September '98

sept. 24

rufus wainwright is now opening for sloan on their canadian tour. check dates. yippee!

halifax on paper : during the saturday halifax on music festivities there will be a zine fair at rye's deli. zine tables are $10 & magazine tables are $20. contact velocity/stardust music asap if you want a table.

i'm gonna be going to halifax on music so no email till tuesday. if you are going have a great time & don't forget about these unofficial events...

• steeming toolie in-store at HMV on friday at 4:00pm
• friday night dio mio new music showcases w/ 4-star movie, b'ehl & steeming toolie. 2am or later.
• b'ehl in-store at HMV on saturday at 2:00pm
• saturday night dio mio new music showcases w/ ciao bella, strawberry & somebody else TBA.

sept.19

velocity : "Well, for those who haven't seen the September Issue yet, the cover story is Buck 65, we have a new zine column, feature on equation of state, the rheostatics, mike o'neil, joel plaskett, a campus radio focus, bucket truck, piggy (the calypso band), charles austin (the superfriend) and kevin lewis' (the chinstrap) new studio, liz phair, the peter parkers, b'ehl, Monica Beilke (HoM/sonic unyon) comic, plus all the regular columns... and the halifax on music schedule as the center spread. whoooo. we are working on the upcoming issue now, and you should be expecting stuff on strawberry, Versus, low, Mike Campbell (mucheast) night out on the town, colin mackenzie film, more adds (I hope), more record reviews, and a whole hell of a lot more dude." -brendan

leftover shoes : the new issue of that fantabulous zine, featuring an interview with tricky woo,  is out now. you can order it from dylan who can be contacted at...

R.R#2
baden, ON
NOB 1GO
or the new email at... yu240168@yorku.ca

scratching post are in this month's chart. photos from being in the studio along with some neat potential names for their up-coming ep on squirtgun. it will actually be called "distruction of the universe" and be out this month i think.

sept.13

matlock records : alex has moved to montreal, so to contact him try this new email address : a_frenet@alcor.concordia.ca & telephone : (514) 484-6257. they are also working on a new website where you'll be able to get up-to-date info on shows etc. for now, make sure you are subscribed to matlock's newsletters (email them if yr not). congrats to north of america who reached #4 on the canadian campus charts with "elements of an incomplete map".

painted thin : are going on tour and there are some more detailed dates in tours. if you can help fill in some of the off days, please email them or call paul (204-488-1176)

halifax on music : "we are looking for folks who can help billet some of the bands visiting our fair city for this year's HOM...any one with enough room?" email colin mackenzie if you can.

grand royale ezine : "G-R covers alot of info in and around the whole music industry, and has quite a few people writing each and every month to bring you lots of new and kewl information on your favourite (or ours anyway) bands as well as a lot of new up and coming bands." check it out.

brodie : has a new web address. he's also got a new ep coming in late october out on ego trip records called "in the middle of..." with six tracks. he's also setting up some shows at york university with fur merchant.
http://brodie.webjump.com

the sonic unyon anniversary show : there are a few additions to the line up which have made me very happy : thrush hermit ("and introducing our newest Sonic unyon family members, from Halifax NS"), mooney suzuki & the  flaming lips! see shows for complete lineup and more info.

sept.5th

derek from radioblaster has turned the radioblaster web site into a kind of home page. it looks really good and has some neat photos (len, treble charger) as well as info on some of his own projects.

you can order some new stuff from endearing records like poundsign &  north of america, 7"s from magnetic fields & make up and the new cds from drum & bliss, elliot smith, arab strap & belle & sebastian.

also look out for endearing bands ciao bella & b'ehl playing halifax on music this year. their shows are 19+ but b'ehl will be playing an in-store at hmv on the saturday at 2:00pm and both will be playing after hours shows at the dio mio ice cream parlour during the festival.

painted thin are going on tour. check dates for more information.

bossanova are going into the studio to record some songs for what will hopefully be their first teenbeat release. chris storrow is playing a solo show of covers (with the electrosonics at the starfish room. see shows) and has a regular gig at dew berries coffee house every thursday in vancouver.

check out the animal alliance web site for information on their up coming auction to help save the animals. they're auctioning off stuff from a lot of canadian bands including sloan.
 

august '98

aug.29

there has been no news and that's why there's been no up-dates. should i start making up news to keep you happy?

the joel plaskett tape is going to be called "in need of medical attention".

the halifax on music schedual is partly up on the velocity site...

there's a new pixies tribute coming out with some neat bands on it...

Weezer (Velouria)
Superdrag (Wave Of Mutilation)
Nada Surf (Where Is My Mind?)
Letters To Cleo (Debaser)
Jimmy Eat World (Caribou)
Getaway Cruiser (U-Mass)
Far (Monkey Gone To Heaven)
The Get Up Kids (Alec Eiffel)
Samiam (Here Comes Your Man)
Weston (La La Love You)
Teen Heroes (Manta Ray)
Braid (Hey)
Siren Six (Holiday Song)

aug.20

on august 22nd there is a festival in cambridge called rock the mill. bands playing are the flashing lights, the jolly bean band, astrokick and more. the show is at mill race park (parkhill ave. & water st.). for more information call (519) 740-4681 x4669, and ask for Michelle. speakin' of matt murphy (flashing lights), he's busily recording something or other and is almost done. (ooo... that was a facinating tid-bit of information wasn't it?).

bands set to play canzine '98 are : picastro, lisa gamble, 4-star movie & do make say think. admission is 5$ (including a free issue of broken pencil).

bionic are now playing the summersault festival. fer more details see www.summersault.com

apparently, the monoxides have canceled their fall tour & are taking six months to a year off. i don't know why...?

north of america are playing both HOM and CMJ this year. also in matlock news, blue yolk should be back on the road in september. and, if you're not already, make sure to subscribe to the matlock newsyletter at... matlock@total.net

there will be a mean red spiders in-store tomorrow (friday).

aug.13

issue #2 of velocity is sort of half on-line so keep an eye on that. interviews & articles about north of america, thrush hermit, neko case & more.

the latest issue of chart has jay ferguson in conversation with thurston moore. neat.

be sure to tune into radiosonic this weekend as they'll have the local rabbits in concert & the sadies' "precious moments" in the listening booth.

i love mailing lists! the band moniker from halifax have set up a mailing list for "the discussion of east coast (or any coast) rock & roll and the music they make". check it out at... http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/moniker/mmail.htm

and... 41 flavour records is also starting a mailing list. to recieve up-dates on the goings on of the label write to disfunktional@hotmail.com if yr intersted in being on their distro list.

and pretty soon i'll get around to sending a newsletter...

aug.10

the latest issue of velocity is out now in the maratimes & will be on-line tomorrow (tuesday). the second issue has north of america on the cover. subscriptions for those who live outside their distrobutions area are $22 canadian, $24 US.

if yr goin' to see the beastie boys on august 15th in toronto you will be treated to a second stage with the deadly snakes, groovy religion, king cobb steelie, BTK & more. tickets are still available from ticketmaster.

that joel plaskett solo album is actually going to be a tape.

aug.6

we have some inside scoop care of an annonymous source... mike belistky has left the sadies!! he wants to concentrate on his own projects like cheticamp and he's been real busy lately touring with the pernice bros. and such. you can catch mike playing with the pernice brothers at halifax on music this year & the sadies have a new album out on bloodshot records.

by divine right are recording a new album. mark & jose are off to kingston to record. hopefully it'll be out on nettwerk in november.

also playing at this year's halifax on music... thrush hermit!! and joel plaskett solo & mike o'neil solo! woo woo! the only bad thing is that matt murphy's flashing lights had to pull out of the festival because of bassist's brendan mcguire's touring schedual with sloan (as their soundman). :(

aug.5

first, i posted that thing about the indie exchange without the address/link. its... http://www.webgate.net/~shawnm/indiex/ whoops.

north of america are getting ready to record their second cd, hopefully ready for release in november. they have a video which will be premiered on much east this sunday (aug.9). you can also request it on much on demand or much east or the wedge. the band is also looking for a small label to put out a 7" for them. if you are interested email christina!

and, in related news, the state champs are going to be recording their last five songs to give the band some closure so they can concentrate on their new projects (see north of america above).

endearing distro is putting out... 7"s from tricky woo, readymade, bunnygrunt/naysay/b'ehl/kittycraft, silver scooter/evie/hushfeed/orange glass, lowbrow & possibly ciao bella. cds from the bonaduces, ninety nine, # (poundsign) & strawberry. woo woo!

new matador releases include... belle & sebastians' "the boy with the arab strap" (aug.8th) & jon spencer blues explosions' "acme" (oct.20th)

aug.2

yet another sonic unyon up-date...

sonic unyon are talking about releasing a second video compilation. probably to come out around the same time they put out a double cd of exclusive tracks from all the sonic unyon bands.

they will be putting out the new thrush hermit album (tentativly) on october 20th! yikes! (what happened to late august/early september?)

the unyon is licensed to manufacture & distribute the new frank black (ex-pixies) album. that'll be out on september 8th.

they've also accept VISA over phone (905-777-1223), fax (905-777-1161), and email (jerks@sonicunyon.com).

radiosonic has some cool stuff coming up... aug 15th, the local rabbits in concert at 11pm, aug.29th, Neko Case in concert at 8pm & punchbuggy in the listening booth

check out this new indie exchange where you can trade/sell/buy records & post your lists. neat-o.

by divine right & transistor sound & lightning co. are playing four shows together, headlining two each. the only one i know of so far is aug.22nd in london w/bionic at call the office!

there's lotsa news lately, i just gotta get my act together :)

july '98

july.28

the 4-star movie & cheticamp have been added to this year's halifax on music line-up. (see july.28 for the rest of the list).

the new sloan album is out today in USA.

sonic unyon stuff...

sianspheric have a new video out for the song Nothing Stands, off their new cdep "there's always some place you'd rather be".

tricky woo are heading out on US tour with nashville pussy. they've got a video out for Blue Flames off "the enemy is real" album.

i'm too lazy to re-write things here's all known details on the sonic unyon anniversary : 10/3/98 - Sonic Unyon 5th Anniversary Party @ Sonic Unyon Headquarters (22 Wilson Street, Hamilton, ON) We will be opening up our doors and filling the three floors of our building (only one of which is SU occupied) for an all ages show, and will be taking over the Transit hall next door for an all ages/19+ show as well. No bands are confirmed yet but it looks like Danko Jones and Blonde Redhead will be the first two bands added onto the bill. This day is also going to (hopefully) be the grand opening of our record store as well as the release date of our 2CD compilation which is going to feature a bunch of exclusive new recordings from SU artists past and present.

new tristan psionic & kittens records to be out in november.

and a new stink is finished & about to be mailed out. if you aren't on the mailing list email jerks@sonicunyon.com to get on.

july.26

halifax on music this year is september 26-28th. all ages passes are 30$ & bar passes are 50$. there are many good bands playing including...

cool stuff on radiosonic : july.25, rocket from the crypt, pluto, danko jones etc... plus the winners of the canada day giveaway. aug.8th - 9th, mary lou lord in the early concert on saturday & Rufus Wainwirght in the piano lounge on sunday. aug.15-16th, local rabbits in concert & the sadies in the listening booth

the new scratching post ep will be out on squirtgun in september. the track listing goes like this...
Unforgiving Love
It's a Feeling
Rock Past It
I'm Your Demon
Unstoppable
Empires Will Fall
Bloodflame (new version)
Destruction of the Universe.

