Dave Gunning has raised the ire of the Canadian Mint for using a photographic depiction of pennies on the cover of his newest album, an ode to the soon-to-be-extinct penny, No More Pennies, to be released September 18. The Mint considers it a copyright infringement as it’s for profit and to be fair, Gunning sure […]
record releases
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Smitten with Smith
When Meaghan Smith performed her first song for an audience while in animation school, she had a one-person “crowd.” “My roommate came in, and I had to make her face the other wall, and me face the other way, and she had to just not ever turn around,” remembers Smith, a big smile on her […]
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Watt and the Glory
As one of Halifax’s busiest producers, Andrew Watt has birthed many artists in this city. Backed by Glory Glory Man United, Watt’s new solo album release, First Day of Summer Life, reminds us this musical midwife makes his own music too. “I’ve worked with hundreds of musicians, many of them friends or almost family and […]
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Smooth sailing for A History Of
In its inimitable nautical rock ‘n’ roll style, A History Of smashes a bottle of champagne on the bow of its debut album, Action in The North Atlantic, November 14 at Club 1668, along with York Redoubt, Bad Vibrations and Cold Warps. The first full-length release by the band, Action in the North Atlantic expands […]
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No apologies from The Sorrys
Trevor Millet pulls at his scraggly salt-and-pepper beard before pausing: “We understand you, and thus we can make you feel better.” The Sorrys’ affable frontman is being facetious, but, given that the quartet has been dubbed “the elder statesmen of the Halifax music scene,” there’s some sage advice in there too. Although in their 40s, […]
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Cuff the Duke stay in the ring
When it comes to writing song lyrics, Wayne Petti likes to keep things at a distance. “I don’t often get too personal in music,” the Cuff the Duke singer admits over the phone from Toronto. “Usually I try to write stuff we all can relate to.” A perfunctory appraisal of the Cuff the Duke catalogue […]
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Ghettosocks’ tasty Treat
Halifax-based MC Ghettosocks went from updating his Facebook profile and Twitter account with his “treat of the day,” to basing the concept of his new album, aptly titled Treat of the Day, around the idea. “I was kind of compelled to do this treat-of-the-day thing,” says Ghettosocks, AKA Darren Pyper. “For albums I get on […]
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Fun with Fantods
Unsatisfied with their previous three studio albums, The Fantods lugged recording equipment through subzero temperatures and slushy puddles down stairs to the Blue Moon Bistro last January to record their latest album, Ride the Moose, during a free show. “It was just surprising how a live recording could be exactly what we wanted,” says drummer […]
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Smokin’ bluegrass
The band, made up of Amy Lounder (fiddle, vocals), Ben Sichel (guitar, vocals), Jason Dionne (percussion, vocals), Dave Ron (mandolin, vocals) and Graham Kerr (double bass, fingertaps), normally plays for contra dances—a style where dancers line up parallel to each other and execute dance steps as instructed by a caller, with a live band to […]
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York Redoubt on fire
York Redoubt has a self-deprecating streak, but the band doesn’t need it. Over sushi on Quinpool, the band gripes at length about how terribly they played at a PEI show the previous night, and refers to the content of their tape released this spring as “crappy York Redoubt.” All this bad press from a young […]
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Caledonia release new full-length CD, We Are America
Zac Crouse is spending his rainy Sunday hand-screening t-shirts. “It’s fun, it just takes a lot longer,” the Caledonia bassist-singer-songwriter reports. “And it’s cheaper.” The DIY ethic extends beyond merch to every part of Caledonia—the Halifax quintet’s new LP, We Are America, was funded in full by the band. Recorded at Echo Chamber last summer, […]
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HotKid raise hell in Halifax
HotKid show you their tuff side HotKid’s new album, Someday Somehow, (you know, the one with the impressive Canadian indie rock pedigree: produced by Ian Blurton of C’mon/Change of Heart/Blurtonia and mixed and mastered by Rick White of Eric’s Trip/Elevator) is free to download on zunior.com, and you should do so in preparation for their May 15 date at Gus’ Pub with tour mate Andrew DeVillers, Cuban Assassins and Myles Deck and the Fuzz. And then when they get here, you can buy a nice pretty copy. “We have some home-made silk screened CD copies of the new album. We’re