Sheepdogs

If you are a fan of indie rock and haven't read the August edition of Rolling Stone, shame on you. That article is the story of the Canadian Dream.....for every young musician who wants to try and have a life in music. In fact, reading it reminded me a bit of a Cameron Crowe movie. With the Pitfalls, and triumphs of a blue collar band looking for direction in a music industry full of roadblocks, monsoons and stolen vans.

So why am I writing this Blog post now? After 4 months of having the Rolling Stone in my magazine rack? Well.....because I had the chance to see the sheepdogs live at Call the Office in London, Ontario of course. Fitting......as I spent the majority of my young adult life seeing bands come through CTO; destination unknown. What a crazy sensation to see possibly Canada's biggest band on their upward trajectory.

I had heard that Sheepdogs were coming but it was sold out as fast as I could even think of booking it. I wasn't at all surprised. Turn on any rock station and you'll hear "I Don't Know" and "Who" played every couple of hours. About 2 days before the show, I get a text message from a friend that they have tickets and one of the holders backed out of the show. Its mine if I want it. I have to get up at 7am the next morning for work.....but in my mind there is only one right answer. There you go, I'm going to see Sheepdogs.

We all take a Van from Chatham to London, 5 of us, all caught up in the cinderella story. Sure we have heard the hits and we bought the album.....but part of the draw is still the legend of the rolling stone cover. I couldn't help but think of what it must have been like back in the heyday of 70's rock, going to see a band like Led Zeppelin in their raw state. Not yet one of the greatest rock bands of all time.....just a damn good band burning up the airwaves.

We arrive in London, and out front of Call the Office is a massive tour bus pulling a trailer. Hmmmmm we thought, is there a rock show tonight? The funny part is......I have been going to call the office for 15 years and I've never seen that. But could it be any other way?

My favourite exempt from the Rolling Stone article:
- The Sheepdogs' nightmare touring stories are epic. "Basically anything and everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong for us," says Gullen. They can't agree on the most dispiriting moment, but the time their van's transmission blew on the way to Calgary is near the top of the list. For the last 4 hours of the drive, they had to stop every 10 minutes and pump in gallons of transmission fluid. They finally ditched the van 15 minutes from town, had friends drive them to the gig, and returned the next day to discover a pile of broken glass in the van's place. Or when they drove 34 hours to Toronto for a big-city club gig and arrived to find that the club was closed that night. (they all peed on the door.) Or the tour when their van was broken into 4 times. Or the multiple times they've booked shows in Halifax, only to have nobody show up, making the 50-hour drive back to Saskatoon even more depressing."

So I ask you....is there any better symbol of success in Canadian indie rock than the "Tour Bus"? I have seen countless artists roll up to Call the Office in minivans or cargo vans. The Dears, Hawksley Workman, Thrush Hermit, Eric's Trip, Sebadoh, Hayden, Wintersleep.....you name it. I think once you have the tour bus you can safely say you are doing something right.

It was also the first sold out show I have been to at CTO for years. It brought back a rush of memories.....having to stake out a spot and send runners to the bar, puffing out my arms and shoulders to keep a pocket open large enough for my friend to return. Drinking Labatt 50, the forgotten ale. Legs sore, back sore......secretly hoping for the night to end before I collapse yet unable to take my eyes off of the stage. Ahhhh those were the days.

The Sheepdogs were fantastic. Absolutely nailed every note of every song, vocal harmonies dead on as well. They played with the urgency you would expect from a young band with their dreams coming true.And they are YOUNG. Could I be any more jealous? I've played that stage before, but never to a crowd like that.

I only hope that somehow the success of Sheepdogs can spark some sort of action in the Canadian Music Industry. There are countless amazing bands out there that you'll never hear. Maybe with this rags to riches story the label execs will look a little further down their noses and give some more young indie bands a chance.

I thought I'd troll youtube for some posts of the show from Dec 8th....and I was able to find one. A nice Jam called "Down By The River". Below that is a nice live clip of "Who" from CBC.

Eric Welton

Back when I started Spur of the Moment Media, I was the first signed artist (baddum cha). I didn't intend to be a solo artist as much as I just loved recording music and the only person I could count on to always show up at the sessions was myself. I recorded 5 albums in the span of 8 years and although my closest friends and family showered me with praise, I never expected the recordings reach too far.

Soon after recording my first cassette I met Eric Welton. We swapped music and had a few good chats about local bands. We both shared the love for recording our songs (for mostly our own enjoyment), so we traded our most recent recordings. Shortly after I moved to London, Ontario and didn't run into him again for several years.

