Museum of Canadian Music

"The Acadian musical group 1755 came on the scene in Moncton in the 1970s, at a time when Acadie was in full cultural and social effervescence. The group was formed in 1975, but not until 1977 did they take the name 1755. In some ways, 1755 somewhat marked Acadie's passage into modernity and generated a new consciousness of Acadian pride and identity. The group's reference to the date 1755 is in some ways thumbing its nose at history. Even though the group broke up in 1984, they still sometimes reunite on stage, as in 1994 during the first National Acadian Congress. Still today, the group 1755 is an undeniable reference point in regards to Acadian music."
http://www2.umoncton.ca/cfdocs/etudacad/1755/index.cfm?id=010904000&lang=en&style=G&admin=false&linking=

“First Studio Bomb” is a great fucking song from the first and, for a time, only punk band from Montreal. The 222s started as a more New York Dolls-y post-glam outfit and morphed into a proper punk band as they were exposed to the stripped down sounds coming out of New York at the end of the decade; the only other form I’ve found this in is as a live track from their 2006 collection Montreal Punk - 78-81, recorded at the Ottawa punk hole the Rotter’s Club. It exemplifies the kind of catchy, driving songs the band were so good at creating, from the hyper-sexual anthem of “Female” (”You look like a female / But you fuck like a man”) to to lightweight “Fun, Fun, Fun.” Perhaps the best thing about the 222s (at least from a storytelling perspective) is that, at the end of their career, they teamed up with the Montreal mob for their final single. The recording sessions ended with the band having a gun pulled on them over ongoing creative differences. The 222s called it a day pretty soon aft...

Graham Duncan: guitar, vocals
Dean Element: drums
Luisa Mastrobuono: bass

Engineered by Brad Haehnel at Toronto Recording Workshop

Rare Australian picture sleeve release of the group’s debut single, a cover of Bruce Cockburn’s catchy “Bird Without Wings”, released in February, 1968. Its relative success (peaking at #61 on the RPM chart) coincided with a tour of Western Canada, featuring memorable dates at the Simon Fraser University on 28 February and the Retinal Circus in Vancouver from 1-2 March.
-Nick Warburton

3's a Crowd was a folk rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, that existed from 1964 to 1969. The group is particularly notable for its association with Cass Elliott, who co-produced the group's sole album release. The album remains one of Elliott's rare associations as a record producer.

HistoryThe group was formed in 1964, and was originally called the Bill Schwartz Quartet (though no one named Bill Schwartz was actually in the group.) The group consisted of Donna Warner, Trevor Veitch and Brent Titcomb. In 1966, the group moved to Toronto, released two singles, and acquired new members Richard Patterson, David Wiffen and Comrie Smith. Smith was later replaced by Ken Koblun. In 1967 and 1968, 3's a Crowd played the folk music clubs in Southern California, including the Ash Grove in West Hollywood and the Ice House in Glendale, sometimes bringing Jim and Jean as an opening act.

In 1968, they recorded Christopher's Movie Matinee, their only album. Th...

Inspired by the ghost of Jimi Hendrix, this resident quintet at the Apocalypso-Bar in Montreal featured Jean-Pierre Bouchard; Chris Cutler; Claude Fradette; Rémi Leclerc; René Lussier; and Ferdinand Richard. Music by Duchesne, Bouchard, Derome/Lussier, Fradette, Frith, Bartok, and Hollmer.

Le bloc démoil was part of a musical soundtrack to the film 'Passiflora', which was based on the coincidal arrival of Michael Jackson and the Pope at Montréal's Olympic Stadium in 1984.

This was the groups second LP on the Ambiances Magnétiques label, released in 1989.
-Robert Williston

Formed by Normand Boucher in Pont-Viau, Québec in 1963, Les 409 took their name from the Brian Wilson, Gary Usher and Mike Love penned 1962 Beach Boys song "409", the flip side of "Surfin' Safari". And with the Denis Pantis produced "They Say b/w Born in Chicago", Les 409 cut one of the best garage two-siders of all-time, arguably the best in Québec. "They Say" is a long-hair 409 garage original. Their punked-out rendition of "Born in Chicago" stands above The Paul Butterfield Blues Band version.

