• jon mckiel

Jon McKiel is releasing his new album Tonka Warcloud this Saturday (tomorrow night oh my gawdd) at Gus’. His tiny, perfect EP Confidence Lodge was the fire that kept me warm last winter, so like everyone else I’m psyched.

McKiel’s release is part of a Shotgun Jimmie double-header. The pride of Sackville will be taking the stage at Gus’ no less than four times this coming weekend, playing solo and band sets.

Tonight you get:

10pm - solo Jimmie, doing a bunch of Shotgun and Jaybird stuff
11pm - Men's Wrestling - a new superband featuring Trevor Murphy (The Establishment, Sleepless Nights) Matt Charlton (Prospector's Union, Bloodsport) Stephanie Clattenberg and Matt McDonald (The Superfantastics)
12am - Jon McKiel
1am - Shotgun Jimmie (with band)

Saturday's lineup:

10pm - solo Jimmie again
11pm - Baby Eagle
12am - Jon McKiel
1am - Shotgun Jimmie (with band)

Each night = six dollars!

• 1000 Awesome Things

You might recall that we wrote about the Noyes Records subscription series back in February. For $40, you get a limited-pressing 7" by Dog Day, Cousins, Duzheknew, Homo Duplex, Doug Mason, Play Guitar, Cold Warps, and We Need Secrets. So far I've really enjoyed the Cousins and Dog Day releases - it's especially nice when you forget that you signed up for the series and then suddenly you're like, "Oh yeah! I have to pick up a new record! It's Christmas part three!"

Subscribers recently received a very nice email from Noyes man Chad Peck about some delays due to the label's Texas pressing plant overheating and getting shut down for awhile in the summer. As an apology, he's thrown in two free records. The first is a new release by barainrockers Long Weekends, and the second is a split between Dartmouth's Sea Glasses and We Need Secrets. Two free records for a delay that I barely noticed? That's some nice salesmanship right there.

The next record in the series - another We Need Secrets release - is due out in the next couple of weeks. If you are in Montreal you can check out Long Weekends' Pop Montreal show tomorrow night with the mighty Teenanger, Shortpants Romance and Cheveau at Divan Orange (4234 boul. Saint-Laurent).

The end of the postal strike in Canada (for now) heralds the arrival of bills (bad) the "Stephen King Rules" t-shirt that I ordered online like six weeks ago (good!) and Tongan Death Grip's LP Chula Vista (yeah better!) which you may have read about here. What I've heard is really good, lemme tell ya, and it will sound even better on vinyl. If you like fun, peppy power-pop that's fast as fuck, you should really get one before they all disappear. If you are in Halifax, email guitarist Craig Hamlin at craighamlin@hotmail.com to get your very own copy, or you can be fancier and get it from the estimable P-Trash Records site here. I believe it will also be available at Obsolete Records.

• eric hanlin tastes it out

Oh Black Moor, where you been girlfriend? Our Halifavorite metal band has gone through some tumult in the past year, losing drummer Sylvan Coderre and guitarist Nick Jones (Jones now plays in We're Doomed). They've still managed to record a few songs in studio, one of which will be appearing on a brand new split EP due out June 15 along with songs by Montreallers Metalian and recent Yukon-to-Nova Scotia transplants Sanktuary. The EP is called Tundrastruck and ummmm yeah, I want one. The release show is on Canada Day (July 1) at Gus' Pub. Track listing below:

Airborn Assassins - Metalian
Raise the Flag - Sanktuary
Awaken the Dead - Black Moor

The delicate and evocative electro-folk of Paper Beat Scissors (aka Tim Crabtree) will be getting the Snailhouse treatment — Mike Feuerstack has signed on as producer of Crabtree’s upcoming album. Crabtree writes that they’ll be recording in the South Shore’s Confidence Lodge in July and finishing things up in Montreal by summer’s end.

Listen to PBS's Flicker EP here. You can see a video of song-in-progress “Rest Your Bones” below.

As I write this, I am sick as hell and listening to the song “Scratches” from Dog Day’s forthcoming 7” of the same title. It’s the shiny type of song that makes you feel like you might be sticking your head out of a car window somewhere, and it’s almost June, and the light from the lake is glinting into your eyes, and daylight savings time isn’t four weeks away, and your throat isn’t coated with terrible juices. The record will be skipping in your head come March 22 via Noyes Records and is part of the Noyes subscription 7” series that includes Cousins, Duzheknew, Homo Duplex, Doug Mason, Play Guitar, Cold Warps, and We Need Secrets. 100 of each record is printed in colour (thought I am told they are half sold out now) and the rest are in black. The package costs $40 and starts shipping in late March. Whatta deal! Throw your money at noyesrecords.com.

So I promised in the print edition that I'd have a Buck 65 interview up for you now. As you can see, it's not here yet. Due to unforeseen business it will be up later this evening. Thank you fer yer patience. It's worth it - we talked about zombies and girls and stuff. His new album 20 Odd Years drops on February 1st and is currently streaming at exclaim.ca.

Last weekend Whiskey Bent and Hellbound singer/guitarist T.J. Kavanaugh played me a bunch of songs from the band’s debut album, Singing Satan’s Gospel from his laptop—and lo, it is good. Produced over two days by James O’Toole, it’s clear that the band has put everything into this recording. It’s beautifully clean and precise—and yet it’s unequivocally cowboy punk. Each of the group’s members and myriad parts—the guitars, Don Hynes’ mandolin, Jacob Hultz’s lap steel, Tim Mitchell on bass and Tasha Gobeil on drums—bring forth these small stories of boozing and heartbreak with an assured brightness. Their CD release happens December 22 at the Seahorse with Chris Martin and the Troubleshooters (celebrating their five-year anniversary) Darby Halland the Graboids. 10pm, $5.

