Out on a limb with radiohead: Local fans tweet their say
And on the fourth day there was The King of Limbs. Earlier that week, on Feb. 14, Radiohead announced on its website that the group’s new album was finished and would be released on Feb. 19. But last Friday morning, fans awoke to discover the album released a day earlier. The Internet, in particular Twitter, […]
Black Mastiff mauls over log cabin recording session
Edmonton’s Black Mastiff – at Brixx tonight (Saturday, Feb 26) – have just finished tracking their upcoming album in the wilds of Alberta. “It was in (bassist) Clay Shea’s family cabin in Nordegg,” explains singer and guitarist Bobby Yiannakoulias (above, right) while picking up gear from the band’s rehearsal spot in anticipation of a road trip […]
TRUE TALES OF THE ROAD: Grandpa Banana and the Great Chicago Snow
Who the hell is Grandpa Banana, you ask? Only one of the Youngbloods, that’s who. This man – real name: Lowell Levinger – is at least partly responsible for a gem of one-hit wonderment, Get Together. This is the kind of rare song that doesn’t just set the songwriters and their descendents up for life. […]
Roots and Blues Roundup II in full swing this weekend
If you want to know where we’re going, we have to know where we’ve been. So take heed, all your alt-country punks and neo-folkies – some originators are coming to show us how it’s done at the Winter Roots and Blues Roundup II. Running at venues around town until Monday, this five-day multi-media festival features […]
GIGGLE CITY: Kerry Unger
Say hello to Kerry Unger, who just finished a run at the The Laugh Shop in Sherwood Park (Thursday, Feb 24, through Saturday, Feb 26, 2011) The 40-year-old Edmonton comic is this week’s subject of Giggle City, a series of unrelated questions designed to dig a little deeper into today’s sharpest comic minds. (Warning: The following […]
SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION: GigCity launch jam a roaring success
(Photos by Fish Griwkowsky) When you don’t plan what you’re going to do at a jam with people you’ve never played with before, there is no way to avoid the blues. It is the common ground, the musical glue that brings us all together. Lovely image. Our GigCity Launch Party and Jam Tuesday night (Feb 22) at […]
MUSIC: For Sister Gray, girl power’s just downright shrewd
It’s a good thing the three male members of Sister Gray aren’t starved for attention. Because when your band is fronted by two fetching fashionistas in their early 20s, you’re not going to get much of it. When the indie-rock quintet takes the stage, all eyes are on lead sisters Jenesse and Brittany Graling. “They’re […]
Oh, Brothers – The Black Keys play Rexall June 29
Now that the Black Keys are officially awesome, who do they have to thank for being the first to recognize it? That’s right: It’s Canada, baby. We are the first country in the world to have given the Ohio band a platinum record, for its critically-acclaimed Brothers – which won best rock performance at the […]
MUSIC: Portrait of the artist as a young mogul
“It’s going to be a crazy year,” promises Joe Gurba of his plans for 2011 for his not-quite-fledgling label Old Ugly Recording Co. That isn’t to say that it hasn’t already been exciting; his profile around Edmonton has been elevated through the last two months as he’s celebrated and promoted the release of his alter […]
THEATRE: A Smurftacular look at tragedy, loss, and the unanswerable questions
Tragedy strikes everybody from time to time and we all have our own ways of coping. In Trent Wilkie’s Gargamel, he takes a humorous slant on misfortune. Wilkie, a founding member of Edmonton’s Mostly Water comedy troupe, found inspiration in the calamity the was inflicted upon his inner circle. “My brother was in a nasty […]
REVIEW: A lot of love in the room for Melissa Etheridge
I have a confession to make: I used to have a crush on Melissa Etheridge. It was a little disappointing when she turned out to be gay, but then I’d just fantasize I was a lesbian and the infatuation continued. She is beautiful inside and out. Basking in her warm, open-hearted presence and grooving on her formidable […]
Morning man on a mission: Terry Evans takes on censorship
Terry Evans has worn many hats in his long radio career in Edmonton. Wasn’t he a clean-head for a while there? Maybe it was a shave-your-head-for-cancer-awareness thing. He even tried stand-up comedy (he wasn’t very good, sadly) but says he hasn’t had an act since 1993. He’s far too busy. In addition to wearing his […]