The Haunted, Les Sinners, and Les Lutins all recorded entire solid garage albums in Québec in the 60's and with this type of quality, there is no need to draw comparisons of the top 5 Québec garage singles. Les Lutins "Je Cherche", Les Sinners "Nice Try", Les Fléaux "Gloria", Les 409 "Born in Chicago", Les 409 "They Say". Nothing equally compares to "They Say" and "Born in Chicago" together - it's tough to decide which is better! "Even though Les 409 recorded the songs in english,...

The Alberta based 49th Parallel evolved out of a group called the Shades Of Blond in early 1967. Original members were Dennis Abbott (vocals), Dan Lowe (guitar), Bob Carlson (guitar), Mick Woodhouse (bass), Terry Bare (drums) and Dave Petch (organ). They were quickly signed to Gaiety Records, which had operations in both Hollywood, CA and Thunder Bay, ON. They released their debut 45 (the outstanding 'Labourer' b/w 'You Do Things') in mid-67 and then a follow up record (the punky 'Citizen Freak' b/w 'She Says') in early-68, with both doing respectively well in Canada.

Their next single, 'Blue Bonnie Blue', was issued in the spring of 1968, and although it didn't sell well, it should be noted that it was penned by Delaney Bramlett of future Delaney & Bonnie fame. At around this time, Woodhouse and Petch left and were replaced by Dave Downey (bass) and Jack Velker (organ). The group then began to tour heavily throughout Canada and the U.S. plain states, with occasional recor...

one of the rarest 49th Parallel artifacts, perhaps the one and only test pressing of this Calgary garage classic - one of the all-time best Canadian songs.

"The bastard offspring of the early punk scene in London Ontario were everywhere. Fans were forming bands that would take the music in new directions. The musicians who had already been part of the local alternative scene and those who wanted to stick around a while, were plotting their next move. Such was the case of '63 Monroe, one of London's hardest working bands. A blend of musical influences and a desire to incorporate image into their vision of a great band quickly set '63 Monroe apart from all other local bands."

Here's the skinny on '63 Monroe. The band originally started out as NFG back in late 1978, early 1979 playing mostly covers, and opening up for their hero's local giants the Demics. The man that started that band is still the driving force behind them, Steven R Stunning.

Soon they were writing and recording their own material, to date the band has officially released three vinyl albums, two singles, and two CD packages. There have been numerous...

'63 Monroe is a story all by itself. Success, tragedy... it was all there. I'd write a book if I had the time. They were more than just another sex drugs and rock n roll story. To their credit they never gave in to the music industry.

The band's name derived from the obvious; that being the beginning of a new legend. It is also a statement showing the member's feelings towards the insanity, excesses and stupidity of the jet set celebrities and of their own demise. Although influences on the band had included the New York Dolls, The Ramones as well as early London (Canada) bands such as the Demics, they were aware of the importance of finding their own niche. The sound was raw, but enjoyable to the punk/metal crossover generation...and for those who understood that the band was approaching alternative music from a different angle, they were a breath of fresh air.
-Danny Napalm

In 1985, the band released their second album, the highly praised Stinkin’ Out the...

200 copies made. Ultra weird progressive/ psychadelic album from the former members of 'Majik'. Hard prog/psych sound with a dark edge and excellent guitars. 5 disc value in hans pokora's 3001 record collectors dream. Re-issued on Radioactive. Went on to release two albums as 'Drama'. See also Odanata and Dream Aria.

