Welcome to 2010 ...

... and the reunion of Soundgarden!

Makkin' it

Steve Aoki, what's wrong? You haven't visited Edmonton lately ... oh wait, what's this I see? You'll be DJing the Dim Mak Edmonton Invasion on Saturday, Feb. 20 at EEC ... and you'll be bringing your pal, JFK, a.k.a. Jesse F. Keeler of MSTRKRFT. Whew. Tix are $26.25 and $31.50 plus service charges. On sale: Saturday, Dec. 26 at Ticketmaster.

Their gig comes six days after Paul van Dyk makes his long-awaited debut in Edmonton. (Isn't he the last of the top-tier DJs to find his way here?) The Berlin native will headline Frequency 2010 with Ferry Corsten and Benny Benassi on Sunday, Feb. 14 at the Shaw Conference Centre. Tix are $69.10 and $91.35 plus service charges at Ticketmaster.

(I hope to interview van Dyk ... if only to ask about the correct pronunciation of his last name. I've heard so many different variations ... even from Germans. And, don't worry, I know ... Aoki is ALWAYS here.)

Let's compare ...

Here are some of America's top tunes of the '00s -- based on various radio formats -- as compiled by Nielsen BDSradio:

Country: Something Like That/ Tim McGraw / 487,343 spins
CHR/Top 40: Yeah / Usher featuring Ludacris & Lil Jon / 416,267 spins
Hot AC: Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me) / Train / 338,749 spins
Alternative: Last Resort / Papa Roach / 221,767 spins
Rhythmic: Low / Flo Rida featuring T-Pain / 206,864 spins
Album Rock: It's Been Awhile / Staind / 189,195 spins
Urban: Drop It Like It's Hot / Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell / 169,511 spins
Urban AC: Think About You / Luther Vandross / 147,818 spins
Gospel: Never Would Have Made It / Marvin Sapp / 92,603 spins
Smooth Jazz: Pacific Coast Highway / Nils / 29,328 spins

Kracked up

Believe it or not ... Uncle Kracker's Drift Away was the most played song on Canada's adult-contemporary radio stations in the '00s. Total spins: 38,669. Here are some of the other top tunes, as compiled by Nielsen BDSradio:

Canada All Format: Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)/ Train / 110508 Spins
Canada Hot AC: This Love / Maroon 5 / 34661 Spins
Canada TF/CHR: Family Affair / Mary J. Blige / 38512 Spins
Canada Country: The Way You Love Me / Faith Hill / 39822 Spins
Canada AOR: Beautiful Day / U2 / 38978 Spins
Canada Quebec: Bad Day / Daniel Powter / 69899 Spins

Echo of our times

Edmonton's Pop Echo is five! To reminisce, let's watch this live video of one of the label's defunct signings -- Vertical Struts. Here's my story about Pop Echo in the Edmonton Journal.

DVAS was another one of the label's artists. The duo is now signed to Toronto's Upper Class and will drop a new single, Society, in January. An album of the same name is expected in the summer, according to UC's site.

Five is enough

My friends keep bugging me to post my list of Top 10 albums of the decade ... so without further ado, here it is:

1. The Knife, Silent Shout
2. Radiohead, In Rainbows
3. System of A Down, Mezmerize
4. Franz Ferdinand, Franz Ferdinand
5. The Hives, Veni Vidi Vicious

OK, so there's only five albums on my list. What gives? When it comes to compiling faves, the first five are always the easiest ... and I can't be bothered to figure out the next five. Actually, I did ... then deleted 'em. Sleater-Kinney was there. So was Girl Talk and Basement Jaxx, though I might want to replace one of them with Daft Punk. And what about Federico Aubele? Yeah Yeah Yeahs? Jens Lekman? Hot Hot Heat? M.I.A.? White Stripes? Muse? Cadence Weapon? Sigh. Why don't I get back to you in another five years ...

Local vids: The Joe, Christian Hansen

The Joe's You're Cool rivals LCD Soundsystem's Losing My Edge when it comes to making fun of hipsters. His take is a step-by-step guide to coolness -- learning to skateboard, getting an arts degree, volunteering at CJSR, hanging out with local celebrities, going to the Princess, voting for the Green Party ... I don't want to spoil the rest.

This video, directed by Arlen Konopaki and Mike Robertson of Highwire Films, perfectly illustrates The Joe's words -- and features such local celebrities as Michael Rault, Christian Hansen, Global's Gord Steinke and a guy I saw in a Fringe play ...

Hansen, by the way, and The Autistics have a video for their sublime Sonic 102.9 FM smash, Cocaine Trade, which also makes fun of hipsters. (Yet another local celebrity, CityTV's Bridget Ryan, directed the charmingly goofy clip.) The electro-popsters are now working on the follow-up to Power Leopard. "We have 8 songs for the new album done and done!" reads one of their posts on Twitter. Can't wait.

Running away with Floria

With all the attention focused on actors Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, I only recently discovered the most intriguing news about The Runaways -- the rock 'n' roll biopic is directed by one of Canada's most acclaimed music video directors, Floria Sigismondi.

Her clips aren't filled with the usual parade of boobalicious chicks and ripped boys. Her videos are dark, gothic and often surreal -- yet everyone from Christina Aguilera to The White Stripes wants to work with her. (Imagine what she might create if she teamed up with Lady Gaga!) I was lucky enough to interview Floria in 2004, when two of her clips were nominated for Juno Awards. (She won for Aguilera's Fighter.) Here's my story from The Journal's archives:

Edmonton Journal
Sat Mar 20 2004
Page: E1 / FRONT
Section: Culture
Byline: Sandra Sperounes
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON - Floria Sigismondi is changing her shirt when the phone rings in her New York apartment.

She answers it but finds herself in front of a huge bank of windows. Almost topless. Sigismondi, a Juno-nominated video director, asks the caller to hang on while she finishes getting dressed.

"It's like watching television," she laughs, referring to the voyeuristic nature of apartment life in the Big Apple.

Only her version of TV is not your average rerun of Friends, where Monica and Rachel point and giggle at their unsuspecting neighbour, Ugly Naked Guy. Sigismondi's images are stark, beautiful, disturbing, and perhaps, offensive -- like fairy tales filmed through the lens of a tortured soul. Instead of resorting to the usual sexy shots of bands playing their instruments or girls shaking their booties, Sigismondi messes with society's traditional concepts of beauty. Her videos are populated with creatures in gas masks, goth queens with metre-long pins stuck in their backs, dictators in ballet garb and severed heads.

"Nightmarish" and "surreal" are two of the most common descriptions of Sigismondi's work -- which is precisely why strong artists such as Christina Aguilera (Fighter), David Bowie (Little Wonder), Marilyn Manson (Beautiful People), Bjork (I Have Seen It All) and Leonard Cohen (In My Secret Life) want to work with the Italian-born, Hamilton-bred visual artist.

