Two Way Monologues

CMW Night #2 - Language Arts, The Lytics, Kidstreet and more.

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:59:00 -0500

Another night out for CMW and another five sets of music to report back on. After a good start with night #1, I headed out last night and caught a ton of great sets. I don’t know about the people who seem to be claiming they “aren’t into CMW this year” or that there “isn’t much they want to see”, because so far this year has been as good as any. So there.

My evening started at Sneaky Dee’s for two sets, the first of which was Language Arts. I know Language Arts have played Rancho on multiple occasions in the past, but I must have missed the shows because I for sure had never seen them before. Their brand of folky/experimental twee-pop really didn’t grab me for their first two songs. I was ready to dismiss them as “not my thing” when something happened: they totally grew on me. Kristen Cudmore’s talk-singing that initially was a off-putting ended up being one of the things I liked most about their set. I’m going to have to check out their recorded output for sure.

The Elwins were next, featuring a bassist who was rocking a Flying-V guitar. That’s two I’ve seen so far this festival! I think I am going to rename CMW: Canadian Flying-V Week. Anyway, I would describe The Elwins as 60’s guitar based jangle-pop, if that makes any sense. It was all very melodic and catchy but I couldn’t get totally into their set. I thought they needed something else, maybe a bit more of an edge to their sound. They were almost like a cross between the melodies on the self-titled Vampire Weekend with the power-pop of Tokyo Police Club. While watching them I was thinking “There’s about an EP’s worth of solid songs here that I’d probably really like”. And wouldn’t you know it, they’ve got an EP out. I’m not going to run and put The Elwins at the top of my listening list, but I will say that they are on to something for sure.

A quick walk down the street and I arrived at Rancho for the hip-hop portion of my evening. First I saw The Lytics who killed an entire set of throw-back rap crew jams that had the crowd in a frenzy by the end of it all. They had tons of J5-style chorus chants surrounded by verse after verse of fantastic rapping. If you want to talk about new and original things going down this year at CMW, Rancho’s hip-hop night was just that. More people should be up on this band.

Wordburglar got up after a brief DJ interlude and kicked out a great set as expected. Seems like it was just the other day that Wordburglar rocked a Showcho and got everyone at Rancho excited about him. Highlight of his set came when he brought up More or Les— as seen on Peter Project’s new EP— for an awesome guest spot.

Finally, I went back to Dee’s in order to catch a 1am set by Kidstreet. Kidstreet is such a great name for a band. Unfortunately in my opinion they didn’t live up to their namesake. They played an over-caffeinated set of electro-dance that just wasn’t doing it for me. I was impressed by Edna Snyder’s rapid fire chorus on Penny Candy, but in my opinion there’s just too many other bands doing this stuff, and just as well. I’d take party-starters Green Go over Kidstreet any day of the week.

For all their enthusiasm and energy they displayed on stage, it was no match for my tiring eyes. So with that, I took off around 1:30 to get home and rest up for what will undoubtedly be a ridiculously late night tonight.

Burgie throwing down at Rancho

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:28:34 -0500

Burgie throwing down at Rancho

Still Life Still setting up.

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:16:40 -0500

Still Life Still setting up.

Caught the end of Dinosaur Bones’ set at the Dollar.

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:43:41 -0500

Caught the end of Dinosaur Bones’ set at the Dollar.

The Rhythm Method are ridiculous, in a good way.

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:33:52 -0500

The Rhythm Method are ridiculous, in a good way.

CMF - Day One - March 10, 2010

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:14:00 -0500

HOT KID @ Rancho Relaxo

My night began with Hot Kid from Cambridge, Ontario at Rancho Relaxo. Based on what I saw and heard online, I was expecting an action packed set featuring some solo female work with serious potential but accompanied by slightly generic guitar chords.

This dynamic duo certainly delivered in terms of putting on a high-energy show. I was somewhat surprised that Shiloh Harrison’s vocal work wasn’t quite as original as I had anticipated, but I was really taken aback by the quality of the guitar work. Their online material does not do them justice on that front.

In terms of some constructive criticism of Hot Kid, in my opinion the basic themes and melodies within songs are too varied. Don’t get me wrong, major thematic changes within a song can work tremendously well at times, for example Born Ruffians’ Little Garçon, but pulling it off is a difficult task. I lost interest in several of the pieces during the set because of the frequent changes. A second criticism that can be directed at many a female band member with long hair, is that Harrison shouldn’t hide behind her hair Cousin Itt style. It takes away from the performance and it’s a nightmare to shoot. Plus, she’s pleasing on the eye, so why hide?

