take a look / listen 
Download a track here - 2
Toronto’s brooding indie rock five-some Dinosaur Bones are set to make the most of their 2009 summer. It starts off with an appearance at Eric Warner’s all-ages Over the Top Festival in late May (opening for Sebastian Grainger and the Mountains), followed by what will surely be an unforgettable appearance at this year’s NXNE Festival.
The band is then slated to play Edgefest on June 20th at Downsview Park alongside Metric, k-os, The Stills, The Arkells and many more. Dinosaur Bones will also find themselves on many new stages throughout May as tey will be hitting the road for a string of shows throughout Ontario and Quebec
Their live set has sent critics into a daze, and with only a four song EP available, the band has struck a chord with an ever-growing number of loyal followers in their home city of Toronto. Expect a debut full length later this year, and in the meantime see the band play live to understand why everyone can’t help but sing their praises.
Just eighteen months ago, Dinosaur Bones lead singer/guitarist Ben Fox was writing songs in his Montreal apartment and recording unpolished ideas on a shifty 4-track recorder. Two months later, he decided to pack it in, abandon his English degree, and move back to hometown Toronto with only one thing on his mind; starting a band. Fox found himself back on Toronto soil assembling former band mates and recruiting local musicians. The band went to work arranging Fox’s New York-inspired indie rock recordings, augmenting them with haunting synth layers and a pulsing rhythm section. And so they began gigging at house parties and dark bars, releasing a self titled four-song demo and making a home within the fast city of Toronto. Before long, Dinosaur Bones had found themselves sharing stages with the likes of Handsome Furs, Hey Rosetta!, Hollerado, and Born Ruffians, garnering attention from bloggers and critics alike, and receiving rotation on commercial radio station Edge 102.1. Expect a full-length album in the fall, Edgefest and NXNE appearances, and of course, unforgettable live shows on countless new stages across the country.
UPCOMING SHOWS:
May 8 @ The Atria, OSHAWA (w. Arietta)
May 10 @ The Good Times, NEWMARKET (w. Arietta)
May 16 @ Absinthe, HAMILTON (w. Arietta)
May 21 @ Whippersnapper Gallery, TORONTO (**Over the Top Festival w. Sebastian Grainger and the Mountains)May 22 @ Call The Office, LONDON (w. The Junction)
May 23 @ Bar None, KINGSTON (w. Arietta)
May 29 @ Club Saw, OTTAWA (w. Arietta)
May 30 @ Green Room, MONTREAL (w. Arietta)
June 17- 20 @ NXNE *Showcase tba, TORONTO
June 20 @ Downsview Park, TORONTO (**Edgefest)
LINKS
www.myspace.com/dinosaurbonesband
www.edge.ca/ConcertsandEvents/Edgefest/ArtistLineUp.aspx
FREE CD to the 3rd emailer - motorcityblog@earthlink.netDangerous fruit retains the rootsy flair, distinctive vocals and intricate song writing that, along with her five previous solo albums and acclaimed work with popular regional act, Dirty Martini, have solidified Stephanie Schneiderman as a premier NW performing songwriter.
The catalyst for this is her musical partnership with one of the most prolific electronic musicians/producers/DJ's in the NW—Keith Schreiner. Known regionally for his work with Dahlia, Auditory Sculpture andSuckapunch, his resume with Grammy-winning artists Jeff Trott, Sheryl Crow andDr. Dre/Eminem'sproducer Mike Elizondoas well as Banco de Gaia, Corinna Rep andMinnie Driver speaks for itself.
The first thing that is evident on Dangerous Fruitis the balance that seems to naturally occur between the acoustic and electronic elements. Schneiderman's lead vocals, vivid lyrics, layered harmonies and subtle acoustic guitar riffs blend seamlessly with Schreiner's undulating looped beats, moody synth patches and unique production style. The traditional seems to amend and compliment the experimental—an ongoing conversation that is continually refreshed on each advancing track.
Stephanie Schneiderman delivers a new gorgeous recording that transcends genre and defies convention. Dangerous Fruit reveals 11 songs that artfully combine pop, trip hop, soul, electronica and folk, as well as the talent and vision of two established, yet very different NW artists. The album will appeal to listeners of Goldfrapp, Feist, Suzanne Vega and Beth Orton and is a testament to the magic that can happen when an unexpected collaboration hits its stride.
The duo made fast friends in the studio, deconstructing nearly all of Schneiderman's tunes, only to mold, stretch and pull until the right home was found for each.
The lead off track, “20 Slivers,” which began as a typical guitar-based folk song, became an Isaac Hayes-style, down tempo groove with Stephanie's vocals layered on top. “First Crack,” had 9 different versions until it settled into a striking atmospheric power ballad. And while many of the tracks evolved from songs that were already written, others like the Sade-inspired “The Dark is Easier,” were composed in the studio. The partnership has also effectively sparked a powerful live trio project including James Beaton (Storm and the Balls, Everclear) that will be performing in support of the record throughout the NW and beyond.
