Jay Malinowski & The Deadcoast return this fall after taking a year-long break from the stage while Malinowski completed “Skulls & Bones”, an illustrated novel and companion piece to his debut double-length nautical concept album “Martel” which was released in February of 2014. The book, Skulls & Bones combines original artwork, music, and a haunting narrative into a fascinating and telling portrait of a sailor atoning for his past. It will be released as a multimedia e-book through HarperCollins worldwide on September 1, 2015. The tour, also named Skulls & B ones, touches down on both the Pacific and Atlantic coast, with the first show happening in Malinowski’s hometown of Vancouver, BC on September 11th.

The Skulls & Bones tour will be fashioned after a special event that Jay Malinowski & The Deadcoast performed at the Ottawa Winter Jazz Festival this past February. That night included readings and song, with legendary actor and musician Don Francks reading the role of Martel. Twisting between story and song the band an d Don Francks performed a continuous set for an hour and twenty minutes, with the audience being requested to hold their applause until the end. The upcoming Canadian tour will be performed in the same way. With each letter corresponding to a song by The Deadcoast, Malinowski will present an experimental continuous evening of songs intermingled with passages from the book, bridging the gap between distant coastlines and histories and finding new horizons.

Martel – Album Synposis: Through sonic landscapes of beautifully lush strings, dissonant deep-sea grinding tones, and jangling out of tune pianos — Martel presses the question of whether we are free to choose our path in life or whether we are commanded by the choices of those who came before us. In Martel’s travels through the Pacific and Atlantic are collaborations between Zydeco artist Zachary Richard; Hong Kong actress and model Jennifer Tse; and American punk veteran Chuck Ragan– docking in such seemingly disparate ports as California pop, New Orleans jazz, Spanish flamenco, Louisiana Cajun, Old World classical, Maritime shanties, ragtime piano, va udeville and so much more.

Skulls & Bones – Book Synposis: At the edge of the world, an ocean away, a sailor named Martel has retired to land. He clings to his most valued possession—a series of letters written to his granddaughter, with whom he lost contact with long ago. Telling of their ancestral past, his life at sea, and the choices upon which their lives have been built, Martel’s letters illuminate the power of stories passed down through generations—the stories that changed over time, and that ruptured their family narrative, tearing them all apart. A multimedia project conceived by acclaimed artist and musician Jay Malinowski, Skulls & Bones combines original artwork, music, and a haunting narrative into a fascinating and telling portrait of a sailor atoning for his past, uncovering truth, and finding hope in the future.