Elephant Stone - Knock You From Your Mountain

I am wigging out over Elephant Stone. I dig their pop/psychedelia/rock/Madchester swirl. I am glad their Soundcloud page says "Discover the soundz of Elephant Stone (the good, the bad, and the chutney)".

Knock You From Your Mountain



Knock You From Yr Mountain - P.I.A. Remix (Peter from The Dandy Warhols)


Child Of Nature (Om Namah Shivaya)


Echo & The Machine - The Al Lover Remix


A Silent Moment (The Tom Furse Remix)


A dreamy version of a Tom Petty's Into the Great Wide Open? Ok.


An echo chamber of psychedelic funhouse tripping over The Doors' LA Woman:


The first Christmas song Scruffy shares this year:


And some older Elephant Stone for ya:

S/T


The Glass Box EP


The Seven Seas

Mobina Galore - Bad Love Song

Winnipeg's Mobina Galore has a new album coming out Dec 9 called Cities Away, and I think it's gonna be a juggernaut. Although the band's name always reminds me of late Wpg band Monuments Galore, their sound is the kind that makes me excited about new music again. Raw rock 'n' roll, fiery punk with sweet backing vox, simply hard-hitting garage stomp, the new one is produced by John Paul Peters, who has worked with Propagandhi, Royal Canoe, and Comeback Kid. Courtney Love wishes she made music like this, heck, Dave Grohl wishes he did. Mobina Galore could play with Rancid or Comeback Kid or Joan Jett. Release show at the Park Theatre on Dec 27 with Clipwing and Union Stockyards. You can download Bad Love Song below.

Bad Love Song



Years Of Lies


Mistake


Pieces of You (live)


Photo at top of page by Jenna Priestner.

Hey Operators! Big Fun!

Remember that Coney Hatch song Hey Operator? No? It was brilliant. "Make the telephone talk to me," belted Carl Dixon. Anyway, I hope someone does a synthy version of it of it called Hey Operators in honour of synth-pop purveyors Operators, who are coming to town as part of the Big Fun Festival Thursday January 29th 2015 @ The West End Cultural Centre with Hana Lu Lu and Will to Power. Operators is the new band from Dan Boeckner, who has also created heavenly sounds in Divine Fits, Handsome Furs, and Wolf Parade. Four great bands already? Boeckner must be some kind of genius. With Devojka and Sam Brown, Boeckner is whipping up more aural joy.  


You can purchase Operators stuff here.


Start Again

True

Cruel


Cold Light


Live at KEXP
Tour
1/6 - Boston, MA @ Royale w/ Future Islands
1/7 - Boston, MA @ Royale w/ Future Islands
1/8 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5 w/ Future Islands
1/9 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5 w/ Future Islands
1/10 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer w/ Future Islands
1/11 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer w/ Future Islands
1/14 - Chicago, IL @ Schuba's - Tomorrow Never Knows Festival
1/29 - Winnipeg, MB @ West End Cultural Centre
1/30 - Vancouver, BC @ The Fox
1/31 - Vancouver, BC @ The Fox
2/4 - Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre w/ The New Pornographers
2/5 - Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall w/ The New Pornographers
2/6 - London, ON @ London Music Hall w/ The New Pornographers
2/7 - Guelph, ON @ Hillside Inside w/ The New Pornographers
2/8 - Hamilton, ON @ Molson Canadian Studio w/ The New Pornographers

Crooked Brothers - Thank You I'm Sorry

The Crooked Brothers will be celebrating the release of their newest album, Thank You I'm Sorry, at the West End Dec. 12. Is that the most Canadian album title ever? When the Winnipeggers put out the deluxe version with demos, remixes and live versions maybe they will just tack on "Eh". In the meantime, it's a tasty roots album, even without back bacon and stubbies of Canadian. What do you get on Thank You I'm Sorry Excuse Me? Beautiful, mournful guitar (Blackbird in the Snow), up-tempo footstompers (Pass You By), dark Tom Waitsian storytime (Organs on Demand) and roaring Waitsian growls (Lightning in my Chest), forceful blues (Mean Mean Baby), and pretty restrained harmonies (Sittin True, North of the Border). You're welcome, no apology necessary.


Thank You I'm Sorry


Postcard EP


Lawrence, Where's your Knife?