Don Stagg: keyboards, synthesizers
Eric Simpson: vocals, guitar
Mike Fisher: bass, guitars
Dave Norris: drums and voices

Produced by Don Stagg and Eric Simpson
Recorded at Pegasus Studios on May 8, 1978

A Brief Moment of Glory are an indie rock outfit based out of Montreal, Quebec. Give them a listen. I think you will agree that they have a great sound and the album is definitely a worthwhile listen.

Jordey Tucker: guitars, vocals
Michael Thomas: drums, vocals
Frank C-Gain: lead vocals, guitars, keys

buy the physical copy from the band here: http://abriefmomentofglory.com/

join their mailing list and receive three tracks for free..

A progressive rock outfit. They achieved a minor hit when their debut 45, Keep On Movin', climbed to No. 83 in Canada's Top 100 on 15th January 1972. Little-known Canadian-only hard rock LP in the vein of Next and Christmas. Despite a visible industry ad campaign, Aaron Space did not sell at the time of release and is very rare.

Bob DiSalle: drums, percussion, vocals
Dave Moulaison: rhythm guitar, vocals
Jake Thomas: lead guitar, vocals
Gene Falbo: bass guitar, vocals

Produced and engineered by John Stewart
Executive Producer: John Pozer
Recorded at Eastern Sound, Toronto, Ontario
Cover Design: Peter Lole

Martin Renaud: drums
Jean "Jean" Thibault: guitar
Steve "Damien" Perron: vocals
Bertrand "Bert" Renaud: guitar
Francois "Frank" Gosselin: bass

Engineered by Mario Rubnikowich
Produced and distributed by Ablaze
Recorded and mixed at Studio Works in Montreal on December 26th & 27th, 1986.

buy the album here: http://www.charlieacourt.com/store.html

Limited edition. Solo, acoustic featuring 7 songs from Color Me Gone
buy the album here: http://www.charlieacourt.com/store.html

featuring Tony "Balony" Walker (Art Bergmann, The Bludgeoned Pigs, I Braineater, Actionauts, Antheads, Real McKenzies, Tony Balony and The Rubes), the first 7" Zulu pressed.

Tony Balony is the first, finest, and to date only, legit guitar hero of the Vancouver punk/new wave scene, a player for whom the adjectives "gangling" and "rubbery" are barely adequate. Onstage at the Smiling Buddha it's frightening enough that within the space of one song he wrenches sounds that combine the atonality of Captain Beefheart, the pop-savvy and flash of Jeff Beck in his Yarbirds prime and the synapse-melting sonics of Syd Barrett-era pink Floyd out of a $100 Fender Telecaster copy and a borrowed amplifier but when he lets slip after a few post-gig lagers that he's not quite of legal age to be in the skid row club to begin with, much less headlining there, the mind fairly boggles."
- Brian O'Nolan, The Georgia Straight

During the early days of the Vancouver punk scene, now ...

Active Dog actually started in 1976 in guitarist Terry Bowe’s dingy cluttered, basement as ‘Steel Breeze’ a four piece psychedelic heavy jam band. We banged around in that basement, tormenting the neighbours with our loud instrumental craziness for about a year until Terry got married and his wife told us to “piss off and find somewhere else to play that loud crap.“ Jerome quit the band and I suggested we change our name to Active Dog. We were now a three piece

We moved our gear to Robert Bruce’s attic bedroom in his mom’s house on east 15th and Commercial Drive, two doors away from the three story square building where my wife and I were renting an apartment. That building later would become known as ‘Majestic Studios.

I was working as a camera repair technician by day, and recording and writing demented songs at night. I wrote ’Let’s go to Fuckin’ Hawaii’ around this time. I was also in the process of recording Art Bergmann’s new songs in my tiny A3340S hom...

Under the breathtaking exuberance of Bucky’s dynamic horn the album brings together a collection of very personal musical ideas expressed through a basic “jazz” context. The group, “Basin Street”, formed in the summer of ’75, performed at the “Privateers Warehouse”, a restored historic property on the Halifax waterfront. The selections involve a representative blend of styles and visions that go beyond the traditional concepts of jazz and yet all the while, maintain equilibrium with the roots.

