Indie Band Showdown - Week 4

Thanks to everyone for all the support we've received over the past week. We had a record number of voters and couldn't be happier with feedback we've been getting. This week our new defending champion A Sheep At The Wheel takes on two new bands. These talented artists are like no other that we have exposed before here on The Steamroller. First Mozzaick from Toronto, Ontario. Second we feature Jim Offerman Band from the Netherlands. This should be an interesting week of voting as these three artists span a broad spectrum of musical talent.

Have a great holiday everyone!

Lord Steamroller



Technorati Tags: mozzaick, jim offerman band, a sheep at the wheel, indie music, the steamroller

Jim Offerman Band - Review

First and Foremost, I would like to thank Lord Steamroller for entrusting one of his lowly subjects to write the latest review for Steamroller. I am very honored.

As my first (hopefully not last) review, I have had the pleasure of listening to the Jim Offerman Band. This singer/songwriter rock band originating from the netherlands, offers their listeners a magnifying look at the bands talents.

Listening to the selection of songs they have on their website, you will quickly hear a rush of energy & passion pouring from each song. Boasting their biggest hit "Like Superman", it definitely showcases their efforts. Now on a personal note, I found the most ear pleasing listen, and my favorite song showcased to be, "The Abyss". The lead has a unique sound, and Jim Offerman's voice is enough to make any girl swoon.

Overall, not having any previous writing experience and/or expert musical insight, other than absolutely loving to find new and exciting bands to listen to, I am definitely going to keep my eye out for this band. I will brag when they become the huge success i can tell they are leading up to. Great Music Boys! Keep it up! To the rest of you, you should definitely check them out, you will not be disappointed!

To hear Jim Offerman Songs visit their Website

Carrie Hagger - nuts about music





Technorati Tags: jim offerman, indie, music, netherlands

Clockwork Drummer John

Sometimes it can be very humbling being in the music business. Sure, you can walk around pretending you know this and that, and all that other shit too. But the reality is, unless you have a parent who was in the business, or some kind of wicked hook-up, it's all trial and error. I mean I've been working (slaving) in the music industry in some form or another for nearly 15 years. I've performed on many albums, with many bands, even playing many instruments. I've produced, engineered, played hundreds of shows across Canada, and in the states, yet everyday I find myself looking out into space trying to figure out how the hell am I going to pull this off. I never had anyone tell me, "hey this is how to be successful in music...." I've read books, articles, blogs. I've listened to business ideas from all sorts of people in all sorts of industries, yet nothing really seems to prepare you for what the next phase is. I may sound fairly vague here, but recent events have yet again stumped me to the point of wondering, "how the hell did I wind up in this business, and why would anyone want to?" Is it the love of music? Maybe. That would probably be the text book "indie" answer I suppose. Is it the challenge of trying to conquer a dying industry that once possessed more influence over the younger generations than government, parents, or religion? Is it the rush you get when your on stage as the crowd cheers when you finish playing a song that you wrote in your bedroom at 3 am, smoking out your window, trying not to wake up your room mates? Is it the never ending goal of living up to your hero's? Trying to become as memorable as John Lennon, or Kurt Cobain, or Johnny Cash? I believe it's a bit of all these things for me. Sometimes I draw from something completely different all together to keep going. Something personal, heartbreak, joy, an accomplishment, a disappointment. It could be anything, but the point is we keep going. I am the first person to feel sick to my stomach when a friend and co-musician tells me he sold his gear and can't play anymore. Honestly, when I hear that I want to vomit. I could not imagine a world with me and no instruments to work over. The thought right now as I write this makes me queezy. Maybe thats it! Thats why I can't stop. It's like Clockwork Orange when what's his name has his eyes held open and is forced to watch "The Ultra Violence" while listening to classical music. Maybe someone brain washed me into thinking that if I can't be a musician, I feel sick. Just like Stanley Kubrick wanted it. Damn, I'm gonna go watch that movie now, see ya.



John Simmonds

Worn Records - Indie Bands

Technorati Tags: clockwork orange, indie, music, musicians, music industry

December Update

So far December has been both rocky, and uplifting. As any new indie record label, we have seen our share of bumpy roads so far. The latest signing Earlstown Winter and their album Easy Roads, Easy Skies, have run into some last minute delays. However, we remain determined to release this record as soon as possible.

In other news, The Steamroller E-Zine has been gaining more and more readers and attention from the indie music community due to it's new feature, Indie Band Showdown. Entering it's 3rd week, the competition has been helping to expose bands, and gain readers to it's blog with nothing but positive feedback.

The Assassination has been steadily working on the production of it's upcoming e.p. Although progress has been slowed due to other projects taking priority, we are very excited about having this second release completed in the new year.

Happy holidays everyone, and feel free to drop us a line.

email wornrecords

Indie Band Showdown - Week 3

Thanks to everyone who voted and supported The Steamroller, and the Indie Band Showdown during it's first 2 weeks. We are extremely pleased with the support and participation from the bands who have taken part, as well as their fans, and our readers.

This weeks Indie Band Showdown winner, by a land slide is Ottawa's Skytone. 2 new bands will now take on our defending champion. Hometown advantage plays a role, as both these entries are from the home of The Steamroller, Vancouver, B.C. Canada. John Pippus brings a bluesy/folk feel, while A Sheep At The Wheel shows great pop rock writing. Check out the reviews of these bands here on The Steamroller, and make your vote count.

A Sheep At The Wheel

One of the great things about independent music is you never know what you are going to get. When I turn on the radio I know exactly what I'm getting. It's nice to press play and hear something that sounds fresh and new. Enter, A SHEEP AT THE WHEEL. A band from Vancouver B.C., Canada. With a 5 song EP titled Blend under their belts this band has garnered much attention. They have played at the largest of venues the city of Vancouver has to offer, and pleased many with their thought provoking lyrics, and hook laden songs.

A song that stood out for me in particular was Land of the Blind. A riff heavy slab of vinyl with a solid groove , chunky guitars and mature vocals. This song rolls along effortlessly and showcases some slick song writing. Other Highlights include Another Game and the current single Machine Guns & Jesus Christ. A video for this song can be found on the bands MYSPACE page. Overall, Blend is a solid effort. Its fresh and easily accessible. The groundwork has been laid for this band to have a bright future.

Robaroo

claustrophobia

So I've been scouting an awful lot of indie bands lately. Since I've been given the title Lord Steamroller, it's been up to me to find these bands for our team to review. (great job people!) Anyway, I've been going out of my way finding bands, and have listened to many different styles, genres, etc, and I've started to have an understanding of a term I sometimes use to describe certain music. Let me paint a picture. Have you ever listened to an album by so and so, and felt claustrophobic while listening? Does anyone else know what I'm talking about or am I nuts? It's a hard feeling to describe, and it in know way implies whether or not I enjoy what I'm hearing. There are lots of bands I listen to that still give me that feeling after listening to them for years. I'm not sure if it has to do with the production or the writing itself or maybe a combination of the two, but it just gives me this feeling of the walls closing in. Here's an example that makes no sense to me. The Tragically Hip, Fully Completely album. I like the album, even though I'm not the biggest Hip fan. This album for some reason, years later, still makes me feel claustrophobic. Why? I'm not sure. It could be the incredibly monotonous snare drum sound, or maybe the awkward sounding guitars. Or maybe it's simply the captivating lyrics of Gord Downey. I can't put my finger on it. I hear music all the time that just makes me feel uncomfortable with no real explanation. It's irritating! Does anyone else experience this? Am I going insane for writing about this?



Technorati Tags: music, claustrophobia, lord steamroller, insanity

John Pippus

I sat down to write this review as a last minute thing before I head off to Thailand for 3 weeks. In a rush, I loaded the music to take a listen hoping it would be either really, really good, or terrible so I could write something quick. I was in luck. Immediately when I loaded the first song by John Pippus, Run For Cover, I was impressed and also incredibly calmed in spite of my needing to rush around packing suitcases and tying up loose ends. I stopped and I listened.

