Red Orkestra's Johnny Charmer Contemplates Life With The Machines

Waterloo, Ont.-based musician Johnny Charmer has played a number of roles in his young career, including stints as part of the bands Red Autumn Fall and Charmer. But when he started making music on his own under the moniker Red Orkestra, he quickly found himself playing the part of innovator as well.

Two years ago, Fading Ways Records president Neil Leyton took an interest in Charmer's music and came to him with a novel idea: release an album that can be legally manipulated and traded by the public.

Charmer bit and, in 2004, Red Orkestra's After The Wars became the first internationally distributed CD to be released under a Creative Commons license — a classification that enables the lawful reuse and sharing of cultural works.

Charmer, still intent upon flying in the face of convention, has just released Red Orkestra's second LP, Life With The Machines, under the same share-ware license. It's actions like this, he hopes, that will help people look at the world in a different way.

"If there's a common theme running through the album, it is one of resistance to the status quo," Charmer explains. "The name of the record reflects that underlying theme... In the same way that machines simply serve a purpose and never define that purpose themselves, so too do most people simply play the role assigned to them by others.

"I realize that this is not a new concept, and some might even go so far as to call it cliche, but I think it's vital that this be taken very seriously. It seems we're becoming less feeling — less human — with each passing generation."

The road to Red Orkestra's two releases hasn't been an easy one for Charmer to traverse. Over the last few years, he's had to recruit a number of rotating musicians to play as his live and recording bands. Charmer hopes that the latest incarnation of his group — Stephen Parkinson, Neil MacDonald, and Rick Andrade — might be the one that sticks (at least for another record or two).

"With the new bandmates there has, of course, been a change in the way my songs have been interpreted in both the live capacity as well as in the studio," ponders Charmer.

"I think Life With The Machines is more upbeat, musically speaking, compared to After The Wars, but I don't think I strayed too far from the first record. I do think it's an improvement, though."

Even through numerous lineup changes, Charmer feels he's been able to stick to his creative vision and his unique brand of music — a difficult-to-describe genre that many in the industry have labelled "urban folk."

"The folk influences are still present on the new record, but perhaps not as apparent as on After The Wars," he explains. "Still, I'm loath to refer to my music as rock 'n' roll or pop because it really is neither, and 'urban folk' represents both the thematic and musical aspects of my songs better than either of the others do."

Charmer says that one of the main reasons he's continually able to see his plans through is producer/engineer Steve Payne, who's helmed both Red Orkestra discs.

"Steve and I go back a number of years. He's got a great head for music. I think that without him I still would have made a record, but it would have either cost me twice as much or would have been half as good. Or maybe both. He knows what he's doing, and more importantly, he knows what I'm doing."

Though Charmer and his Red Orkestra continue to gain momentum, the songwriter is reluctant to make the move to the Big Smoke. He's watched the notoriety of Toronto-based acts continue to ascend, but, in the end, Charmer believes that he's better off in a smaller city.

"The pull from Toronto is something that is always present since it's the central locale for so many great venues, labels, studios, et cetera, but I've been playing in Toronto for over six years now with various bands, and I've never been able to reconcile myself with the idea of actually moving there simply because I think the standard of living for artists in the outlying cities — such as Waterloo, London, St. Catharines, Kingston — is better."