Lisa Moran of Three Gut Records announces it's final release: "There was never a master plan for Three Gut. Which I suppose is our greatest strength and weakness all wrapped up in one! There is no real long winded reason. It just feels like it's time to move on."

I for one was lucky enough to be there near the beginning, when the band names were a little different and a little less polished. I saw a variation of The Jim Guthrie Quintet back Aaron Riches, as The Royal City All Stars (Guelph, Ontario is commonly reffered to as The Royal City), was at the very first Gentleman Reg CD release, and put Three Gut artist Tyler Clark Burke in her very first art show.

It seems only fitting to say goodbye to Three Gut by focusing on the three (gut) bands that were there at the very start of it all: Royal City, Jim Guthrie, and Gentleman Reg.

I went back through my old recordings of each band and decided there would be no better way to say farewell to the label than by offering up some music. What are words but lyrics without music, right?

Below you will find three (gut) tracks each from the first three artists signed to the label from the earliest live recordings I have for each band. That's 40 minutes worth of music (and a few unreleased songs, too). I recorded each show but for Jim's, which is where I will begin.


Jim Guthrie (TGR001)

Jim Guthrie was always a musical force in Guelph. The first time I ever saw him was as part of an outfit called the Cigarette Kids. He sat cross-legged and smoking on a small makeshift stage. Years later he had an array of cassette releases from which he harvested A Thousand Songs. By the albums release he had built up a band named the Jim Guthrie Quintet with Nathan Lawr (drums), James Ogilvie (keyboards), Evan Gordan (guitar), and Simon Osborne (bass). These tracks were recorded by someone named "Ryan."

The Jim Guthrie Quintet — Live at The Trasheteria, March 16, 1999
"Undying Love"
"Sexy Drummer"
"Don't Sweat the Small Things"

Royal City (TGR002)

I first knew Aaron Riches as the drummer of Minnow in 1993. But in 1995 he went solo and released two CDs under his own name before hooking up with the Jim Guthrie Quintet,who without James Ogilvie became the Royal City All Stars. When the time came to release the record, Aaron dropped his name from the album art and the name was further shortened to the more memorable Royal City.

Royal City — Live at Ted's Wrecking Yard, March 16, 2001
"Muddy Creek"
"Dirt Fuck"
"Royal City Theme"

Gentleman Reg (TGR003)

Reg wouldn't remember this, but I saw him at his CD release for The Theoretical Girl and would later become his roomate for several years. Reg's band has changed a few times over the years having members of The Arcade Fire, The Constantines, and Royal City in at any one time. For the following acoustic performance his band was Jim Guthrie and Owen Pallette (Hidden Cameras/Final Fantasy).

Gentleman Reg — Acoustic Set at Soundscapes, April 20, 2002
"The Three Most Important Girls"
"Plan On Including Me"
"Statement"

BONUS: Gentleman Reg's "The Boyfriend Song"



As a special bonus, I am making available a preview of Gentlemag Reg's debut video of "The Boyfriend Song." The video will be appearing on his website within the week, but in a much smaller format.

Some of you may have seen an earlier cut of the video, which was a bit rougher cut and a different colour, but all has been repaired and finalised.

Not only is it an amazing song, but also a fantastic video.
Directed by Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene), filmed by Chris Grismer and Kevin Drew, edited by Iris Fraser, with additional help from George Vale, Sarah Haywood, and Stephen Choeng.

Most importantly it's inspired by the Paris Hilton Sex Tapes, so it's filmed in night vision with boys and girls running about in their underwear, and Reg in a shower. This video is hot!

Click here to view.

Feel free to tell your friends.

Thanks to Reg and Lisa for permission to post the tracks.