Their lives consist of children, farming, painting and car stereo installations. And it shows. Friends before fathers, they have continually managed to explore instrumental rock with a sense of smart, intelligent pleasure that carries you along with it and reminds you of different times in your life; a road trip down the rolling, dead-straight highways of Montana, or waiting for a ferry with a snow cone in your hand and a warm burger in your belly.

Now, with their second release on White Whale Records, the Precious Fathers continue to push their music to new places. Tim Loewen and Jaret Penner’s dueling guitars play off each other to blend and collide in a classic back yard rock entanglement while bassist Paul Goertzen matches notes to fill the music with grooves and steady rhythm. Drummer Josh Lindstrom provides the rushing beat behind it all. Both fast and smooth, his rich patterns make the songs move and help augment the changes that the guitars have led each tune into.

(Fun Indie Rock Factoid: Tim Loewen is the very same Tim Loewen that plays bass for Destroyer.)

Where their first, self-titled record played with wide open spaces and delicate, quiet bridges, their latest record boasts some louder more forceful directions. A maturing of moods, songs like “Swells” and “Sylvan Court” play out to provide rich crescendos of sound and thick, dense changes as each song brings about a new time, a new idea, a new place, and sometimes even a precious new experience.

Precious Fathers :: LIVE
June 25 Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret*
June 26 Kelowna, BC @ The Habitat*

Kathleen Edwards played for the troops in Afghanistan recently. “Troops on the base enjoyed a festive celebration and in addition to receiving treats from the man in the red suit, they were entertained by Canadian comedian Mike Macdonald and Ottawa singer Kathleen Edwards.” Whoa. That girl must have balls the size of China to go down there. I guess she was well protected though. Much respect to her. Don’t forget the following shows and venues:

These mixes were sent out to the Jojoflores fan page on FaceBook. If you missed out, here are the download links:

Therapy 45

Montreal Deep 41

Ring Tones

Don’t forget these dates:

Wed. Dec. 31 Sundae NYE (Philadelphia)
Fri. Jan. 2 Therapy at Cielo (New York)
Sat. Jan. 3 Gotsoul Sessions NIkki Beach (Miami) 3PM-7PM
Sun. Jan. 4 Black Sheep (Miami)
Fri. Jan 9 BPM Festival (Playa, Mexico) TBC
Fri. Jan. 23 Glow (Athens)
Every Thursday at Vauvert (Old Montreal)

Joni NehRita is a songwriter in the truest sense of the word. Every song is its own entity but she also has the ability to float from classic R&B to reggae, pop, and jazz. NehRita’s fans boast that her music is “smooth, infectious, lush, and inspiring” and that she has “the voice of an angel”. Having a live rhythm section on her album gives her songs an earthiness and vibrancy that’s often lost on R&B/urban records today. Lyrically, Joni reflects on matters of the heart and challenges us to live more spiritually. If you missed her performance at Maxwell’s in Ottawa, Philip Bast from The Record was there to capture some live footage and chat with Joni for a few minutes. Watch it here!

CKUT Montreal and The Goods are holding a New Years Eve bash at La Sala Rossa. The GOODS, started in August of 2002 by Scott C and Andy Williams to provide a warm alternative to the average Montreal night out. The GOODS only mandate is great music, whether it’s known, forgotten, or yet to be discovered. With one foot planted firmly in the past, and the other moving forward to the future, some guests have included Keb Darge, Mr. Scruff, DJ Spinna, A Man Called Warwick, Quantic, Moonstarr, Tom Thump, Jason Palma, DJ Kobal, Philarmonix, Mr. Attic, Heavyweight Art Installations, Mark de Clive Lowe, Bembe Segue, Specifics, Kahil El Zabar, Russ Dewbury, DJ Format, Robert Strauss, Mad Mats, DJ Nu-Mark, Afrodizz, Josh Deep, Karsten John, Nickodemus, Domu, and Bugz in the Attic. With the help of the unique atmosphere and no frills charm of La Sala Rossa, soulful dancefloor movements and the musically diverse party have definitely found a home in Montreal. Join the FaceBook group and support the scene.

DJ Cosmo Baker is like an insane trip down memory lane if memory lane was the sickest hip hop you remember from the past few decades. He gets a ton of respect from his fans and DJs alike. Check out what these DJs have to say about him:

DJ A-Trak “Cosmo Baker is hands down one of my favorite DJs. very few dudes can read a crowd like Cosmo, first of all. My man can rock it in so many ways, and he continues to surprise me. Cosmo lives and breathes music and his knowledge runs deep!! He’s a virtual librarian of music. After all this is the man who invented the category “Dad Rock.” But more than anything Cosmo’s a party rocker. And a close friend. Rock on, Cosmo”

DJ Jazzy Jeff “When it comes to keeping the Philly Music tradition going…Cosmo has it locked. His knowledge is incredible and his Crates are deep and his passion and skills makes him one of my faves.”