"I don't gravitate towards the boy-meets-girl, boy-dumps-girl story," says Sigismondi, who is in her late 30s. "I always gravitate towards the strong lyrics that say something about society, where you live, the people around you."

Sigismondi's esthetics aren't for everyone. Neither are her politics. Her latest endeavour, Megalomaniac by Incubus, is a daring attack on fascism, the U.S. administration and the war in Iraq, based on Brendan Boyd's vague lyrics ("Hey megalomaniac/You're no Jesus") and collage artist Hannah Hoch. Downtrodden American citizens guzzle oil for nourishment. A George Bush-like character stands at a gas tank. A preacher holds a Buy-Bull. Hitler prances about in a tutu.

Fans of Incubus, a bunch of usually mellow California rockers, aren't quite sure what to think of Sigismondi's video. Internet message boards are rife with debate, questioning the video's anti-patriotic images. That it hasn't caused a stink among U.S. politicians is perhaps only due to Janet Jackson's breast.

"I thought (Incubus) were either going to love it or hate it," says Sigismondi. "I was quite surprised they went for it when I said I was going to put Hitler in a tutu. They were like, 'Push it. Push it. Go for it!' Sometimes you have to punch yourself and go: 'Is this really happening?' So I just went full-force and thought, 'How could I make fun of these megalomaniacs?' "

Sigismondi's inspirations often come from her own life or the images she sees when listening to music. Sigur Ros' ( ), featuring sickly school kids prancing around in a playground of ash, dead birds and burnt-out cars, is her most personal work -- partially based on her experiences in New York after 9/11. Sigismondi also fell in love with the slow, otherworldly track months before she worked with the Icelandic group. ("It makes me cry, it's gut-wrenching," she says.) It's one of two Sigismondi videos nominated at this year's Juno Awards.

"I live a block-and-a-half from the World Trade Center and I had to wear a gas mask," she says. "I could just hear my breath. All these people were coming down from all over Manhattan and the world -- there were so many tourists that I'd be walking and my purse would be four people behind me and I'd have to yank it. It was that crowded, like you were at a crazy concert.

"It was the first time something like that happened in our part of the world. Obviously, things so devastating happen in other countries and I thought, 'What are the children like who live in these kinds of environments?' For us, to watch kids playing in black snow, it awakened apocalyptic possibilities. For them, it's fun, they've done it for a hundred years."

Sigismondi doesn't always need a personal connection to a song, but she must feel an artistic bond with the artist and vice versa. Such was the case with Christina Aguilera, the only pop diva to work with Sigismondi. She was one of several directors to pitch ideas for Fighter, but Aguilera was particularly smitten with Sigismondi's images of moths, butterflies and a trapped princess transforming into a strong woman. So were Juno voters -- it's also nominated for Best Video.

"When I spoke to Christina, she couldn't get these images out of her head," says Sigismondi.

"I think the main image was of her big hunchback with pins stuck in her back. There's a lot of backlash towards her and she really felt wounded, but her whole thing is getting up on her feet and surviving that. So she really quite loved the metamorphosis of that, taking something that hurts you and using it to make you stronger. I think it was really great of her to put it out for young girls."

Sigismondi didn't set out to direct videos, but she was destined to do so. Both her parents were opera singers and she was constantly surrounded by music in their Hamilton home. She initially pursued fashion photography -- after earning a degree from the Ontario College of Art in 1990 -- and worked as a freelancer for Toronto newspapers and magazines. Four years later, Sigismondi was persuaded to join the roster of Revolver Films as a video director. She now has more than 50 videos to her name, including Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's She Said, Interpol's obstacle 1, Tricky's Makes Me Wanna Die and Plant & Page's Most High.

Sigismondi would likely direct more if she wasn't working on her own personal projects. She's still an avid photographer -- she's about to release a second book of pictures -- and creates art installations often more disturbing than her videos. Her latest show, Come Part Mental, featured mannequins with four breasts, dinosaur-like spines, tails and no hands. It's Sigismondi's take on the manipulation of DNA and what shapes the human body could take in the future.

"My approach is basically, what happened if everything went wrong?" she laughs. "It's inevitable. It's not a statement on whether it's right or wrong. It's about the corruption of people, greed, corporations and what might happen to something that was invented to help people and gets distorted."

Like most video directors -- such as McG and Tarsem -- Sigismondi hopes to make the jump into feature films. (She has already shot a few commercials, including an Adidas ad with Kobe Bryant.) She's now working on a script about the biker world and "girls, girls, girls." She says it's also inspired by her bleak, industrial hometown of Hamilton, as is all of her work.

"It's such a harsh juxtaposition -- the arts, my family and opera in this little bubble in Hamilton," she says. "It's a very rough town to grow up in. I think it's definitely done something to me."

Gigs: Monotonix, Jully Black, Library Voices

* Those crazy Israelis, Monotonix, will return to Edmonton on Thursday, Jan. 21 at New City. The garage-rock trio from Tel Aviv are known for their ridiculously wild shows -- playing in the middle of crowds, putting garbage cans on each other's heads, jumping on fans, hanging from ceilings ... you get the picture. Tickets are $20 plus service charges from this site. Two of Edmonton's finest, The Get Down and Paul James Coutts and Cowls, will open.

* Canada’s one and only R&B diva, Jully Black, will sing from the pages of her black book on Friday, Feb. 26 at The Starlite Room. Tickets are $25 plus service charges at Ticketmaster. The Black Book is Black’s third album of “durban rock” tunes — dance, urban and rock.

* With eight (or more) members in their entourage and a propensity for writing sing-along indie-pop anthems, Library Voices aren’t welcome in many bibliotheques. The Pawn Shop, however, is more accommodating — the Regina popsters will perform in the Whyte Avenue club on Saturday, Feb. 27. Tickets are $12 plus service charges.

Happy Weird holidays!

Does Aaron Levin ever sleep?

When he’s not posting album reviews on Weird Canada, running Cantor Records or making his own music, he’s organizing gigs -- whether it be last month’s Wyrd Fest or a bunch of shows over the next few weeks, featuring the likes of Roland Pemberton III, Mark Templeton, and Peace.

(Levin MUST catch a few zzzz’s … the first time I met him, he had a gravity-defying case of bed head.)

Here’s a list of his upcoming events:

* Friday, Dec. 18: The Pop Echo poobahs celebrate the label’s five-year anniversary with sets by Outdoor Miners, Heat-Ray, DJ Roland Pemberton III (Cadence Weapon’s alter ego), and Levin’s own band, Jazz, which proudly boasts no web presence. Where: New City, 10081 Jasper Avenue. Tickets: $5. Time: 9 p.m. (Read my feature on Pop Echo in Friday's Edmonton Journal.)

