Sandman Viper Command (Photo By Michael Fil)

As Emily Haines asks on “Gimme Sympathy” – Who would you rather be: The Beatles or The Rolling Stones? Well Toronto rockers The Balconies and Sandman Viper Command are going to bring this debate to Sneaky Dee’s on August 13 when they will present The Beatles VS. The Stones Covers Night. The list of musical guests are still TBA but doors will be at 9pm and it will only set you back $5. See you there!

The Balconies @ Horseshoe (Photo Credit: Jerry Vo)

Singing Lamb favourite The Balconies are about to embark on a west-coast tour and to help raise money – musicians are not millionaires y’know…unless you’re Lady Gaga and/or Beyonce – the pop-rock trio are holding a covers night fundraiser tomorrow night at Sneaky Dee’s!

Cover is only $5.00 and doors are at 10PM.

The band has also enlisted a whack of their friends (literally, a whack) from various bands to help cover your favourite 60s and 70s hits! Fun!

Here’s a list of some of the musicians that will join the Balconies on stage:
Members of The Golden Dogs, Fox Jaws, Make Your Exit, Oh No Forest Fires, Modernboys Moderngirls, The Archives, Arietta, Brett Caswell, Corduroy, Whale Tooth, Sleeping Pilot, Janes Party, District of Columbia and tunes by DJ SnuggleBots and more!

Good cause, good music – what more do you want! See you there!

Dan Mangan @ The Great Hall (Photo Credit: Michael Fil)

Sally Seltmann @ The Great Hall

Australian songstress Sally Seltmann’s first show back in Toronto since recording her newest, upcoming album Heart That’s Pounding was not entirely the warm reception that I think she was hoping for. A chatty crowd cut into Seltmann’s sugary sweet set of sunshine pop and piano heavy love songs. Even Seltmann, at one point, warned the audience that she was about to play a ‘quiet song’ and that ‘everyone should shush to listen’. Bad manners aside though, Seltmann – formerly known as New Buffalo – played a pleasant and charming show and from those who were kind enough to pay attention, we quite enjoyed it (when I wasn’t trying to chuck my cellphone at people’s heads).

MySpace (Sally Seltmann): http://www.myspace.com/sallyseltmann

- ML

Dan Mangan @ The Great Hall

Dan Mangan is simply amazing and amazingly simple. Mangan’s singer-songwriter persona is often overlooked and written off by many as ‘just another one of those guys’ but what those people are missing out on is a truly special voice, a beautiful writer and a genuinely charming man. Mangan’s set at the Arts & Crafts showcase at the Great Hall embodied everything that was great about his music – easygoing melodies, classic song arrangements laced with lush orchestral elements from time to time. All of this is fronted by one of music’s sexiest (yes, I said it) and most compelling voices out there today. At one point, during the crowd-pleasing epic “Robots” Mangan leaps off-stage to sing amongst the audience and even continues after his guitar accidentally unplugged itself. That conviction to jump into the crowd and sing and clap directly into people’s faces – that’s also what makes Dan Mangan loveable. Talented, amazing and loveable – this man has it all.

MySpace (Dan Mangan): http://www.myspace.com/danmangan

Everything All The Time @ Sneaky Dee’s

Everything All the Time, performing fourth on the bill at the Musebox showcase at Sneaky Dee’s, provided the growing crowd with their danceable synth-/soul-pop signature. Playing their full EP and a few additional tracks, the band managed to turn the upstairs-half of Sneaky Dee’s into a boisterous dance club, which is quite a feat for a Thursday night. Frontwoman Alanna Stuart graced the stage with style, swagger and outstanding vocals. Everything All the Time is one fun band you should never miss. Songs like “Lazy Days” and “I Get So Hot” are reminiscent of 80’s/90’s girl pop – delicious and sweet, always leave you feeling good and yearning for the good times.

MySpace (Everything All The Time): http://www.myspace.com/everythingallthetimeband

- CG

Parlovr @ Sneaky Dee’s

Newly signed (to Dine Alone Records) Montreal indie pop rockers Parlovr literally throws energy at the audience. From the ominous build up to their opening song “Pen To The Paper” to the various shrieks and screams between sets to the last intense strum of a guitar, fist pound on the keys or struck of the drums, Parlovr grabs your attention by the throat and doesn’t let go till the end – and sometimes even way after their set, as your walking home and humming their tunes and replaying their set in your mind. The band’s set on Thursday night at Sneaky Dee’s was just as consistently fun and energetic as the last time I had seen them and regardless of how much energy is thrown back at them – thankfully there were some that did so at Sneaky’s – they will continue to thrive and build up more throughout their set. Part Malajube, part Lovely Feathers, this band is one that’ll make you smile, dance, sing and occasionally scream, stomp and sweat; what’s not to love? Your new favourite band if they already aren’t.

