Give it up for Summer Lights Festival, Brandon, MB’s new music celebration

By Regina Sienra

Brandon, Manitoba, just keeps getting cooler. After a captivating edition of their long-running Folk festival – which featured a Weakerthans reunion – a new festival is coming to the city of 46,000 inhabitants. The first edition of the Summer Lights Festival is happening on Saturday, September 10th.

The lineup features the likes of Said The Whale – who will be hopefully releasing a new album before 2016 is over –, Joel Plaskett, Terra Lightfoot and Attica Riots. Other performers include Slow Leaves, Begonia, Okay Mann and  local singer Hannah Selyn. There will also be a collaborative songwriting circle featuring some of the performers.

Summer Lights Festival will be sharing venue with Brandon Folk Fest, for the event will be happening at the Keystone Centre Grounds. The festival is offering free camping, along with free, locally made, bannock and honey. Food and craft vendors will also join the event.

Advance tickets are available now for $20 for adults and $15 for students, and you can get them now through their website. Make the most of the summer and part of the country you may not be familiar with yet.

Tear it down and build it back up – An OurBasement Playlist

By Nick Jean

It’s been a week, a month, a year of upheaval around these parts, and today’s playlist theme has been chosen to reflect upon this. The bedroom is being renovated, the highway is being repaved, careers are being shifted, our old home is gone and a new site is taking its place.

Sometimes the trappings we surround ourselves with get dull and boring, or maybe they just aren’t working as well as they once did. When that happens it’s time for a renovation. Tear it down and build it anew. Nothing is so satisfying as looking upon your completed project and knowing you made a thing.

Here’s a little playlist to soundtrack your reconstructive impulses. What songs would you add to it?

Two Nova Scotia festivals announce their lineups

By Nick Jean

While we’re in the heights of summer, getting over the hangover of the past weekend’s peak summer festivals, it’s hard to believe it’s already time to be thinking about the next season. A perennial highlight of the fall festival calendar is the Halifax Pop Explosion (HPX,) this year taking place Oct. 19-22, and yesterday they released their line-up.

Click for full-size

Headlining the festival is the veteran Newfoundland band Hey Rosetta! who are always a hit. Also in the large type are Basia Bulat, PUP and White Lung, any of whom could be riding high on a Polaris Music Prize win. Holy Fuck, The Barr Brothers and Tuns round out the favourites from the top of the chart, but, as is always the case, there’s plenty of excellent music to be found in the “small print” acts.

Hannah Georgas, Mo Kenney (supported by Symphony Nova Scotia,) Royal Canoe and Nap Eyes are all must-see shows. If you’re looking for something a little noisier, check out Pkew Pkew Pkew, Fake Palms or Monomyth. Folk? Supermoon. Pop? Alana Yorke. Hip hop? City Natives. And of course lots of rock. There is someone performing for almost any genre you can name. (Sorry, no polka… yet.)

HPX is promising more acts will be announced between now and opening night, so keep tuned to their social media for updates. Of course, you can always point your browsers to their website to fill yourself in, as well as grab your tickets or wristbands and subscribe for their mailing list.

Bet you thought you were done with the Maritime FOMO. Two weeks after HPX, Nova Scotia plays host to yet another totally stacked festival, Nova Scotia Music Week (NSMW.) In-Flight Safety (who will be performing) shared their poster yesterday as well. There is some cross-over acts, but a whole lot of other amazing music to be heard as well. Check out this line-up, too.

Nov in Truro w/ buds @riaisawake @alanayorke @joelplaskett @Mo_kenney @mardeensays + more! 😎🔥 @nsmw @musicnovascotia pic.twitter.com/wXREjAOk1M

— In-Flight Safety (@InFlight_Safety) July 26, 2016

Chixdiggit surprises Italian fans at their wedding

By Regina Sienra

No one can really measure the spectrum of the fanbase a band can gain, and sometimes the less palpable aspect can be one of geography: Where is your music being played and enjoyed? For Chixdiggit, Italy is one of those places. Cristian and Miriam, two of their biggest fans there just got married, and the bride decided to surprise the groom at the wedding with a special performance by the Calgary punk-rock band.