Hot Kid @ Rancho Relaxo - March 10, 2010

KETCH HARBOUR WOLVES @ Neutral

Next, I shifted down the street to Neutral, a venue otherwise known to me for many a drunken Goth dancing escapade, to catch Ketch Harbour Wolves. I last caught this band in May of 2009 at El Mocambo and I was very impressed by their sound.

Ketch Harbour Wolves stole the night for me. I was frankly surprised that they were stuck in such a substandard time-slot and mediocre venue (for concerts) which together resulted in a sparsely attended show.

This is one of the few bands out there where the all-male vocals work for me. First off, everyone can sing, they harmonize well, and do some interesting vocal layering. Ketch Harbour Wolves aren’t afraid to experiment and are adept at crafting a nice musical mosaic out of guitar work x 3, a glockenspiel and drum work. The melodies are instantly gripping yet don’t grow old after repeated listening. To boot, their live physical performance is also highly engaging. For those of you who have not yet had the privilege of catching this band live, you can do so on May 8, 2010 at the Horseshoe.

Ketch Harbour Wolves @ Neutral - March 10, 2010

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— URBAN HERMIT

CMW Preview: Ten Questions with OPOPO

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:43:26 -0500

OPOPO’s self-classification as dance punk fits the bill pretty well — the term manages to capture the energy they throw into their live shows while hinting at the fact that their music is not so easy to slot into one category. The band’s musicians have been playing together for some time, and you can tell it in their chemistry and tight, irresistible sound. Check it out for yourself during CMW at Sneaky Dee’s on Saturday night.

What acts are you going to see during CMF?

The ones with clever names- there’s only a few.

What is the writing and recording process like for you?

It’s easy to get lost in the world of home production and the music can become un-performable if you get carried away. We’ve had to redevelop our approach, and write songs as completely as possible before tackling them live. Whereas before we’d have a beat loop and create structures around it- now with a drummer and ambitious song writing ideas we try to find our voices in the content before recording anything. The disc may be a mix of both approaches.

You mix producing and playing in your music—how do you balance those elements both in the studio and in a live show?

Live we’ve had to eliminate pre-sequenced samples from our set and rely only on each other. Because of this our sound seems to have shifted away from electro and more towards rock. But the main goal is to fuse the two seamlessly, triggering samples created at home while never dropping a loop. All we need is a sturdy MIDI drum pad that can handle Sean’s powerful thwacks. We also need some wind machines and a soundman.

You mention in a blog entry that you’re planning on touring Ontario—do you have any dates set?

We’ve played a few spots in Ontario and would love to do as many places as possible, but trying to get this disc done has become such a priority. As well, it’s inefficient to tour if you don’t have something new to promote so we’re really waiting until our act has been reworked before hitting the road. Travelling as a band is the most enjoyable part though, so we’re eager.

If you could go on a dream tour, where would it be? Why?

Japan! See mosh pits organized into squares and have Sushi for breakfast.

What makes for a good audience at an OPOPO show?

If they are edgy and determined to watch something energetic they’ll have an amazing night.

You were signed through the Steamwhistle unsigned band series—did that moment change your musical path?

Yes it definitely did. Steamwhistle led us to URBNET which got us distribution and a chance to play Spot festival. Denmark showed us the level of musicianship we’d like to attain, and inspired us to get a drummer. And thus we spent the past year of redefining our sound.

How is your LP progressing? When can we expect it?

It will either be late summer or early fall. You can expect it to be dark, heartfelt and pulsing.

You draw on Lacan, writing “As any creative endeavor eventually becomes its own norm, let the truly powerful emotions surface and carve out the “ideal I” in a bustling world of “manic me” in a recent blog post that describes your band’s current creative process. Do you draw on these types of theoretical ideas when you write music?

If you are referring to Jacques Lacan, then yes. The concept of a destructive relationship between the ego and an idealized-self spoke worlds when I first learned it. For creative artists (the destructively compulsive ones ) striving constantly for craft mastery means battling your perfectionism with psychological limitations. Those limits can always be surpassed but at a cost. You slave over a piece- and believe you’ve struck the creative gong, yet within a few days the work shows countless faults. It’s dangerous to gnash teeth with your two selves, the engine that produces and the internal critic who scorns cause they’ll drive each other into the ground. The ‘gaze’ of the Other I thought could apply to robots too. Can robots dream up an idealized self? Do androids dream of electric sheep? The idea of the ‘Other’ was hinted at with Computer Menace especially- a droid staring back at himself. The machine at work is brilliant, unforgiving and pathetic… just like the creative process is simultaneously triumphant and depraved.

