The Irish Rover

Jeff Leech recently put up four new tracks on his MySpace page, so head on over and check them out. They're more laidback than some of his older songs, but they're sounding great! I'm not sure if they're originals or if they're part of an album he's written, who knows! Jeff's a pretty mysterious guy... He's opening for Wayne Petti on March 29th in Toronto, which is great to see! Another great show I'll be missing. Someone go and ask him to explain himself.

When You Go Out

Sebastien Grainger's going on tour! It's been awhile since he's been the road with a band (as far as I know) so this is something to get excited about! He's starting off with a few shows around Southern Ontario with Germans and Jewish Legend before meeting up with Bloc Party for a set of dates in the States and a few more back up here. I'm assuming he'll have the same setup as he did when I saw him back in January, which was him on guitar with Nick Sewell of the Illuminati playing bass and super-man Leon Taheny taking over on drums. If you're wondering what this all sounds like, you're not alone. Until recently, the songs he had on his MySpace page weren't at all like the songs he'd been playing live. A few weeks back he finally got around to uploading some rough cuts of songs that will probably end up on his solo record, and which you'll most likely hear for yourself if you go to one of these shows. So if you get the chance, try to catch him at one of these smaller venues while you can! I wish I could make it to one of them.

Magnificent Sevens

Magnificent Sevens is a new record label out of Toronto, focused on releasing 7" vinyl singles for any band they feel should have one. They're currently taking submissions from bands that feel they have a song that would make a great single. According to their MySpace page, they'll bring you and your band to Toronto to record, and once complete, it'll be distributed across North America, Europe, and Japan. They've already released a few singles, including for The Easy Targets and The Mark Inside, who both played here this weekend. Perhaps you've already picked up a single or two!

I think this is a really neat idea and I can't wait to see what they come out with next. It might your band.

A Bigger Bomb

Get excited kids, tonight we're seeing The Zoobombs! Can you believe a band from Tokyo, Japan is playing our humble little venue, here in Oshawa. That's what I love about musicians, the good ones will play anywhere. They've been playing around Ontario the past week and the kids over on Stillepost have been raving about their show. I can't wait to see it myself. They really have a diverse sound so I can't see them being boring live, especially since much of their music is really high energy. Tonight should be crazy.

Tuesday Tunes

Arcade Fire
"Black Wave/Bad Vibrations"
Sure, a lot of people have probably been listening to the Arcade Fire's new album Neon Bible for a few months now, but I've avoided the leaks and turned off the radio, since I like to go into albums fresh. I enjoy buying an album the day it comes out and listening to it over and over from start to finish. I'm on my fourth listen through Neon Bible and so far I'd have to say this track is the one that's caught my attention most. The first half is sung by Régine, and she sounds just awesome here. Wicked track!

Moose Crawl

I saw The D'Urbervilles and Forest City Lovers play at the Elvis earlier this week. The concert was a little under-attended (may have been because of the snowstorm... maybe not), but my friends and I showed up and we had a great time I'd say. I believe I've seen just about every lineup Forest City Lovers have had over the past year or so, but I think this one was the best yet! The new songs were sounding really good, I hope they keep this going and get to record soon. The same goes for The D'Urbervilles, who have actually already started to record what will hopefully be a full length album.