Self-produced in lead singer Raine Maida’s Los Angeles home studio, the release of Burn Burn, marks the longest period between studio albums for Our Lady Peace. The album is a return to what Maida terms “a proper, mature rock album.” They are trying to reinforce the notion that OLP now occupy a unique and enviable mind space. Having scattered in different directions after the release of 2005’s Healthy In Paranoid Times, all four members took on projects of their own, ranging from solo records, production and songwriting work, tours and guest performances. Over the last two years, Raine Maida, guitarist Steve Mazur, bassist Duncan Coutts and drummer Jeremy Taggart sporadically reconvened and lived at Maida’s home, creating what he calls their best effort to date. Our Lady Peace is also striking out on their own professionally this time around, opting for what the band terms a “true partnership” with both North American record labels.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.ourladypeace.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/ourladypeace', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'mutemath': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'MUTEMATH', 'bio': 'Since MUTEMATH released its first EP in late 2004 and hit the road in 2005, their inherent nature has challenged limitations and expanded parameters. By the time of the 2006 self-titled debut, their blending of adverse genres into its own innovative creation earned them a reputation as one of modern music’s most daring young groups. By 2007, they would find themselves Grammy nominated and declared by Alternative Press as “the #1 band you need to see live before you die.”
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.mutemath.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/mutemath', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'kos': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'K-OS', 'bio': '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' }] }, 'gomez': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'GOMEZ', 'bio': 'ATO Records artist Gomez has revealed details of its new album, A NEW TIDE which marks a return to the British band\'s more experimental roots. Gomez toured extensively surrounding the last album\'s release, as both headliner and opening slots, as well as performing at such annual gatherings as Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, Sasquatch!, Vegoose, Summerfest, and the UK\'s V Festival. The band also made a number of national TV appearances, including performances on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno , Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and A&E\'s Breakfast with the Arts . Gomez will be touring in support of A NEW TIDE throughout 2009.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.gomeztheband.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/gomez', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'spinnerette': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'SPINNERETTE', 'bio': 'Spinnerette comes with experience. Lead singer Brody Dalle’s last long-term relationship with The Distillers, ended messily, the way relationships tend to do. Recording started with idealism and a desire to finally lay down two years’ worth of ideas. Having assembled Alain Johannes (Eleven, QOTSA), Tony Bevilacqua (Distillers), and Jack Irons (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eleven) to make the studio sweat, the creative process was imbued with an ‘anything goes’ spirit. Over the course of the fall, the record took shape. Dalle provided the lyrical thrusts and bed music, which she had written almost entirely on the bass, before she and Johannes expanded the musical palette together. After walking away from the record company with her master tucked under her arm, Dalle assembled a team of people she could trust and enjoy working with. The proof is on the platter and Spinnerette both coos and bares teeth coming out your speakers. You’ll think you’re being caressed but Dalle isn’t offering a cuddle.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.spinnerettemusic.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/spinnerettemusic', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'plantsandanimals': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'PLANTS AND ANIMALS', 'bio': 'Plants and Animals are a rock band. The Montreal trio has received international acclaim since the release of their 2008 full-length debut, Parc Avenue. The album was nominated for Canada’s prestigious Polaris Prize, is up for two JUNO Awards, and has garnered praise from everyone from NPR to Danger Mouse. Hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Warren C. Spicer and Matthew ‘the Woodman’ Woodley met at a young age and played together in various bands all through high-school. Plants and Animals didn’t always make rock music. Their first entirely instrumental recording in 2003 was an experiment in sound and took almost three years to complete. By the time a record deal with Secret City Records was complete, the album was almost finished. In February 2008 Plants and Animals released Parc Avenue and spent most of the year touring, playing shows across Canada, the US and Europe.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.plantsandanimals.ca/', 'text':'OFFICAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/plantsandanimals', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'benharper': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'BEN HARPER & RELENTLESS7', 'bio': 'BEN HARPER AND RELENTLESS7’s White Lies For Dark Times is a timeless rock record, with a cohesive collection of music that is raw, unrelenting and thunderous. In 2005, Harper began recording sessions that would become a double record entitled Both Sides of the Gun (2006, Virgin Records). He invited his long time friend Jason Mozersky to lay down some guitar work on a track. Upon invitation to continue recording the next day, Jason arrived at the studio with longtime friends, drummer Jordan Richardson and bassist Jesse Ingalls. In November 2008, the band debuted their new material on the Vote For Change Tour. They ended the year with a series of small club shows from famed venues such as Spaceland and The Mint in Los Angeles, to The Mercury Lounge and Kenny’s Castaway in NYC. The band is scheduled to tour extensively across the world in 2009.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.benharper.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/benharper', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'sonicyouth': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'SONIC YOUTH', 'bio': 'Sonic Youth is an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore (vocals and guitar), Kim Gordon (vocals, bass, guitar), Lee Ranaldo (vocals and guitar), Mark Ibold (bass) and Steve Shelley (drums). The band has released 16 albums since they began, and after many years being signed to a precarious corporate label, the band has been liberated and is releasing ‘The Eternal’ with their friends at Matador. SY changed tactics and composed two to three tracks in one weekend and record them the following weekend. The writing took place in the Ecstatic Peace Folk + Cinema Basement in Northampton, MA and in the bands own Echo Canyon West in Hoboken, NJ. All recordings were done at Echo Canyon West with John Agnello at the board and Aaron Mullan in full assist.