Eric contacted me one day to ask for a copy of my 2005 album, "all the broken hearts". He had heard some tracks on my myspace and was really digging the direction I had gone in. After I got him a disc, I kept hearing from others that he had really been pushing the songs. Playing the cd at parties on repeat, playing it at the bar he worked at, lending it to friends......little did I know he had been doing that with my music ever since we swapped our first albums 7 years earlier.

But this post isn't supposed to be about me.......I'm saying all this because Eric Welton is just that kind of guy.......the champion of his local music scene. Always attending the gigs, always sharing news about local bands. Always bringing people together to support local music and foster the scene that we all want to be a part of. He helped to give me the confidence I needed to re-start Spur of the Moment Media after my day job had taken over the better part of my life. I suspect he has done the same for countless other Chatham-Kent and Windsor artists.

That is why it makes me very proud to return the favour on October 28th by releasing Eric's newest album......"Kill Them With Kindness" on Spur of the Moment Media as our 26th album release.

Kill Them With Kindness is a collection of noise pop gems ranging from the melancholy ballad "The Evil In Your Violence" to the very Pavement-esque "Gone", to the all out dance jam "LC/DC". All the Welton fans out there are in for a serious treat, this one is a must have.

So friends, I'll finish this post by saying....now's the time for me to share Eric Welton with the world. For those who are already familiar with Eric's work, get ready for "Kill Them With Kindness"......coming October 28th on Spur of the Moment Media.

(heres a video to leave you with, as always. the title track)

Band of Horses

I remember the day I discovered Band of Horses..This was around spring '06 I think. I was sitting at home in my last house in London, Ontario and i was listening to some good old itunes radio. I decided I would flip around to some indie stations and try to find some new bands to get into. I went upstairs for a beverage and when I came back down I heard a GREAT song and ran around the corner to see who it was. All I could make out in the song title was "horses". So I did a google search "horses music band" and the name "Band of Horses" came up. I played a couple of their tunes and it wasn't the same band I had just heard.......but actually even better! As soon as I saw that they were on Sub Pop, that was it. I had a new favourite band. Ok, call me indie snob but the Sub Pop sticker usually indicates quality.

I ended up locating the album through the Sub Pop site and giving it a listen....it was like nothing I had ever heard. The vocals were soaked in reverb and in some weird southern accent. The songwriting was incredibly simple but layered in fuzzy guitars and thumping drums. The song that grabbed me the most was "Our Swords"......I just couldn't get enough of the transitions and delayed bass.

I remember playing that CD for everybody who came to my house.....it was almost like cost of admission. It gave me that feeling I haven't had since highschool.....when there was a such thing as underground music in my life. It seemed like every band that came out were gems that I could show friends and feel like the "founder". NOBODY had heard of Band of Horses and EVERYBODY loved it. That was a great summer. I'm pretty certain that BOH dominated my car cd player for 6 months or more.

After searching for shows and only seeing mid western - west coast shows, suddenly DETROIT! Perfect, called up some friends and we made the run for the border on June 15 06 to the Magic Stick.

As we walked up to the venue, there were 4 very scruffy looking fellows with sunglasses on having some food. My friend Eric turned to me and said "I'm pretty sure thats them....I'm going to go ask". Turns out it WAS them.......and they were absolutely astounded that we knew who they were. They were expecting to play Detroit to a crowd of unfamiliars. We explained how huge of fans we were and that we were Canadian.......again they were bamboozled. "You drove all the way from Canada!!!!!" exclaimed Ben Bridwell in his awesome South Carolina twang. We let him believe that was a big deal for a few minutes and then finally admitted that it was only a 1 hr drive for us.

I'd love to say that they knocked our socks off at that show....but unfortunately the sound guy at the Magic Stick was off in LaLa Land. There were many technical issues and not many people attending so the show didn't quite have the energy to leave us buzzing. After the show we met up with the band again out front and before sharing good-byes, Eric took the Canada Pin off of his jacket and handed it over to Ben. Ben acted like we had just given him a bar of gold, and offered that if we wanted to come to the Toronto show in a couple of days.....that they would put us on the guest list.

