Saturday, July 03, 2010
To Ontario Premier McGuinty.
Monday, June 28, 2010
To the Toronto police.
[This has nothing to do with music, but I'm reeling and need to get this out there.]
This weekend was arguably the worst in Toronto’s history.
When Prime Minister Stephen Harper invited the G20 to Toronto, he essentially welcomed black bloc terrorists to come here, too. And come they did, as I saw myself in the many photos, videos, and reports from the scene. (I stayed in my apartment just north of downtown the entire weekend.) With the weekend over, but with my mind still reeling, I have a few words for the Toronto police and the other officers who came from all over the country to “serve and protect.”
Where were you, police, when your cars were set on fire and you let them burn? (You left them unattended on purpose, didn’t you?) Where were you when vandals smashed windows downtown, terrifying customers, salespeople, shop owners, and on-lookers? A friend of mine was on Yonge that afternoon, and saw the aftermath: shocking damage and terrified employees at American Apparel and elsewhere. There were no cops in sight, until he rounded a corner, and there you were, seemingly doing nothing. While you stood around, innocent people were left without protection.
Meanwhile, your offices—trained, armed, and in formation—were marching on peaceful demonstrators in Queen’s Park, right near the official “protest zone.” You were doing the same elsewhere, too, on Saturday. I’m sure some of the protesters were being jerks, but what can you expect? You threateningly surround people, stop them from walking in their own city, and keep so many others away.
And yet Saturday night my main thought was of the terrorists who wreaked havoc on downtown streets. Come morning, and the news that more than 500 people had been arrested and detained, my feelings started to shift. As the hours went by and I watched videos, saw photos, and read tweets and news reports of your “tactics,” I changed my mind about you. It became clear to me that the police, as a group, had become the terrorists. There was no violence anywhere that I heard about. Except, that is, for violent acts you perpetrated yourselves. You amassed in force on demonstrators and “riot tourists” in the east end, the west end, and the heart of downtown. Trained officers were ordered to scare innocent people in ways I never thought I’d see in Canada. For shame.
This week you have a lot to answer for. And no doubt you’ll face legal proceedings, brought upon you by some of the hundreds of people whose civil liberties you took away and the dozens you beat with your batons and wrestled to the ground with inordinate force. People in Canada are allowed to assemble, walk the streets, talk to each other, ride their bikes, and to feel safe and secure while doing so. This weekend, you—by not stopping black bloc violence and by your own horrifying movements—made this city unsafe for the people who live, work, and play in it.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Break time.
I'm taking a wee break from this blog while I concentrate on the lots of actual work I have to do. You can still find me occasionally over at Sticky Magazine. I like that project a lot, and feel I can contribute something worthwhile to it once in a while. I wish I had more time and energy, but oh well. Until later!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Review: Horse Feathers w/ The Wilderness of Manitoba @ The Drake Hotel, 28 April.
This was one of those rare seated shows---as in, butts-on-floor---at the Drake Hotel's basement music venue, and, my, was it ever lovely. I'd heard of and sampled Portland, OR's Horse Feathers in the past few weeks and was seriously considering hitting up the show, but the announcement that the Wilderness of Manitoba would open sealed the deal for me.


Monday, May 03, 2010
A few things: Woodhands, Delhi 2 Dublin, The Acorn, Shawn Clarke.
My favourite live band has a new remix EP out this week. Who's that, you ask? Woodhands! (D'uh.) Download the EP for free from the band's label, Paper Bag Records. Here's what you can look forward to:
2. Dissembler (Mathemagic Mix)
3. Dissembler (French Husband Mix)
4. CP24 (Teen Mix)
5. Pockets (Jeremy Glenn’s Stay Real Dub)
6. Dissembler (Dan’s Piano Version)
May 25 @ Habourfront Centre, Toronto (Inside The Musician’s Studio)
July 1-2 @ Sled Island, Calgary
July 3 @ Pride Festival Outdoor Main Stage, Toronto
July 12 @ Le National, Montréal (with Passion Pit)
July 15 @ Blues Fest, Ottawa (with Champion)
July 24 @ Evolve Festival, Antigonish

Ticket/CD Giveaway: Brett Caswell @ Supermarket, 12 May.
