Video: Woodhands – “CP24″

Woodhands has released their video for their second album’s first single, “CP24.” While the album isn’t out yet, this is all we have to enjoy, and I’d say it’s a great amount on its own. It’s hilarious, witty and bouncy. Dan Werb and Paul Banwatt should anchor on CP24, no doubt.

I found myself laughing through the entire thing, but that might just be because I am a journalism student… ah well.

So, did you laugh as much as I did?

Take a Look: The First Joke & Other Matters

There comes a time in any rock critic’s life when a band that they used to look upon fondly, who had since broken up, moved around but brought two of the members back in a new light. In my case, this comes to The First Joke. (Ironic, no?)

I grew up in Buffalo, New York. Halfway through my high school years I found my place in the local music scene as a reporter for NeXt in the Buffalo News. I interviewed a ton of bands (and pretty much all of them have since broken up as well, but I’ll occasionally see people when I go back home, everyone’s doing well) but every single band looked up to the slightly older band, This Day & Age. Everyone was so charmed in their presence. I knew a girl that listened to their album every night before falling asleep. I found myself at many of their shows singing along with more oomph than I usually do at live shows. (Once, they played at Media Play-ha!- and they stopped short. I was still singing. Embarrassing.)

This Day & Age broke up a year into my university life, at the cusp of becoming something really big right after the release of their second album, The Bell and the Hammer. I don’t think I saw their last show (although memory is failing me right now, anyone care to fix this?) but I did make it to a show of theirs at Club Infinity in October 2006. It was bittersweet.

In the past few years, three of the members ended up in a band called the Reign of Kindo. I never really followed them. I was so busy learning new Canadian music. I regret such, but I am redeemed in the formation of The First Joke & Other Matters. Made up of the singer and drummer of TDAA, Jeff Martin and Steven Padin, they bring back what we all loved: the low-key late-night coos. What they didn’t bring from TDAA was the gut-wrenching yet still subtle wails, but you know what? That’s perfect. The First Joke shows how they’ve grown in music and their life paths, and those of us who knew TDAA still have those great memories.

The First Joke will be releasing their first album independently on January 19th. All of me wishes that it was just a few weeks earlier, when I’ll be home for the holidays. To have that kind of reunion would be great, and I’m sad I’ll miss out when it finally does happen in Buffalo. Hopefully Jeff and Steve will take this far or at least really put their love into it. These new songs show a lot of promise, like “Runway,” which will encourage your humming reflex to pick it up immediately and “Page in Book” is an example of the sweet harmonies Jeff & Steven have created for years now. It’s good to hear Steven taking more singing leads, such as in “Winston Was Here.”And in “Perelanra,” they’ve got a lil Latin flair.

Jeff revealed this information about the few of the songs on their blog: “a fun little fact about a couple of the songs.. i wrote the song “page in book” about this guy who realizes a bit too late of the damage he has done to his relationship. steve then showed me the music to what is now called “winston was here” and asked me to write lyrics for it.. (i did).. it then became the hopeful outlook of winston (the character from “page in book”) on the day after his wife leaves him, as he begins his new life.”

But hey, I’ll like just about anything these guys do if you couldn’t tell already. Definitely check The First Joke out, and pray they’ll get bigger and come to Canada one day.

The Reign of Kindo are still in formation, even making a new album, and you and I will do well to check them out too.

(P.S. Is that the Buffalo News in the picture?!)

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club to release new album in March

Oh, it’s a happy morning over here at the RoundLetters residence. I received a lovely newsletter email this morning all about everything upcoming with one of my favourite bands, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

In the past year or so, the band once and for all lost their drummer Nick Jago, released a live DVD/CD set and did some tours that were not here, basically.

2010 holds not one but three amazing bits of news for this Califor-ni-ay band:

-Peter Hayes and Robert Levon Been are introducing their new drummer, Leah Shapiro from The Ravonettes (yes! woman! making this band even more bad ass, who thought that was even possible?!)

-Releasing their fifth studio album Beat the Devil’s Tattoo on March 9 in US & Canada (album name suggests yes, they can be even more bad ass)

-and doing another crazy bout of touring, one day of which lands them in Toronto (April 1) at the Phoenix.

I’ve seen this band twice and both times were some of the most amazing performances I’ve ever seen. I’m not such a big fan of them playing at the Phoenix. I must say they really used Kool Haus well, but hey I can’t complain, I’ve also seen them in a tiny venue in Buffalo.

Here’s a video of them playing a different show in Toronto in 2005. Check out the bad ass!

P.S. I love how they update their website but still keep some old things intact, like their Press section in which there is the  interview I did with Hayes in 2007!