This music can be best described with one word: nostalgic. Listening to that first song, Run For Cover, you're suddenly overcome with this sense of being at a prom in the 60s in some small American town. Man of Constant Sorrow is reminiscent of Johnny Cash or Tom Waits, with the haunt of an a capella ringing out after lights out at Folsom.

There's a slight Latin-American sound to the song, Blurry Photograph. You can just as easily imagine this song being sung in Spanish as you can in English.

John Pippus is definitely something to check out. While Seasons is not my favortie song of the bunch, the other 3 on John Pippus' Myspace page are great. This is not a sound I expected to come out of Vancouver. Excellent, go check 'em out.

Technorati Tags: john, pippus, vancouver, music

Earlstown Winter Rocks The Main

Earlstown Winter played the Main last night in Vancouver and despite the slight delay in releasing the album, Easy Roads, Easy Skies, this show was a success.

The atmosphere in the Main is that of a sort of bohemian coffee house, except the beverage of choice is beer. It was somewhat quiet, subdued, just happy people enjoying the din of each others ramblings. That is, until Earlstown Winter hit the stage. The band woke the audience up, smiles lit up every face and there was one table in particular who found themselves so heavily into the music, they danced and hooted and clapped the whole set through. When Earlstown Winter left the stage, after a short solo acoustic set by Jonathan Truefitt, this table pleaded for more and were granted their request for a short encore.

The band woke up the snoozy Main by opening with the energy of Easy Roads, Easy Skies and the energy heightened during songs like Bright Lights. Eyes glazed and bodies swayed with a zen-like pleasure, to Anywhere But Here, and One of The Lonesome.

I've seen Earlstown Winter play at the Main before, and they were spectacular then, too. But last night, the atmosphere and general mood of the crowd was electric. Excellent show.

Pre-order your copy of Easy Roads, Easy Skies today: Click Here

Technorati Tags: earlstown winter, the main, vancouver, show

Skytone

So, home I trudged from another long shift at work through the slushy mess that Vancouver calls snow; dodging the fashionably small dogs and the fashionably large SUVs, basically hating humanity, when I remembered that I had to have a review done for the Steamroller E-zine by tomorrow.

So, home I went, put on the debut album Echoes In All Directions by Ottawa's Skytone, and waited to hate it along with the rest of the world at that point. Then something funny happened; toes started tapping, moods started lifting, and the stresses and strains of the day started to disappear.

Although each song is its own, they work together to create a warm, stylish and exuberant album that is full of depth and variety with sounds reminiscent of everything from The Smiths ("It Doesn't Really Matter Anymore") to The Arcade Fire ("Springtime").

The production by the band's Rodney Doddridge is very good, and manages to keep the album sounding textured and full without being cluttered, while the vocals and musicianship by the duo is equally as good.

Overall, Echoes In All Directions is a fun, catchy and original album that balances the simplicity of great pop music with just enough depth and emotion to create an entirely fresh and inventive sound.

www.myspace.com/skytonemusic

Lander

I liked Lander since the night I overheard Lord Steamroller playing You Don't Know. So much so that I asked the good Lord if I could be the one to review them. Perceptibly, I was granted my request.

As I listened to some of Lander's other songs, a slight feeling of familiarity began to get on my nerves. Not because I didn't like the music, but because I just couldn't put my finger on who they reminded me of. I'm sure most of you can relate to the feeling of having the name of some band, movie, actor, etc on the tip of your tongue but you just cannot, for the life of you, remember? Yeah, well, for fear of not being able to sleep, I decided to do some research.

I sifted through blog posts on Lander's Myspace page, I came across a review from Manchestermusic.co.uk, in which they likened this band to Muse. This scratched my itch, and with a giant "aha!" I was taken back to Muse's earlier days, the days of Showbiz and the song, Muscle Museum. A very good thing.

Lander, soon to be Pretty Victim, has a great sound. Poppy and edgy, tunes that get stuck in your head for days. I particularly like the song All We Got Is You, I found the background vocals by the keyboardist, Jess, quite pleasing to the ear. Which is odd, as I've never been a huge fan of female vocalists, with the exception of the likes of Kim Gordon and Cat Power.

So, huge compliments to this band. Go check 'em out now before you lose your chance to brag about having "listened to them before they were big" when their success snowballs.

- Courtney

Dead or alive? part 1

Well for the purpose of this post....dead. I often find myself at work day dreaming about some of my rock hero's, and how their tragic deaths changed both me and music. I try to put together rock super groups consisting of only dead rock stars. Sometimes at lunch time some of my co-workers and I will kick it around and come up with some pretty interesting band combinations. Now, I always play the realistic one in the group, and try to put a band together based on musicians that I think would work together, but i suppose there really isn't a wrong way to do it. So I am going to list my modern day dead rock star super group. Musical genre? I don't know. Band chemistry? Who knows, but what the hell, like I have said before, it's my blog and I make the rules up as I go along. So here it goes.

drums: Randy Castillo (ozzy, crue, and others)
bass: Jason Thirsk (pennywise)
guitar: Steve Clark (def leppard)
guitar & vocal: Bradly Nowell (sublime)
vocal: Shannon Hoon (blind melon)

yeah yeah, I know. What about kurt, what about layne.....well if you think you can do better, let me know.

december six, two thousand and six

Easy Roads,Easy Skies is due to arrive home in Vancouver on December 6th. We have our fingers crossed that there won't be any delays, and we will have copies for sale at the Earlstown Winter show on the 7th at The Main. If you haven't reserved your copy yet, do so now here, and we'll see you at the show.

Domain v.s. Myspace

Is it worth while for a band to have a website anymore? With all these networking sites like myspace, friendster, garageband, purevolume, blogger, youtube and so on, what's the need for a band to own their own domain name? These sites allow mp3 hosting, image hosting, video hosting, and many of them are fully customizable to suit every users needs. Why pay a designer thousands of dollars to design you a professional looking site when you can design your own myspace page for free in an hour or so with the help of a template. I have both. I have 2 websites and many myspace pages, and they all serve their purpose. I find it convenient for networking with other bands, musicians, or organizations on myspace, but I always want to direct them to my website for the "real" information. To me, myspace seems like a "club" and you have "network" a certain way to fit in. Or you can cheat and use these friend adders. I see bands on there that have over 30,000 friends and 2 plays a day. What's the point? It looks cool I guess, or makes you feel good as a band i guess. I would rather have 1000 + hits a day on my bands website, where they can see how professional we conduct ourselves, and they can find all the information, videos, images, mp3's easily and quickly. But how do I get traffic to my site? Myspace and blogger and garageband will bring me traffic without having to do anything. It's not hard, but it is time consuming. Not being an expert on the subject, I only know what my web optimizer tells me, and take her advice. I spend on average probably about 10-15 hours a week working on my websites, and am just starting to generate some traffic. With myspace, all I have to do is add 100 random users and I will get at least 50 of them looking at my profile. It depends on how seriously you take your band. I would always recommend that a band purchase their domain name and have a pro website designed. Everyone and their dog has a myspace page and/or a profile elsewhere. I believe that in this industry you have to stand out, and a pro looking website is a must. This is an expensive, competitive racket we're in, but if you're creative and innovative, you can find lots of ways to save money, and maintain quality and professionalism.

Worn Records - Indie Bands
Support Independent Music

Sisterlovers

Something weird happened when I heard this band, I actually liked them. I'm not usually keen on acid pop rock but they have potential and you can actually put their album on if you're in the right mind frame. They've got a sound that might bring you out of a mood... or put you in one. They are still a little weak on rock and are more heavy on the pop; They need to plug in the guitar and turn it up a bit if they want to keep my attention for a long period of time and I think that would go for the masses. An identity crisis might be in the mix here though. Theres a hint of early Stones with a mix of flower power kabosh mixed in. Woodstock's over and there's a limited audience for this sound.