* Sunday, Dec. 20: Levin teams up with another local D-I-Y promoter/musician, Cecil Frena (Push Pins) to reissue Doug Snyder & Bob Thompson’s ode to heaviness, Daily Dance, on Cantor. The duo won’t perform -- the disc is 36 years old -- but Frena’s band, Gobble Gobble, Mark Templeton, and Beneath These Idle Tides will. Where: Avonmore Hall, 7902 73rd Ave. Tickets: $10. Time: 7:30 p.m.

* Sunday, Dec. 27: Edmonton expat Sean Nicholas Savage will release the vinyl version of his latest effort, Spread Free Like A Butterfly. Also sets by Silly Kissers, Makeout Videotape, The Bummers, and a Cadence Weapon surprise. Where: The Pawn Shop, 10545 Whyte Ave. Tickets: $10. Time: 9 p.m.

* Tuesday, Dec. 29: Peace, featuring ex-Social Wire singer Dan Geddes and former All Purpose Voltage Heroes drummer Conor Mayer, headline this home-for-the-holidays show. (The two Edmonton natives now live in Vancouver.) Also on the bill: Puberty, Friendo, Sans AIDS and Mount Doom. Where: The ARTery, 9535 Jasper Avenue. Tickets: $10. Time: 8 p.m.

Congratulations!

The Peak Performance Project's top three finalists were revealed earlier today ... The Left, We Are The City and Bend Sinister will now split $275,000 in prize money.

The contest, sponsored by a Vancouver radio station, was open to musicians across British Columbia. More than 400 applied, 2o were selected to attend a boot camp (one left in the middle of the night) and in January, the final three will learn who gets the $150,000 grand prize. (The second-place artist gets $75,000, third-place gets $50,000.)

"Give us a minute to take this all in...," tweeted We Are The City. "Thanks to everyone who helped us and voted!!! you guys are all awesome!," chirped Bend Sinister. "WE couldn't be happier right now. Thank you to everyone who voted for us, came to our shows, talked to us," tweeted The Left.

Jan. 22 is the day of the big announcement.

Ouch

Let's hope The Dudes are in for a better 2010. The Calgary rockers are coming off a particularly painful year.

Frontman Dan Vacon fell off a bike and broke one side of his collar bone, then skiied into a tree and broke the other. Drummer Scott Ross lost some teeth in his own bike accident, then smashed his kneecaps when he was dragged by a cab in a separate mishap.

Lesson? Don't title your latest album Bloods Guts Bruises Cuts unless you're ready for the consequences.

If you're willing to put your own life at risk, the injury-prone Dudes will perform Saturday, Feb. 6 at the Pawn Shop. Tickets are $12 plus service charges. On sale: Friday, Dec. 18 at Ticketmaster, Blackbyrd and Megatunes.

On the plus side, The Dudes recently won CBC Radio 3's Bucky Award for best off-stage performance. (Video posted above.) You can download one of the band's tracks, Pretty Lies, from their website.

Green and Wu

Comedian Tom Green will perform five sets from Jan. 7 to 9 at The Comic Strip in West Edmonton Mall. Tickets are $44.95 plus service charges at thecomicstrip.ca.

Green used to get his kicks as a member of Ottawa’s rap crew, Organized Rhyme, and painting naughty pictures on his dad’s car. The former Mr. Drew Barrymore now hosts an award-winning online show, Tom Green’s House Tonight on his website.

* Wu-Tang Clan star Raekwon won’t be sharing his mic when he performs on Saturday, Feb. 6 at The Starlite Room. Tickets are $30 plus service charges. On sale: Friday, Dec. 18 at Ticketmaster, Blackbyrd, Foosh and FS.

Raekwon, who is known as the chef of the Wu, released his much-anticipated second solo disc, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx ... Pt. II, in September.

How bizarre ... not

Tokio Hotel's Bill Kaulitz isn't the only German rocker who likes to wear more lipstick and eye shadow than most girls. (I just watched an episode of Deutsche Welle's popXport, which explains the back-to-back posts about Teutonic artists.)

In fact, Kaulitz and his pufferfish hairstyle are facing some rather stiff competition from Cinema Bizarre (pictured), a group of flamboyantly girlish men from Berlin. They met at an anime convention -- or at least three of them did -- and released their first album in North America, BANG!, earlier this year. Their lead singer, Strify, actually has decent vocals ... if you can actually force yourself to sit through one of their songs. Here are links for two -- My Obsession, a piano ballad perfect for the Twilight films, and I Came 2 Party, one of the cheesiest Euro-dance tracks of the year.

Of course, their looks are nothing new. 'Member Canada's very own Platinum Blonde? Or all those girly metal bands in the '80s? I guess it was only a matter of time before this style started to make a comeback ... and I'm talking more than just the eyeliner previously worn by emo musicians.

Don't cry

Here's an awesome version of The Cure's Boys Don't Cry ... sung in German. Anajo is the name of the band, Jungs weinen nicht is the Deustch-ified title.

Brr ... it's cold!

Did you know? Cold War Kids are releasing a new iTunes-only EP, Behave Yourself, on Monday, Dec. 21. I only found out via one of RCRD LBL's rcrd of the day e-mails. Here's one of the EP's tracks, Audience:

Humbug!

My pal and sister blogger, Amanda Ash, is a Christmas fanatic. Last year, we teamed up to challenge Edmonton musicians to a cookie bake-off. (We only did the eating.) This year, AA is keeping a list of new Yuletide tunes from the likes of Fucked Up, Ohbijou, Stars, and Edmonton's Colleen Brown. Listen to them on AA's blog, The Indie Files.

I don't know why, but I tend to be a Scrooge when it comes to most Christmas tunes. (I'll only willingly listen to Bing Crosby's album, White Christmas, and Boney M's wacky carols.) However, it appears my heart is slowly increasing in size. I don't mind Fucked Up's rendition of Do They Know It's Christmas?, and I love, love, LOVE Rush Coil's goofy collection of covers "inspired by classic video game music."

Ever wonder what PacMan, Donkey Kong and Q-Bert listen to on Dec. 25? 8-bit Christmas is the answer! Listen to it -- or buy it -- here. The digital download, featuring Silent Night, Little Drummer Boy, and Joy To The World, is only four bucks. All money will be donated to Child's Play, a charity which gives video games and toys to children in hospitals across North America (and other parts of the world too).

Where's my credit card?

The White Stripes are about to release their 2007 cross-Canada tour documentary, Under Great White Northern Lights, and a live DVD of the band's 10th anniversary show, Under Nova Scotian Lights. The two will be available as part of a limited-edition box set, which also includes "a double LP/CD of 16 live tracks, 7 inch on color vinyl, hardcover photography book and a silk-screened print," according to the duo's latest newsletter. Fans who pre-order before Jan. 1 will also get three live MP3s and a "special holiday card from the band."

