Richard Laviolette

Richard Andrew Laviolette (August 22, 1982 – September 5, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter based in Guelph, Ontario. He released material under a variety of band names, including Mary Carl, Richard Laviolette and His Black Lungs, Richard Laviolette and the Oil Spills, Richard Laviolette and the Hollow Hooves, and Richard Laviolette and the Glitter Bombs.

Early life and education

Laviolette was born in Port Colborne, Ontario on August 22, 1982. He grew up in Tara, Ontario and lived with his family on a small hobby beef farm during high school. In his youth, he learned to play several instruments, including the mandolin and guitar, from his father, becoming proficient in traditional folk and country mandolin styles. In an interview with Queen's ''The Journal'', he says his family played an important role in fostering an appreciation for music. His parents, Darrell and Marie, were both musical, holding family sing-alongs and jamborees.

When Laviolette entered high school, he was introduced to musicians who did not receive much mainstream exposure, such as Hayden and Elliott Smith. During his teenage years, he played in several bands throughout the Tara, Chesley and Owen Sound areas of Ontario. He played in Sharp Pointy Stick, with his brother and cousin, playing local shows at bars despite being underage.

Laviolette attended the University of Guelph with the intention of becoming a teacher. He studied history before dropping out to pursue music full-time.

Career

Laviolette's debut album was begun in the autumn of 2003 under the name ''Mary Carl'', while he was still a student at Guelph. Mary Carl, the person whom the band was named after, reportedly resented the name. The album was recorded in the bedroom of friend Adam Scott, with Michelle Dyck contributing additional vocals. Incorporating guitar, cello, harmonica, piano, accordion, and floor tom, ''Mary Carl'' was released on April 1, 2005.

His second album, ''A Little Less Like a Rock, a Little More Like Home'', released on Burnt Oak Records in 2006. The album cover was silk-screened and machine-stitched by Laviolette and his friends, and his family sang group vocals on the track Fussin' and Fightin'. It reached spot 127 on the campus/community radio airplay charts in November 2006. The ''Exclaim!'' review of the album described Laviolette as an "old soul", with a voice that "can swing from a delicate whisper to a guttural bark in the same breath". The album also made a mark locally, with ''The Record'' in Kitchener saying Laviolette was on "the cutting edge of the local scene", along with James Gordon's son Geordie Gordon.

Released in 2009, the rock album ''Aging Recycling Plant'' was recorded with Pinball House in Guelph by Dan Beeson with the backing band The Hollow Hooves. In a review of the album for Exclaim! by Vish Khanna referred to its lyrics as "too complex and artful to pigeonhole." Several of the songs had been inspired by Laviolette's on Six Nations of the Grand River land, supporting land reclamation efforts near Caledonia.

Laviolette released the country-inspired album ''All of Your Raw Materials'' in 2010. It was recorded by Andy Magoffin at House of Miracles in London, Ontario. The Oil Spills, who played on and toured the album, included Jenny Mitchell, Geordie Gordon and Lisa Bozikovic. You've Changed Records

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