Their band name might just say it all about this quartet or it may turn into a clever name if they can break free of thier love affair with the 60's. They have the potential to be more than a recycled fad from an age far, far away. Having said all that, I liked them. Their music is theirs and it ain't bad. I think they might enjoy what they write and you can hear it in the music. If they can put all that into an album and make it work, then it may be something to check out. If not then a hanging ceiling decoration they'll be at best.

Bildo

Snow

It's snowing like crazy here in the Vancouver/Lower Mainland area. Snow like we don't see very often here on the left coast of Canada. I was thinking about heading out to my studio in my garage this evening to do some recording, but damn, it's too cold. So maybe it's the snow, or maybe america's next top model, but I started thinking about songs with snow like, Snow Blind by Black Sabbath. You know Snow Blind had nothing to do with snow? I do believe The Prince of f&%*ing Darkness is speaking of cocaine.

I just got back from the store, a walk I wasn't looking forward to, yet made it back and played with my roommates dog in the in the snow for a while. It feels so peaceful with the air filled with the clear, fresh, scent of snow. The busy city is almost completely silenced by the snow covered ground absorbing it's nightly racket. I suppose sometimes the lack of sound, including music, can be just as powerful as a great song.

John Simmonds
Worn Records - Indie Bands

Naturedevil

What do you get when you take Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl, Gerry Rafferty and one of the best movie soundtracks ever? Well, minus a saxophone and you have the sweet sounds of NatureDevil.
Part of the magic of music is that it can trigger memories. As was the case with the song We're Big In Europe. No more than a few seconds into the song and I'm having visions of a young Michelle Pfeiffer and Adrian Zmed trying to figure out who this guy is riding his motorcycle all over cars in a bowling alley parking lot. Don't ask me why I am revealing my love for the movie Grease 2, but I guess thats part of the magic of music. But all that is forgotten when I find myself banging my head along with the gut churning vocals and buzz saw guitars from Nothing I can Do. Next up is a staple of the bands energetic live show. A cover of Gerry Rafferty's or should I say Foo Fighters, Baker Street. One might ask why cover that song? Well, probably because it kicks ass!
Without an official release for this 4 piece from Chicago, the best bet is to check out the bands website www.naturedevil.com. It has all sorts of goodies, from demo recordings and live videos to an acoustic set off of fearless radio. These guys better watch what they ask for... They may end up being big in Lithuania.

Robaroo
myspace.com/robertvd

Snowy Times

Snow covers the ground here in the Vancouver B.C. area. We don't get snow like this every year, and it makes for unruly driving conditions, and chaos around the city. I commented yesterday to a friend on our way home that it kind of looks likes a Tim Burton film the way the snow is sticking to the street lamps, and sagging the tree branches. These are great conditions for staying in, putting on some records, and having a few. Speaking of which, The Steamroller will be launching "phase 1" of it's new indie band review feature today. The indie band contest that readers will vote on will start next week, and the first winner will be announced the following week. So keep warm, and enjoy the winter.

Temptation

Do you ever find your self wandering around a musical instrument store looking, drooling, dreaming? I found myself with some time to spare the other day, and near a store of said type. I have spent absurd amounts of money on musical equipment over the years, yet I still always need, or want more. And when I go into a store to look around it's not like I can go into just one department and check out the newest or coolest product. I play several instruments, and have a recording studio, so I have to go look at the guitars and amps, then the drums, then the recording equipment like software, mixing boards, speakers, doo-hickeys, gadgets, and so on. There is no end to the list of toys I want, which brings me to my point, and maybe someone out there can offer me their view. Do I just "want", or do I "need"? I know I can go my whole life without that spectacular brown Gibson SG they had hanging on the wall. My Blue Epiphone Les Paul works just fine, and it's bought and paid for. Yet I feel as though a part of me is incomplete without the SG. I have never bought a drum kit in my life, many drum accessories, but never drums themselves. The set I have is a hand me down collector set that many would die for, and the other set I use is pretty smokin' hot too. I still look at the shinny new Sonors or Gretschs or Ayottes and contemplate how much space I have left on my master card. At this point I haven't even been over to the recording gear yet. What's worse is that this department justifies buying all the previous stuff I just looked at. I mean why record using old instruments when I could have a new Vox rig for my hollow body 335. Or that amazing sounding wood rim snare. Hey why not pick up an acoustic bass? And of course no studio is complete without a wicked sounding Korg Synthesizer. Eventually I convince myself to leave the store without purchasing anything. Fortunately the salesman I was talking to in the pro audio department was a bit of a jerk. I have lot of cool stuff now. I can go into my studio and record a pro sounding record by myself with the equipment and instruments I have now. I know I don't "need" more, but I think it lies deeper than just having stuff for use. I am a fan of rock history. To own your favourite guitar, or that vintage amp is like owning a piece of history. Jimmy Page with his red sunburst Les Paul, the Stevie Ray Vaughn's tobacco Stratocaster, Pete Townsend's old Hiwatt Custom 100 watt Lead head, I could go on and on. However, the difference between me and a collector is that I wouldn't spend thousands of dollars on something meant to be played, and have it sit in a glass case. I also couldn't see myself buying a "signature model" of something. So why the desires? I don't think I will ever stop wanting more gear. It's just something I love.

John Simmonds
Worn Records - Indie Bands

My Album of the Week: The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America

I love how this album opens with the piano in Stuck Between.







Favorite song: Southtown Girls



Technorati Tags: the hold steady, boys and girls in america, southtown girls

New Features - New Look

Starting next week, The Steamroller will be launching a new feature consisting of indie band reviews, and a "Battle Of The Bands" contest. A new team of writers has been assembled to get more diverse reviews and opinions. Weekly, 3 great bands will have a song posted to be voted on by "you". The winning band will have the Honor of being The Steamroller "band of the week" and have their song featured for another week.

Also, watch for a slightly new look to The Steamroller as we will be making some changes to the layout. But not to worry, we will be sticking with the same basic design that's become so popular with our readers.

For Bands/Artists and Writers:

Want us to review your music or would you like to join The Steamroller team?

email us for more information
steamroller@wornrecords.ca

Radio Corruption

Does anyone else feel like it's time for a real Rock Revolution? We need to take the power back and reclaim the airwaves. I mean I'm only 30, born in 1976, and grew up listening to Corey Hart, Bryan Adams, Men At Work, Journey, ect... I mean my parents didn't even listen to rock music. My older sister however did listen to some cool music. To be honest it was her that originally introduced me to punk music. But my point is it seems that once you hit a certain age it becomes more difficult to get introduced to new music unless you really want to. And it's not hard to find, so why is it that so many people still fall into the marketing trap of radio selling advertising space. I listen to lots of radio and my god, some days I truly look forward to the commercials more than the music. The station we have on at work (mainstream new rock format) plays a show at noon called the nineties at noon. And they do actually play some cool stuff from time to time. And by cool I just mean stuff you don't hear very often. In fact a lot of the cool stuff like Bad Religion, Dinosaur Jr., and Social Distortion, I can't recall them playing those bands when it was current. Or here's a great example of mainstream rock radio having no clue what's going on. Sublime? If you were to put the radio on for an 8 hour period, you would hear 2-3 sublime songs. Now thats not as many times as you would hear the latest Killer's single, but considering how long the singer has been deceased and the band has been none existent, you would think they are the biggest thing today. I love Sublime and I do enjoy hearing them at work, but where were the programmers 10 years ago!!! Get it together! Think outside the box, and let's attack mainstream radio and force them to play lesser known indie bands without major label corruption.....I mean backing.

Merch Now Available!!!

We now have shirts, baby t's, mugs, hoodies and much more available featuring Earlstown Winter, The Assassination, and Worn Records! Go here now to be one of the first to get your new Worn Records merchandise!

Worn Records Merchandise

zzzzzz...

