Originally rooted in Montreal, the folk rock outfit Courage Of Lassie later shifted its base to Toronto for the next chapter of its history. Established in 1986, the group’s central lineup has always featured Ron Nelson on vocals, Mady Schenkel—born in Switzerland and handling vocals plus multiple instruments—Rachel Melas on bass and percussion, and Rob Booth on violin and accordion, with Andy Fraffiti later added on drums and Chiyoko Szlavnics contributing saxophone and flute. Nelson and Schenkel first joined forces in Vancouver’s art-punk circles, where they experimented with music intended for film scores, before moving eastward to Montreal and launching the band itself. Performing material in both French and English, they built a strong local following through extended residencies at the Cameron House, a Queen West venue, where their sets blended rough-hewn folk, rock, and pop numbers both borrowed and self-written. A pair of self-released albums quickly cultivated a dedicated audience across Canada and select European territories. Looking back, the group observed, “Temptation was like a water-colour sketch of what we would become once we started working in good studios with good instruments. Sing Or Die was our first album in a big studio.” It was on Sing Or Die that Nelson’s vocal style began drawing frequent parallels to Leonard Cohen, although two tracks on the earlier release had already paid tribute to Montreal’s most celebrated songwriter. After that initial burst of activity the band withdrew from view, aside from a 1992 cross-Canada tour. The hiatus ended in 1994 when Courage Of Lassie became the first Anglo-Canadian act to sign with Beggars Banquet Records in the UK and returned with This Side Of Heaven. The album received its debut performance at the Cameron Club, the very room where many of its contributors had come of age, and featured guest contributions from Molly Johnson, Bob Wiseman, and Al Cross. Reaction from a wide range of music outlets was emphatic, hailing the record as a landmark achievement within modern Canadian music.