I really like the “Computer Menace” video that is posted on your myspace—how did that come to be?

An artist named Zach made it a few years before “Computer Menace” was even a song. The two synch up so well. It’s uncanny.

CMW Preview: Ten Questions with the Leathers

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:06:00 -0500

Atherton and P Brain — aka The Leathers — started out as aquaintainces, then become roommates and friends, then became the dynamic rap duo you can catch at the Rancho Relaxo on Thursday night. Reading the responses below, it’s easy to see where their on-stage chemistry and wit comes from; check it out for yourself to see.

How did The Leathers begin?

Atherton: We initially met real brief though mutual rapping friends. We reconnected at college while taking a music program for independent artists (Seneca, what up?!?). After college, I was living in the Lansdowne/Bloor neighborhood and had a roommate bail on me. I made a contest on facebook called “Become Atherton’s Roomate” just to make it sound more appealing than what it was. Paul (P Brain) was hands-down the best choice amongst the applicants. Now, in that neighborhood there’s a slew of vintage spots. Paul came back one day with a dope leather coat for $20 or less. I followed suit. We started wearing them on stage, girls went crazy, bada-bing-bada-boom, there you go.

P Brain: A few weeks after I had moved in with Dev I went and saw Camp Lo. They were wearing nice coats and smiling lots. I had more fun watching them than any other rappers I’d ever seen and wanted to reach towards that feeling. Dev had a show at El Mocombo and asked me to back him - I told him I would if i could do a few songs. Dev and I are a pretty decent comedic duo off-stage and it really translated live, so we kept chasing that high. Camp Lo.

You’ve played with several bands that aren’t hip-hop, when I think a lot of promoters are reluctant to put hip-hop acts with other types of artists — why do you think you can have that versatility?

Atherton: We both like a lot of different music. Paul started off playing in punk bands. I wanted to be a singer until my brother told me my voice sucked. We don’t necessarily have a traditional hip-hop sound. We’re entertaining as fuck and we both have siiick beards.

P Brain: We don’t suck and we have a ton of fun. Anyone can enjoy that stuff. Unlike alot of acts, we aren’t scared to play outside our comfort zone. Confronting the audience with our awesomeness is a thrill for us.

Your self-titled album comes out later this month — how long has it been in the works?

Atherton: The album’s been done and ready since late summer so these past months have just been prep to get our ducks in a row.

P Brain: We wrote it in a week yeee.

Do you have any plans for a video to support the release?

Atherton: Yes, we have many video plans….Paul?

P Brain: We’re doing a video for Paul & Dev. We’re having my nephews play Devin and I so it’ll be little kids doing our shit, having fun.

You’ll spend much of March and April touring in the U.S. — why did you decide to do the American dates, and are you releasing the album south of the border as well?

Atherton: Our manger booked the U.S. shows. He’s out of Buffalo so he’s got some contacts south of the 49. In the age of digital distribution we’re releasing it worldwide. Physical copies will be available at select retail outlets as well.

P Brain: America pays so much better. Beer only costs a dollar. I love Canada and wish I never had to leave, but we don’t really have a choice.

Where do you think the road will bring The Leathers next?

Atherton: Hopefully some place awesome. We’re both big fans of touring and performing so as long as we can keep doing that, I’m down. We’re already a few tracks deep into our next release and it looks good. I just wanna make enough money to keep up our ridiculous cocaine and hooker habits.

P Brain: I’d be happy spending most of my time on the road, so long as I had a little bit of cash in my pocket when i was home. I love seeing new places and meeting new people. This type of traveling lets you meet real people from places. How cool is that?

How did your relationship with Easy Tiger develop?

P Brain: My friend travis and i started Easy Tiger last year to put out some records for our friends.

You’re doing hip-hop in a scene where indie-rock is the dominating genre. What misconceptions do people have about hip-hop artists, and do you ever find yourselves marginalized because you don’t sound like Broken Social Scene?

Atherton: First of all, there’s a lot of shitty rappers out there that I think bog down the public’s perception of what hip-hop can offer. It’s easy to rap. To start rapping is easy, all you need is a cheap mic and a computer. It is, however, very hard to do it well.

P Brain: Most of the misconceptions lay with the promoters. They think the crowd’s gonna be thugged out or dangerous or something. I totally agree with Devin’s point — it’s far easier to say you’re a rapper and posture as someone who’s accomplished than to do the same with a band. It’s just to easy to download fruitly loops. Good rappers are good songwriters — a lot of people dont realise that. Good songs are good songs.

