"I Could Play The Wild Mutation As A Rock 'N Roll Star"

When Bowie sang that line on his 1972 album The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, he was echoing the fantasy of many a teenage boy or girl. The children wanted to grow up to be garbagemen or astronauts or superheros, but at a certain age that changed and most teens would have given anything to make that wild mutation as a rock 'n roll star. However, only a precious few ever get to live out that dream. While Bono, and Sting and Chris Martin are doing so on a large scale worldwide level, every scenester knows that in every hometown, there are many rock stars to be found. Or at least people who pretend to be such.

Living in Toronto, there is an overabundance of local rock 'n roll heroes, and I've taken the time to compile a top 10 list of the ones that most convincingly play the part. What makes these individuals who are relatively unknown outside of the Toronto, Montreal area such an example of R&R swagger? I don't know, all I can say is that if you've ever seen them live, it is downright impossible to take your eyes off of them. For the most part:

1. Robbie Butcher

Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
Bands: Tin Bangs, Nights (formerly Seedy Ease)
What Makes Him A Rock Star:
His ability to transform the drums into his own personal stage. He wears bright pink pants and makes it look cool. He'll mug for every single camera that's pointed his way. He sits in the background but still becomes the star of every show. What places him at number one on this list is his basic refusal to be Ringo.

2. Jamie Greer

Hometown: Montreal (via Windsor)
Band: The Golden Hands Before God...
What Makes Him A Rock Star:
Jamie struts around the stage with the confidence of a local Jagger, while his tambourine acts as an extension of his (usually shirtless) body. The one time that I've seen him so far (there will be more though, trust me) he actually broke the tambourine in half! Now that's rock 'n roll!

3. Carleigh Aikins

Hometown: Barrie, Ontario
Band: Fox Jaws
What Makes Her A Rock Star:
She's cute as a button but her whiskey stained vocal chords demand attention. She's the rock 'n roll version of Cadet Laverne Hooks from the Police Academy movies. She seems all sweet and innocent but don't you dare tick her off because that vocal rasp is sure to put you in your place.

4. Dorian Wolf

Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
Band: Spiral Beach
What Makes Him A Rock Star:
I think that most people would choose Airick or Maddie, but I think that bass playing Dorian is the real rock star in this band. He oozes a playful confidence that causes him to come off as a rockabilly rebel transported from the 50's to challenge you to a street race that you stand no chance of winning. (Has my commentary reached an appropriate level of US magazine styled cheese yet? Bear with me, I'll get there.)

5. Patrick Krief

Hometown: Montreal, Ontario
Bands: Black Diamond Bay and formerly The Dears
What Makes Him A Rock Star:
He's the Hendrix of local(ish) indie rock. The man plays guitar like a magician and when he struts through the audience wailing away on that Strat, you're completely at his mercy.

6. Wayne Petti

Hometown: Oshawa, Ontario
Bands: Cuff The Duke as well as solo material
What Makes Him A Rock Star:
The man presents a genuineness that is impossible to fake. He's the boy next door and probably the reason that many young girls have been spotted wearing those "Talk Nerdy To Me" t-shirts.

7. Rajiv Thavanathan

Hometown: Toronto via Newfoundland
Bands: Oh No Forest Fires, Five Blank Pages
What Makes Him A Rock Star:
The fact that he's nothing but a big ol' hairy blur whenever he's on stage. He's the Sonic the Hedgehog of live music. He can't sit still. Just try to take a picture of him, go on try it! His boundless energy is contagious and although he's in serious danger of owing a new mic stand to every venue in the city, he shows no signs of slowing down.

8. Johnny Maldoror

Hometown: Montreal, Ontario
Band: Les Breastfeeders
What Makes Him A Rock Star:
The fact that he's as entertaining as he is disconcerting. You're never sure if what he is doing is schtick or real. You don't know if the furry boa is a prop or part of his actual wardrobe. He's the tambourine player with mystique and that, my friends, is very rock 'n roll.

9. Sarah Smith

Hometown: London, Ontario
Band: The Joys
What Makes Her A Rock Star:
Sarah makes every single person in the audience feel as if they're also a member of the band. In a room full of a hundred people, she has the ability to make you feel as if she's singing to you personally. Regardless of what may be going on in her personal life, she exudes a joyfulness that translates to the entire room, and all the while rocking it old school.

