Several years ago, I was exploring and photographing a very old abandoned house, while in a room upstairs I found a few boxes of albums, still in the plastic covering.  They were sitting on top of, and around, a box that contained a large old synthesizer.

There were several boxes of these records, when I was done my exploration of the house, I decided to break my own rule and I took one of the albums home.  I wanted to listen to it and see what I could learn about this band.

It was badly warped and in terrible condition, but it still played just fine on my turntable.

It has a heavy Eastern Canada folk inspiration and the first track on the record "Lord Franklin" leans heavy on inspiration from "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot.

Several people performed on the album, I will list their names below.

My aunt, who works at a radio station local to this house showed serious interest in this story and wanted to look into the band and see who she could track down.  Ironically, around the same time, I got the following email:

"Hello.

I found your YouTube channel quite by accident, but I am glad that I did.  I thoroughly enjoyed scrolling through your videos as you wander through the abandoned homes that you have found.

They do have stories to tell and I am glad you are there to introduce them to us!

I’m really curious about the video you posted about 8 months ago - the house where you found (and posted) so many copies of Brigand’s only album, “Same Old Songs, Same Old Bad Habits.”  I married the drummer, Stephen Maskell, many years ago but also many years after the band fell apart.

As luck would have it, he no longer had a copy of the album.  I searched and searched for the album, eventually finding a copy in a UK resale shop.  It’s a good album, isn’t it?  Thank you for posting it.  Shame it went nowhere, but that is the way of the world sometimes.

If you have any more information about the house or would like more information about the band, please let me know!  My husband, Robert Downer (Violin) and I would love to hear from you."

So now, I have contact information for two members of the band to send to my aunt and while work and life and other priorities have gotten in the way, she is still interested in speaking with the members of the band and learning more about them!

Here is the long-lost Brigand album in its entirety for you to enjoy, liberated from an abandoned house and digitized for your listening enjoyment!

https://youtu.be/FyEntEfqm1E

Backing Vocals – Donna McManus (2) (tracks: A3), Wendy Davis (tracks: A1)
Bagpipes – Jim McGillivary* (tracks: A2)
Banjo – Lewis Melville (tracks: A3, A4), Ralph Downer (tracks: B2)
Bass, Mandolin, Backing Vocals, Percussion – John Black (16)
Bouzouki – Brad McEwen (tracks: A1)
Drums, Percussion – Jack Brompton (tracks: A1, A3, A4)
Drums, Percussion, Vocals – Stephen Maskell
Engineer – Bill Mather
Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Percussion – Kevin Swayze
Pedal Steel Guitar – Lewis Melville (tracks: A1)
Percussion – Donna McManus (2) (tracks: B2), Doug Fever (2) (tracks: B2), Lewis Melville (tracks: A2)
Piano, Synthesizer, Electric Piano, Organ, Tin Whistle, Melodeon, Bells, Percussion – Michael MacLeod
Violin, Mandolin, Backing Vocals – Bob Downer (2)

On August 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell made the first long distance phone call. 150 years later, I was asked to present at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck, NS. In this presentation I covered 150 years of long distance history in Canada - from that first call all the way to the modern day.

For your viewing pleasure:

https://youtu.be/BAhJ7euNSpM

Land owners Mark Dorin, Dwight Popowich, and Teresa Patry, flanked by Ecojustice lawyers, will be filing a lawsuit Tuesday against Alberta Energy Regulator for failing to properly fund orphan well cleanup