Nice to re-Michou

Michou are gearing up for the release of their new album, Cardona, and in preparation they're unleashing "7 Weeks of Michou" on the internet. It all began on the first day of the year with three free songs and a new website, and continues tomorrow with the release of a new music video for "Growing Younger". The next five weeks will help lead up to Cardona -- you can follow them at the band's MySpace, and watch this space for an album review later this month.



Upcoming shows:

Jan 13 @ The Hangar in Windsor
Jan 15 @ Phog Lounge in Windsor
Jan 20 @ The Supermarket in Toronto
Jan 23 @ U of Windsor Pub

The GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS confirmed to headline In the Soil’s ‘Hot Ticket’ night

In the Soil: Niagara’s Homegrown Arts Festival is thrilled to announce the Great Lake Swimmers will headline the ‘Hot Ticket’ event at Centre for the Arts, Brock University on April 23, 2010. 


Three of the jury’s top festival picks will have the opportunity to share the stage with Wainfleet native Tony Dekker and his acclaimed band. Their latest album Lost Channels (2009) was nominated for a prestigious Polaris Prize and has landed on countless Best of 2009 lists around the world.

Musicians, theatre and dance artists, poets, filmmakers and media artists of all levels of experience are invited to apply by January 29, 2010 for one of 60 showcasing opportunities in the festival set to take over downtown St. Catharines from April 15 – 24, 2010.

New additions to the 2010 festival include new and improved showcase opportunities for theatre and dance and a call for media artist proposals to be featured in street-level installations in downtown St. Catharines.

In its first year, 175 artists shared the fruits of their artistic offerings as part of a week of specially programmed events. This year, a jury composed of seasoned professionals will once again select artists to participate in the late spring harvest. Applications are available for download at www.inthesoil.on.ca/apply.html and will close on January 29, 2010.

Tickets for the Great Lake Swimmers HOT TICKET night at the Centre for the Arts on Friday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m. are available online at www.arts.brocku.ca, by phone through the Box Office at 905.688.5550 x3257 or toll free at 1-866-617-3257, Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Tickets are only $20 and $5 for high school students through the eye GO to the Arts program.




http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=36501012217
http://www.greatlakeswimmers.com/
www.arts.brocku.ca

The Beatdown sign to Stomp Records and announce tour in support of Spring full length release

Jamming news for ska and reggae fans, Montreal's The Beatdown (ex-One Night Band members) have signed with Stomp Records (Johnstones, Saint Alvia, Creepshow) and will be releasing their debut album in April 2010.

Previous project "One Night Band" is currently on a break, but singer/guitarist Alex Giguere has been keeping busy. Joining forces with Giguere is ONB bass player Pascal Lesieur, ex-drummer Nicolas Fizzano and friend Jovanny Savoie they are The Beatdown. Expect pure reggae, ska with soul, and a punk edge.

The four-piece spent the fall recording in Montreal at Indygene Studios and frontman Giguère, who's worked with bands such as The Planet Smashers, Staylefish, One Night Band, and RDC, produced the forthcoming record. The 12 tracks that make up the full-length features well-known musicians including Larry Love and Patty (One Night Band) and Josh Fuhrman (the Kingpins).

The Beatdown will be spending most of their time on the road, playing their contagious reggae/ska with new and old fans alike. The Beatdown will be hitting the road in January across Quebec and Ontario before heading over to Europe for a month-long tour. In their short time together as a band, The Beatdown have already played at the Montreal International Reggae Festival, Montreal Ska Festival, Ottawa Ska Fest, Festival du bout du monde in Gaspé and has backed Jamaican singer Vernon Maytone and toured with The Johnstones, The Slackers, U-Roy, and Green Room Rockers, just to name a few. So fans of indie music and ska/reggae, will probably dig the unique sounds of The Beatdown.

DOWNLOAD/STREAM tracks from the forthcoming LP:
"Get Ready" - http://drop.io/thebeatdown_preview
"One Night" - http://drop.io/thebeatdown_preview2

TOUR DATES
January 18th @ Université de Trois Rivieres, Trois-Rivieres w/ Planet Smashers
January 21st @ Kathedral, Toronto
January 22nd @ GTA, TBC
January 28th @ Petit Campus, Montreal
January 29th @ L'Agitée, Quebec w/ Subb
January 30th @ Rainbow Bistro, Ottawa
January 30th @ Chez Maurice, St-Lazare
February 5th @ Cégep Lionel Groulx, Ste-Thérèse

LINKS
http://www.myspace.com/jointhebeatdown
http://stomprecords.com

Owen Pallett is January's X3 Artist of The Month

Owen Pallett is AUX TV, Exclaim! and CBC Radio 3's Artist of the Month.

It’s been 4 years since Owen Pallett, of Final Fantasy fame released his fantastic He Poos Clouds, and I couldn’t have felt cooler when I found out about it. That’s right, I said cool.