What do you think a CMW festival showcase can do for an artist like the Leathers? What are you hoping to get out of the festival?

Atherton: I don’t know, really. We’re not looking for a label, we’re not looking for management. We’ve played a few festivals like this before and I think there’s more hype surrounding bands getting their “big break” than need be. Sure it could happen, but I haven’t seen it. For me it’s just a good weekend of music and playing a show we won’t get paid for (ha ha).

P Brain: GIMMIE THEM MONIES

Who are you looking forward to checking out at CMW?

Atherton: Carlo Meriano (Toys Are Just)

P Brain : POS (who we’re playing with Sunday), TMDP Friday and everyone on the Thursday showcase.

CMW day 1 is in the bag!

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:30:00 -0500

Well alright, night 1 of my CMW 5-day week was last night and I started it off conservatively catching only 3 bands at Rancho before calling it a night. I mainly did this because I’m just getting over a way-harsh cold and because I know I need to save some energy for the next 4 days of guaranteed pandemonium.

So my first set of the night was by Ace Kinkaid who are an instrumental 4 piece out of the Kitchener/Waterloo area. After checking out their Myspace songs yesterday I was really looking forward to hearing their live sound and seeing how it compared. It def exceeded my expectations, which I find can really go either way between the recorded vs. live performances. They played a super tight set of layered guitar & synth and included a whole bunch of styles and techniques into their songs. I have to say at times I didn’t feel like the various styles necessarily jived together like they should have which made some of the songs seem disconnected. It was like one moment they were playing something completely natural and fluid like and then they would stop, 180, and go all erratic noise-band styles. Maybe that’s what they were going for and if it is then they succeeded in doing a good job of it.

Up next was Pick a Piper, who took the stage with like 10 drums and four guys to drum them, plus the other members of the band…one word, INTENSE. Right off the bat I knew their set was going to be deadly, the room was completely packed, rancho’s new stage lights looked amazing and a drumfire was already beginning to barrage the room. Without a doubt the highlight of their set was when they passed out a dozen tambourines and moved two of the kettledrums to the centre of the room, the percussion was off the hook and it felt like we were all at some large drum circle/native pow-wow.

I finished my night off seeing the band Adebesi Shank out of Ireland. PaP was a hard band to follow but I think these guys did a good job at keeping up the energy in the room. They played some really fast tunes, like 180bpm fast, which were heavy on the effects which had a futuristic feel to theme. I really want to see these guys again when I’m running at 100% because I feel like I was maybe too tired to fully enjoy them which is a shame because re-listening to their myspace, they FN rule!

On the agenda tonight I have: Amos the Transparent, Green Go, Hollerado, Wordburglar and the Leathers. Super stoked for Green Go’s set, Lisa and I have a date with the dance floor, will I see you there? Check back tomorrow for my day 2 updates!

CMW Night One- Wed

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:14:00 -0500

Is it just me or did this festival get longer? I’m not complaining—but I did feel that a pre-show nap was necessary. I have to pace myself! This is a five day adventure.

I started my evening by heading to Ye Olde Rancho to pick up my media pass for the festival. Rancho and my friends there were all buzzing with festival excitement. It really is a good time of year for music lovers.

Terri and I made our way over to Supermarket to see Adaline at 9pm. Adaline is a woman with a voice: the kind of voice I dreamed about having when I was small child and wanted to be the little mermaid. She is soulful, passionate and jazzy, with a touch of Tori Amos when she reaches into the higher registers. Adaline’s set was acoustic, just piano and cello, but she is playing a show with a full band on Friday at the Courthouse. A funny note about her lyrics: Adaline’s music is by no means religious, but part way through her set I leaned over to Terri and said “she uses a lot a Christian phrases”. A little later Adaline mentioned that her father is a minister—my God-dar is very good.

Following Adaline—to my surprise and slight dismay—was Street Fever, an Australian rock band. I have to hand it to them for coming all the way from Australia. I also have to say that this band was musically tight. However, their music is derivative: one song started with the drum beat from Holiday by green Day and the singer’s voice was forced through his nose in what Terri described as an Oasis imitation. This band is talented; they just need to focus on honing their own sound.

Next up was Michou, who I had been expecting to see at 10pm. I know now that I had better check the CMF schedule for last minute changes. Michou is a pop-rock outfit from Windsor, Ontario. Their music is a delightful mix of handclaps, trumpet, tender vocals and solid playing. Basically, they sing about their feelings and my heart melts. I am currently wearing a shirt that informs my co-workers “It’s Nice to Michou”.

