K-os, born Kevin Brereton, is a genuine neo-crossover rap n’ roller who’s music, much like your Ipod, might speak to hipster club kidz, pop chart gazers, Canadian indie rockers, dirty south electronic rap renegades, or reggae rude boys simultaneously. His fourth album, Yes!, released in Canada on Nettwerk/Universal, leaves behind much of the social commentaries present on his previous albums. Having to his credit two certified platinum-selling albums and one gold, he’s also won multiple Juno Awards (2003, 2005), MMVA’s (Much Music Video Awards, 2004), Canadian Urban Music Awards (2003, 2004), a Source Award for Best International Hip Hop Artist (2003), and a Grammy nomination in 2005 for his collaboration with the Chemical Brothers on “Get Yourself High”. K-os has written and produced nearly every part of all three of his three previous albums.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.k-osmusic.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/kos', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'wintersleep': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'WINTERSLEEP', 'nophoto': 'true', 'bio': 'BIO COMING SOON.
', 'links':[] }, 'arkells': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'ARKELLS', 'bio': 'Sharing a love of the kind of raw, soulful “Springsteenesque” rock that inspires a teen to pick up a guitar and start a band, the Arkells formed in Hamilton, ON, in 2006. The ambitious and prolific five-piece quickly found its groove, and recorded debut EP “Deadlines” in 2007. From the strum of the first track, the six-song EP showcased the Arkells masterful blending of traditional blues hooks mixed with modern rock-laden riffs, and a touch of classic Motown era rhythms. Their catchy melodies and unbridled energy live garnered critical acclaim with NOW Magazine describing the Arkells as having “an awesome muscular quality that sets it apart from the output of so many of their sad-sack indie rock peers…”
Since the release of “Deadlines” the band has traveled across Canada sharing stages with Tokyo Police Club, Matt Mays & El Torpedo, Danko Jones, Ladyhawk, Alexisonfire, and City and Colour. More recent performances include a stint opening for legendary rockers Black Crowes, MTV Live and V-Fest. With live shows fueling the buzz created by the EP, the band quickly caught the ear of Dine Alone Records (home to City and Colour, Bedouin Soundclash, Attack in Black and Black Lungs) who re-released “Deadlines” digitally in March 2008.
The Arkells’ first full-length album titled “Jackson Square” (released October 28, 2008 on Dine Alone) features undeniably catchy tracks like No Champagne Socialist, Ballad of Hugo Chavez, and Oh, The Boss is Coming! which just hit Top 10 on the BDS Rock Radio charts. “Jackson Square” captures the essence of the band’s hard-hitting live show and their boundless passion for making meaty, rootsy rock that any listener can relate to.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.arkells.ca', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/arkellsmusic', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'whitelies': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'WHITE LIES', 'bio': 'As teenagers in what now seems a different life, they were a band called Fear Of Flying, lumped in with the underage Way Out West club scene. They’d known each other since they were babies in West London, playing together since bassist Charles Cave and drummer Jack Brown struck woodblock and triangle at a school play. Not so many years later, they formed a proper band at the age of fifteen with singer Harry McVeigh (Jack got his first drum kit literally a fortnight before the band formed).
Those years spent playing weeknight gigs to an excitable burgeoning fanbase and being driven home at midnight by their mams in time for assembly in the morning were all in aid of finding their musical feet. Starting with a jagged and jittery desire to make any music they could and influenced by each member’s vastly different musical taste, they gradually honed their style into a more atmospheric, grandiose beast. Then last October they found themselves writing an elegiac mood rock masterpiece by the name of ‘Unfinished Business’ inside fifteen minutes. Realising it was the first of their songs which was the work of master pop craftsmen rather than enthusiastic trainees, they decided on a fateful tube journey home from the studio that Fear Of Flying were dead; long live White Lies.
White Lies: you’ll either love them or you’re already dead.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.whitelies.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/whitelies', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'tokyopoliceclub': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'TOKYO POLICE CLUB', 'bio': 'Following on one of the most well received 16 minutes of music in recent history (2006\'s A Lesson In Crime EP), Newmarket Ontario\'s Tokyo Police Club will release a debut album entitled Elephant Shell, due out late April on Saddle Creek in North America and Memphis Industries in the UK.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.tokyopoliceclub.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/tokyopoliceclub', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'shoutoutoutout': { 'stage':'stagetwo', 'name': 'SHOUT OUT OUT OUT', 'bio': 'I suppose it is not uncommon for a band to be a product of their environment, but Shout Out Out Out Out is certainly a group as rich in paradox and contrast as the 780 area code. Edmonton is about as remote man outpost of a major city as you\'ll find anywhere in Canada, yet close to a million people choose to live there. Why would anyone choose to live there? Why would anyone choose to base a band there? Maybe it\'s because it takes a band like Shout Out Out Out Out to embrace their surroundings and use these harsh realities as motivation to actually do something, and to realize that if you\'re going to try to do something in Edmonton, there is no point in doing it halfway.