DEAR GIRLS AND COOL BOYS!

This Saturday, your very busy electro-madam Jenocide will once again collect an eclectic and excellent array of lady musicians to Gus' Pub to help her celebrate the release of her five-song EP collaboration with PEI-based musician Willow Bell. It's called Knee Deep, Ya Boi DJ James Reid will be in attendance, and the show will be rounded out by Micro Organs, Laura Peek (we missed you, Laura Peek) and the extremely cool-looking Saint John, NB threesome Girls Would Kill. Jenocide/Jen Clarke shared a few more details with us: Bell is a member of Food Clothing Shelter collective and this is his first release, with a live show marinading juicily for your viewing/dancing pleasure sometime in the future. "For this release, his production was inspired by Daft Punk, Chormeo and Neon Indian," she says. Go forth this weekend and work your sass muscle. Go forth and dance.

Update: Here's a link to the EP's Bandcamp. 'Tis a piddly $5! http://music.ilovejenocide.com/album/knee-deep-ep

Check out these beans: http://northofamerica.bandcamp.com/

Listen. Buy something, even. They play two Halifax Pop Explosion shows: one at the Pavilion Friday Oct 22 and the other on Saturday Oct 23 at the Seahorse.

Buncha new/free music today! First: Homo Duplex, the husband-wife-duo (comprised of the Maynards' Kristina Parlee and Attack in Black's Ron Bates) has another wee EP online for your listening pleasure here. They pull words out of hats and write songs about them! We're really enjoying these three spacy, fuzzy songs during this busy work day and you will too.

Meanwhile The Sleepless Nights' Andrew Sisk and Miranda Durka, who are otherwise known as Coco et Co, have released their debut album St. Denis as a free download. Lovely. You can hear/DL it here.

Finally, a little Facebook bird told us that Myles Deck and the Fuzz will be releasing their latest album for free download on October 10th. This is a good band that likes keeping their fans desperate and a little manic. I think everyone's been a little antsy since the release of Police Cops/Ayatollah a million years ago so this is good news. Here's a short film for the song "You Can't Heal a Sick Riff." STAY CALM.

• orchid's curse eat the rich

After a summer chewing up the road on Vans Warped Tour, Last Call Chernobyl take the stage this Saturday at Coconut Grove with Black Moor supporting their buddies Orchid’s Curse, who are celebrating the release of their latest album Voices: The Tales of Broken Men. We asked LCC bassist Jay Szetzo if they had any stories from touring across the United States—-and, well, did you know they almost died?

Szetzo: "We arrived in California two days before our first show. We decided to hit the beach. Being from the East Coast, we were extremely loud and obnoxious. However our drummer (Josh Pellerine) and I started realizing that the undertow is surprisingly strong. Then we looked back at the locals and noticed that we were the only ones in neck-high water. We started pacing back to the beach as the undertow was getting extremely hard to fight. By the time I found my glasses on the beach, our singer (Kyle Mahar) and guitarist (Matthew Moulton) were mere dots in the distance fighting for their lives in the Pacific."

"Before I knew it Baywatch-esque lifeguards were swinging into action. A chopper and boat appeared out of nowhere. The whole beach was in a commotion as they all tried to fish out my drowning guitarist and singer. One of the Baywatch lifeguards managed to get them before the chopper or boat. With our heads in shame after such a commotion, we left the beach. We thought our little Cinderella story was going up in smoke and we'd be sending two bodies back…Weird, huh?"

Orchid's Curse lead singer and Diminished Fifth Records owner/promoter/publicist/Jack of all trades Josh Hogan was on the road with LCC as tour manager and shared his strangest quote of the tour, from a Canadian Border Guard upon the band's re-entry to Canada:

“Do you have any Weed on you? Wait a second, you’re all Canadian. You wouldn’t bring back US weed. It’s too expensive and it tastes like shit!”

You can catch up and hear stories of more harrowing times and hear some excellent heavy music on Saturday at Coconut Grove beginning at 10pm, for $8.

• photo Mat Dunlap

One of the saddest days in recent scene (and Scene) history was the dissolution of the majestic, peerless i see rowboats. Most of that band has returned in the form of It Kills (formerly Library). After a generally revered set at Long Live the Queen last month, the band will release its self-titled LP on Friday, June 25 at St. Matthias Church (6131 Chebucto Road). Oh mah gawwwwwwwwwww.

Ian Fraser is the man behind the north end's newest record shop Obsolete Records, and he has updated the store's Facebook group ahead of its grand opening this weekend (Sat May 22nd to be exact.) He has a list of new releases that you will drool over for a little bit (Lighting Bolt! Quasi! Sage Francis!) and also there are some photos of the store being unpacked. DROOOOL. What a crap weekend to be broke!

The grand opening is from noon to 6pm at 2454 Agricola Street this Saturday. I can see your grubby little paws twitching already.

• spooky kids!

Prolific local experimentalists Fuck Montreal are officially releasing their first 7” this Thursday (TONIGHT) at Gus’ along with the Scoop Outs, ECT and The Bad Motels. The record, titled Winter Mange, is being released by Stumparumper Records out of New York City and is unique in that it’s a long-player with 7 songs and nearly 15 minutes of music. Bang for your buck or what? The band also boasts a new lineup, with founding duo Alex Currie and Jenna Empey joined by Jonathan Carroll on bass and Blair Smith on drums. And, naturally, there’s many other projects on the horizon, including an upcoming split cassette with Mess Folk and a 12” vinyl called Lost at Sea.