Morgan Cameron Ross: A man with a plan

Now here is a guy who knows what he’s doing.

When Morgan Cameron Ross collaborated with former Stars guitarist, Alan Snoddy, a fire sparked too bright to ignore, and in those flames was born his new band, Bellwoods.

When these Toronto-based boys were ready to take their formation out for a test drive, Morgan set his eyes on Quebec, what he says was an obvious choice.

“Everyone there has been really great and supportive of me in the past and Alan is actually from Montreal,” Morgan says. “For those reasons, we wanted to focus on Quebec.”

And the pair was very smart about it.

Bellwoods kicked off their week long tour with a live performance in the MusiquePlus studios and for the string of dates across the province, they invited French-Canadian Juno nominee Bobby Bazini along for the ride.

How’s that for strategy?

Bellwoods also has blueprints laid out for their forthcoming album.

They got a little help from their friends on the project, and not just any pack of pals. Get a load of the stellar talent you’ll find mentioned in the liner notes.

Sum 41’s Cone McCaslin, drummer Josh Trager of Sam Roberts Band, and producer Justin Gray, whose credits include Joss Stone and Emma Bunton of the Spice Girls, are among the crew on staff for Bellwoods’ release.

“We’ve also got a duet with Mary Lambert,” Morgan adds casually and by the way.

That’s the same Mary Lambert who co-wrote and sings on Macklemore’s international chart topping Grammy-nominated single, “Same Love.”

Whether it was calculated or not, getting the woman who penned one of the biggest songs of the year as a guest on your band’s debut record is genius.

“Our song is called ‘Fire Escape.’ It’s an optimistic, quirky love song and it’s interesting because I sing it with a woman who will never be interested in me.”

As phase two of Bellwood’s rise, maybe Morgan can sway Mary into touring with them next time around.

“Yeah, maybe if we have success or if her career falls apart,” Morgan laughs.

At this rate, the former sounds more probable.

Bellwoods perform at Montreal’s la Sala Rossa on Monday, February 24.

Follow Bellwoods on twitter and facebook. You can also connect with the guys individually. Morgan here and Alan this way.

Posted by Marc Andrew on Feb 23 2014. Filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.