I made my way back to Rancho in time to catch the very end of Pick a Piper. I barely got in the door, the place was so crowded. There were seven drummers on the stage and they were distributing tambourines to the audience. I don’t know what was going on, but it looked awesome. Loud, primal, intense. I wish I could have seen the whole set.

JT and I zipped over to Neutral for a midnight set: a Montreal band called Dead Messanger. I had never been in Neutral before—it seems like it is better suited for dance parties than shows. I think they were carding out of boredom; there were only 15 people in the place. I only heard a couple of songs from Dead Messenger—it was generic rock that failed to excite after the creativity of Pick a Piper.

Finally, I headed back to Rancho, where I caught a glimpse (from the back of the bar) of both Adebisi Shank and The Wilderness. Adebisi Shank was loud and looked pretty cool in Rancho’s fancy rented lights. I have seen the Wilderness before, they put on a good show, but I ducked out early to catch a little bit of sleep time.

CMW 2010: Wednesday

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:56:00 -0500

I’m sleepy and my lymph nodes hurt. Welcome to CMW!

I started the festival off a bit early yesterday by catching the in-store performance by the Besnard Lakes at Criminal Records. I think the Besnard Lakes are one of those bands I like better live than I do on record; when I see them in person, I can appreciate the guitar and the rocking out, but just listening to their studio stuff doesn’t really do it for me. With that in mind, the in-store performance was enjoyable, though I had to leave a couple songs early in order to get some food in my belleh. But I did not pick up their vinyl on the way out.

Odds of me getting through the weekend without buying any records are low, though. More on this later.

When it comes to the festival, I’ll generally not listen to the artists I’m unfamiliar with in advance of their showcases unless I’m interviewing them; I like to be surprised and to go into the show with no prior expectations. So that’s how it was that my first official CMW show for 2010 was Adaline at the Supermarket and I had no idea what she would sound like; I was scheduled to go there in order to catch Michou, and didn’t know Adaline at all.

Lisa described Adaline as a Tori Amos/Norah Jones mix, and I think that’s fair. She’s a bit more experimental than Jones, not as out there as Amos. She was playing with just her keys and a celloist last night; it did a great job of showcasing her voice, which is lovely. That said, I enjoyed her more upbeat tracks the most, particularly “Chemical Spill” and “Whiter Straighter”, and I think that they’d come off best with a full band. She’ll be playing with just that at the Courthouse on Friday.

We were supposed to see Michou next; it was our main reason for hitting the Supermarket, actually. But we discovered at 10PM that their time slot had been pushed back by an hour, so instead we saw the Street Fever. They were alright; they were catchy and tight, and I felt a bit bad for them because they were doing their best to rock out while contending with a typical Toronto crowd that hung back from the stage. But overall they were a bit too Oasis/late Green Day for my tastes.

Rancho was alright pretty packed when we got over to see Pick A Piper, and it only got more rammed as their set went on. The stage itself also got pretty full, because the band employed as many as half-a-dozen drummers on some tracks. The set was chaotic and infectious; even with the room nearing capacity, the vibe from the crowd was great. Tossing out 40 tambourines to the audience for the last song was a nice way to end a great CMW performance.

Adebesi Shank kept the energy high with their frantic guitar-rock sans vocals. There were only three of them and Rancho’s stage isn’t large, but they made sure to cover every square inch of it, and some of the floor for good measure. Overall they weren’t as much my thing as some of the other acts I saw during the evening, but they certainly had a crowd there that was very into them and could never be faulted for not giving it while on stage.

In all honesty, I didn’t expect Fucked Up to be my thing either. They sound pretty close to what you’d expect a band with that name to sound like, but with some key differences that got me into their set. The band is very loud, for sure, and Pink Eye’s vocals are hollered more than anything else. But they’ve also got some melodic elements, particularly in the backing vocals and the drums, that got me into their sound overall. I wouldn’t have liked the band if it was simply a wall of noise, but they were more complex than that. I likely would have purchased their seven-inch vinyl to benefit murdered and missing Native women, but I had no cash; I will check Fucked Up out further, though. Nice to end night one of the festival with a pleasant surprise.

CMW Night #1 - Hot Kid, Pick a Piper, Fucked Up and more.

