Just shy of a year after the release of Sloan’s eighth—and full-length redefining—album Never Hear the End of It, the quartet is home in Halifax for a visit before making arrangements to head back into the studio. “I don’t know what is going to be, if it’ll be another 30-song opus or not,” says vocalist […]
Chris McCluskey
Posted inArts + Music
So much music, so little time
If there is a summer custom I already miss about the East Coast it is – first and foremost – the pleasing, communal atmosphere of the backyard barbecue. Recognizing it as being a conducive forum for convening over 100 guests, Six Shooter Records made my Saturday afternoon by hosting a selection of delegates at what […]
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The Superfantastics: Bring the Cheer
People on the East Coast say “if you don’t like the weather, wait a few minutes”. And those, like me, who have moved to Toronto in the interests of finding employment (hey, Halifax, I tried!), find out quickly the “land of opportunity” is no different. I had initially been planning on starting the day at […]
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Taking the Hot Hot Heat
A group of music industry big wigs, and intrigued conference delegates, took over Much headquarters Thursday afternoon to discuss the future of music for profit. While the representative from FACTOR was optimistic a new medium she can’t divulge details on will assure everyone makes money again, much of the rest of the dialogue focused on […]
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Opening day (and one night at the Palais Royale)
Wednesday morning began with a degree of uncertainty as I awaited the reaction of my employers to the “two weeks” I communicated to them the day before. Would I be freed to stroll my second NXNE festival on my own determination, or be obliged to labor long hours to unremitting distraction? Fortunately, I was afforded […]
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Two seater
There are bands that spend years piecing together albums for a variety of reasons—for Toronto’s The Bicycles, the challenge was recording fast enough to capture all the material the band was writing. Singer and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Scott (of neither Sloan nor Meligrove Band fame) explains the debut LP The Good, The Bad and The Cuddly […]
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Hockey makes the man
Toronto-via-Ottawa rock group Clothes Make the Man are proof The White Stripes—soon to play Halifax, tickets on sale May 4!—are not the only band showing love to the far reaches of Canada. The act, which directly conjures an inspiration in sound and live vigour of early Foo Fighters, will “rock the rock” with a trio […]
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Catalogue diggers
Toronto’s FemBots are revitalized and back on the road following a break from touring 2005’s The City and are now prepared to offer fans the largest live taste of their catalogue to date. The duo of Dave MacKinnon and Brian Poirier—joined by Paul Aucoin and Nathan Lawr—will perform material from all three of the band’s […]
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The Glorious Life of Joel
To illuminate the story of a friendship between two young bandmates that is threaded through The Emergency‘s new record Ashtray Rock— released April 17—Joel Plaskett found himself referring to material from his beginnings as a singer-songwriter. “I worked a few lyrics to kind of make them work into the theme of the record. “Snowed In’ […]
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El Torpedoed
Matt Mays and El Torpedo, who moved to the States last fall, have found a replacement for founding singer and guitarist Jarrett Murphy. “I regret to announce that singer, guitarist Jarrett Murphy has decided to leave El Torpedo,” says Mays on his management’s blog. “His departure is on good terms, and we all support the […]
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Ego’s trip east
Three-piece rock outfit My Dog Ego—comprised of vocalist/drummer Jamie Lee Patterson, guitarist John Longley and bassist Clark McMillan—has moved to Halifax from Toronto in the hopes of making an impression on the east coast with its debut EP. “We got back together in Ontario last year, and the five songs that we thought we would […]
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Sleeping not so much
Every year, a handful of local acts make the 40-hour trek to Austin, Texas, for the annual South by Southwest festival—this year’s representation included Ruth Minnikin and Windom Earle—and theis year Wintersleep comes away with the best stories. The band got off to a great start supporting The Tragically Hip on part of that band’s […]