Deathbed Pillowtalk


Dec 2 - Kelowna, Minstrel Cafe
Dec 3 - Sicamous, House Concert
Dec 5 - Edmonton, Artery w/ The Whiskey Sheiks
Dec 6 - Lloydminster, The Root
Dec 7 - Saskatoon, The Bassment
Dec 12 - Winnipeg, West End Cultural Centre

The Besnard Lakes Are No Barenaked Ladies

Listening to the radio recently, and the on-air personality told me that Sam Roberts Band is playing at the Burton Cummings Theatre Nov. 21. Also, Barenaked Ladies are opening. I thought I misheard, but the guy said it again. That' a weird bill, I thought. So I checked as soon as I could, and sure enough, no Ladies, it is The Besnard Lakes.


The Besnard Lakes do not deserve this kind of treatment. Maybe the band hasn't put out the radio/video hits that BNL did, and perhaps the goofy wisecracking thing isn't part of The Besnard Lakes image. But The Besnard Lakes make an intoxicating blend, with My Bloody Valentine, Beach Boys, Spiritualized and Neil Young all serving as touchstones for an epic sound.


People of the Sticks


Colour Yr Lights In


And Her Eyes Were Painted Gold


At Midnight


The Specter


46 Satires

Catalina


Alamogordo


Devastation


For Spy Turned Musician


Albatross


For Agent !3


I've Got A feeling


You Mke Loving Fun (Fleetwood Mac cover)


We're Here For A Good Time (Not A Long Time)


Some Sam R0berts Band for good measure.

We're All In This Together (Free download)


Them Kids


The Canadian Dream


Hard Road


Don't Walk Away Eileen

futurekids - say goodnight to the machines

I hate when a clever, cool band starts making music in Winnipeg and I don't hear about it right away, such as when I didn't hear about Cannon Bros. until way after the fact. Another one that fell under my radar is futurekids, who flirt with shoegaze and Britpop frames. Liquid, shimmering guitar lines play off reverb and echo to spare, leading to a dream pop that alternates between soothing and epic, tense and tightly wound and freely unfurled. Slightly reminiscent of another Canadian band called Conrad that few people heard about.
futurekids will shake off some gloom at a release show for "say goodnight to the machines" at the Windsor Hotel in Winnipeg on Saturday, October 18.

Check out the brilliant animated video for In-Service, painstakingly created by bass player/songwriter Nicholas Friesen.

In-Service



 Here's a free download of Merit Badge.


Captain Furniture Valley


Olivia Sea


Alt Street Weekly
`

A Billion Hundred


Quiz Show


A demo version of Olivia Sea? Why thank you, yes.

Warsaw - Record Lows, Show Sept 18

Winnipeg's Warsaw is waiting patiently for you to download their demo, Record Lows, which is free or pay-what-you-will. A compelling blend of melodic scrappy punk (think Samiam) and sludgy, hooky-but-punishing alt-metal (Helmet), Warsaw rises above. And it should, because the musicians in the band (Darren Achorn/ drums, Josh Bedry/ guitar, Curran Faris/ guitar & vocals, and Ethan Osland/ bass) have all proven themselves in so many bands I'm not even going to start listing them, 'cause we ain't got all day.



Carrion Talker


Warsaw will be playing with Russian Circles and The Atlas Moth Thursday Sept. 18 at The Pyramid Cabaret.

Royal Canoe - Exodus of the Year

Royal Canoe's newest video is a brilliant piece of work clarifying that Winnipeg is a land of potholes, bargain stores, parking lots, guard dogs, tanks, tributes to Louis Riel, and love. As a band that are becoming our ambassadors by default ( as The Weakerthans were for a while, and Propagandhi too!), it's one of the most perfect homages ever. Funny, odd, outdated and a little bizarre, the video is just like Winnipeg.




Here's a live version for ya, with real strings!


Royal Canoe is often doing something noteworthy, like performing Beck's SongReader (you can hear a few track here), and here's some video.

Button Fumbla (Live)


The band also does a truckload of shows. Yeah, they've played your town. Twice. Here's the next few dates, find the rest here, ya lazy bugger.

