Little more than a year into the project, Edmonton’s iVardensphere is starting to make some pretty big waves in the industrial dance music world. Their debut, Scatterface, made several industrial “best of 2009″ lists and Scatterface is also now being released in Europe on Danse Macabre Records along with a couple remixes. The band seems poised to make an even bigger impact in 2010, with festival appearances and tours on the horizon as they begin to work on a follow up album.

I caught up with the men behind the synths, Scott Fox and Chris Lacroix, at their recent Vancouver show on January 30th at Club 23 West. The show was in association with Sanctuary, Vancouver’s second-longest running club night, which is practically an institution in Vancouver’s goth/industrial scene. Despite some potential set-backs with some of Lacroix’s gear getting manhandled during the flight, iVardensphere did a great live set and surprisingly enough, all the damaged gear works fine. Lacroix laughed, “the Nord actually sounds better now – there’s a mysterious distortion over everything!”

Speaking of shows, their Synthetic Sounds labelmates Left Spine Down will be touring North America with 16Volt and Chemlab this spring as part of the MIDI Ghetto Tour, and iVardensphere will be jumping in to open up on the Calgary and Edmonton dates [May 1 and 2 respectively.] Then they’re off to make their way to Montreal for the third annual Kinetik Festival, which is growing into a powerhouse showcase of electro and industrial music spanning several days. Fox commented, “Montreal is rad! Realistically, it’s our first year doing this projects and it’s gone up pretty steadily. We’ve opened up for Apoptygma Berzerk, we’ve played Das Bunker in LA, now we’re playing the Kinetik Music Festival the same night as Tactical Sect and Memmaker, it’s fantastic!”

Plans are in the works for a big tour in the fall of 2010 as well, but so far the details are hush-hush. “I’m not gonna announce all the details right now, but we’ve got plans for a tour southside of the border. We’re gonna take a nice run at that,” Fox promises.

Along with the growing fanbase, iVardensphere has recently been getting some love from underground, college, and internet radio, including the likes of digitalgunfire.com, and their reach has even extended Down Under, where they are regularly spun on Dark Essence Radio on 4ZzZ 102.1FM in Brisbane.

While working on the follow-up to 2009’s Scatterface, Fox and Lacroix are following in the footsteps of their labelmates at Synthetic Sounds, Left Spine Down, and putting out a remix album which came out last week as a digital release, simply titled Remixes Vol. 1. It contains remixes from several up-and-coming industrial scenemakers, including Left Spine Down, Psykkle, Memmaker, Komor Kommando and Maqlu. “Everything on there is bad-ass, man – it’s a great remix EP and I hope everyone really enjoys it. Some definite dance floor killers on there,” says Fox.

“Walking Miracles” is the debut EP from The All-Girl Boys Choir. Hailing from southern CA – via – Detroit, The All-Girl Boys Choir is a rock n’ roll noise assault, featuring the multi-talented Alicia Warrington and Marlene “The Hammer” Hammerle.

These girls are no amateurs to the scene or the road. Warrington, a session & touring musician worked with artists such as Kelly Osbourne, Canadian Popsters – Lillix and Uh Huh Her, before joining Hammerle’s, Gore Gore Girls (Bloodshot Records)on their 2008, 10-country, European tour. The magical chemistry between Marlene and Alicia, both on stage and off, sparked an immediate collaboration after the tour…thus, The All-Girl Boys Choir was born.

While keeping their feet planted firmly in Rock, the girls also blessed their ears with the sounds of: Ike & Tina Turner, Ry Cooder and John Lee Hooker for inspiration, during the writing of their debut E.P. “Walking Miracles”.

“Walking Miracles” is an independently recorded & released Digital E.P. – available worldwide through iTunes, Amazon and Napster. Look for The AGBC in your town, when the girls take to the road in 2010!!!

Listen to Western Star

This post was submitted by The All-Girl Boys Choir.

MEN WHO LISTEN was formed in 2008 by Dan Pokorni on the heels of his solo release, “Guitarscapes.” After top Chicago-area session players signed on, the band started making demos. Later, Gary Loizzo (Styx’s producer) agreed to come on board behind the console and the MEN WHO LISTEN sound started to take shape — a sound in which the SONG comes first. Using elements from classic and modern rock, MEN WHO LISTEN is poised to take you a on a musical journey – and the journey has just begun!

In June of 2009, the band released its debut CD and immediately started getting air-play on a number of college and Internet radio stations. In December of 2009, the next phase of MEN WHO LISTEN began when singer Jeff Anthony made his debut on their new single, “Cast Our Love Away.” MEN WHO LISTEN promises to stimulate and stir audiences wherever their songs are heard!

Cast our Love Away

This post was submitted by Dan Pokorni.

For Immediate Release

KISS MY WIFE FOR HAITI – CALGARY SONGWRITER CONCERT & FUNDRAISER

Award-winning Calgary songwriter, Anthony Burbidge, will stage a “Songs Of Love” concert at the Calgary Unity Church Saturday, February 13th at 7 PM. As part of the show, Burbidge and his wife, Lilian, will raise funds for Haiti’s earthquake victims with an old fashioned kissing booth. The “Kiss My Wife For Haiti” fundraiser was born from Burbidge’s personal connection with last month’s tragedy.

That connection came on January 18th when, less than a week after the earthquake, Burbidge flew to Orlando to sing at the Positive Music Awards. Due on stage in less that an hour, the singer took the first taxi in sight. Upon entering the cab, he had no idea what he’d encounter on the way to the venue – Burbidge’s driver was a Haitian immigrant named Jin who was hit hard by the week’s tragic events.

As Burbidge relates, “Jin was soft spoken, polite and, oddly enough, quite cheerful. But when he revealed he was from Haiti, the conversation grew grim. He’d lost relatives in the earthquake and both his father and his youngest son had gone home for a visit and got trapped in Haiti. His phone was ringing 24 hours a day with desperate pleas for help. What really struck me though was when he said how important it was that we Canadians not forget about Haiti in a few weeks.”

Burbidge resolved to do his part upon returning home. Notably, the singer’s concert and kissing booth fundraiser will be held the day after the Canadian government’s program to match public donations to Haiti expires. This fact is not lost on the socially conscious musician, “It’s a great time to remind people to keep reaching out to Haiti especially on a Valentine’s weekend filled with love.”

While the fundraiser may be called “Kiss My Wife For Haiti” the singer believes in equality. To ensure the ladies don’t forget Haiti, Burbidge will also exchange a warm hug and a peck on the cheek for a donation to the cause. Funds raised to Haiti’s aid will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross. For more info on the event or to buy tickets, visit www.anthonyburbidge.com.

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To hear songs from Burbidge’s CDs or to download hi-res photos, visit: http://www.anthonyburbidge.com/

If you would like to book Anthony Burbidge for an interview or live performance, please direct your request to: burbidge@telusplanet.net or phone 403-253-1845.

This post was submitted by Anthony Burbidge.