MySpace (Parlovr): http://www.myspace.com/parlourmontreal

- ML

***

ML – Melody Lau, CG – Carmel Garvez

Wavelength

So the moment of truth is here. Here’s the Wavelength 500 line up (taking place Feb, 10-14):

Feb. 10, 2010 @ Music Gallery: Bruce Peninsula, Evening Hymns, Pony Da Look, Deep Dark United, Canaille

Feb. 11, 2010 @ Steamwhistle Brewery: Holy Fuck, Russian Futurists, Fembots, Diamond Rings, Professor Fingers

Feb. 12, 2010 @ Sneaky Dee’s: From Fiction, Bicycles, Laura Barrett, Magic Cheezies, Young Mother

Feb. 13, 2010 @ Polish Combatants Hall: Constantines, Rockets Red Glare, Donne Roberts, Picastro, Danger Bay

Feb. 14, 2010 @ The Garrison: Kids On TV, Barcelona Pavilion, Mean Red Spiders, Neck, Boars

Amazing or what! Tickets go on sale Jan. 7th. All shows will have advanced tickets except for Feb. 14th. That will be the usual PWYC rules.

***

I’m sure it surprises no one now when I say I’m young (close friends and the occasional not-so-close friend are aware of my age; it’s not really a hidden secret of any sort, really) but the following little snippet I’m going to write is going to significantly magnify that fact.

You know when you’re young and you read of these magical events that happen that made you feel lame for sitting on your couch, watching a rerun of the Simpsons? To some, it was hearing about the latest couture at Paris Fashion Week, for others it was hearing the glory of the Olympics but for me, it was just hearing about this amazing little Toronto weekly music series called Wavelength. Albeit, I wasn’t really that young and it wasn’t even that long ago.

Every Sunday, I’d sit in my room listening to music, regretting the fact that I was one or all of the following:
a) Too far away from downtown Toronto (North Yorkers have it hard sometimes, y’know. I live downtown now though, hurrah!)
b) Underaged (I sympathize a lot with underaged  kids)
c) Occasionally poor (That’s an on-going problem in life…)

It may seem silly to idolize a series like Wavelength while others my age did the same with Fashion Week but hey, music is my life and when others gushed about Chanel and Prada I gushed about No Shame, The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern or again, Wavelength.

The first time I (finally) attended a Wavelength show was this year. To be more specific, it was only a handful of months ago. But immediately upon walking up the stairs at Sneaky Dee’s, I was hit with an assuring sense of familiarity and warmth; partially because of the handful of faces I recognized but also just the atmosphere of it all. Not to name the bands that played but 70% of the night’s bands were, not to be rude, but fairly bad but I still left happy and smiling. The friendliness of the Wavelength ‘scene’ and the close-knit bunch of people who run it give me an instant feeling of an old friendship that only grew more loving as the years passed.

It is unfortunate that I only began attending these shows in its last months but at least I got to experience a bit of the magic. Wavelength, I hardly knew you but you were a pleasure to live through, vicariously. WL 500 will be my way to try and catch up on some history. Can’t wait! You will be missed!

xoxo

The Rock Lottery family (2009)

“I was really, really nervous; I didn’t get sleep last night but now that we’re actually here, it’s a lot of fun!” exclaimed Lauren Schreiber, flutist of the newly formed band (with arguably the best band name ever) Heroine Spoon and the Hot Knives.

You know that unsettling sense of anxiety that hits your body when you’re sitting in your seat in a classroom as you await your impending fate of a dreaded group project? Well that anxiety was amidst the room Saturday morning as the draw for the Rock Lottery was about to take place – only the project was slightly less dreadful and a little more fun. Plus, no one was being graded or judged (at least not officially – I gave my judgemental stares at all of you) And with one hand gripping a warm cup of coffee to wake each musician up from the previous night of going out and partying like the rock stars they are, the other reached in and drew a number; one that would musically marry them to four other supposed strangers for the next eight to ten hours.

To give a synopsis to those who are not familiar with the Rock Lottery: the Rock Lottery is an annual event that takes place, in cities around the world (unfortunately not simultaneously – that would be cool), where 25 local musicians are gathered at one location in the morning and through the magic of random draw, five bands of five are formed and are given the task of writing a set of original songs that they will perform later that evening to a room of eager music fans (and friends who will undoubtedly be there to laugh). Oh, one cover is allowed; you don’t really expect musicians to be that creative, do you? Especially when you drag them out of bed at 10:30AM.

This year’s participants broke some barriers and rules, including repeat participants (The Wilderness of Manitoba’s Stefan Banjevic), ex-musicians (No Shame show promoter, ex-Entire Cities member Lauren Schreiber) and even a music teacher (Kevin Sasaki). As soon as everyone finished their second, or even third helping of homemade delicious scones and muffins (thanks to the amazing baking/cooking of volunteers Lauren, Ama, and Emily), five bands dispersed into their respective jam spaces to bond, bang out some tunes and most likely drink a little (calms the nerves, y’know).

