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ARTIST MANAGEMENT
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ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:
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Once, Chris Adeney made a bronze casting of a book. On the cover he had engraved the words 'Wax Mannequin Display'. The bronze book was held closed by thick steel screws. Chris liked the book because it was good, but it needed words, so he started writing things down. The words he wrote fit themselves with fancy guitar parts. The words and parts turned into songs and Chris began to find little stages around town, and crowds that would come to hear him play.
Wax Mannequin was bred in the Hamilton, Ontario rock scene. Driven by a need to preach his ever more elaborate internal imaginings, Wax honed his style; melding curious electronic twitterings, spidery, finger-picked classical guitar airs, and careful, impassioned vocals. Like a lost collaboration between Nick Drake and Edward Gorey, or the ghost of Freddie Mercury channeled by Crispin Glover, Wax's music soon grew in scope to combine grandiose, pop-melodic sensibilities with things abstract and experimental. Encouraged by a growing groundswell of support, Wax began to experiment with his crowds -- interacting with them in dangerous ways. He developed the now infamous 'Jimmy System': a fun social sculpture that lets audience members earn 'Jimmy Points' and 'Super Powers', like the ever coveted 'Moon in the Basemet' ("This super power lets you harness the power of the moon... which will be in your basement"). These points and powers were awarded to people for attending performances, participating in activities and inviting others to join the 'system'. Indeed many did join and as the legend of Wax Mannequin grew, so did his on-stage antics. But being an infamous master of an imaginary cult didn't quench Wax's creative urges. Something was missing. He remembered those steel screws -- that little bronze book; it needed a new chapter. So in 2002 he took to the road, spreading his bizarre yet alluring gospel.
So for the past two years, Wax Mannequin has had little rest, hardening himself on the Canadian and Australian rock circuits. He rides an unforgiving road, battling nature's bold face, suspect equipment and an impending harsh world order. Through these trials of fire and ice, a tough, new Mannequin was born - a genteel, yet hard-as-nails Roadhouse-era Patrick Swayze; an absurd preacher of ridiculous and ominous things. Now, backed by a full band, or as a solo performer [with programmed beats, automated bass and angry electric guitar], Wax showcases his evolving brand of performance art-punk; steeped in suffering and reveling in epic absurdity. In the tradition of Zappa, Tom Waits, Arthur Lee, and other such road-wizened outsiders, Wax Mannequin pushes forward - restless - preparing for some elusive future trial.
This evolution of Wax Mannequin is highlighted by the stylistic differences between his two independently released experimental folk records ['Wax Mannequin' and 'and Gun'] and his acclaimed third, 'The Price': a gritty, absurdist-pop manifesto that sacrifices none of Wax's interest in musical craft and lyrical obliqueness, but wraps such treasures lovingly in glorious, balls-out "rockandroll". The Price has turned ears across Canada and Australia, reaching number nine nationally on !Earshot [Canada campus radio charts] and achieving respectable rotation down under. His music has been heralded by many, including seminal art-rockers The Rheostatics, anarcho-punk legends Mecca Normal, and apocalyptic pop mavens The Arcade Fire among many others. He has shared the stage with everyone cool in Canada, including Controller.Controller, The Organ, Lederhosen Lucil, as well as the aforementioned acts.
Forever onwards, Wax Mannequin will furiously etch new words and chapters into his little bronze book. He strives to fix the breach between the artistry and the showmanship; the McCartney and the Lennon; the brain and the balls. His brand of primordial psych-pop challenges and delights; it poses impossible questions and offers deceptively simple answers; it rocks!
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ARTIST MEDIA SECTION:
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"You cannot talk about Canadian indie rock without talking about Wax Mannequin. It can't happen."
-Julia Caron | Arthur: Trent University | January 2006
"Wax Mannequin formulates a sound landscape full of delirious rock escapades and impassioned anecdotes that seem to escape from the machine that lives in the recesses of his mind, constantly churning out proclamations that are captured on The Price. A prog-rock explosion filled with fantasy and oddity. It is truly genius work."
-Ashleigh Taylor | Steelcitymusic.ca | April 2005
"Hamilton's Wax Mannequin, aka Chris Adeney, fully intends to rock your world. "
-Nick Flanagan | Now Magazine | February 2005
"He wears his guts on his sleeve and isn't afraid to "meow" his way through a harmony or two while his obedient drum machine kicks along to the beat. He built his songs up with both his kung-fu grip guitar playing and dynamic facial expressions that laid the foundation for the words. Lyrically, he touched on Ween-worthy topics like royalty, doctors and the art of rocking."