Bucky Adams: tenor saxophone
Gordon Fader: keyboards
Tom Gibson: drums, percussion, vocals
Ernie Reti: bass
Garth Proude: bass
Russ Brannon: guitar

Recorded at Solar Audio, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia in April 1976


Awards:
•2007 Lifetime Achievement Award, African Nova Scotian Music Association Award Show (ANSMA)
•1997 Pioneer Award Winner / ANAMA Awards
•1997 Nominated for two East Coast Music Awards Artist
•1981 In...

It may surprise more than a few listeners to learn that "Feminine Endings", the title of D.G. Adams debut album, is a Shakespearean reference. Those who know that Adams has spent the past thirty-three years as a classically-trained actor and Shakespeare teacher will not be surprised. (For the curious: a feminine ending refers to the eleventh, unstressed syllable in a line of iambic pentameter! In poetic terms, the presence of the feminine ending indicates that there is too much emotion in the line to be contained in ten syllables.) In the acting world, D.G is known as Donald Adams, and he now plays leads in films and television.

Since the age of fifteen, Adams has quietly been writing music and lyrics, but only sharing his work with a handful of friends. Fast forward to the year 2000 when he met his best friend Torquil Campbell (of the Montreal band Stars) at Bard on the Beach Shakespeare festival in Vancouver, where both were working as actors. Campbell listened to one of...

Mega rare Canadian-only private label garage-rock. Same label as The Adanac Reply. The instrumental electric keyboard/guitar/drums version of “Sunny” is very tough. Recommended.

Agapè released Le Troisième Seuil, considered "The Holy Trinity of Quebecois Folk", a Christian underground record in 1972 pressed privately on Agape AG-2001.

Featuring:
Gilles Bergeron on guitar;
Jean Bourassa on effects;
Yves Chevalier on keyboards;
Claude Duchesneau on trumpet;
André Dumont on vocals;
René Depere on keyboards;
François Kirouac on guitar, bass, glockenspiel;
Marc Lebel on guitar
Michel Martel on percussion;
Jacques Mercure and Carole Paquin on bass

We would like to feature this album for purchase. If you own the rights to the music, please contact ryder@robertwilliston.com.

"Ajour, c'est la recontre du guitariste Jacques Viens et du guitariste-chanteur Pierre G. Verge.

Ajour, c'est de la chanson poétique, de la musique acoustique.

Jacques Viens a 25 ans, est de Longueuil et est communicateur de formation. Il a fait ses débuts a la guitare electrique et la basse dans des formations a la fin des annees 60. Il a fait la recontre de Pierre G. Verge il y a six ans et a debranche sa guitare, transposant avec ses acquis a la six et a la douze cordes acoustiques.

Pierre G. Verge a 25 ans; il possese la meme formation academique. Il reside aussi sur la rive-sud de Montreal, a Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu. Il est le parolier du groupe, et sa voix; a l'encontre de Jacques, il affectionne a la guitare un style mi-classique, mi-folk.

Ajour a jusqu'ici fait un peu de spectacle, mais surtout du travail de studio, des bandes sonores de films ou de theatre.Ajour lance son premier 33 tours, "Ap'tites doses". Il s'agit d'un ensem...

one of the rarest Guess Who albums, pressed in 1965 in Holland. Included in Hans Pokora, but rarity index is somewhat off-kilter.

Alpha Centauri was formed in Greeley Colorado, USA in 1971. The three founding members included: Jess Redmon on guitar, Randy Thompson on keyboards and lead vocals, and Kurt Smith on drums. Garth Hannum joined the band early 1975. During the 12 years of it's existence, the band performed it's signature “hard driving” rock at numerous clubs and concert halls throughout the Midwestern United States and Canada. While most of these gigs were as headliner, the band did open for many national recording artists.

