Left Wing, Chicken Wing

“Left wing, right wing, chicken wing — it’s all the same to me,”— Woody Guthrie

Hamilton, Ontario is not an arts scene to mess with. You see, it’s not easy being Toronto’s neighbour when it comes to cultural events. But Hamilton does it right, and Put On Your Drinking Cap’s compilation release Left Wing, Chicken Wing is further testament to the fact.

Once upon a time, Hamilton-area arts and culture enthusiast Dave Kuruc organized the Hamilton Outdoor Arts Exhibition at his store, Mixed Media. The exhibition, designed to showcase indie businesses and artists and, of course, their desirable wares, garnered musical attention when Put On Your Drinking Cap Records principles Andrew Eckart and Chad Ingles were hard at work, assisting with the organization. “We decided that, along with helping on the Hamilton Outdoor Arts Exhibition, we would do a similar outreach at the same time to the local music community,” says Eckart. “The response was great and we ended up getting some really cool things on Left Wing, Chicken Wing.”

So why the title? “We took from Woody Guthrie’s quote because it’s an attitude which illustrates the way in which we approach music,” details Eckart. “Some of the songs on here could be interpreted as politicalsocial commentaries. We haven’t tried to do that yet because all the songs on here are here because they are all the same thing— good, authentic music.”

You can now hear this album on campus radio stations across Canada, and the entire album is available online here!