STEVE EARLE TO RELEASE TOWNES MAY 12th VIA NEW WEST RECORDS;15-SONG SET COMPRISED OF SONGS WRITTEN BY THE LEGENDARY
SINGER-SONGWRITER, TOWNES VAN ZANDT
FEATURES GUEST APPEARANCES BY TOM MORELLO, ALLISON MOORER AND,
APPEARING ON A STEVE EARLE RECORD FOR THE FIRST TIME,
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE
“Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's
coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.” - Steve Earle (1995)
Click HERE for free mp3 download
Steve Earle is set to release Townes, his highly anticipated follow up to the Grammy Award winning album Washington Square Serenade, on May 12th via New West Records. The 15-song set is comprised of songs written by Earle’s friend and mentor, the late singer-songwriter, Townes Van Zandt. Townes will also be available as a deluxe two-CD set, as well as double Limited Edition 180 gram vinyl.
The album was produced by Earle at his home in Greenwich Village, at Sound Emporium and Room and Board in Nashville, TN and The Nest in Hollywood, CA. The track “Lungs,” was produced and mixed by the Dust Brothers’ John King and features Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine/The Nightwatchman on electric guitar. Earle’s wife, the acclaimed singer-songwriter Allison Moorer, is featured on backing vocals on “Loretta” and “To Live Is To Fly.” Three songs cut in Nashville, “White Freightliner Blues,” “Delta Momma Blues,” and “Don’t Take It Too Bad” feature a bluegrass band consisting of Dennis Crouch, Tim O’Brien, Darrel Scott and Shad Cobb.
Earle met Townes Van Zandt in 1972 at one of Earle’s performances at The Old Quarter in Houston, TX. Van Zandt was in the audience and playfully heckled Earle throughout the performance to play the song “Wabash Cannonball.” Earle admitted that he didn’t know how to play the tune and Van Zandt replied incredibly “You call yourself a folksinger and you don’t know ‘Wabash Cannonball?’” Earle then silenced him by playing the Van Zandt song “Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold,” not an easy feat due to its quickly-paced mouthful of lyrics squeezed into just over two minutes of song. Their bond was immediately formed. On Townes, Earle and his son, singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle (named after
Van Zandt) trade verses on the tune, a song the two of them have been playing together since Justin was a teenager.
The songs selected for Townes were the ones that meant the most to Earle and the ones he personally connected to (not including selections featured on previous Earle albums). Some of the selections chosen were songs that Earle has played his entire career (“Pancho and Lefty,” “Lungs,” “White Freightliner Blues”) and others he had to learn specifically for recording. He learned the song “(Quicksilver Daydreams of) Maria” directly from Van Zandt, and taught himself “Marie” and “Rake” specifically for the album’s recording. Once a song he played during his live show, Earle relearned “Colorado Girl” in the original Open D tuning that Van Zandt played it in. Earle recorded the New York sessions solo and then added the other instruments later on in order to preserve the spirit of Van Zandt’s original solo performances to the best of his recollection.
When speaking about Townes, Earle stated, “This may be one of the best records I’ve ever made. That hurts a singer-songwriter’s feelings. Then again, it’s some consolation that I cherry picked through the career of one of the best songwriters that ever lived.” Townes Van Zandt’s debut album, For The Sake Of The Song, was released in 1968. His last, No Deeper Blue appeared in 1995. His life and songs are the subject of the critically acclaimed 2006 documentary film, Be Here To Love Me. Van Zandt died in 1997 at the age of 52.
While being a protege' of Van Zandt, Earle is a master storyteller in his own right, with his songs being recorded by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, The Pretenders, Joan Baez and countless others. 1986 saw the release of his debut record, Guitar Town, which shot to number one on the country charts and immediately established the term “New Country.” What followed was an extremely exciting array of twelve releases including the biting hard rock of Copperhead Road (1988), the minimalist beauty of Train A Comin’ (1995), the politically charged masterpiece Jerusalem (2002) and the Grammy Award Winning albums The Revolution Starts…Now (2004) and Washington Square Serenade (2007). Earle also produced the Grammy nominated album,
Day After Tomorrow, by the legendary Joan Baez in 2008.
On August 15th 2009 - CRUEFEST 2 - will hit the metro Detroit out at DTE.A couple of bands that will be part of the mayhem are Drowning Pool and Charm City Devils.
3rd emailer gets a copy of the latest from Drowning Pool
Check out these MP3s
Drowing Pool
"STITCHES"
Charm City Devils
"Lets Rock n Roll" (Endless Road)
and get your CrueFest2 Tickets here