In a video uploaded by the Italian station Radio BAM, you can see the groom being led to a tree-lined area, where the band is secretly testing their instruments. Cristian soon turns his head to find his favourite band and scream with the delight.

The band then plays the 1996 song “I Wanna Hump You” for the Italian newlyweds and their guests. In another video, the band plays “Sikome Beach” from Born on the First of July as the groom happily moshes and dances by the front row.

If you’re closer to Bengough, Sask., than you are to Italy, you can catch Chixdiggit this weekend at the Gateway festival.

Your Summer Songs: An OurBasement Playlist

By Nick Jean

Last week, I asked you for suggestions of “summer” songs. What made a “summer” song was entirely up to you, and boy did you deliver. We’ve once again broken the record for longest playlist. (At this rate, by the end of the year it will take all week to play through.

Whatever you’re doing this summer, we’ve got the music to soundtrack it. Chilling at the beach? Check. Spontaneous road trip? Got it. Gotta portage? We’ll power you through it.

Thanks to everyone who contributed. Now enough chat. The summer’s wasting away as we speak and you’ve got a lot of listening to do. CRANK IT!!

Fast Romantics’ “Julia” wins SOCAN Songwriting Prize

The 2016 SOCAN Songwriting Prize was awarded today to the Toronto-via-Calgary band Fast Romantics for their song “Julia,” beating out the likes of Polaris Music Prize nominees The Strumbellas, Dilly Dally and Andy Shauf. Each year, SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) hands out the Prize to honour the music created by emerging Canadian songwriters.

“Julia,” released as a single in the spring of 2015, is a catchy rock tune with a few curious experimental rhymes. It was produced by Gus Van Go and Werner F, who have previously worked with Hollerado, Said the Whale and Rah Rah. Fast Romantics has not released a full album since their 2013 sophomore release Afterlife Blues, but they made a new song, “Animal,” available in January. This isn’t the first accolade Fast Romantics have captured as they took home Pop Group of the Year at the 2014 SiriusXM Indies.

“Amazed to hear that our tune ‘Julia’ just won the SOCAN Songwriting Prize,” said Matthew Angus, singer and main songwriter of the band, on Facebook. “A massive thanks to all of you fans for voting, to the wonderful people on the Panel, to all nine of the other nominees who all wrote such deserving, amazing songs […] We’re feelin’ pretty buzzed today”.

The SOCAN Songwriting Prize was first handed out in 2006. To pick the nominees, two panels, one for English tracks and one for French, made up of experts from the Canadian music industry pick what they consider to be the most creative songs from the past year. After the nominations are tallied, the top 10 are announced as finalists. The public then vote to determine the winner. The award comes with $10,000 in cash as well as gear from Godin Guitars and Yamaha.

Winners from years past include The Weakerthans for “Night Windows,” Kathleen Edwards for “A Soft Place to Land,” and Karkwa – in the Francophone competition – for “Oublie Pas.”

Check out “Julia,” winner of the 2016 SOCAN Songwriting prize, and its video starring the sweet moves of Fred Astaire.

#SiMH – The Planet Smashers

Remember ska? Of course you do. You heard it in the playlist on Friday. In the course of making that list, I found myself loving those tracks. A lot. So much, I’ve had The Planet Smashers’ “Surfin’ in Tofino” stuck in my head (#SiMH.) Ironic, since that track didn’t make the playlist.

But that got me thinking. Have I ever even heard another Planet Smashers track? I couldn’t think of one. That drove me to Spotify where I listened to the whole of Life of the Party, the album from which “Tofino” originates.

What I found was a guaranteed dance party. Is there another genre of music more assured to get you tapping your toes, chair dancing, or even up on your feet, busting a move? If there is, please tell me about it.

