Woodhands - Electric Avenue! Get it Free

The Woodhands are releasing the 'Dancer' EP on March 3rd. Dancer will be a "collection of remixes, restylings and reworkings of the killer track 'Dancer' from their album 'Heart Attack'" You can go hear bits of what might be on that right now at myspace.com/woodhands but before you do that: You can go right now and download the track you've been waiting for all your life (though you didn't know it). The Woodhands cover of Eddie Grant's 'Electric Avenue' - it's available at http://www.paperbagrecords.com/mp3s/Woodhands-ElectricAve.mp3.

The original goes something like this

New Downloads: Woodhands, Peter Project, Prairie Cat & More

Added to the podsafe downloads: Paperjack, Peter Project, Prairie Cat, Proffessor Undressor, Recoilers, Rhume, Woodhands. That brings the total number of artists available for downloading and podcasting to 80. Hopefully I'll have more for you soon!

Halifax: Ruby Jean CD Release Jan. 16

On Friday, January 16 at the Marquee Club in Halifax Ruby Jean (aka Rebekah Higgs) and the Thoughtful Bees will unveil their new CD with support from Woodhands and Tomcat Tomcat. And there will be limited edition, hand made CDs available for the debut.

The initial response to Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees has been anything but ambiguous. From Herohill:

"Without a doubt, the self-titled debut is certain to be a regular on playlists at any indie dance night (Bones, I’m assuming you already play these jams), but like I said, it’s more than just club bangers. Sure the beat clap and synths of A Thoughtful Letter and the driving beat of You Don’t Miss Me are terrific, but it’s moments like when Higg’s vocals swirl around the rapid fire beats of Trustfund, the down tempo flow of Not About To or the subtle guitar pick that opens up the unique twist on the Paula Abdul classic, Cold Hearted that you start to realize how well thought out these tracks are. Higgs is enough of a personality to stand out from the mix, but seasoned enough to not overshadow the recipe Crowell, MacGillivray and Vatour craft."

(Herohill also has some MP3s you can download.)

And starforch:

"A potent combination of skills and personalities, and a dedication to the art of the live show have drawn these Bees both audiences and accolades, including “Best Dressed Band” in alt-weekly the Coast’s annual Best of Music Readers’ Poll. Bucking the trend of indie-rock head-hanging and woe-isme self-deprecation, this band has no fear of the fog machine."

With the Woodhands coming right before this night should be enough to make dead people get up and dance.

Have fun Halifax!

Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees - Don't Miss Me (remix)

Laura Barrett at Concerts on Demand

If you weren't able to make Laura Barrett's CD launch for the (soon to be Polaris nominated) Victory Garden now you can be (kinda). The show has been uploaded to CBC Radio 2's Concerts on Demand!

Both of the opening acts for the release were also included! So first have a listen to Dan Werb (of Woodhands).

http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/cod/concerts/20080921dwerb

Then the Ghost Bees from Halifax.

http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/cod/concerts/20080921ghost

and finally Laura herself
http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/cod/concerts/20080921lbart

If you can't find Laura's new album at your local record store you can grab a high quality, DRM free, MP3 version of the album (complete with album art) for the an extremely reasonable $8.88 at Zunior http://www.zunior.com/product_info.php?products_id=2149&mo=9&yr=2008

Laura Barrett shows off her Victory Garden on Sunday

This Sunday at the Tranzac in Toronto, Laura Barrett will unveil her new album "Victory Garden" over brunch. People will gather at 11:30 a.m. for a brunch catered by Barrett herself and then at 1:30 the music starts. Dan Werb of the Woodhands and Halifax's Ghost Bees will be joining Laura for the CD release.

Unlike Barretts previous EPs "Victory Garden" will feature a full band including Werb, Basia Bulat.

The first review is up on Eye Weekly:

"Barrett’s debut long-player (her EP Earth Sciences was re-released by Paper Bag in February) Victory Garden offers 13 originals and the addition of a full band — fleshed out by local players like Dan Werb, Basia Bulat and Paul Aucoin. Riding high on swoony melancholy and offset by cinematic shimmers of strings and woodwinds, the pervading plunk of Barrett’s kalimba plays like a children’s music box in double time, wisely employed as an accent rather than punctuation. Her emphatic storytelling works two ways: musical theatre monologue (“The Sharper Side” marries Sweeney Todd with Dancer in the Dark), and piano-bar camp (“Rien A Declarer” holds a franglais charm), aided by the ephemeral harmonies of Ghost Bees’ Sari and Romy Lightman. Though it sounds ready-made for book-club kids, Victory Garden is a compelling album even if you haven’t done all the required reading."

