Usually, when an ex-girlfriend tells you that her friend Chris has recorded some new songs, and she can get you a demo, you're inclined to shudder. Your next step is to politely take the CD-R handed you, promise to listen to it, and add it to the stack of other demos you never intend to put in the stereo...unless, of course, your ex-girlfriend's friend Chris is Chris Crisci of the Appleseed Cast.
That demo were the first four songs I'd hear from Old Canes, Crisci's side project. Over the next few years, Old Canes would always contain Crisci, as well as a constantly rotating cast of characters. Sometimes the band would be Crisci and one person, other times the stage would be packed. Every time, the show was phenomenal, and it felt like a gathering of friends, rather than a concert.
The actual album, Early Morning Hymns (which you can stream here) was notable for Crisci's stipulation that Second Nature release the record as-is, with no further studio fuckery. The demos are even more raw than that, sounding more singer-songwriter-y, with the acoustic guitar especially notable on this song, "Taxi On Vermont."
MP3: Old Canes, "Taxi On Vermont" (demo)
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