Gentleman Reg

Reg Vermue, the idiosyncratic singer and songwriter, entered the world in Trenton, Ontario, before spending his formative years in the adjacent city of Guelph. In his twenties he relocated to Toronto with the aim of building a career in music. There he joined forces with domestic ensembles such as Broken Social Scene and Hidden Cameras; the latter afforded him an open platform for his gay politics, yet it was his work under his own name that ultimately drew the widest attention. Billing himself as Gentleman Reg and backed by a select group of session players that included Jaime Thompson of the Unicorns and Tim Kingsbury, later the bassist for Arcade Fire, he made his recorded debut in 2000 with The Theoretical Girl. Make Me Pretty and Darby & Joan appeared next, along with a role in the 2006 feature Shortbus. In 2008 Gentleman Reg signed with Arts & Crafts, released the Little Buildings EP that November, and prepared a new long-player. Cut in Ottawa and delivered in February 2009, Jet Black became his initial offering on the label.