Posted on April 9, 2012
By Kevin Maimann
Music, The Latest
One of Edmonton’s premier folk-rock acts will help launch a new all-ages downtown venue on Friday. Scenic Route to Alaska, fresh off a long drive home from Toronto in a ’91 Toyota Corolla, will headline the first show at the Elevation Room in Transcend Coffee’s downtown location (Jasper Avenue and 104 Street). “We’re unbelievably excited. […]
Posted on March 19, 2012
By Kevin Maimann
Music
Jake Ian and the Haymakers have proof that life really does imitate art. The local country band was shooting a video for its latest single Lowlife From High River, a catchy tune about a guy who gets ripped off by a used car salesman, when the guys hit an ironic snag. “We were filming a […]
Posted on February 25, 2012
By Kevin Maimann
Front Slider, Music
Sure, hitting it big would be nice. That’s what all musicians dream of, after all, whether their definition of “big” is stadium tours with U2 or a loyal cult following of Pitchfork readers. Local grunge trio Diehatzu Hijets is more concerned with taking care of business in its hometown. The band’s singer-guitarist Layne L’Heureux says […]
Posted on February 23, 2012
By Kevin Maimann
Front Slider, Music
Amanda Kiernan has landed her dream gig as the new lead singer of one of her favourite bands, Into Eternity, a globally renowned progressive metal act she’s looked up to since her teens. They’ll be on stage at the Pawn Shop Monday night. Into Eternity picked Kiernan as its new touring vocalist after watching an […]
Posted on February 1, 2012
By Kevin Maimann
Music
“I just try to relax and let it flow out naturally, but it doesn’t happen very often,” Mitchmatic says in the intro to the song Sorry, from his new new album It’s Probably Raining. The local rapper, real name Mitch Holtby, is too modest; his flow is smooth and natural as can be throughout the […]
Posted on January 18, 2012
By Kevin Maimann
Music, The Latest
House shows aren’t typically thought of as glamorous affairs. But when Winnipeg trio The Crooked Brothers signed up for a Home Routes tour, which pairs touring independent folk acts with volunteering homeowners on a cross-country tour circuit, the band got more than it bargained for. On their first stop, the guys found themselves playing at […]
Posted on January 11, 2012
By Kevin Maimann
Front Slider, Music
“Yeah, I’m cute,” Nova Rockafeller says, swivelling on a computer chair. The fast-talking local emcee is not one to mince words. “Last year I didn’t know I was cute. I was like a dirtbag, f—up degenerate kid. This year I’m adorable.” Hey, a rapper never got far with modesty. On tour with underground hip-hop legends […]
Posted on January 4, 2012
By Kevin Maimann
Front Slider, Music
Edmonton music fans have heard the sad story too many times: a hard-working local band builds a strong buzz, wins our hearts, garners national acclaim … and then skips town. Rapper and ex-poet laureate Cadence Weapon left for fresh waters in Montreal, Christian Hansen and the Autistics took off to Toronto, songstress Wendy McNeill is […]
Posted on December 28, 2011
By Kevin Maimann
Front Slider, Music
When faced with going big or going home, Striker will always choose the former. The Edmonton metal band has earned most of its success thousands of miles away. The group just returned from Nashville where it recorded its second album with renowned metal producer Michael Wagener, who was at the helm for such classic albums […]
Posted on December 21, 2011
By Kevin Maimann
Front Slider, Music
Edmonton musician Colleen Brown is not one to let her thoughts fester. Her penchant for expressing sincere emotions pays off in a big way on her acclaimed third album “Dirt,” and it doesn’t stop at songwriting. The soulful folk-pop singer’s growing national profile has been helped along by CBC Radio 2, which would likely not […]
Posted on November 29, 2011
By Kevin Maimann
Front Slider, Music
Don’t let them scare you. Polkadot Cadaver’s eccentric mash-up of rock, metal, dance, polka and everything in between is accompanied by some downright twisted lyrics that sometimes make strangers apprehensive about approaching the band. Take the chorus of lovably eerie ballad Chloroform Girl, for instance, on which singer Todd Smith croons, “It’s been three years […]
Posted on November 16, 2011
By Kevin Maimann
Front Slider, Music
The Tea Party reunited just in time to get into an unwelcome mix-up with the American political movement of the same name – which prompted a stir about the band and its Internet domain, teaparty.com. Estimates floating around on the value of the name have hovered around a million bucks. While drummer Jeff Burrows admits […]
