Gogol Bordello one of the best concerts so far in 2010

Ever heard of this band? Let me fill you in.
This large combo played a sold out show at the Sound Academy this week and it was one of the rockinest shows I've seen this year.

Gogol Bordello is a Gypsy punk band from the Lower East Side of New York City. It was formed in 1999 and is known for its theatrical stage shows and persistent touring. Much of the band's sound is inspired by Gypsy music. The band incorporates minor-key accordion and violin (and on some albums, saxophone) mixed with punk and dub.

“Gogol” comes from the name Nikolai Gogol. As one of the most influential writers in Russian and Ukrainian literature, Gogol paved the way for the likes of Kafka and Dostoevsky. He also serves as an ideological influence for the band because he "smuggled" Ukrainian culture into Russian society, which Gogol Bordello intends to do with Gypsy/ East-European music in the English-speaking world."Bordello", in Italian, refers to a brothel or a "gentleman's club". The band was originally titled Hütz and the Béla Bartóks, but Eugene Hütz says that they decided to change the name because "nobody knows who the hell Béla Bartók is in the United States". The band played their first show as the unofficial band at an after-hours club called Ohuetz on Ridge Street, where they became the house band and DJ Hütz became the house DJ.



Gogol Bordello's first single was released in 1999, and since then they have released four full-length albums, and one EP. In 2005 the band signed to punk label SideOneDummy Records. The band has toured tirelessly throughout Europe and America on numerous international festivals and toured with such diverse bands as Primus, Flogging Molly, and Cake. In an interview with NPR, frontman Eugene Hütz cites Jimi Hendrix and Parliament-Funkadelic as among the band's main musical influences. They have mentioned Manu Chao, Fugazi, Zvuki Mu, Sasha Kolpakov and The Clash as influences as well.

Canadian Music Week getting underway in Toronto

Oh what to see and do this week? There are so many amazing acts are in town for the traditional harbinger of spring - the annual Canadian Music Week! This event is shaping up to be a powerhouse of information and celebration. Celebrating Canadian music is all it's forms. There will be an indie awards presentation, a film festival,the conference with a bunch of musical experts, and of course live entertainment.

Highlights are going to be numerous. For starters - Ben Somer, Huron, Sean Ashby, and even WordBurglar are around town performing for lucky music fans.

Here are some You Tube clips of what you can expect over the next few days. More indie band clips are on the DirkFimbob You Tube channel - recorded exclusively for the channel! Do yourself a favour and check some of the shows or check out the conference. It is a must do for anyone in a band, or anyone who loves new music...
http://www.cmw.net/cmw2010/index.asp

Here are some clips of a few of the bands performing in conjunction with the music conference...

Tom Wilson Debuts new song on the CHCanada.com Indie Radio Show

"Big Chief" is the latest from Canadian troupador Tom Wilson, of Lee Harvey Osmond fame. He is also in the Canadian Traveling Wilburys' - Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, and is having one of the best years of his life.

The new song was co-written by his son Thompson Wilson, of the band Harlan Pepper.
Check it out on the You Tube Clip supplied here. The entire interview will be uploaded to this blog shortly. We talked about life on the road, drugs, early life for Tom, and his love of painting. Also the passion he has for his hometown of Hamilton comes out during the interview.

The man is a true gentleman, even though he does look like a demonic Jesus - but don't let the look fool ya!

Lee Harvey Osmond's "A Quiet Evil" can be purchased by going to:
http://www.chcanada.com/category/Indie_Music?r=dfyt

Constantines up for an Indie Award

Canadian Music Fest has announced who the nominees are for the 10th Annual Independent Music Awards, "The Indies". The event will take place on Saturday, March 13 at 8:00 p.m. at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Toronto.

The Indies acknowledge, promote and honour achievements of Canadian and international artists in the independent music sector. Tickets for this event can be purchased for $20 at Ticketmaster, www.ticketmaster.ca, www.canadianmusicfest.com, www.indies.ca, Rotate This and Soundscapes.

This year's performers include Desperate Union, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Plants and Animals, Great Lake Swimmers and Constantines. The show will be broadcast live to air on XM Satellite Radio's "The Verge" and recorded for future broadcast on Galaxie.

Metric and Alexisonfire lead this year's Canadian nominees with four nominations apiece, followed by Phoenix with three nominations in the international categories.

And the nominees are.........

