Best of last year, what's to come and The End of Scruffy?

That pic above is the end of Yak. And right now it looks like this might be the end of Scruffy the Yak, or at least for an indefinite period of time. My laptop died, making it almost impossible to put this thing together. So here's a round up of a bunch of artists I didn't get the time to post about, some of which are my favourites for 2014, and some newer stuff. See ya 'round.

Ryan Adams finally embraced his inner Bryan Adams, Tom Petty, even Rick Springfield. Top 5 album last year.

Gimme Something Good


The Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen


Champagne Years - Skinny Jeans



Duotang came back from the dead like Walkers, except with more emotions. Get Duotang Unreleased EP from the Winnipeg Free Press's Anthony Augustine and the band, go here.Grab the audio from Duotang's Triumphant return to the Winnipeg stage from the always-insightful Teenage Dogs in Trouble.


Live at the Mint Records 2014 Xmas party


Failure - Come Crashing


Faith No More - MF


Bryan Ferry - Loop De Li


The Hours - Miss Emerald Green



jeff the brotherhood - What's A Creep


Jet Set Satellite - Ashes From the Fire


Junior Gone Wild got back together for a few shows, and Mike McDonald released a solo record. Here's hoping some new JGW songs are on the way.

The Cliche Song


Leaf Rapids - Healing Feeling


Manic Street Preachers - Walk Me To the Bridge


Metric - Fatal Gift


The New Wild


Robert Plant
Rainbow


Turn it Up


A messed-up version of Black Dog? Sure.


Posies - Failure


Red Vienna - Golden Dove


Sloan - Cleopatra


Sons of Freedom
USA Long Distance


Super Cool Wagon


Spoon - They Want My Soul


Trevor Tuminski - Covers


The Waterboys - Beautiful Now


Whitehorse - Sweet Disaster


The Yetis - Warm California

Winnipeg and Manitoba Artists To Keep Your Eyes and Ears On

Federal Lights - I See Love



Les Jupes - Hold Me Down


Les Jupes - Love is a Battlefield


Greg McPherson - 1995




Slow Leaves - Life of a Better Man


Pop Crimes - City Head


Ken Pinchin - Why Do You Call Me

Warsaw - Carrion Talker



Sybil - April Showers


Attica Riots - Talking in Your Sleep


Del Barber - Everything is Not Enough


Cannon Bros. Soft View


Cannon Bros. - Out of Here


Scott Nolan - You Rock We Roll


Matt Epp - Learning to Lose Control


KEN Mode - Romeo Must Never Know


KEN Mode - Counter Culture Complex


Royal Canoe - Exodus of the Year


Sights & Sounds - Nothing at All


JD Edwards - Going down to Mexico




JD Edwards Band - Going Down to Mexico from Procter Bros. Industries on Vimeo.


Distances - Tangled Feet

Shotgun Jimmie - Suzie


Shotgun Jimmie - Captain Howdy


Shotgun Jimmie - Mind Crumb


Les Sexy - La La La

Former Winnipeggers you may want to give some attention? Here you go.

Garfield/Odario Williams keeps getting more ambitious and broadening his palette. If he becomes a star in music, film, television or otherwise I will not be surprised.

Grand Analog - Howl (Like Wolves)


Jahmeel Russell has been putting out his own stuff with Red Vienna, working with Fine Times, and is now playing with San Angelus. Quit being so lazy, slacker.

Red Vienna - Lights Out


San Angelus - All Bets on the Slow Kid


Fine Times - And it Happened at Midnight


Luke Doucet is doing pretty well with Whitehorse. It's about time he got the respect and success he deserves.

Whitehorse - Devils's Got a Gun


Upcoming/Due for some new music?
The Mariachi Ghost - Mariachi Ghost


JP Hoe - Nothing's Going to Harm You




Ridley Bent - Crooked and Loaded
Ridley Bent - Nine Inch Nails


John K. Samson - Letter in Icelandic From the Ninette San


Scott Hinkson - All I Need


The Rowdymen - Ode to Possum


The Rowdymen - Rode Hard

Red Vienna - Lights Out

Vancouver's Red Vienna have released a new tune, Lights Out, available on Bandcamp or iTunes. RV mainman Jahmeel Russell (Kittens, Projektor, Black Halos, KenMode) is a former Winnipegger and a good fella, so I usually pay attention. This song seems to have a bit of an '80s influence to me, Killing Joke perhaps? Nice ringing guitar, always-passionate vocals, cymbal-riding ecstasy.

 Lights Out
Some older stuff for ya: Blood Letter
The Best Words

Red Vienna - Low Lights, Blood Letter

Vancouver's Red Vienna isn't one of those artists that put out a new tune every five minutes (Hello, Robert Pollard!), so when something new comes around, it's not a tossed-off snippet, it's a song worth your time. The band's one some people have been watching becuase it's interesting to see what happens to promising, ambitious music-makers in today's music biz climate. Do major labels in Canada still sign artists before they have had some kind of hit? Is there an indie label that's a good fit for a band like Red Vienna?

I don't think there are lot of music artists in Canada making a good living simply doing their thing. Red Vienna doesn't have any big gimmicks to grab attention that I know of, but they make accessible tunes, often melodic with an edge, and they don't sound like many others. Just listen to the first 60 seconds of Low Lights below, I think you'll agree that Red Vienna is the bee's knees.

















Red Vienna on facebook - http://www.facebook.com/redvienna

Red Vienna on Bandcamp - http://redvienna.bandcamp.com/

Red Vienna on Twitter - https://twitter.com/#!/Red_Vienna

Red Vienna on iTunes - http://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/red-vienna-ep/id372070688

Hello Red Vienna

You know that disappointment when a band you follow implodes? I was saddened when Projektor gave up the ghost. The Winnipeg-based quartet's urgent brand of sweeping melancholy and angsty hyped-up caffeine-guitar injections hit the spot. And the secret weapon was drummer Darren Achorn, one of the best traps men I've ever heard. But Projektor faded, and singer/songwriter-sometime-guitarist-sometime-bassist Jahmeel Russell went off to play with Hide Your Daughters, Mico and Black Halos, adding a move to Vancouver somewhere in there. So I was more than a little pleasantly surprised when I got a message that Russell had finally put together a new sonic vehicle. Red Vienna is a brand-spankin' new band from Vancouver, and now there's a brand-spankin' new EP out there for you to taste; you can get it here.

01 The Best Words - Red Vienna by scruffy the yak


Track Listing:
1. The Best Words 03:26
2. Low Lights 03:22
3. Blood Letter 04:20
4. Victory Victoria 03:55
5. The Long Walk 04:08
6. Reprise

You can also snag Projektor's farewell EP, Atlantic Tired South, even if your pockets are empty, by going here.