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:43:00 -0500

It’s hard to believe that CMW night number one has already come and gone! It feels like the whole festival creeped up on me this year. Last night my week got off to a nice start, spending a lot of time at Rancho as usual, but I did end up at the El Mo (more on that later!).First band up for me was Hot Kid at Rancho. Hot Kid are one of many duos that play dirty garage rock in Toronto. I’ve seen Hot Kid and throughly enjoyed them in the past, so I was interested in how they’d play with a brand new drummer (ex-Tin Bangs). Their set was a solid one— though not mind-blowing. Shiloh Harrison is no slouch when it comes to shredding on her Gretsch and Flying-V though, pounding out crunchy riffs and catchy melodies. From the sounds of it they’ve expanded their sound to include some Metal and Country influences since I’ve last seen them, which is a welcome addition for me. Their new Rick White-produced LP is available on vinyl, so that’s something I’d definitely like to check out in the future.

Next on the bill at Rancho were Ace Kinkaid. They played an interesting set of psychedelic-electro-prog. Their songs definitely earned the term “sprawling”, as they never seemed to sit in one genre/tempo for very long. One moment they’d be rocking a psychedelic freak-out jam and the next they’d bust into a disco hi-hat break with a fat chunky synth line. I thought their set was pretty cool, if not a tad over-long. Near the end of the set I found myself losing interest.

Pick a Piper have been getting lots of buzz due to the fact that they’re a Caribou side-project, so of course by the time tour-mates Ace Kinkaid finished up, Rancho was packed. Pick a Piper have been hyping that they’d be playing with four drummers, and they weren’t lying. One full kit, another half kit, and countless other floor toms and snares spilled off the stage and onto the dance-floor. The volume of drumming in the first song alone felt like the place was going to tear down from the inside. It was awesome, and CMW has it’s first festival highlight with that set. At the end, they tossed a ton of mini-tambourines into the crowd so everyone could join in. People will ask “Were you there that time Pick a Piper played with all those drummers?” about last night.

Adebesi Shank Played next, and I’ll be honest and say that I hung near the back of the crowd for a good portion of their set. They sounded like a really thrashy, math punk kind of Battles style art-rock. The lighting set up CMW has installed at Rancho was going nuts along with the band too, so it looked great as well.

I finished up my final 50 for the evening so Terri and I could go check out Fucked Up at the El Mo. I was expecting a big line up, or a packed house when we got there, but surprisingly we walked in with no problems. There was a hefty crowd but the El Mo wasn’t over-stuffed by any means. Fucked Up took the stage at 1 am and proceeded to play a blast of fast, loud, and melodic hardcore. This was my first time seeing them play and I’m glad I got the chance. They had great stage presence, and you can you can just tell they’re one of those bands that loves to get up on stage night after night and have a blast.

It was a great end to a really, really solid first night of CMW music. Tonight is looking solid too, I will be checking out Language Arts, Wordburglar and Kidstreet, among others.

Fucked Up are really loud. But also good.

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:24:03 -0500

Fucked Up are really loud. But also good.

Adebesi Shank mean business.

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:54:35 -0500

Adebesi Shank mean business.

Pick A Piper threw out tambourines. That was fun.

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:25:25 -0500

Pick A Piper threw out tambourines. That was fun.

Adaline’s set at Supermarket started off our official CMW...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:40:07 -0500

Adaline’s set at Supermarket started off our official CMW shows. She’s playing Friday at the Courthouse with a full band.

Starting my CMW with an in-store performance by the Besnard...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:56:10 -0500

Starting my CMW with an in-store performance by the Besnard Lakes at Criminal Records.

Wordburglar performs in a Yonge Street bookstore in Toronto for...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:28:40 -0500

Wordburglar performs in a Yonge Street bookstore in Toronto for minilogues on March 7, 2010. Check him out for CMW at Rancho Relaxo on Thursday night.

minilogues.com

myspace.com/wordburglar

CMW Preview: Ten Questions with Rich Aucoin

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:26:08 -0500

Reading about Rich Aucoin, one quickly gets the impression that he doesn’t spend much time sitting still. The Haligonian has finished two albums, made tons of musical friends and toured around the country on a bike. On top of it, his electro-pop makes you want to dance, so you’ll be up out of the chair with him. You can check his beats and charisma out for yourself at his CMW showcases at Whippersnapper Gallery and Lee’s Palace on Thursday and 1059 and Rivoli on Saturday.

Halifax has a history as a vibrant musical scene — how is that
continuing today, and who are some of your favourite Haligonian
artists?