Holy cats! The price? $179 (US) before Jan. 1, $229 afterwards. Quick, where's my credit card? If that's a little too steep, Jack and Meg White are offering a little freebie tonight. The duo will be debuting footage of Let's Shake Hands on their MySpace page at 10 p.m. (MST). You can also check out a new trailer of Under Great White Lights on the band's website. Doesn't it look fab? Makes me pine for the pair's secret show at the Edmonton youth centre ... (video posted above).

Lang relives her Western Experience

Back in 1984 -- when she was still wearing skirts and known as a cow punk -- k.d. lang released her very first album, A Truly Western Experience, on an Edmonton record label, Bumstead Records, founded by Larry Wanagas.

She's now an international superstar, while Bumstead is one of the oldest (and most respected) indie labels in Canada. Now HQ-ed in Toronto, its current roster includes The Trews, Two Hours Traffic, Emma-Lee, and Vancouver up 'n' comers Yukon Blonde.

To mark the 25th anniversary of lang's debut, Bumstead is re-issuing A Truly Western Experience on Jan. 19, 2010. The original featured nine songs, including Bopalena, Tickled Pink, Hanky Panky, and Busy Being Blue.

The reissue boasts five extra tracks -- her first seven-inch single, Friday Dance Promenade, a demo of Burrs Under Your Saddle, and three live tunes (Hungry For Love, Johnny Get Angry, Mercy).

Fans will be able to pre-order the disc as of Dec. 15 via Bumstead's new e-store, which the label/production/management company is launching to celebrate its 30-year milestone. A free compilation of the label's artists, including lang, The Trews and John Ford, is now available on the site.

Yukon Blonde's self-titled debut will be released Feb. 9. The rockers will perform Feb. 22 at the Black Dog.

Buck you, Vancouver!

What did I tell ya? "Vancouver artists are quickly becoming Canada's new Olympians of music," I wrote two weeks ago. Four of the city's artists won CBC Radio 3's Bucky Awards earlier today -- Hannah Georgas for best new artist, Said The Whale for Most Canadian Song (Emerald Lake, AB), Mother Mother for best live act, and Dan Mangan for best vocals and best song (Robots).

OK, so the Buckys aren't quite as prestigious as the Grammys or Junos ... but they're definitely more fun. (Fan votes determine the winners.) You can listen to a podcast of today's "ceremonies" via CBC Radio 3's website. The second set of awards will be announced tomorrow ... as in Thursday, Dec. 10.

In the Christmas spirit

Mae Anderson wants to celebrate the yuletide season by collecting donations to the Edmonton Food Bank. The local singer-songwriter will show off her new single, Perfect Christmas, and other tunes next Friday, Dec. 18 at the HMV/NewCap Stage in West Edmonton Mall. Show time: 7 p.m.

Anderson, 16, is asking fans to bring non-perishable items to the gig. Perfect Christmas is now available in HMV, Megatunes and through her website. She co-wrote the tune with Celine Dion’s keyboard player, Yves Frulla, and recorded it in Las Vegas. You can listen to a snippet on Anderson's MySpace page. Proceeds from sales of the single will be donated to Santa's Anonymous.

Pow! Pow!

Manraygun, featuring Journal writer Tom Murray on bass, will be releasing their third album of aching tunes, Everything Is Temporary, on Friday, Dec. 11 at The ARTery, 9535 Jasper Avenue. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 — and includes a copy of the disc.

The alt-country fivesome stars the songwriting talents of former Idyl Tea frontman Everett LaRoi, Dennis Lenarduzzi and his brother Steven — with a contribution from Silas Grenis. They’ll be joined by Pale Moon Lights, who recently released their own album of prairie sobbers, and hip-hop duo mastrzofthayoonavrce.

Twice the Advantage

The Rural Alberta Advantage, fronted by Edmonton expat Nils Edenloff, will now play two shows on Saturday, Feb. 13 at the Pawn Shop.

The Toronto indie-country trio’s 9:30 p.m. gig is almost sold out. Tickets to the 5:30 show are $13 plus service charges. They’ll go on sale Friday, Dec. 11 at Ticketmaster.

What timing -- the RAA's first official music video, Drain The Blood, was released this morning. Watch it on Pitchfork.

Ho ho ho!

Here’s an early Christmas present for fans of the Folk Fest. The Band’s drummer/vocalist Levon Helm, Alberta cowboy Ian Tyson and Tex-Mex duo Calexico are some of the headliners confirmed for next August 5 to 8.

Six other acts are also on the bill — including singer-songwriter Kate Rusby, francophone artist Zachary Richard, Scottish modern-traditional trio Lau, Bollywood singer Kailash Kher, Colombian rockers Aterciopelados, and Irish folk act Four Men and a Dog.

Your Phil of Genesis covers

The god of thunder, it seems, is a fan of Genesis. Zeus, a group of up 'n' coming rockers from Toronto, recorded a version of Phil and co.'s 1984 hit, That's All. (Posted above.) Their -- as in Zeus, not Genesis -- full-length debut, Say Us, is due in February.

But wait ... that's not all. Clare and The Reasons also do a rendition -- complete with tuba and violin. (Posted below.) Yum. The Brooklyn duo's original compositions are also quite delicious. Their second album, Arrow, is now available on Frog Stand Records.

Mo' money

Musician and Movember fundraiser Brock Skywalker deserves a standing ovation. If it wasn't for his motivation, we would've never known what Edmonton Journal cop reporter Ben Gelinas looks like with a furry lip.

Here's how it happened ... at the start of November, Brock sent me an e-mail about his mo-growing efforts to raise money for prostate cancer research.

I blogged about his 'stache-for-cash drive, then forwarded his e-mail to one of the Journal's editors, Kerry Powell, who ended up running a few stories about the cause. Inspired by Brock, I also bugged my boyfriend/DJ David Stone and Ben Gelinas to grow their own mos.

My boyfriend raised $485 in donations, Ben collected $945, while Brock raised $2,015. And, as promised, he put together a montage of photos, documenting the growth of his 'stache. (Posted above.)

Way to go!

Criticism, schmiticism

Edmonton artists are taking bit of a bashing.

1. Earlier this week, Cadence Weapon was criticized for picking Douglas Coupland's Generation X as his choice for CBC Radio's annual Canada Reads contest. (I thought it was a safe selection, others felt he should have opted for an Edmonton author.)

2. Shout Out Out Out Out was dissed in the latest issue of GQ. The local electro-rockers topped the magazine's annual list of terrible band names. (Hey, I can think of a lot worse. Septic Flesh, for starters. And, as much as I like 'em, The Rural Alberta Advantage doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.)

Oddly enough, GQ is the second New York magazine to make fun of the name of an Edmonton artist. "Finally, what the fuck is a Cadence Weapon?" Michael Hogan asked in a Vanity Fair column about bad band names. Well, it's definitely not a band name.