july.21

sonic unyon is having their 5th anniversary extravaganza/party/all-day show on october 3rd at their offices in hamilton. there will be bands playing inside & outside. sounds good.

mississauga band little clever have a cd coming out on 41 flavour records called "north america". they already have a split 7" w/ swackhammer out on 41 favour & poster girl.

the new sloan video for "she says what she means" is now being played on much music. its pretty neat i think.

the 4-star movie got a bit of press in the toronto star when they were introduced by mayor mel at celebrate toronto. there's big controversy over this so check out their new news section for all the details.

toronto band smallmouth have broken up :( they were really great! their releases include a spil 7" with pecola & a cd on teenage usa. they'll be playing their last show on july.24th at the cameron house.

the new grand will be playing halifax on music this year.

july.13

the current i don't want to rock and roll all night radio show features an all canadian play list. check out some great tunes by...eric's trip, hayden, julie doiron, sloan & more! (sorry i forgot to mention it before).

neat-o halifax band piggy are going to be putting out a 7" soon. its their first release aside from a bunch of tapes.

squirtgun is putting out another compilation called "squirtgun records : the singles 1995-1997" it'll feature the following bands & songs... radioblaster (raven/accepted/perfect burn), the new grand (bailey), speedbuggy (sunny summer day), thee suddens (annie 2), the new grand (ham fisted/banner year), poledo (two words), hayden (i wake up with me), the new hardship post (no time/turn it up), elevator to hell (onwards and away/m), hHead (friends) & noah's arkweld (mourning).

set your vcrs to tape the one and only time the holiday snap's video for "marathon man" will be aired on much music. much had decided it is "otherwise unacceptable for airplay". all this because one of the scenes features a band member getting kicked in the head an spitting out barbq sauce blood. who knew that could be so offensive?

the new scratching post record is completed and will be out on squirtgun in september.

the latest issue of chart has the beastie boys on the cover, thrush hermit in the grist section (photos from the studio), articles on sianspheric & the local rabbits & reviews of the 4-star movie & gaffer albums.

july.8th (although it wasn't really july 8th, i was just stuck in a time warp for three days).

the official word from the inbreds is this... "We came into this on our own terms and that is how we would like to leave it. We just got back from a great tour and Winning Hearts went to number one at college radio, we want to bow out on that note and thank everyone for their support." they're so gracefully :)

zinesters, get your canzine registrations out of the way! you can do so now at the broken pencil web site with their form. Canzine '98 will be at the club shanghai this year on October.4th.

ben ross, local east coast drummer, is now drumming for thrush hermit since cliff gibb left. in other thrush hermit news... rob benvie has been writing for the web magazine 45 degrees. and rob & ian have recorded a band called rick of the skins in the thrush hermit practise space. ian makes an appearance on bass and rob on the piano. no idea when that'll be out... i think the hermit are supposed to be spending july in LA to talk to "important people". there will be an interview with them in next month's velocity!

umm, more stuff when i get this stuff sorted out. right now i don't have any email previous of today so i don't have everything.

july.8th

the inbreds, beloved kingston turned east-coast bass & drums duo have called it quits. they released four amazing albums (hilario, kombinator, it's sydney or the bush & winning hearts). mike & dave played their last show at celebrate toronto on july.4th at young & gerrard, while dozens of unaware fans stood in the pouring rain. the inbreds were one of those bands who were very special to a lot of people, and we'll all miss them.

july.4th

i feel like i'm not giving anything its fair share of space up here because there is so much news. make sure you check below because you might have missed something from yesterday.

as reported in yesterday's news, endearing & permafrost records (both out of winnipeg) have joined forces to create a distribution company. they'll be distributing to FAB, scratch, sonic unyon & no records on-line.

here's the stuff they're peddling (we've been talking about most of these records for a while now)...

• electrosonics (drivein/quiddity - canada only)
• north of america (matlock rec, state champs/motes spinoff - us)
• julie (xeric trip)/snailhouse (stereotype -us only)
• readymade (no - us only)
• run chico run (stereotype -us only)
• transonic (permafrost - everywhere :)
• pretty in pop (endearing - everywhere)
• ciao bella 7" (repressing - everywhere)
• b'ehl cd (repressing - everywhere)

EBA records is putting out a thing called "the great vegan musical cookbook". its going to be a compilation cd with vegan recipies in the liner notes! band schedualled to be on it are...

• Painted Thin(Manitoba, Canada)
• Theioneband(Sweden)
• The Bonaduces(Manitoba, Canada)
• The Sweatshop Boys(New York)
• 99(Australia)
• Kokoshkar(Australia)
• Catch-22s(Quebec, Canada)
• The Electrosonics(B.C. Canada)
• Kandis(Manitoba, Canada)
• Beautiful Youth(Saskatchewan, Canada)
• Hybride(Quebec, Canada)
• Ripping Off Society(Manitoba, Canada)
• For the Last Time(Ontario, Canada)
• Captains of the Industry(Australia)
• Evie(Manitoba, Canada)
• Sight For sore eyes(Brazil)
• Point of no return(Brazil)

there are a bunch of sloan pictures from edgefest up at the chart site. if you don't want to look at all the green day / creed / econoline crush / [insert crappy band here] photos go directly to page 4 & scroll past the endless pix of david usher (yes, i'm a big snob!).

july.3

painted thin might be touring the united states as they recently purchased a van (with the bonaduces). but they need lots of help since they aren't well known. they need to know names and contact information of anyone and everyone who can set up a show in the usa. if you know some one or are some one yourself, please help em out and email paul. there is also talk of playing the tibetan freedom concert (!!) in athens (georgia).

gob have planned a tour for this month. also watch for their new album out on landspeed records in august.

look for interviews with the electrosonics in elevate me later zine (along with an interview with bossanova!) & a bunch of glossy-type magazines. they will also be appearing on two up-coming compilations : the great vegan musical cookbook & the drone-on compilation. they'll also be putting out a new 7" on the british lable girls who wave.

endearing & premafrost records have decided to band together to create a distribution company. due to the sorry state of indie distribution (remember that endearin'gs #1 goal is to have the fastest mail order in canada?). they'll be distributing to FAB, sonic unyon, scratch & no records on-line. that means that more indie rock will be available in more record stores across the country. yahoo! make sure you check out the huge endearing up-date in this month's news if you haven't already...

and another reminder, velocity has their site up and now there's a bunch of articles and most of the stuff that's in the magazine. its really really good. i wish we had something like that here in toronto since it seems to be smaller & less 'commercial' (whatever that's supposed to mean) than any of the weeklies here or even exclaim. also here's some of the news i gathered from the site...

apparently, cliff gibb has left thrush hermit to persue a career in the illustrious field of technology. wish him all the best! no word on a replacement.

look out for a new video by the holiday snaps for the song "marathon man".

charles austin (ex-superfriendz) & kevin lewis (ex-chinstraps) have set up a recording studio in the Kyhber building in halifax. its called "the magnetic mullet" :)

celebrate toronto happens this weekend. make sure to check out the bands playing, especially the inbreds on saturday (3:30pm) & the 4-star movie on sunday (12pm) at young & gerrard (by the eaton center). its free!

the july issue of exclaim features sianspheric on the cover. its now on-line as well.

june '98

june.30

endearing news : how i'm supposed to put this all up quickly & readably without making it ten pages long i don't know. are all you kiddies subscribed to the endearing newsletters? you should because i might leave small details out!

endearing & no records will be co-releasing a readymade 7". you can still get the readymade cd from endearing or from no records (where you can buy it on-line).

99 (laura mcfarlane ex-sleater-kinney etc..) has put out her second album in australia and it'll be out on endearing for canadians this september.

the bonaduces are in the studio right now & their new album will be out in september. i think there's a re-mix of "K is for Catherine" too since it wasn't originally mixed by the band & they were not happy with it. look for them on tour this summer with b'ehl.

painted thin & the bonaduces bought a van. that means more touring! both bands are playing in the village in july doing a free show on canada day at 8:00pm.

b'ehl just finished up recording a couple of songs which will appear on a 7" alongside bunnygrunt & kittycraft. look out for that...

ciao bella have a video for how low out in japan and its getting regular rotation on MTV!! look for it on much music etc... as soon as they get it. also, copies of "1" are finally avaialble on 12" vynil!

evie will be appearing on a permafrost 7" with orange glass, silver scooter & hushfeed.

and finally, endearing is carrying the julie doiron/snailhouse 7", their "pretty in pop" compilation cd (john hughes film covers - songs from the breakfast club, pretty in pink, some kind of wonderfull, st.elmo's fire and all those other movies!). there are painted thin, b'ehl & bonaduces shirts in stock. email them for more info. they're also talking about re-vamping their page. that'd be cool!

there are some new tour dates for north of america. there's lots of great shows on this tour, they're playing with bands like the peter parkers & gaffer. make sure to check them out if you can!

universal music is having a sloan contest. Chris Murphy is taking a digital camera on the edgefest tour and will be sending all his photos to universal who'll put them up on their web site. take a look at them and you could win a Sloan prize package. the url is www.universalcanada.com. it should be up later today or tomorrow. in other sloan news, they shot a video for "she says what she means" in toronto on saturday. it was another one of those open call things and not very many people showed up! the video is really weired & about a band controlled by the government. its based on the movie "the privilage" and i think they'd like to have it out in july.

hee hee, dave grohl thinks the inbreds are cool :) and dedicated one of thier songs to them on the edgefest tour.

look out for the 4-star movie on the cover of RHig magazine in july! also their new cd as well as the entire poster girl cataloge is now available from No Records on-line!

sonic unyon got this chat thing on their web site. i haven't been on it yet but you're supposed to be able to "Sit back, relax, and chat with some of the Sonic Unyon crew!". they also got real audio but i haven't been able to locate any sound clips yet.

june.25

make sure to check out teenage usa's latest release by solarbaby "the powever of negative prayer". mixing "teary eyed ballads with guitar laced gems". sounds great! :) also look for new releases from teenage usa by pecola & cecil seakull.

radiosonic is having a special canada day broadcast which features the sadies playing their favourite songs as well as give aways and all canadian programming! its june.27&28th. also listen in on july 17-18th which'll feature helium and the new grand in concert.

there is supposed to be some girl rock festival in burlington on july 16th. the only band i know is playing are (ooo...controversial around here!) the weekend! anyone got details.

june.20

toronto band secret agent have broken up. they've had a couple of releases on teenage usa & mom & dad records. dean and matt will be doing something in the near future.

angry that the new grand didn't show up last weekend for the sonic unyon showcase at the rivoli? apparently mike clive feels very badly about this and anyone interested in discussing what happened is welcome to call him at his home phone # : (519) 642 - 3215 (and if anyone decides to actually call, i would be interested in hearing about it!)

velocity is a new free monthly music magazine thing for atlantic canada. they are looking for submissions as well as help with distrobution. i believe this is put together by the same folks who run stardust records. the first issue's cover story is about all ages shows, interviews with sloan, teenage fanclub & soaking up jagged. there's more to the east coast than just murderecords & velocity is going to prove it to you! check out their web site or email them for further info! :)

mississauga's meligrove band have recently put out a tape. you will probably be able to pick it up at their show on july 4th in mississauga at the Stardust Club in Port Credit (645 lakeshore rd. east) with their brother band naiad. check em out!

june.16

sammy from bionic is no longer sammy from bionic. he's now just sammy from bodega. they've got somebody new on bass now but unfortunatly i can't remember his name as i was too lazy to carry around an eye with me all day. if you know please email me :) bodega opened for hayden last week and was quite good according to sources!