Do You Want Your Paper Bag Digital (and DRM free)?

Paper Bag Records home of, among many others, the Woodhands, Laura Barrett, the Acorn, You Say Party, We Say Die, Slim Twig, and Tokyo Police Club is launching it's own, DRM Free, digital music store on June 17. From Exclaim:

"Paper Bag plans for the new shop and its 320k/DRM-free files to complement and enhance the label’s conventional releases, offering fans a chance to buy exclusive content such as live sessions and additional recordings by Paper Bag artists. The shop will also simply give you an alternative place where you spend your green on some good tunes. After all, we can only let Steve Jobs get so rich."

I'd also point out that if you want less expensive, digital, DRM free music that Zunior is already serving it up (if you want to buy the full album).

Woodhands Bring Back Love From Beijing

The Woodhands China Blog

The Woodhands recently visited China along with Daniel Wesley, You say party! We say die! (who can't get into the US but can tour more open countries like China), Buck 65 and Champion.

The Woodhands kept a blog of that visit, cataloguing some of their interesting findings which you can check out at http://woodhands.exclaim.ca

Here are some random observations about Beijing:
1. Lack of flush toilets.  Yes, we know but don’t really know: there aren’t a ton of flush toilets in Beijing.  You gotta do the squat!  There are also a ton of homes that do not have running water or plumbing at all!  These exist in some upscale areas too, so when we were out shopping for awesome shit in NLGX (a hip back alley artsy zone that is steadily gentrifying), we watched as people emerged from their homes to use the public toilets that are found all over the place. When we were at D-22 I went to hit the public toilet next door and peed next to a kid who was squatting with a handheld radio, listening to Chinese pop music. Crazy!

2. You can drink booze anywhere in Beijing.  We spent a lot of time drinking on stoops, on the side of the road, in front of clubs where the drinks were too expensive, on the way to and from wherever it is that we were…You can drink anywhere here.  Just like Berlin.

3. Beijing is crazy cheap.  A beer costs about 30 cents.  A 20 minute cab ride costs about $1.50.  If you know where to eat – and we were lucky enough to be shown around by locals – you can eat hella well for hella cheap.  When we went out with You Say Party! We Say Die! and some friends to eat, there were eight of us and we chowed hard.  The bill came to about $20.

4. You don’t really notice the government…or at least we didn’t.  Aside from Tianamen Square, where the propaganda is on serious display, the government seemed like a non-factor.  People we talked to here said that they didn’t really think about the government a whole ton.  But this being a city of about 30 million people, the arm of the government can only go so far.

5. The weirdest thing about Beijing is how normal it seems.  How much like any other amazing city.  The place is huge and you get the sense that you could spend a lifetime exploring its secrets.  But aside from not knowing the language, it didn’t feel like some foreign land.

6. We almost didn’t play our second show at D-22 because when I plugged in my power bar to the system, I almost started a fire and short-circuited their power supply.  After a couple hours of stress, everything got worked out.

7. Bands thinking of coming to China: do it.

Go Over the Top in Toronto This Weekend

The Over the Top Festival is coming to Toronto this weekend.

"April 30 through May 4th at select venues, which includes film premieres, rare musical performances and exciting theatrical productions. Each year the festival continues to grow, having started with just three events seven years ago and now it numbers nearly three dozen."

