April 2 @ 8:00pm: Cafe Deux Soliels, Vancouver, BC

April 3 @ 9:00pm: Fort St. Cafe, Victoria, BC w/ Far West

April 4 @ 7:30pm: Victoria Folk Club, Victoria, BC

April 7 @ 7:30pm: The Dream Cafe, Penticton, BC

April 8 @ 8:00pm: Jogas Cafe, Grand Forks, BC

April 9 @ 9:00pm: Velvet Underground, Nelson, BC

April 10 & 11 @ 8:00pm: Auditorium Hotel, Nanton, AB

April 12 @ 9:00pm: Henotic Lounge, Lethbridge, AB

April 14 @ 7:30pm: Mortlach Concert Series, Mortlach, SK

April 15 @ 8:00pm: Brandon Folk Music & Art Festival Studio, Brandon, MB

April 16 @ 7:30pm: Solid Grounds Cafe, Lorette, MB

April 17 @ 10:00pm: Times Changed High & Lonesome Club, Winnipeg, MB

April 18 @ 8:00pm: House Concert, Falcon Lake, MB

April 19 @ 9:00pm: The Apollo, Thunder Bay, ON

April 21 @ 8:00pm: Urban Cafe, North Bay, ON

April 22: Venue TBA, Toronto, ON

April 23 @ 8:00pm: Grumpy’s Bar, Montreal, QC

April 25 @ 8:00pm: Divant Orange, Montreal, QC w/ David Simard

April 27 @ 8:00pm: The Spill, Peterborough, ON w/ David Simard

April 29 @ 8:00pm: House Concert, Guelph, ON

April 30 @ 9:00pm: The Local, Toronto, ON

May 1 @ 7:30pm: Little Montreal, Sudbury, ON

May 5 @ 9:00pm: Bushwakkers Tavern, Regina, SK

May 6 @ 10:00pm: Lydia’s, Saskatoon, SK

May 7 @ 9:00pm: Track’s Pub, Olds, AB

May 9 @ 8:00pm: Ironwood Stage & Grill, Calgary, AB w/ Oh My Darling!

May 12 @ 8:00pm: Art We Are Gallery, Kamloops, BC w/ Texting Mackenzie

May 20 @ 10:00pm: Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver, BC w/ The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra

May 21 @ 8:00pm: Moby’s, Salt Spring Island, BC w/ The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra

May 22 @ 8:00pm: Centennial Square, Victoria, BC w/ The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra !!FREE SHOW!!

Burst Into Flower this spring with Fish & Bird!

Fish & Bird are hitting the road once again! These travelers of the highways are reaching far and wide across the country this spring, rousing audiences everywhere they go in their veggie-oil fueled Delica Van. Songwriter and banjo player Taylor Ashton (Winnipeg) and fiddler Adam Iredale-Gray (Victoria) are joined by guitarist Ryan Boeur (Vancouver) and upright bassist Zoe Guigeno (Toronto), rounding out an already irresistable sound with top notch players from across Canada. Don’t miss Fish & Bird in your neck of the woods this spring!

Fish & Bird’s relationship with folk music is a little complicated. Their love for old-time and folk traditions comes from deep in their hearts, but that profound respect doesn’t stop them from showing the genre a little abuse. At the core of Fish & Bird is a partnership between virtuosic multi-instrumentalist Adam Iredale-Gray and singer/songwriter Taylor Ashton, and their musical education stems from playing such diverse styles as Irish music, jazz, garage rock, musical theatre, and old-time. Fish & Bird layer these styles into their traditional roots and stay fresh and unique through their desire to create new and exciting music utilizing all these various influences.

Their self recorded, self-produced, and self-titled debut EP, was released in 2007, to attentive audiences across Canada. Their latest recording, also self produced, recorded and packaged, the full-length “Left Brain Blues”, is a more mature and developed exploration of what happens when the pair’s musical influences collide. In just under an hour, it takes the folk genre for a wild ride through eastern influences, pop rock and traditional roots, while remaining cohesive. It showcases Taylor Ashton’s agile voice, which ranges from a deep bass to a very sturdy falsetto, and the pair’s creative arrangements, as well as a full cast of well known guest musicians.