scratching post are very hard at work on a new ep. they're recording right now with 7 out of the 8 songs done! its hard work, but they're "doin' it for the kids!" :)

hey you want to hear something really neat? there's an internet radio show by these two people who play stuff like eric's trip, sebadoh, hayden, sloan, sonic youth, ben folds five plus more stuff you've never heard of! i was quite thrilled that i can actually listen to this show (must be that real-audio player i downloaded a while ago). yay! its really good so check it out at... i don't wanna rock & roll all night.

brendan canning & leslie who used to be in noah's arkweld are now playing in by divine right. rob higgins has a job now so he is no longer in the band. brendan canning is no longer missing!! i saw two seconds of the nxne show on much music.

julie doiron has been "dropped" from sub pop. sub pop hates canadians now i think. jale, chixdiggit & now this. but us canadians are pretty smart about these american lables, we always have backup plans like owning out own record lable. julie can probably put out records on sappy.

june.8th...

sad news today that noah's arkweld is no longer. at the very least noah will not be playing any more shows. other reports suggest he might be putting out another tape or cd but it would just be him & a classical guitar. i'll keep you posted if i hear any more. people are just giving up!

curious about poledo projects? josh has a tap out on teenage usa under the name joshua wm. it is now at CFNY & you can reequest it on the indie hour my emailing CFNY. its poppy & fun & you just might like it... :)

endearing are carrying that julie doiron / snailhouse split 7". also still in stock are those evie cassettest (a must for all eric's trip fans). look out for b'ehl & the bonaduces on tour this summer including a few ontario dates. also look out for endearing's latest release, the "pretty in pop" compilation. it will be getting sonic unyon/scratch distrobution so you should be able to get it in stores. of course its always available from endearing mailorder!

thrush hermit have finished recording their album & are back at home in halifax. rumour is that they'll be spending july & august in LA meeting some "important people" & will be doing a full canadian tour in september. the new record should be out in late august/early september. yippeee!

sfz bands: i have pulled out all my sfz albums & have been listening to them quite a lot lately. i miss em :( but want to see who's playing in what bands? here's a coinvinent list courtesy of james covey on sloannet...

• Neuseisland - (last time I saw them) Charles Austin - guitar/lead vocals, with Tim Stewart (Coyote, Bubaiskull, Kid Twist) Mike O'Neill (Inbreds) Joel Plaskett (T. Hermit) Andrew Glencross (The Euphonic)
• Soaking Up Jagged - Mitchell Wiebe - vocals Charles Austin - guitar Rebecca Young - bass Chad Jagoe (Thee Suddens) - drums
• Kick Like 50 - Mike Leblanc (Thee Suddens, Rick Of The Skins) - vocals, guitar, keyboard Drew Yamada - keyboard, vocals, guitar Marc Doucette (Thee Suddens) - drums
• Speedo - Alyson MacLeod (jale) - guitar/vocals Drew Yamada - bass Sebastian Lippa (H. Post) - drums
• the flashing lights - matt murphy - guitar/vocals, ben ross - drums & brendan mcquire - bass

sloan will be in the much music spotlight on june.30th at 7:30. also "navy blues" will be out in the usa on june.28th. expect to see sloan & the inbreds on tour in the usa together in september.

its high time for a newsletter. i hope to get it out soon!!

june.1

the june exclaim is on-line & on the stands now. check it out on-line here.

sonic unyon has finally up-dated their site. *shock shock, horror horror* there are tour dates & news. the unyon celebrate their fifth anniversary this year. they are working on a new compilation, an anniversary party & a bunch of new records including... tristan psionic (sometime this year), mooney suzuki 7" (out now), danko jones (7" & CD), sianspheric ("there's always someplace you'd rather be" ep, July), the new grand (out now). plus more i probably forgot! check the site & watch for tour dates here. i'll be putting them up since now i don't have to re-type them all out of exclaim!

matador (awww, a record lable that actually understands how to use the web) have some new pictures & news & tour dates & all that other fun stuff they always have up.

the smugglers are having a contest to name their up-coming live album. to enter email grant your suggestion!

daydream records has got that cecil seaskull 7" (beaut cake) they've been promising. she's currently on tour with lonnie james & julie doiron. expect her new album "whoever" out on teenage usa in july.

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May '98

may.21 - "a ring is an awful thing, when it comes in the middle of the night, & the voice on the other end is crying!!"

plumtree have a new video out!! you can request "you just don't exist" on the nation's music station (yeah right!). it was funded in part by FACTOR & videoFACT & it was shot indoors (how facinating!!) you shall also be able to catch les femmes de plum in toronto for nxne... they will be playing at the "ribbon cutting event". i'll get more details on where that's supposed to happen.

some matador news from DAMN....

• stephen (that person who is not a genius!! you just cannot rhyme "stereo" with "malaria" & if you do you are not a genius damnit!!! you are welcome to flame me about this if it'll make you feel better) malkamus is recording a solo album which shall be put out on drag city. solo albums seem to be the way to go these days...
• JSBX are going to be on an upcoming "Dub Narcotic Sound System" album (don't ask me?) along with beck & versus!!
• yo la tengo & jad fair have completed a colaboration album
• bettie seveert is about to release an ep of velvet underground covers.
• robert pollard (gbv) is putting out a solo album called "waved out".
• liz phair is on some lilith fair dates & her new album will be out around the same time.
• pizzicato 5 have a remix album coming out real soon.
• belle & sebastian are working on their second full length album to be released on the mighty matador.
• what's up matador? 2 will be out some time. the first video rocked! will bill boggs still be host...? (bill boggs rocks too!! i really love that video :) )

the new elevator to hell ep is out today i think (i also heard that its been postponed till may.26th, but i'm not sure). i don't think i mentioned before that they have changed their name to "elevator through" with no hell whatsoever. in 1999 when they put out a full length they're name will just be "elevator" (which is what i call them anyways so who cares?).

those lovelies in winnipeg are goin' on tour. you can catch b'ehl & the bonaduces together in the following provinces/cities/states... fargo, minneapolis, wisconsin, chicago, michigan, ontario, quebec, ohio, indianapolis, maybe st louis, iowa - august 3-17. that western tour they were going to do has been canceled due to lack of funds. if you know anybody who can set up a show or has a place to stay please email endearing.

apparently (to my great excitement) joel plaskett of thrush hermit has recorded a solo album with none other than rick white!! al tuck sings on it too... boyoboy. i'll let cha know if i hear anymore. the new thrush hermit songs sound sooooo good. they're recording in toronto now & hope to have the album out in the fall. yay!

keep an eye on the murderecords site cuz they're up-dating a lot lately.

canzine98 shall be held in october this year. check the broken pencil site, you can now register & everything there.

derek has up-dated the radioblaster site slightly (but they're still broken up so don't get too excited). maritess & dave have both sold their instruments :..(

the 4-star movie are doing a small tour which will take them to grandby, quebec, kitchener & st. catherine's. they will also be playing a canada day outside thing on young st. (canada day is july 1st you dohheads!) dunnotaforget about their new self titled album out on poster girl records.

midnight owl records has a new email address its mo@imag.net so if you need to get in contact with them that'd be the place.

may.12 - there is *a lot* of news today!!

len have signed to (the big american major lable) work group. its distributed by sony music canada. some dumb record lable man said len are kinda like the beastie boys (how are the beastie boys indie pop exactly?). the cool thing out of this is that we actually know what's going on with them, they're working on an album for early next year and they're even going to be putting out some 7" this summer. yay! keep ya posted.

the "new" music west festival this year will feature bands like .... Pure, Noise Therapy, Modest Mouse (and everybody knows how great modest mouse are don't they, well i guess only cool people know), Grapes Of Wrath (together again! woo hoo!), Neko Case (cowboy hats!!!), Kinnie Starr, Veda Hille, Oh Susanna, Copyright, Mudgirl, Bossanova, The Monoxides, The New Grand (new album out may.26) & Hissy Fit (plus more, but worry not, i edited out the cheap stuff! ha ha!). wow, a lot better than it originally thought but i would still have to say your best bet would be the boozecan thing which still has speedbuggy, space kid, bossanova, jungle, The New Grand, Taste Of Joy, Cecil Seaskull, The Liars & Lonnie James, where the only cheap band is limblifter, but even they aren't that bad.

i'm coming close to sloan overload, but here's the latest....christopher & patty are doing this radio tour where they're (get this!) playing some of the songs as a duo!! for some reason i find this very very odd. anyways most canadians can hear this duo perform some songs from the new album on radiosonic this sunday. as a matter a fact, everybody is going to be on radiosonic this weekend. listen for the inbreds/plumtree concert on saturday, sloan in the "listening booth" on saturday & then the chris/pat duo on sunday (but you shouldn't listen to it because you should be going to see thrush hermit at the shanghai!!!). also make sure to catch mr.charles austin on radioescapade this weekend (although i have no idea when!) pretty big stuff! also if you live in edmonton, winnipeg, ottawa, montreal or halifax you can catch that murphy/pentland duo thing on all kindza different radio stations (i'm too lazy to write which ones). (on a radiosonic note i would like to ask if the grant lawrence who does the radiosonic newsletters is the same grant lawrence from the smugglers? oui? non? clue me in if you know...)

stereo-type records has finally gotten that snailhouse/julie doiron split 7" out. its now available. you can email kevin for details.

stardust music (the folks who brought you the up periscope compilation) have a new address : PO BOX 1521, halifax cro, halifax ns, B3J 2Y3. so if your looking to order something from them that's where to write!

oh yeah, the new hayden cd came out today!!! its very nice, i heard it :) you should buy it at sunrise records because they put it in their new releases section wheras hmv does not (i'm only kidding, making run of the muskratun!!! hehe!).

may.7th

shameless self promotion : please try out our new message board!! the muskrats & alt.rawk. have finally hooked up to bring you a super-coolio message board for all your indie rawk questions & discussions.

elevator to hell are putting out a new ep on murderecords, earlier than expected. it'll be out may.19th!! (that's about two weeks away). apparently murder is keeping pretty quiet about it but they have said it will be all new material. yay!

without much attention the new local rabbits album came out. it's called "basic concept", on murder. you can also buy the BK 7". look out for the local rabbits on the western edgefest dates as well as backing up neko case on five lilith fair shows.

the inbreds have a new video for "movin' on" out now. request it!! (hang on a sec, doesn't it say "Rankin video" as in the rankin family? i'm confused, is there a song called movin' on on winning hearts? i can't remember....). i'll find out.

