Awaken the Snakes

• Tracklist

Anti-folk/rock troubadour, writing life that haunts neon-lit doorways and threadbare rooms. A musical disciple of Howlin\' Wolf and Crazy Horse, honing a blend of post-punk folk in bars from Saskatoon to Shanghai, Montreal to Moscow, and Halifax to Helsinki. Fiercely independent, and one of the hardest-working Canadian musicians around with over 20 years of Replacements-inspired scrappy club shows notched into his Telecaster. Alun Piggins has entrenched himself in the business as a fearless self-starter, writing, producing, and engineering releases on his own label, Moldy Floor Records. His international focus has taken him across Canada and the US, China, Russia, Finland, and the UK. And his impassioned songwriting and guitar-shredding performances have won him audiences across all genres. He has shared the stage with artists ranging from Fugazi to Peter Case. Cleaning Women (Finnish avant-garde techno) to Be Good Tanyas. Cat Power to Fred Eaglesmith. \'Awaken the Snakes\' follows Alun\'s first solo CD \'Balladesque\' and features a more upbeat \'band\' sound than the folkish debut. In fact, fellow Morganfields alumni Jay Santiago and Mike Pond appear on the CD along with a host of other guests including Eric Bridenbaker (Plastic Bag), Burke Carroll, Steve Donald, John Francom, James Gray (Blue Rodeo), Jeff King, Oh Susanna and Paul White. The entire CD (except drums and keyboards) was recorded in Alun\'s basement, the aptly-named \'Moldy Floor Studios\' and although no animals were harmed during the recording, there is a series of curious looking shallow grave-like excavations in Alun\'s backyard. The CD is dedicated to Alun\'s dad.