A live Fish & Bird show comes in many shapes and sizes; from a duo to a five piece full band, and all sorts of configurations between, even switching up instruments among themselves. They have played hundreds of shows, toured the length of the country four times and played loads of close to home shows. They’ve garnered attention from the Canadian Folk Music Awards, and heard themselves on CBC and college/community radio stations across Canada. From the fundraiser for the upcoming 2011 Folk Festival in Victoria, to house concerts, sold out nightclubs and back rooms of cafes, what keeps them getting back on stage night after night is a passion to perform their unique brand of art folk for as many people as they can get to listen. Are you listening?

“There is something about Left Brain Blues that carves a path right to your core in the most intimate way.” ~ Nancy Vivolo, VictoryMusic.org

Fish & Bird’s WEBSITE

Fish & Bird on MYSPACE

Fish & Bird on TWITTER

Fish & Bird on YOUTUBE

Fish & Bird on CD BABY

Left Brain Blues REVIEW on VictoryMusic.org

For most people when you think of hip hop, you think of every mainstream stereotype that could be out there and potentially draw from what you’ve heard in top-40 watered down hip hop.

It’s hard to judge an entire genre of music when there are guys like Stef Alexander aka P.O.S on the scene.  If you haven’t heard of him yet, then this is your chance to check out P.O.S, because he’s unlike any hip-hop artist you’ve ever heard.  I had the chance to speak with him regarding his upcoming Canadian tour and just about life as a musician.

With roots in punk rock and hardcore bands, P.O.S has grown up in the vibrant Minneapolis music scene, “It has one of the best scenes on the planet. We all support & stand together, which feeds the independent spirit. I think it shows in our music.” From there, he’s had the opportunity to become a part of the hip-hip collective Doomtree.  His mixture of punk rock, hip hop & poetic melodies make his music more than what is available currently.  “I never thought about the how I blended (these music types together) – it just came out. The first songs I ever wrote were punk/hardcore.”

So from his days in MN, things have been on the up & up.  Blogs all across North America have taken notice to P.O.S’ album, ‘Never Better’ naming it to Top Ten of 2009 lists all over the internet.  When I ask Stef how the internet has helped his career, he tells me “Since my music is so out of the box, not like most hip-hop, the old models of the music business just don’t work.  The internet is so key.  It helps artists like me get paid.”

So with the buzz and hype that has been surrounding ‘Never Better’, P.O.S is headed onto the road to bring his sound to the masses.  Fans old, but hopefully some new.  And for fans that are new, what can they expect from his shows? “You can just expect to have a really good time. Feeling like you’re alive for the very first time.”  So why not give the P.O.S style of hip-hop a chance.  You might just find yourself pleasantly surprised.

Tour Dates:

w/ Dessa and Grieves

February 11th      The Biltmore Cabaret    Vancouver, Canada

w/ Dessa and Astronautalis

March 13th          Il Motore                     Montreal, Quebec

March 14th          Sneaky Dee’s             Toronto, Ontario

http://www.myspace.com/pos

Listen to the track Goodbye

February 11: The Marquee Room, Calgary AB

Popular in many places, you may have heard about Clea Roddick. The Calgarian musician has conquered the TV licensing brigade and won the hearts of many through extensive radio play in the United States, but now the successful songbird is playing a show in her own city of Calgary. Don’t miss these rare performances at the Marquee Room in Calgary on February 11th. Pick up your copy of her acclaimed album ‘ROLLERSKATE’ at the show or on KerfMusic.com

A teenage girl from rural Alberta climbed onto the Greyhound bus with a small baby and their entire possessions: two backpacks, a silver accordion and $50. Fast forward a few years and pan in on Clea Roddick: a performing songwriter who usually forgets to wear makeup (but sometimes puts a dab on at traffic lights en route to a gig), who lives in a halfway house for accordions and other keyboard instruments, who likes to walk in the bitterest cold to hear the snow ’scrunch’ and grows a pumpkin patch in her backyard. With a 2010 record in pre-production, Clea continues to craft songs on a 100 yr old upright piano and records them in the garage-converted-studio (operated by her right hand man, Craig Newnes), while raising their two daughters.

