small town gods & devils" shows a darker, edgier Kasper. The record revisits the intimate, rich, dynamic vocals of 2007's "The Old Fashioned Way," but on this new release, a raw, melancholic sound permeates a more conceptual disc, punctuated by the subtle but progressive programming & production of Eric Hogg. Kasper has collaborated with Blue Rodeo's Bob Egan, Toronto's Revival Dear, Bob Wiseman, and opened for the legendary Ray Charles at the Variety Club Telethon in 1998. Kasper's "haunting vocals and strong songwriting" (Monday Magazine), along with his intense live performances, continue to captivate roots music fans across Canada.

KASPER-OLOGY:

1970 Dec.10: James Kasper is born Jamie Douglas Thornton at St. Joseph's Hospital in Victoria BC Canada,

1979: Kasper's first live performance, at age 8, in a school play called It's Cool in the Furnace directed by Mr. MacNamee, in Ucluelet BC Canada, Kasper's hometown.

1982: Kasper begins to write songs at age 12, documenting the vocal melodies using an unorthodox dot-to-dot notation, in lieu of knowing music theory or playing an instrument. His first song is called The Ballad of Chester West.

1986 summer: Kasper and a few friends place third in an air band competition for portraying The Blues Brothers at a festival in Ucluelet.

1988 summer: Return of the Blues Brothers air band at the Ucluelet festival, and another third place showing.

1993: Kasper's landlord teaches him to play guitar at age 22. Kasper begins experimenting with the harmonica. Many inebriated, experimental jam sessions ensue at said landlord's place of residence. Kasper makes his first recording, a 6-song cassette EP recorded on a home stereo. Songs on this recording: Twilight, Justice, Ballad of Abbot & Costello, Prince Lumley, Man in the Cage, Beyond the Pale.

1995: Kasper and a couple of his housemates form a band called Plato's Shorts and perform live for the first time at Victoria's Folk Fest. Plato's Shorts is hired to be the house band for a special event at Harpo's nightclub (in Victoria) called Pinky's Cabaret, but the band is fired when the drummer and guitarist get into a fistfight outside the club. Later the same year, the band's line-up changes slightly and the group is renamed The Bloody Dalmations after a wounded dalmation randomly interrupts rehearsal - the band patches up its bloody paw and sends it on its way, never to be seen again. The group records a 3-song EP but disbands before it is released.

1996: Kasper meets Tasja Veil through a 'wrong number." The two have a jam session and instantly connect - Kasper Veil is born. They release a six-song EP recorded by Matthew Hanley over 5 hours in Vancouver, released on cassette and titled coffeehouse whores. Kasper songs on this recording: Becky Birdfeeder, Pedestal, Pendulum.

1997: The duo becomes a 4-piece band (with drummer Darrin Bell and bassist Tom Kiss) and initially rehearses in the basement of a retirement home.

1998: Kasper Veil, the full band, releases their first full-length CD: Metro Gnome. This same year, they perform at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver for the Variety Club Telethon on BCTV. The legendary Ray Charles headlines the show.

2000: Kasper Veil reverts back to their duo line-up and releases their second full-length CD: folk is dead but who's listening. The duo disbands at the end of May, near the end of their first cross-Canada tour.

2001 to 2007: James Kasper founds and produces the Vancouver Island Music Awards.

2005 summer: Kasper tours Canada for the second time.

2007 summer: Kasper embarks on his third Canadian tour. Sept 22: He releases his debut solo album The Old-Fashioned Way, which is engineered and co-produced by Jude Pelley at Alone Stone Studios in Victoria. The record features appearances by Geoff Howe, Sophie Middleton, Jude Pelley, Laura Smith, Shauna Sedola, Chris Meglic, Bob Egan, Bob Wiseman, Jessica Stuart, Adam Sutherland, Cat Ratusny, Gary Pearson, Katrina Kadoski, and Julia Carsley. The release takes place at Fairfield United Church in Victoria.

2008: Kasper is nominated in the categories of Favourite Solo Artist and Hardest Working Person in Local Music at Monday Magazine's M Awards in Victoria. He wins in the latter category. On New Year's Eve of this year, Kasper and nine other band members perform New Year's Eve as ALMOST The Blues Brothers tribute band to a sold-out crowd in Victoria (this time with real instruments - James "Elwood" Kasper on harmonica and back-up vocals). Kasper tours Canada for a fourth time (October).

2009 July 18: Kasper releases his second solo album small town gods & devils, which is engineered and co-produced by Eric Hogg at Soma Sound in Victoria. The record features appearances by Claire Butterfield, Brad Hawkes, Geoff Howe, Eric Hogg, and Jay Hache. The release sees a return to Fairfield United Church.
Kasper relocates to Saskatoon for broadcasting school and begins writing songs for a new album (tentatively titled The True Vine) scheduled for release in 2011.