It's 2:00am wed night/morning. nobody told me putting out the Earlstown Winter record was going to make for such late nights. But anyway, the artwork and CD masters have a flight booked to Ontario tomorrow (today) to be pressed. You can always get a head start and reserve your copy now, or, we are very hopeful that we will have them in time for the show on December 7th at The Main in Vancouver where you will be able to purchase them. Either way, the wait is nearly over and this much anticipated release will finally be in our hands. Now I must sleep......zzzzzzzzz


John Simmonds
Worn Records

So Divided

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead's new album, So Divided, is another one of those records that, when you listen to it, you just can't wait to see the songs performed live. AYWKUBTTOD, as we shall refer to them from now on for the sake of carpal tunnel syndrome prevention, is good at releasing records like that. Every track just brings flashbacks of the last time you saw AYWKUBTTOD live in concert. I could almost taste the Molson Canadian in a plastic cup and feel my damned ear drums convulse unnaturally as little emo boys who haven't showered in a week, spray their sweat on me in an AYWKUBTTOD-induced seizure. Seriously, I cannot wait to see the songs on this album performed live. Especially Stand in Silence, Eight Day Hell, and Sunken Dreams.

I hadn't read anything about what to expect prior to listening to So Divided, so I was pleasantly surprised to hear a cover of Guided by Voices' Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory in there. I had to pull out Bee Thousand and listen to it when So Divided was over.

In short, I loved the album, I love Trail and I can't wait to go see them live the next time they're in town. Which I've heard should be on December the 10th at the Croation Cultural Center.


Technorati Tags: and you will know us by the trail of dead, trail of dead, so divided, guided by voices, bee thousand, goldheart mountaintop queen directory

Hopeful for Dec 7

It's 2:00am wed night/morning. nobody told me putting out the Earlstown Winter record was going to make for such late nights. But anyway, the artwork and CD masters have a flight booked to Ontario tomorrow (today) to be pressed. You can always get a head start and reserve your copy now, or, we are very hopeful that we will have them in time for the show on December 7th at The Main in Vancouver where you will be able to purchase them. Either way, the wait is nearly over and this much anticipated release will finally be in our hands. Now I must sleep......zzzzzzzzz


John Simmonds
Worn Records

New Music Teaching Technology

In the cacophony of mashups, widgets and collaboration tools demoed at the third annual Web 2.0 Summit here, one rang out as the biggest crowd pleaser: a musical instrument instruction web app with a golden ear and infinite patience.

Called In the Chair, the application encourages music students and budding guitar heroes to play along with real musicians by syncing scrolling sheet music with a prerecorded video of a band playing the song. The app monitors your playing through your computer's microphone, and gives you instant feedback on whether you played the right note with the right timing.

Wired News: Web 2.0 Replaces Music Teachers

Computers replacing music teachers? Heck, screw the musician too, we could just have computers sense what it is we like to hear and compose music on the fly for us. Face it, resistance is futile and Picard ain't gonna save us this time. Go listen to some great human-made music before it's too late: http://www.earlstownwinter.com


Technorati Tags: web 2.0, music, teachers, in the chair

Easy Roads, Easy Skies

Mastering has been completed as of yesterday for Earlstown Winter's, "Easy Roads, Easy Skies" album and the artwork will be completed today. We should be ready to send it off for pressing this week, and are looking at announcing an official release date very soon. You can preview four of the albums songs here.

John Simmonds
Worn Records/308 Productions
earlstownwinter.com

Now I can play guitar, too!

Developed by the mad scientists over at the CSIRO's Textile and Fibre Technology in Geelong Australia, the t-shirt has textile motion sensors integrated into the shirt that track elbow movements. The upshot of this is that the shirt translates your legendary air guitar stylings into music

Bad news: T-shirt makes your air guitar real guitar - Engadget

Look out Assassination, here I come!


Technorati Tags: air guitar, t-shirt

National Product? National dullsville...

National Product draws the listener in with warm, acoustic stylings, strings and heartrending hooks. My favorite song is "Allison" one that lyrically goes deep into the eye the hurricane of a heart's ache, for in that eye, the heart is filled with hope, surrounded by the complexities and shades of gray that are often evident in unhappiness and unsuccessful love.

indiemusicproject.com/articles/National Product

Now let's be fair. I am not a huge fan of "radio-friendly rock", but I am forced to listen to it most week days while selling electrical supplies at work. Therefore I may not be the most qualified to comment on bands of this sort but hey, this is my E-Zine and I'll do what I want (nee-ner-nee-ner-nee-ner). But anyway, I came across this review of the Florida band "National Product", and I figured, "hey I know a lot about radio-friendly rock, and I know that 90% of it that I hear I hate, and therefore I'm going to write about it." This band is no exception. They are very well produced, they sound like competent musicians, and they have lots of hooks in their song writing. The only problem that I have with their music is that it SUCKS! It's boring, mediocre, and extremely unoriginal. I realize this may be a wasted argument, but when will mainstream radio get it? Give the listener an uninfluenced choice and they will make the right one. I don't mean to pick on National Product exclusively, but I just happened across this review on them while on a day off from my regular job, thus not requiring me to listen to the mainstream radio bull shit I normally would be. I could probably go on and on for about 16 pages about this topic, but I will end my rant here. I gotta save some for future articles.

Please leave a comment, I would love to hear your opinions.

You know Blue Rodeo is one of Canada's greatest when...

When you think of Blue Rodeo frontmen Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, it's easy to picture Cuddy as the Paul McCartney to Keelor's John Lennon. Cuddy is best known as the sentimental crooner of the pretty hit ballad "Try", whereas Keelor is most recognized as the wounded, cynical voice of the moody "Diamond Mine". As Cuddy explains from his Toronto home, he's heard the Fab Four comparison before, and he's okay with it-as long as he doesn't drop down to Ringo status.

www.straight.com/Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy broadens his solo scope

I mean wow! I love Blue Rodeo! Lost Together has got to be one of the greatest Canadian folk/rock, alt-country, (or whatever they call it now) albums of all time. Or maybe just one of the best Canadian albums period. However, I don't take kindly to anyone being compared to The Beatles. Abbey Road, hands down is the best album ever. You can argue with me all you want, but I have yet to hear a more complete or better written album as a whole. But back to Blue Rodeo. I can't think of another Canadian band who has been as consistent with releasing great records for so long. I suppose you could argue Neil Young or a few select others but they are few and far between for sure. I haven't listened to Jim Cuddy's latest solo effort, but I'm sure it won't disappoint. In fact I'm going to pick it up this weekend.

Holy Crap, Christopher Walken to play Ozzy?

Ozzy Osbourne will become a lot creepier, as Christopher Walken's set to play the singer in an upcoming film.

Walken will portray the reality television star and rock icon in an upcoming biopic about Motley Crue. Vince Neil announced that Walken would make a cameo in a film version of the Motley Crue biography, titled The Dirt. Filming has yet to begin on the project, which is slated to hit theaters sometime in 2008.

www.aversion.com/news/Christopher Walken to Play Ozzy Osbourne

WOW! The prince of f*&@#ing darkness being played by one of the greates movie actors of all time!!! This is incredible! I mean to hell with Motley Crue, just make an Ozzy movie with Christopher Walken. "this watch......this watch, I wore this uncomfortable hunk of metal up my ass for two years." I want to speak with the casting director of this film because I have some great casting ideas for them:
Vince Neil - that Zack guy from saved by the bell
Nicki Sixx - Mickey Rourke
Tommy Lee - Ron Jeremy
Mick Mars - Elijah Wood
I know I'm dreaming, but that wood be pretty cool.

Earlstown Winter Update

earlstownwinter.com is up and running. Make sure to check out the new site for all the information on the latest Worn Records recording artist. 308 Productions and Earlstown Winter have been working together, putting the finishing touches on the soon to be released "Easy Roads, Easy Skies" album. We have designed a very classic looking album cover to accompany this incredible record, and are optimistic that we will have a release date set before the end of the year. Look for an Earlstown Winter profile here at wornrecords.ca soon.

