Wish these previous TIMA Nominees  “Best of Luck!” at the 2009 Junos, March 29th on CTV!:

R&B Soul Recording of the Year: Zaki Ibrahim for “Money”

Roots and Traditional Album of the Year (SOLO): Suzie Vinnick for “Happy Here”

Children’s Album of the Year: Chris McKhool for “FiddleFire!”

Photo by Mike Whitman www.whitman-photography.net

The Joys have recently embarked on a tour to promote their new CD “Unfold”, which started in late February, consisting of an appearance on A Channel morning show in London,  hitting SXSW among Canadian heavy-hitters, a gig at the legendary Cat Club in Los Angeles and forward on to the Midwest. Do they ever take time to breathe? Clearly not, the band has recently signed with Koch Entertainment to help promote the new album, a whole new facet to their team. What does the album sound like? The Joys signature classic rock sound, full of great classic riffs and the occasional ballad with vocals that will kick you in the teeth. A lot of the songs have that catchy, timeless structure that The Joys are so well known for. The difference between The Joys and most other bands out there? Their live show is absolutely phenomenal and I mean it is truly a rock ‘n’ roll performance that can rival some of the legendary bands in their genre. Lead singer Sara Smith is indefinitely dynamic, vocally and emotionally; with the ability to connect with everyone from your mom, the big dudes at the biker bar and the tween music lover.

With an endless list of accolades, among them a TIMA 2007 nomination for “Best Female-Fronted” , and extensive press coverage,  it was inevitable that The Joys were to hit Gold record status with their single “Storm”. The experience has boosted them into the spot light and have made them push even harder to gain cross-national appeal.

On a stop in Los Angeles at Cat Club in West Hollywood,  guitarist  Mike McKyes took some time to answer a quick Q & A with us:

Q. The Joys were recently picked up by Koch Entertainment, how has the label helped? Has it become easier to manage the various components, Booking, Touring, Writing, Publishing, Management, etc?

A. Koch has a been a great door opener for us, and a great addition to our growing team. They have definitely made it easier by helping us with their expertise, efforts and contacts and put our album in stores nationwide.

Q. You were selected among some great company to represent Canada at SXSW, Bedouin Soundclash, Magneta Lane, Arkells etc. What was your experience like?

A. Aside from the fact that we were surrounded by thousands of people in downtown Austin and all the streets were closed off, I really felt like we treated it as another show… I mean, we were accepted to participate because of who we are just like all the other great acts that performed with us. I’m honoured that we got to experience SXSW, thank you!

Q. You released a brand new video for “Storm” off your latest album nationally in February, what have the responses been like?

A. Our fans love it, and it’s funny how perceptions change when it was released. I still wake up in the morning and brush my teeth the same way and people think that we’re famous now! I like it, because it makes me smile.

Q. The Joys have been touring since February, do you have any funny stories from the road?

A. Yes, Kevin made a homeless guy a peanut butter sandwich at a rest stop somewhere between El Paso and Hollywood yesterday. I don’t know why that’s funny… it just is to me.

Q.It doesn’t look like you guys are stopping anytime soon, especially with the release of your recent CD, what’s next? Will you be coming back to California anytime soon?

A.  It’s a never ending process of playing live and promoting our music, and trying to balance that with writing new material, recording it and introducing it into our live musical repertoire. Oh ya, and finding some time to sleep in there.

Want to see how their tour is going? Check out their tour blog on http://www.thejoys.ca and keep up with the latest videos, reviews and pics from along the way!

Check out their new music video for their single, “Storm”:

Written By: Scott Bremner

Edited by: Daniela Oliva

“It is the most natural place I’ve ever been to…you can feel it breathing…it is Eden,” says singer Marshall Dane,  not about his love for songwriting or music, but rather the Artic, where he has performed twice in the past two years. He plans to make a return trip this July.  The Toronto Independent Music Award winner explains that he truly can’t wait and will go through the North West Passage. Last year when we spoke, Dane talked about how he considered himself blessed to have performed in the region.