After gathering a strong fallowing in the US, the band moved to Canada, where they continued to perform extensively. It was here that the band began to write and perform more original material. This culminated with the release in 1977, of their long awaited album simply entitled “Alpha Centauri”.

With the release of the album came more concerts as well as several radio and television appearances. The highlight was the Canadian TV special “Alpha Centauri in Conc...

with Don Wilson, former member of the band The Souls of Inspyration.

Amos The Transparent's Debut Release Aug 2007. Named number 1 Album of the 00's by iHEART Music, Everything I've Forgotten To Forget is no mere collection of singles (assuming bands even record albums of singles anymore). It's also a very good album. It flows from one song to the next; it creates and sustains a mood from beginning to end; it just sounds great as a singular, cohesive whole. http://www.iheartmusic.net

Jonathan Chandler: guitar, vocals
Christopher Wilson: drums
Mark Hyne: guitar, Keys, vocals
James Nicol: bass, vocals
Dan Hay: guitar
Kate Cooke: vocals

For any long time reader of herohill, you'll know are quite smitten with Ottawa's Amos the Transparent. We gave them the distinction of #2 on the 2007 Canadian album of the Year list and asked them to open up for The Inbreds reunion show at the herohill Pop Explosion last year. The way Chandler and Wilson melded bedroom pop with anthem ready classic rock was pretty breathtaking, but the thing that made Everything I've Forgotten to Forget stick in my brain was quickly the got to the point and how powerful their statements were.

"The songs are tight, the arrangements crisp and succinct. In most cases, too many cooks spoil the broth and too many guitars spoil the sounds. Huge crescendos are all well and good, but endless meandering that is all too common in today's indie scene is another thing. AtT never wastes a note."

So when Jonathan sent over the songs from the new Amos EP, I was a wee bit excited. My, What Big Teeth You Have is the first new material to surface...

The duo behind Animal Bodies’ latest album couldn’t have come into being anywhere other than Vancouver’s DTES: the six-song 12″ pervades with the semi-lucid noise of addicts and wanderers.

Kiss Of The Fang plays largely within the darkwave genre, mixing cold post-punk synths and cakey ‘80s drum machine repetition, but these tropes are only responsible for the base layer of each track.

Bleak field recordings mix up the colour palette by injecting the unfriendly kind of East Van sounds into each track — heavily distorted seagulls squawking, and a woman smoking crack in the rain are more thematic touches than musical ones, but add a much-needed dimension.

Even though much of the content is harsh, the delivery is usually spot-on enough to make it work. “Jungle Cathedral” combines a remarkably catchy, dirty bass line with ethereal, haunting chanting that scratches the inside of your head like a bad drug trip must do.

Some of the synth work, e...

Denis Jesadt: vocals, acoustic guitar
John Jesadt: vocals, acoustic and electric guitar
Klode the Toad: drums
Rockin' Randy: fender bass guitar
Joan Bessen: piano
Ron Dann: pedal steel guitar
Chris Whiteley: harmonica

produced by Denis Jestadt. John Jestadt & Doug McClement
Engineered by Doug McClement
Recorded at Comfort Sound Studios, Toronto, Canada

ultra obscure Canadian rockabilly recording of "I love Ya Honey" appears on "Rock 'n' Roll & rock-a-billy Inferno" on the Stardust label and "Dry Run" on the Buffalo Bop label.

Rare Canadian-only debut LP from April Wine featuring the original line-up of Jim Henman, Richie Henman, David Henman, and Myles Goodwyn. It blows my mind that this disc is not heralded as one of the great psychedelic rock platters from Canada. Probably because most have never heard it. Save a few thousand on the next copy of Bent Wind and scoop this up.

During the recording of April Wine's debut album, Myles Goodwyn began to take over from Jimmy Henman as the band's lead singer. Myles also emerged as the key composer. His song Fast Train became April Wine's first single and its success was probably the reason that April Wine was able to record a second album.