Sep 13 Harvest Moon Festival Clearwater, Canada
Sep 20 Scotia Bank Stage - Rightsfest Winnipeg, Canada
Sep 30 The Exchange w/ Close Talker Regina, Canada
Oct 01 The Capitol w/ Close Talker Saskatoon, Canada
Oct 02 Pawn Shop w/ Close Talker Edmonton, Canada
Oct 03 Bo's Bar & Grill

The Watchmen - In the Trees Deluxe Edition (Double Album!) Pre-Order Available Today

The Watchmen recently released details of the Deluxe Edition reissue of 1994's In the Trees, which will include a whopping 34 tracks. It features the original album remastered, demos for all of those songs, 5 unreleased demos, live tracks from a Netherlands radio performance, and a 2000-word essay on the band/album.

 Can't think of many Canadian artists from that era that have gone back and put out special versions of their records. Blue Rodeo put out a box set celebrating their first 25 years. The Hip's Up To Here is a cherished record, and they haven't put out an expanded edition, even though it was remastered. Sloan did it with Twice Removed, and they did it properly. The Watchmen took a big step forward on their second album (drummer Kohn once said that one song on the first album was "one long wank"), soundwise and songwise, so I am not surprised it was a success and still resonates for fans and for band members.

I asked Kohn, The Watchmen drummer extraordinaire, how the deluxe edition came to be a real thing.

"Eight or nine months ago I started thinking about (the album's 20-year anniversary). I have always been the archival master, in charge of the Vault, which is a big shoebox in my parents' basement. And I'm still the guy that picks up Mojo , scours Pitchfork, and likes to find cool exciting stuff and rarities. I thought it would be cool for fans to get a fresh look at an album that didn't have much gimmickry to it."

 What were your bandmates' responses to that idea?

 "I think they were thinking, 'Here goes Sammy again...', but once I started forwarding contracts, Joey (Serlin) called me and said, 'Do you want to come to my studio so we can listen to this shit?'"

Kohn suggested that band members don't have the same "quality control attitude" that they used to share. I distinctly remember asking Daniel Greaves why the band didn't put out their own release before getting signed - I'm pretty sure that was back in 1991 when Barenaked Ladies were selling truckloads of cassettes. Greaves looked askance and replied, "I don't want some shitty tape out there!"

"This thing is not without its flaws, it's a warts and all look at what I think is a great album, arguably the best collection of songs, " Kohn says. "And you can hear some pretty significant changes on the demos...Lusitana didn't have a chorus, Danny was just scatting, and All Uncovered you'll hear some differences."

And if that's not enough, there will be a book coming out on Eternal Cavalier Press in the fall by author Vanessa Azzoli about the band, revolving mainly around the In The Trees era. Heck , I even saw a Tweet the other day about a craft beer called Night Watchmen, also out in Sept and sure to be found at Motel Bar.

Of course, with all this nostalgia, the question of new music is always going to come up. The band gave away two new tracks, Trampoline and Miss Monday Morning, 5 years ago and nothing new since. Writing new songs for The Watchmen is not a priority, but is it a possibility?
"That would be the next logical step," admits Kohn. "But I can't really imagine us hammering it out in a room. I think it's up to those guys."

Watchmen documentary:

The Watchmen - All Uncovered - Full Documentary from ReilMunro on Vimeo.


All Uncovered


Boneyard Tree


Lusitana


34 Dead Street


Wiser


Calm


In My Mind


Laugher


The South


Born Afire


Vovo Diva


Middle East

IN THE TREES Track listing:

Disc One
1. 34 Dead St.
2. Boneyard Tree
3. Lusitana
4. Wiser
5. Calm
6. All Uncovered
7. In My Mind
8. Laugher
9. The South
10. Born Afire
11. Vovo Diva
12. Middle East
13. Nothing (Demo Outtake)
14. Take My Fever (Demo Outtake)
15. Hurting Place (Demo Outtake)
16. Dragon (Demo Outtake)
17. In The Trees (Demo Outtake)


Disc Two

1. 34 Dead Street (Demo)
2. Boneyard Tree (Demo)
3. Lusitana (Demo)
4. Wiser (Demo)
5. Calm (Demo)
6. All Uncovered (Demo)
7. In My Mind (Demo)
8. Laugher (Demo)
9. The South (Demo)
10. Born Afire (Demo)
11. Vovo Diva (Demo)
12. Middle East (Demo)
13. Lusitana (Live)
14. All Uncovered (Live)
15. Boneyard Tree (Live)
16. Middle East (Live)
17. In My Mind (Acoustic)

Amazon pre-order here, release date is Sept. 16.

iTunes preorder here, the release date is Sept. 16, but the acoustic version of In My Mind is available now .