Dane has done a fair bit of traveling lately. On March 12, he performed his latest tunes at the Hard Rock Cafe during Canadian Music Week. As of March 14, he has ten remaining shows until the end of the month, starting with Oshawa at the On The Rocks restaurant and ending on March 31 with a gig at the ‘Rocndocs’ in Port Credit.  Dane will be playing approximately 15 more shows next month as well. Dane explains, “it’s a fast pace and constant required alertness, even when you’re tired.  It makes you feel alive”, says the St. Catherine’s native about touring.

Dane has six siblings and music seemed to be a family affair. “My three older sisters played piano, violin, and one is a ballerina,” he tells me. His parents are also musicians, his mom the piano, and his dad the guitar. Last year Dane, discussed a memory of being “probably three or four (and) listening to my mother play piano before I went to bed.” In the same article, he explained where he got his drive.  He said it is, “from investing so much of my life into this passion because I feel it so much inside of me.”

Recently Dane has been putting his time and effort into another record. He has been to the province of Alberta (Calgary) as well as down to Tennessee (Nashville) to work on his forthcoming CD due out either in the summer or the fall of this year. “This project is receiving green lights all the way. It’s a little trippy.” When asked how that came to be he responds, “from the opening of the doors that are being presented to me.  I knew which doors needed to open; I just hadn’t found the right key.  I found it,” admits Dane whose first disc,  ‘35 Dollars and Cheesecake’ came out six years ago.

So what does he think of the two records that came before his newest undertaking, his nominations as well as his win at The Toronto Independent Awards in 2008 for Best Live Electric Band? Did it make him grow as an artist?  The 2008 award meant “instant credit… locally, as well as internationally.   I had a new bar set for standards that I expect of myself and a strength and confidence to generate industry connections.  [It has] set me up for this new record.” Dane was also nominated in the TIMAs 2008 Best Adult Contemporary category. The 2007 nomination for Best Live Electric Band made him feel, “that peers and (the) public felt I was a factor in Canadian music.”

Want to find out more about Marshall Dane?  Go to http://www.marshalldane.com/ to download MP3’s of both his CD’s from CD Baby.  You can also sign up for his newsletter and get to his Myspace and Facebook pages as well as his Youtube channel from there!

GETTING SIGNED – THE TRUTH ABOUT RECORD DEALS
Whats the deal with record deals?

In this session we’ll interpret the “Sign” language and attempt to decipher what 360 and Recoupment really mean. Are the words in our voacabulary in this age of shrinking CD sales, on-line purchasing and indie music marketing saavy?

• What do the indepenedents offer that the major labels can’t and won’t?
• What are the various kinds of deals and how can the indie artist understand the
• We’ll address the common misconceptions surrounding  the roles of A&R, entertainment lawyers and music managers, and how they all work to negotiate the best workable deal.
• We’ll take you through the process from development to deal.

Join special guest:

Tim Potocic co-founder of SONIC UNYON RECORDS

Date: Friday March 27th 2009
Time: 7pm  doors open, 7:30 Schmooze begins
Where: 935 Bloor St. West, Long & McQuade Music Store (upstairs in big seminar room)
How Much? $10.00 or Free with Schmooze Membership
Why? Schmooze your face off, have a blast, learn about the music industry!

More Details: http://www.bigschmooze.ca/

We had a lot of TIMA sponsorship meetings set up on Friday, so we didn’t get to see as many bands as we would like, but we definitely got a chance to check out the NME showcase, The Sonics and a few others:

I saw The Airborne Toxic on The Late Show with David Letterman, so I thought I would skip over to the NME showcase to see what the buzz was about. You’ve probably heard  “Sometime Around Midnight” on the radio. They performed earlier in the week with Lily Allen and a few others. This band has a ton of  Sold Out shows in the UK, and I mean, they’re ok. They’re sometimes really solemn, delicate and beautiful, other times they sound like The Cure meets The Strokes . I’m not surprised that they‘re a NME endorsed band. The being said,  Cut Off Your Hands sound the same to me. Maybe it’s just my ear, or the fact that they were playing like 20 shows at SXSW and we had enough already of them.  Same with Boy Crisis and the others.

Dynamic  and flamboyant as always, Brooklyn natives Semi Precious Weapons hit the stage with their take on 80’s glam rock.  Let me tell you, they aren’t a The Darkness-style kitschy interpretation of what 80’s rock was. Justin has so much charisma and attitude that I enjoy the music every time I see them and i’m totally entertained as well. Semi Precious Weapons are show stoppers, regardless of who they’re lined up with. Think of genderfukt New York Dolls with 6” stilettos. Who else could hump Rachael Ray at SXSW and get away with it?

