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In This Issue:
Regina's Sylvie Make Their Mark This is proving to be the busiest year for Regina’s Sylvie. In the ten months that has made up 2005 thus far, they’ve been showcased at NXNE, toured across Canada twice with the likes of Hot Hot Heat and Death From Above 1979 and are in the midst of another Canadian tour in support of their latest release, An Electric Trace which was released last month through Smallman Records. “Touring with these bands has exposed us to larger crowds which has been an excellent opportunity,” says bassist Riva Farrell Racette. “Now that we’re on the road with Controller.Controller and Magneta Lane, it’s been such a positive experience, especially since both bands are fronted by women. It proves that women can also rock in a world that is predominantly male.” Don’t be fooled by the name though. Racette is the sole female in Sylvie, which is fronted by singer/guitarist Joel Passmore (formerly of the recently disbanded Despistado), guitarist Chris Notenboom and drummer Jeff Romanyk. Racette and Passmore have been playing together since she was sixteen and their former band, Ned of the Bush, was of the metal variety. Notenboom was the last addition to the current incarnation of Sylvie which moved them into a new musical direction and prompted them to change their name. “When Chris joined the band, we moved away from our previous metal sound and we thought a new name would be appropriate. He suggested Sylvie as it was the name of a character in a Barbara Gowdy story of a Siamese twin searching for her own identity. We felt it paralleled what we were going through.” When they wrap up touring with Controller.Controller with two shows in Halifax on December 12th, they’ll be headed back West with Wintersleep and Ladies and Gentlemen. This will be their second time on the road with Wintersleep and Racette recalls the great deal of fun it was to tour with the fellow Canadians who they became friends with. “We all became foosball addicts and even came up with player names for each of us.” There hasn’t been any crazy road stories to speak of so far, and she did comment how tiring it can get being on the road constantly considering how much of a home-body she is when at home. “It’s nice to get home to our own beds, but once we do we tend to get the itch to get back on the road again quickly.” Matt Good Chills Out At Mac Hall I've been to many a Matt Good show since moving to Calgary, but the first three performances remain the best. Those three shows, as the Matthew Good Band, were at the height of their popularity. Fresh off the growing success of Underdogs and Beautiful Midnight, the shows were incredibly energetic and entertaining. When the band imploded surrounding the release of The Audio Of Being, their supporting show here in Calgary was hard to watch. When I finally decided to see Good last couple of years, his rockin' performance returned but the flair hadn't. Going into this week's show, I suspected it would be a mellow act and I was pretty much correct. That's not to say that it wasn't good at all; I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed it! Good has grown up a little, although I'm certain the old t-shirt "I Hear Matt Good Is An Asshole" still applies. He continues to use his fame and music as an outlet for political and social action. Amnesty International has had his support for some time now, and representatives were at the concert asking people to sign a petition against the Star Wars defense plan. He even took a chance during a song to speak out against human rights violations right here in our own country. He launched the show by playing the instrumental track from Loser Anthems, Man From Harold Wood as they walked on stage. I was very pleased to hear Avalanche and Advertising On Police Cars yet disappointed he omitted While We Were Hunting Rabbits which I think would have fit in nicely. The ever popular Load Me Up almost snuck by us with some experimental guitar work and 21st Century Living was performed without the narrative verses. After a short break, the crowd started clapping and chanting "K-I-C-K-A-S-S, That's the way we spell success" and any MGB fan would know that as the beginning of Giant. Surprisingly enough, when they returned to the stage for the encore, they launched into the song. Good then ended the show with two solo acoustic performances of Primetime Deliverance and Apparitions. It may not have been one of his best shows ever, but Good managed to pull off a relatively quiet evening with his fans and it turned out to be a great performance. Here's how the set list played out:
Encore