New writing on Spinner.ca – short profile on Said the Whale

Hey readers! If you’ve been wondering what’s been going on with me lately, well I’ll tell you. I’m currently working on the Ryerson Review of Journalism full-time in school where I am putting together two feature articles, blog posts and filling my role as the Spring masthead’s Visuals Editor. Besides this, in the past month I’ve helped Homemakers.com move over to their soon-to-be-launched new site, write an article about female music journalists for the Winter issue of McClungs magazine, write an article about Le Cyc for the latest issue of Broken Pencil and another one about something else in the upcoming issue and finally write tons of reviews and do some interviews for Exclaim!.

That sounds like a lot, right? Yeah… but hey, I’ve taken on something new! I now have writing up on Spinner.ca, which is a music website across the world run by AOL.

My first article is a short profile piece on that cute band I keep talking about from Vancouver, Said the Whale. Please do check it out! Here’s a taste for you:

Vancouver pop-rockers Said the Whale might be named after the large mammals that cruise up and down the West Coast but their music has been indelibly shaped by the entire country.

Their recently-released sophomore album, ‘Islands Disappear,’ is a musical reflection on Canada, following a Vancouver-inspired debut marked by intensely moving songs about sailing in ‘Howe Sounds’ and losing a loved one in the same waters in ‘Curse of the Currents.’

“The first was Vancouver because it was where we had been during writing,” singer/guitarist Tyler Bancroft tells Spinner. “This one, we’ve been on the road for two years, six cross-Canada tours, so we’re influenced by lots of Canada now.”

Read the rest of the article here!

I really do miss updating this blog as often as I did over the summer. It will be back and running in the future … just not for a while, so I at least hope you’re enjoying yourself here on RoundLetters with my clippings!

Interview: The Swell Season Feeling Lucky With Strict Joy

The following was originally published on Exclaim.ca.

Exclusive: The Swell Season Feeling Lucky with Strict Joy
10/16/2009 By Jessica Lewis

For Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová of the Oscar-winning duo the Swell Season, things just seem to be “written in the stars,” whether it’s the elements that went in to putting together their upcoming new album, Strict Joy, or just knowing one another.

Even though the record’s main themes seem to be about the romantic break-up between the pair, who had the surprise breakout hit with Once, they’re still strong enough to make another record. So it’s the technical background we can get interested in now.

Hansard and Irglová took just under a month recording the album in Connecticut with the Frames and acclaimed producer Peter Kadis in his home studio. Hansard and Irglová went to the studio because they were enamoured with Kadis’s past work with the National’s album Boxer, and ended up recording a handful of songs in a whirlwind.

“We just play songs out, to figure them out, to feel out what they’re doing, what they’re saying,” said Hansard in a recent interview with Exclaim! “And when you get enough of them, you go and put them down, and really, going into making a record sometimes, you’re not even set out to make an album. You’re just setting out to put stuff down. That’s what happened with this. It was a very easy record to make, we’re very happy with it.”

Irglová agrees. “It was written in the stars,” she said. “I think life is full of those magical moments, if you just allow them to happen. If you live your life deciding you’re going to go with the flow and trust life, then you do find yourself in places you never imagined yourself being and for me that’s what it’s all about.”

Hansard goes on to say that the luck isn’t just in the stars, but also in the unassuming business model, saying, “It was more just the main concern of any band is to put out decent work and to continue doing gigs where you can communicate your songs clearly and correctly. And hopefully, if you’re doing your job right, to be able to play the same room every time you come back to town or play a bigger one. Some bands might say, ‘Okay, here’s the end game, and here is what we need to do to get there.’ We pretty much made a record and said, ‘Right now we have a record. What do we do with it?’ So it is a slightly different way of looking at it. It definitely works for us so far.”

The duo commissioned Hansard’s fellow Frames members to be the support on the album after a tour, as well as included a few guests. What they ended up with was a full sound complete with just that: more voices, more sound and more ambitions.

Originally due out September 29, Strict Joy’s release date was pushed back a month due to artwork conflicts. It will now be released on October 27 through Anti-.

The Swell Season will be wooing Canada on these dates:

11/3 Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
11/4 Montreal, QC -; Olympia de Montreal
11/25 Vancouver, BC – The Center

Sidenote: You can now stream Strict Joy in full over at NPR.

Watch Said the Whale’s new video for “Camilo (The Magician)”

As if I didn’t need convincing on how cute everyone in the BC-based band Said the Whale are, and how they are ridiculously cute as a whole, today sees the release of their new video for “Camilo (The Magician)”.

