SPOOL ROCKS THE HOUSE OF MIRACLES

After an over 30-year hiatus, London-based alternative rock band Spool reunited for a re- release of their album Pasting the Post Dry. They held two shows in Cambridge on Aug. 15 and 16 at the House of Miracles. Local band Songs for Listening opened for them both nights.

While members have come and gone over the years, this show included Ian Newton on rhythm guitar and vocals, Greggor Gilbert on guitar, Clay Corneil on bass guitar and Steve McMinn on drums.

Spool performed for an intimate audience of nearly 50 people—a mix of both old and new fans from all over Ontario. Their music is from a golden era of alternative rock; the show featured organic folky and grungy songs from 1992-1994. Newton was approached by a former fan, Jeff, to bring the band together and re-release the album. He then reached out to other members.

McMinn was not on the original album, but agreed to the reunion nonetheless.

This opportunity seemed like something you couldn’t miss. As soon as you hear about doing this, I was like, ‘Hey, I have to find a way to do this. And now’,” he said.

“And my unvarnished, unbiased opinion not being on the album is that it is one of the greatest Canadian Albums there ever was, and it’s up there with all the greats, in my opinion,” McMinn said.

Newton said that the reunion felt as if very little time had passed, although they had led very separate lives since they last performed. They never officially disbanded.

“It’s fantastic. I felt like we were all the kind of the same, but a little more mellow, but our our jokes were just as good, if

not better, like there’s so much laughing, we felt like the indie rock version of The Monkees,” Newton said.

As they grew as a band, they stopped playing certain earlier songs. Gilbert said that the reunion was an opportunity to revisit earlier songs. They made a few changes to some songs, but the band appreciated their plasticity and ongoing relevance.

“I forgot how good some of them were, and it was really fun to play, like, some of the first stuff we wrote, and that was really refreshing for me,” Gilbert said.

“I realized in listening all the lyrics that a lot of my lyrics, they’re kind of almost like social critiques…So, in a way, a bunch of that still rings true to me. So, I feel like I could sing the lyrics with some authenticity, even if the poetry is not as perfect,” Newton said.

Newton said Spool members hope to continue being a part of each others’ lives. He said he hopes younger generations will also continue to create art and community.

“I think it’s really important right now for people to find little ways of being creative, you know. And actually, I think it’s really important for people to be hanging out with friends and having good food,” Newton said.

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