The CBC Radio 3 Bucky Award Winners - 2012

Congratulations to the CLASS of 2012 - The CBC Radio 3 Bucky Award winners.

Hottest Pipes (Best Vocal Performance) - Hannah Georgas  "Robotic"

• We first saw Georgas more than two years ago. That she's back on the Bucky radar with her second (self-titled) album is proof there's no such thing as a sophomore curse.

Sexiest Artist - Jaycelyn Brown of Said The Whale
#socialbutterfly Social Media Award - Said the Whale
Most Watchable Song (Best Video) - Said The Whale  "We Are 1980"

• They might be 1980, but 2012 was a whale of a year for the Bucky awards. STW played both sides of the border in April, touring in support of their second full-length album, Little Mountain.

Rookie of the Year - The Elwins

•  We were pulling hard for Loon Choir, who are rookier than The Elwins (formed in 2007). But we remember liking The Elwins' set at NXNE 2011.

 Best Reason to Buy a Concert Ticket (Best Live Act) - Mother Mother

•  Mother Mother was the very first Canadian indie band one of us saw live (at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit, touring with Sam Roberts). They opened with "Hayloft." Quite the intro.

In Memoriam: Most Impactful Break-up - Handsome Furs

• We're so glad we had the opportunity to see them perform in 2011. Thanks for the music, Alexei and Dan, and all the best.

Electronic Song of the Year - Grimes  "Oblivion"

• Shoot, pout pout pout pout, we were pulling for Shout Out Out Out Out.

 Best Reason to Learn French (Best Francophone Song)  - Bernard Adamus'  "Entre ici pis chez vous"

• Hey! Someone we voted for actually won! We love this guy.

 Lifetime Achievement - Nardwuar the Human Serviette

•  Well-deserved recognition for the original doot doola doot doo dynamo.

Golden Bucky (Song of the Year) - Joel Plaskett  "Lightning Bolt"

•  Although "Bolt" isn't our favourite Plaskett song, his performances at this year's Home County Music & Art Festival made us fans, through & through & through.

Fan of the Year - Christine McAvoy

• We can't think of anyone we'd rather pass our tiaras to than CMac. Welcome to the FOTY ranks! Love ya.

The N2DS2W Holiday Gift Guide

"I know how you feel about all this Christmas business, getting depressed and all that. It happens to me every year. I never get what I really want. I always get a lot of stupid toys or a bicycle or clothes or something like that."

If you're feeling like Lucy Van Pelt, we're not here to open up a psychiatry booth. But we might be able to help in the gift suggestion department. Because A Charlie Brown Christmas wouldn't be the same without the music of Vince Guaraldi, here are some of our favourite ideas for Canadian indie-themed musical gifts and more. After all, when all else fails, give what you really want and if it loves you, it will come back. Or something like that.

1. Bait and switch. Upgrade your family and friends to Canadian indie. Is your dad into country? He'll love Corb Lund or Lindi Ortega. Does your brother like Nickelback (our condolences)? Give him Arkells. Grandpa has the blues? Turn him on to catl. Grandma's into music from the 40s? We recommend Jill Barber and Belle Plaine. How about some Elliott BROOD goodies? Folk, hip hop, electronic, world, pop, 13 Days of Christmas by some great PEI bands...there's a Canadian indie upgrade for every genre, and you don't have to stand in line outside the Apple store to get it.  (**Disclaimer: these suggestions are for representative purposes only; they're a mere fraction of all the bands we love.)

2. I made you a mixtape. Minimal budget? In the spirit of suggestion no. 1, make your loved ones a mixtape of free (and at least partly if not all Canadian indie) music. And then guilt them later into buying the album(s). Here's a few for starters:

• Zunior compilations
• Paste Magazine Holiday Sampler 2012 (28 songs!)
• Dine Alone Records Holiday Sampler

3. CBC Radio 3 merch. Also your chance to drop heavy hints that you'd love some R3 merch for yourself. And if your recipients aren't into Radio 3 quite as much as you, they might like some CBC Retro.

4. Good for one live show. Remember how much your mom loved those coupons you made for her when you were a kid? You know, "Good for one vacuuming." Make a grown-up version: "Good for one live show." We're not talking about $200 tickets to a megarena in the nosebleed section. We're talking about taking your SO or friend to your local small venue that supports Canadian indie artists. It will be remembered way longer than those fuzzy socks or box of Ferrero Rocher.