10. Lonely Vagabond

Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
Band: In a way, all of them
What Makes Him A Rock Star:
Only a precious few know who this person is but he shows up at every indie show in the city. He leaves very articulate and positive comments on the bands myspace page, yet most of these bands don't even know who he is. If you try to look for a picture of him, all you'll find are pics of James Dean, Elvis and Morrissey. There are times where it seems as if he's been attending two shows at once. Heck, even I have been approached by people wondering if him and I are one and the same. He's Toronto's version of ? and the Mysterians, yet his support for the local music scene is highly admirable.

And therein lies my personal list of the greatest rock stars you've never heard of unless you live in the general vicinity of my area. And these ten are just the tip of the iceberg. There's also Jonathan Chandler, Rob Szabo, Steve Strongman, Cameron Jingles, Basia Lyjak, Jason Wells, Rick White, Chris Murphy, Kevin Drew, Rooster Alcock, Dan Werb, Laura Barrett, Danielle Duval, Ruhee Dewji and on and on and on. As far as I'm concerned, the world can have its Bonos and its Stings . If rock 'n roll is this active here in Toronto, Montreal and the surrounding area, than I'd imagine that it's equally as active in whatever hometown you hail from. Do yourself a favour, if you're not already doing so, hunt down some of the rock stars in your own area and prepare to be amazed.

NXNE 2008: Day 3 featuring Kreesha Turner, Spookey Ruben, Spiral Beach, Hey Rosetta!, God Made Me Funky & Tin Bangs

Reading some of the other reviews, I can see that while my schedule was quite busy, I didn't catch nearly as many bands as some of the other bloggers out there did. My Saturday still seemed incredibly busy though, since I did actually attend a wedding earlier in the day. (There was no reception if you were wondering.) Therefore my evening was still filled with musical wonderfulness. For the most part.

We headed on down to Yonge and Dundas square to catch the fun filled pop stylings of Spookey Ruben, who was scheduled to go on at 7pm. But it seems that the storm on the previous night did quite a number on the sound system, causing delays, problems and headaches. This put ol' Spook's set an hour behind, which meant that we were actually there in time to see a girl named Kreesha Turner. Right from the moment her band and back up singers hit the stage, I could tell that this likely wasn't going to be my thing. She's your basic R&B pop singer whose songs have been featured on shows like MTV's The Hills and apparently her song Bounce With Me is a hit. She seems like a sweet enough girl, she's got quite the voice (which is especially noticeable in her more soulful numbers) and she's cute and stuff but whateverz. Like I said, not my thing.

Photos: Kreesha Turner @ Yonge and Dundas Square on flickr
Myspace: Kreesha Turner

I caught Spookey Ruben at last year's NXNE festival, and the show was so good that it actually changed my views on his simple, and often saccharine song stylings. Since then, I've become even better acquainted with his stuff and I have to say that I've really grown to enjoy it.

Even after the hour long delay, the show still took a while to get going. It had me wondering if it was just the storm that caused the problem, or if maybe the sound guy(s) had a little 'chicken with its head cut off' syndrome. Either way, it was well past 8 by the time Spookey hit the stage, but when he did, he seemed as happy as ever. In fact, there's a good chance that Spookey Ruben just may be the happiest guy ever. The band came out wearing various animal masks, or at least something that looked like animal masks. They did not keep them on long enough for me to take a picture.

Since last year, Spookey has put together his own band, (as opposed to the quickly thrown together but still quite proficient band that he had last year.) They all worked together well, providing a more than adequate accompaniment to his quirky pop songs. The show was all kinds of tom foolery, particularly during the song Eye Of The Storm, when two guys in Chinese dragon costumes held up a big flag with a hole in it, which Spookey used to stick his head through whenever he sang the chorus. Because the set started so late, he was told that he had to end his set after only a few short songs, which was very annoying. Thankfully they went ahead and performed Shawna anyways, complete with the whole speaking in the phone routine that I enjoyed so much last year. As soon as he was done, it was hilarious to watch the stage guys rush the stage to get everything cleared up and ready as quick as possible. God forbid that they should cut 5 minutes into Bran Van 3000's set!

Photos: Spookey Ruben @ Yonge and Dundas Square on flickr
Myspace: Spookey Ruben

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we went to The Horseshoe where CBC Radio 3 was hosting a live to air thing featuring many of the biggest up and comers, including the two that we caught: Spiral Beach and Hey Rosetta!

The place was absolutely packed, and the lineup extended on down to Spadina but thanks to our trusty media badges, we got to stand in the shorter line. This is when we ran into Dan Wolovick (of TWM fame) strolling by with his small entourage of sorts. (It was actually just his fiancee and a couple of friends but it looked like an entourage.) He wasn't interested in waiting in line, and he made me laugh when he told his peeps to consult their schedules, which they all pulled out and studied at the same time. It looked hilarious. Guess you had to be there. Anyways they took off to catch another less lineup-y kind of show. Speaking of hilarious, we also caught sight of David Foley from Kids In The Hall leaving The 'Shoe, which allowed room for me and my wife to stroll on in.