Between the brass and the organ, The Planet Smashers never sound like they’re taking themselves too seriously. Some of their tracks even sound like they ought to be an Arrogant Worms-like joke (“Super Orgy Porno Party?”) Yet they never comes off that way. They are always upbeat and completely danceable, with perhaps the exception of “No Matter What You Say,” which mellows things out nicely for a break after nearly a dozen tracks of head-bobbing beats. It’s also the longest track on the album, topping in a just over four minutes. With the exception of two others, nothing else tops the three-minute mark, making the 15-track album just fly by.

Things then get more ominous after “No Matter” as a musical fight breaks out on Kung Fu Master, but things settled down to that same toe-tapping sound I was accustomed to for the final two tracks.

I could see why ska isn’t exactly a favoured sound for some people: the beats could be considered irritating to some and it may just sound like a joke to others. I find that almost frivolous aspect of the attitude refreshing, especially with all the turmoil we’re living with these days. Life of the Party helped me to disconnect and enjoy just being for a while.

Beautiful British Columbia: An OurBasement Playlist

 

Clear your schedules! This week’s playlist is a DOOZY! It’s 47 songs. It’s more than 2 and a half hours long! And it’s ALL B.C.!

Yes, following last week’s celebration of all that is Canada, we’re starting on a trip around the Great White North from coast to coast to coast. After today, the first playlist of each month will be dedicated to exposing all the music goods that each province has to offer. That will take us all the way to next July and Canada’s 150th birthday!

Today you’ll be hearing from dozens of bands both familiar and obscure. Some may sound familiar, but they’re not. Some you may have forgotten (Remember Brasstronaut? Choir Practice? The Organ?)

Hopefully you make some new musical discoveries. And if there’s anyone from B.C. you feel deserves some more attention, give them a shout in the comments.

Enjoy the music! And I won’t be at all offended if you don’t make it through the whole list…

(What do you think? Is this playlist too long? Is there too much rock? Not enough hip hop? Give me your feedback below.)

Free music here! Get your free music! – Dine Alone Records Summer Sampler

(Editor’s note: Please read this in the voice of infamous infomercial spokesman Bill Mays.)

How are you with word association? Let’s try some.

• Hannah Georgas
• Wintersleep
• Little Scream
• Monster Truck
• Black Mountain
• Tokyo Police Club
• free

Did you say Dine Alone Records? Nice job, but what’s the “free” doing in there? Well, it’s once again time for Dine Alone to give away a whole ton of free music!

As has become their tradition, last week Dine Alone released their annual Summer Sampler. All those bands and artists above join 20 others to make up this free collection you can download right now! Just check out this playlist.

But wait! There’s more!

They’re also giving away five amazing prizes!

Four runners up will receive:

• A Pair of Vans shoes
• Skullcandy headphones
• HEX iPhone case (sorry, Android fans)
• A Day In My Shoes Agency T Shirt
• Various Dine Alone Records releases on CD

The Grand Prize winner will get all of that PLUS a Crossley C200 turntable and a bunch of DAR vinyl!

Don’t wait! Order now!

 

Kathleen Edwards gets her guitar back

Back in August 2015, Kathleen Edwards posted on Facebook that her rare and valuable 1957 Les Paul Junior guitar was stolen from her house in Stittsville, Ontario. Today, the Ottawa singer-songwriter posted a picture of the instrument on Instagram, with the message “Today I got an early birthday present. Story to follow”. So… eventually Edwards herself will update us on the details of the happy news.

“If the guitar is returned, I can accept a ‘no questions asked’ agreement,'” Edwards said on her August 2015 Facebook post. “I can promise you that the instrument will not make you money, it will not go unnoticed and you will at some point be caught. Do the right thing”.

Update: According to CBC News, a Good samaritan came into Quitters, Edward’s coffe shop in Stittsville, ON, to let her know he found a garbage bag with guitars while he was out walking his dogs. The songstress later confirmed the guitars were hers.

“They were dumped in Stittsville, a kilometre or so from the shop. Undamaged. I am over the moon,” she wrote.
Info from CBC News
Picture taken from Kathleen Edwards Facebook page