& speaking of all this murder stuff... all of their releases are available from no records on-line. its quite the store they've got there! also their web site has been up-dated & continues to be added to so you might want to take a look.

all of my friends seem to be making web site lately & i've been meaning to link everybody but haven't gotten the chance. so here's some new places to check out :)

• andrea has set up "hairballs from hell" which is a huge bunch of stuff! TOM GREEN!!! become a pinnapple pal on that page, a growing photo gallery, gifs for your web sites, an interview with the inbreds plus more! coming soon to hairballs, "how to be chris murphy" starring none other than myself (i am chris murphy btw...).
• greg has set up a transitor sound & lightning co. page. oooo, its very fancy. take a look & sign the guestbook!
• just so ya know, muskrat zines is now to be known as muskrat music (due to the lack of zines). i wish i could change my name :(

thrush hermit are in toronto right now!! isn't that cool? oh yeah.... they're recording at the gas station! hoping to get a new (indie) record out by the fall. i'm very, very excited!!!!

sloan are going to be hosting this YTV hit list thing. it's on may.16th (a saturday) at 2:30pm. it'll replay @ 10:30pm. speaking of sloan, the us release of "navy blues" is going to happen in the fall/september sometime. apparently it'll be on murder still, but distributed through somebody in new york (no word on who...). also sloan & the inbreds will be touring the usa together in september (winning hearts is coming out in the usa the same way i think).

congrats go out to mr.mike o'neil who is engaged to be married :) awww... he's so sweet!

laura & mike from the vees are backing up Joe Pernice who's new album "overcome with happiness" comes out on may.19th (sub pop).

haven't heard anything about music waste this year but something you could check out instead of music west is the 3rd annual boozecan fever. its got a really wicked line-up... stage one w/limblifter, speedbuggy, space kid, bossanova & jungle. stage two: The New Grand, Taste Of Joy, Cecil Seaskull, The Liars & Lonnie James. they'll also be videotaping the event to maybe release it at some point. sounds good, wish i could go.

reflectiostack have recently put out a new cd. they had a release party w/smallmouth & guh (that i didn't know about... boo hoo!) look for it at least in local toronto stores.

there is a halifax on music page here. but i haven't been able to get to it yet. laura recomends taking the lo-fi version. speaking of HOM, i get to go this year!!! woo hoo!! that is really cool :) i'll bring y'all back a report.

ummmm.... i know there's more stuff but i can't think of it right now. go buy the new 4-star movie album. tis very gud. you can expect a review of it at some point in the future, ugh i'm too busy listening to write!!!

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april '98

apr.29th - i'm oh-so happy today!

the sloan i&i was yesterday & i got a ticket & was there. so i'm really chipper, not only cuz i got to go but because matt murphy was there!! woo hoo! he's the best!

i saw the new pure video for the second time today. its pretty neat cuz its got lotsa people from vancouver in it :) including... nardwar!!!

the local rabbits have been added to some of the edgefest dates!! you'll have to find out which ones fer yrself cuz i don't know.

the electrosonic's (hailing from vancouver bc!) have had a coupla member switches...michaela galloway on vocals, flutes & keyboards & wendy young on guitar/vocals. they'll be playing their release party soon w/bossanova!! check shows.

oh! and if you see the sloan i&i or taped it or something you should look for a few of us rawkers in it!! maggie & melissa had starring roles! (the camera loved them all night long!!) maggie got chris' bass!! oh yeahh... it was awsome :) i was there in a yellow sfz shirt, andrea was behind me w/a blue poledo shirt on & jeff was there too but i don't know if you can see him in any of the shots.

apr.25th - i just got the may exclaim so yr in for some particulairly good news :)

the may exclaim has the coolest cover ever!! its the evaporators & its colourfull & it just rocks. check it out!

the new grand's new album, "incognito" is out on may.26th. the cover looks really funny, its like a sketch of the four of them. they are on tour may1st to june6th in southern ontario plus calgary, edmonton & winnipeg. i'll put the new dates up soon.

neko case is also going back on tour in june. the sadies are busy putting out their own records (details bellow) so the local rabbits will be backing her up!

the sadies are putting out, what i think is their first full length album, in june this year on Bloodshot records in the usa (same lable as neko case put her album out in the us). so look for that...

the new sonic youth album is coming out on may.5th it's called "a thousand leaves". i obviously haven't been paying very close attention because i haven't heard a thing about it.

an inbreds & plumtree concert will be aired on cbc's radiosonic may 16th. inbreds at 8pm & plumtree @ 11pm.

this year's music west features hilite perfomers like scratching post & bossanova! takes place may 28-30. tix on sale now at ticketmaster. (this takes place in BC by the way... don't let the "west" part of the name fool you).

i think the new chixdiggit album is out already. its called "born on the first of july". check out www.chixdiggit.com for details.

apr.20th

well i'd just like to say that i'm sorry the up-dates have been slow and not-so good. and emails have been even worse. i shall try to do better for the good, loyal people who visit. and thanks, as always, for taking the time to come here & in general be supportive by leaving messages in the wall o rawk or the guestbook, you guys really are cool :)

on with the news in my long winded way of recounting it (cuz you didn't come here for some heartfelt appology did you?)...

a bright idea that came to me completely spontaniously (and not just because its on the muskrat page or i got an email about it or anything.) may 1st will be a big day. may 1st will be a day of rock, a day of rock & roll to be more specific. at five o'clock sloan are, of course, playing at 102.1 the edge (204 young st.) and they'll finish up around 6:30pm - anybody who's anybody will be there so you'd better be too! at 6:30pm all eyes turn to alt.rawk. when we do our first mix tape trade!!! this will take place in the basement of tower records by the zine rack. if you need more details you should stay tuned to the site and/or email me and i'll put you on a special tape traders list so i know who all's coming and who i have to inform of times/dates/rules etc... then!! (oh yeah, there's more!) the four star movie show at the cameron! its the cd release party for their first album. go to this if your 19+ and you can brag that you saw them before they were famous rock & roll gods (believe me, it's gonna happen!!). and if you're not 19, don't fret cuz they'll be playing some all ages shows during the summer. if you like noisy pop rock you're in for a big treat!!

edgefest. sook-yin lee just pointed out on much music that this is a total "guyfest". i can't think of one girl in any of the bands on the bill. but anyways....

the new duotang album is coming out very soon. there's a release party in winnipeg for may.3rd (see shows). after that they'll be touring with plumtree & the weakerthans so look out for that!

apr.15th - sloanny days are ahead of us.

"geez jessica" you say, "what have sloan been up to lately, i hear their new record's coming out, where's they hype?" "well," i respond, thoughtfully, "here's a list of places you will be seeing sloan in the next coupla weeks (and if you live in or around toronto you're in for a billion cool treats!)"

• today : i saw the new video for "money city maniacs" this afternoon on much music. it rocks, possibly my favourite sloan video yet, watch for it (its in medium rotation).
• april.28th : the new album, navy blues comes out and sloan perform an intimate & interactive on much music at 8pm. in order to get tickets for this you must a) live in the toronto area or be coming for the i&i b)watch much music. apparently, if you watch the show formerly known as RSVP (now known as "much on demand" - on at 5:30 i believe... check the listings to make sure) they'll be doing a phone-in type thing. i think you'll have to answer a "sloan skill testing question" which i think is just plain cool :) if i find anything else out i'll let you know.
• may.1st : um, i think the CFNY studio is closing down (ie, they're moving again...) and sloan were the first band to do the roof-top thing and so they're also closing it down. they'll be playing at 5pm & they'll be interviewed on live in toronto @ 6pm so be sure to come out for that & hang out on young street with me!! (maybe we can do some tape trading? oh yeah...)
• and then, if you really like sloan and absolutly must have that cute chris guy's autograph they'll also be doing an autograph session thing @ sunrise records (on young st.) at 6:30 the same day.
• and as if that wasn't more than you could ask for, chart magazine is going completely psyco over sloan. the may issue will have four covers, one of each member sloan!! plus if you're a subscriber or buy chart at HMV you'll get a bonus single.

apr.14th -oh yeah baybee! there's news! and not the made up kind, the real thing!! endearing, thrush hermit & hayden.

the endearing records compilation of john hughes covers is going to be called "pretty in pop". it'll be out in may.1st and the track listings goes as followed...

• bonaduces : i go crazy
• 99 : bring on the dancing horses
• speedbuggy : pretty in pink
• ciao bella : if you were here
• b'ehl : don't you forget about me

in other endearing news you can look for their wicked bands on tour. "the bonaduces, painted thin and b'ehl should all be doing a few small trips out to alberta in june/july, painted thin might hit the west coast, then b'ehl and the bonaduces will head down through the fargo, minneapolis, wisconsin, chicago, michigan to ontario and quebec, then back throu ohio, chicago, indianapolis, maybe st louis, iowa, etc this august. " if ya got some friends or know somebody who puts on shows or has a spare couch let endearing know! yikes, i'm so excited about seeing b'ehl & the bonaducheese!! they rule!

the big news today... the thrush hermit site, its back. go look. alas, the elektra deal is no more. they figured a way to get out of the deal and now, they are free. (yet another example of a canadian band getting screwed/ignored by a big american lable - will they never learn their lesson?) they are also on a new compliation put out by 'no alternative' records (along w/ben fold five plulsmore). yes oh yes, the hermit rock!!!

hayden : ok i'm sorry! i haven't put up the hayden track listing yet. & on top of not putting it up i am also going to steal it! *gasp*... none of you had any idea how baaaad i was did you? laura muskrat knows way more about hayden than i will ever know & therefore, i am stealing her track listing w/all the cool information listed next to each song.

• Stride ( a new version) (howie-bass, josh-guitar, hayden guitar/organ/sax/voice, mitch-drums)
• The Hazards Of Sitting Beneath Palm Trees (the first single, AT THE RADIO STATIONS NOW SO REQUEST IT, look for a video soon)
• Bullet
• Waiting For A Chance To See Her
• Two Doors (you may recognize this from hayden's shows last winter "there's only two doors inbetween us...")
• Between Us To Hold
• Better Off
• Inside Inst W/ Mellotron
• Memphis
• Nights Like These
• You Are All I Have (new version)
• I'll Tell Him Tonight

apr.7

there is no news!!! but here's some stuff anyways (notice i've been up-dating other parts of the site because there is nothing new to put up here? you can just tell how board i am by how much writing i'm doing lately!)...

websites . . . :

• readymade have got a new site from no records. that's at "http://www.norecords.com/readymade/"
• also check out the no records site cuz it looks awsome : "http://www.norecords.com/"
• but whatever you do don't look at the sonic unyon site because they're dumb! (and they don't update, ever.)

• chris murphy from sloan. he looked cleaner than usual (ha ha ha ha...i'm just kidding, gzuz!!) he was everywhere.
• andrew scott from sloan. in and out of the dance room. i didn't get the privilage of seeing him dance :)
• matt murphy!! from the superfriendz. but he wasn't wearing a cow boy hat :...( and i only saw him once at which point i screamed, "ohmigod its matt murphy!!" and i don't know why. its not as if i've never seen him before, i feel really dumb about that actually. he had very big hair.
• tanya allen!! she's a canadian actress and she's been in all kindza good stuff like "the lives of girls & women", "the newsroom", she hosted that "9 oclock show" and she was most recently in a made for tv cbc movie called "white lies" w/sarah polly & that guy who plays carter's cousin on ER & is also canadian, his mother is really famous too(?) and, she was also in that horrible awful movie thing called "ophelia" w/laura stein from jale & bruce mcdonald directing? yeah! that's her. she was the most surprising person.
• and some tristan psionic people were there too... mark for sure but i dunno who else and i didn't personally see him either.

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March '98

mar.31

sloan will be doing an intimate & interactive on much music on april 28th (same day as navy blues comes out). i'll let ya know if i find out how to get tix. starts at 8pm!!!

the new 4-star movie album is out right now so go buy it!!! they'll also be doing a video for the song "patience is av".

cheticamp will be filming a video for the song "flight path" off aeroplane vs. automobile.

the first hayden single from the new album is out today so call your local station & request "the hazards of sitting beneeth palm trees".

mar.29

sloan filmed their first video for "money city maniacs" this week/last week. so look out for that on much music hopefully soon (?). new album, navy blues, out april.28th.

we're thinking of doing a mix tape trading thing. hopefully to introduce everybody to different kindza music (other than indie rock. eg...blues or something like that). if you'd be at all interested lemme know on the scrawl wall or e-mail & i'll set it up (it might take a bit but i like this idea so i'll work on it!).

