In this interview with guitarist Steve Canning of The Fires Of, he explains all the growth the band has gone through to get to where they are now musically and the recording process. He highlights what it's like in the indie scene here and how to make the most of it, and we find out that they have a pretty impressive general collection of whats on their Dork Shelves.
Julie Doiron has been a familiar name within the Canadian indie folk-rock scenes for decades. In this interview with Doiron, we discuss her residency at Saving Gigi, living in Toronto, working on her next album and connecting with her audience.
Heartbeat Hotel and its cohorts are no strangers to Dork Shelf. We’ve listened to their sound grow over the last year from the late-night basement ponderings of Fetus Dreams to the hazy glow of waking realizations found on their latest piece of work, a six song-long album titled Intae Woe, which was released at the end of November. By doing such, this Toronto four-piece has led 2011 into a blissfully sweet ending.
When the air gets crisp, when the leaves turn colours and start to fall, the atmosphere noticeably changes. Generally around this time, I find people like to make a bit of a switch in the kind of music they listen to. Gone are the poppy summer hits and in come the warm and majestic folk-rock tunes. If you find that you're one of these people, then Toronto’s Parks & Rec will snuggle right in.
When discussing indie rock bands in Toronto and which ones have been waiting real hard for their dues, the name The Darcys probably comes up pretty often. For years, the band has been saying that their next album was forthcoming, but we can finally say that on October 25 that product of labour and love will be in our hands and ears and in front of our eyes. Their self-titled second album, The Darcys, will be released later this month by Canadian indie powerhouse label Arts & Crafts.
Welcome to the first edition of a new column featuring a Toronto band for every month. We’re pleased to start it off with Army Girls, a two-piece who will release their first EP, Close to the Bone, on September 13 through the Blocks Recording Club.
Around this time of year, I start to crave something. Besides the usual cravings like ice cream, cold beer and not witnessing gross old men or even egotistical jocks shirtless (sup, dorks?), I yearn for some really good summer music. You know, the kind that you can blast at BBQs? The kind of music that make your steps a little more energetic while you walk to work and anthems you can sing along to. I think we all experience a form of this craving, so here are my local ideas for how to keep satisfied this July.
PIXELDANCE – Saturday July 2nd 8:00pm Duffy’s Tavern 1238 Bloor Street West Toronto, ON Duffy’s Tavern and Bitmasters Netlabel are bringing you Toronto’s very first and ONLY monthly 8-bit music event on Saturday July 2nd, 2011! This 19+ event will feature videogame-inspired tunes, crazy pixelated visuals provided by none other than CHIP RAMBO, and classic […]
Apologies; long time, no music advice, Dork Shelf-ers. But I have returned to these parts for the mighty occasion that is the North by Northeast festival! I’ve got a handful of acts – here, take a few – you should check out if you’re planning on perusing the festival market for the rest of the week. Here goes.
2011 is finally working up to something stronger this month; are we all in agreement that these first few months have been kind of slow in terms of music? Or maybe we’re just impatient. Anyways, while we’ve surely had some musical finds each month, April has definitely kicked it up a notch. In just the first week, Toronto will be visited by acclaimed international acts such as The Joy Formidable, The Raveonettes, Foster the People, The Mountain Goats, Nat Baldwin (of the Dirty Projectors), Cut Copy and Toro Y Moi.
Every year, Canadian Music Week takes over Toronto, letting 800 bands take over 55 different venues over five nights. It’s really fun chaos. This year’s fest starts on Wednesday, March 9th. So as you’re unlikely to go buy a $75 wristband at this point, it’s in Dork Shelf’s best and wonderfully cheap interests to tell you about the great, free portions of the festival.
There’s a new reality show in Canada that doesn’t involve crazy club-hoppers, people who think they can host a proper dinner party (but really can’t) or those who think they can be the next Canadian Idol. What it does have are indie musicians trying to catch their big break from the industry professionals who get to travel across the country searching for new talent.
As this year starts to get steady on its legs, we'll all need to find some new strength as well. This month’s picks will do just that for you – all of these acts radiate confidence and are really starting to come into their own. Let’s take a note from their songbook and get going!
We’ve all dabbled in the business of New Years’ resolutions, yes? Whether we keep them, kibosh them or disregard them entirely, they’re still there somehow. Did you make any this year? Mine were to learn how to play my new ukulele and to get to know many more local bands. If you share that last one with me, then this month’s column should be a treat for you as I help point us both in the right direction. Here are five Toronto (or GTA) bands who are ready to make that splash in the snow (shh, I know you’re thinking ‘slush’ right now, but snow is just more nice!).
2010 was, by all accounts, a pretty rad year in music. The Canadian indie scene continued to thrive, all while established Canuck bands like Caribou and Arcade Fire wowed us with new albums. Didn't the music establishment declare electronica and rock n' roll dead nigh a decade ago? And yet here we are, still rocking out. Hip-hop, too, (or rap music as the kids call it) continued its rebirth of sorts; a vibrant new sound that is still hard to pin down, but one that is devoid of unironic autotuning and top 40 aspirations. Since summing up a year in music is proving quite difficult in less than 100 words, I'll leave that task to the musical experts of the Shelf: Jess and Zack.