Clea was recently supported by RAWLCO radio to release her first solo album. ‘ROLLERSKATE’ is a spirited disc full of hope and motivation for the human race. Groove-based themes which hint of environmentalism and bringing change with forgiveness, are threaded delicately alongside gentle tributes that offer a tender side to this compelling recording. ‘ROLLERSKATE’ is attracting a wide audience, charting on college and indie radio stations across the US and Canada (#1 in New York, NY, #1 in Queensburg, NY, #3 in Ithaca, NY, #5 in Montreal, QC), and being played on over 220 stations across North America. Songs from Clea’s album have also been licensed by many prominent television programs in the US. MTV’s ‘The Real World’ used Clea’s song “Rocks and Weeds” in a January 2010 episode and MTV’s ‘The Hills, ‘The City’, ‘Road Rules’ and ‘The Stylist’, VH1’s ‘Tough Love’, and E!TV’s ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’ and ‘Khloe & Kourt Take Miami’, have all licensed ‘ROLLERSKATE’ for use on their upcoming seasons.

Formerly fronting rock band Palm and Sago, Clea co-writes for other artists and is a published poet. She has a diploma in music from Selkirk College in BC. She won third place in the National Bliss Carman Poetry Contest (Prairie Fire Press/Banff Centre) and has been a finalist several times in the Calgary Folk Festival Songwriting contest and in various radio sponsored competitions. The Alberta songwriters compilation CD ‘Beautiful Dreamers’ features Clea alongside KD Lang, Ian Tyson and others with her performance of ‘Happiness is Not for Sale’ (Anne Loree).

“Structurally adventurous, yet alluring songwriting” – Mike Bell, Calgary Sun

“A sound that cannot be captured with words…not one throwaway lyric to be heard” – Mary-Lynn McEwen, FFWD Weekly

Clea’s WEBSITE

Clea’s MYSPACE

Clea on KERFMUSIC.COM

Clea’s music on MTV’s REAL WORLD

Pour Another Ounce of Rum in the Eggnog!

HEATHER BLUSH AND THE UPPERCUTS

Heather Blush and the Uppercuts have a special gift this holiday season to put you in the spirit (or should we say spirits!). The band has recorded a song for the season and would like to get you a copy for your holiday listening! You can LISTEN to the track online

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM HEATHER BLUSH AND THE UPPERCUTS!

The voice of Heather Blush is a gift to the ears. Smooth, sultry and captivating, the sound is somewhere between Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Harmer, and Heather is known for her clever lyrics that cover all bases from witty sarcasm to gutwrenching honesty. Energetic and engaging, the band is instrumentally gifted as well, Heather’s guitar style appears effortless and the trio weaves together musical delights ranging from smoky blues to roots-pop. With the Uppercuts, “Captain” Steve Hazlett on drums and “Cannonball” Shane Sutherland on the upright bass, and both showcasing their own backing vocal skills on some tracks, this trio of friends packs a punch and leaves a lasting impression on every audience they meet.

Following up the success of the trio’s first album ‘VICE’, a collection of songs focusing in on various “vices”, Heather Blush and the Uppercuts were stoked to add their follow-up album and antithesis album, ‘VERSA’ to the repertoire in 2009. Recorded by Rob Smith at Rocky Mountain Recording Studio in Calgary ‘VERSA’ is a little more sunny than its predecessor, while maintaining the bluesy roots pop sound that has brought the band much recognition. With such fun tracks as “Papaya, Papaya”, an upbeat, fruit-laced love song; the fast talking ditty “Restless”, which has been in heavy rotation on CBC’s morning radio; and sweet bluesy numbers like “Speechless”, it leaves listeners feeling intoxicated. ‘VERSA’ also medlies traditional tunes “When You’re Smilin” and “Smile” and covers the talented Trina Nestibo’s tune, “Baby Its Late”.

Heather Blush and the Uppercuts have had a busy year, touring the country and dipping toes in both the Atlantic and Pacific in May and June 2009, releasing ‘VERSA’ and taking the stage at Central Music Fest, Soulfest and Mountain View Music Fest in July and August. The band attended the OCFF Conference this year as well, as part of the Alberta Showcase, and have also recently showcased at the Alberta Sessions in Calgary’s Epcor Centre (2006 & 2008), and acted as house band on CBC Radio One’s Homestretch. Appearing on various radio programs and television shows across Canada, being played as far away as Macedonia and the UK, and performing alongside Stephen Fearing, Ray Bonneville, and Maria Muldaur, Heather Blush and the Uppercuts have proven audiences can’t get enough, and they are turning up their volume on the Canadian music scene. Be on the lookout for this smashing group who is sure to make their mark!!

LISTEN to “Pour Another Ounce…” WEBSITE MYSPACE SONICBIDS HB & The UC on KERFMUSIC HB & The UC on YOUTUBE HB & The UC in !EARSHOT

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