Fast Train, written by Goodwyn, became April Wine's first hit. It's fast paced pop-oriented sound really jumps out in comparison to the "anti-commercial" sound on other parts of the record. David Henman sums up his approach to the music.

"The songs I contributed to that first album were "stream o...

the single "I'm On Fire For You Baby" hit number 64 on the Canadian charts in 1974. The track was released in-between the albums "Electric Jewels" and "Stand Back" and just prior to embarking on their first national tour. It is quite rare and the track did not appear on any studio album until their "Greatest Hits" was released in 1979.

The Arcade Fire formed in 2002 and later that same year recorded this EP, their eponymous debut. It was recorded in Mt. Desert Island, ME, USA. All music was written by Win Butler and his future wife Régine Chassagne. There were 200 copies of this rare, privately issued CD and it now sells for about $200-$250, if you can find a copy.

The album, also referred to as the "Us Kids Know" EP was later re-mastered and re-issued in 2005 on Rough Trade RTRADCD 248 (UK) and once again on Merge Records MRG 269 (USA).

Win Butler: vocals, guitar, bass, synth, banjo, tamborine
Régine Chassagne: vocals, piano, Rhodes, synth, percussion, birds
Richard Parry: basses, electric, percussion
Dane Mills: drums, bass, stomping
Brendan Reed: drums, tap dancing, percussion, vocals
Myles Broscoe: electric bass, guitar
William Butler: upright bass, clarinet, Rhodes, stomping
Gregus Davenport: french horn
Nicky: saxophone
Liza Rey: harp
Tim ...

Arcade Fire never aim for anything less than grand statements. That quality has played a huge role in making them very, very popular; it's also their greatest weakness. Funeral was wracked with agony and grief, but what made it one of the transcendent records of the 2000s was that it avoided easy answers. It proposed that the fight of our lives is just that, a fight, but a winnable one. But when they turned that same all-or-nothing intensity outward on Neon Bible, otherwise propulsive and elegant songs were sometimes bogged down by overblown arrangements or pedantic political statements. You'd figure an album bluntly called The Suburbs that focuses on The Way We Live might repeat some of Neon Bible's worst tendencies. Instead, it's a satisfying return to form-- proof that Arcade Fire can still make grand statements without sounding like they're carrying the weight of the world.

The metrics of The Suburbs are misleading: At 16 tracks, including interludes and multi-part song...

"Violet Archer was born in Montreal, and studied composition at McGill University under Douglas Clarke and Claude Champagne. Several scholarships enabled her to take up postgraduate studies at Yale University, where one of her teachers was Paul Hindemith. Previously there had been a brief period of study in New York with Bela Bartok.

In the 50's she taught composition, counterpoint and related subjects in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. Since her return to Canada in 1961, her dinamic personality has been felt in the Canadian West, especially in Alberta, where she was for many years Associate Professor in the Department of Music at the University of Alberta. She is currently chairman of the Division of Theory and Composition. She has written music for orchestra, chamber ensembles, piano, voice, as well as numerous choral works, and has received several commissions from the CBC."

For more information, go to The Canadian Encyclopedia:
http://www.thecanadianency...

Drums - Frank March: drums
Vladymir Rogov: effects, guitar, vocals
Robert Steel: keyboards

Produced by Vladymir Rogov
Associate Producer: Brian Insworth

Western spaghetti meets swingjazz and doowop inflected voices, Armistice is a keeper. The EP's first single, "Mission Bells" (available on 45tours.ca), showcases the undeniable magic between Martin and Malinowski's voices. Michael Maxxis directed the video, aptly filmed in the California desert in December (available soon). "City Lights Cry", which begins with Martin's wispy melancholy vocals is driven by El Bronx's fast getaway in the middle of the night percussion beat. "Neon Lights" brings the harmonies in flashback to Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra fashion. The album also includes Armistice's version of "Jeb Rand", a song originally recorded by Bedouin Soundclash. It finishes off with the haunting strings and piano driven tale of "God Will Get His Man".

