Tag: Music

By Julia Osinchuk

The kalimba is a simple African instrument. In essence, it’s a tiny finger piano with a music box sound. Songstress Laura Barrett pairs this with her own light, sing-songy voice, beckoning images of a child singing nursery rhymes, a sound she features on her first full-length record, Victory Garden. Barrett got her first Kalimba the… Continue reading Songstress Laura Barrett’s kalimba is excellent

By Michelle de Man

If your life has been hectic, you ought to try Michael Bernard Fitzgerald’s time-management secret. It’s a combination of BlackBerry, iCal and mom, but don’t tell anyone about the last part. “Yesterday when I was stressed, my mom took me for tea at Starbucks,” Fitzgerald recalls. “At first she was like, ‘I don’t know about… Continue reading MBF is totally your super awesome best friend

By Paul Beriault

Elliott Brood gets around. The influence of a cabin at the foot of Mount Robson, a town hall in Wayne, Alberta, and front and back rooms in Toronto are all apparent in the eclectic recording process for Elliott Brood’s recent album, Mountain Meadows. The group covers a lot of distance, both in their music and… Continue reading Bringing the broodiness

By Julia Osinchuk

A lot of music is the result of the tragic death of originality, fame-moochers, Myspace hype bands and those who have sold their souls to shock tactics and pop music– exactly why bands like the Cancer Bats ought to be appreciated due to their rarity. “It’s not like we felt that in any way we… Continue reading Some joke about tumours

By Darren Young

Canadian rock staples Sloan have been on the verge of success for the better part of their career. The shaggy-haired quartet have a cult following north of the border, but have consistently come up short in their attempts to break into the American mainstream. With their ninth release, Parallel Play, Sloan is proving that even… Continue reading Sloan’s music is action packed

By Amanda Hu

Montreal outfit Winter Gloves works a lot like their moniker. While all connected by their overarching fibres, each member is given a lot of room to move around. Though the band started as Charles F.’s side project, it has morphed into a fully-inclusive group, something that the once-lone musician thought was a necessity. “When I… Continue reading Some prefer Winter Gloves to mittens

By Michelle Carlson

Don’t get between a mother bear and her cub– she might eat your soul. Put this scenario to music and you have the new project from a quartet of Calgary music scene veterans. Cody Coates and Andrew Woods– from Lions and Tigers and Bears– and Ian and Paul Baker– of the Silent Auction– channeled the… Continue reading Soul-devouring rock and roll bears

By Jordyn Marcellus

Getting a job isn’t so much what you know, but what you know about getting to know people. It’s all about networking, printing up some business cards and putting your face out there. Curtis Santiago knows all that, especially after spending a few years in Vancouver paying his dues. When asked how Van-city’s been treating… Continue reading Getting to know you

By Jordyn Marcellus

Being weird. It will get you beaten up in high school, laughed at in university and ostracized in the workplace. You can only be strange when you’re old because then you get to be labelled an eccentric. One of the few places counted as an exception to this is the music industry, which is a… Continue reading Trumpets, dogs and cries of the dead

By Jordyn Marcellus

Calgarians all across the city will soon know the sadness of an empty nest as local indie darlings the Neighbourhood Council leave for Montreal in the fall. In one short year, the band has burst into the consciousness of music fans with the release of their Set Pieces EP and their recent mention in the… Continue reading Calgary’s indie music babies