Mogwai - Zidane Soccer Film Soundtrack

Mogwai's soundtrack to a soccer game turned into a feature film hit stores in the United Kingdom this week.

aversion.com/news/mogwai soundtracks Zidane film

I saw Mogwai live earlier this year. I figured they were passionate about soccer being that they were all wearing the same soccer jacket when they took the stage. Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait will be showing at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and The Observer called it "the finest film at cannes". I'm not much of a soccer fan myself but I can certainly appreciate the passion soccer fans have for the sport. Further more being that I am a musician I can most definitely respect a band who combines one passion with another. They must be super pumped about this project. Even if they aren't fans of the French soccer team!

Ladybug Transistor Records Covers EP

Ladybug Transistor is in the studio working on its next full-length, but fans can catch up with a four-song EP courtesy of a Spanish record company. Read at Aversion

LimeWire Linked to Identity Theft

The Denver District Attorney issued a security warning to users of LimeWire after discovering the file-swapping software was linked to dozens of cases of identity theft. Read more at Aversion...

My Morning Jacket To Release Live DVD

My Morning Jacket will be releasing their first DVD this November and it accompanies their recent live album Okonokos.

The concert was filmed at the Fillmore venue in San Francisco and "involves a storyline involving a killer bear".

The DVD was directed by Sam Erickson and the lighting at the actual gig was designed by Marc Brickman who has worked with Pink Floyd.

My Morning Jacket release the Okonokos DVD on November 20th, while the double CD audio version is available now. Read Entire Article From Angry Ape...

Malcolm Middleton Signs To Full Time Hobby

Malcolm Middleton has signed to the Full Time Hobby label and will be releasing his first album for them in 2007.

Speaking about Middleton's music, the label who have released music by the likes of Tunng and Viva Voce, have said:

Read this article at Angry Ape

Razorlight Rallies Against Pollution

Razorlight's front man Johnny Borrell's had it with carbon emissions.

The singer's joined Friends of the Earth's efforts to push the British government to curb carbon emissions. Borrell's ecological sense was sparked after watching Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, according to the band's website, and he's ready to use his music to educate and inspire fans to action.

Readd all of Aversion's article

Red Shag Carpet rolls out the love for Edmonton

Telemarketers and home-maintenance sales reps-ya gotta hate 'em. Many a tasty meal has been disrupted by a call from some creep yearning to collect the dust mites from my rugs. So when the phone rings and a cheery voice announces that "It's Ted from Red Shag Carpet," I'm seconds away from a surly response and enthusiastic receiver slam-down. Then I realize that it's just Edmonton alt-rocker Ted Ani dialling in for our prearranged phone interview. Read The Entire Interview...

Black Angels set their sights on George W. Bush's war machine

As more than one left-leaning political pundit has pointed out, America's done a righteous botch-job of positioning itself in the post-9/11 world. In the days and weeks that followed the World Trade Center attack, the United States had the sympathy of almost every country on the planet. Then came the invasion of Iraq. Thanks to George W. Bush's war on terror, the USA isn't winning any global popularity contests today.

The last time America found itself fighting an extended war on foreign soil, every card-carrying Democrat in the country ended up taking to the streets in protest. Things have clearly changed since Vietnam. Apart from that drunken lard-ass who owns Fat Wreck Chords, the only entertainers you hear bitching about Iraq are Al Franken and Neil Young, along with the ever-insufferable Jon Stewart. Because Austin's Black Angels don't shy away from the subject on their often-mesmerizing debut Passover, that's enough to make the quintet stand out from the MySpace hordes. Must Read This Entire Article...

Sonic Youth Cull Rarities for Album

Sonic Youth will raid its massive back catalog for a rarities collection due out later this year.

The band's The Destroyed Room: B-Sides and Rarities is tipped for a Dec. 12 release by Geffen, according to Billboard. The collection, which follows up this year's Rather Ripped (Geffen) (read Aversion's review), will complete Sonic Youth's contract with the label.

Aversion

Primus Release - They Can't All Be Zingers!

Primus' first ever retrospective CD, a 16 song selection "They Can't All Be Zingers" spans the band's career from 1990 to 2003, featuring all of Primus' original modern rock hits.

The DVD "Blame it on the Fish" documents the band's 2003 reunion tour and contains live performance footage, interview segments, candid behind the scenes shots and intense visual imagery in addition to an abundance of extras.
Indie News Live

The Datsuns On Tour

The Datsuns are on tour this week and they'll be playing live into the first week of November.

The band have 11 shows planned, starting tonight in Edinburgh and ending in London on November 7th.

As previously posted, The Datsuns release new single Waiting For Your Time To Come on November 6th, including their cover version of T. Rex's Life's A Gas. More Here...

New Matador band: Love of Diagrams

Matador Records, like Sub Pop and Merge, rarely gets things wrong. So when the label announces it has signed a new act, chances are we're looking at a winner. Aussies Love of Diagrams are the newest members to the Matador fold. The band is a cute little hipster trio consisting of two girls-Monika Fikerle on drums and Antoni Selbach on bass-and a dude, guitarist Luke Horton. Matador describes their sound as "teaming late 70s/early 80s noise, punk, and pop art" and "love-at-first-listen familiarity and a voice all their own with such panache." Expect their Matador debut to drop early next year.

Prefix

Thermals - interview

At the risk of delving too far into the hyperbolic, over the past half-decade, the concept of spinning a new version of the perennial dystopian tale seems almost redundant. Whichever side you happen to land on in the great, American political debate, its tough to deny that the world has seem been seemingly teetering on the edge of mushroom clouds or hellfire for the past five or so years. Surely telling the tale of pre-apocalypse is just a manner of extending things to their logical end.

"I hesitate to call it a concept record," Thermals singer/guitarist Hutch Harris says of The Body, The Blood, The Machine. "It's not like the record that Green Day put out a couple of years ago. I've never made a record like that, where there was a story from song to song that all tied together. We didn't set out to do that. I think if we would have, it wouldn't have turned out as good." More Here...

This Et Al Reveal Track Listing For Debut Album Baby Machine

Hotly tipped Leeds indie band This Et Al have revealed the track listing for their debut album and they'll also be releasing a limited edition version of it.

The 11 track album is named Baby Machine and a full proper release date will be announced in due course. More Here...

iTunes Protection Code Cracked

iTunes has suffered a blow today after the code that prevents music downloaded from their online store being played on any portable MP3 player other than their own iPod, has been cracked.

Hacker Jon Lech Johansen claims to have "reverse engineered" the iTunes FairPlay system. Speaking about the situation, Johansen says that he plans to license the code to other manufacturers of portable MP3 players via his own company, DoubleTwist.

Speaking on behalf of DoubleTwist, managing director Monique Farantzos has said: "There's a certain amount of trouble that Apple can give us, but not enough to stop this." More Here...

Tha Assassination DVD - change of plans

As mentioned in our previous post, The Assassination will be releasing a DVD featuring performances from around the Vancouver B.C. area. Plans have changed slightly. The DVD will still be released, but Worn Records and The Assassination have decided to wait until the E.P. they are currently recording is complete, and release them together as a package. This will ensure better value, and more content! We have also been shooting video during the recording of the still untitled e.p., and may include a bonus video documentary from the sessions with the DVD. We are still hopefull to have this entire package ready for release before the end of 2006.

The Datsuns Release T Rex Cover Version

The Datsons release a single next month and it includes a cover of a T. Rex track.

The band will be making their own Waiting For Your Time To Come song available as a download only single on November 6th and their cover of T Rex's Life's A Gas appears as a bonus b-side.

Waiting For Your Time To Come is taken from this Summer's Smoke & Mirrors album.

Track Listing:

1. Waiting For Your Time To Come
2. Life's A Gas
3. Pity Pity Please

Angry Ape

James Toth presents: The Indie Band Life-O-Meter

James Toth, better known as Wooden Wand in some circles, seems a little bitter about his lot in life these days, or maybe he's just coping with the stress of touring in his own special way. After the jump, is a quiz created by Toth while driving "between the flatlands of the Midwest and the dramatic landscape of the Rocky Mountains," to help bands figure out how long they can expect to last. Toth is currently nearing the end of a US tour, and I would suggest he needs a nice long break once it's over. More Here...