Springing into action

The Bounce 91.7 FM’s past and present Showdown champions are springing into action with a fresh set of tunes.

Justin Blais, the latest winner of the talent search, recorded two more songs with the team behind Vancouver’s Hipjoint Productions. He’ll perform the first, 7 Days, and sign autographs on Saturday, Dec. 5 at the HMV stage in West Edmonton Mall. (The second tune is still under wraps.)

“Most of my family says (7 Days) sounds like Jason Mraz and Jack Johnson,” he says.
“It has that relaxed summer vibe but it’s more uptempo.”

Perfect! Just what we need to get through our frigid days.

Blais, 19, previously recorded two dance-pop numbers, One Night and Some Kind of Beautiful, with Hipjoint. The latter is now charting on radio stations across Canada. “It’s amazing,” he says of his post-Showdown life. “It’s so weird to know people care. I’ve been singing and performing all my life and now people want to talk to me.”

Saturday’s gig starts at 2:30 p.m.

* Kreesha Turner, the very first Showdown winner, is the voice of Delerium’s swirling new electronic single, Dust In Gravity. “Bill (Leeb) and Rhys (Fulber), the masterminds of Delerium, actually kinda sought me out and asked for my vocals,” she says on one of her YouTube vlogs.

The tune will be featured on the Vancouver duo’s next album, due in the spring.

* Quanteisha Benjamin, last year’s champ, is sportin’ a new club-pop ditty, D & G, written by Hipjoint. She also teamed with the rockers from Radio For Help to record a tune, Breathing, for the local band’s forthcoming album, You Don’t Wanna Miss This. Both singles will be available Dec. 15 on iTunes.

Radio For Help will perform Saturday, Dec. 5 at Avenue Theatre, 9030 118th Ave,, with Define The Line, Seventh Rain, Chasing Jones and The Red Threat. Doors are at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.

Julie in January

Singer-songwriter Julie Doiron and folk-rockers Attack In Black will perform Wednesday, Jan. 20 at The ARTery. Ticket info will be released soon.

Doiron, Attack In Black’s Daniel Romano and guitarist/singer Fred Squire released an album, Daniel, Fred & Julie, earlier this week.

(Photo by Rick White.)

Another jolt of electricity

I used to really like Electric Six ... back in 2003, when their ridiculous disco-rock schtick was still fresh. Six years later, they're still mining the same territory on their sixth album, Kill, but frontman Dick Valentine and his pals don't care what I, or other former fans, think.

"Electric Six is done trying to not sound like their first record Fire," reads their MySpace page. "Electric Six wants to sound like their first record Fire. Electric Six wants big loud guitars and fuzz basses intertwined with the occasional r&b jam."

Electric Six also wants to return to Edmonton. The Detroit rockers will perform Friday, March 19 at The Starlite Room. Tickets are $14 plus service charges at Ticketmaster, Megatunes, Blackbyrd and Freecloud. On sale: Friday, Dec. 4.

Valentine and his Sixers made their first local stop in 2005, after clearing up some pesky legal issues. At the time, the band was on their second record label. "We're just going to get worse, and eventually, no one will want to sign us," Valentine jokingly told The Journal.

"This is 1984!"

Hey Mari, here's something else to make us feel like kids again ... Martha and the Muffins are releasing their first album, Delicate, in 18 years. Wow. It's due Feb. 2 on their own label, Muffin Music. Mess (posted above) is the first taste.

"Making Delicate was like a TV reality show: love, hate, sex, death and disease, it was all happening at once. If the music hadn't been good, I would've been totally lost," says Mark Gane.

The Toronto new wave/pop duo of Gane and Martha Johnson were MuchMusic stars in the '80s, thanks to Echo Beach and White Station/Black Station.

Hollerin' with joy

Hollerado is the winner of Live 88.5 FM's Big Money Shot contest in Ottawa, Ont. Live is one of two radio stations in Canada offering big paydays to up 'n' coming artists. The Big Money Shot awarded $250,000 to Hollerado last Friday, Nov. 27.

The Peak, a station in Vancouver, will award $150,000 to the winner of its contest -- the Peak Performance Project -- in January. The top three finalists will be announced Monday, Dec. 14. You can still vote for your favourite contestant until the end of today -- Monday, Nov. 30 (I can't believe December is just around the freakin' corner. Where did the year ... and the decade go? Do I really have to come up with lists of my fave albums, singles, and concerts for the '00s? It all feels like such a blur.)

As for Hollerado, the winning foursome flew to China only hours after collecting their cheque. Seriously -- they'll be performing in cities such as Shanghai, Wuhan and Yangshua over the next 19 days. (You'll be able to follow their exploits on Exclaim!'s site.) Their next Canadian tour is scheduled for February -- to coincide with the re-release of their debut, Record In A Bag, on Feb. 9. Juliette is the first single.

I'm 18 again ...

For more than 15 years, Elizabeth Fraser was the haunting voice of Cocteau Twins. The British trio broke up in 1998 and tried to reunite in 2005. (She initially agreed, then had second thoughts.)

Moses, a tribute to Echo & The Bunnymen's late keyboard player, is Fraser's first single in a decade. You can listen to a snippet of it on The Guardian's website and read the results of her first interview since the '90s.

Jammin' with Jann

Jann Arden's next album of covers? Reggae versions of all her hits. Here's a snippet of I Would Die For You, courtesy of vwayner, from Wednesday's show at the Jubilee Auditorium. (She did it again on Thursday.) Sweet, mon.

It was a treat to see Arden as just a fan, not a reviewer. For once, I wasn't thinking about leads, segues, or taking notes ... I was able to escape and lose myself in her music. Here's Fawnda Mithrush's Journal review of Arden's Wednesday show.

Out and about

Two members of Edmonton’s Shout Out Out Out Out are trying a little experiment this weekend. Nik Kozub and Jason Troock will be writing and recording a track while shoppers browse through jewelry, clothing and other doodads at the Royal Bison Craft & Art Fair.

The electro duo will be working in a makeshift studio for the duration of the fair, which runs Saturday, Nov. 28 and Sunday, Nov. 29 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre, 8426 Gateway Boulevard. The track will be available — for a small fee — at the end of the two days. Admission to Royal Bison is $2.

The fair, masterminded by designer/publisher/musician Raymond Biesinger, will celebrate with a little pre-party on Friday, Nov. 27 at Teddy's, 11361 Jasper Avenue. The event will feature vendors, DJs, bands and a fashion show. Tickets are $10 at Nokomis, $12 at the door.

In other Shout Out-related news, Kozub is working on a remix of one of Hawksley Workman's new songs, Snow Angel. Cool.

Reach for the Peak

One lucky musician — or band — from British Columbia is about to become $150,000 richer. Vancouver’s adult alternative radio station, The Peak 100.5 FM, is offering one of the largest cash prizes in the history of Canadian musical contests.

