Jane Vain and the Dark Matter will release their debut long-player on January 24 and 25 at Broken City
Happy new year, and welcome back readers! There’s a ton of righteous stuff to discuss for the first month of ’08, so let’s raise our goblets of rock to all the local musicians making it happen, and take a hearty swig.
First up are The Fun Funs, a fresh and sugary power-pop trio featuring a member each from The Cryptomaniacs, The Suicide Wrists and The Sudden Infant Dance Syndromes. You can catch ’em live tomorrow night at The Castle, where they’ll be playing with The Ostrich and Hazard Lights, fellow members of their newly formed label Pizza Records. Check out myspace.com/thefunfuns for shoddily recorded song samples. While you’re at it, keep an ear out for their sister band Thee Thems.
In other newly formed band news, Women features the same lineup as long-lost locals Veritas, who are also alums of Azeda Booth, The Cape May and Pressure Kill Common Style. You can hear one moody instrumental track at myspace.com/womenmusic, but it doesn’t sound much like the artsy indie rock I heard when they opened for Chad VanGaalen a few months back.
Womb Baby, on the other hand, have offered up a fine sample of their chilly piano stylings with four songs at myspace.com/metalbirdandtherust. I’m not really sure of the lineup of the band, but I do know the main member is Nicole Brunel, and that her unique voice makes my ears quite happy.
The Neighbourhood Council have been getting hype all over the place these days, with their last few live shows revealing just how far their sound has developed in their mere year as a band. They’re playing Saturday, January 12 at The Big Secret Theatre as part of the High Performance Rodeo, with members of Azeda Booth, Dojo Workhorse, Woodpigeon and Vailhalen.
Also, Fox Opera are shaping up to be one of the most interesting bands in the local scene, with a sound that combines Sonic Youth with the South African guitar playing of songwriter Caitlin Copeland’s birthplace. Check myspace.com/foxopera, and/or catch the quartet live on January 10 at The Republik or on January 25 at The Stetson.
The biggest news this month, however, is the long awaited release of Jane Vain and the Dark Matter’s debut long-player, Love is Where the Smoke Is. Edmonton’s Rectangle Records will make the CD available on January 15, and it will be celebrated with a live set on CJSW on January 23, followed by back-to-back Broken City shows on January 24 (with The Consonant C and Beija Flor) and January 25 (with Woodpigeon, Raccoon and Knots). Huzzah!
Lest you forget, Beija Flor recently released their sophomore CD, The American. Spin onto myspace.com/beijaflor to hear a selection of songs from the DIY release. The band, which has now swelled to a seven-piece, are also playing at The Big Secret Theatre this Saturday with (guess who?) Jane Vain.
It pains me to inform you that Grandfather Fire and the Holy Morning are playing their final show on January 26 at The Marquee Room. However, three members of the group are now becoming the backing players for Markus Overland’s (also of Calgary’s Gutterawl) solo side project Lucid 44 — myspace.com/lucid44gutterawl.
Lastly, I just feel like everyone should be informed that Calgary’s best garage rock (cover) band Gaye Rage are currently playing free shows every Wednesday at The Marquee Room. Following their sets at 9 p.m., the band members spin records from their own collections, which is pretty scorchin’ stuff, too.
If you’re a local artist doing something interesting and want to have it written about, drop me a line at either alvy411@hotmail.com or myspace.com/alvy411. Mazel Tov.