Really, guys? Are you just asking for me to come over there and pinch your cheeks and ruffle up your hair? Because I will. Or at least, you know, maybe at your Toronto show.

However, this is interesting. What happened to the idea of fans submitting magic tricks? I guess those tricks weren’t too jaw-dropping. And I don’t mind much, seeing as I’m obviously squealing with glee over here for the song pairing of the sad little magician (and partly because I’m kind of delirious due to my insanely busy life these days).

Watch and squeal for yourself:

Said the Whale also saw the release of their album this week, Islands Dissapear. They will be playing Toronto again on October 28 @ the El Mocambo.

What are some other cute music videos you like?

Upcoming must-see indie flick: Some Days Are Better Than Others

I don’t think I can wait until the Spring for this movie.

Starring two Portland indie greats, Carrie Brownstein of Sleater Kinney and NPR blogging fame and James Mercer, head of the now almost controversial band The Shins, this movie follows two characters that seem to be stuck in neutral.

The debut full-length feature film by Matt McCormick looks incredibly beautiful as it shows how much a place or time can have a hold on a person. And, you know, this description from the website gives it more drama: it “asks why the good times slip by so fast while the difficult times seem so sticky. The film explores ideas of abundance, emptiness, human connection and abandonment while observing an interweaving web of awkward characters who maintain hope by inventing their own forms of communication and self-fulfillment.”

It is also gives mad props to Portland. I agree with Brad Frenette – “Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Halifax, Calgary – let’s do this.”

Watch the trailer for Some Days are Better Than Others here:

more about “some days are better than others“, posted with vodpod

Fucked Up Wins the 2009 Polaris Music Prize

The following was originally published on Exclaim.ca.

Fucked Up Wins the 2009 Polaris Music Prize
9/22/2009 By Brock Thiessen & Jessica Lewis

Fucked Up have been awarded the 2009 Polaris Music Prize for their album The Chemistry of Common Life at a gala event held at Toronto’s Masonic Temple Monday (September 21) night. Following in the footsteps of Final Fantasy, Patrick Watson and Caribou, the Torontonian hardcore heroes will receive the coveted award, along with $20,000 and, of course, some serious bragging rights.

“Until the very moment they made the announcement, I thought there was no way in hell that we would win,” said Fucked Up front-man Damian Abraham. “This is incredible. I’m more shocked than everyone at CTV. Thanks to everyone that played on the record and Jon Drew that produced the album, everyone at Beggars/Matador, [Polaris founder] Steve Jordan and everyone at Polaris!”

Ten albums were shortlisted for the prize, narrowed down from a long list of 40. The Polaris Music Prize — given out each year to a full-length Canadian album, based solely on artistic merit — is chosen by 182 Canadian music journalists, broadcasters and bloggers who make up the Polaris Music Prize jury, with the final winner being selected by an 11-member grand jury.

In alphabetical order, the artists nominated for the Polaris Music Prize short list were:

Elliott Brood – Mountain Meadows
Fucked Up – The Chemistry of Common Life
Great Lake Swimmers – Lost Channels
Hey Rosetta – Into Your Lungs
K’NAAN – Troubadour
Malajube – Labyrinthes
Metric – Fantasies
Joel Plaskett – Three
Chad VanGaalen – Soft Airplane
Patrick Watson – Wooden Arms

This was the first year that all ten shortlisted nominees played sets of one or two songs from their nominated albums, with each band receiving much applause from the audience of family members, friends, music journalists and music lovers.

Metric played an acoustic set first, then Great Lake Swimmers and Malajube, respectively, charmed the audience, before 2007 winner Patrick Watson led his band onto the floor with backpacks of lanterns, accompanied by CBC broadcaster Jian Ghomeshi on drums.

Next up was K’naan’s inspiring set, which led into the friendliness of Joel Plaskett and family. Chad VanGaalen certainly will have the audience remembering his performance after declaring he wished Leonard Cohen was there and made some other presumably drunk remarks about micro-organisms and sloppy Suzannes.

Elliott Brood had cookie sheets and wooden spoons passed around to participate in their popular “Write It All Down for You,” and afterwards Hey Rosetta! crammed 13 people onto the stage.

Finally, the now-winners Fucked Up raised as much hell as they were allowed, which included Abraham letting his pants fall down and proceeding to morph his blue boxers into a makeshift thong.

Just minutes later, CBC Radio 3’s Grant Lawrence, Sarah Taylor and last year’s winner Dan Snaith of Caribou read out that the winner was Fucked Up. Patrick Watson and crew almost immediately dumped a bucket of ice water on Abraham after the Fucked Up singer declared “this is better than a free iPod!”