The winner of the Peak Performance Project will be decided by a mix of fan votes, performances, demos, work ethic, and a panel of industry experts. The contest “is designed to educate, promote, develop and hopefully launch the careers of some of BC’s top up and coming artists,” says the project’s website.

Nineteen artists are vying for the top prize, including indie-rockers Bend Sinister, house/reggae/hip-hop act Wassabi Collective, and pop chanteuse Adaline. Fans across Canada can vote for their favourite HERE until Monday, Nov. 30 at 11:59 p.m. (PST).

The top three finalists will be revealed, in no particular order, on Monday, Dec. 14. The $150,000 winner will be announced at a concert in January, but the first two runner-ups won’t leave empty-handed. They'll receive $75,000 and $50,000 for their efforts.

In comparison, the winners of the Polaris Music Prize for best Canadian album win $20,000, while the winners of the Verge Music Awards receive $25,000.

If selected as one of the lucky three, Adaline says she would use her winnings to record the follow-up to her debut, Famous For Fire. (The money must be used towards their music careers and not to buy cars or take vacations in Fiji.)

“The money is the carrot dangling in front of your face,” says the part-time Vancouver waitress. “I’m so ready to record a new album but I don’t have the money. To see it in your grasp and to know the money equals creative expression and the freedom to do that, I wouldn’t have to serve beef tenderloin for the next 10 years. It’s insanely motivating.”

As part of the contest, each contestant received $3,500 to show off their work ethic and drum up some buzz. Adaline used hers to shoot a snazzy ‘50s-style video for Whiter/Straighter, a sly and bouncy piano number (posted above). It looks like it paid off — both MuchMusic and Bravo added the clip to their playlists.

About 450 musicians and groups applied to take part in the Peak Performance Project. It kicked off with a boot camp, where 20 finalists spent a week writing songs, performing, and learning from industry experts.(One contestant ended up leaving the boot camp after only a few days.)

“There’s very little sense of competition between anyone,” says Adaline. “If it was all based on votes, it would be cut-throat. But because it’s not, it allows us to support each other, so we all kind of win in that sense.”

The Peak Performance Project is slated to run for the next six years.

An Ottawa modern rock station, Live 88.5 FM, runs a similar contest with an even larger payday — $250,000 for the winner. Five bands, including Hollerado, are in contention for this year's pot. Live's Big Money Shot winner will be announced on the evening of Friday, Nov. 27.

Consider this

Local cowboy Corb Lund will be on NPR's All Things Considered TODAY at 3:30 p.m. (MST). (Thanks to Zureen for the tip!)

Death to dark days

“It was a moment of revelation for me. I was really feeling a lot of darkness inside and it was my heart song, calling for help. It’s a pretty personal and spiritual song for me.”-- singer Becky Ninkovic talks about writing the lyrics to You Say Party! We Say Die!'s song, Dark Days. Listen to it HERE.

Read about Dark Days and the rest of YSP! WSD!'s new synth-punk album, XXXX, in the Edmonton Journal. The Vancouver fivesome will perform Friday, Nov. 27 at New City with Little Girls and Christian Hansen & The Autistics. Advance tickets are $10 at the New City Likker Box and Megatunes.

Quest for flyer

Jay Sparrow’s wailing single, The Ballad of Mary White, is now available on iTunes. The local tunesmith was one of 13 acts to pen a song about a specific Canadian location for CBC Radio 2. Both the artists and the spots were selected by listeners as part of the Great Canadian Song Quest.

Sparrow was tasked with writing about the Hoodoos/Badlands of Alberta. “It was a little daunting so I wrote a few different ideas and did some rough demos,” he says. “Then I sat back and listened to them to try and decide what was the most fitting sentiment. I wanted the song to represent some of the Badlands’s history. The song is a fictional story about the first child born of a first nations mother and a European father.”

Sparrow and his fellow Questers only had four weeks to write their tunes. The results, including Kim Barlow’s Dawson City and Chantal Kreviazuk’s In Waskada Somewhere, were aired earlier this week. All the songs are on iTunes — either separately or as an album. Listen to snippets on CBC Radio 2's website.

“I listened to the whole record (Tuesday) while driving and I was really impressed,” says Sparrow. “It feels like there is some cohesion among all of the songs which is surprising considering the diversity of the songwriters. I really enjoy the contributions from Joel Plaskett and also The Deep Dark Woods.”

Plaskett’s tune, On the Rail, is about the Cabot Trail in Nova Scota. The Deep Dark Woods wrote Charlie’s (is coming down), inspired by a bar in The Plains Hotel in Regina, Sask. The hotel, compared to the Strath on Whyte Avenue, will be torn down in the new year. A new hotel/condo development will reportedly take its place.

Sparrow is also in the redevelopment phase of his career. After fronting Edmonton’s Murder City Sparrows, he is now releasing his own raggedy folk-punk discs, including Good Days Gone. (One of his tracks, Lay Yr Mountain Down, is posted below.) His next, produced by Jimmy Gnecco of Ours, is slated for 2010.

Sparrow will perform Wednesday, Jan. 27 at Myer Horowitz Theatre.

Another Gold Rush

Former Polaris nominee and Toronto singer-songwriter Basia Bulat will reveal part of her heart on Wednesday, March 3 at the Starlite Room. Tickets are $15 plus service charges at Ticketmaster.

Bulat will be releasing her second album, Heart Of My Own, on Jan. 26. (Gold Rush is the first song.) It's the follow-up to Oh My Darling, which was nominated for the Polaris Music Prize in 2008.

More gigs:

* Misfits with No Problem: Wednesday, Dec. 9 at New City. Tickets are $40 plus service charges. On sale HERE.

* Behemoth with The Shining (and this name always makes me laugh) Septic Flesh: Friday, Jan. 22 at the Starlite Room. Tickets are $20 plus service charges at Ticketmaster.

* Charley Pride (nice man, but again?): Thursday, May 6 at the Jubilee Auditorium. Tix are $67.90 and $76.90 WITH service charges at Ticketmaster. Read more about the Jube/TM ticket project HERE.

Nothing stops King Khan

If you haven't figured it out by now, The King Khan & BBQ Show WILL be making their Thursday, Nov. 26 show at the Pawn Shop.

The duo's tour manager was arrested for possession of a controlled substance last week in Kentucky, forcing the garage-rock duo to cancel some of their U.S. dates. Not suprisingly, King Khan wasn't too happy with the ensuing media coverage.

Tickets are $18 plus service charges at Ticketmaster, Blackbyrd and Megatunes. Doors are at 8 p.m. Those Darlins and Sub-Linguals are also on the bill.

The Advantage returns

Yes!

After making their first trip to Edmonton in June, The Rural Alberta Advantage will be returning on Saturday, Feb. 13 at The Pawn Shop. Tickets are $13 plus service charges at Ticketmaster, Megatunes and Blackbyrd. On sale: Saturday, Nov. 28.