CFNY has a show called the history of new music. usually i wouldn't recomend listening to anything alan cross hosts (i really really hate that guy!) but he's doing this "history of alternative rock". part seven is "american indie/college rock" so if that interests you tune in april 5th (sunday, between 7 & 8) or 7th (tuesday - 12am - 1am)

mar.26

sad news from winnipeg that one of their few indie stores, fwip the record, is going under :( hope another one springs up soon cuz we all know that winnipeg rawks!

the first two dates on hayden's tour have been postponed. they will be reschedualed but you'll have to wait. those would be the london & kitchener shows.

the murderecords site has been slightly up-dated. its got a note from patrick pentland. for the record... sloan will be shooting a video the last week of march in toronto (uh, that would be this week...) and you should keep your ears pealed for a casting call for extras. i will put the info up here if i hear anything about that. also notable news: they'll be setting up some kind of e-mail thing so you can get in touch with the band easier.

mar.24

the radioblaster web site has been up-dated with a thing about the breakup. its oh-so-sad. derek says the band was very important to him, but apparently not to dave & maritess take a look at it here :...(

make sure to watch tom green on open mike w/mike bullard tomorrow night! (mar.25th)

the last superfriendz video for "forever a day" has been sent to much music. i have no idea if they already played it on mucheast yet (haven't been watching lately). if anyone's seen it lemme know what it was like!

mar.22

you may have heard this already but ian blurton has been playing in bionic. i don't know about anything solo yet but yeah, catch him in bionic (they sound a little like CoH - very rock but with these little pop things there too).

may 5th you can catch smallmouth doing an in-studio performance/interview thingy at CHRY 105.5fm.

on april 18th scratching post are going to signal to noise to record a new ep!!! there will be all new songs & it might be on squirtgun, maybe not who knows? (they're not on virgin anymore). so look for that in the future sometime...

lonnie james will be on open mike w/mike bullard on april 1st.

the sadies might be putting something out on bloodshot records in the USA.

mar.17

pure are going to be on live in toronto on march 26th. they'll be doing an in-studio performance. um, live in TO has been having some pretty cool guests on lately (elevator, monoxides, inbreds) some of which i missed because i wasn't paying attention to their listings (CFNY is dumb, but i guess they're not as bad as i thought). the listings are here if your interested.

mar.16th

the new bionic album is out today. i heard it and its really great, very rock!!! bionic is members of the doughboys & pest 5000

the first single from hayden's new album "the closer i get" will be out in about a month. its called "the hazards of sitting beneath palm trees"

the local rabbits album, basic concept, will be out april.7th on murder. there'll be a release party around that date in toronto & they'll also be on open mike with mike bullard march.20th so look out for them!

mar.12th

the monoxides have recorded ten new songs with rick white (elevator/eric's trip etc...). so i guess they're putting out something new at some point. they're no longer on BMG as you all know. catch them playing shows around the toronto area this week.

i saw the new inbreds video (directed by chris murphy), it rocks! the inbreds will be going on tour sometime in the near future with the one & only local rabbits!

the april 4th scratching post show is canceled. it might still happen at a later day but for now its canceled. sorry guys!

the new 4-star movie album (which we're all terribly excited about!) has been sent to the plant & will be in stores in the next coupla weeks. keep yer eyes & ears pealed!!! stay tuned for a tour & a release party may.1st at the cameron house in toronto. yay for them!!!!

mar.9th

teenage usa news...

• that gaffer cd is going to be called "snow falls like stars", it'll be out this spring
• a mean red spiders album will out in this spring called "places you call home" also look for a flexi-disc by them in the next issue of broken pencil.
• solarbaby are also schedualed to put out a record called "the power of negative prayer" (hee hee).
• a cassette release is on the way from Joshua WM (josh malinsky, ex-poledo) & it'll be called 'overdubs'. cassettes rock man!

endearing is carrying a lot of cool vancouver stuff including the latest releases from gaze (mitsumeru - debut cd on K records), the electrosonics (rampion - album on drive in) & bossanova ( i just got this bossanova ep in the mail today plus bossanova matches! its really neat! lots of organs and just plain neat. also look for a bossanova 7" on teenbeat records real soon!) so support something that's from the other side of the country for once!

painted thin, b'ehl, the bonaduces, 99 & the electrosonics are probably appearing on a vegan compilation/cookbook thingy. sounds cool, look out for that.

mar.5

plumtree are supposed to be signing autographs at the Sennheiser/the edge stage located somewhere within the western harbour castle convention center in downtown toronto. they'll be there between 12:20 -12:40, this is for CMW.

by the way, radioblaster's CMW show is canceled.

tristan psionic who haven't played many shows lately are setting up for a new album & some more touring. the band is in songwriting mode right now says sandy...and they're 3rd record will probably be released in 1998 sometime.

chore & golden lake dinner are headin' out on tour, The Salvation Tour to be exact. dates are up in tours.

the new grand album, "incognito" is still on schedual & on its way type whatever. the date is TBA, but look for it in april probably.

the unyon site has been up-dated a bit. there's even more news than i've put up here.

vancouver bc's the Electrosonics have started up an e-mail newsletter. if ya wanna be subscribed e-mail the band. also their web site is at http://www3.bc.sympatico.ca/electrosonics/ they've got a new cd/"mini album" which is available through the band in canada and on drive in records in the usa. its also available through the darla or parasole mail order catalog. they have plans to tour in july & september. if you dig bands like stereolab/spiritualized/slowdive/my bloody valantine/galaxy 500 etc...check em out!

mar.3rd

radioblaster called it quits recently. the rumors have been flying around for months that dave wanted to quit the band. derek & maritess both have industry jobs as well. watch for derek playing in hollow. we wish 'em luck on the rest of the musical careers!

matador is indeed re-releasing belle & sebastian's (north american debut?) "if you're feeling sinsiter". i think it should be widely available now (?). also look out for something new from them (they've got a bunch of eps but i don't know if its possible to get them here) on matador.

cheticamp have postponed filming their first video for the song "flight path" because mike is going to be supporting Neko Case on her tour. he also won't be playing CMW even though he was accepted.

check out the poster girl records site, its been up-dated and there's a photo gallery now!

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february '98!!

feb.27th

the new sloan album, out april 28th, is now called "navy blues" (not hot grapes like they said before). there is not plans for an american release yet. here is the track listing...(not in order).

• She Says What She Means
• (Come On Come On) We're Gonna Get It Started
• Iggy And Angus
• Sinking Ships
• Keep On Thinkin'
• Money City Maniacs
• Seems So Heavy
• Chester The Molester
• Suppose They Close The Door
• Stand By Me Yeah
• On The Horizon
• Thank You (not the Led Zeppelin tune)
• Cotton Pickin' Moment

Joshua WM will be putting out a tape on teenage usa records! joshua wm is josh malinsky from poledo. yipee! i stole this news from laura who says if the tape is what she thinks it is it'll be poppy & pleasant, solo acoustic stuff, very different from poledo. the release date for that is mid-march.

teenage usa is also putting out the new Cecil Seaskull (nerdy girl) album in mid-may, a pecola full-length in june, a gaffer cd in april. out now on teenage usa is secret agent's "from conception to deception" & a pecola/smallmouth spilt 7". and don't forget about lonnie james' new album. those folks have been busy!!

feb.25 "won us over with stories about linda mccartney..."

the monoxides are going on tour in march, the dates are up in tours. also, after the split from BMG, hype music will be doing their publicity. call (905) 275-9613 and ask for paula or shannon.

duotang's new album should be out this spring. i don't think i said that already...

huevos rancheros are nominated for a juno this year. and you know what, i don't care. awards shows are so dumb, they make no sense...but i some how always get sucked into watching them. grrrr! not this year baby, i swear i'm gonna try my darndest not to watch them...there's gotta be something else on...click click click...nOOOOOO! oh, by the way they've got a new video out and you can catch on much if they ever play it. for the song "Shadow Of The Apache" (i always like their videos!)

there will be a sloan concert on radiosonic (CBC - feb.28) this saturday. they (radiosonic, not sloan) will also be out for canadian music week and will probably have some special guests at that time.

feb.24 "i love everybody"

congrats to endearing records on their 3rd anniversary! to celebrate they are holding a big show at the west end cultural center (see winnipeg shows). they're also putting out their 10th release which is a john hughes tribute cd. included on the cd are ciao bella, b'ehl, ninety nine, the bonaduces, speedbuggy, at the show, b'ehl, evie, the bonaduces and painted thin.

other stuff those dearies are up to direct from blair...

• ciao bella are in the process of licensing their debut albun to quattro in japan
• laura macfarlane (x sleater-kinney) is recording with her band 99 in australia right now
• dan from b'ehl (drums) has left the band to focus on other things, the band will continue on doing a mix of accoustic shows and full on rock shows with chris from the bonaduces helping out on drums
• steve from painted thin (guitar) has left to focus on other things and his departure means doug (also from the bonaduces) will be filling in
• evie, swan rivers lofi sensations have released their fourth cassette - amust for any erics trip fans
• ciao bella will be releasing 2 more 7"s, this time one on jigsaw records and one on darla records, their 7" on endearing has just sold out again, look for a third pressing. and their 7" on 100 guitar mania (japan) is also out of print.

chart has officially announced the line up for their CMW showcase at the horseshoe tavern march.6th. performers are...Bodega, Elevator To Hell, Mystery Machine, Copyright, Local Rabbits & Bionic. plus "all the Chart staff who will be moving about the crowd juggling and making balloon animals for the kids!" So be there and get a balloon!

hayden's new album, "the close ri get" has been pushed back to being released on may.5th. oh well...

i promise you a whole lotta prarie news! all those great endearing bands are doin' some pretty cool stuff and its all sitting in my inbox so come back tomorrow!

feb.19 "you'll never ever catch her just when you think that you have caught her"

belle & sebastian are going to be doing an on-line chat thing, thursday march 12 at 2pm GET which works out to be about 9am EST. keep watching the official b&s site for further details.

the monoxides aren't going to be on BMG anymore. i think they only put out the one record on them (galaxy of stooges). apparently they might be "going in a new direction" and are looking for a record lable that will know how to market them properly... or something like that. stay tuned...

feb.17th "this is cnn"

ben folds five will not only be interviewed today at CFNY but will also be playing a decent set for you! so get down there if you can!

the 4-star movie's long awaited album will be coming out on poster girl records sometime in the near future. they are quite a coolio noisey pop band and already have a 7" out called honey glaze. so watch out fer them, they'll be on tour in end of march / early april

the brand spankin' new inbreds video for "attitude", as produced (or something) by chris murphy himself was sucessfully delivered to much music yesterday. chris actually made an inpromptu appearance just before they aired him digging for pirate's gold in N.S. oh and "winning hearts" is out now so go get it!

cheticamp will be on open mike w/mike bullard on feb.20th... its on the comedy network at 10pm (its a much funnier show now that it was when it first started).

and groovy religion are going to be on open mike tonight!

feb.16 : "who's your favourite author? mine's graham green!"

today, feb.16th, is heritage day. much music is doing some very special canadian programing and you can catch it starting at noon today and then repeating at 6pm. be sure to tune it to watch sloan dig for pirates gold in nova scotia (if only to get a second look at chris murphy's new & plentiful hair :) )

the vees are filming a new video for their song "A" ("never underestimate a letter of the alphabet", who said that?). they're doing that in toronto.