So Lee's Palace in Toronto was our next stop and I will say, this time they did blow us away. That show was incredible. We hung out with them, shared some beers, and chatted about the craziness they were starting to feel surrounding the album. In only a couple of days they had already begun to feel the mayhem and had been offered to make a video as well as appear on David Letterman. They were so humble and down to earth, it kind of imprinted on us what is pure and good about indie rock shows.....the ability to see bands that are in the exciting stage of their careers. The stage that is full of wonder and hope for where it all may lead. The ability to buy your new favourite Rockstar a beer and not have 100 hipsters lined up for autographs, all pretending they were the first to Discover the Band.

To finish off the post, I'll put up a couple of clips I took with my Dig Cam at that show. Lets just say I went back to Lee's Palace a year later to see them again and it was like U2 came to town. There would be no beers with Mr Bridwell in 2007.

Helium

I love blasts from the past. I was doing some cleaning in my studio and decided to throw on some vinyl so I could whistle while I worked. Digging through my milk crate full of records, I flipped right past my Helium record, and then stopped. I decided to throw it on, since I haven't given it a spin in a couple years. After the first couple of notes.....I remembered just how much I loved Helium in the day.

Helium was in no way a big name in the 90's indie scene. My recollections are that they were marketed as a slacker band with a cute and pouty female lead singer, and I don't believe they ever had radio rotation in Canada, or even a hit. Most of their acclaim came from "The Dirt of Luck", their second major release. The album was lifted by the singles "superball" and "honeycomb", and was full of ambient, feedback laden guitars with dreamy tempos. They came and went for me....I didn't pay a whole lot of attention at the time but thought they were cool.

Several years later I was at the record store and saw "The Magic City" on vinyl. I didn't even realize Helium was still around, (I found out they weren't) but I was starting a modest vinyl collection and thought..."what the heck". Got home, put it on......and wow. Such a huge leap forward musically, stylistically, much deeper songwriting. Also, much stronger guitar work. That record spun several times that summer and fall and I played it for many of my friends. I also respected its true album feel. There are no weak points from start to finish. The album ebbs and flows and tells a story from start to finish. Definitely the type of album you can listen to on repeat throughout a day.

Just a few years back I went to The Phoenix in Toronto to see Spoon with opener Mary Timony......who I didn't realize at the time was the cute and pouty but also kick ass guitarist of Helium. She put on an amazing display that night and really rocked the crowd. Between her set and Spoon taking the stage.....I saw her sitting at the merch table and went over to say hi and pick up a copy of her solo album. She seemed a but surprised when I brought up Helium and specifically my love for The Magic City. She remarked that although The Magic City was a labour of love, it was also their dying gasp.

Often times bands can peak too early and receive acclaim for the weaker album.....only for their landmark album to be overlooked and passed by. I suspect that they were marketed for the stereotype that Timony filled during the era of Courtney Love and Babes in Toyland, but the talent was never truly recognized. Victims of being lumped into a genre that is on the way out.

A similar and more recent band that comes to mind is Montreal's "Land of Talk"......and many parallels can be drawn to Helium. 3 piece band, strong female guitar player, killer rhythm section. I though for this blog post I would simply post videos for each band and let you see for yourselves. 2 great bands from 2 decades apart....both underrated IMHO. Enjoy

The Pixies

I referred in an earlier post to my cousin Steve who has great taste in music. Well, theres another Steve with whom I shared much of my discovery of great music with.

That Steve was a friend I met in high school, he was a friend of a guy named Carl who sat in my science class and wore a Nirvana T-Shirt, so naturally we became pals. The three of us, Steve, Carl and I were pretty much unstoppable after that point. We hung out together, played in a band together, and I think just about every band I got into was a result of sitting at Carl's house and either watching hours of much music or dubbing cassettes from each other.

I don't exactly remember when I first heard of the Pixies.....I want to believe it was the "Here Comes Your Man" video and sadly all I remember is we thought Kim Deal was hot. Carl was really into them.....and Steve would flip through magazines and reference things like "did you know Kurt Cobain says Surfer Rosa is his favourite album of all time?"

In those days I got into bands largely because I fed off of those two guys' excitement. So for me, the Pixies were reasonably good, but the fact that Carl and Steve were so into it made me want to get into it too.

Years later, once my ipod became my best friend....I REALLY started to listen to those albums. Now I started to understand the genius. The songs were incredibly raw...gritty. Frank sung in spanish on many of the songs which I'm sure wasn't going to rocket those songs onto the radio. He sung about rape, murder, incest, sex....not exactly top 40 material. But it was unique.....something I was craving. I got particularly hooked on the tune "Dig For Fire"from Bossanova......which I played on repeat in the car until I could memorize it.

