Rock Plaza Central

by Sean Westergaard Although Toronto novelist Chris Eaton performed as a solo artist in the late '90s and early 2000s under the name Rock Plaza Central (sometimes with any number of backing musicians), it wasn't until 2003 that Rock Plaza Central became a real band, recruiting Rob Carson (guitar, banjo, trombone), John Whytock (accordion, trumpet, percussion), Donald Murray (mandolin, trumpet), Scott Maynard (bass), and Blake Howard (drums) -- with Fiona Stewart (violin) joining in 2004 -- before releasing The World Was Hell to Us. The quirky concept album Are We Not Horses followed in April 2007. The departures of Carson and Whytock reduced the group to a quintet. Rock Plaza Central signed to the Toronto-based indie label Paper Bag Records for the next album, At the Moment of Our Most Needing, or If Only They Could Turn Around, They Would Know They Weren't Alone, issued in the U.S. on June 16, 2009.