Runaways Drummer West Dies

The Runaways' drummer Sandy West died Saturday (Oct. 21).


West, who helped launch the band's career in 1975 and played with it until it dissolved in 1979, passed away after a prolonged battle with lung cancer. She was 46. The Runaways were the first all-female band to play no-frills rock'n'roll and make significant impact on the mainstream. The band, which grew up parallel to the early punk scene is best known for the hit "Cherry Bomb." Runaways guitarists Joan Jett and Lita Ford would find success in the '80s as solo artists. More Here...

Q&A - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

Q&A - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Oct 24, 2006

No matter how many super-hip alt-country side projects you hear coming from punk rockers this year, you won't hear one like Me First and the Gimme Gimmes' latest.

The pop-punk covers band slaps on the cowboy hats and goes for a ride in the country on its latest, Love their Country (Fat) (read Aversion's review). The Gimmes, which collects members of NOFX, The Foo Fighters, Lagwagon and Swingin' Utters, hits on a slew of new and classic country songs, finding an affinity for the music that was absent in its previous jaunt through R&B. Where the Gimmes were best known for tongue-in-cheek humor, this time around, there seems to be some genuine appreciation of the music going on. What gives?

Aversion's Interview

Vancouver indie label Mint Records celebrates 15 years without major funding

VANCOUVER (CP) - Bill Baker and Randy Iwata still do most of their own grunt work - designing art work, stuffing merchandise into reused envelopes and promoting bands and projects - without much worry whether their indie label Mint Records will produce a hit.

But after 15 years, almost 100 musical releases, a DVD and a punk-rock calendar, Mint has done just that.

The do-it-yourself operation is arguably one of Canada's largest 100 per cent independent rock record labels. Read More...

Mint Records

Lawyers Halt Beatles' Cornish Translation

A folk act's plans to record covers of Beatles' songs sung in Cornish is deader than John Lennon.

The United Kingdom's Skwardya hoped to translate the lyrics of several Beatles songs into Cornish, a nearly dead language, and put them to tape. After a small flurry of media attention in the United Kingdom, however, Harrisongs and Northern Songs, the publishers of The Beatles' tunes, put the brakes on the idea.

"We have checked with the copyright owners at Sony. They tell us nothing is approved," the act said in a statement.

Aversion News

Mogwai Zidane Soundtrack Track Listing Revealed

The track listing for Mogwai's new Zidane soundtrack album has emerged today.

The Scots post rockers released a 10" this week featuring the tracks Black Spider and Half Time. Both of these will appear on the new long-player in addition to eight more new tracks, recorded especially for the project.

More Here...

Keane To Release New Format Single

Keane will be making an alternative format available for their next release.

1,500 copies of forthcoming single Nothing In My Way will be released as a USB Memory stick, which will be exclusively available at HMV stores.

Released on October 30th, these sticks will come complete with both the audio and video version of the single, as well as three screen savers and a link to a special page on the band's website.

Read More...

Guided By Voices

Tribute Night Indie-rock fans face an embarrassment of riches on Saturday (October 14), but for a few of us the choice between Yo La Tengo, Ladytron, Sufjan Stevens, and Califone is an easy one. We'll be downstairs at the ANZA Club singing along with SK Robot at its annual Guided by Voices tribute night. For the fourth year in a row, vocalist/GBV fan Kevin Perley joins the local act for a set of covers from the late great Dayton, Ohio band. Then, the mike is open for anyone brave or drunk enough to try their vocal prowess on a number of GBV shoulda-been-hits like "Glad Girls", "Teenage FBI", and "Chasing Heather Crazy". Sure, there are other great bands playing that night, but the ANZA promises the most sheer fun and lunacy, not to mention guaranteed public humiliation.

Georgia Strait

Subhumans roar back from the dark side

Historically speaking, the Subhumans are arguably eclipsed only by D.O.A. as the most important act in Canuck punk rock. And if they hadn't imploded in 1982, there's a good chance they would have challenged for the all-time heavyweight crown.

Looking back, their legacy is an unassailable one. With "Fuck You" and "Slave to My Dick" off their self-titled debut EP in 1979, the Subhumans produced two timeless anthems in North American punk. Politically charged should-have-been singles like "Firing Squad" and "Urban Guerrillas" proved that singer Brian "Wimpy Roy" Goble, bassist Gerry "Useless" Hannah, guitarist Mike Graham, and then-drummer Jim Imagawa understood the power of politics just as much as they did profanity. And 1983's posthumous No Wishes, No Prayers confirmed that sometimes the good die far too young.

Georgia Strait Article

Stills Play Short Tour

The Stills will head down into America for five shows later this fall.

The Canadian act revealed a handful of Northeastern shows in late November and early December. The act's touring to support its latest, Without Feathers (Vice)

More Here...

Rapper Fabolous Shot By Gunman

Rapper Fabolous was shot yesterday on October 17th in New York.

According to reports, Fabolous was shot in the thigh and is currently in stable condition and being treated for his wound in hospital.

Apparently, a gunman approached the MC and three other people and began shooting. The four of them jumped inside a vehicle and drove off.

Reports also suggest that the car was then stopped by police, who found two loaded guns. They have since been arrested.

Angry Ape

Borat brings hilarity in many mediums

You are really out of the pop cultural loop if you don't know that the Borat movie is hitting theaters November 3rd. But did you also know it will be accompanied by a soundtrack chock full of Borat's own zany musical stylings? Well now you know, and as G.I. Joe used to say, knowing is half the battle. The soundtrack will sport what will most likely be the longest album title this year: Borat: Stereophonic Musical Listenings That Have Been Origin in Moving Film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Phew! Enough colons in that sentence for you?

More Here...

Universal Music Group Sues Video Sites

Just because Universal Music Group's down with YouTube licensing, it doesn't mean the label group's ready to give its music videos away for free.

The label group filed suit against two second-tier video posting sites, Bolt and Grouper. The latter site's owned by Sony Pictures. The lawsuit alleges copyright infringement and seeks $150,000 for each violation. Universal's lawyers estimate more than 100,000 violations on the sites.

More Here...

We Are Scientists Ready Oddities Set

We Are Scientists are getting set to unload their crap on fans with an oddballs collection.

The act's Crap Attack CD/DVD package rounds up a series of B-sides and remixes and a DVD full of live recordings and music videos. The collection, which the band dubbed "our most unedited expulsion to date," follows up this year's With Love and Squalor (Virgin)
More Here...

The Shins Reveal Third Album Details

The Shins release their new album early next year and the band have revealed the songs that make up the longplayer. More Here...

Ramones Songs Reworked for Kids

Because there is nothing like recreating classic punk rock rebellion to make it nursery-safe, The Ramones catalog is retooled to be kid-friendly on an upcoming album. More Here...

CMW 2007 OPENS NOMINATIONS FOR INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS: THE INDIES

Canadian Music Week (CMW) is calling all independent recording artists to apply for The Indies - the 2007 Independent Music Awards. The event will kick off the CMW 07 festivities held in Toronto on Wednesday, March 7, 2007. Applications are due on November 15th of this year. More Here...

A Good Indie Resource...

Lots of good information for independent bands, label, and promoters. Check it out:

Indie 911

R.I.P. CBGB

It was the final last call at CBGB last night.

The legendary New York rock club closed its doors yesterday (Oct. 15), after Patti Smith played the venues final show. Smith, a veteran of the original CBGB scene that featured bands such as The Ramones, Blondie and Television during their formative years, closed the club down after it lost a protracted legal battle with its landlord over back and future rent.

More Here...

The Hold Steady To Release Chips Ahoy! Single

Over in the US, The Hold Steady recently released their new album Boys And Girls In America. Now the band are set release a new limited edition 7" single in the UK next month.

