Bio

Seamas Manly

"A guitar and vocal virtuoso with many styles at his disposal." - Matt O' Halloran, CHLY Radio

"Seamas has written new songs that feel ancient when you hear them." - Karin von Katzen

"Seamas is funky. I didn't have a clue how funky until I heard him pick up an electric guitar." - Ray Buxton , CBC engineer, musician, producer.

Whether accompanying himself on solo acoustic guitar, as an accompanist in many different styles, or playing electric with a full band, Seamas Manly has many moods, tonal colours and textures. With influences ranging from Gershwin to Zappa, Ani Difranco to Winnie the Pooh, he entertains while communicating an expansive worldview grounded in the healing power of music. Seamas began playing guitar at the age of 13.

He studied classical and jazz guitar while also learning rock, blues, new age and folk music. Playing acoustic and electric guitar, over the past thirty years he has combined many influences into a unique style featuring percussive rhythms, airy harmonics and haunting, inspiring vocals. He has played in various bands including Serpents of Eden and Reality Check and has often performed solo at folk clubs and open stages over the years. He is currently completing a CD featuring violist Joanna Hood of the Lafayette String Quartet, who appears on Paul McCartney 's CD "Working Classical".

Seamas Manly FAQ

How would you describe your music?

My lyrics are about utopian idealism and emotional self-honesty. I write affirmations for myself, to remind me of who I am. I like the genre label "philk", folk music for sci fi fans, which sums up part of my approach, although at other times my compositions sound like classical guitar, jazz, or unabashed rock'n'roll. I aspire to be a musical storyteller.

How did you begin playing music? And who are your primary musical influences?

I grew up listening to Winnie the Pooh records (the originals, not the Walt Disney versions), Leonard Bernstein conducting Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", Pete Seeger, Simon and Garfunkel, Joan Baez, Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention, Phil Ochs, CSNY, and other influences that came with the late sixties. When I was nine, I saw the Beatle's movie "Yellow Submarine", which was also the first Beatles record that I owned. I decided than that I wanted to be a musician. Through my teens, I was exposed to various styles of rock, as well as diverse ethnic music from all over the planet. I absorbed blues rock, British folk guitar, Hendrix and Van Halen , Michael Hedges and Pierre Bensusan.

How did you develop your singing style?

Listening to Beatlesque pop, folk, scat singing, indigenous music, and wild people like David Byrne , Nina Hagen , Edgar Winter and Bobby McFerrin. I wanted to make my voice sound like a lot of different things. I have spent a lot of time refining and softening my singing. I practise toning, the art of directing harmonic overtones, through the body for personal healing and regeneration, and this comes across in my songs as well.