RJD2 “Cosmo is the club DJ I aspire to be – smooth, seamless, on top of his game, knows exactly what’s appropriate at any given time. He’ll play the song that I’m totally sure could not be resurrected, and bam – gangbusters. He’s definitely that guy.”

Diplo “I would sneak into Fluid when I was still under 21 to see Cosmo play at the legendary Remedy, his parties were part of my foundation in Philly. The dude has a sixth sense at turnin’ a crowd out.”

Check him out at any of the following Canadian events. You won’t be dissapointed.

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 @ Hi Fi – Calgary, AB Canada
Thursday, December 18th, 2008 @ Hi-Fi Club – Winnipeg, MA Canada
Friday, December 19th, 2008 @ Shine – Vancouver, BC Canada

Title: The Beat Freakers
Location: CiRCA, Toronto
Link out: Click here
Date: 2008-12-12

The Beat Freakers are pretty much exactly what the name suggests. Two dudes who have sex with beats in a gyrating, pelvic assassination style. Didn’t make any sense? Well then check out their MySpace. Oh wait, they don’t care about MySpace. In fact, they go on a hilarious tirade about how much they hate MySpace on their profile. News Corp. didn’t catch the following:

“We hate Myspace and refuse to ever update this.

We don’t like to take pictures of ourselves, because we don’t matter. With a little luck and plenty of hard work, anyone can do what we do. They just won’t look as good doing it.

We’re the last of a dying breed of electronic musicians. We don’t care about genres, we don’t bother you to vote for us, we don’t talk about the philosophy behind our synthesizers, and most importantly, we enjoy getting up on stage and acting like complete and utter jackasses. We produce records that have no relation to what we’re currently playing, and we often pay out of our own pocket to give people a product that they won’t cut drugs on. We’re a riddle wrapped in a paradox, shoved down a question mark’s throat.

The funny thing is – this works.”

Do you love them yet? I do. The duo are both really young, 23, and put together insane mixes with the likes of Mix Master Mike, The Drummatic Twins, Soul of Man, Rabbit in the Moon, Donald Glaude (our favorite), Jesse Saunders, Ed Rush and Optical and DJ Craze. Check them out at CiRCA this Friday, December 12th. They’ll be playing a show that is sure to be as hype as the above vid.

Details:
19+ I.D. REQUIRED / $15
126 JOHN STREET, TORONTO, CANADA
+1 (416) 979-0044

Title: Rudely Interrupted
Location: Sneaky Dees, Toronto
Link out: Click here
Date: 2008-12-09

Inspiring is a word that gets tossed around all too often in music journalism. But in the case of Rudely Interrupted, it’s the most fitting adjective possible. Arguably Australia’s most unique group of musicians, five out of six band members share a range of physical and intellectual disabilities – blindness, deafness, Aspergers, Autism and Down Syndrome. But you’d have no way of knowing listening to pop gems like “Don’t Break My Heart,” because, as Time Out suggested, “their music is some of the most energetic and genuine to emerge from the Australian rock ‘n’ roll underground in recent times.” The band will be making a Canadian appearance before heading off to the UK. Check them out at Sneaky Dee’s in Toronto tomorrow, December 9th.

Title: MALA
Location: The Lamplighter Pub, Vancouver
Link out: Click here
Date: 2008-12-14

Mala is one half of Digital Mystikz: South London’s popular drum and bass duo. Pioneers of the thriving dubstep scene, Digial Mystikz are producers & DJs as well as label owners and promoters. These renaissance men unleash a dense concentration of good vibrations that would make Jah Shaka and Aba Shanti equally proud.

Digital Mystikz’ record label DMZ is a flagship for the movement. They have the respect of Aphex Twin’s Rephlex label and their popularity keeps growing. Their monthly DMZ night in deepest Brixton is where spiritual explorers go for the grittiest grime aftermath, where all drops come spiked with bouncing natty dreads and rude MCs.

Mala is dubstep royalty. He’s playing a Sunday night at The Lamplighter Pub in Vancouver because according to the organizers: “it’s the only day in the next half-year we could bring Mala to Vancouver.” It should be a great show so check him out on December 14th in Vancouver.

Title: Ottawa Music Awards
Location: Bronson Center, Ottawa
Link out: Click here
Date: 2008-12-04

Arists, producers, record labels and video directors will all be at the Bronson Center tomorrow, Thursday December 4th, for the Ottawa Music Awards. The awards are giving out more than $25,000 in prize money so the best of luck goes out to the nominees. Also, the awards are offering Canadian Independent urban artists the opportunity to be on the cover of M.O.B. Magazine. Also, you’ll get the chance to get your music heard by major record labels. To participate, send your demo or hottest mixtape with all your contact info. You’ll find all the information you need here.

www.OttawaMusicAwards.com