Spiral Beach was certainly the most hyperactive act that I saw this year. I was taken aback by how young they all looked. But the music was not juvenile by any means. It had a bit of a 60's surf vibe combined with B-52's quirkiness and a Go! Team-like dance groove. They did not slow down for a second, and each song had the crowd working themselves into a mad mad frenzy. I thought their stage presence was all kinds of cool, and they looked like they were having a lot of fun up there. They are the type of band where everybody is going to have a favorite member, and mine would have to be bass player Dorian Wolf. They all play a vital role to the sound, but Dorian just oozes rock star cool without even trying. As can be seen by the enthusiastic crowd, I'm pretty sure that the band is on the verge of the big time, and it may not be too long before The Horseshoe is simply not going to be big enough to contain them. Heck, it hardly is already.

Photos: Spiral Beach @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: Spiral Beach

In preparation for this years NXNE, I got a whole bunch of CD's by many of the artists performing, and although I haven't gotten around to listening to all of them, so far Hey Rosetta!'s Into Your Lungs is easily my fave. They are a six piece from Newfoundland, and their music is an energetic display of heartfelt compositions accompanied by varied instrumentation giving their work a very full and anthemic sound. This is no doubt thanks in part to the production of Hawksley Workman, and man known for having a taste for theatrical production. Tim Baker is easily the ringleader of this indie rock circus, and his dedication to this project is apparent in his emotive vocals. There was both a violinist and a cellist on stage, creating an orchestral vibe that would not seem to work in a small venue like The Shoe, but it did. They sounded great and their style is definitely something that has potential to grow on me even more. The band is apparently already huge in Newfoundland, and the east coast contingent was definitely there in full effect, making their presence known.

Photos: Hey Rosetta! @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: Hey Rosetta!

This is where the night got a little bit strange. We had contemplated sticking around at The Horseshoe and seeing Matt Mays and El Torpedo, but it was really hot and full, and we just didn't feel like being somewhere that crowded. So we left. We then thought maybe we would go to Lee's and catch Miss Derringer and Redd Kross. But I figured that would also be crowded, and I'm not actually that big of a Redd Kross fan anyways. So we just took a walk down Queen Street and figured we'd just surprise ourselves.

We caught one song from a band that was doing nothing for us at Kathedral, so we headed next door to The Reverb to see God Made Me Funky. We based this decision solely on the fact that the name made us smile. Now I don't know what we were expecting, but when we walked in, it was apparent that this was some sort of a hip hop band. Now I should mention that I am not funky. At all. I am about as far from funky as a human being could be. But there seemed to be a whole lot of action going on up on that stage, so I told my wife that I was just going to run to the stage and get a few pictures. She said that she'd just wait at the back.

When I got to the front of the stage, something strange happened. I found myself getting consumed by the funk. My booty started shakin' and my hands were in the air! Like they just didn't care! When MC Phatt AL was telling all the funky people in the house to say "HO! OH!" I started saying it! I may even have thrown in a third OH! because I was just feeling that funky! This Juno nominated R&B funk act is nothing short of awesome to see live and I can totally understand why people consistently leave their live show in a good mood. When I went back to see my wife again, she too was engulfed in tha funk, and we danced together enthusiastically for the rest of the concert. Besides their own music, the very talented band also threw in some old school funky covers of songs like Biz Markie's Just A Friend and Rick James' Super Freak.

I tried to listen to their CD the next morning, and quite honestly, my funkiness was clearly just a temporary thing. But I was glad that I caught God Made Me Funky's live show, because everybody should experience that, at least once.

Photos: God Made Me Funky @ The Reverb on flickr
Myspace: God Made Me Funky

After that, we headed back next door to The Kathedral and caught my old reliables: Tin Bangs. In a weird way, their set was the perfect follow up to the funky dung we enjoyed just a few minutes prior because, although the styles are completely different, both bands are very energetic, entertaining and enthusiastic bands that you can dance to.

I was surprised by how relatively empty the venue was, especially since Tin Bangs is one of the best live acts the city has to offer. Ultimately though, I guess it didn't matter, because the people that were there (including the increasingly more infamous historyjen) were dancing the night away and having a ton of fun. Once again, Robbie Butcher demonstrated the various reasons why he is the best rock star in the city, pounding the skins with rabid exuberance! They ended their set with The Skinny which, for some reason, hit me as the best song possible to end the official portion of this years NXNE festival for me. This isn't really due to song message or anything like that, it's just simply the fact that this song rocks with unmitigated Torontonian enthusiasm, and every time I hear it, I think about what a great indie music scene we have here in our fair city.