The Toronto trio, starring Edmonton native and frontman Nils Edenloff, are one of the success stories of 2009. Their pop-country-electronica ode to wild rose country, Hometowns, was re-released on Saddle Creek in July. Not only did it connect with Canadian listeners -- it hit the top of the national campus radio charts in August -- Hometowns is earning raves around the world.

The RAA will also be playing in Winnipeg (Feb. 9, West End Cultural Centre) and Vancouver (Feb. 15, Elizabeth Theatre) as part of the Cultural Olympiad.

"Missed by all"

November 23, 2009

Released on behalf of the Neale family:

At 39 years of age Juno Award-winning artist Haydain Neale of jacksoul passed away Sunday, November 22, 2009 at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, after a very private seven month battle with lung cancer.

On a beautiful, sunny morning with his wife Michaela, daughter Yasmin, brother-in-law Shawn Hudson and friends Davide DiRenzo and Jennifer Hyland by his side, Haydain passed away peacefully.

Throughout his rehabilitation after a car accident in August 2007 and during his illness, Haydain always maintained a positive spirit.

In a statement from his wife Michaela; “Through all these challenges, Haydain’s sense of humour and love of music were ever-present. He constantly brightened the room with his singing and his smile. His joyful presence and beautiful voice will be missed by us all.”

An interment with a private family gathering will take place later this week.

The family appreciates your messages of condolence but requests that you respect their privacy during this difficult time. Messages can be left at www.jacksoul.com

(Blogger's note: Jacksoul's first album since Neale's car accident, SOULmate, was scheduled for release next Tuesday, Dec. 1. There's no word from Sony as to whether the label will change its plans.)

Must be Monday ... more gigs announced

* American Music Award winner Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert will headline the 2010 edition of Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose.

The country camp-out, which runs July 29 to Aug. 1, will also feature sets by Tracy Lawrence, The Oak Ridge Boys, Jack Ingram, Doc Walker, Chrystal Shawanda, and the king of generosity, Kevin Costner & Modern West.

The Hollywood actor and his bandmates were waiting to perform at this year’s Big Valley when a wind storm ravaged the mainstage, killing a Lloydminster mother, Donna Moore, and injuring dozens of others. Afterwards, Costner donated several items — including a dinner with himself — at Global Edmonton’s auction to raise money for Moore’s two young sons.

Early-bird Jamboree tickets are now on sale. Three-day adult and youth passes are $155 plus service charges until Jan. 29. They’re available through the Big Valley box office, 1-888-404-1234, or Ticketmaster.

* Switchfoot will kick up a rock ‘n’ roll hurricane on Friday, Jan. 15 at the Starlite Room. Tickets are $21.50 plus service charges. On sale: Friday, Nov. 27 at Ticketmaster.

The San Diego rockers and surfers are best known for their 2003 hit, Meant To Live. Their new album, Hello Hurricane, was released earlier this month. It’s the first of four recorded by Switchfoot. The next, Vice Verses, is scheduled for 2010.

* Loverboy and Barney Bentall will team up for an ‘80s flashback on Saturday, Feb. 6 at the River Cree Resort & Casino. Tickets are $39.50 plus service charges. On sale: Friday, Nov. 27 at Ticketmaster.

* Tickets to John Mayer’s April 4 show at Rexall Place will go on sale this Saturday, Nov. 28.
Prices range from $40.50 to $86 plus service charges.

(P.S. Mayer is using paperless tickets for his Edmonton show. To get in, fans will have to show up at Rexall with the same credit card used to buy their tickets.)

* Tickets to Lonestar’s Jan. 30 gig at River Cree will go on sale Friday, Nov. 27 at Ticketmaster. Prices are $39.50 and $49.50 plus service charges. The country act is subbing in for the Trailer Park Boys, who had to cancel their gig due to a scheduling conflict.

* George Thorogood & The Destroyers will perform May 19 at the Jubilee Auditorium. Tickets are $45 to $85 plus service charges. On sale: Friday, Nov. 27 at Ticketmaster.

You gotta know when to hold 'em ...

Local hero Corb Lund will play two nights in the YEG -- Thursday, Feb. 25 at the Jube, and Friday, Feb. 26 at Edmonton Event Centre.

Tickets for the two nights are $74.50 plus service charges. (Separate tix for the Jube show are $35 and $45, tix for EEC are $39.50.) On sale: Friday, Nov. 27 at Ticketmaster.

Lund released his first country/roots album on New West Records, Losin' Lately Gambler, in September.

A small but welcome step

Buying tickets from Ticketmaster.ca is like playing a weird version of the slots. You never know what the service charges are going to be — and thus the total cost — until you hit the “find tickets” button, fill in the captcha codes and wait for the site to generate the results.

This is one of Ticketmaster Canada’s more infuriating aspects and the company, along with the Jubilee Auditoria in Edmonton and Calgary, are quietly testing changes to alleviate consumer frustration.

When you now look for tickets to any Jube shows, you’ll notice the total price is listed up front on the site. Then, by clicking on an arrow, you’ll get an instantaneous breakdown of the service charges — or what Ticketmaster calls a “fee roll-up display.”

Let’s say you want to buy a main-floor seat to ZZ Top’s show on Saturday, Nov. 28 in Edmonton — the full price is listed as $116.10. Click the arrow and you’ll find out you’ll pay $103.95 for the ticket and $12.15 in service charges.

It’s a small step, but the director of both venues, Katherine Huising, welcomes the change. “It is something we’ve been asking for,” she says. “It serves our patrons better.”

The Jubilees are the only two venues in Canada beta-testing this new initiative with Ticketmaster Canada. Five venues in the U.S. are also doing the same with Ticketmaster.com.

Christine Hall, director of sales and marketing for Ticketmaster Canada, says these tests are the results of online surveys filled out by ticket buyers. They want to know what the service charges are up front.

“That’s the feedback we’ve gotten through the surveys,” she says. “We take consumer feedback and try to adapt what we’re offering to the public and our clients.”

Hall says the Jubes were selected as test subjects because of Huising’s expertise in the concert industry. Another two Canadian clients will be added in the second test phase. “She understands the intricacies — meeting consumer needs, as well as her needs from a venue perspective, and promoter needs,” says Hall.

“We’ve gone out and had conversations with a number of venues and introduced them to the concept. Katherine volunteered the Jube.”

She says Ticketmaster Canada only publicly started testing the concept about two or three weeks ago. “So far, it’s going well,” says Hall. “We’re looking for feedback.”

Earlier this year, Ticketmaster Canada was slapped with four class-action lawsuits over its service charges and its resale site, TicketsNow.com.

Norm Brandsma, a music fan from Edmonton, filed one of those suits. It alleges Ticketmaster’s charges and fees are illegal because they are added to the face value of tickets.

