Chance Meeting
Friday June 6th, 2025 with Heavy Ben
Psych-Fi's, Del-Fi's, Bop Fi's: Jerry Leger's Spontaneous Side Dishes
Chance meeting in a room of mirrors of a frantic piano and a crowd pleaser
We wish a belated happy 40th birthday to Toronto's Jerry Leger (b. 1985-04-19). Leger has 20+ releases in the past 20 years with his band the Situation, as a solo artist, and three "Fi" projects. Many were produced by Michael Timmins of The Cowboy Junkies and released on their Latent Recordings label.
This program features an hour of music recorded live on the floor in Toronto over the past decade from three Jerry Leger projects that have not been played on CKCU before.
- The Bop Fi's are a mixture of poetry and jazz
- The Del Fi’s explore various aspects of roots music
- The Psych Fi's describe themselves as "spontaneous psychedelic rock"
https://jerryleger.bandcamp.com/music
https://www.discogs.com/artist/2177673-Jerry-Leger
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Leger
(to embiggen the show icon, right-click and choose "Open image in new tab")
| You Got Away From Me (instrumental background) Jerry Leger - The Good Old Days Are Back In Drag - Golden Rocket Records - 2011 
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| The Bop Fi's are a mixture of poetry and jazz, spearheaded by singer-songwriter, Jerry Leger. Concept is a branch out from the spontaneous rock 'n' roll collective, The Del Fi's. 'Don't Lose Your Beauty' was recorded live in the studio Friday September 30th, 2016 in the East End of Toronto.
https://thebopfis.bandcamp.com/album/dont-lose-your-beauty |
| Someone Is Thinking Of You The Bop Fi's - Don't Lose Your Beauty - Eastside Confectionery Records - 2016
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| Kill The Underground The Bop Fi's - Don't Lose Your Beauty - Eastside Confectionery Records - 2016
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| The Piano Went Frantic The Bop Fi's - Don't Lose Your Beauty - Eastside Confectionery Records - 2016
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| I don’t know what The Del Fi’s are; the more I think about it, the more I don’t know what to say. But I know it’s right, and I know it’s good. I know it works. I mean, it’s Jerry Leger’s thing, but when I asked him what he would say The Del Fi’s are, all he would tell me is that I (meaning me) am The Del Fi’s, just as you (meaning you) are The Del Fi’s. And because you are you, you understand.
https://thedelfis.bandcamp.com/album/crowd-pleaser https://thedelfis.bandcamp.com/album/residuals |
| Who's Been Haunting You? The Del Fi's - Crowd Pleaser - Eastside Confectionery Records - 2015
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| Rockin' In The Funeral Home #1 The Del Fi's - Crowd Pleaser - Eastside Confectionery Records - 2015
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| Houdini The Del Fi's - Residuals - Golden Rocket Records - 2018
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| You & Louise The Del Fi's - Residuals - Golden Rocket Records - 2018
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| Street Anxiety is the new offering by the spiritual leader of The Del Fi's, Hank Holly. Some songs are soundscapes, mini-soundtracks, coffeehouse ramblings and warped records.
Recorded in a darkened corner by a window onto my old 80s Tascam 4-track tape recorder, we got into the deep corners of the soul. Hank told me he liked watching the tape move through its plastic body. Seeing that and the VU meters in their window wiper glory, added to the direction these recordings took from original ideas. He also said to me on one of these nights, “strange times but haven't they always been strange, Leger?” That's when I fell into the “bright swirl” trance. “If the fish are still swimmin', then life is still worth livin'.” I really dug producing Hank Holly again. Our last offering was the trick r treat sound-tape, Halloween Music. That was meant to be played just how you would wanna hear it, blasting between a jack-o-lantern and a waterfall of candy bars into a pillow on Halloween night. Street Anxiety is a collection of songs, some have words, some are instrumental, that have a feeling, rather than a purpose. What the songs all have in common is the need to be released from its own four walls. Now they're ready to go out walking but they keep on the back roads and stay close to home. At the moment, I don't blame them and it makes me feel good to be within their friend circle. Now you are too. I hope you find some cautious comfort in this album, as I do. “Good, understood, say goodbye.” - Jerry Leger, producer, Sept, 2021 https://thedelfis.bandcamp.com/album/street-anxiety |
| Night Stepping Hank Holly - Street Anxiety - (self-released) - 2021
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| Can Con, the debut album from the enigmatic Canadian collective The Psych Fi's, comes via Bobo Integral. The group is an offshoot of Canadian singer-songwriter Jerry Leger's rock 'n' roll side project, The Del Fi's. Just as The Psych Fi's describe themselves as "spontaneous psychedelic rock," The Del Fi's recorded two albums characterized by spontaneity, spirit, and trust.
This time Leger brings his songs to a revolving door of musicians and singers (18 members, including Jerry, in the case of Can Con). Most of the performers have not heard these compositions before recording them. They have no chance to second-guess; they must be fearless and jump in with both feet. Recorded live in a haunted Toronto studio on a cold January 2024 day by fellow "Fi" Aaron Goldstein (Espanola, Kathleen Edwards, Daniel Romano), Can Con captures a moment in time (which is relative). Leger acts as a sort of loose conductor, allowing certain soloists to emerge from the musical collage. Listeners will get lost in "Summer's Right Around the Corner", which also features Don Stevenson (founding member of the legendary '60s psychedelic rock band Moby Grape) on backing vocals, alongside Kate Boothman (Katie Cruel) and Angie Hilts. This sound has evolved out of Del Fi performances, specifically when musicians Nichol Robertson, Jason Kenemy, Dave Clark (The Rheostatics, Woodshed Orchestra), and Michael Eckert were involved. Leger and these "Fi's" eagerly ventured down less-traveled roads to destinations unknown. Other Psych Fi's include Ken Yoshioka, Matthew Cooke, Les Armstrong, Chris Bennett, Shawn Clarke, Katie Methot, and members of Jerry Leger & The Situation (Dan Mock, Kyle Sullivan, Alan Zemaitis). https://bobointegral.bandcamp.com/album/can-con |
| Alone in a Room of Mirrors / James Cagney The Psych Fi's - Can Con - Bobo Integral - 2024
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| Summer's Right Around the Corner The Psych Fi's - Can Con - Bobo Integral - 2024
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Planting peppers in the garden and digging deep in my mind for a description of the music without being able to make out lyrics. Hipster Factory comes to my smoky faculties.. In house to make this comment where I can now listen more clearly and..... I AM LOVING THIS !! Another new beauty introduction from you, Ben ! Thanks for being a Heavy Friend and don't ever stop !
3:16 PM, June 6th, 2025