Photos: Tin Bangs @ The Kathedral on flickr
Myspace: Tin Bangs

Two Way Monologues One Year Anniversary

The Two Way Monologues Showcases at Rancho Relaxo have been my greatest source for learning all about what's new and exciting in local indie rock. It's through these shows that I've been introduced to some of my favorite acts such as Fox Jaws, Entire Cities, Deadbeat Dads and Schomberg Fair. I've also seen many of my other faves grow and flourish by means of these shows; acts like Tin Bangs, Amos The Transparent and Oh No Forest Fires. Sadly, this year circumstances have prevented me from attending as many of these shows as I did last year, but from what I've heard, they're as entertaining and as strong as ever. Dan Wolovick has his ear firmly pressed to the indie ground and he will no doubt continue to expose more great artists to a wider audience by means of the TWM Showcase.

To celebrate one year of providing such fine entertainment, the TWM Mixtape Volume 1 CD has been released and it is chock full of some of the greatest bands to have performed on the Rancho Relaxo stage over the past year. I've been listening to it pretty much non-stop over the past week, and there isn't a dud track to be found on it. Starting tonight, TWM is showcasing the first of three evenings to commemorate this remarkable achievement. The lineups are all gold, and although I'd love to attend them all, it looks like I'm only going to be able to make it to day 2, tomorrow night's show. Thankfully, that's the day that looks like it was tailor made for yours truly since three of the four acts have received rave reviews on this blog. Anyways, here are the lineups:

Thursday May 8th - Key Witness, Five Blank Pages, Numbers & Figures and The Eatons.
Friday May 9th - Beth In Battle Mode, Fox Jaws, Amos The Transparent and Coast Guard.
Saturday May 10th - Tin Bangs, Schomberg Fair, Mark Berube and Cheap Speakers.

All these shows are $10 with a CD, or $7 without. But seriously, get the CD.

I'm a little too lazy to post mp3's today, but go to the various band myspace pages and you'll find a whole slew of downloadable toonage or better yet, GO TO THE SHOWS AND GET THE CD! IT'S AWESOME!!!!

Tin Bangs, The iSpies and Songs From A Room @ Lee's Palace

On Saturday night, Toronto's Tin Bangs taught the city of Toronto how to rock, as they attacked the stage of Lee's Palace with a rock 'n roll assault that was likely unequaled in the city on this particular night. I saw them once before earlier this year, and was thoroughly impressed with their immense rock star swagger and appeal. I've meant to see them again several times but never quite made it. So for my last live show of the year, I made sure that I didn't miss this one. The boys did not disappoint. I've also noticed that they seem to draw the wildest and craziest fans, as the dancing was insane, which is unusual for the usually reserved Toronto crowd. But there were people in costumes dancing their hearts out, with some even joining the band onstage for the grand finale. One of the crazy's was none other than Flyerman, who I remember seeing at concerts years ago. That is one weird dude, to say the least. But he was having a good time, as was everybody else and if you get the chance to see Tin Bangs, make sure you do. For extra initiative (not that it should be needed,) they also have a habit of handing out their CD's for free at these shows. They've just released their latest 9 track offering entitled Seeya In The Springtime. Hopefully we'll see them before that.

Photos: Tin Bangs @ Lee's Palace on flickr
Download: Young Lions mp3 / Shake! mp3 / White Lies mp3
Myspace: Tin Bangs

I was entirely unfamiliar with The iSpies before checking out this show. That's unusual because I'll at least put forth the effort to sample a band's music on myspace before attending one of their shows. But this time, no time, and therefore the show was going to be a one hundred percent surprise. At least it was a pleasant one. Although their hooks are smothered in new wave stylings, what I found refreshing was that this band did not seem gimmicky in any way. Usually you can count on the new wavy type bands to be sporting eye makeup or outlandish clothes or some other type of schtick so as to thrust their blatant 80's-ness in our faces. That sort of bugs me because, first of all, I was there in the 80's, and the style is NOT something that we want to revisit, trust me. Secondly, 80's music just simply wasn't all that good. Sure, sometimes I wallow in the nostalgia of it all, but overall a lot of it is downright embarrassing and unless you're some sort of a novelty act, it's probably best to just run runaway. The iSpies however, do not come across as an 80's novelty throwback. They simply play really good pop songs that sound slightly reminiscent of all that was good about the era. I'm talking about bands like The Police, The Pretenders and, most of all, Elvis Costello. They don't seem like they're out to prove anything other than the fact that they like and respect good music. They even look like normal people, while playing music for normal people. Very impressive and highly recommended.