this is somewhat of a rumor but i'm going to post it cuz it probably true (and won't do anybody any harm), there might be a bonus cd with the up-coming sloan album. it'll have those un-released song that they've got left over from recording. you should be able to get it, a limited edition, at HMV. they sure are big on the bonus albums (not that i'm complaining...)

ben fold five are going to be on the tonight show with jay leno on february 25th, they'll be playing.

feb.12

a bunch of major canadian artists have put together a benifit cd for the 30 hour famin. included on the cd will be sloan's "autobiography", hayden's "to go wrong" & a bunch of other people (tom cochran & sarah mclaughlin & people like that.). there will also be a press conference at HMV at some date at which some of the artists will be in attendance, don't know who or when yet.

there might be an #inbreds channel on undernet coming up. if you want it you should e-mail matt parker to ask how you can show your support (you need a certain amount of people before they'll let you set one up). his e-mail is... stereo@sympatico.ca.

yay to scratching post for keeping the rawk alive! nicole has set up an all-ages matt / 19+ licenced show at the rivoli set for april.4th. more bands to be announced.

plumtree has shot their third video for plumtree predicts the future. its for the song "you just don't exist" and they all got new haircuts for the special occasion.

hayden. i've come to the realization that i've greatly neglected hayden because a lot of hayden stuff has been going on and i haven't reported any of it. ok hayden is putting out a new album called "the closer i get". it has a tentative release date of april.21 &, surprisingly enough, it will not be put out in canada on sonic unyon but rather through universal. guests on the album include solo artist howie beck & josh & mitch from poledo. so look out for that in april & for the tour in march!

feb.8

being the investigative journalist that i am i first of all found out where the canadian music week web site was. don't try going to www.cmw.com or www.com.ca because you will find real estate companies (not that i have anything against the fine real estate business). instead spend fifteen minutes sorting through DAMN's "old news" section for that day when they linked to the CMW site. ahh... www.cmw.net, yeah that's the one.

at canadian music week all of these bands will be playing in toronto. i'll add the shows dates & venues of shows as i get them...(probably on another page...watch "shows" for details)... there will probably be a sonic unyon showcase and i'll tell you all about it as soon as somebody tells me.

• Another Joe
• The John Borra Band
• BTK
• Cheticamp
• The Dinner Is Ruined
• Elevator To Hell (march.6 - club shanghai)
• the Flashing Lights (mar.3 - horseshoe)
• gob
• Groovy Religion
• GUH
• Mayor McCa
• The Monoxides
• The New Grand
• Plumtree
• Rusty
• Scratching Post
• Shallow North Dakota
• Shortfall
• Sianspheric
• Sour Landslide
• Tristan Psionic

east coast news...err i mean murder news

the local rabbits new album will be called "basic concept" and it'll be out on murder near the end of march. its supposed to have a 70s feel to it with hornes, pianos, strings and backing vocals. it was recorded in montreal.

the flashing lights (matt murphy's band) will be playing nu music night in toronto at the horseshoe march.3rd for CMW. i think they might be putting some kind of recording out in the near future. matt has been recording with mike o'neil from the inbreds playing piano fer him.

speaking of mike o'neil...the inbreds new record, "winning hearts" will be out on feb.10th and they'll be playing a show at the rivoli in toronto. fear not, it'll be all-ages afternoon & evening 19+. i don't have a date yet tho...sometime very soon (after feb.10th). and also they're working on a video with chris murphy editing or doing some other production type job. i think it'll be for the song "attitude" cuz that's the first single.

drew yamada (ex-sfz) is working in a band called "kicks like 50s" playing keyboards & bass. also the ex-Thee Suddens drummer is in that band

Elevator to Hell might possibly be recording an EP for murder which would be out in may/june. keep yer fingers crossed.

sloan are done mixing their album at the end of next week. april 28th is the set release date & they're thinking of calling it "hot grapes". yay!

feb.2

teenage USA recordings (which used to be skull geek) has a web site now. check it out here.

Scratching post are going to be on the tom green show on feb.13th, with shortfall, and more. they're also in the april issue of "metal edge". & they cancelled their feb.4th show in sudbury but they hope to have an all-ages/19+ show very soon.

direct from the brand new lovely looking sonic unyon site here's some of the stuff they've got planned fer this year...

• The Mooney Suzuki . Love Is Everywhere . 7"single . March 3
• Danko Jones . (self titled) . 7"single . April 1
• Danko Jones . (self titled) . CD . April 28
• SIANspheric . There's Always Someplace You'd Rather Be . CD . May 26
• The New Grand . Incognito . CD . date to be announced

feb.1

sloan were on radiosonic last night, it was cool. whenever my sloan-devotion starts to falter i get perked up again by those darn boys. let it be written in the book that jay ferguson has the greatest taste in music, may the cbc give him his own radio show. sloan will be performing at the ecmas tonight & their record should hopefully be coming out on april.28th. and another neat-o thing, did you know that jay was at the spritualized show in the CN tower? neat-o indeed.

speaking of the emcas... nominated in the "alternative" catagory are... elevator to hell, julie doiron, plumtree, the superfriendz & the inbreds. as pointed out by colin mackenzie last night, uhhh, what about thrush hermit!? have they forgotten about thrush hermit? IMHO, thrush hermit put out the best record from the east coast last year. well la dee da, i think they've been snubbed!!!

the sonic unyon site is supposed to be up today...the address is http://www.sonicunyon.com/ & its supposed to be pretty nifty.

smallmouth is looking for a new drummer. blake from guh is filling in until they get one.

cheticamp is making a video for their song flight path of aeroplane vs. automobile. its being filmed in new york city where i think mike lives.

top

January '98

jan.28

lonnie james' solo album is coming out on feb.14th on teenage USA recordings. its called "this land is your land". its said to be described as "jonathan richmond meets the velvet underground"...psycedelic, jangly, silly & rockin' all at the same time :) apparently jose from by divine right is going to be playing with lonnie at the release party: lee's palace, feb.14th.

jan.27

chris & jay from sloan will be on radiosonic this saturday (jan.31). they'll be broadcasting from the east coast for the ecma. there will also be an exclusive plumtree performance that same day so tune in for much east coast content. sloan will be performing at the awards show on the sunday (feb.1) & it'll be hosted by the fantabulous rick mercer (of this hour has 22 minutes).

if you didn't buy the poledo demos tape (w/pedistal, waste, boygirl & umm...3 more songs on it) at the last poledo show can get it from rotate this (in toronto) or from the band for 8$. its pretty good, i like it.

belle & sebastian who were on the enclave in the states before it collapsed are now on matador! that's pretty cool, hope they re-release "if you're feeling sinister" so we don't have to pay 25+ dollars for it. that would be nice...

CMJ this year is reported to feature performances by tristan psionic, the monoxides, the new grand & scratching post, plus more... details should be out soon i think.

jan.26

the vancouver pop band, gaze has a cd coming out in K records. it should be out by feb.10th (thanks cat!)

the deadline to submit applications for this year's north by north east i almost up. all aplications must be in by feb.2nd. they are available at the nxne web site here. nxne will take place in toronton june 11-13th.

poledo's last show was yesterday and it was awsome! they played *almost* every poledo song. they will be sorely missed by all. they rocked!

jan.22

groovy religion are releasing their new album, "canadabis" on handsome boy on valentine's day & it'll be sold at retail hemp outlets across canada & all the records stores. the press release says that each cd will contain a "smokable hemp product". the release parties are set for february 11th at the cannabis cafe in vancouver & february 14 at the elmo in toronto. every one who busy the cd can enter into a contest to win a three foot long custom made "miraculous bong". okie dokie...

huevos ranchos & duotang are presently touring europe including countries like... Belgium, England, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands.

to further the sonic unyon news (that they're not going under) i have a list of some of the things they plan to release this year.

• the new grand's new album, "incognito". they recorded this in calgary with dave alcock.
• the sianspheric ep, "there's always some place you'd rather be"
• a mooney suzuki 7" (they're from new york & rock apparently) "love is everywhere"
• a danko jones 7"/ep (i don't have any details on this but i believe this is danko jones' first release? they have been a live band up until now.)

oops, i made a mistake in that vancouver up-date, zumpano aren't actually going into the studio, but they're rehersing for a new record & also the evaporators (nardwuar's band) should have a new album out in march, they're already recording.

the 4-Star Movie are still busy trying to get their album out. but they're going to start playing shows again beggining with a toronto date at the club shanghai on January 29th. so check em out, they're cool :)

jan.21

colin mackenzie is doing radioescapade on cbc for the next two weekends. It's on right after radiosonic (12?), it was really, really good last week. i really really liked it so tune in next week.

sonic unyon isn't going under you crazy rumor people, you are out of your mind!!! they've moved across town but i don't have the address yet (i swear i saw it somewhere). plus the web site will also be up on feb.1st (or so they say).

i got some vancouver news from cat (thanks cat!)...

• pluto have gone into the studio to record a follow up to their major lable debut
• zumpano have gone into the studio to record a new album, i think they're still on sub pop
• neko case is touring with the sadies in march (they played together last year too). and the virginian is going to be released on Bloodshot records in the states which is apparently home of stuff that TNN wouldn't touch with a ten gallon hat. plus the record is going to be reviewed in playboy!!?? oh me oh my...

So there is a date for the world wide re-release of : MORE OF OUR STUPID NOISE '98 & that day is February 24, 1998 on Squirtgun/Nettwerk. there *might* be some vinyl copies & squirtgun will have a couple of copies of the cd to sell to those of you who absolutly must have it. here's the final track listings.

• 01.BIONIC "C'mon C'mon" (new - everybody's got something to hide except me and my monkey, hee hee :)
• 02.SHORTFALL "Drive"
• 03.SCRATCHING POST "Full Throttle"
• 04.RADIOBLASTER "Perfect Burn (Video Edit)" (new)
• 05.THE IDS "Pain And Beauty" (new)
• 06.LOU BARLOW "Blown Pony"
• 07.MYSTERY MACHINE "What I Want (First Version)" (new)
• 08.ELEVATOR TO HELL "Veins/Green"
• 09.POLEDO "Herskin"
• 10.hHEAD "Want"
• 11.SPEEDBUGGY "Bionica"
• 12.BY DIVINE RIGHT "Bigfoot" (new, this is on their album)
• 13.SQUIRREL "Superforgettor"
• 14.VERSUS "Forest Fire (Live)"
• 15.JULIE DOIRON "So Fast"
• 16.HAYDEN "A Fortune I'd Kept"
• 17.MOON SOCKET "Almost Spring"
• 18.HIP CLUB GROOVE "Guaranteed"
• 19.THEE SUDDENS "A Rhyme That No One Understands"
• 20.ORANGE GLASS "Feel 500"
• 21.ERIC'S TRIP "So Easier Last Time"
• 22.LEN "Trillion Daze" (new, i can't believe they changed this track!!! the original was the wickedist... make all our dreams come true from lavern & sherly!! grrrr...)
• 23.THE BONADUCES "You're So Lame When You're Drunk" (new, don't know if its on their album)
• 24.THE NEW GRAND "Yours Truly"
• 25.NOAH'S ARKWELD "Xfriend"

right-o, i'm going to be perfectly straight with you here... rumors are going around that radioblaster are breaking up. from what i can gather these rumors were started by the evil man himself...mike clive. mike clive is a big fat liar! i can't say for 100% sure that they will be together forever because times are rough right now, but for the time being they are not breaking up. however, if they breakup tomorrow you'll think i'm a big idiot so i'm sorry.

nerdy girl/cecil seaskull's new album is due out in april & it'll be called "whoever". there's also a new-ish 7" out called "in & out of love" with a nerdy girl song on it as well as b'ehl, Beanpole, and The Seashell Sea its available on no life records & on endearing as well (endearing even has it in stock on limited edition pink vinyl for 6$!!!). there is a nerdy girl web site out there which i just discovered...click here to be magically transported into a very nerdy place.

jan.17

Scratching Post are mixing a new version of Flamethrower. a few tracks have been taken off including "more than like" & "rednecks and monster trucks". they seem to like this new version a lot more than the first one. they are also writing songs for a new album which they hope to finished by the end of february & record in april.

