Collaborators

Jarrett Bartlett
Recording Engineer (2004 - present)
Before The Acorn had a name, I’d already worked with this unflappable New Brunswicker for about four years. This fella has had a hand in mixing, engineering, double checking, correcting, and tolerating almost every song I’ve written. 

T. Jeffrey Malecki
Drums (2004 - 2012)
I remember Kepler’s Samir Khan coming up to me after one of The Acorn’s first full-band shows, and saying “That’s a shit-hot band you’ve got there.” A heavy third of that shit’s heat came from Drumbo Ontario’s T. Jeffrey Malecki. Hell, I didn’t even know this mercurial genius even played drums for the first three years that I knew him. Jeffrey went on to make indelible marks on our first five records. He gave Blankets its rhythmic idiosyncrasy, GHM its polyrhythms, and No Ghost its bite. 

Ho Yan ‘Howie’ Tsui
Guitars (2004 - 2010)

Howie and I met in the Summer of 2002 at (concert) when he and his future wife Madi were on their way to see Deerfhoof and Frog Eyes in MTL. We quickly bonded over our love of experimental music, hip hop, and cooking. He agreed to play on The Pink Ghosts drunk at a house party. The next six years would see him dependably pluck inimitable melodies from the aether, and be a life-affirming presence on stage and on the road. A visual artist first and foremost, you can keep up with his remarkable career here: www.howietsui.com

Jeff DeButte
Bass, Guitars, Vocals (2004 - 2010)
Jeff DeButte may very well be the most intuitive and complimentary harmonizing singer I ever work with in my lifetime. In Ottawa’s insular art rock scene in the early 2000’s, Jeff was someone I knew I had a kinship with long before I met him. A dazzling intellect, music school chops, and a rare kind of sensitivity made him an indispensable ally as I navigated songwriting...and trying to “run” a band. Glory Hope Mountain owes a lot of its subtle but counter-intuitive structures to his influence and creativity. He also got me into Talk Talk. 

Keiko Devaux
Piano, Keys (2006 - 2008)
Keiko’s first language is music. We met at Ottawa’s SAW Centre where her now defunct, experimental art-rock band People For Audio were playing on a frigid December night in 2005. She introduced me to minimalist composition, and offered The Acorn a sense of space we hadn’t quite grasped yet, and one I’m ever reaching for. Her piano chords open Glory Hope Mountain and I still get chills to this day. I said “Can you make the chords sound like heartbreaking church bells on a Sunday morning?” and that was that. Keiko has gone on to become the renowned composer we all knew she’d become. I encourage you to explore her incredible and ever-growing body of work: www.keikodevaux.com

Pat Johnson
Drums, Bass (2008 - )

Martin Charbonneau
bass (2012 - )

Jordan Howard
guitar (2009 - 2012)

Steve Lappano
percussion/bass (2009 - 2012)

Shaun Weadick
percussion, guitars (2007 - 2008)

Adam Saikaley
keys (2010 - 2015)

Mike Dubue
keys/bass (2008 - 2009)

Casey Mecija
vocals (2007)

Boyhood
vocals (2015)

Flecton Bigsky
vocals (2007)

Sylvie Smith
vocals (2015)

Jacob Bryce
drums, percussion (2004)

John Higney
lapsteel (2004)

Pascal De La Quis
drums (2015 - 2017)

Pierre-Luc Clement
percussion/keys (2017)

Jonas Bonetta
piano/production (2015)

Mike Essoudry
drums (2015)

Ryan Carley

James Bunton

Stefanie Power

Michael Feuerstack

Paul Kearns