Photos: The iSpies @ Lee's Palace on flickr
Myspace: The iSpies

Opening the evening was Songs From A Room. I really don't know what else to say about them that I haven't already mentioned. I've seen them three times in the last few weeks and you can read my other reviews here and here. I will mention that they're looking forward to having a CD released sometime within the next year so keep your eyes and ears peeled for a release date.

Photos: Songs From a Room @ Lee's Palace on flickr
Myspace: Songs From A Room

And that ends my concert goings for 2007 which, I must say, makes for a very exhausting year. To be honest, I do have one more gig this Sunday December 23rd at Free Times Cafe. I am actually hosting this one featuring Haley Zalesky, Nicky Wales, and Alicia Isenor with other guests. It's going to be a real laid back night of sweet acoustic music by some very talented people. I'm actually a little nervous about my foray into entertainment, but I know this is mostly going to be friends and family in attendance due to the fact that most people are pretty busy that night. So I'm feeling alright. But heck, if you're around and you feel like some great music, good beer and me ripping off the material of better comedians, than feel free to drop by. Like Radiohead's latest, its a pay what you can deal.

Tin Bangs, Danielle Duval & Reily @ The Mod Club

A dude on a budget should not be attending as many shows as I have this past month, but hey, if the price is right…

A mere toonie was the cover charge for Friday night’s show and to see four stellar bands, well that’s quite a deal. The night kicked off with Reily. I may have mentioned them to you before. OK, fact is I’ve reviewed them to the point of mild obsession this month so I won’t bore you with the details yet again, but I’ll just say that although the crowds didn’t really show up until later that night, Reily’s professionalism is becoming more and more apparent with every show. Feel free to read my other reviews here, here, or here.

Reily’s myspace page.
I took pics again. They’re on flickr.
A fan made sort of a video type thing for the song “Talk Sweet; Walk Tall [Breathe Deep]” on youtube. It’s pretty good.

Danielle Duval is a singer-songwriter from Montreal whom I heard was Sam Roberts’ cousin. I have yet to confirm that though. Regardless, she put on an excellent performance that had sort of a barroom feel to it. Her voice has a whisky-stained sort of huskiness that sounds like she’s already lived a fairly intense life for a young girl. Her original material sounds like it had been written and performed for decades. She sounds like the type of artist who’s been playing her songs for years at divey bars where you perform behind a mesh of chicken wire and old time drunk cowboy’s chuck beer bottles at you. (Most. Obscure. Reference. Ever.) Anyways, what I mean is there’s a real timelessness to her sound that gives her music an edge that I like. She also did a few covers, most noteworthy being the classic Bill Munroe hit “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” This song has already been covered by the best (Patsy Cline, Elvis, Ray Charles, etc.) but she still managed to make it her own. On the other hand, her cover of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John’s “You’re The One That I Want” just may be one of the more original covers I’ve ever heard. How she ever came up with the idea of countrifying that song is beyond me, but it was definitely one of those rare strokes of genius.

You can hear that cover, and some of her other songs on her myspace page.
You can see my pics of the Danielle Duval band over on flickr.

Next up was local rock and roll sensation Tin Bangs. These guys had the honor of opening up for The Killers just a few months ago and I’ve heard more than a couple of people claim that they blew those guys off the stage. After Friday night’s show, I believe it. These guys are everything a rock ‘n roll band is supposed to be. Their music screams with the simple intensity of a bomb going off, reminiscent of bands like The Clash, Hüsker Dü or even current bands like Editors. They display an outrageous overabundance of rock ‘n roll swagger, that was most noticeable in percussionist Robbie Butcher’s drum solo. (That’s right, there was a drum solo baby!) He reminds me of my other favorite drummer, that of course being Animal from The Muppets. Except I think that Robbie has more hair. Although the songs are hooky, riffy, and catchy, and I loved them in a live setting, I did have my doubts that the tracks may not translate as well offstage. However, I’ve been listening to them a little bit since the show, and they are definitely solid. I’ll certainly be checking out their show again in the near future.

Download:
Shake mp3
The Skinny mp3

Visit them on their myspace page.
Purchase their EP “Heavy Handed Darling” at Indiepool.com
Check out my pics of Tin Bangs over on flickr.

The last band of the night was post-punk revivalists The Amber Room and although I was pumped to see them as well, sadly I had to bolt before their performance. But I’ll check them out sometime soon. They sound pretty good.