Written By: David Reid Robinson Anti-Flag were tight and had good things to say. Bad Religion had a fantastic stage presence and put on a great show with LOTS of energy. (editors note: Although Bad Religion were as together as I've ever seen them, which is no surprise from a band that's been together for over 25 years, I think the the folks at the sound board need to learn how to mix down a live show and not crank the levels to the point where you can't pick out any one instrument.) In short, it wasn't as much of a punk show as I thought it would be, but it still rocked. I got poked in the eye by a mohawk (editors note: HOW IS THAT NOT PUNK!?!?!?!?!?!?!?), but I enjoyed myself. I'll have to wash my new Bad Religion sweater twice to get the smell of contraband out of it. Sadly, this morning I must return to hell but it's casual Friday so I don't have to wear a clown suit. P.O.D. Complete Recording Testify; To Release Limited EP San Diego's P.O.D. have completed their next release Testify, which is scheduled to be released on January 24th, 2006. The album was produced by Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette, Dave Matthews, Van Halen) and P.O.D. and was mixed by Chris Lord-Alge (Billy Talent, Green Day, Rob Zombie). Although the band commented that the next step will be picking which songs make the album, the first single has been identified as Goodbye For Now. It can be heard on their My Space site. In case you can't wait until January to get your hands on the new album, the band is offering its fans Warriors EP - Volume II. Volume I was released shortly before their breakout release The Fundamental Elements Of Southtown as a treat to the most hardcore of their fans, known as Warriors. Only 30,000 copies were pressed and sold out so quickly that it's now considered a much sought after collector's item. There will only be 40,000 copies of Volume II released on November 15th and will include a handwritten letter from Sonny. It will also be available for download through iTunes but only up until the release of Testify. Hypnotize Video Debuted This Week If you visited the System of a Down web site this week, you may have noticed that they've launched the video for Hypnotize, the lead single and title track of their up coming album. The disc, which hits stores November 22nd, is the second half of the band's double release this year, the first being Mezmerize. The new album will be released on both traditional CD and DualDisc, the latter containing DVD features including behind the scenes of the making of both discs. You can order Fan Packs on their web site which will include the DualDisc version of Hypnotize, a digital download of the lead single and a limited edition, numbered SOAD lithograph which features artwork from the album. Foo Fighters Among Many Acts To Pay Tribute To The Man In Black The Foo Fighters will be on hand for a televised special honoring Johnny Cash titled I Walk The Line: A Night For Johnny Cash. Joining the Foo Fighters are U2, Norah Jones, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sheryl Crow and many more. The special is being recorded by CBS and will air on November 16th, and coincides with the release of the Cash biopic Walk The Line. Frances Bean Cobain Enters Prehab Clinic If you've ever listened to or read the Onion, you'll know that they are a fake news web site that reports hilarious parody stories. If you haven't, you should check out their web site. Last month, they did a piece with the above title, which I encourage you to listen or read, simply because it's fucking funny. In a related story, it was reported recently that Courtney Love dropped off her 13 year old dog at a veterinarian clinic. The German Sheppard, Lloyd, suffered a stroke back in the spring, she (or one of her associates) dropped the dog off and she has never gone back to get him. Lovely. For those of you who had the unfortunate task of being stuck outside the Saddledome in the rain for the Mars Volta/System of a Down show back in September, causing you to miss most if not all of TMV's show, you may be happy to find out that you can still hear some of their live genius. The Mars Volta are releasing Scab Dates, a live CD containing only six (or twelve depending on how you look at it) tracks but will surely be 79 minutes long. Check for it in stores next Tuesday. Also in stores next week are the Live 8 DVDs. Each city (Toronto, Paris, Rome and Berlin) will have their own disc and there will be an International 4-disc collection. Lastly, both Limp Bizkit and the Beastie Boys are the latest artists to come out with their own greatest hits collections. Limp Bizkit have cleverly named theirs Greatest Hitz, although I'm not so sure anyone really cares anymore. It does contain three new tracks and is accompanied by a Greatest Videoz DVD set. Beastie Boys opted to use the throwback route, naming theirs Solid Gold Hits. Either release will be useful for fans of each band who haven't already got a healthy collection of their music already. This Week's Releases Reviewed
~~ kMNR v2005.091 ~~ If you would like to hear about or if you have any information on a particular band or artist, please email and I will do my best to cover them.
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