I Heart the Music: Your Online Source for Live Music Reviews and Interviews in Toronto!

Saturday, March 13th was met with many challenges for anyone looking to jump from venue to venue during CMF. With tons of rain and fierce winds, we were grateful to take refuge at the Rivoli for The Nova Scotia Showcase.

We unknowingly walked into the private party just as Paul Murphy (Wintersleep guitarist & vocalist) graced the stage. The performance featured Paul’s most recent musical endeavor, Postdata. Collaborating with his brother Mike Murphy, Postdata is a culmination of songs inspired by the recent passing of the pair’s grandparents. That said, Murphy gave a somber and subdued performance conveying his message through his powerful voice.

Taking the stage next were The Stanfields. With a blitzkrieg of blue grass, Celtic, heavy metal and rock and roll melodies, the band delivered a performance powered on high octane energy. Playing a combination of old and new tracks (“The Boston States”), they created total anarchy. For audience members new to the band, they were in for a rude awakening if they were standing in what quickly became a crazy mosh pit of Celtic dancing. In attempt to dodge the insanity, I moseyed on over to the other side of the stage where I was greeted by the energetic front man as he jumped into the crowd for his guitar solo. Just when I thought I was safe, a Celtic dancer went down and launched his entire pint onto me. That being said,  it was well worth it! Their debut album comes out in two months on Ground Swell Records.

Transitioning from rock to hip hop, Three Sheet took ownership of the stage. Although difficult to define, this powerful five member band is reminiscent of Black Eyed Peas and Swollen Members. This group knows who they are and with a little work, they should have a label in no time. When you check out Three Sheet, keep in mind that they don’t use samples or synthesized drums. They are a rare combination of strictly beatboxed percussion courtesy of EMC, female vocals courtesy of Vanessa Furlong, O’Quinn’s electric and classical guitar, bass by Kev, and relevant story telling lyrics by band MC Expedyte. Like so many acts seen and heard during CMF, the true brilliance of Three Sheet can really only be realized when you see them live. “At the End of the Day” was a standout track which they delivered with insurmountable passion and intensity.

Stumbling across this showcase turned out to be a serendipitous occasion as i heart the music was introduced to the genius that is Rich Aucoin. Along with Joel Waddell (drums), Erik VanLunen (bass), and Darryl Smith (“other stuff”), Rich had our attention from the get go. There are many moving parts to their set up and watching it brought back memories of panic during school presentations. To their credit, they were faced with a greater challenge; projecting images onto a screen throughout the set. Rich conveyed messages such as “SMILE”, “DANCE”, and “EAT MORE VEGETABLES.” He performed songs from his Personal Publication EP, which was recorded over a year with one microphone and holds more than 25 different instruments. It was written to sync with Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) which he also projected on the screen using hollow neon images. Listen to “It” on their MySpace page and picture the entire crowd kneeling on one knee and subsequently jumping up in unison for the chorus. Everything about this performance was invigorating and inspiring. You can’t help but want to tell everyone you know to stop what they are doing and check this guy out. So please, do yourself a favour and check this guy out! They are back in Toronto on April 24th at Studio City Toronto for Alternative Fashion Week.

as reviewed by Catherine Russell

photography provided by Renee Rodenkirchen

Everyone loves a CD release party: great music, great vibe and the chance to experience a young band before they are whisked off on tour or, worse off, stolen by our neighbours to the south. iheartthemusic ventured out to the Rivoli on April 10^th to catch The Paint Movement play during their CD release show. The Paint Movement consists of first and foremost four friends: Jason Haberman (vocals/bass), Jason Loftman (sax/keys), Kevin Kralik (vocals/guitar) and Glenn Candy (drums). If you do get a chance to catch them live, you will often see more than four people rocking out on stage as members of various bands tend to pop up during their sets, and this show was no exception. They have JUST dropped their 10 song LP, Our Eurythmy, on Nevado Records and are about to embark on a cross-country tour. Our Eurythmy is a blend of soulful melodies and jazz-like accompaniments that will surely leave you wanting more. Here is what Kevin Kralik, Glenn Candy, and stage mate and backing vocalist Dee Planche had to say about this exciting time in their lives.

iheartthemusic: You guys are first and foremost friends, so how did you decide to start a band together?

Glenn: We all met in high school and we basically were all players who were looking for people to play with. I met Jason [Loftman] in the music halls of school where I was taking the grade 10 guitar course and he would come by, pick up the guitar and we would jam out. We then started partying and playing and it all made sense.

Kevin: We were in a couple of bands after that that we took members from, but it just evolved over three or four bands. What we have now, between the four of us, just feels like it’s a stronger base.