Deliciousness

As a first time attendee and witness to the phenomenon of the Rock Lottery, The Singing Lamb was the only blog onsite to capture all the madness as each band gradually came together. As an avid local music fan, I’d like to think that I had a good understanding of how close-knit our city’s music community is but one really grows to appreciate and care for these people more through experiencing an event as unique as this. Here’s a recap of all five bands and the magic that took place this past weekend.

Band #1: Seductron

Members: Ashley Beattie (Provincial Parks), Evan Davies (ex-Republic of Safety), Paul Weadick (Danger Bay, ex-Entire Cities, ex-Forest City Lovers), John Zaniol (session guitarist, ex-Parade), Lane Halley (Fullspeed Velocipede)

Seductron, whose music was truly seductive, was lucky enough to claim the Rock Lottery headquarters (this year, it was the Delaware House) as their jam space so needless to say, they literally walked down the stairs and jumped right into things. I wasn’t around for the early beginnings of the creative process but halfway through the day, at around 4PM, the band had already shaped-up to form a dark, edgy electro-rock sound that would later on win over the crowd as they opened the night off at Sneaky Dee’s. Highlight was definitely the band’s song where members chanted the band’s name repeatedly and shouted out “Relax! It’s just sex!” – immediate crowd pleaser.

Lane Halley (Seductron)

Band #2: Beta Males

Members: Kurtis Marcoux, Adam White (Deromantic, Megan Hamilton and the Volunteer Canola), Kevin Sasaki (music teacher, ex-Gravity Wave), Eric Woolston (Maylee Todd and Pegwee Power, Hooded Fang), JM McNab (solo)

This all male band (there were three this year; just so much testosterone…) was the last band I paid a visit to on Saturday but they were possibly the most optimistic. “It’s five o’clock and we have five songs. We’ve already cut our first record and we’re just waiting for the full orchestra to come in and record with us,” jokes Kevin Sasaki. Watching Beta Males play was actually like watching a real band play – five guys just having a good time but still, for a band who had only met each other that morning, they were able to write some catchy tunes. “One song goes into the next smoothly, like a segway. We wanted to call ourselves Segway and ride in on segways!” Unfortunately no segways appeared onstage but they still managed to pull off a successful set. Beta Males, I hear Pitchfork loves you.

Beta Males

Band #3: Zecond Two Nuns

Members: April Aliermo (Hooded Fang), David Dineen-Porter (PDF Format), Joseph Shabason (Everything All The Time), David Stein (Boys Who Say No), Ben Standage (Birds of Wales)

I had Tweeted most of this year’s Rock Lottery and at one point one of my texts read, “Okay guys, this band has a Gameboy. I don’t want to name a winner but…” Zecond Two Nuns was that band – thanks to the genius 8-bit beats provided by David Dineen-Porter. That mixed with the eclectic mix of musical tastes in this band made for a perfect melting pot of upbeat, dance tunes. “I have no preconception that we’re going to be good at all; we’re going to try our best but we have zero hopes!” shares a hopeful Joseph Shabason.

Zecond to Nuns

Band #4: Heroine Spoon & The Hot Knives

Members: Dee Prescott (I Hate Sally), Lauren Schreiber (No Shame concert series, ex-Entire Cities), Liz Schiek, Shawn Jurek (The Primordials), Daniel Lee (Hooded Fang)

As I mentioned already, this band’s name has serious potential to be a really amazing band name, and they decided on that name almost as quickly as it took for the members to band together and become friends. Strangely enough, the only two flute players of the Rock Lottery, Lauren Schreiber and Liz Schiek, were fatefully put together in Heroine Spoon & the Hot Knives, adding teaspoons of sweetness to the musical mix (bad pun?). This band was the first I saw rehearse and they already had a hit song in the works by 12:30PM. Highlight for this band has to have been a fantastic song about stepping in poo – based on true events! Also – these guys were the only ones to come prepared with merch too; I will forever sport my Heroine Spoon pin proudly, knowing that I witnessed their first (fingers crossed not last) show as a band.

Heroine Spoon & The Hot Knives

Band #5: Girly Drink Drunk

Members: Stefan Banjevic (The Wilderness of Manitoba), Chris Cummings (Mantler), Steve Kwok (Radius and Helena), Brendan Howlett (Danger Bay, Henri Faberge & the Adorables), Brojck Edwards

For a band called Girly Drink Drunk, there weren’t many girls…in fact; this was yet another all-male band. The band was situated in a tiny jam space just past Trinity Bellwoods but was able to come up with some grand melodies. Closing this year’s show at Sneaky Dee’s, Girly Drink Drunk really made the most of their time together to come up with some amazing rock tunes.

Girly Drink Drunk

I don’t want to sound cheesy, but I truly left this event with a warm, loving feeling in my heart. If all school projects were like this, I think I would’ve enjoyed school a lot more as a kid but alas, that’s why we have the Rock Lottery. Proceeds for this event were donated to the Regent Park School of Music and special kudos to Jane Duncan for her impeccable job at organizing the event.

See you guys next year!

** All photos provided by Ren Bostelaar