JUDE KLASSEN
Although she sang back-ups for grumpy musician boyfriends in her 20s and created improv comedy songs onstage, Jude’s official music making background only dates back to 2011 when she wrote her first political satire song for her alter ego, Tasha James. After Tasha & Fast Ford Nation went viral with Tasha Hearts Rob Ford, Klassen created several more Tasha videos, involving a wide range of collaborators including Toronto jazz superstars Perry White and Reg Schwager and jazz and bluesman Victor Bateman.
For most of Tasha’s songs, Jude worked with Asher Ettinger, who was able and willing to jam at the last minute and threw down track after remarkable track. On Love in the Sixth, Jude and Asher continued their effective and whacky way of working. Jude found her other LITS collaborator Tim Cameron at one of Asher’s epic music parties, passed out under the piano.
Asher Ettinger
Fast Ford Nation & Jude’s Martini Think Tank composer and in house musician, Asher Ettinger is a formally trained composer, arranger, orchestrator and conductor. He’s created works for small and large ensembles, in styles ranging from Rock to Rachmaninoff to Electronica.
His prolific output includes synthesizer work with Oscar Peterson, composing and conducting Charlotte Church, an opus of Piano Preludes, an English String Suite, and 3 cds entitled beatlegrooves (acid jazz), E- Bull (electronica), and Acid Opera (Opera and Art Song re-mixes). Asher also paints musical themes on canvas, some of which adorn the walls in various scenes from Love in the Sixth.
TIM CAMERON
Tim Cameron was given a Beatles album when he was four years old, and decided he’d like to be a Beatle when he grew up.
Unfortunately, they weren’t hiring.
Instead, young Cameron proceeded to amass a collection of LPs by his newfound heroes. He also amassed a guitar collection consisting of one crappy acoustic, and a slightly less crappy electric. By his late teens, he’d begun toiling in the singer-songwriter trenches, eventually releasing a handful of albums (on cassette, even!).
In 2010, he found himself performing at the legendary Cavern in Liverpool, which he still won’t shut up about. Fast forward another four years, and he found himself being asked by a certain Jude Klassen whether he’d like to contribute some songs to a movie she was starting to film. Apparently, he said yes.
Collette Savard
Collette Savard is a multi-instrumentalist and natural-born singer, whose smooth, slightly husky voice is equally at home on Warren Zevon tunes, old blues covers, and jazz standards. Music lured Savard from her home in North Bay to Toronto, and since then she’s been incubating musically at spots like Tranzac Club, and Freetimes Café. “I’ve been in the oven long enough now,” she jokes, “I’m well-done.”
Collette lends her talents to various musical projects, including a trio featuring Love in the Sixth’s own Asher Ettinger. She also busies herself as the newly appointed president of the aforementioned Tranzac Club, and joined the cast of Love in the Sixth as Sissey. Colette can be seen in various wigs throughout the film, most notably sicking up in the gutter at the top of the film wearing a sassy black goth number.
NATASHA BOUCHARD
Born in a French-Canadian town and raised in Australia, Natasha has called many places home – from Perth, to Montreal, and even a Buddhist temple in Kyoto. For now Toronto is where the current chapter of her journey is being written.
Natasha recorded her single Next Plane To Paris with Canadian producer Pierre Marchand and on a whim, brought the single to life by catching a plane to Paris and proceeding to travel around Europe. It was during her time overseas that she decided to change her stage name from Natasha Bouchard (her family name) to Natasha Nouveau, partly in tribute to the Art Nouveau movement.
During a spontaneous busking-with-dancers montage in the film, Natasha managed to keep performing her song Anything Once while the cast seemingly danced to a completely different song in their heads. Sort of like techno. And… scene.