Violet Vopni
THE BAND
Christine sings harmonies! When she's not singing harmonies she's actively involved in local plays, dance productions and hosts karaoke!
Violet Vopni is an Indigenous and Icelandic singer/songwriter from Manitoba. Her journey as a lyricist and composer began in 1995 when she wrote her song "Dreaming". That song was released in 2020 through alternative metal band, Helfreya. Vopni's songs range from upbeat pop to smooth jazz to heartbreaking ballads and everything inbetween. She draws inspiration from her relationships with lovers, friends and her ancestral history as a Metis woman. Vopni advocates for those affected by mental health and addictions. Her single "Joseph" shares the story of her great grandfather who was born in 1900, fought in WW1 and struggled with alcoholism throughout his life. The song is by far her most popular, amassing nearly 400k streams on Spotify. Her song “How Many Times” has been featured on CBC’s Up To Speed, the Indigenous Music Countdown and Manitoba Music’s Song of the Week. Vopni has released three albums, "Unacknowledged" and "Shieldmaiden" in 2020 and "The Things We Don't Know" in 2021. She is set to release her 4th album in 2023, the first single "Friendzone" from that album drops on June 10th, 2022.
Ray "Guitar" is a longtime Musician in the Winnipeg scene as an Acoustic and Electric Guitarist, Harmonica player and Vocalist. He had previously founded several Rock Bands, and was a Member of the Winnipeg Golden Chordsmen Barbershop Choir. He also performs as a Soloist while using a Looper to complete multi-instrumental songs.
He has Royal Conservatory of Music Certification in Theory and Voice, and was a 2017 Winner of the Linda De Pauw Scholarship for Music Education. Guitar studies were completed thru the Lenny Breau School of Music. He also partakes in Recording, running P.A.Sound Systems, and Guitar repairs... In others words...he never stops learning.
Musical influences include all genres and everything between the Allman Brothers to Zappa and from the 60's to present day.
Kevin Cote, the crazee percussionist who plays just about everything from chip bag shakers to the kitchen sink.
He'll "chime" in when we need a magical moment while keeping the base rhythm locked down on the many different drums he plays. From triple congas, bongos, doumbek, Ngoma, Djembes, to accents instruments like cymbals, shakers, tambourine, chimes, cowbells, vibraslap, He'll even occasionally bring the gong to the show! (No really, he has an actual gong.)
Although he's busy supporting many local original acts such as Stacey James Band, Ashes and Dreams, The Mighty 10:01, and others as needed, Kevin is very excited and thrilled to record and perform with the The Keen and The Kind. Follow him on Instagram @crazeecongadude
Rob keeps it cool on the bass.
Violet Vopni is:
- Violet Vopni - lead vocals and songwriting,
- Ray - guitar
- Kevin - percussion, drums
- Rob – bass,
- Christine - harmonies
JOSEPH
Joseph Huppe was Violet Vopni’s great grandfather.
The making of "Joseph" . . .
Joseph Huppe was Violet Vopni's great grandfather. He was born in 1900, fought in WW1 in 1916, married Vopni's great grandmother Jenny Vopni in 1923, and was father to four children, Harold, Allan, Doris and Beatrice. Beatrice is Vopni's grandmother. Joseph was Metis, but being born 15 years after the Northwest Rebellion, he was forced to keep his identity a secret. Vopni believes he kept this secret to avoid being sent to a residential school where he would have been abused not only by the teachers, but also by his fellow students. Metis people were known in those days for being in between people because of their combined French and Indigenous lineage. Joseph's story is one that is common to all Metis people born in the last 135 years since the Northwest Rebellion in 1885.
Vopni wrote the song to shed light on how moments in history can affect us as people hundreds of years later. Joseph struggled through alcoholism, he struggled to find where he belonged, and ultimately, he left the family, and we do not know what happened to him. What we do know is that he left a woman to raise four children on her own in the 1920s and 30s. Those children subsequently went through traumas of their own. Allan died in WW2, Doris was murdered, and Beatrice became an alcoholic and married an abusive man. Vopni's grandmother Beatrice lost a father and a brother and passed that trauma onto her only child Kim (Vopni's mother) who in turn passed down that trauma to Vopni herself.
We know a lot about the people Joseph left behind in the world, his wife, his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, but we don't know a lot about him, so this song is his story and how his life affected the lives of so many others. All we know is who he left behind, and the wounds cut so deep.
albums
The album is named for Vopni’s great grandfather Joseph, about whom she knows very little.
He was born in 1900, fought in WW1 in 1916, married Vopni's great grandmother Jenny Vopni in 1923, and was father to four children, Harold, Allan, Doris and Beatrice. Beatrice is Vopni's grandmother. Joseph was Metis, but being born 15 years after the Northwest Rebellion, he was forced to keep his identity a secret.
Vopni believes he kept this secret to avoid being sent to a residential school where he would have been abused not only by the teachers, but also by his fellow students. Metis people were known in those days for being in between people because of their combined French and Indigenous lineage. Joseph's story is one that is common to all Metis people born in the last 135 years since the Northwest Rebellion in 1885.
The Things We Don’t Know explores jazz, latin, folk and pop songs written by Vopni between 1998 and 2020.
Their single Joseph has been streamed 386k by over 30k fans worldwide.
Unacknowledged Album Review:
From their latest release, Unacknowledged, The Keen and the Kind share a deeply personal song of wrongful self-loathing and self-doubt that comes from a difficult childhood. Accompanied by a single guitar, the song’s emotional power is even more inviting. Violet’s lone voice is one of strength and forgiveness in the face of such undeserved hostility.
Unacknowledged is a beautifully compassionate song about overcoming your past.