Radioblaster are taking some time off to record some songs & write new ones. they would like to record something new but need the money first so you should go see them play next weekend (saturday the 24th @ the club shanghai, all ages, afternoon GO!) and support the cause, not to mention show them you love them which i think they need right now.

- up-dated in the evening again!

despite the rumors today, squirtgun records is not going under. they are doing just fine thank you very much. the more of our stupid noise '98 re-released compilation is coming out world-wide (except canada) on feb.28th and a new bionic album is coming out in march.

ben folds five are in fact playing a show in TO, feb.18th at the pheonex, for 15.50 (from ticketmaster probably?). its all ages & the day before (Feb 17) they'll be at CFNY (204 yonge) for an interview on live in toronto.

cecil seaskull is now the artist formerly known as nerdy girl. the release date for that 7" single on daydream records is march.13th. also daydream is getting a website on feb.13th and they're also going to start releasing stuff as they have the money :)

its been one heckufa newsy day!

jan.13: brought to you by rumors!

the gossip mill says that mitch & josh formerly from poledo are going on tour with hayden in march. also accompanying them will be john richardson foremerly of change of heart on drums. john couldn't agree to go on tour until coh broke up. but yeah, its nice to see all those "formerly of..." people getting on track & doing stuff!

jan.11th

i actually have never listened to brave new waves before, but since i'm turning into an insomniac i tuned in quite by accident the other night. and i'm sad to report that it is really true that change of heart have broken up, fer real. ian has been working on the group for about 15 years! and now that's it, without even a fairwell show. so sad :( apparently ian might be doing the solo thing and rob higgins is playing in by divine right (bass - maybe permanently this time?). so uh...thats it. (thanks to melissa williams for telling me that they probably weren't going to be playing any more shows)

we'll have our little change of heart tribute picture thing up as soon as i can put it together.

nerdy girl is supposed to be putting out a 7" single cover of the sloan song "bells on" on daydream records. its being pressed this moth and we should hear more soon. stay tuned, nerdy girl is cool :)

i forgot to tell you that cargo records is finito, shutdown, over. i don't really remember why and i'm sure most of you that really care know why. sorry, i'm too lazy to figure it out.

jan.9th

heather mceachern is selling photography type calenders this year with her pix of bands like blond redhead, julie doiron & the wooden stars, sloan, teenage fanclub, the dandy warhols, radiohead & more. they're 4$ each and the address is...11 leslie st. london ontario, N6H 2J1. make sure your cash is well-concealed, if you need more details you can e-mail heather here.

angela's indie rawk web site has now got a place for zine listings & bootlegs and other hip stuff, you can e-mail her the listings here and the web site is just gimmie indie rock.

the inbreds new album, called "winning hearts" will probably be out on feb.10th now and the track listing is out now and is as follows...

• attitude
• every time i turn around
• is it the right time
• never be the same
• get along
• moustache
• take the path
• yelverton hill
• this train i ride
• sometimes
• the runaround
• you remain unchanged
• white caps

i can't think of any other news right now...later...

jan.5th

much east has put together an entire episode dedicated to les supah-friendz. it'll air January 11th & they're playing all the videos and a bunch of interviews and stuff. (ok...i remember there being mention of a video for forever a day that was filmed, i have no idea, but if there was i wouldn't be surprised if they play it on this show so tune in!)

karen pace doesn't work for chart anymore, i think she got a record lable job or somethin'...DAMN is gonna be done by some one else (can't remember who).

* oh and also, i'd like to take this moment to mourn the passing of one of the greatest columns ever. indie eye in eye magazine will no longer be done by cj o'conner. this is sad, this is bad. cj rocks! indie eye will now be written by rotating writers...but it won't be the same. cj will still be writing for chart magazine though. his last indie eye was in the last '97 issue of eye (i have it somewhere...).

The Undercurrents are playing on January 10th with a bunch of other bands including Charlotte Sometimes in Oakvill at the YMCA (Kerr & Rebecca St.) It's a fund raiser for the O.T.H.S's Field Hockey team to go to england. the cover is 4or 5$ and it starts at 7pm. so check out that show...if you need more details you can e-mail Jeff Kahl

* is it just me or is everything disappearing? i swear, the wedge is now on at 12 on saturdays, every band i love is breaking up, cj isn't writing indie eye anymore...everything is ending all at once!!! its not fair, damnit!

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december '97

dec. 24

The Catherine Wheel (yes, those CFNY sucker-upers...or maybe its the other way around...) were headlining that Edge Electric Christmas (oops, not CFNY i meant "the edge") met this DJ named Mike McCann and decided to take him to Detroit to DJ between sets for their show. well, Mike McCann played this sianpheric song and those Catherine Wheel guys were really impressed and that mike guy gave them copies of the somnium. and the catherine wheel guys are gonna give copies of it to their management in the UK...so yeah...the point of this story? i have no idea, ask the DAMN girl yrself! but sian are putting out a new ep called "there's always someplace you'd rather be"...and it'll come out soon (see new releases fer details).

poledoooooo!!! they're playing their very last ever show together on January 25th at the club shangahai (toronto). its all-ages and in the afternoon along with by divine right and some other "special guests". also they got the herskin video up on the website!!! yeah...but if yr stuck with a 28.8 modem like me it looks more like a slide show than a video but check it out anyways!!!

that trading/selling web site is up! its called "just gimmie indie rock"...be sure to check it out!! its good :)

sloan have been busy recording in toronto...they also played that grand and toy contest thing in bowmanville. & they were on CFNY a few days ago and didn't really have much to say except their album probably won't be a double...too much controversy from murderecords...ha!

here is some winnipeg news from christina!!! (thanks christina!!!)...."Winnipeg's finest funnest band the Ballroom Zombies have broken up. Lead singer Robin Black has called it quits with them and has moved to Toronto to be with his wife and start a new band with members of the Bloody Chicletts. It will be called Robin Black and the Intergalactic Rock Stars. The remaining members of the Zombies, Brad, Charles and Marky, will start a new band called the Harlots with Brad and Charles' brother Buck singing. The first show is on Jan, 2 at the Pyramid. Be sure to check them out, they're really good! How do I know? I heard their special on Power 97 fm and I listen to them outside their practice space."

that stardust music compilation, up periscope, is coming out in january-ish. you can get it through mail order before the stores do by sending 13$ to stardust music, 6031 charles st, halifax ns, b3k 1k9, canada. and don't forget the release party in halifax on jan 31. the line for the cd is... super friendz, benn ross, rebecca west, coal dj moves guppyboy first movers ladybug transistor rome plows nine pound weakling plumtree orange glass sebutones soaking up jagged state champs the motes holiday snaps syrup usa urban surf kings and others. their website is here.

dec.16

the sonic unyon christmas party is happening next weekend in hamilton at the ballroom (on king st.). playing are tristan psionic, chore, the mayor, shallow ND, sianspheric4, golden lake dinner & 2, maybe 3 guest bands. see shows for further details...if yr in hamilton be sure to go!!!

ok...here is a great oppertunity...angelina is setting up a trading post type web site where you can post things that yr looking for or would like to trade or sell. and also any bootlegs that you'd be willing to trade. for this to work properly angelina need you to e-mail her with lists of items you'd like to trade or sell or stuff you're looking for. her e-mail address is apilchak@mail.netquest.com

dec.15

apparently change of heart might, might, might be breaking up. ahhhhh!!! i swear if things don't stop going the way they are all of our favourite bands are going to break up!!!...anyways, CoH are taking christmas break to decide just what they want to do with themselves. ick...sounds bad :(

the new rusty album will have a cover of a velvet underground tune and a kinks song. remember...its 60's garage rock...they'll also be playing at the east coast music awards as well as on open mike with mike bullard on the comedy network on dec.19th...i think it starts at 8pm.

i am sure that the sonic unyon video comp. is out and orderable and available in stores (for the not-so-cheep price of 25$ or so). i even saw it (or at least the parts we did fast forward through...not all unyon bands are created equal ya know)!! it's pretty nifty :)

dec.12

poor greig nori has a sore throat. treble charger have pulled out of their american tour with the dandy warhols and are taking a break. the new years show is still happening tho. (it is very sad to me that when greig nori has a sore throat it makes to news...)

and you thought it was just the big american record lables that like to shaft little canadian bands. well, you were wrong, apparently mexican music people like to play that game too. a bunch of bands (including by divine right) were supposed to go down to mexico for the second instalment of that "canada rocks" festival, they all arrived at the airport and 1 hour before they were supposed to leave the mexican guy says "sorry, i'm not making enough money on this so i'm not re-inburssing yr plane ticket and accomodations"...yeah, so here are five little canadian bands with no money stuck paying for the plane ticket they'll never be able to use because some big rich guy wasn't gonna make enough money exploiting them in mexico. smart. real smart.

did you catch the inbreds on the indie hour (102.1 - toronto) on thursday night? eeek! they played live and brought sneek peeks of their to-be-released on february 2nd.

the east coast music awards nominies have been announced...including best alternative: elevator to hell, inbreds, plumtree & julie doiron. sloan was nominated for best video and best single for "everything you've done wrong". and rumor has it that they'll be playing live from a radio station or somethin'...i'll let you know about that.

rumor has it that sup pop have closed down quite a few of their offices including the canadian ones. the rumor also says that Joyce Linehan has resigned because of the cutbacks. apparently sup pop wanted funding from warner and they had to make the cut backs to get it.

check out november's chart for a way cool article by change of heart's Rob Higgins. within the article are pieces written by brendan canning (ex-hHead, ex-by divine right) and the guy from Helios (sorry! i can't remember his name!)

terrible terrible news! poledo are officially breaking up! poledo, on of the greatest live bands in the history of rawk are playing a final 19+ show on wednesday (at the rivoli) and a final (phew!) all-ages show sometime in january. this is horrible terrible news...here's what josh says...

"It’s over. Done. Cooked. After four years of rawk, Poledo have called it quits and are breaking up. The last licensed show in Toronto will be Wednesday, December 17th at the Rivoli as part of the Hot Lunch Tour featuring fellow Torontonians Pecola and Smallmouth. Members Dave Capogna, Joshua Malinsky, and Mitch Roth will continue to pursue music, both on their own and together in various other projects.

Poledo’s official releases included two independent cassettes, a CD on Sonic Unyon Records, a 7” on Squirtgun Records, and a track on the compilation More Of Our Stupid Noise, originally released on Squirtgun Records but soon to be released worldwide on the Nettwerk label.

The band plans on having a final all-ages rawk blow-out in Toronto sometime in January, and will keep everyone informed so they can catch the last show, which will include a set of everything the band has done including about 8 songs that had yet to be recorded.

