Posts
What knocked our socks off?
Amos The Transparent - This band first came on my radar screen in Nov 2007 when my business partner Cameron Carpenter showed me a link while we were in Montreal for a show. I had always been a fan and have seen them live a few times. Something changed the way I saw them as band at their CMW showcase at Rancho Relaxo. Never mind the fact the room was at capacity and I had to barge my way past the door staff and basically break in to see the show....it was a life changing event. I saw the band perform such a amazing set that it confirmed for me there was something special about this band. Th crowd began singing along early and never wained, driving the band into more and more of a frenzy. IT was a true testament to the fans the band has been building in Toronto as of late. I will go on record as saying (again as I did on Twitter that night) I think Toronto has just discovered the next Broken Social Scene.
Without making the story longer and more painful, our company now manages this very special act and I couldn't be more excited to be part of launching them on an unsuspecting world.
But wait...there's more
Before I get into the fantastic artists we are now working with, let me mention two other performances I saw that were awesome.
Billy The Kid at The Rivoli was pure magic - check out Just Trying To Get By. She delivered a haunting version of this track. I was gobsmacked....
Birds Of Wales were simply super in their first Toronto show since coming off the Mishka tour, alas it was a short pit stop on their way to SXSW, where I am told actor Matthew McConaughey himself insisted they get an encore at their showcase. Full disclosure...I LOVE this band!
So...on to other magical discoveries we made over the past several months and have added to our roster are...
Allie Hughes - I quite literally stumbled upon Allie's music while searching for something on the net. What an fantastic stroke of serendipity. I was instantly taken by her voice and the quirky / smart nature of her lyrics. I had hoped to book her for a show but could not get it worked out. Instead, we met for coffee and chatted about her career direction. After seeing several more shows including her residency at the Drake Hotel we met up and agreed to begin working together. She has been compared to many artists but instead of drawing the same comparisons, I would ask you to discover her for yourself. Allie is an amazing talent who will turn many heads in the years to follow. She is currently in Winnipeg rehearsing for a role in Andrew Lloyd Weber and Ben Elton's The Boys In The Photograph
Walter Mitty And The Realists - Extremely clever name aside, if you see this band live, it is GAME OVER! I have not seen a single person walk away from one of their shows without raving about the bands performance. This four piece from Ireland is going to make some noise this year and we are happy to be on board to help that process along. They have a debut CD in the can which was produced by The Cranberries Fergal Lawler and another Canadian tour planned for the fall of 2009
Other exciting projects we have begun work on are Isle Of Thieves and Street Pharmacy.
Both bands are young and exciting to watch. The similarities cannot be found in musical style but in song writing ability, desire to succeed and intelligence. These are educated kids who know there is an easier way to make a living but will not be denied. Just check out their sites and see the number of dates they will be playing before the end of May. These are two bands to watch in 2009 as I predict they are both on the verge of a breakout year.
Isle Of Thieves has had extensive radio play and support from stations like XM 87 The Verge. If they were not on the Canadian music industry radar before CMW, they are now. Their performance at the CMW kick-off party was fantastic and garnered the attention of many industry vets including Juno nominated producer Greig Nori, who commented on a Much Music News segment "I love this band so much, I just told their manager I want to produce their next record" and he wasn't bullshitting - he did tell me that.
Street Pharmacy have a new video for the song Degenerate which will be hitting Much Music and MTV in the coming months. The video is a hysterical send up of Simon and Garfunkel, featuring a two hour teasing of lead singer Ryan Guay's coif to give him a spectacular fro.
This band has sold over 5000 units of their release Free Delivery and plans to record some new tracks and release an updated version this spring. Catch this band live as their Ska Punk Party Rock will have you dancing on the spot.
Not to be forgotten are Jay Sparrow and SLAVE to the SQUAREwave who are both in the studio putting together more awesome shit for you to enjoy!
Hope you enjoy the music as much as we do. We have such an amazingly special group of people in our musical family, 2009 is guaranteed to be a tremendous year.