I’ve never been big on the game myself, despite being a big gaming nerd. So to find out that a Torontonian had co-opted Square Enix’s best selling game, the one that had not only pulled itself out of bankruptcy but went on to win some 7 Guinness World Records, I thought it was brilliant. And; to the best of my knowledge, he hasn’t been sued either. As you can read in his note, the name change was completely of his own volition. Keep checking back with us at AUX, we’re hearing rumors there might be a contest coming very soon that’ll set you up to see Owen Pallett live. Read our full post on Owen Pallett here.

Nicolas Di Lollo

AUX.TV

Owen Pallett Tour Dates:

FEB 6 GUELPH

HILLSIDE INSIDE FESTIVAL

FEB 10 HALIFAX
ST.MATTHEW’S UNITED CHURCH

FEB 11 HALIFAX ++SECOND SHOW ADDED++
ST.MATTHEW’S UNITED CHURCH

FEB 12 ST.JOHN’S
COCHRANE STREET UNITED CHURCH

FEB 17 KINGSTON
SYDENHAM UNITED CHURCH

FEB 18 – 19 WAKEFIELD
BLACKSHEEP INN

FEB 20 MONTREAL
THEATRE OUTREMONT

FEB 21 QUEBEC CITY
LE CERCLE

CD Review: Pathological Lovers 'Calling All Favours'

CD Review: Pathological Lovers - Calling All Favours

In the heart of St. John's lives one of the town’s best-kept musical secrets – the heartfelt musical madness of the Pathological Lovers. Bolstered by a fiercely loyal local following and a captivating frontman, it’s amazing that mainland Canada has yet to discover the magic of this energetic and memorable four-piece band. In a recent article, The Globe and Mail mentioned the Pathological Lovers as being one of the 10 bands that “rock the Rock” and it’s only a matter of time until Jody Richardson (lead vocals, guitars), Grant King (keys, guitars), Dave Rowe (bass, banjo) and Alex Pierson (drums) make their mark on the national level.

Those who have seen PL perform live know of the band’s amazing energy that’ll get even the non-dancer bustin’ some moves. Calling All Favours is the Pathological Lovers debut full-length – a CD that explodes with musical goodness, leaving you salivating for a bite of one of their live shows. Recorded last August in King's Bay Bulls home with Ottawa producer Ross Murray, Calling All Favours perfectly captures the energetic intensity of PL’s on-stage presence. Crank it up while driving – especially on those late night drives when your coffee buzz is wearing off – and you’ll be turning those head nods into head bops in no time.

The musicianship on this album is exquisite and impeccably clean. Alex Pierson does a fantastic job with the riveting percussion parts on the catchy and rhythmically-driven track, "Change is Good". Richardson and Grant’s tasteful string arrangements in “Deck in Between” and “Storm Your Little” are breathtaking. The Atlantic String Quartet does such a beautiful performance throughout the album as does Patrick Doyle on trumpet. Like all great artists, Pathological Lovers effectively beguiles us into believing that their music is simple, but upon closer inspection there is so much more to it – especially in Richardson’s masterful lyrics.

Jody Richardson, who was recently voted in The Scope’s ‘Best of 2009’ as ‘Best Rock Star’, is the perfect frontman. His intense voice immediately demands our attention and captivates us with genuine emotion and sensitivity; carefully woven into catchy melodies and superb lyrics that reflect a multitude of topics about living in Newfoundland.

Go grab a copy of this incredible album, especially if you’ve spent time in St. John’s. It’ll make you wish you were still here.

Visit: http://www.pathologicallovers.com

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/4935331-billy-manzik-pulls-it-alltogethernow

Thanks for the good times, Whippersnapper

The Whippersnapper is not like other art galleries. Located in the heart of Little Italy in Toronto, the artists that run the gallery have for the past five years embraced the arts in every sense of the word. In addition to supporting emerging talent from the visual arts community, the Whippersnapper has been a source of support for Canadian independent music. Artists including Bruce Peninsula, Sebastian Grainger, Spiral Beach, Chad VanGaalen, The Bicycles, $100, Two Hours Traffic, and Dinosaur Bones, are among the long list of musicians to have performed at the gallery.

Unfortunately, Whippersnapper founder Luke Correia-Damude announced last week that the gallery will be closing its doors come May. Although we lose a great supporter of the Canadian independent music scene, the Whippersnapper will always be remembered as a place where we were reminded of the art of music.

So, to this, I say cheers Whippersnapper, and thanks for the good times.

Rose Palmieri

If you want to know more about the Whippersnapper check out:

http://www.blogto.com/arts/2010/01/whippersnapper_gallery_moves_on/

http://www.whippersnapper.ca/

Video of live performances at the Whippersnapper:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYRgk1LdH5Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CyXE0VslnU