-- Taken from my story in The Edmonton Journal

Make time for Work ... man

Hawksley Workman’s tasty new single, We’ll Make Time (Even When There Ain’t No Time), will be available Tuesday, Nov. 24 on iTunes.

It’s the first cut from his next album, Meat, due Jan. 19 — and judging by his breathless rush of words (about sex) and grungy, squealing riffs, Workman’s in the mood to rock again. (His last two discs for Universal Music Canada, Treeful of Starling and Between the Beautifuls, reflected his introspective folkier side.)

Workman will perform Sunday, March 14 at the Winspear Centre. Tickets are $34.50 plus service charges. On sale: Friday, Nov. 20 at the Winspear box office, 780-428-1414. (A presale, through his website, is sold out.)

Look for a new track from Meat and his next next album, Milk, to be released every Tuesday, “via non-traditional digital methods,” according to a press release, "over the next few months."

Here's the full list of his Canadian dates:

March 05 - Cumberland BC - Sid Williams Theatre
March 06 - Victoria BC - Alix Goolden Theatre
March 07 - Kelowna BC - Kelowna Community Theatre
March 08 - Trail BC - Charles Bailey Theatre
March 10 - Red Deer AB - Memorial Centre Theatre
March 12 - Banff AB - Eric Harvie Theatre
March 14 - Edmonton AB - Winspear Centre
March 17 - Calgary AB - Jack Singer Hall
March 18 - Saskatoon SK - Odeon
March 19 - Regina SK - Darke Hall,
March 20 - Winnipeg MB - Burton Cummings Theatre
April 07 - Saint John NB - The Blue Olive
April 08 - Fredericton NB - Playhouse Theatre
April 09 - Halifax NS - Rebecca Cohn Theatre
April 10 - St. John's NL - Holy Heart Auditorium
April 12 - Charlottetown PEI - The Guild
April 13 - Charlottetown PEI - The Guild
April 15 - Quebec City QC - Le Cercle
April 16 - Montreal QC - La Tulipe
April 17 - Ottawa ON - Bronson Centre
April 20 - St. Catharines ON - Sean O'Sullivan Theatre
April 21 - London ON - Music Hall
April 24 - Toronto ON - Massey Hall

New Sloan EP and shows

Surprise!
Everyone’s favourite Halifax natives, Sloan, will be releasing a new EP, Hit & Run, on Monday, Nov. 23.

Taking a page from Radiohead’s book, the Toronto-based rockers only broke the news yesterday. As in Wednesday, Nov. 18. (We’re technically not allowed to use words such as “tomorrow” and “yesterday” in the Edmonton Journal.)

The five-song disc, partly inspired by singer/cyclist Chris Murphy’s recent run-in with a car, will only be available on iTunes and Sloan's website. (The first single, Take It Upon Yourself, is now available as a free download.)

Murphy and his mates are also about to hit the road with Magneta Lane and another group of Vancouver up 'n' comers, TV Heart Attack — including a Saturday, Dec. 12 date at the Starlite Room in Edmonton. Here are the rest of their western Canadian shows:

Dec. 9: The Pyramid, Winnipeg
Dec. 10: Louis' Pub, Saskatoon
Dec. 11: SAIT, Calgary
Dec. 15: Commodore, Vancouver

Not to be outdone, fellow Nova Scotia native Brian Borcherdt is offering his own collection of unexpected recordings, Torches (& the Ward Colorado demos). (Seriously, his press release arrived less than four hours after Sloan’s announcement.)

Fans can download the 17 tunes, written and recorded between 2004 and 2006, from Hand Drawn Dracula's site. For free.

When he’s not writing his own tunes, Borcherdt is a member of a band of critically acclaimed Toronto noise merchants with a name we’re also not allowed to use in the pages of The Journal.

("This isn't the Journal's site!" you might argue. True. But, I initially wrote this post for my Journal blog, Plugged In, which is suffering from technical issues -- again -- and I didn't feel like revising my words.)

Avoiding the "disgusting bump and grind"

Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy is nervous about performing at the Grey Cup's halftime show in Calgary on Nov. 29.

For the first time, viewers get to pick the act's playlist -- perhaps to stave off some of the criticism which has followed the Grey Cup's previous performers. In 2005, football fans howled with disgust when the Black Eyed Peas sang My Humps and singer Fergie shook all that junk insider her trunk.

"Until the Grey Cup halftime show I was proud to be a Canadian. Now I'm not. I'm ashamed, embarrassed and angry. There were young children watching that disgusting bump and grind and I can only imagine the horror with which the parents of those children witnessed that so-called musical display," wrote one Edmonton Journal reader. In an online poll, 82 percent of Journal readers said they didn't like the BEP's halftime performance.

Then again, some viewers were also critical of rocker Lenny Kravitz's set in 2007. He "was by far the worst half-time show in Grey Cup history," wrote a Journal venter.

So, the pressure is on for Blue Rodeo -- and football fans. They can pick three of the group's country-rock songs, including Trust Yourself, Diamond Mine and (ha!) Hasn't Hit Me Yet.

"We've given them 10 choices," says Cuddy. "We need it to come into a particular format so we hope they choose the right songs. So we're a little nervous about that."

Votes can be cast HERE until Friday, Nov. 20.

Cuddy and Blue Rodeo's co-frontman, Greg Keelor, are no strangers to the football field. They used to play together on their Toronto high school's team. Cuddy was quarterback, Keelor was defensive end. The two, however, didn't like each other much in school, as they recently reminisced during an interview in Edmonton.

"We met in a classroom and we really weren't friends and certainly the football field wasn't a good icebreaker," says Cuddy.

"I moved to Toronto from Montreal after March break," says Keelor. "In true Montreal fashion, I thought Toronto was bumpkin-town. Jim and a couple of his friends were writing notes about me in class ..."

"Susan and I," clarifies Cuddy.

"Making fun of my suede topsiders at the time," continures Keelor.

"And your hair," adds Cuddy.

"So I was watching them and people would turn around and they'd laugh at me," says Keelor. "Susan, this friend of ours, would turn around and laugh at me. There was another girl in the notes, but I can't remember who it was. At the end of the class, Susan took the notes and threw them in the waste paper basket. And so I waited till everybody left class and I went up and picked out the notes. They were calling me 'Leroy Newboy.''"

"So it never started out well," smiles Cuddy. "After the football, we became friends and hung around in the same circle. But none of those things were auspicious starts for a long friendship."

"Leroy Newboy," Keelor chuckles. "Leroy Newboy," Cuddy repeats.

"That would've been 1971," says Keelor. "It's pathetic, isn't it?"

Wow. No.

Thirteen years later, the two and their friends would form Blue Rodeo. They've gone on to win 10 Junos and sell more than four million records. The country-rockers released their 12th studio album, The Things We Left Behind, in October.