905-921-3521 • steve@sinnicks.com • Hamilton, ON (Canada)

Words, Music, Solidarity The song is everything. The attitude is not.

Music is a game of survivors and Steve Sinnicks is nothing if not here to stay.

If you live in Southern Ontario, there is a good chance that you have seen Steve Sinnicks on stage. Steve plays pubs, clubs, campuses and festivals almost 365 days a year. Lefty, labour–side and not interested in who knows it, with the trio or solo, no two gigs are the same.

Original songs and acoustic shows ... anywhere draft beer or solidarity can be found.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“True songs about people, for the people” - Exclaim Magazine

“Thank God Steve Sinnicks is an undiscovered talent. It gives the world something to look forward to hearing” - Tom Wilson, Juno Award winning songwriter (Junkhouse, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings)

“Sinnicks’ wit is sharp and there is no rosy tint on his view of things. It’s rootsy people music you don’t hear on the radio anymore but is still live and well in the live halls.” - Hamilton Spectator

“Musical…Heartfelt…Entertaining” - Chart Magazine

"...in the tradition of Guthrie and Seeger...Hamilton's Steve Sinnicks is also one of the best "labour-singers" in Canada...if Woody were alive today he would want to hear Steve Sinnicks live!"- Jim Marino, Freewheeling Folk Show Smokin' Bluegrass Show 93.3 CFMU cfmu.mcmaster.ca "One hell of a smart find from our own backyard" - Penguin Eggs 10th Anniversary Edition

Copyright © S.G. Sinnicks All Rights Reserved.

mailto:steve@sinnicks.com

905-921-3521 • steve@sinnicks.com • Hamilton, ON (Canada)

Biography

The song is everything. The attitude is not.

For years, this has been Stephen Sinnicks' motto. Armed with his voice and an acoustic guitar, Sinnicks proves melodies and words can still mean something.

It used to be that, if you lived in southern Ontario, you probably saw the ubiquitous Mr. Sinnicks at some point - even if you didn't know it. Today, the same holds true...except it's no longer just southern Ontario. For almost 365 days a year, Sinnicks has played pubs, clubs, union halls, benefits, campuses and festivals all across the U.S. and Canada, either as a solo artist or backing musician.

Stephen Sinnicks started playing clubs before he could drive (let alone order pints). The 15-year-old drummer began to rack up credits, live or in the studio, with artists such as Tom Wilson, Ray Materick, Coyote Shivers, Big Smoke, Kim Deschamps, the Tartan Terrors, and even played a stint with Stompin' Tom Connors! Accomplished on the skins, Sinnicks decided to take another route. Armed with his acoustic guitar, he began to write and perform his original songs. His music has been likened to Nick Lowe, Billy Bragg, Lucinda Williams and other performers whose songcraft comes first. Due to a wealth of songs (not to mention keen observations and one-liners), no two gigs are ever the same. Since he began writing and performing on his own, Sinnicks has played anywhere and everywhere, so long as draft beer or solidarity can be found. Preferably both.

To date, Sinnicks has recorded three solo releases - Slow Learner, 5 Songs 5 Bucks and If You Don't Want The Genie, Don't Rub The Lamp. All three garnered campus, community and CBC radio play and featured an excellent line-up of serious players including Kim Deschamps (Blue Rodeo, Cowboy Junkies) Shelley Woods (The Killjoys), Randall Hill and Robin Aube (Sarah Harmer). The songs had the frank appeal of country without the cowboy hat...Celtic without the plastic shamrock...and a songwriter's sensibility that reflected the times in which we live. Singled out for praise and radio play were "1914," "The Ballad of Sam Lawrence," "Back Up The Chevy" and a break-neck version of "The Day The World Turned Upside Down." All three discs continue to sell online and off the stage.

After several years on the road, Sinnicks returned to Canada to record Red Meat and Blue 88's. In doing so, he has also returned to his roots: words, music and solidarity; acoustic guitar, meaningful lyrics and enduring performances. Blue 88's has been described by one reviewer as a cross between Mermaid Avenue Vol. II and someone at a kitchen party reading Gwynne Dyer's next book at 4 am (sponsored by Stoli vodka). There's a bit of Celtic kiss-off in tracks such as "Well-Heeled Man" and "Franklin Co. Queen", some nods to Difford/Tilbrook-style pop on the title track, and throughout there's a view of the world that's sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued - without being cynical.His efforts resulted in encouraging sales and 3 Hamilton Music Award nominations for Male Artist and Songwriter ofthe Year - though he walked off with Folk/Roots Recording of the Year. There is a war on...sarcasm, yes, cynicism, never.

Steve Sinnicks - Union Made and proudly Canadian!

James Tennant [Program Director, 93.3 CFMU FM - Hamilton, ON]

Copyright © S.G. Sinnicks All Rights Reserved.

mailto:steve@sinnicks.comhttp://cfmu.mcmaster.ca/

905-921-3521 • steve@sinnicks.com • Hamilton, ON (Canada)

Discography 1998 Truck Songs Compilation, Drog Records

1999 September 8 1977, Big Eddy And The Trailer Park 5

2000 Slow Learner, Independent

2001 Work Songs Compilation, Drog Records

2002 5 Songs 5 Bucks, Independent

2003 Songs Under 60 Seconds, Drog Records

2003 If You Don’t Want The Genie, Don’t Rub The Lamp, Independent

2004 Dressed to Kilt, with the Tartan Terrors

2005 Unpubbed, with the Tartan Terrors The Quest with Tartan Terrors (DVD)

2006 Who’s Your Paddy, with the Tartan Terrors

2007 Tartan Terrors Christmas CD

2008 A Farmer’s Hope, Independent

2008 Red Meat and Blue 88's, Independent

mailto:steve@sinnicks.com

905-921-3521 • steve@sinnicks.com • Hamilton, ON (Canada)

Backing Musician Or Solo Performer Performances:

NXNE, CMW, Edmonton Songwriters Festival, COCA Conference, Hamilton Days of Protest, Festival of Friends, Red Skies, Hamilton Place, Oakville Place, Sanderson Centre, Convocation Hall, Western University, McMaster University, Freshwater Folk Concerts, It’s Your Festival, Lindsay Academy Theatre, Capital Centre, The West End Cultural Centre, Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, Irish Cultural Centre Milwaukee, University of Memphis, University of South Carolina, and too many clubs to mention.

Opening Act For:

The Rheostatics, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Spirit of the West, Junkhouse, Fred Eaglesmith, Garnet Rogers, Ron Hawkins, Teenage Head.

Television:

Much Music, Open Mic with Mike Bullard, Breakfast Television, (City) Lunch T.V., News at Noon (OnTV), CFTO, The Big Breakfast (Winnipeg).

Radio:

CKCO, Y95, CFMU, CIUT, CJRT, CFRU, CHML, C101, CJAM, CKCU, CKDU, CBC Sunday Edition, Richard’s Roundup, NPR Philadelphia, CBC Fresh Air.

Live Credits:

Stompin’ Tom Conners, Tom Wilson, Stephen Fearing, Elizabeth Hill, Kim Deschamps, Big Smoke, Tartan Terrors, Scottish Dance Company of Canada, The Killjoys.

Recording Credits:

Shawn Brush, Ray Materick, Coyote Shivers, Harrison Kennedy, Jacob Moon, Rob Lamothe.

Copyright © S.G. Sinnicks All Rights Reserved.

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