Many of the events this year are being sponsored by CBC Radio 3 for a list of their sponsored events visit the R3 blog. A full listing of the events, as well as venue and ticket information can be found at http://www.overthetopfest.com/2008/. For specific dates see

Film Schedule

April 30

May 1

May 2

May 3

Music Schedule

May 1

May 2

May 3

May 4

Hilights, in my opinion, include

Rock Plaza Central at St Stephen in the Fields

Woodhands with Bobby Birdman May 1 at Sneaky Dees

the Wooden Sky with Rebekah Higgs and Major Gray May 2 at St. Stephen in the Field's

DD/MM/YYYY 7" release - - -> w. Shpilberg, Revolution Love, Machetes at the Whippersnapper Gallery May 2

A Balancing Act - Film - TorontoPremeire at the NFB

Will Currie and the Country French + Laura Peek at St. Stephen in the Fields May 2

The D'Urbervilles at Ukula May 1

Reviews are in for the Woodhands 'Heart Attack'

From the Woodhands Myspace Blog: The reviews for 'Heart Attack' are in - well some of them anyway.

http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/music/music-previews/very-good-dancers/

http://www.nowtoronto.com/music/discs.cfm?content=162394

http://www.chartattack.com/DAMN/2008/04/0101.cfm

http://www.montrealmirror.com/2008/040308/disc.html

http://www.eyeweekly.com/music/ondisc/article/22916

Here Come the Woodhands

Thursday night I watched Toronto's Wrongbar overflow with people for the Woodhands CD release party. I think it is safe to say that Dan Werb and Paul Banwatt are destined for larger venues. If everyone at the Wrongbar had changed their minds and left, there were enough people waiting outside to fill it up again.

As an added bonus, before the heart stopping performance by Woodhands, Wrongbar patrons were treated to the first ever performance by the post-punk inspired all girl band the Machetes who even whipped through a cover of Souxie and the Banshees' Love in a Void just to make sure that you knew where they were going. You can get a look at the band on Fri. May 2nd, 2008- Opening for DD/MM/YYYY @ Whippersnapper (part of the Over the Top Fest).

As for the Woodhands performans, I think most people reading this already know but it's kinda like they say in Jam

"Dan Werb of Woodhands wields his instrument of choice like a weapon, primed and ready for musical battle."

Or

" “Dancer,” the fiery, propulsive first track on Woodhands’ frenetic and spectacular new disc, Heart Attack (their debut for Paper Bag Records, in stores April 1), demonstrates this pretty convincingly. The verses of “Dancer” consist of Maylee Todd from Henri Faberge and the Adorables crooning about a gentleman whispering sweet nothings in her ear, over Werb’s warm-yet-squelchy synth squiggles and punctuated by Banwatt’s titanic fills. The chorus consists of Werb screaming “YOU’RE A VERY GOOD DANCER!! WHAT IS YOUR NAME? WHAT IS YOUR NAME?” like a man striking up a conversation with someone while simultaneously being chased by rabid bulldogs. Of course, it’s based on a true story."

Also,as long as you're hitting all of these links you should check out the Call & Response from Blog T.O.

What it all boils down to is: Take your blood pressure meds and go see them on this tour. It's only going to get harder to get in to their shows after this. For those of you not on the list, or those that can't make it out you can still get the digital album download on Zunior.

April:
7 - WINNIPEG - The Rocker
8 - SASKATOON - Amigos
9 - CALGARY - The Gateway
11 - VANCOUVER - Astoria
12 - VANCOUVER - Peanut Gallery
13 - EDMONTON - Jekyll & Hyde
14 - REGINA - The Exchange
16 - THUNDER BAY - Apollo
19 - MONTREAL - Club Lambi
20 - OTTAWA - Zaphod’s
21 - QUEBEC CITY - Le Cercle
22 - CHARLOTTETOWN - Baba’s
23 - HALIFAX - Gus' Pub

May:
1 - TORONTO - Over The Top Festival
3 - HAMILTON - Pepper Jack Cafe
8 - GUELPH - E-Bar

Woodhands CD Release Party

This Thursday at 9 p.m. at the Wrongbar, 1279 Queen Street West (Toronto) the Woodhands will officially release their new CD 'Heart Attack' and might even consider playing some songs from it. Holding down the stage while they decide if they feel like it or not will be DJ Howlermonkey and magician and mentalist Jeff Woods who has predicted that some people will meet, instantly click and form the "all girl post punk inspired" Machetes who will make their debut that night. You can find more information on the Facebook event page. (Ok, technically it's the same information, but you can see who's coming). For speculation and random cheering see Stillepost.

New Woodhands April 1

According to the band Woodhands new album "Heart Attack" will be available in Canada April 1st. You can get a preview of the new stuff on the Woodhands' Myspace page

The video below is unofficial, it was created for Said the Gramaphone's Wonderful Video Contest by this person.

Woodhands - Can't See Straight