It’s definitely as good now as it’s ever been though not as much of a
spotlight is on us at the moment as it was in the 90s. Fav people out
here at the moment (aside from the obvious ones) are: I See Rowboat’s
new project which has been changing its name each show lately,
First-Aid Kit, Windom Earle, Mean Wind with members from the now
defunked York Redoubt and Gideons which were both amazing as well,
Cousins, Bad Vibrations, Stance, and Dog Day are amazing.

You’ve got some TBA dates in the UK up on your MySpace — where are
you hoping to play and do you have a solid audience in the UK already,
or is that something you’re hoping these dates will help develop?

I just updated those TBAs on the MySpace! They’re still TBAs but that’s just because I don’t know our set times yet but we’re definitely going to the UK in May and playing The Great Escape, Liverpool SoundCity Fest and a handful of other shows.
Your Personal Publications EP features dozens of collaborators and
was recorded over one year. What are the advantages to recording in
that style, and do you plan to do it again for a future release or
will you try a new approach?

I apologize for the confusion but the first record is called Personal Publication as I did it by myself and this new, unreleased one, is called Public Publication and it’s recorded with roughly 500 musicians from across Canada and now it’s stretched into two years of work on it. No, my plan is to do the opposite of something on each new record for the remainder of my music making. So first one is alone, second with everyone. The next record will probably be not a Wall Of Sound record but will have a core group of instruments and the plan is to not have any track longer than 3min after writing Public; record with really really long songs on it.
Speaking of that, are there any new releases in the works for you?

Public Publication is still unreleased so that’ll be released in the fall and then I’ll have another one out every year after that. No more of this two years working on a record business!
You play films during your shows that work with the music. What’s
the chicken-egg relationship there; do the films come first or the
songs? And why is that visual element important to you?

The films comes first yes. I write all my music to sync to visuals as a method of confining myself to something. Before I started the first record, Personal, which syncs to The Grinch, I wrote down the start and end times of what were to become the songs of the record so I knew from the beginning that “At War With The Cynics” had to be 2:31 before writing it. The second record, I wrote both ways with the songs and visuals being cut together. I think I’m going to write the next record to sync to a film but then also shoot another film myself to sync up with the record.
Charity work has been incorporated into your travel for touring and
recording. Why did you want to work that in, and what are some of
your favourite charities.

I guess because I haven’t chosen to go into a medical/scientific field
but still want to do what I can and if that means play for free or
bike across Canada then that’s fine with me. I don’t really have any
favourite charities, in fact, I’m just going down the list and hope to
have raised money for everyone eventually.

Where’s your favourite place to play in Canada?

The Wardroom or The Evolve Music Festival or Gus’ Pub.
Where have you not yet played in Canada that you’d love to hit?

I’ve luckily gotten to play in almost every city thanks to the bike
tour (really doesn’t let you skip any). I’m really looking forward to
playing outside the country over the next year and maybe donning the
bike again as my method for transportation.

You’ve got four Toronto dates listed for this week — what are you
hoping for from the shows and your participation in the festival?

I’m hoping to figure out who wants to release this record that’s been
engulfing me for the past two years and then figure out who wants to
help with future touring and releases.

Finally, which other artists are you hoping to check out at
Canadian Music Week?

I actually made myself a schedule:
FRI
Brasstronaut 11:00PM - Drake
Dan Mangan 11:00PM - The Courthouse
Metz 12:00AM - Garrison
Think About Life 1:00AM - Lee’s
SAT
Yukon Blonde 8:30PM - Horseshoe
Plants and Animals 8:50PM - Royal York
The Rural Alberta Advantage 9:45PM -Royal York
SUN
Parlovr 8:00PM - Pheonix
Young Rival 9:00PM
Born Ruffians 10:00PM

CMW Preview: 9.5 Questions with Winter Gloves

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:30:00 -0500

This past week, I had the chance to sit down and talk with Charles and Patrick of Winter Gloves and get the scoop on their new record, upcoming tour and even who they are looking forward to seeing/playing with at CMW this week. You have two chances to catch these guys live this Friday night: first at 9pm at Lee’s Palace, then again at 11pm at the El Mocombo. Both these showcases have tons of killer bands, so show up early — and trust me, no one will blame you if you decide to see these fellas twice in one night and follow them to both venues!

So to start off I’m going to ask a lighter question, which is: what has been your most favoured pair of winter gloves that you’ve owned and why?

Charles: (chuckles) Mine were my mom’s puffy beige ski mitts when I was seven years old. I loved them and I actually still have them to this day.

Patrick: Mine have to be the black smoker gloves with the removable mitt from back in my teenage years. Even though I now own a pair of leather ones, those still have to be my favourite.

