Here I am, Easter weekend, 2004, stuck in Copenhagen, Denmark. I’m a third of the way through what will become a three-month trip through Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Even before I left my home in Vancouver, my mother was fretting over the holiday weekend, that I’d be left out in the cold with nowhere to […]
Ian Gormely
Posted inArts + Music
Stone Age keyboardist Dean Fertita speaks
Dean Fertita has done a lot in his musical lifetime. He founded The Waxwings, a Detroit rock group whose song “Fragile Girl” was covered by fellow Motor city maniacs The White Stripes. He’s also toured as a member of Jack White’s “other band,” The Raconteurs. But, he says, nothing compares to his current assignment as […]
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Sleep Country
“I wish I’d had this CD out a year ago,” says Pat Deighan, on the phone from Charlottetown, PEI. He’s referring to his new record, In a Fever, In a Dream, which he debuted in his home province last Saturday. He’s bringing it to The Seahorse Tavern on Saturday night. In a Fever, In a […]
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Sleepless Nights
“I think we really have the Beatles to blame for that.” There’s something you don’t hear every day. The Beatles are many things: influential, lauded, a cash-money machine—but rarely the subject of blame. To A.A. Wallace, lead singer and mastermind behind Halifax’s Sleepless Nights, it really is the Fab Four’s fault. “It all comes from […]
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Black Mountain climbs
“Bearded stoner-rock revivalists” and “heir to the throne of Led Zeppelin” are phrases often applied to Vancouver group Black Mountain. So it’s a bit of a surprise when keyboard player Jeremy Schmidt says he still holds down a day job at a department store. Picture a hairy rock god morphing into a well-groomed retail clerk […]
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Protest the Hero releases Fortress, their new album
It’s often said you can’t judge a book by its cover. When it comes to music, you can’t judge a band from its album cover. Take Protest the Hero’s new record Fortress—in the foreground is a female goddess, arrows piercing out from her shoulder armour, her long flowing hair blowing out from under a helmet […]
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Sleepless Nights
Sleepless NightsTurn Into VapourForward Music GroupMade up of members of The Superfantastics and The Establishment, Halifax’s Sleepless Nights are the closest thing the city has to a supergroup. Like its members’ musical origins, Turn Into Vapour is a summation of everything the Halifax indie scene can offer. The lyrics are smart but unselfconscious, the music […]
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Battles
BattlesMirroredWarpMath-rock has come into its own and Battles are leading the charge into the mainstream (well, the mainstream of the underground, at least). Once the realm of noodley guitar and drum jams, Mirrored anchors synthesizer bleeps and computer-manipulated vocals with pounding drum lines creating a splendid headphone masterpiece. Ian Gormelycategories: Best of the year (2007)
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Brother Ali
Brother AliThe Undisputed TruthRhymesayers EntertainmentWhile Kanye looked (further) into himself and his wallet this year, albino Minneapolis MC Brother Ali dropped the most politically charged party record in years. His live show is untouchable, but throw on “Truth Is” for your friends and watch the room get up and get down with righteousness.Ian Gormelycategories: Best […]
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Black Mountain
Black MountainIn the Future(Scratch Records)Black Mountain’s In the Future is so good—so complete in its vision–it’s hard to believe it’s only the band’s second record. Even Pink Floyd—whose influence, along with Led Zeppelin, figures heavily but never takes over—were deep into their careers before they started writing 17-minute opuses. But Stephen McBean and co. have […]
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Pye is overwhelmed with Feelings
Geoffrey Pye is the quintessential modern Haligonian. Gone are the days of family trees that stretch back generations. That tradition is certainly not in danger of disappearing but, more and more, Haligonians come for school and just end up staying. Pye fits this mould perfectly. Originally from Ottawa (with a stopover in Toronto) he had […]
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In-Flight solo
Diana Ross. Michael Jackson. Gwen Stefani. They’re all artists who achieved success within a group and then leveraged that success to catapult themselves to superstardom. In-Flight Safety’s Daniel Ledwell is about to join the ranks of these performers. He drops his first solo record, Two Over Seven, on January 29, with a show the next […]