I first met Georges Couling in 2012 when he was with his band Portage and Main on the Tracks on Tracks Rock N' Roll train trip across Canada. I remember he was one of the all-night party jam people that saw the sun come up a couple of times. Good times! Sadly, that band doesn't exist anymore, but that hasn't slowed Georges down one bit. He is such an active musician that it might be easier to just list the projects he isn't involved in!
He graduated from the Vancouver Community College Applied Music Degree program with a talented bunch of classmates that included Jasmin Parkin (Mother Mother), Rykka, Elaine Shepherd and Jimmy Baldwin. Georges is now part of the faculty, where he teaches recording, production, and online media.
George ‘Knuckleduster’ Couling at home.
In 2010, Georges formed his own independent record label, production house and TV and Film placement company called Knuckleduster Music Inc. Through Knuckleduster, he has produced folk, rock and pop recordings for Portage and Main, Redbird, Stef Lang, Lydia Hol and more. Recently, George composed the music for the TELUS short film documentary series Eastside Stories. It is through his playing however, that I run into Georges most often.
A talented, versatile piano and keyboard player, he performs with roots rockers The Matinee, and is the band leader of Camaro 67, a new Afrobeat/funk band that rose from the ashes of the band Miami Device. Camaro 67 is set to release their debut album on April 7. This 10-piece band is much too big to tour out of his prized '81 VW Westfalia, but I don't think he will mind.
Many thanks to George for the good visit and for being today's #ArtistAtHome. For more information on his production company Knuckleduster Music Inc. and to watch Eastside Stories, check out this link, and look here for Camaro 67 info.
