| >>THE 411
Technology has finally caught up with Rumrunner. As a preview to their upcoming CD (look for it this spring), they’re releasing a seven-inch vinyl 45rpm on Longshot Records.
"It's just fun to release a vinyl record, I guess clear blood-splattered vinyl, that is," says Mike Longfield, the group’s guitarist-vocalist.
The single’s A-side will be on the next Rumrunner album, the B-side is a Pogues cover, which will later appear on a Pogues tribute album on a Belgian label.
Rumrunner’s new recording will also feature Tasha Armstrong (from Blind Assassins) on "rock ’n’ roll piano," (is it just me, or are there a lot more high-profile, female Calgarian musicians than ever before? I’m loving it).
Catch the band December 16th at Broken City with local favourites Knucklehead and The Cripple Creek Fairies.
My grandmother used to say that the only thing better than metal is organized metal. Well, now you can buy a definitive sampler of the top metal bands in Calgary – The Greatest Underground Show On Earth, out on Cyclone Records. Fourteen tracks, 14 Calgary bands, 14 reasons to check out one of the most organized and supportive metal scenes in Canada. Some of the bands on the compilation include Caveat, Inspected By 40, Occams Razor, and Rob Spencer Band. It’s the perfect starting point from where you can familiarize yourself with Calgary’s metal scene. Just in time for Christmas (OK, that’s my grandma – now what am I going to get everyone else).
Or if you want to take festive metal organization to the next level, you could get a book called New Wave Of American Heavy Metal, by Gary Sharpe-Young. It’s a detailed description of more than 600 bands, and it happens to include Sittin’ Idol, Caveat, and Inner Surge – all three from Calgary. It’s designed to help you keep track of the historical biographies, lineups and full discographies, including track lists, labels, catalogue numbers and chart positions of your favourite metal bands (ooh- gram-y!).
Calgary’s Woodpigeon has teamed up with former Calgarian Aaron Booth for a project called Pigeonbooth, a one-off recording project. Hamilton was on his way to Glasgow to play a show in a cathedral, when he stopped off in Toronto to visit Booth for a quickie recording session. The fact that they managed to complete four songs in only two days is impressive. Equally impressive is the name Pigeonbooth – where did they come up with that?
The tunes are available on the interweb only (try myspace.com). Check out Woodpidgeon live at Broken City on December 15th with Jay Crocker and Snailhouse. |
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