The Paperboys: Канадская фолк-группа из Ванкувера

Canadian folk music band
the Canadian band

The Paperboys (sometimes billed and credited as Tom Landa and the Paperboys) are a Canadian folk music band from Vancouver that formed in 1991. The band has had a variety of members and line ups since its original formation, with Landa remaining as the sole founding member, although veteran banjoist/bassist Cam Salay often returns as a guest performer. Known for consistently creating pop songs with melodic hooks, their music has been called versatile, with a wide range of influences, melding diverse musical influences more successfully than some other Irish rock bands have previously. Initially, Landa discovered Celtic music via the Canadian band Spirit of the West, whose flautist and co vocalist was Geoffrey Kelly. Kelly would later produce half of The Paperboys' first studio album Late as Usual with Colin Nairne (producer & guitarist for Barney Bentall) and eventually end up joining the band full time. The original Late As Usual band members included Moritz Behm on fiddle, Neil Burnett on vocals, penny whistle & celtic harp, Glenn Kruger (the Stoaters, Real McKenzies) on drums & vocals, and Cam Salay on banjo and bass. In 1995, the band was later joined by Shona Le Mottée on fiddle, and Shannon Saunders on a variety of instruments (bass, fiddle, banjo), to contribute to the band's live shows. In 2010, the band consisted of Landa, Kalissa Hernandez on fiddle, Brad Gillard on banjo and bass, Geoffrey Kelly on flutes, and Sam Esecson on drums, with a three piece horn section consisting of Kareem Kandi on saxophone, Nick LaRiviere on trombone, and either Miguelito Valdes or Greg Lyons on trumpet.

The Paperboys released a cassette album called "January" in 1993 as their first commercially available recording, and sold many copies at local shows around their hometown of Vancouver. Those original recordings were never released on CD (except for the track "Judy's Wedding", which is featured on Tenure), but a few of the songs from January ("January", "Come Tella Me") were re recorded by the new lineup for the Late As Usual CD. The Paperboys released their first CD studio album, Late as Usual, in 1994, on their self established label Stompy Discs, with an associated production and management company, Stomp Productions. In 2000, The Paperboys released Postcards, their third studio album, which also was nominated in the same category, for their third straight nomination, but Postcards did not win. In 2000, they won another West Coast Music Award for the Best Roots Recording category for Postcards. Postcards, which has songs that range musically from bluegrass, zydeco, flamenco, Irish traditional, country, to Celtic new age Native, and with songs that mix some of the themes, was described as a satisfying example of how far the versatile scope of The Paperboys' music extends. The Paperboys' 2006 album, The Road to Ellenside, is named after the English mansion, Ellenside, Lake District near Ireby where the band, together with producer and engineer Mark Tucker, recorded the album. After a performance in the area, a fan invited the band to spend the night in her mansion for dinner. Landa told her that the home would be an amazing place to record a record, to which the fan replied, "Why not?" One year later, they returned to the Ellenside mansion, living there in Cumbrian countryside full time while recording their studio album. Additional recording work for The Road to Ellenside was done at the Tragically Hip's studio in Bath, England and in Vancouver. On The Road to Ellenside, The Paperboys covered Sting's song Fragile from his 1987 album Nothing Like the Sun. The band had intended to film their music video for the track in Cuba, but because of high insurance costs from American companies due to the United States embargo against Cuba, opted to film in Morelia, Mexico. In 2009, the band released Callithump. This release features the band name "Los Paperboys" on the front cover, although this is not the official new band name.

The Paperboys have performed and appeared in the Genie Award nominated film Marine Life, for which Landa also wrote the musical score, and in the Genie Award winning Lunch with Charles, which was the first ever film co production between Hong Kong and Canada. The band have also made numerous appearances on Canadian national television. The band has performed and been interviewed on Vicki Gabereau, The Mike Bullard Show, The Jim Byrnes Show, Urban Rush, Worldbeats, and CBC Television's Terminal City. In 2001, the Red House Records label asked The Paperboys to contribute a track to A Nod to Bob, a 60th birthday homage to Bob Dylan. Their rendition of "All Along the Watchtower" was consistently noted in reviews as one of the highlights of the album. In honor of their former drummer, Paul Lawton, who passed on suddenly in 2005, the band worked on recording ten songs written by him, for a tribute album that would include recorded material by Lawton. The band has been asked to return almost every year to several festivals across Europe, headlining at the United Kingdom's Warwick and Trowbridge festivals, as well as at festivals in Germany and Denmark. The band has also toured in Switzerland, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, France, and Austria. The loyalty of fans to The Paperboys has been previously described as "a growing cult like following in recent years."

The Washington Post and Billboard have referred to The Paperboys' music as 'reminiscent of early Elton John and Van Morrison', and they have also been compared at times to a "laid back country version" of The Eagles. Other descriptions of The Paperboys have described a fusion of Celtic folk with Bluegrass, Mexican, Eastern European, African, zydeco, soul and country influences. Landa has said that one of his own stronger influences in music is the Mexican style of music called Son Jarocho, whose most well known song is Ritchie Valens's La Bamba. The band has also been noted for recording a number of pop and rock covers — including The Beatles' "I've Just Seen a Face" on Molinos and Sting's "Fragile" on The Road to Ellenside — which incorporate traditional Celtic jigs and reels into the arrangements; "Fragile", additionally, incorporates lyrics from both the English and Spanish versions of the song. According to Landa, his bandmate Geoffrey Kelley's other band, Spirit of the West, is a major influence on himself and The Paperboys. Landa said, "Even when playing with (Geoffrey), and him being in the same room, I will still say they were a very big influence on me. I'd almost dare to say that had it not been my hearing their records, I would never have been into Celtic music to begin with so the band may not even exist."