Ontario roots rocker and piano pop crooner Brett Caswell and his band the Marquee Rose are releasing a debut album on 18 May called A New Balance. This will be Caswell's first offering since 2007's Love Waiting EP. Ahead of the release, the band is celebrating with a few Ontario shows, including 12 May's at Toronto's Supermarket.

Friday, April 30, 2010
Ticket/CD Giveaway: Ketch Harbour Wolves @ The Horseshoe, 8 May.
Ketch Harbour Wolves, crafter's of the no. 1 Canadian EP of 2008, are celebrating the release of a new album, Anachronisms, at the Horseshoe on Saturday, 8 May. Well, sort of: The album won't be released for real until June, but you can hear the new songs and pick up an advance copy of the new disc at this show.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Q & A (and CD Giveaway) with Robert Gibson from Optical Sounds.
This is the fifth installment of my interview series with people in and about the Toronto music scene. Previous ones featured Mitch Fillion (Southern Souls), Mike Smith (Muskox, etc.), Randal Ball (WreckingBall Entertainment), and Ben Mueller-Heaslip (What's All This Then?! podcast).

Jen: When did your start the label, and why? What were your intentions for it?
Robert: The label started mid July 2008. Long story short, I moved to Toronto and found myself in the middle of an unbelievable selection of bands. A bunch of bands that honestly seemed like the sweetest people ever. They all partied together and support each others artistic dreams. I just couldn't believe that bands like The Hoa Hoa's, The Disraelis and Action Makes did not have anyone in the business behind them.
I just thought - all these bands and this scene needs is a platform. A place where they can all unite and have someone do all the "business" stuff and shit bands shouldn't have to do themselves. They all seemed to fall loosely within the psych/garage genre, my favourite! So, it made sense.
We don't have any specific intentions for it. I mean, we wanted distro and we've managed that with the help of Outside Music. We want to continue to add artists have the same ideas as us an get the music heard by as many people as possible. That's about it.
If it gets bigger, we'll totally embrace it and if we just kind of maintain where we are now - well, that's fine we're quite proud of how far we've come in less than two years.
Jen: Yeah, for sure. The label and its bands seem to have a devoted and ever-growing group of supporters. How you do decide which bands you want to sign?
Without getting in to too much detail, I look for bands that a) have tremendous music that fits into the genre we've become known for and b) have some start up money of their own. As a label, I don't pay for a band's manufacturing. They do. And, together, we make it a priority to ensure that all money taken in is filtered to the band and paying off the debt from manufacturing costs first and foremost. After that, any profit made is split fairly. And by "fair" I mean, a large majority of it goes back to the bands.
In return, I offer them the advantages that the label has managed to amass: the name, studio space, distribution, media contacts, US and Canadian college radio contacts, industry contacts, booking, promotion, publicity, festival gigs and, of course, participation in any of our "unique venue" shows that we've become kinda synonymous with.
Jen: Your latest release is from an American band. Are there special challenges or rewards that comes from working with a group not located in your home city?
Robert: Magic Shoppe is Josiah Webb. We met him at a Hoa Hoa's and Disraelis gig in Buffalo, NY and he was just the biggest fan of what we had going on. We partied with him all night and when we woke up he was on the label. I swear that's how it went down . . . I think.
Regardless of where a band is from, like I said, if their music is what we're after - we're interested. He recorded, mixed, mastered and manufactured his debut Reverb EP a year or two prior to The Night In Buffalo and was just looking for the right place to release it. Optical Sounds was in and we couldn't be happier with it all. He even went as far as to suss out some USA colleges for us that we should be targetting. We're both in agreement that the label and the band are better off with the relationship in place.
Specifically, the distance is a bit of a challenge - he lives in Boston, MA now. So, getting together to chill and hash out ideas isn't convenient. BUT, we now have a place to crash in Boston and the label has made a small imprint in the States!
Jen: You guys were pretty busy recently, showcasing at CMW, in New York City, and then down in Austin. What's the value for your label and its bands of such trips?
