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, and where to check them out in your favorite Canadian city! Pack your bags! We’re going on a road trip!
THE FRAMEWORK formed in late 2006. At barely 3 months old, the band garnered national attention as a result of winning runner-up in the Toronto Mix 99.9’s 2007 RadioStar Songwriting Contest, for the song, “She Thinks I’m Famous”. The combination of buzz from the contest and the band’s catchy synth-rock epics instantly set The Framework up with an extensive online international fan base and sparked the interest of media outlets such as Metro and InsideE Magazine who describes the band’s new record ‘Before Tonight’ as “A confidently cool synth-rock assault that strikes a nonchalant medium between happy pop and stadium rock”. International attention has ensued with the band scoring invites to perform at the coveted Midpoint Music Festival in Cincinnati, packed shows in New York City at the Canal Room and the North by North East music Festival in Toronto (being named one of 5 top acts at NXNE 2007).
The Framework – Upcoming Dates ::
June 13th School of Rock – Molson Amphitheatre – Toronto, ON
June 19th The Rivoli – Toronto, ON
June 25th London Music Club – London, ON
June 26th Seventy Three – St. Catherines, ON
Title: Stars Location: Toronto Link out: Click here Date: 2008-12-08
In my other life, I cover the mobile technology scene, and happened to be in Toronto for Telus’ launch of the BlackBerry Storm. You wouldn’t expect to find one of Canada’s most preeminent bands at such an event, but Stars were there to rock the house and seriously up the cool factor. I was able to snag a few videos before my camera died. You can see the rest after the jump, and I’ve posted Stars upcoming shows below.
Thursday December 11th, 2008 Toronto, ON – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Friday December 12th, 2008 Toronto, ON – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Saturday December 13th, 2008 Toronto, ON – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Taking its name from a religious tract, The Burning Hell has been slithering around in the muck in one form or another since the dawn of the millennium. Fronted by the moderately agoraphobic songwriter and occasional history teacher Mathias Kom on electric ukulele, The Burning Hell currently features between one and twelve people, depending on the night.
The variable lineup promises a very different show every time: sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, sometimes rock, sometimes roll. Always folk, never anti. Quirky? Maybe. Cute? Never.
The latest Burning Hell album, ‘Happy Birthday’, celebrates the beauty of age, the joys of decay, the possibility of dating after death, and the inevitable repetition of mistakes. Combining happy little melodies and depressing Old World fatalism, the music of The Burning Hell is sure to make you smile and want to give up.
The Carps are from Scarborough, a pretend hood in Toronto. They are a duo that plays music for human ears. With the EP the “Young & Passionate Days of Carpedia,” and the most Recent offering “Waves & Shambles” the two ragamuffin punks deliver on the promise to set themselves far apart from elephants, swirly red and white candy, beards, brothers and sisters, and Phil Collins. The Carps stand alone. They sound like nothing you could imagine, and everything you’d like to.
(Want to hear? Pick up The Young and Passionate Days Of Carpedia from CDBaby right now)
With Neil White captaining the Argo like ship, instructing the infused bass and synths with a focus akin to that of a Scientist, Jahmal Tonge plays the drums with the passion of a black baptist preacher, and sings & screams with the soul of the sweating young singer in the neighboring Juke Joint.
It could just as easily be 1967. But no matter the year, Edmonton, Alberta’s the Whitsundays certainly have a knack for writing yellowed, reverb-wrapped pop music, borrowing from the grand tradition of English psychedelia, garage, and vintage organ rock. With reverent nods to the flower-picking whimsy of the Zombies, the red-faced bluster of the Animals, and the delightful inanity of Syd Barrett, the Whitsundays’ self-titled debut is a vintage gem, and a charming hodgepodge of ’60s musical ephemera. More about the Whitsundays here
Just because we ran around Toronto for a week covering Canadian musicians doesn’t mean that we can’t find great acts in our hometown of Ottawa! I was at the legendary Zaphod Beeblebrox to catch two fairly new O-town bands: The Balconies and Politique.
Little Foot Long Foot, born out of necessity. This two member Toronto-based band was conceived from a tribute act. Isaac Klein (drums) bought his second tom to bash like Bonham, and Joan Smith (guitar and vocals) did her best to carry off Plant’s feminine machismo without stuffing her pants. After discovering that the smartest business decision for a tribute band is to add as many midgets as possible, Joan accepted her inability to shred wicked solos, strapped on a fat loud guitar and dug out her originals. Isaac put away the second tom so that Joan’s amp would fit in his car, and they journeyed towards a new horizon where White Stripes comparisons were lush and unavoidable.