One day I was at the record store and there was a Live Pixies DVD sitting on the shelf, so I bought it. Took it home and watched it.....and that was the next obsession, to be watched over and over until my roomates were banging their heads off the wall.

Before I knew it the Pixies had announced the reunion tour and I had tickets for Voodoo Fest in New Orleans. Pixies, Sonic Youth, Beastie Boys, who could turn that down? Going to that show and seeing the massive crowds absolutely adoring them was in many ways surreal. Who were all these people? Where do they all come from? Nobody at my work has even heard of them....yet there are literally 50,000 people here screaming their lungs out and singing every word. Did Fight Club do this? I guess it was half people like me......."rediscoverers", and the other half people who were aware of the band in their heyday...."True Fans".

Just a month ago Steve sent me a Facebook message that The Pixies are playing Massey Hall in TO and he was picking up tickets. This will now be the 5th time I'll be seeing them live, and reunion tours are all too common these days. (Hell, Pavement reunited)

I read somewhere though that there are now legitimate talks that they want to get back into the studio. I had been hoping for some new material when they reunited 7 years ago....or had I? Are the Pixies nostalgia, or relevant? Should they be bringing out new material and potentially tarnish their legacy? It seems reasonable that they've done reunion shows for the past 7 years because the payload has been huge and the fans are hungry for it. But is writing new material crossing a line?

I think it is their past that raises that question. The famous stories of the feuding and fighting......the disagreements between Frank and Kim over who should write the songs.

At the end of the day.....its their legacy to lose or to maintain. Who am I or who is anyone to tell them making new material is a smart or stupid move? To me it is based on how long since their last release. 1991. They aren't even the same people anymore. How can a band that hasn't released new material since 1991 and has spent 7 years touring their "Hits" come out with new material that even stands a chance against their classic albums? And lets face it.....if that record isn't Damn good and resemble themselves 20 years younger, the backlash will be ugly.

The pressure must be unbearable and its why I don't think it will ever happen. I'm calling it now.......don't expect to see a new Pixies album any time soon. For now I guess we'll just have to reminisce in this video clip. Enjoy.

The Grammys!!??

Yeah....so I may be just another in a looooong line to post about this, but there is no avoiding this topic.
I was on the way to work today, listening as usual to the 89x radio morning show. Ya know.....I'm not a huge supporter
of mainstream radio, but I am a supporter of laughing my butt off on the way to work. Anyhow......they start talking about the Grammys and my Jaded, Cynical self starts thinking......"hooray! Time to find out whether Lady Gaga won 8 or 9 Grammys for ripping off Madonna!"

But then.....they said it. Thats right. THE ARCADE FIRE WON. I turned up the volume......did I get that right? Or are they talking about the Junos?

Nope.....they said it again and this time I heard it loud and clear. A Canadian band was recognized on the world stage for album of the year...and an independent Canadian band at that. I almost ran my car off the road out of sheer pride. And listen up folks.....winning the Grammy for album of the year is ACTUALLY A BIG DEAL.

As a Canadian....I am used to the stark realization that we have amazing music that never gets any recognition. I mean.....I think everybody has known for years that The Arcade Fire are one of the best bands on the planet......or that Broken Social Scene is one of the most astonishing bands to see live. In fact, no one writes a hook like By Divine Right, or has a voice like Feist. Nowhere will you hear a duet sung like Stars, or feel sorrow and longing like a Dears song. Yes....Thrush Hermit broke up too soon, but Joel Plaskett is awesome solo. Try to put on a Metric album and sit still....you can't. We have Sloan who broke up just to get off a major (how cool is that!). We have Eric's Trip...the only band I've ever heard who captures real heartache on 4 tracks.....and the list goes on. Wintersleep, Hawksley Workman, Land of Talk, The Stills, Sam Roberts, Cuff the Duke, Hayden, Two Hours Traffic, Apostle of Hustle, The Arkells.....

Despite my utter certainty that Canada is the promised land for great music, I also expect at best a 20% chance anyone I talk to outside of my circle of friends has even heard of any of the above bands. And that is because we all listen to US radio and watch US television. So we hear the same 25 - 30 songs over and over and over again. Somehow we can be duped into believing that selling quantity signifies quality.

But something funny happened a few years back. Canadian indie bands started getting exposure on car commercials.....ipod commercials.....and in movie soundtracks. We became the land of "I love that song but I have NO idea who it is!". Unfortunately that isn't enough for Canadian artists to put food on the table.