CHARTATTACK.COM FAVOURITE ALBUM
Alexisonfire - Old Crows / Young Cardinals (Dine Alone)
Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels (Nettwerk)
Japandroids - Post-Nothing (Unfamiliar)
Joel Plaskett - Three (MapleMusic)
Metric - Fantasies (Last Gang)

ASTRAL MEDIA RADIO FAVOURITE SINGLE
Danny Fernandes - Fantasy (CP)
Deborah Cox - Beautiful U R (DECO/Image/E1)
Faber Drive - G-Get Up and Dance! (604)
Marianas Trench - Cross My Heart (604)
Metric - Gimme Sympathy (Last Gang)

FAVOURITE GROUP/DUO
Constantines (Arts & Crafts)
Handsome Furs (Sub Pop)
Metric (Last Gang)
Patrick Watson & The Wooden Arms (Secret City)
Tegan and Sara (Vapor/Sire)

FAVOURITE SOLO ARTIST
Coeur de Pirate (Dare To Care)
Dan Mangan (fileunder:music)
Joel Plaskett (MapleMusic)
Julie Doiron (Endearing)
Timber Timbre (Arts & Crafts)

FAVOURITE VIDEO
Alexisonfire - Young Cardinals (Dine Alone)
Danny Fernandes - Fantasy (CP)
Lights - Drive My Soul (Underground Operations)
Marianas Trench - Cross My Heart (604)
Theory Of A Deadman - All or Nothing (604)

FAVOURITE LIVE ARTIST/GROUP
Alexisonfire (Dine Alone)
Arkells (Dine Alone)
Metric (Last Gang)
The Trews (Bumstead)
You Say Party! We Say Die (Paper Bag)

In addition to the nominees above, The Indies will once again present the Galaxie Rising Stars award and $5,000 bursary, sponsored by Galaxie. The award is part of the Galaxie Rising Stars Program, an original program that sets out to discover, encourage and promote emerging artists. Unlike the other award categories, the Galaxie Rising Stars Award is the choice of the nation's music critics. Music journalists from print, TV, radio and online media are asked for their top five Canadian independent releases of 2009. All submissions are then boiled down to a shortlist from which these same critics choose the most deserving recording and select Canada's emerging breakthrough artist of the year.

For further details and voting procedures visit the Indie Awards website at www.indies.ca

Gonna be a great night. Indie bands get your music to these folks to be eligible for next year's awards.

Here are Constantines caught last April Fools day at The Phoenix in Toronto...

Barry Mac the new Ian Tyson?

The very idea of a "romantic cowboy" conjures up images of lonely cowboys on the range missing their woman folk left back at the ranch. There is a long history of romantic cowboys, including the interesting genre of "cowboy poetry." Singer songwriter Ian Tyson has a body of work that merges country music with the poetry of the cowboy.
Barry Mac carries on that tradition. With his songs of love found, and love lost, this urban cowboy sings with his heart on his sleeve.

When he's not in Grant Avenue Studios recording his love songs, you can find him out in his Jeep finding mud holes to get winched out of. Or flying out of Mount Hope airport in a Piper Warrior buzzing the farm fields south of Hamilton.
Mac (as he's known to his friends and fans) lives each day like it was his last. And his music reflects that reality.

If you are in Hamilton on Thursday February 4th be sure to check out Barry Mac and his band has they perform at his record release party. The album release party is being held at at This Ain't Hollywood in Hamilton's north end.

Check you this You Tube clip recorded on the CHCanada.com Indie Radio Show. It features Barry with Caretakers front woman Lena Montecalvo.

Woodhands rocks on a Saturday morning

One of the best things about going down to particpate in CBC Radio One's morning show GO is the amazing talent you see first thing in the morning.

Case in point is these guys - Woodhands. They have been touring around Europe, have a big following in England and have even performed in China!
So here they are real early on a Saturday morning. They bring a lot of energy, as you can see in the clip.

Check them out and let me know what you think. Being an indie band does not mean you are only able to tour locally. This band is breaking out worldwide, with Canada, their home being the last to get on board. CBC Radio One's GO and DirkFimbob on You Tube will change that!

Mississippi Kings get crowned on the Radio

Alright alright, sure the title of this blog is a bit obvious but come on - check out the attached clip and see if you don't agree. We Canadians can sometimes not see the forest for the trees...the mountain right in front of us. These guys are HUGE in Europe - headlining shows in Italy and selling out wherever they go. Here in their home country - not so much.

This act has it all - killer players and some wonderful vocals and arrangements to their songs.

A new EP is being release by the band soon. In the meantime check out the clips of the MK's unplugged. A couple of rare clips are up on You Tube. More to follow.
The entire performance will be uploaded to this blog page shortly. You will be able to upload it as a podcast - for your entertainment pleasure!

In the meantime if you want to pick up their wicked first CD, please go go:
http://www.chcanada.com/product/6195/Canadian_Sounds