Bruce Peninsula's Big Mouthful

Bruce Peninsula are a band on the brink... of what, nobody knows yet.

The 12-member group that grew from Matt Cully and Misha Bower's archival music listening sessions are about to mutate again. The year-long recording project that had them hopping through eight Toronto locations (including St. George The Martyr Church) has finally given birth to a debut album, A Mountain Is A Mouth. But before anybody hit record, the name Bruce Peninsula was already getting around. A trip to the crowded press section on the band's website is proof that their live performances make lasting impressions.

"I think we're lucky that we've had some interest in our music, and I guess it's a testament to the fact that we enjoy playing live and I think that comes across to people," Cully says about the early buzz their shows have generated. "It's like an extension of our private existence as friends getting together and doing it anyway. We're kind of bringing that out into the public just for a little bit."

With the new album on the cusp of release and an east coast tour booked, Cully and Bower know their band are going to have to change. Coordinating recording sessions with 12 musicians wasn't easy, and the group will shrink to seven people on tour.

Complicating matters is the fact that the Bruce Peninsula choir is packed with talented artists who have thriving solo careers or other bands. Katie Stelmanis and Ohbijou's Casey Mecija both contributed their voices to the album, as did Isla Craig, who has since stepped back from Bruce Peninsula to concentrate on her own songs.

Factor in the additional pressures of finding a label to release A Mountain Is A Mouth in the fall, and you have to wonder how the need for professionalism will affect the friends-having-fun vibe that Bruce Peninsula was built on.

Cully says he and his core bandmates are ready for anything.

"We're moving into a phase where it has to be more professional, or you have to think about yourself as a musician and [about] your career and what you want to do. I think that we are committed to take the next step."

You can see Bruce Peninsula here:

July 31 Halifax, NS @ Gus' Pub w/The Got To Get Got, B.A. Johnston and Play Guitar
Aug. 1-3 Sackville, NB @ SappyFest
Aug. 4 Fredericton, NB @ Capitol Bar w/The Got To Get Got
Aug. 5 Montreal, QC @ Le Divan Orange w/The Got To Get Got and Phantomes
Aug. 6 Ottawa, ON @ Zaphod Beeblebrox w/The Got To Get Got and Poorfolk
Aug. 9 Toronto, ON @ Whippersnapper Gallery w/The Got To Get Got and One Heart Many Hands
Aug. 22 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern w/Cuff The Duke and The D'Urbervilles
Aug. 23 Peterborough, ON @ Peterborough Folk Festival
Aug. 24 Brantford, ON @ The Ford Plant w/The D'Urbervilles, Elbow Beach Surf Club and The Racoon Wedding
Sept. 18 Hamilton, ON @ Casbah w/Apostle Of Hustle

Here are the tracks on A Mountain Is A Mouth:

"Outside/Inside"
"Steamroller"
"2nd 4th World War"
"Satisfied"
"Shutters"
"Weave Myself A Dress"
"Crabapples"
"Shanty"
"Drinking All Day"
"Northbound/Southbound"