Armistice Featuring Mariachi El Bronx

Joby J. Ford - Vihuela, guitar, ukulele, percussions, back ground vox
Jorma Vik - drums, percussions
Ray Suen - Violin
Brad Magers - Horns
Karla T...

Marie-Pierre Arthur was probably my favorite straight-up (albiet in French) rock act of the whole weekend. [...] a very good songwriter and a skilled musician. I left humming more than a few of her songs.
Bill Pearis, November 2009, Brooklyn Vegan, M for Montreal review

Whatever the style, her vocals are sincere and passionate, her melodies are strong and her songs are tastefully and simply arranged.
Darryl Sterdan, November 2009, Sun Media, M for Montreal review

LA révélation de l'année au Québec, peu importe ce que l'ADISQ en pense.
Olivier Boisvert, décembre 2009, 33mag

Chansons rondelettes et airs caressants, paroles à déguster et mélodies à rêver la tête en l’air, production pointilliste et voix acrobate, Marie-Pierre Arthur est sans doute, tout le monde l’affirme au Québec, l’une des têtes à suivre de plus près ces tous prochains mois. Et l’une des têtes d’affiche les plus évidentes de M Pour Montréal.
Thomas Burgel, 17 novemb...

On Monday, February 6 at La Tulipe, Marie-Pierre Arthur will present songs off her second album to be released via Bonsound Records. The album launch will be open to the public!

Aux alentours is the awaited follow-up to her critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, which led the singer to France. Until then, she offers radio stations a first single, titled Si tu savais, while they patiently wait for the rest.

Si tu savais tackles the subject of relationships: how much of our own selves can we sacrifice on the alter of love without betraying ourselves? Co-written with Gaële, the song finds Marie-Pierre Arthur renewing with the allusive and fascinating songwriting style that made her previous album so wonderful. Produced by François Lafontaine (Karkwa), this first single reveals an album infused with a current indie-folk sound. Promising, indeed!

buy the album here: http://bonsound.com/en/artists/marie-pierre-arthur-54

Artok were a Waterloo, Ontario, Canada rock prog metal trio who recorded this three track 12" EP, pressed privately on Kanvas Records JM 8359, in a pressing of 1000 copies.

The band featured Rob Taylor on drums, percussion, vocals; Robi Banerji on guitar, bass pedal Synthesizer, keyboards, vocals; and Chris Tristram on bass.

The album was produced by Bill Mather & Artok at Elora Sound in January, 1983.

The cover artwork was by Rob Taylor.

The band is still selling sealed copies of this album for $55 on their website:
http://www.artok.org/#/vinyl-records/4524819370

The band has recently re-grouped and are working on a new recording 'Above Ground'.
-Robert Williston

The Ascensions featured:
Peter Titus: guitar and lead vocals
Matthew Nicoll: keyboards
Joel Lepage: bass
David Titus: drums

there is a previously unreleased track from "All Your Ears Can Hear" http://www.mocm.ca/Music/Title.aspx?TitleId=318006

Only 500 copies of the single were pressed, but only 50 ever made it out of their basement; the remainder were dumped or ended up in local thrift shops.

for more info about the band, see the second scan below from the companion book "All Your Ears Can Hear".

The Athenians of Toronto were a Greek band from Toronto, Ontario who gave away and sold a few copies of this album, San Skoteiniazei, which was recorded on their own private label, The Athenian Record Company. It's probably the best Canadian cover tune album of all-time - certainly my favourite! The album features three originals as well as four Chicago covers; also covers of Santana, The Doors, Lighthouse, and Credence Clearwater Revival.

