Justin Bird & The Thorns of Venus

Justin Bird, musician, actor and general bon vivant, is a singer/songwriter originally from Moncton, New Brunswick. He cites his influences as David Bowie and Lou Reed, and his music finds a mixture between classic glam-noir romps, moon rock, and the more dissonant and unsavoury tones of jazz.

Kingston is a town whose musical roots run deep and wide, and most everyone who has taken up the calling to play and perform there is connected in some way, shape or form. People say, “It’s a music town!”, and it is where the Thorns of Venus was formed.

Justin Bird arrived in this environment in 1993, having already played in numerous bands in Moncton, New Brunswick, another town awakened by the musical evolutions happening across the continent at that time.

It could easily be seen Kingston was fertile musical territory, with lots of bands playing in many venues eager to accommodate this great creative surge. Jon Stewart (guitar/saxophone), Benji Perosin (keys/trumpet), Rob Radford (drums), and Alec Barken (bass) were already locked into this musical world, exploring its bright stages and darkened corners.

Bonded in friendship and a deep appreciation of one another’s talents, Thorns of Venus emerged in 2016, craving ecstatic music-making, filled with a desire to give Justin’s songs the voice they deserved. In a long but fruitful process, songs were shaped, and performances honed, resulting in an album of confounded beauty. It soars and crashes with aplomb, both at once bombastic and tender, sonically crafted with engineer/mixer/co-producer Aaron Holmberg (Full Frequency Productions), formerly of the legendary Bathouse Studio. While the creation process was long, second takes were kept to a minimum, and the abandoned bank it was recorded in only added to the sense of mystery in the music.

Their music and this album are a testament to their over 20-year friendship with one another, as well as the inspiration drawn from the city they live in.

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