Steel Rail

A fresh acoustic sound, striking three-part harmonies and strong original material have made Montreal trio Steel Rail a fan and critical favourite. Lead singer Tod Gorr, bassist Ellen Shizgal and guitarist Dave Clarke deliver an infectious blend of folk, bluegrass and country music that one critic has called “state of the art folkgrass.” All three members contribute original songs that have evoked comparisons with classic Canadian singer-songwriters like Gordon Lightfoot and Ian Tyson.

Todd Gorr

Lead singer Tod Gorr grew up in the Ottawa Valley, absorbing the sounds of singers like George Jones and Bill Harrell. One critic said his fluid baritone and distinctive phrasing "are as country as the livestock prices and complaints about the weather."

Another enthused that he "has a voice that can make angels in Hillbilly Heaven weep."

Tod went to school in Kingston, Ont., but spent summers near the hamlet of Plevna, near Sharbot Lake. Those days left him with a lifelong connection to the land that shows up in many of his songs.

Old Forgotten Road, from the album The Road Less Travelled is an ode to a childhood walk Tod took with his grandfather (and the only song ever written that contains the place name Plevna, Ellen says). There Was a Time (A Thousand Miles of Snow) is based on what Tod felt as he saw the city of Kingston sprawl out into the forests around it. And My Valley (from River Song) is about looking down onto the peaks of the mountains while flying over the Rocky Mountain range.

Tod and his family now live in Prévost in the Laurentian Mountains north of Montreal, although he has land near Plevna and spends as much time as possible there.

Ellen Shizgal

Bassist and singer Ellen Shizgal is a veteran of the Montreal folk scene who was involved with the management of such legendary coffee houses as the Yellow Door and the Golem and sang in the Quebec folk bands Harlequin and Stringalong. She first picked up the bass in Steel Rail’s early days when it was decided that three acoustic guitars was one too many.

Ellen enjoys growing acclaim for her strong original tunes, which add a different colour to the Steel Rail mix. Like the other members of Steel Rail, her musical influences include bluegrass and country as well as folk. Those influences, as well as her early love of Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot, can be heard in originals such as Solitaire, covered by Bill Garrett and Sue Lothrop, and Prairie Sky, on Penny Lang's 2006 Juno Award-winning album.

In the 1980s, Ellen began hanging out at the late, lamented Blue Angel bar on Drummond St., listening to old time country songs and taking to the stage with newly discovered classics. It was there that she first sang harmony to Tod's country-hued baritone and realized the blend was something special. When she, Tod and Dave began playing together, it was clear that the musical chemistry was more than the sum of their parts.

Not surprisingly, given her crucial role in Steel Rail's intricate vocal arrangements, Ellen has a particular interest in and love of harmonies. But from time to time, she takes the vocal spotlight and when she does, one reviewer wrote “she leaves you hungry for more.”

Dave Clarke

Guitarist Dave Clarke is well known for his role in Montreal-based folkgrass trio Steel Rail, but he has a thriving solo career and has a growing reputation as a producer and arranger.

Dave has been called one of Canada’s finest and most tasteful acoustic guitarists. In addition to Steel Rail, Dave was a member of the West Coast quartet Shearwater Bluegrass, the Montreal jazz-folk-swing band Soupe du Jour and the legendary Montreal-based White River Bluegrass Band. He has also toured with such performers as David Francey, Penny Lang and Barde.

Dave’s tasty picking and his 1938 D-18 Martin guitar have been featured on everything from bluegrass albums to television soundtracks, and one of his instrumentals is featured on the album Six Strings North of the Border, along with those of such other guitar luminaries as Bruce Cockburn and Don Ross. His debut solo instrumental album, Guitar Songs, showcases his lyrical melodies and unique blend of folk, bluegrass and Celtic sensibilities. His second solo album, Reunion, features both songs and instrumentals, with guest appearances by an array of folk friends, including Francey, Lang, Tammy Fassaert and Bill Garrett and Sue Lothrop.

In 2022, Dave's third solo album, The Healing Garden, was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award in the instrumental category. He was also nominated for a CFMA award for his work in co-producing Steel Rail's 2020 album Coming Home.

Dave produced the Steel Rail albums River Song and The Road Less Travelled. He appeared on Francey’s first CD, Torn Screen Door, as guitarist and producer and on two other Francey CDs, Far End of Summer and Skating Rink, as guitarist and co-producer (along with Francey and multi-instrumentalist Geoff Somers). The collaboration resulted in Junos for Best Roots and Traditional Recording (solo) in 2002 and 2003.