All of the songs are in Greek, except Light My Fire which swithes over to English half-way through. The Athenians of Toronto were Denny Fernando on guitar and vocals; Vangelis Bethanis on vocals; Paul Imo on bass; Nikos Philippeos on drums; and Costa Philippeos on keyboards and vocals. I don’t believe any of these Greeks went on to record anything else, but the band was joined by a few more famous Canadian jazz musicians on horns, Pete Schoefield, John Satcho, Al Stanwyck, Heather Banks, and Terry Anton.

The Musicianship on th...

Cascading synths. Ass-shaking drum beats. Pained vocals. Songs with titles like “Hate Crime.” A healthy understanding of the works of Depeche Mode. A woman trained in opera. Songs fit for black nylon outfits and nights in seedy clubs. These are the building blocks of many new-new-new-wave careers, and are also the building blocks of Feel It Break, the debut album from Austra. It’s a challenge to make that well-worn template sound fresh, but through sheer force of will—and thanks to a magnetic frontwoman in Katie Stelmanis—Austra accomplish that in spades with Feel It Break.

While this is her debut LP with Austra, Stelmanis has bounced around the Toronto indie scene for a few years, performing with Galaxy, then as a solo artist, and then as a guest vocalist with Fucked Up. Feel It Break is the end result of four years of toying with her opera background (a trait she shares with an easy analog, Zola Jesus), orchestral arrangements, and MIDI experiments with drummer/producer ...

Angus MaClean: vocals
Ronnie Reid: guitar
John Hawkins: guitar
Bill Davenport: bass
Richie Burns: drums (all tracks except 3,9,10,12)
Ian McIntyre: drums (tracks 3,9,10,12)

Autumn Pilgrimm was formed in the late summer/early fall of 1994 and was made up of five members coming from the industrial area of Cape Breton.

Their first studio recording was done live and took place after only jamming together three times (These three songs appear on their 2005 self titled album). In October of 1994 they played their first show at the now famous Gobblefest in Sydney, Cape Breton, and took the audience by storm. With their intense stage performance and all original song list they quickly gathered up a cult following and became a local favorite. They "... incorporate rock, Goth, and heavy metal influences for a full booming assault on the senses."

Momentum continued to grow. It was at their fourth live performance at the No Cases (a venu...

It ain’t easy to put raw, heartfelt, broken-hearted vocals into a moving, vital union with sophisticated architectures of string arrangements, found sounds and electronic wizardry; still less easy to deliver the whole as a pyrotechnic and cohesive pop package in live performance. But Axis of Conversation, an experimental sextet who have been steadily building their reputation for several years as one of Calgary’s strongest bands, make it all look easy.

A band that takes clear joy in performing – and in performing with each other – their pleasure in the music is infectious, and ensures that experimental flights of fancy are always fresh and always in the truest sense of the word, never deteriorating into mere exercise or cerebral posturing. They deliver their songs as ethereal, frenetic, controlled whirls of sound and energy, walking a tightrope of tension between wistful neo-Romantic sensibility and ballsy dance-funk swagger with aplomb worthy of a veteran act.
-from 2...

Axis of Conversation are a unique experimental pop band from Calgary, Alberta. They are one of Calgary's best emerging acts. "Enemies is a quick snippet of what the band does best. Side A, the title track, is a three-minute burst of sound that recalls anything and everything from The Talking Heads to The Strokes. Lead singer Chris dela Torre’s hushed, high-pitched voice is the perfect complement to the frantic energy that swirls around him, singing conspiratorially, “We did it all for the failure of love.” Side B is a clever remix of one of the band’s earlier songs, “The Pull.” Originally a quiet acoustic piece, Morgan Greenwood’s remix inserts a fractured electronic beat and some spacey strings that lend the song a brand new personality. Enemies is a notch in the belt of another promising local band and Axis of Conversation have proven themselves worthy of the early attention."
-from Fastfoward Weekly by Nathan Atnikov
http://www.ffwdweekly.com

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nice light rock from the Class Info label; probably just as rare.