From left to right:  Lindsay Arnold, Mike Davis, Jeff D. Michel

Hook & Nail is an eccentric folk/roots trio from Estevan, SK.  Three long-time friends, Jeff D. Michel, Mike Davis and Lindsay Arnold use rich vocal harmony to tell the stories of the prairies, past and present.  Their live performances combine the mandolin, acoustic and electric guitar to give their music the honesty of folk-music, the twang of country and the drive of pop/rock music.    Deriving inspiration from the oil-rich, coal mining area near Estevan, Hook & Nail’s songs delve into the personal accounts of historical events that have shaped life on the prairies today.   The stories within the music are similar to those you might hear around the kitchen table after a meal shared with friends and family: a blend of confessions, childhood memories, local history and rural legends.

Hook & Nail’s debut album, Ghosts of Taylorton, was released on physical media and to all digital/streaming services on September 28th, 2018.  Their first single from the album, Adeline, was selected for CBC Radio One afternoon programming across Canada and added to the Canadian Singer-Songwriter channel on the streaming CBC Music App.  Their second single, Two Tons,  has been added to over two dozen community and campus radio markets from Nova Scotia to Yellowknife.  Ghosts of Taylorton came in at #4 on SaskMusic’s Best Saskatchewan Albums of 2018 Top Ten List.     The band wrapped up 2018 with a performance at the Home Hardware Canada Cup of Curling in Estevan.

The band takes its name from an old farm house east of North Portal, SK.  A family member rented the property for a short time, dubbing it the Hook & Nail Ranch.  The century-old house received this moniker because everywhere you looked, there was either a hook or a nail in the wall, a prime example of practicality overruling aesthetic values until it becomes a style of its own.

Each member of Hook & Nail brings a unique set of abilities that combine to give their music the storytelling of folk-music, the twang of country and the drive of pop/rock music.  Multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jeff D. Michel has been active in the Estevan area since the early 90’s playing in both local bands (Shattered/Jim Galloway) as well as a family-based group (Generation ‘M’).  On Ghosts of Taylorton, he provides the rhythm section (bass guitar/percussion) and adds mandolin/electric guitar textures as well as lead/backing vocals.

Mike Davis has been around a guitar since the age of 14 and shortly after high school, began playing in several local bands (Black Tooth Grin), some of which resulted in tours of the Eastern & Midwest United States and Bermuda.  Ghosts of Taylorton is built on Mike’s solid acoustic and electric guitar riffs and his diverse lead/backing vocals.

Lindsay Arnold, an accomplished visual artist, served as the primary lyricist for the majority of the songs on Ghosts of Taylorton and in addition to backing vocals, lends her lead vocal to Drinkin’ Away and the album title track, Ghosts of Taylorton.  The images for the Ghosts of Taylorton cover and Adeline single cover were painted by Lindsay as an extension of her Tedium collection, a body of work that uses the doily to honour the process of aging and the anonymous, repetitive labour of women.