Glenn: It’s a solid foundation. We feel pretty settled right now and along with all the other guest musicians it’s great. Tonight we have our friend Chucky on guitar and Dee singing with us and our other buddy Jeremy Panda who plays trumpet and played on the record as well. It’s just awesome.

iheartthemusic: Your live performances often involve many other musicians up on stage with you, why did you decide to do that?

Glenn: We are huge fans of the big band scene. Once we started recording we found that we needed certain things, like a female vocal chord, and so we brought Dee on board and then she just started playing live because of that.

Kevin: The theme of the album is unity and coming together, so what better way to exemplify that than bring our friends [onstage] to come jam with us.

iheartthemusic: So Dee, why did you want to come on board and help them out?

Dee: I love their song writing. I am a big fan of great tunes and also comfort level was big for me. These guys are so laid back and all around fun. That’s why we do music, it’s just good times.

iheartthemusic: Very true! Can you guys sum up the recording process, because you recorded it in Kevin’s basement, I believe?

Glenn: It was different. We started getting the shakes because we felt like we should have been playing a show!

Kevin: We took a lot of time off. I think it was three months without playing a single show and that transition was really weird for us when you are so used to playing once or twice every week.

Glenn: Plus, you still want to get your name out, so you don’t want to just disappear for a few months.

Kevin: The whole recording process was a great experience musically because we came together and really found ourselves and developed our sound. Now playing shows, we almost want to reciprocate that live.

iheartthemusic: Did it help with Kevin having a recording background?

Glenn: We say it was self-produced, but really it was this guy right here [points to Kevin]! If we didn’t have his skills, it would never have sounded the way it does.

iheartthemusic: You also recently signed to indie label Nevado Records. How did that come about?

Glenn: That came about when we were playing a show at the Horseshoe with a bunch of great bands and Nick, the record exec, happened to catch the whole set. We were in the process of hiring some PR who evidently worked for him anyways. It all kind of made sense and we sat down and talked to him for a bit.

Kevin: It was really good timing because we need that right now with getting our name out and advertising and promoting. It’s been a really great time so far.

iheartthemusic: In terms of press there seems to be a lot of Broken Social Scene references, do you feel pressure to live up to that?

Kevin: It hasn’t really hit me yet. I’m still trying to keep it low key.

Glenn: People can refer our sound to whoever they want. I mean, if they think we sound like them then that’s great! I find that our sound is pretty unique and people are trying to pinpoint it, but aren’t really able to do that, so they just throw a bunch of different names out there. They see a lot of people on stage and make the BSS reference.

iheartthemusic: With your genre of music, do you find it hard to promote it?

Glenn: I don’t really know because I don’t know what it would be like promoting a pop act. I find it interesting music, so if people get that and find a market for that, awesome. I think it’s cool that the indie scene right now is starting to be marketable and it’s opening up in Toronto so much.

iheartthemusic: What would you like people to get from your music?

Kevin: Just the honesty in the music, really.

Glenn: If anybody is like me, I am always looking for Canadian music and generally interested in that. If we get people to do that more, then that’s awesome. Canada is great for music and there is so much to offer right now.

iheartthemusic: Well, you are playing what you love which is important. So for you Dee, what has it been like being a female within the industry?

Dee: I guess there is always that stigma when you initially walk into a room, but ultimately the music speaks for itself. So when you start playing and start singing everyone sort of gets it after that. Everyone judges a book by its cover at first, and that’s just the way we are as humans. So you always have to step it up, but that’s cool and I like to do that and surprise people.

iheartthemusic: So the album is dropping and then you are going on tour. Is this your first cross-country tour?

Kevin: I’ve never been outside of Ontario.

Glenn: I went to Montreal once in grade six and I went to Texas for my cousin’s wedding, but other than that I’ve been to my cottage and that’s it.

iheartthemusic: What are you looking forward to the most?

Glenn: Seeing the country and playing random shows in random areas.

Kevin: Hopefully we make it back loving each other still.

Glenn: Chucky might be coming for the full two and half weeks, but his plan was to fly out and meet us half way for a week along with Jeremy. Eventually we are all going to kind of meet all together, sans Dee.

Kevin: It will be really exciting to see that side of the country.

iheartthemusic: What’s going on after the tour?

Kevin: We have been working on some new material, which we will be playing today, just to switch it up.

Glenn: We are writing new songs and when we get back we will probably focus on writing more.

The album is out now and you can pick it up at any record store, on iTunes or on the band’s MySpace!

Photography provided by April Day