Youth Decay - Little Winnipeg

Youth Decay recently released this little ditty entitled Little Winnipeg. Don't know what it's about yet, haven't figured out all of the lyrics. Can any of you tell me?

Youth Decay includes guys that have played with Comeback Kid, Living With Lions, Misery Signals, and Lowtalker, The Grave Life, Carpenter, Daggermouth, and Aspirations.


You can get the song for free on a New Damage Records Summer Sampler . It includes The Flatliners, Danko Jones, and Gob, among many others.

Sloan - Keep Swinging (Downtown): Is Sloan the Canadian KISS?

New Sloan? Yes. The album is called Commonwealth, there's a side for each guy (like the KISS solo records!), out September 9. Kiss made a concept record (The Elder), and Andrew Scott's side is an 18-minute suite called Forty-Eight Portraits. It's possible the band will be doing a Vegas residency instead of KISS, I don't know.



Diamond Side (Jay):

1) We've Come This Far 2) You've Got A Lot On Your Mind
3) Three Sisters
4) Cleopatra
5) Neither Here Nor There

Heart Side (Chris):

6) Carried Away
7) So Far So Good
8) Get Out
9) Misty's Beside Herself
10) You Don't Need Excuses To Be Good

Shamrock Side (Patrick):

11) 13 (Under A Bad Sign)
12) Take It Easy
13) What's Inside
14) Keep Swinging (Downtown)

Spade Side (Andrew):

15) Forty-Eight Portraits

How about a free download of recently-released cover of The Good In Everyone by The Almighty Rhombus?


Another freebie. choir! choir! choir! do Everything You've Done Wrong.

Nash the Slash Passes

Supposedly Nash the Slash passed away yesterday. There's a fine letter from Nash on his website explaining his retirement in 2012, which serves as a fair epitaph. I met the man once, shook his white-gloved hand, and marvelled at the wonder of Nash the Slash. I don't think we will ever see another just like him. He took chances, made unique sounds, revealed a sense of humour, and recorded some inventive covers.


19th Nervous Breakdown


Vincent's Crows


Dance after Curfew


Tension


Wolf


Swing Shift


It's a Novel Romance


American Band


Dopes on the Water


Normal


Psychotic Reaction


Baba O'Riley


1984

D.O.A.'s Dave Gregg Passes Away

I only got to catch D.O.A. with Dave Gregg once. But I have always loved those early D.O.A. records. To me, Something Better Change and Hardcore '81 meant punk rock. I knew next-to-nothing about the Sex Pistols or Ramones or whatever you call punk rock. But I knew D.O.A. When I first heard The Dickies, I thought, "That's not punk rock! They sound NOTHING like D.O.A.!"

Gregg played guitar with D.O.A. from '80 to '88, opening my ears and mind and heart to a whole new strain of music I didn't know existed.

Sadly, Gregg died yesterday.


 The Enemy

General Strike

The Prisoner

Waiting for You

Watcha Gonna Do?

Slumlord

Unknown

War

Photo at top by Alex Waterhouse-Hayward.

The Juno Awards - Best New Band Over the years

The Juno Awards are happening in Winnipeg this year, and Robin Thicke was supposed to come but dropped out at the last minute. A fellow I know tweeted, "Thicke's absence opens the door for 13 Engines". I wish.

I went swimming through some history on the Juno Awards, mostly on the category which began as Most Promising Group and morphed into Best New Group/New Group of the Year/Breakthrough Group of the Year. It's easy to find fault in hindsight, but I still think there have been a few odd choices. Some nuggets for ya:

 In 1977, Burton Cummings won for most promising male vocalist. One of the his competitors? Winestoned Plowboy Nestor Pistor.


In 1980 and 1981, Bryan Adams lost out for most promising male vocalist, to Walter Rossi in '80 and Graham Shaw in '81.

Graham Shaw is pretty good though.


In 1998, Age of Electric received a nomination for Best New Group. The band had been releasing albums since 1990. Strangely enough, AOE members Ryan and Kurt Dahle formed a side project called Limblifter, put out a self-titled album in 1996, and managed to get nominated for the Best New Group award - the year BEFORE their old band did.

Age of Electric


Limblifter


1983 saw Rational Youth, The Box, and Images in Vogue lose out to Idle Eyes for Most Promising New Group.

Rational Youth




The Box




Images in Vogue


In 1979, Max Webster lost out for Most Promising Group of the Year to some group called Hometown Band.