The band will lift Chips Ahoy! as their new release, which Vagrant will be putting out on 13th November. The album will then be available in the UK on January 15th.

Angry Ape

The Potential Goodness that is Bluetooth

You may know Bluetooth as the technology responsible for making people look like they are having one-sided conversations with a Star Trek headset. Bluetooth is not just for phone convos though - devices with A2DP support allow stereo transmission. Wireless headphones, people - we are in the 21st century, it is about time we started acting like it. With AVRCP (Audio / Video Remote Control Profile, and that is the last time I spell that out) you can have wireless headphones with stop, play, fast forward, reverse, and volume control, so you can skip around tracks without even taking your player out of your pocket.

Angry Ape

Hellcat Signs Static Thought

Hellcat Records announced it will release the first album from Static Thought.

The teenage punks are led by the 17-year-old Eric Urbach, son of Minimal's John Urbach. The elder Urbach even lent his skills to the band, producing the album, which was recorded in the Urbachs' basement studio. The effort, In the Trenches, is tipped to veer away from pop-punk sounds to concentrate on streetwise punk. More Here...

Sugarcult Plays Virtual Concert

Sugarcult will play a real-life tour for a virtual-world audience.

The band announced it will play a "concert" in the Second Life world, a virtual universe where users create avatars and settings and interact with one another. The show, which is scheduled for tomorrow (Oct. 14), will feature digitized likenesses of the band members rocking out to streamed audio. The concert is a fund-raising effort for STAND UP Against Poverty, a nonprofit that works to eradicate world poverty.

Aversion

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Love Their Country

I said posse! The Gimmes roll into town for a 12-song shootout with Country & Western. These Blue-State bandits are gonna show Kenny Chesney how it is really done.



Fat Wreck Chords

Google bunts into double play with music recommendation service

They usually hit it out of the park, but Google does have some occasional bad at-bats. Their Google Talk service has failed to upend other IM apps, but that wont stop them from data mining entertainment. If you use Google Talk and share your listening preferences, you will be weighed into a Google Music Trends service. Apparently you will be the sort that likes Panic! At the Disco, James Blunt, Evanescence, and... Nickelback in the 11 spot. The Black Eyed Peas take up 11 out of 20 spots on the hip-hop singles list. I wish I were joking. It is just getting started but early results are frightening. More here...

Joey Ramone Biopic in the Works?

Johnny Ramone may soon join Johnny Cash, Ray Charles and Buddy Holly as rockers whose lives were adapted into movies.

Talks have started to get a movie that centers around the Ramones' lanky lead singer, according to Variety magazine. The film, which has yet to be titled, will be based upon a biography of Ramone written by his brother, Mickey Leigh and Punk magazine founder Legs McNeil.

www.aversion.com/news

Phil Spector Murder Trial Delayed ... Again

Phil Spector's day in court is coming, but don't hold your breath to see it happen anytime soon.

After a half dozen delays, the trial of the famed music producer was bumped back yet again, as Judge Larry P. Fiddler granted the defense's motion to delay the start of the trial. This time around, it's to give more time for forensic testing. Spector, the producer behind bands such as The Ronettes and The Ramones, stands accused of killing actress Lana Clarkson in his Los Angeles mansion in February 2003. He contends she committed suicide.

http://www.aversion.com/news

New digital radios will allow instant downloads

Digital radio listeners will be able to download catchy tunes from the wireless as soon as they hear them, following a tie-up between UBC Media and Virgin. UBC, the digital radio company, said it intended to announce details of a commercial launch for a downloads service towards the end of next month. More here...

VW Guitar

Slash helps promote the new Volkswagen gimmick, get a free guitar with every VW.

Technorati Tags: volkswagen, guitar, slash

The Assassination - New DVD!!!

Next week The Assassination and 308 Productions in concert with a few video bootleggers, will put the finishing touches on the first DVD release from Worn Records. This DVD tentatively entitled "2006 Terror", will feature performances from 3 of the bands shows in and around Vancouver B.C., and 2 songs that aired on Television for The Revolution Series back in May. Although the video and audio quality is not top notch, these bootlegs were shot for the most part with digital cameras. Price and release date will be announced next week along with the cover art.

In related news, The Assassination is heading into the studio this coming weekend to begin recording for their upcoming E.P.. This E.P. will feature 3 new songs, 1 left over track from the "Find Your Way Out" album, a cover, and a live cut.

Alkaline Trio Starts Writing New Album

The Alkaline Trio's slowly making progress on its next album.

Drummer Derek Grant revealed that the band had started writing its next album, and plans to head into the studio in February to lay the songs to tape. The still-untitled album is tentatively planned for a spring release, and will follow up last year's Crimson. (Vagrant) Read More...

Tower Records meets its maker

Death, thy name is the Great American Group.

Tower Records fate was decided in a two-day auction recently. Trans World, a large music retailer fell short by half a million to Great American Group, a company devoted to your liquidating needs. Tower stores will be melted down for scrap, but not before clear out sales empty the shelves, so look out for discounts. Read More...

YouTube Is Bought By Google

Google have purchased the video hosting site YouTube in a deal worth £883 million.

The deal also comes the day after both YouTube and Google signed deals with record companies, with the aim of sharing music videos online legally. Read More...

Boy Kill Boy Release Charity Single For War Child

Boy Kill Boy are to release a new single next month and it's in aid of charity.

The popular indie band will lift Shoot Me Down from their acclaimed debut album Civilian on November 13th, with some of the royalties being donated to War Child.
Read More Here...

Universal Music, Sony BMG License YouTube Music Videos

Universal Music Group and Sony BMG have now embraced YouTube, a move that follows a ground-breaking deal with Warner Music Group. The Universal and Sony BMG deals involve similar terms, and grant the labels the ability to filter unauthorized content. The deal also shares revenue on viewed content. The deal also allows users to incorporate Sony BMG and Universal sound recordings in uploaded content, a structure that will empower hairbrush karaoke stars everywhere. CBS also finalized a deal with YouTube, making it the first television network to structure an amicable accord.Read More...

Ted Leo Tours, Stays Super

Ted Leo is one swell guy. When the dude's not in the studio, he's out on tour making the earth a more listenable place. Certainly not one to rest on his laurels, however, Ted's announced yet another extensive North American tour for this fall, as well as news that his yet-untitled Touch And Go debut LP will emerge in March 2007.Read More...

New Pornographers Tour Canada

The New Pornographers will launch a tour next week, but they're not even going to mess with pesky border crossings and customs agents.Read More...

www.thenewpornographers.com

Merge's Brokedown Forced to Change Name

Thanks to the musclepower of trademark law and cease-and-desist letters, Merge Records' The Brokedown has a new name. More..

The Broken West

Interviews: The Sound of Animals Fighting

They wear masks to conceal their identity. Theirs is a brand of art rock with progressive rock overtures spun in that is unlike anything you've ever heard of before. And while many of the members go by such monikers as Nightingale, Walrus, Lynx, Swan, and Raven, there are...Read More...

http://www.thesoundofanimalsfighting.com/

Increase Your Odds Of Getting Signed

Most artists dream about getting signed to a recording agreement, yet few know anything about the record company personnel responsible for discovering new talent, what these people look for in an artist, and where and when they look to find it. You might just find that the first step to getting a record deal is to take a do it yourself approach to your career. A discussion on A&R can easily take up hundreds of pages, but here is a brief overview.Read More...

Robot Musician?

"A new robot named Haile (pronounced hi-lee), which 'listens' to what musicians are playing and play along with them, has been developed at the University of Georgia."