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.sonicyouth.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/sonicyouth', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'jarviscocker': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'JARVIS COCKER', 'bio': 'Jarvis Cocker spent from1978 – 2002 in the band Pulp. The group became one of Britain’s slowest overnight sensations with their hit ‘Common People’ becoming a touchstone anthem at Glastonbury, 1995. As singer for the band, Jarvis went from being an outsider to being one of the most recognised figures in Britain. After Pulp, Jarvis moved to Paris where he wrote three songs for ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’, and took part in the ‘I’m Your Man’ tribute to Leonard Cohen. He toured with his band around Europe, USA and Australia in 2007. Jarvis also guest-edited the Observer Music Monthly, curated the Southbank Centre’s Meltdown Festival and performed a duet with The Gossip’s Beth Ditto for the NME Awards. He is now taking his show on the road to perform in Europe and the UK.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.jarviscocker.net', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/jarvspace', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'delasoul': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'DE LA SOUL', 'bio': 'De La Soul is an American hip hop group formed in 1987 in Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres. The members are Kelvin Mercer (Posdnuos, Mercenary, Plug Wonder Why, Plug One), David Jude Jolicoeur (Trugoy the Dove, Dave, Plug Two) and Vincent Mason (P.A. Pasemaster Mase, Maseo, Plug Three). The three formed the group in high school and caught the attention of producer Paul Huston (Prince Paul) with a demo tape of the song "Plug Tunin\'". Prince Paul was also sometimes referred to as Plug Four. The \"Plug\" names are alleged to come from the numbers that each bandmate\'s microphone was labeled on the soundboard. Posdnuos was always plugged into plug one, Trugoy was plugged into plug two, and so forth.
With its playful wordplay, innovative sampling, and witty skits, the band\'s debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, has been hailed as a hip-hop masterpiece. It is also the band\'s biggest commercial success to date, with their subsequent albums selling progressively less, despite receiving high praise from critics. A measure of 3 Feet High and Rising\'s cross-over appeal was the fact that it was voted Album of the Year by NME Magazine, a title better known for its taste in guitar-based music. De La Soul has influenced numerous other hip hop artists such as Camp Lo, Black Eyed Peas, and Digable Planets. They were also influential in the early stages of rapper/actor Mos Def\'s career, and are a core part of the Spitkicker collective. They are the longest standing Native Tongues Posse group, after the Jungle Brothers.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/delasoul', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }] }, 'awesomecolor': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'AWESOME COLOR', 'bio': 'Since the June 2006 release of their eponymous debut album on Thurston Moore\'s label, Ecstatic Peace!, Awesome Color have been busy touring relentlessly and spreading their psych-rock-Michigan-pride-free-radical sounds to anyone with ears to listen and hopefully some pancakes to eat, a floor to sleep on and directions to the local skatepark.
In addition to tours with Dinosaur, Jr., Sonic Youth, Radio Birdman, Be Your Own Pet and Tall Firs in 2006 and 2007, Awesome Color have ventured to the UK and Europe multiple times.
The new album “Electric Aborigines on Ecstatic Peace!” sees the band more comfortable with the studio environment and experimenting with different sounds. Not lost is their passion for playing high-energy rock\'n\'roll. Once again they also get down with some of their friends: Scotty Karate (Scotch Bonnet), Joseph Harms (Used To Be Women), and Matt Mottel (Talibam!), who help with guest musician and vocalist duties.
The album has received postive reviews in Spin, MOJO, Plan B and was album of the month in Vice.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.awesomecolor.net', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/awesomecolor', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'futureoftheleft': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'FUTURE OF THE LEFT', 'bio': 'Future of the Left features Andrew Falkous (vocals/guitar/keyboard), Kelson Louis Matthias (bass/vocals/keyboard) and Jack Egglestone (drums/vocals). Their latest album takes its name from the memoirs of 20th Century war reporter Martha Gellhorn, ‘Travels With Myself And Another’ and was recorded in three concentrated bursts at Monnow Valley studios in Monmouth, with mixing at Faster Studios and Warwick Hall in Cardiff. There are songs about the modern male identity, a brutish heaviness, and there are strange inventions, like the closing ‘Lapsed Catholics’, which begins as an acoustic/spoken word piece, but confuses Jacob\'s Ladder for The Shawshank Redemption, reveals Rupert Murdoch to be Satan incarnate, ponders the notion of an afterlife, and brings the whole edifice tumbling down with guitars that go up like TNT sticks. And that\'s it, twelve songs in fewer than 33 minutes.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.futureoftheleft.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/futureoftheleft', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'theroots': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'THE ROOTS', 'bio': 'The Roots is as fluid and amorphous as the hip-hop culture that spawned it, ever-shifting and ever-changing. The influential and critically acclaimed Philadelphia-based septet has won numerous accolades for its jazz-influenced, eclectic approach to hip-hop, including two Grammys and a 2007 NAACP Image Award, and its audiences are as diverse as its music, playing everywhere fromLollapalooza to the Montreux Jazz Festival, from Lincoln Center to The Apollo Theater.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.islanddefjam.com/artist/home.aspx?artistID=7316', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/theroots', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'brokensocialscene': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE', 'bio': 'Broken Social Scene: a brief (for a band with eighteen members) history…
After so many achievements (not to mention Canada’s ascension to the top of the indie rock oil well), it may seem a bit disingenuous to say that the acceptance of Broken Social Scene still comes a surprise. But on the expectant eve of their eponymous third record, it remains a bit crazy that anyone outside Toronto cares about this band. Call it a Canadian inferiority complex, but some things just feel strange.
