Sprag Session (Formerly the Colin Grant Band)

"'Sprag' is a Shakespearean word for "quick & lively", but also means "spacey" when used to describe   someone of "a sprag mind", as they are constantly in cognitive motion. It also is the name of an auto part, which employs a number of synchronized rotating sprags that allow a transmission to smoothly change gears, which can also lock to give traction. This double-meaning describes both the artistic and musical aspects   of the band's sound, paired with the word 'session' give both contemporary and traditional references. It may  be an unusual name, but we're an unusual band, and are confident that we have already built the sound of  Sprag Session, and we shall make it ours." Colin Grant

Lingering somewhere amidst the rich, soulful roots of traditional Cape Breton music and the grooves of a thousand branches of rock and funk, Colin Grant embarks on his latest project: a dynamic and thoughtful  mingling of beats and melodies from an extensive host of musical influences. Far from the awkward malaise of mohawked bagpipers and kilted punks, the Colin Grant Band has created a kind of Celtic fusion that is  as much Béla Fleck and the Flecktones and Frank Zappa as it is Ashley MacIsaac.

With a trad trio comprised of the manic Jason ”leaden-left-hand” Roach (piano, Dawn and Margie Beaton)  and embarrassingly talented Darren MacMullen (mandolin, guitar, banjo, J.P. Cormier) Grant hooked up   with the rough and red-eyed blues/funk rhythm section of Merlin Clarke and Donnie Calabrese  (Tom Fun   Orchestra). Together, the group produces a fervent yet calculated rhythm that backs an expressively diverse range of tunes. While the lively sound never strays too distantly from its Cape Breton roots, the CGB has   found an open ear in everyone from indie scenesters to blue-haired bingo stampers.

2010 brought the release of Grant’s album ‘Fun For The Whole Family’, winner of Music Nova Scotia’s Roots/Traditional Recording of the Year, and nominee for Instrumental Album of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. 2011 has been the biggest yet for CGB with tours of New England, Ireland, and the U.K., and appearances at Celtic Fest Vancouver, Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival, and Kansas City  Irish Fest, in addition to time in-studio to record their debut album.