Slashdot | The First Robotic Musician

technorati tags:robot, musician

Indie Band/ Music Promotion at Mp3 Musicgrams

Munch Music, MP3Musicgrams.com, Delta, B.C. - September 13, 2006, MP3Musicgrams.coms free Indie Band and Artist music promotion service for sharing online music is now available for sign-ups by artists and fans. The new interactive and viral musicgrams were created for new artists to be able to spread their music around in a new format. Users can upload or download an MP3 audio file, image and add in a personal message to send to online music fans, friends and industry. Once uploaded, fans can get involved and help spread the word on new artists...Read More

A music store with a twist - Kaboomtune.com

LOS ANGELES, California (September 25, 2006) The forces behind Kaboom Tune would like to introduce an exciting new concept integrating an online music store, music marketing, and a battle of the bands contest. Kaboom Tune will feature one album each day, offering independent artists label-like exposure......

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Earlstown Winter - Latest W.R. Signing!

On September 21st 2006, Worn Records and the up and coming folk/rock sensation Earlstown Winter made it official. After several months spent negotiating, crossing T's and dotting I's, an agreement was reached and inked last night over some Glen Feddich and a few pints. "We're both relieved to have this deal done so we can get to work on finishing the record." commented Jonathan Truefitt, main songwriter of Earlstown Winter.

The best kept secret in music, Earlstown Winter is a wistful sounding country/folk rock collective who wallow in sounds reflecting lost love, late night drinking and drives down endless highways on cold winter days. "It's amazing to have one of the most incredible up and coming singer/songwriters on board." John Simmonds, founder of Worn Records commented about the newly signed Jonathan Truefitt. An album entitled Easy Roads, Easy Skies is already near completion, and will be ready for release before years end. A profile will be posted in the Talent section of this site very soon, but in the mean time you can find more info at the Earlstown Winter Myspace page. Check back for updates and more info or better yet subscribe to the Worn Records RSS Feed in your address bar.

Awesome FREE show

Come see an awesome FREE show on Saturday. Friends of Worn Records, Earlstown Winter, are performing way out in Port Coquitlam tomorrow as part of the Beanstock Folk Festival. Here's the details...

Date: September 16 2006
Open Mic: 11:00AM to 12:00PM
Show time: 12:00pm to 9:15pm
Location: Leigh Square, next to City Hall in Port Coquitlam
Ticket Price: FREE!!
Show time: 12:00pm to 9:15pm

Earlstown Winter will be on at 5:10pm.

See you there!

Myspace to Sell MP3s From Unsigned Bands

The Internetsoldrinero writes "Yahoo! news is hosting a story about a new competitor to Apple's iTunes Music Store. Nearly all the other iTunes competitors have been strongly controlled by the music industry, shackled in DRM, and giving little back to artists. The new MySpace music store will feature vanilla MP3 downloads at prices set by the individual bands (3 million of them!), all or nearly all of whom are unsigned musicians with no industry affiliation. Is this the example we have all been waiting for of how the Internet will obviate the business model of the recording industry?"

Slashdot | Myspace to Sell MP3s From Unsigned Bands

technorati tags:myspace, mp3s, music, store, itunes

Bob Dylan and iTunes sell un-rippable music

Boing Boing: Bob Dylan and iTunes sell un-rippable music

Cory Doctorow:If you buy the latest Bob Dylan album from the iTunes Music Store, be prepared to lose four of the tracks when you burn it to CD. Four of the tracks on "Modern Times," which is only sold as a whole album on the iTMS, are only made available as video files, and iTunes isn't designed to allow you to burn the audio portion of a video when you burn your CD. read more...

technorati tags:bob, dylan, itunes

308 Productions - Upgrades & New Facility

308 Productions, the Worn Records in house recording studio, has recently found a new permanent location. Although this studio will continue to be mobile in order to suit the needs of all performers, this recent upgrade in facility and equipment will drastically increase the options for artists choosing to record with 308 Productions. Now using Pro-Tools software combined with new M-Audio hardware, and all the tricks and gadgets that made this studio successful, 308 Productions is most definitely the most progressive and versatile project studio available in the Vancouver B.C. area.

308 Productions

Enter The Studio

New Releases! - New Prices!! - Win an iPod!!!

Worn Records announced today, prices of all Worn Records recording artists releases will be reduced as of July 15th 2006. In addition, with every purchase you will be automatically entered into a draw for an Apple iPod. This promotion will run until September 30th 2006 at which time the draw will be made.

Look for new releases soon from Worn Records including, a soon to be titled cover album performed by various artists, a new E.P. from The Assassination and an exciting new signing to the label. Check back for updates, and good luck in the iPod draw!

Buy Albums Now!

Foo Fighters - Acoustic

So I went to see the Foo Fighters last night at The Orpheum Theater in Vancouver B.C.. I wasn't really sure what to expect, having never seen them live before and this being a more chilled out kinda gig. The Orpheum is also well known for it's "jail" like atmosphere due to the "no fun police" otherwise known as the staff, monitoring every move of the over charged audience. Aside from this I was still excited to see the Foo's. I mean not only was Dave Grohl (perhaps the greatest drummer ever) no more than 12 feet from me, another ex-Nirvana member was present. Pat Smear was helping out on guitar in addition to the regular Foo's. In fact they had quite the ensemble of musicians on stage including an accordion/keyboard player, a percussionist, and a female violin/mandolin/vocalist. It really added a nice blend of instruments throughout the set.

The stage was very cluttered with guitars, small amps, violins, keyboards, drums and all kinds of cool stuff. It was definitely a very intimate type of setup, reminding me very much of the old mtv unplugged shows. I found the dim, sometimes dreary lighting created a neat mood for the Foo Fighter’s who I think looked a little uncomfortable with it, yet embraced the challenge. The majority of the audience were aware they were at an acoustic performance, but several loud mouthed ignorant fans kept yelling out there song requests and comments as though they were attending an arena rock show. I have found over the years that Vancouver crowds seem to have a hard time with more layed back rock shows. Having recently attended not one but two brilliant theater/rock shows in Alberta, I was subjected to very boring, polite crowds. Can’t an audience find the happy medium between respecting the the artist(s) and having a good time? I think so, but maybe it would be somewhere like Kamloops.

As far as the performance went, I’m not sure exactly how to review it. I have seen many acoustic shows and compared to those, performed by artists more accustom to playing in this manor, I would have to say the Foo’s were very average. Compared to their plugged in live set, which I have only witnessed on t.v. or dvd, I would say it was a nice refreshing change. I thought Dave talked and joked around with the crowd a bit too much, although his witty personality can be quite entertaining. It was cool to hear some older Foo tunes played in a more chilled out way, and I especially enjoyed February Stars, and of course Everlong. I thought Dave’s solo rendition of Best Of You was let’s say… brave. I personally felt other favorites like Times Like These, Floaty, and Walking After You, were fairly average. The rest of the set lacked flow due to the banter between Dave and the crowd and his band mates, but at times they would stick a couple songs back to back and really create a terrific ambiance in the well guarded amphitheater. This also having been the first night of the acoustic tour, I would expect them to work out some of the bugs and quirks which to me affected the flow of the performance. The sound at the Orpheum was, as always phenomenal yet the same show at The Commodore Ballroom would have been an even better treat.

All in all, I’m glad I saw this performance, and I think more bands should try stripping down from the rock show from time to time. It takes the band out of their element and even if it wasn’t their best performance, it was certainly unique. I would rather see something different from a band that’s been touring for more than a decade, rather than just the same old rock show. I admire them for taking the risk, but just hope they can generate a little more flow in their set.

jds308

Go Oilers!

Cancer Receives A Game Misconduct!

Cancer is receiving a game Misconduct as well as an Assassination this Saturday!

Worn Records recording artists The Miconducts and The Assassination will join forces to battle cancer in Ladner B.C. this Saturday June 17. There will be dinner, drinks, "shave your head for cancer", silent auction, door prizes, plus more for this good cause. Worn Records has offered up all proceeds from cd sales at the benefit to the Vancouver Hospital Cancer Foundation. Although this a semi-private function, ticket info can be requested by email: info@wornrecords.ca

Come down and enjoy this great event, these awesome bands, and help in the fight against cancer!

email: info@wornrecords.ca


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