I can see from your schedule that you guys have a couple of busy months coming up, including playing CMW and SXSW, and then heading over to Europe for all of May. What show/country are you most looking forward to playing/seeing?

Charles & Patrick: We, of course, are excited to play all the festivals but we’re really looking forward to our Europe dates, which is going to be our first tour out that way and not to mention our first visit to the UK. On top of that we get to do it with our good friends You Say Party We Say Die, who were our tour mates on our first Canadian tour and who’ve since become like family to us, so it’s really quite the dream come true for us.

So it sounds like the band had noticeable success within the first year of being together. How soon after releasing your EP did you start working with Paper Bag Records?

Charles: Yeah it was really fast, within the first two months of us putting our songs on MySpace they got in touch with us and brought us out to play some shows, and we actually met our booker and manager through them as well.

Patrick: I think the reason we decided to finally sign with them was mainly because they did more than just talk about what they were going to do, they actually did it. Not to mention they are an established label with a good history and with a handful of successful bands under their belt, so we just trusted our instincts.

I see that your MySpace status says that you guys are recording new songs. Does this mean a new full-length is in the works?

Charles: It does! We’ve been working on it for the past two months, since getting back from tour on December 2, and we hope to finish up soon so the album can be ready for a September release.

I’ve never been a huge fan of music videos, but I really enjoyed the vid you guys put out for Let Me Drive with the flip-illustration story. Who was the artist behind the images and how did you guys come up with the initial concept?

Patrick: The artist was Benjamin Weinstein and our manager was actually the one who got in touch with him for us. We actually had a lot of submissions from various people but really liked the simplicity of Ben’s idea and were told the technique had never been done before, so we decided to go with it. It ended up being quite the elaborative process, with weeks of converting footage into the illustrated material and then the post-production. In the end we were really happy with the outcome and we even got to keep the copies of the flip books!

So you guys did an electronic cover of “Smells like Teen Spirit” that you released back in 2008. What made you guys pick that song to cover and was it hard to get the rights to the song? (Since we all know how difficult Courtney Love can be when it comes to the Nirvana enterprise.)

Patrick: (laughs) Well we actually didn’t sell it, so we didn’t have to get the rights to the song. We put it together for the Thunderheist tour and released it free online.

Charles: “Smells like Teen Spirit” is one of those untouchable songs to cover but Nirvana played such a huge role in our generation and were a huge inspiration for me while growing up that it just felt like the right song to play over any other.

Patrick: Yeah, Paper Bag had sent us a whole bunch of different, more obscure songs to check out and to pick to cover, but none of them were what we were looking for. Then one day in our van we popped in the Nevermind tape and were all rocking out, reliving our youth, and we all decided that was the song we wanted to cover.

Coming from Quebec where the prominent language is French-Canadian, what made you decide to write all the vocals in English? And do you think you guys will ever mix the two?

Charles: Writing in English was always a natural thing to me because I grew up listening to bands who were singing in English. It started off with Michael Jackson and the Backstreet Boys and then quickly moved to Metallica. I grew up in Quebec City, which is prominently French, so I think I was just fascinated by the language. My first band was English and even though I was questioned by a lot of friends about it, it just always felt right. I ended up learning to fluently speak it only after moving to Brighton England for a couple years.

In the spirit of Canadian Music Week and CBC Radio 3’s recent poll of the top 20 Canadian Festivals, what has been Winter Gloves’ favorite festival to play to date?

Charles: I would have to say mine is Osheaga in my hometown, Montreal. It’s just such a friendly organization and really well run. And it’s cool having a bunch of friends around to enjoy it with while also bumping into such acts as Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Roots just on the street.

Patrick: Mine is SXSW, without a doubt. The whole week is complete mayhem with bands literally playing in every nook & cranny from rooftops to encroached corners. I think one of my favourite moments so far has been seeing this band from Sweden called Mandaio play to an empty room one day and then turn around and play to a full crowd in the main square the very next, all while playing their hearts out and not showing the slightest hint of concern to the dramatic difference in attendance.

And finally, with CMW 2010 only over a week away, which acts are you guys most looking forward to seeing?

Charles: I’m really looking forward to catching the Handsome Furs, who play just after us at the Elmo on Friday.

Patrick: I’m hoping to catch Plants & Animals, who play Lee’s Friday. I kind of missed the boat when these guys first came out and just recently got into their stuff. I had the chance to see them play an acoustic set before, but I’m really looking forward to getting to see them play with the full band and gear.

(Photo: Myriam Gaumond)