TRANSCANADARADIO is proud to celebrate Canada’s Current Cultural artists and their locations! Traveling across Canada’s vast surface and finding the best of the under and above-ground artists who are rooted in, Soul, Funk, Reggae, Beats, House, Breaks and all that afro-Jazz… and where to check them out in your favorite Canadian city! Pack your bags! We’re going on a road trip!
Wintermitts are Lise Monique, David Thomas Manzl, Shane McMillan, Swann Barrat and Trevor Dunnett, a force of unique musical talent you cannot help but love. Wintermitts have a bilingual set list and a full length album “Cascadia Fault”. The recording took place in the wet Vancouver Winter of 06/07. They recorded all the music on this lovely little compact disc huddled in the dry warmth of Shane’s living room, the Lise Monique Manor, the Sullivan family basement and producer Christian Chaumont’s bedroom.
From somewhere beneath the swelling strings and synths, the angular guitars and pulsating beats, cleaves the voice of Jamie Fooks of Jane Vain & the Dark Matter. In early 2003, Fooks started writing songs by her self in her basement apartment, to deal with the remaining demons of a reckless adolescence. Somewhat deterred by an open mic night that ended in tears, Fooks was encouraged to continue performing by the support of friends, and the interest of current guitar player Dillon Whitfield (of Raccoon). With the addition of Whitfield’s haphazard guitar playing, the foundation of Jane Vain & the Dark Matter was laid.
The duo played a string of shows, accompanied by only drums beats and bass, programmed by Fooks. These shows attracted attention from fans, promoters and other musicians.
Now, accompanied live by a rhythm section, (Shawn Dicey of Ox on drums, Markus Lake of The Incandescence on bass) Jane Vain & the Dark Matter have released their first full length, Love Is Where The Smoke Is, on Edmonton’s Rectangle Records, and are embarking on another national tour in support of their record. The record features contributions by local musicians Mark Hamilton, Foon Yap, and Annalea Sordi of Woodpigeon, Jesse Locke of SIDS, and Matt Flegel of The Cape May. Inherent in the music is a kinetic energy, as if Jane Vain & the Dark Matter are aiming for anxious chaos, but achieving a careful clarity.
Mark Berube is an artist that has proven to be very popular among our readers time after time so I’ve listed upcoming concert dates so that you can be sure to check him out in your area soon!
A nice easy going vibe from Vancouver made it self heard when Said The Whale dropped in the Mercury Lounge Ottawa Tuesday, June 10th. Delivering a clean and truthful set of songs from there new album “Howe Sounds/Taking Abalonia”, and some even newer unreleased stuff that I loved even more!
With all the thousands of bands taking part of the web community, Youtube.ca invited Said the Whales to there launch party last November.
Said the Whale are presently on a cross Canada tour. They will be playing with an amazing list of artists including; Hey Ocean, Dan Mangan, Matthew Barber,Lotus Child and The Hermit. Check your city to catch one of their shows, you should definitely hit it! S.T.W also have some slick T-shirts, I got my self one.
As a bonus, I’ve included a clip of their show at the Merc and an unbelieveable experience that happened outside just after their show.In this video a local Ottawa ByWard Market vagabond, was so moved by the name of the band “SAID THE WHALE”, that he reached deep into his bag to show the band members that he had a “SAVE THE WHALES” pin! In actuality it was a “SAID THE WHALE” tour pin from Vancouver.
UPCOMING SHOWS:
June 5th, 2008 Vancouver, BC | Biltmore **CD RELEASE SHOW!!** w/ Lotus Child and Maurice
June 13th, 2008 Windsor, ON | Phog Lounge
June 14th, 2008 Toronto, ON | NXNE @ The Rivoli w/ Matthew Barber
June 15th, 2008 Hamilton, ON | Casbah
June 17th, 2008 Sault Ste. Marie, ON | Loplop’s w/ Hey Ocean
June 18th, 2008 Thunder Bay, ON | Jack’s w/ Hey Ocean
June 19th, 2008 Winnipeg, MB | The Lo Pub w/ Hey Ocean
June 20th, 2008 Regina, SK | The Exchange w/ Hey Ocean
June 21st, 2008 Lethbridge, AB | The Slice
June 22nd, 2008 Calgary, AB | VIRGIN FESTIVAL
June 25th, 2008 Canmore, AB | Canmore Hotel w/ Hey Ocean
June 26th, 2008 Golden, BC | Roadhouse Tavern w/ Hey Ocean
June 27th, 2008 Kelowna, BC | Doc Willoughby’s w/ The Hermit
Marie-Josée Houle was born in Val d‘Or, Quebec and raised in Edmonton, Alberta and celebrates her dual cultural roots through music. She sings and writes fluently in both English and French, she brings the Townships to the Prairies and beyond. This lady scores major points with me personally for having been classically trained on the accordion at age five. But, like yours truly, her musical history is as varied as her hair colour. In 2000, she took up the electric bass and saxophone in order to form two very eclectic projects in Edmonton: “Pangina”, an all-girl punk band and “The Elevators”, a post-modern muzak band. Her reconnection with the accordion coincided with a move to Ottawa in 2003 and culminated in the world music collaboration known as “Casadore.” The success of that project – including a performance at the 2005 Ottawa Folk Music Festival – served as a springboard for her solo work. Continue reading ‘Marie-Josée Houle in profile: Yes, accordion can be sexy’
