THE CARILLON, September 29 - October 5 , 2005 :: Issue 5 Volume 48
by Virginia Harper 

Nathan is generally a 4-piece band out of Winnipeg. I say generally because a “rotating cast of extras” rounds out the base cast of Keri Latimer (vocals, guitar, theremin), Shelley Marshall (vocals, accordion, banjo), Devin Latimer (bass), and Damon Mitchell (drums). On this tour, however, Shelley’s husband Mike Marshall is filling in on bass, as Keri’s husband Devin is currently at the University of Winnipeg teaching chemistry. “Who says husband-swapping is immoral?” Keri quipped. 

That irreverent sense of humour is just one of the many things to like about this band.

Even though they chose to, rather confusingly, give their band a person’s name despite no person of that name actually being in the band, you should not assume this means Nathan enjoys a befuddled listener. They produce engaging and beautiful folk songs based, as Keri says, on a “conglomeration of characters” they have come across living and touring. She said she “[tries] not to be too specific with [her] politics, and instead [tries] to explore the head and heart of how one person is affected by what is going on around them.” That is, the exception of “I Left My Station,” which she admitted is more or less based on the “lustful and grace-fallen Bill Clinton.” There’s that sense of humour again.

This is a band that is very active on Western Canada’s Folk Festival circuit, and when asked about the experience, Keri said “it’s a fine feeling to play a song with your heroes [during the workshops].” Nathan has become friends with a lot of musicians through shared musical experiences, and that “it’s almost like when you know you love the music, you know you’ll love the person, and all the awkward small talk is unnecessary, and you just cut straight to friendship. Not always, but a lot of the time.” 

Keri thinks it’s that same friendly festival atmosphere that has a lot to do with a lack of focus on the band’s image instead of their music, even though Nathan is fronted by two very cute ladies. She said that the “audiences so far have seemed very respectful,” even perhaps excessively so, since Keri thinks she and Shelley don’t have much of an image “other than being nerdy quilters.” These so-called nerdy quilters have other crafty habits too, notably the way they produce songs. Keri said, “I think of the songs as [often] already existing, and we are just trying to draw them out and [trying] not to cover them up with shag rugs or fake paneling. This may be why we try so many different instruments.” 

That somewhat unusual approach may well be a big part of what got Nathan a Prairie Music Award for Independent Album in 2001. This “helped to add some legitimacy to [their] music from an industry standpoint and partly for [themselves] too,” although Keri said they did laugh “really hard” when their names were announced. 

As for future goals, Keri said “hopefully we’ll continue to keep our expectations low, and keep making albums that we are proud of,” although she has admitted to having a “guilty dream of traveling in a real tour bus someday.” As for now, she’s just happy to be on the road with the band. You can check out Nathan at the Exchange on Sept. 30.