Poledo would like to graciously thank all the fans, writers and press in Canada and elsewhere who helped spread the good word and supported them through the years. You’ll hear from the members again soon!

We still plan on continuing this site as an archive and we'll get it completed soon. We're gonna put up the video to "Herskin" in streaming video."

dec.8

the inbred's new album will be called "winning hearts" and it should be out on murder in feb.'98 according to an add in this month's exclaim.

tristan psionic are recording some new stuff. i think they're putting an album out, sometime, maybe.

rusty is on tour in december and in part of january (how come i didn't know this before?). they'll be playing all ages shows in a few cities like...fredricton, halifax, toronto, kitchener and london! and they'll also be appearing on open Mike w/Mike Bullard on Dec.19th which is on the comedy network so look out for rusty (all the tour dates are up).

stereo-type records is releasing a snailhouse/julie doiron split 7"! they had some troubles with the snailhouse song so it's being delayed but they hope to get it out by January. and stereo-type is also releasing 7" by a local victoria band called 'run chico run'. they're "masters of pop melodies and 60's harmonizing and guitars" so look out for them they're supposed to be awsome :) (thanx kevin!)

the sonic unyon video compilation should be out now, but i still don't know if you can order it. and coming soon on the unyon is a mooney suzuki 7" called "love is everywhere".

i think that little clever 7" is out on poster girl now. actually its a split with swackhammer. also don't forget about the new cheticamp cd "aeroplane vs automobile".

kelp records is releasing a compilation of "under 2-minute songs" called (now let me get this right...) "i am shorter than you are taller than i am". its got songs from Clag (who i think are from austrailia and are on endearing records), the motes, the holiday snaps and more. it'll be distributed in canada by the unyon so you should be able to get your hands on it somehow. the release party is dec.13th in toronto (check shows for details).

dec.5

its a sad sad day whenever a band breaks up, hHead is officially over. we all know noah's been working on noah's arkweld and brendan's been doing "other stuff" (by divine right, len etc...). so i guess the side projects are full time now...we wish 'em all the best!!! :)
 
 

dec.2

car accidents, car accidents, car accidents...with winter here it looks like everybody's getting into a car accident. by divine right hit black ice on their way to quebec and rolled! everybody's ok except their new bassist, rob higgins (of change of heart) who has a concussion. at first they were going to continue the tour but rob is not well and he's having a CAT scan this afternoon to make sure he's not bleeding in the brain. so the last four dates of the tour are canceled. get well soon rob!

the new grand are going to calgary for two weeks on dec.11th to record a brand spankin' new album. they're recording for two weeks and they might be playing some shows while there at it (so calgary people look out for them!). producing for them will not be brendan mcguire and not dale morningstar, but *gasp* somebody else who can also produce, his name is dave alcock! he's produced for them before on their squirtgun 7" (hamfisted/banner). ya, so y'all can look forward to a new new grand album :) (thanx to laura who got this info from kelly!)

top

november '97

nov.28

yeah yeah yeah, the deadly snakes are releasing that 7" on crazy money records! the release party is happening dec.6 at the club shanghai w/high school hooker. plus they'll be performing live on CUIT's "about town" show on wednesday dec.4 between 4:30-5pm. they'll be on a mini-tour. check tour dates! and be sure to look out for the crazy money web site coming soon (i don't have the address yet, sorry!).

i got this e-mail about readymade and the infrastructure today. unfortunatly i have no idea what it means. so if somebody from there would care to explain it i would appreciate it :) i think readymade have an album out, but i'm really not sure (yes, i'm dumb).

ummmm...there's more news but i can't think of it right now (i'm lazy ok?!) more later...

nov.26

brendan canning has left by divine right :( he's going to be doing other stuff (this was kind of inevitable i thought, he's in and out of so many bands - but still, he's was soooo perfect for them! he's amazing!). but anyways, replacing him on bass is rob higgins of change of heart. if you live in quebec, new brunswick or nova scotia you can see bdr and they're brand new bassist on tour! oh and speaking of rob higgins he's supposed to be writing a regular column for chart. cool :)

nov.24

hayden is still working away on his album coming out in march '98. and he's goin' on tour in the spring and he might be backed by two members of poledo (gee, i wonder which two?). yay!

the stardust music comilation is due out on Dec.11 (depending on the postal strike). its got a name now...Up Periscope and there are tracks from...superfriendz, al tuck, ben ross (now playing with the flashing lights and others...), soaking up jagged, plumtree, the holiday snaps, moonsocket and lots more. so go get that eh?

nov.20

treble charger were in a car accident while on tour. but they're all alive and well.

lefty in the 4-star movie has tendenitis from making t-shirts. uh-oh, poor lefty :( i think the band is recording stuff for a cd...and they're just finishing up their last two shows of the year, so go check em out before they dissapear!

the smugglers are out on tour, not in canada, not in the US but in Europe! they're zipping around London, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. then they're playing at the Lookout Records 10th Anniversary Party in San Fran California. and then, in '98, they're going on tour (if they've got the moo-la) in Hawaii, Japan & Australia to celebrate their tenth anniversary together.

plumtree have almost finished a new video for the song GO! and are going to be working on another one for which they got a videofact grant for 1000$ so that should be kewl! lookout for that on mucheast :)

there is a new punk rock compilation coming out soon from Lookout! Records with tracks from the greatest in punk: The Hi-Fives, Pansy Division, Mr. T Experience, The Groovie Ghoulies, the Queers and the Smugglers! check for that in stores...i don't know when.

murder news...colin mackenzie reports that spring will bring booming business for murderecords. the inbreds are hoping to have their new album out in February (ok, that's not spring...), the Local Rabbits are going to have their album out in March and...

Sloan are going to have their album out (hopefully) by June. oh, and rumor has it that it might be a DOUBLE album. wow! or, they might release one in June and one five months later or...well there are a few other possiblities, but its safe to say they have a whole lotta new songs. yay! there are pictures of them in the studio (from JamMusic) and an article about it.

nov. 10

ok. to clear up all the questions about the name of matt murphy's new band, it is called the flashing lights. matt had a bit of trouble deciding, thus all the other names. as far as the seven inch, it is "in the works" but no word on when it'll be released.

well its derek in radioblaster who let us in on the scoop for the new release of More of Our Stupid Noise compilation. it's gonna be re-released on nettwerk but in everywhere except canada. here's what's new on the disc...

• the treble charger track is being taken off.
• volume 1 will be added to the name. and a volume 2 might be happening.
• by divine right are putting on a new song.
• bionic is putting on a new track.
• mystery machine are putting on a new track
• radioblaster's comfy new you track is being replaced by the video edit for perfect burn (not available anywhere else).
• england may be getting a double vynil version.

i e-mailed sonic unyon about when/if the video compilation is coming out & they said they think on nov.18th, soon, very soon! so i don't go looking for it yet! its supposed to have footage & videos from, Sianspheric, The New Grand, Tristan Psionic, Shallow North Dakota, Kittens, Gorp, Poledo and Hayden.

there are further details on rusty's new album: it'll be out in January '98. its now called "out of their heads" & its an ode to '60s garage rock. they'll have a single out before christmas which'll be "its christmas time (and i'm poor)" which was recorded during the sessions for the Hard Core Logo soundtrack last year. the single will also be in a CMJ magazine sampler (the dec. '97 issue).

the wooden stars have a new 12" out called "rise up and get down" which is available from rythm of sickness records for 10$ ppd. 396 richmond st. london, ont. N6A 3C7. (519) 858 - 8403. & Heather McEachern of the official sloan site & savory zine took the photographs for it so be sure to check it out!

rumor has it that sloan have finished recording their new record & they're looking to release it for next spring. those lucky enough to have seen the band recently say the new songs sound like KISS (uhgg).

knockout pill are taking a lil break, but Shannon Fitzgerald is doing some solo stuff. cool :)

nov. 4th

ok. here we go with the squirtgun/bionic news which is brought to you by damn...

The latest buzz band to be heard through rehearsal space walls in Montréal goes by the name Bionic. Featuring ex-Doughboy guitarist, Jonathan Cummins, ex-Blinker The Star and Pest 5000 drummer, Alex Mac Sween, and current BodegaSammy Goldberg, Bionic has already completed recording its debut full-length album with producer Glen Robinson (The Tea Party, 13 Engines) at Morin Heights Studios in Québec. The CD is expected out at the end of January on a new affiliate sub-label of Squirtgun Records, based in Toronto. Sound King Records is headed by Richard Switzer and Squirtgun guy Lee Maslin, with Bionic being the first release for the new project. And even with all this fun side stuff going on, Squirtgun's Maslin has found time to work out a deal with Vancouver's Nettwerk Records to re-release Squirtgun's great indie compilation, More of Our Stupid Noise, all over the world. The reissue will have three new songs added to it, with a track called "C'Mon C'Mon" by Bionic being the first track on the CD now. A new song by Vancouver's The Ids and another new one by Vancouver's Mystery Machine will also be on there, so keep an eye out for that one and you'll be listening to Bionic before everyone else.

[FYI, bionic is not a new band & it's a cheap trick that the cd is being released with extra songs because those of us who already have it will be forced to buy it again.]

scratching post is writing new stuff for a new album in may. & nicole has set up her own scratching post web-site called a rock star's guide to scratching post. check it out.

and now news, brought to you by ex-superfriendz...

matt murphy's new band the flashing lights is going on the road in november. the band consists of matt, brendan mcguire(bass) & ben ross(drums). this is not the cover band he's in, its a real band & i heard they'll have a 7" out in the new year. check the tour dates to see if they're coming to a town near you. oh & i also heard they'll be opening some shows for MAdE soon too (i guess it'd be on their western tour?).

charles is playing guitar with soaking up jagged & the vees.

drew yamada is playing with alyson macleod's project speedo

charles is working on that soundtrack for an up-coming short film.

lonnie is working on a full length solo release. he's gotta split 7" on sappy with the peter parkers.

the 4-Star Movie (website here) are hoping to have an album out by January. yay!

by divine right have really signed to nettwerk & their album, all hail discordia, which was originally released on squirtgun, is supposed to be out again on nettwerk this month/next month. & they're hoping to make a video soon too!

indie darlings, sloan have managed to wangle their way into getting the ownership/rights to the masters of their first cd, Smeared, which were owned by their former american record company DGC. they are still working on getting Twice Removed. and you may remember the whole Enclave situation, they have in fact gotten out of their deal & they even have the rights to their own record One Chord To Another which was released on the Enclave before its collaps. they will not be absorbed by virgin records because they didn't want to be. good for them!

DAMN has reported the superfriendz break-up. there are some kinda-sorta comments from murderecords...."Matt has a very specific idea as to what sort of a project he wants to work on and that was no longer the Super Friendz dynamic...Matt found that he was not getting enough out of that situation and had so many more songs that would never see the light of day in The Super Friendz." Charles will be writing the score to a short film directed by playwright Rob Ploman which will start in '98. Matt is playing with Ben Ross (drummer) & Brendan McGuire (bassist & producer extrodinaire) in a band which they want to take on the road by mid-november (to central canada i think). Matt is also in a "brit blues cover band" called the Flashing Lights. & Drew i think is playing in a side project called "ornamental elephant" (but don't quote me on that). & lonnie (don't forget about lonnie) will always have his own solo stuff. he's got a 7" out on sappy!

the new cinnamon album is completed, but they're not going to release it for a while cuz they're going back into the studio in february to record some more stuff.

Duotang have finished their new album which is produced by Brendan McGuire (sloan, superfriends, by divine right...the list goes on & on...)