-Iain K. MacLeod | Exclaim!: Halifax Pop Explosion 2004 | December 2004
"Part wandering minstrel, part rock animal, Wax Mannequin has combined a fine sense of the ridiculous with song writing and lyrical smarts...His impassioned delivery never wavers once throughout the entire record; in fact, it gets better with every listen...There's nothing to compare this with - Tom Waits and Type O Negative jamming on the early Beatles catalogue is as close as I can get - but even that is doing no justice to Wax Mannequin. It's a sound that's totally original."
-Wade Howland | dB Magazine | September 2004
"Albums don't get any better than Wax Mannequin's third, The Price, which is now being distributed in Australia... The man behind it all is not so much sporting a moniker as he is just unleashing a shadowy part of his soul. The results of unleashing this beast are brilliant, to say the least."
-Mike Wafer | X-Pressmag Online | September 2004
"Wax Mannequin is one hell of a sneaky son of a bitch. The self proclaimed "President of Indie Rock" will crush you with an iron hand of fascism. He will indoctrinate you with silly harmonies, absurd lyrics and the almighty power of the guitar...The Price is a stunning listen that justifies its every bastardized chord and salaciously sung statement. I know where my vote's going this November."
-Andrew Magilow | Splendid Magazine | August 2004
"one of the year's best - and most unexpected - rock opuses."
-Wade Howland | dB Magazine | August 2004
"The Price revels exists in rock opus style, and reveals an artist who's moved far beyond the ordinary."
-Steve Baker | ABC Far North Queensland | August 2004
"Wow! Wow! Wow! This is easily one of the best albums this reviewer has heard in years...The Price is everything a brilliant album should be; unique, adventurous, entertaining and memorable... there is no way of describing this CD by comparing it to anyone else...Eleven out of ten."
-Mike Wafer | X-Pressmag Online | July 2004
"The Price is well-thought, clever and captivatingly weird...it's obvious the rock came calling for Wax Mannequin."
-Neil Haverty | Exclaim! | June 2004
"The Price is a genuinely great rock'n'roll record, with song structures, harmonies and keyboard melodies that any band would steal in an instant."
-John MacFarlane | Hour [X-Press] Magazine | March 2004
"For many, a Wax Mannequin show is a transformative experience. First there is disbelief. Then comes confusion. At the end there is captivation, awe and, finally, understanding...The frivolous nature of some of his songs and his stage antics shouldn't fool people into thinking that Wax Mannequin is not a serious musician..."
-Vanessa Neuman | Martlet | March 2004
"My allegiance is pledged."
-John MacFarlane | Hour [X-Press] Magazine | March 2004
"The hour has come. Today, Wax Mannequin's The Price springs itself upon the world. Clouds will blush, towers topple and seas roil. Beasts of the field will ride the backs of the creatures of the air. Honey will flow through the desert. Clown hats will rain from the sky."
-Carl Wilson | The Globe And Mail | February 2004
"The Price is an eclectic brew of fuzzy lo-fi tinkering, rainy-day '80s balladry and balls-out devil-sign rock."
-Joel Mcconvey | EYE Weekly | February 2004
"Adeney has pulled off the ultimate feat: gently thumbing his nose at rock, while simultaneously creating the most rocking love-letter to the genre imaginable. The Price is a full-on rock-out, with a Waxy twist. The disc grinds and crunches, but it also chirps, meows and flutters. More tangent than Tangiers, The Price knocks rock on its ass.."
-Chris Watson | View Magazine | February 2004
"...this man's songwritten wit was more than a handful and the unexpected hidden beauty of each song displays a talent that's hard to believe."
-Stu Hood | Shzine.com | March 2003
"It's hard to determine whether this modern-day prog rock tour de force is meant in seriousness or as a fine-tuned parody of the art rock albums of yore, but it's that balance between outlandish humour and dry professionalism that makes Wax Mannequin's latest effort so damn remarkable." [Album: and Gun]
-Neil Haverty | Exclaim! | February 2003
"Like any respectable rock act, Wax Mannequin's priority is his fan base...adamant about providing his audiences with opportunities to interact with him personally...with each new album and with each new performance, Wax Mannequin continually delves deeper into his bag of tricks, coming up with something new each time."
-Simon Toye | The Silhouette | February 2003
"Today there are not many artists or albums that can successfully compose an entertaining song over five minutes. However, Adeney's lyrics and music blend to create an overflow of thought and storytelling so brilliant that any track on 'And Gun' could be six to seven minutes long and no less interesting."
-Jesse Thomas | Umbrella Music.com | 2002
"Excellent, original music and sweet prizes to boot"
-Chris Watson | The Silhouette | September 2000
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