Max Webster


Martha & the Muffins and Red Rider lost out in '81 AND '82. One year they lost to Powder Blues Band.

Martha & the Muffins


Red Rider


In 1991, Spirit of the West, Crash Vegas and National Velvet lost out to Leslie Spit Treeo.

Spirit of the West


Crash Vegas


National Velvet


Have the Junos ever gotten this award right? Maybe. Like The Stills and Wintersleep, for example. Rush, Skydiggers, The Hip and The Payolas won, so I am sure some people feel that there have been a few worthy wins.

The Stills


Wintersleep


Skydiggers



However, in 1986 Chalk Circle went up against Cats Can Fly, Eye Eye, One to One, and Glass Tiger. Chalk Circle was robbed, robbed I tell ya.

Chalk Circle
 

Beef Donut - Famous for Quality

Beef Donut is officially releasing a new album, Famous for Quality, March 7 at the Windsor Hotel with The Manic Shakes and Kato Destroy. Beef Donut is the creation of Joel Klaverkamp, the primary mover for Drums and Wires, the Hummers, and Skingerbreadman. You also may have seen him play drums with groups such as Boats or plonk the bass for Grand Analog, Greg Macpherson, and numerous others.

Klaverkamp says in a recent press release that Famous for Quality is his grunge record, with the ultimate goal being "zero novelty and zero pretense". That doesn't mean it sounds like Mudhoney or Nirvana or whatever you think is the epitome of grunge. Sure, you get fuzzy guitars and crashing drums, but there's a pervading sense of playfulness here that your favourite grunge song forgot.



Famous for Quality Track Listing
1 Found Like This
2 You Lie Awake
3 Something On Your Mind
4 Just Colours
5 My Love Is For Real
6 Cover Me
7 Wave Decay
8 Signs Of The Season
9 Let Me Go Take Me Back

You can contact Beef Donut at beefdonut@gmail.com to find out where/how to buy the album if you don't make it the release party at the Windsor.

Del Barber - Prairieography

Is there such a thing as pure country anymore? If so, I nominate Del Barber as a prime example. Not new country, not alt-country, but true country from the heart of the prairies, Winnipeg to be exact. His new record Prairieography sees the man taking on clichés both country and Canadian (city vs. country, fishing, drinking, and playing hockey) and wrapping 'em up in a sincerity that's disarming. There have been a few Winnipeg artists in the last few years who struck me as amazingly honest (Scott Nolan, Greg Macpherson and the Western States come to mind), but every song on this record seems so clear and genuine it could stop a person its tracks. To me, the album could have been called Less Artifice, More Warmth.
Try Walking in a Straight Line or Living With a Long Way To Go.

Prairieography is out now in Canada and in the U.S. on April 15 through True North Records.





Tour Dates

Feb 26 The Bassment Saskatoon, Canada RSVP
Feb 27 Station Arts Centre Rosthern, Canada RSVP
Mar 01 Strathcona Community Centre Calgary, Canada Tickets RSVP
Mar 02 Geomatic Attic Lethbridge, Canada Tickets RSVP
Mar 04 Communitea Cafe Canmore, Canada Tickets RSVP
Mar 05 Jasper Legion Jasper, Canada Tickets RSVP
Mar 07 St. Basil's Cultural Centre Edmonton, Canada RSVP
Mar 08 Forestburg Community Hall Forestburg, Canada RSVP
Mar 20 Park Theatre Winnipeg, Canada Tickets RSVP
Mar 21 Park Theatre Winnipeg, Canada Tickets RSVP
Apr 05 Millennium Place Whistler, Canada Tickets RSVP
Apr 14 Jaeb Theater Tampa, FL

Inbreds - Best Canadian songs of all Time No. 9

This series of posts will be offering the definitive list of the best Canuck tunes ever recorded, scientifically tabulated, collated and obfuscated by the Brain of Scruff, in absolutely-not numerical order. Check out the list so far here.


How amazing can a rock band become with only two instruments? Clearly a lot of people jumped on The White Stripes bandwagon. But years before that pair managed to pull off garagey hits, The Inbreds were a duo that made their mark primarily featuring only bass, drums and voice. Joyrides of fuzzy bass propelled bittersweet choruses, oft-restrained percussion gave way to cymbal-crashing waves, voices straddled an invisible line between euphoria and melancholy.

The Inbreds - Any Sense of Time