And so it goes, Shout Out Out Out Out emerged from the frozen north as an all-rhythm section, high-kicking, collection of local rock stalwarts, diving headfirst into the world of electronic music. A formidable force and a live spectacle from the get-go, with two drummers, four bass players, and an entirely appropriate mountain of analog synthesizers. Like in every band\'s not-so-secret dream, local support grew to national buzz, national acclaim grew to international buzz, and the upward momentum just keeps pushing on.
Metric may be one of the most road-tested indie rock bands of the past decade, and Emily Haines et al continue to churn out art-rock anthems like butter on the farm. Dynamic, confessional verses with melodies that chill as much as they hook, bass and synth drive home the feeling that we are living in our dreams.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.ilovemetric.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/metric', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'billytalent': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'BILLY TALENT', 'bio': '“I’m not sleeping really well right now because I’m just thinking about shit and the record coming out and, I don’t know – I think it’s the best piece of work we’ve done, by far, hands down. But you’re just so involved… ”
Billy Talent singer Ben Kowalewicz has been front and centre in one of the greatest Canadian rock ‘n’ roll success stories of the post-millennial era. But today, with the release of the long-lived Toronto quartet’s third album looming large on the horizon and the final master of Billy Talent III still sitting in an unopened FedEx envelope delivered just hours before to his home, the normally hyperactive frontman is betraying neither cockiness nor complacency as he reclines in the band’s cramped east-side rehearsal space and candidly assesses what might await the group in the summer of 2009.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.billytalent.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/billytalent', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'mothermother': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'MOTHER MOTHER', 'bio': 'Vancouver Canada\'s Mother Mother are generating much recognition with their original approach to modern pop/rock music; a beautifully bent portrait of vocal harmony, clever, offbeat lyricism, and dynamic instrumentation. Their sound is best encapsulated on their sophomore album, O My Heart, produced by Howard Redekopp (Tegan and Sara, The New Pornographers).
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.mothermothersite.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/mothermotherspace', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'cliks': { 'stage':'stagetwo', 'name': 'THE CLIKS', 'bio': 'It’s remarkable that something so good can come from feeling so bad. As is the case of most great art, Toronto trio the Cliks have dredged the emotional mire of the past two years to create Dirty King, a rich rock extravaganza showcasing a sonic expansion for the band. With music as textured and layered as the deeply varied emotional terrain it treads, feeling bad never sounded so good.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.thecliks.ca', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/thecliks', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'thunderheist': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'THUNDERHEIST', 'bio': 'Tag team Thunderheist - front woman Isis and soundsmith Grahm Zilla - drop from the top rope and hit the stage, over and over again. Sinuous swagger seeps from Zilla\'s ominous basslines, while digi-horns blast the senses like homecoming marching bands and Moroder bears witness. Clutching the mic like a sceptre, African daughter Isis laces joints with lyrical angel dust, rich vocal foreplay brimming with braggadocio forte. You could be among thousands in a stadium, or intimate at your local bar... either way, if you\'re in the front row, expect to get wet. Thunderheist sweats Belvedere and Red Bull, and sprays more hooks than a heavyweight championship bout.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.thunderheist.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/thunderheist', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'pearljam': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'PEARL JAM', 'bio': 'At the dawn of the \'90s, Pearl Jam came together to form one of the most influential bands of the modern era. Beginning with their iconic debut album, "Ten," in 1991 and continuing through to today, the quintet have consistently combined the perfect amalgam of punk aesthetics with anthemic, classic rock sounds, and in the process have created one of the most respected catalogs in rock history. For the past 18 years, Pearl Jam has remained a relevant cultural and political force, having completed countless international tours and selling over 60 million records world wide.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.pearljam.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/tenclub', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'elliottbrood': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'ELLIOTT BROOD', 'nophoto': 'true', 'bio': 'Elliott Brood play dark, gritty folk and howling bluegrass music built around whiskey-drenched vocals and lyrics evoking images of love, loss and murder. In their soul-thumping songs, banjo keeps time to a strange and chunky angular stomp, with Kentucky-hardcore acoustic guitar and somber, achingly confessional vocal harmonies.
', 'links':[] }, 'constantseason': { 'stage':'stagetwo', 'name': 'CONSTANT SEASON', 'nophoto': 'true', 'bio': 'BIO COMING SOON.
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', 'links':[] }, 'mbf': { 'stage':'stagetwo', 'name': 'MICHAEL BERNARD FITZGERALD', 'nophoto': 'true', 'bio': 'BIO COMING SOON.
', 'links':[] }, 'toastjamwinner': { 'stage':'stagetwo', 'name': 'TOAST & JAM WINNER', 'nophoto': 'true', 'bio': 'BIO COMING SOON.
', 'links':[] }, 'socialcode': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'SOCIAL CODE', 'nophoto': 'true', 'bio': 'BIO COMING SOON.
', 'links':[] }, 'secretbroadcast': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'SECRET BROADCAST', 'nophoto': 'true', 'bio': 'BIO COMING SOON.
', 'links':[] } }