We hope our bands get the opportunity to do a lot more travelling in the future. You hear that, all you agencies and booking managers? ;)
Jen: Now that you've been at this for a bit, what are the major lessons you learned or misperceptions you had about running a record label?
Robert: Well, first and foremost I've learned too much to list here in detail. Basically, I knew absolutely nothing about the music business. I had a taste in music and people around me who were in great bands, that's it. Everything from managing band personalities, budgets, manufacturing, distro, publicity, booking, networking, etc., etc., etc. have all been learned on the fly. I'm learning every single day from everyone around me - the bands, industry friends and new people I seem to be meeting all the time. I must be getting old because I am consciously enjoying every bit of this new knowledge.
I think because I knew so little, I had very few expectations to begin with, so there are only so many glaring misperceptions. Because we're a DIY, startup label that is still relatively new, we all knew full well that we'd be learning everyday, sometimes taking a few steps back to take one giant leap forward.
The most glaring misperception I had at the beginning that we had to be a "professional" as possible. I assumed we needed this shiny, cutting edge website, publicity, someone to do pro photoshoots, a graphic designer, etc. Turns out, we don't need any of it. If the music is strong enough, fans will find it. And, if the personalities involved are engaged and helpful, these things find a way to get done.
Jen: That's good to hear. Still must be a ton of work, though! What's in the works for Optical Sounds for the rest of 2010?
Robert: So far this year, we've done CMW, SXSW, and released a Magic Shoppe EP amongst other shit . . .
We're excited for the rest of the year. I'm expecting new releases from Action Makes, Planet Creature, The Hoa Hoa's and (fingers crossed) Postcards. We're also close to confirming the addition of Revolvers to the label and we'll re-release their incredible debut (Apocolypse Surfin') that they released themselves last year. The Disraelis are in a bit of a crossroads right now and we'll know more about their plans soon. They're either going to re-group and record some of the best music this city has heard in a while or totally dis-band. Which would suck, but these things happen.
We'll be celebrating our 2 years of existence in mid-July and anyone who has taken in our "unique venue" parties in the church, legion, loft space, etc. will be happy to hear what we have planned. Stay tuned for that.
A website I've been trying to re-launch since forever will be ready this year too. Finally.
Lastly, while we're passing on NXNE this year, Halifax Pop Explosion is all set up, so, some of our bands should have their first gigs out East.
Indie Music 118 (29 Apr - 5 May 2010).
Diemonds, Rusted Dawn, and Fog Of Leprosy @ Bovine, 9pm, $5.
Fourlines @ 12:00a, Counterpoint @ 11:00p, Everyone’s Talking @ 10:00p, and This is Bombs @9:00p. Lee's Palace, 8:30pm, $6.
*Kevin Kane, Sean Macdonald, and Shelby Lamb @ Cameron House, 9pm, $10.
Ian Blurton's Happy Endings, Reverse Mount Rushmore, and DJ Vania @ The Bovine, 9pm, $5.
State of Mind @ 12:00a, Stagehands @ 11:00p, and tba @ 10:00p. Lee's Palace, 9pm, $8. If anyone wants to buy a Stagehands' CD, just mention "historyjen" and you'll get it for $5 instead of $8.
Shatter The Hotel: A Dub Inspired Tribute to Joe Strummer - Official Canadian Launch Event feat. Dubmatix (live), Prince Blanco & the Clash Assassins (live), Citizen Sound (DJ set), Nate Wize (DJ set), and special guests @ Rancho Relaxo, 9pm, $8 or $15 incl. CD. Proceeds to Strummerville: The Joe Strummer Foundation for New Music.
Fred Spek's CaMp CoMbO @ Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), 10pm, pwyc.
Frailfragment, Bella Clava, and Broken Suns @ The Drake Hotel (Underground), 7pm, $5.
* English Words, the Love Machine, and Davey Parker Radio Sound @ Rancho Relaxo, 9pm, $6. Download English Words' EP for free here.
Elvis Monday feat. The Caraways, Kuru, Caramel, the People Of Canada, Radio Belle, and Jilted Lovers Club @ The Drake Hotel (Underground), 9pm, free.
