Back in the mid-80s, Toronto was re-emerging as a musical hotbed with a special focus on a rebirth of the singer-songwriter tradition. The Cowboy Junkies and Blue Rodeo were in their formative stages. Andrew Cash, who had recently signed a solo deal with Island Records, had begun hosting a weekly songwriting showcase at the Spadina Hotel called Acoustic Meltdown, which obtained a cult following among music-lovers in the city. Future Skydiggers Josh Finlayson and Andy Maize were frequent guests at those shows. When Andrew decided to end his residency at the Spadina, he turned it over to the new musical collective, which had taken the enigmatic name Skydiggers.

Fast forward a few decades, and that group has become one of Canada’s iconic roots-rock bands. One day, if someone plots the development of the Canadian roots rock community, they may discover that many, if not all, roads lead to the Skydiggers. With The Truth About Us: A Twenty Year Retrospective (May '09) the band's stellar body of music finally gets the compilation it deserves. This celebration of Skydiggers’ music is an uplifting, toe-tapping, heartbreaking collection that will remain with you long after the last note has died out. The only thing you'll be left wondering is, why did it take so long?

Amelia Curran is a seeker. Nearly a decade ago she left St. John’s for Halifax, but still pines for Newfoundland every single day. With a number of East Coast Music Award nominations and an extensive discography, including: War Brides (2006), Lullaby for Barflies (2002), Trip Down Little Road (2001), and Barricade (2000), Curran knew it was finally time to make a record at home.

Over the past two years she recorded with Don Ellis in various caverns in St. John’s, the city of legends, from the abandoned CBC building on Duckworth Street to an old farm house on the fringes of town. For Curran St. John’s captures the essence of her inner huntress.

A songwriter by trade, but a writer at heart, Curran believes language is everything. She describes the craft of song-writing as an act of “expressing the inexpressible, a means of describing the indescribable.”

Rich in metaphor, language and instrumentation, Amelia speaks to unrequited longing, the notion of belonging and reflections on love both lost and found. Curran grapples with notions of self, memory, forgiveness and desire. “There is a reason matters of the heart havebeen the subject for artists for centuries. It is uncontrollable and owns us. Even to give up on love is to break one's own heart, which in itself is a precious part of love.”

The Skydiggers website • myspace

Amelia Curran website • myspace