That is why this Arcade Fire thing is significant. Somehow, the committee or panel could not avoid the genius of that album. Or maybe our generation just grew up and got into a position of influence. Or maybe it was just seen as "Cool" to pick the underdog. Either way, I'm excited to think of where this thing might lead. Sure, there will be a backlash in the mainstream media.....people will say Justin Bieber was robbed. (Hey, at least he is Canadian)...but I have to believe that somebody watched that silly award show last night and thought "maybe I should check out this Arcade Fire".

If there is one thing Canadians can learn from this experience......support our bands! Buy a cd. Better yet, go see them live! Buy the t-shirt and wear it proudly. If you are strapped for cash, there is one thing you can do that is free. Email your local station and request a song. Whatever you do, just take the time to appreciate that you live in a country where honest music is being made for the listener.....not for the paycheck.

And now.....here are a few examples; new and old.

By Divine Right

I think all music nuts like me have the band that we introduce others to, because we just can't believe that more people don't get into them.

For me, that band is By Divine Right

Back in 1999, I went to Hamilton with a few friends to a show at the Sonic Unyon record store.....at the time Sonic Unyon was our Sub Pop or Motown. Anything coming out of there was instantly in our CD players. We would drive to Hamilton (about 2 1/2 hour drive one way) just to go to the store and hang out or catch some bands. By Divine Right was touring their new album, "Bless This Mess". I remember being mesmerized by the raw guitar sound coming from Jose Contreras. This was especially unique because I usually just fixated on the drums.

I bought Bless This Mess that day, as well as All Hail Dischordia, their previous album.

My band at the time would jam a couple BDR tunes and we always got compliments.....then had to admit it was just a cover. I even had some friends who went to see the Tragically Hips next tour and saw BDR open for them. They all bought the BDR album and fell in love with the band.

But in true Canadian Rock fashion, after the Hip tour......those people stopped following the band, and Bless This Mess collected dust in their CD collections.

I moved to London, Ontario in 2001 hoping to find work and hoping to see some great bands. Little did I know that the London scene had just fallen apart and most of the bands we used to drive to London to see were either broken up or stopped coming around. I joined a band called Westminster Park who had recorded their first album prior to my arrival....at House of Miracles Studio in London. They always raved about "working with Andy". I was a bit jealous because I had set up a studio in my apartment.....but it was the healthy kind of jealousy that drove me to work harder.

In 2004, I was at Dr Disc and saw the new BDR album "Good Morning Beautiful". I was just excited they were still together, as I hadn't heard from them in years. I put in that album and was instantly blown away by the new sound they had created. I flipped into the liner notes to see where it was recorded. WHAT!? House of Miracles Studio in London, Ontario!!!!

Not only did I play that album for every person I knew because it was an awesome album....but also because it was recorded locally. This was the point where "Good Morning Beautiful" didn't leave my cd player for nearly a year.

Every person I played the new BDR record for LOVED it. I can't count how many friends had to own it after I spun it at a party. But again, when the next couple releases came out, "Sweet Confusion", "Hybrid TV Genie", and I scooped them up.....those same friends said "Oh Yeah, I still have that old CD you showed me.......no I didn't know they were still together!"

This was maybe the first time I realized how detached the Toronto scene is from the rest of the country. If bands weren't coming through London......we really didn't have any other way to hear of them. They weren't on the radio.......they weren't in the local rags. Over the next couple of years I never saw any BDR shows advertised and just assumed they were a recording band only.

Again....fast forward to 2009 and facebook. Thats right......I am on facebook. How can you be a musician and NOT use facebook? Anyways, I searched By Divine Right one day.....and there popped up "Mutant Message", the new album!!!!!

This time I wasn't going to wait and hope they'd play in London....(in fact they didn't). Instead I contacted them myself and asked them if they'd like to play in Windsor with my band. To my surprise I got a message back the next day from Jose himself! Jose is not your typical ego heavy band frontman.....he is one of the most genuine, kind people I've met and he just plain loves to make music. Pure and simple.

I suppose this post has to end eventually......but the moral of the story is, for whatever reason, BDR hasn't been able to break out into the mainstream like Metric or Feist or Broken Social Scene......they are not on iPod commercials or plastered all over every local music magazine. But they deserve the same recognition. The albums are truly important pieces in Canadian Indie/Rock history and you should check them out. And even more rarely......I won't tell you to "listen to the old stuff first" like I would introducing someone to Sloan. (Sorry Sloan.....I still love you). Feel free to listen to the new album and work your way backwards, because its all good. You really can't go wrong. Heres a taste to get you started.