', 'links':[{ 'link':'http://www.brokensocialscene.ca', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/brokensocialscene', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'chrisvelan': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'CHRIS VELAN', 'bio': 'Chris Velan’s music is born of duality, singing of darkness and beauty, love and destruction, and of the struggle for personal fulfillment against the doubts that so often hold us back. Solidago, his third solo album gets its name from the late blooming Goldenrod plant, and represents the blossoming of Velan’s musical identity. A classically trained guitar player from the age of nine, this album marks the culmination of a journey from a young boy holding a giant classical guitar to a mature artist finally giving himself permission to let go.
', 'links':[/*{ 'link':'http://www.futureoftheleft.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' }, */{ 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/chrisvelanmusic', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'metric': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'METRIC', 'bio': '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' }] }, 'carlyraejepsen': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'CARLY RAE JEPSEN', 'bio': 'With Carly\'s debut Tug Of War, one gets the sense we\'re hearing an album that would have shimmered into existence with or without the blue-lit over-exposure native to a nationwide talent contest (Canadian Idol). As Carly points out - without a hint of self-aggrandizement - there can\'t be too many Idol-survivors whose first album contains nine self-penned originals.
Jepsen\'s unfussy debut plays like a middle passage through the stealth pop gloss of Nelly Furtado and the more adult concerns of Feist, whom Carly adores. Her childhood diet of James Taylor, Ella Fitzgerald, and Van Morrison serves her well on Tug Of War, from the smartly built, double-edged title track, to the sense of drama that invigorates the record\'s centerpiece, "Sweet Talker."
Carly mentions "I want to play good music that lasts a lifetime. You don\'t need to be known by everybody. You just reach out to the people who feel what you\'re doing, you know?" Spoken, as somebody once said, like a true musician.
', 'links':[/*{ 'link':'http://www.futureoftheleft.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' },*/ { 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/carlyraemusic', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'edwardsharpe': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'EDWARD SHARPE', 'bio': 'Birthed by Mouth in the year two-thousand and five, young Edward Sharpe had to wait nearly two years before he was to grow his arms and legs and fingers and toes.
Immaculately conceived, his father (a Robot who had magically become a real boy…but that’s another story) declared his undying devotion to the creature. He perched the fleshy bust upon a teetering pedestal fashioned from stacked cereal boxes and positioned the display at his window for all the town to see. Young Edward soon proved no ordinary boy.
', 'links':[/*{ 'link':'http://www.futureoftheleft.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' },*/{ 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/edwardsharpe', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'mtsthelen': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'MT. ST. HELENS VIETNAM BAND', 'nophoto': 'true', 'bio': 'Since that first show, the excitement around Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band has continued to build. In November 2008, Spin included Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band in its \'Buzzcatcher\' column, saying, \'check how \'Dull Reason\' and \'Anchors Dropped\' ingeniously whipsaw between tense indie raving and harmony-rich pastoralia.\' More love was garnered by Alternative Press in their \'AP&R\' section, where they proclaimed, \'The Pacific Northwest buzz is palpable thanks to complex and unique arrangements and a feel good atmosphere.\'
', 'links':[/*{ 'link':'http://www.futureoftheleft.com', 'text':'OFFICIAL SITE' },*/{ 'link':'http://www.myspace.com/mtsthelensvietnamband', 'text':'MYSPACE' }] }, 'themanvils': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'THE MANVILS', 'nophoto': 'true', 'bio': 'Bio Coming Soon!
', 'links':[] }, 'britishcolumbians': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'THE BRITISH COLUMBIANS', 'nophoto': 'true', 'bio': 'Bio Coming Soon!
', 'links':[] }, 'thethermals': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'THE THERMALS', 'nophoto': 'true', 'bio': 'Bio Coming Soon!
', 'links':[] }, 'mattnathanson': { 'stage':'stageone', 'name': 'MATT NATHANSON', 'nophoto': 'true', 'bio': 'Bio Coming Soon!
', 'links':[] } }