Primal Scream are probably one of my favourite new bands. See them on March 24th @ The Phoenix Concert Theater in Toronto, Ontario. Check out their Myspace.

I was most excited last night to see The Sonics. To me, the Sonics are one of those bands that embody everything great about music. The Sonics are a lot older then most of the bands playing SXSW, but you would have never known it. Saxophone, gritty organ intact and full-speed ahead for their entire set -they are a total ’60s anachronism. Their  punk rock cover, “Louie, Louie” ,  could have rivalled Patti Smith, and was one of the most intricate and sinister takes  on the song I’ve heard.  The Sonic’s aren’t the only band poised for a comeback. I heard the DEVO gig was extremely impressive gray jumpsuits and new songs in all, and they haven’t changed a bit. New studio album soon? We think so!

We packed it in and prepared ourselves for another day of interviews, and another night of shows!

DAY 4

I really enjoyed the Pop Montreal Showcase. Having never heard The Boats had a pretty respectable set.  The D’Urbervilles were simply sexy and Les Handclaps are that type of feel-good upbeat pop that just makes you want to dance, regardless of if you know what they’re saying  or not. Pop Montreal is still on the top of their game.

Silversun Pickups @ Antone’s, showed off their technical ability, literally ripping up the neck of a guitar with perfect ferocity. Silversun Pickups have that rare ability to extend the climax of a song to Mogwai-esque euphoria. They previewed some new material  for the crowd from their unreleased album entitled Swoon. From the sound of it. I think it’s going to be another mega hit.

Jesse from MSTRKRFT  seems to have lost the edge that was so apparent in Death From Above 1979, and now bores us with uninspired mixes.

We just wanted to let you know that Zaki Ibrahim is nominated for a Juno, and performed last night at  Buffalo Billiards around 9pm. Having seen her numerous times, we didn’t check out her set – but in the words of Empire Isis,  she is “gangstress”. Speaking of which we hope to have TIMA 2008 “Best Out-Of-Province” winner Empire Isis perform at the 2009-2010 TIMAs award ceremony. We also heard she was filming for her musiqueplus series during SXSW, check it out here:  http://www.musiqueplus.com/emissions/empireisis/videos.html

We also wanted to see Ra Ra Riot and Immaculate Machines but didn’t get a chance. If you saw them, comment and tell us how they were!

Having purchased tickets for Fader Fort ahead of time, we were able to get in to the Kanye suprise gig. That being said, tickets were selling for ridiculous prices on the streets of SXSW. The performance opened with Kid Cudi, who you will be seeing a lot of in the upcoming years, scroll down and check out our previous blogs, we included a video of a Kid Cudi performance for you to check out. Common then hit the stage later joined by Kanye West. Since the Grammys, Knaye cut his ridiculous 80s hair (thank God) and has ditched the Venitian blind glasses for the solid plastic variety.  Its ok, we can’t all be perfect… the duo spat insane lyrics for a few songs, and then were joined on stage by Erykah Badu (originally from Texas). The trio were impressive, In her own words, Erykah Badu was “hot like pussy in the sun” and it was apparent that Common “ain’t lil Wayne but [he] got a lollipop”.

My main issue with Kanye? The guy can rap and freestyle, obviously. When it comes to singing? He’s pretty much as good as Britney Spears lip-synching at the ACC. “Heartless” was OK, but his voice was so modified, it really took away from the performance for me.  I can give him props for putting in the effort though.  The performance(s) ended with Kid, Common and an all-star lineup joining Kanye on stage  to sing “Good Live” and “Love Lockdown”

Kanye, Metallica, on SXSW? WHY WHHYYY WHHYY? For me, SXSW is about showcasing indie bands and you damn well know that every photographer, A&R Rep, and writer was at Fader Fort tonight – hell, we had someone there. Why overshadow the independent artists when you have an international stage, anywhere/ anytime? It seems slightly ridiculous. I really do commiserate if you played at any other venue at SXSW this evening.

One More Day!!!