Spirit of Rasputin's

Tin Constellations

Saturday, October 24 at 8:00 pm
Westboro Masonic Hall,
430 Churchill Ave.N., Ottawa

Tickets: $25

Tin Constellations: A Band With a Story to Tell

by Evelyn Hickey

Every artist aims to tell a story. In a band, the story is not only told through the music but also in the relationships that form. Tin Constellations has taken on many forms but the friendships have always been the heart that has kept it alive.  

Andrew Robertson and Brent Smith met while teaching in the early 2000s. They clicked! They jammed! Later, as they started to merge into the music community, they met a like-minded creative spirit, Rob Snasdell-Taylor, aka Chops. The three quickly became, first friends and later bandmates. Their friendships solidified as their musical collaboration grew but it wasn’t until June of 2022 that they played their first official gig together. As a symbol of their friendship, each practice or performance begins with a well steeped cup of tea.  

Sally Robertson (cellist) was recently asked how she felt the band’s friendship and collaboration inspired her creativity. She responded: “It’s really rewarding when you contribute something and someone acknowledges it. That is something Tin Constellations does really well.” Every musician brings something special to the songs. The variety of instruments creates a “listening landscape”, as Sally described it, that captures the hearts and attention of the audience. “This wouldn’t be possible without the connections between band members.”

Carrying on with this metaphor of band as community, Corry Gernon (Andrew’s wife and Sally’s mom) has watched the band grow over the years and has been active in creating visual art to compliment the music, says: “The band is the centre but there is a whole array of different members of each family contributing as well.”

Art is meant to bring people together. The art of Tin Constellations creates a sense of community through story telling and experimenting with different lenses through which to see the environment. As an example, one song from the Cobden project was inspired by a band member reflecting:  

“I wonder what this looks like to birds?”

Depending on the performance, the group operates with a four-to-six-piece lineup. Their music prominently features rich four-part harmonies and unique instrumentation:

• Brent Smith: Lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Christine Graves: Vocals, percussion
• Rob Snasdell-Taylor (Chops): Vocals, upright double bass
• Andrew Robertson: Vocals, violin/fiddle, mandolin, and Mandobird
• James Leahy: Accordion, piano, keyboards
• Sally Robertson: Cello 

Tune in next week for more about the Tin Constellations band members and an introduction to Cobden, the musical.