In an interview with Exclaim! after the show, Abraham said: “I never thought this would happen, and this isn’t crocodile tears, I was really like there was no way we were going to win and I was packing up my baby as they announced it and I was like… I just couldn’t believe it! I am in shock and I feel so good, I feel so good that we made a record that people feel was on par with Final Fantasy… We made a record that is kind of looked upon in that light, and that is the most flattering thing to have happened.”

Abraham also mentioned in the press conference with Lawrence that they plan to use the award’s $20,000 prize money to make a Christmas charity album, which will go towards helping find missing aboriginal women in Canada.

If Fucked Up isn’t on your radar or you need a refresher, take a look at Exclaim!’s October 2008 cover story on the band and The Chemistry of Common Life.

Interview: Imogen Heap stays connected with her fans on Ellipse

The following was originally published on Exclaim.ca.

Exclusive: Imogen Heap Stays Connected with Ellipse
9/21/2009 By Jessica Lewis

It takes a lot of work to put together an album, and these days nobody has shown the process better than British singer-songwriter Imogen Heap. She released her third solo album Ellipse at the end of August, after two years of documenting by way of weblogs, blog entries, website updates and, of course, tweets.

“I think the greatest parts of life are when you’re connected; whether it’s with your family or your friends or your lover,” Heap told Exclaim! when she stopped in Toronto. “I guess it’s really the connection that I love… I think it’s something that I certainly crave, just wanting to understand people and wanting them to understand me. That’s just a natural human need, that’s why I do it.”

Besides tweeting every single bit about fixing up every song on the album, Heap kept up a steady flow of weblogs on YouTube and 12seconds to premiere drafts of songs, talk while playing the piano or just show that she could still have goofy fun.

Her friend Justina who directed and edited most of the footage now has 350 hours of footage to sort through in order to make a making-of DVD. As if that wasn’t enough to keep her busy, Heap was also distracted within the two years by making her own studio in her house and collaborating with other artists, such as producing a track for Mika.

Now that the album is complete and released, Heap has been updating her many websites less regularly, but on September 11 she tweeted, “Ahh, to go where the wind takes me! My life is scheduled out for touring next 18 months… lovely to go away with no plan whatsoever tonight!?” So now it’s up to fans to start getting excited over tour dates.

Heap must be just as thrilled, though probably pretty tired. She’s got a new instrument named a monome, which is a kind of control station that will sync up all of her high-tech sounds to one board. She will also still bring her famous clear piano on tour. But although the planning doesn’t seem to be in full effect just yet, that leaves time for her to daydream about what she would like her stage sets to look like.

“I’ve got this plan. It’s to not have anything on stage at all and to come on and slowly rebuild the stage myself while I’m doing it. So I’m kind of building, having things hidden on the stage, underneath it where there’s slip-like shapes and things and throw them up into the air and then light falls on them. There’s nothing.” Heap says. “I like the idea of no waste. There’s no need to have hundreds of watts of lights pouring down on me when I’m only here. I don’t need all of those. I’d love to work on a stage show where light is built and sculpted around me or I’m projecting it myself or it’s on me, like I’m being projected onto with a big dress or something. Trying to be more igniting with the stage and get creative inside that.”

RoundLetters weekend update September 18-21

Hey all! There’s a few news bits for this weekend I think you should know:

Friday:

Lars Ludvig Lofgren and Ghost Trees will be playing a show at the Only Cafe tonight at 8 p.m. The Only Cafe is located at the Donlands subway stop and just an easy stroll around the NorthWest corner. Check them out! They played a very successful show in my backyard last week. Unfortunately, footage is still to come. You should also check out the Only Cafe, because it is a wonderful place.

Le Cyc will be performing their bike opera at the Music Gallery on John Street. This Guelph collective is getting a lot of attention for their cyclist, well anything, but they’ve also got pretty swell music and images that are projected along for the show – they tell quite the story! I’ll be covering this show & talking to them tonight for Broken Pencil – if you’re there, say hi!

Monday:

I found out recently I’ll be covering the Polaris Prize gala for Exclaim! So if you’re there, again, say hi! Unfortunately, I’m not cool enough to have a Blackberry or iPhone to live blog/tweet, so you’ll probably be getting your news somewhere else but I’ll be speedy as soon as the gala is over.

Who do you think will win the Polaris Prize? Will it be Chad Vangaalen? Elliott Brood? KNAAN? Metric? Malajube? Joel Plaskett? Patrick Watson? Great Lake Swimmers? Fucked Up? Hey Rosetta?