5. A Diamond is forever (or at least 12 months). Canadian indie bands catl. and The Pack a.d. have both recorded at legendary producer Jim Diamond's Ghetto Recorders. You can see more female talent from around the globe in the Girls of Ghetto Records 2013 calenders. $20 in the US and $30 outside of the US. Paypal to jmosrite@hotmail.com or send a check or money order to Ghetto Recorders, P. O. Box 2533, Detroit, MI 48202 USA.


N2D photographer Russ Gordon's photo of The Pack a.d. is  Ghetto Recorders' calendar image for December 2012.

"Look, Charlie, let's face it. We all know that Christmas is a big commercial racket. It's run by a big eastern syndicate, you know." Or maybe Kenny Loggins...

VIDEO - The Pack a.d. - Positronic

Directed by Lloyd Choi.


 

"This video has robots and fights and vomit. So, basically, we think it's great." The Pack a.d

CBC Radio 3 Bucky Awards Day Is Friday, Dec. 7

It's Bucky Day once again and CBC Radio 3's 7th annual award show has a new look. The day begins at 10:00 am ET/7:00 am PT with the first award - Sexiest Artist Of The Year - and culminates with The Golden Bucky Award for Song Of The Year at 5:30 pm ET/2:30 pm PT. A podcast version of the Buckys gala will be released immediately following. Tune in at http://music.cbc.ca/radio3/ or Sirius 152.

Last Day Of #Movember, Still Time For N2D's Russ Gordon

Is it really worth taking a month to raise awareness and money for the issue of men's health, specifically prostate cancer?

Yes. Yes it is. That's why our own writer/stuntman/photographer Russ Gordon has rejoined the prestigious CBC Radio 3 #Movember team.


Check out the Team CBC Radio 3 Movember gallery. (click on OPEN GALLERY) 

Thank you to everybody who donated to me AND the incredible Team CBC Radio 3!

Show Russ some love, ONE DOLLAR at a time! Donate HERE or to the team HERE.

Get checked. It's YOUR ass, don't just sit on it.

Last Day To Vote! CBC Radio 3 ~ 2012 Bucky Awards

Time is almost up to vote for the CBC Radio 3 Bucky Awards. Kick it up! All the best in Canadian indie music. All voted on by you, the listener. PLUS, Top Fan Of The Year and Lifetime Achievement.
Cast your vote! Short list voting will be open from Nov. 21 through Nov. 28. The 2012 Bucky Awards will be presented on Friday Dec. 7 on Grant Lawrence Live!.

VOTE HERE. VOTE NOW!

Drink the Kool-Aid

 Is this the end of D-Sisive?

CBC Music's Vish Khanna and D-Sisive himself answer that question better than we could. As fans, we hope D-Sisive finds his muse hard to resist. As (we hope it's not too presumptuous to say) friends, we wish Derek all the best, because he deserves it.

For now, D-Sisive and producer Muneshine have given us Jonestown 3: The Dream Is Over. And because free has been his friend, you can listen and download for free. And if you like it, return the favour by purchasing one of his other albums.




Track listing:

1. The Dream Is Over 02:26
2. All My Friends Are Dead 01:45
3. Tell Me Different [ft. Adam Bomb] 03:18
4. Banana Bread [ft. Knamelis] 03:32
5. WhenWeDieWeDieTogether 04:29
6. Pajama Pants 03:30
7. Friend Of Mine 03:23
8. Cincinnati Sunday 02:43
9. The Penny Tree [ft. The Antiheroes] 03:55
10. Not One Candle [ft. Muneshine] 02:54
11. Station 135 02:53
12. November 02:43
13. [un]Answered Prayers 03:01

Show Alert: Hard Times for Olenka & the Autumn Lovers

Sat., Nov. 17
Phog Lounge, Windsor
w/ The Allens (London) and Father Head (Windsor)

Olenka's "Odessa" knows hard times. We certainly hope Hard Times is only the title of London's Olenka & the Autumn Lovers new seven-song EP. After a preview at Home County Music & Art Festival this summer, we're looking forward to a second listen of the band's pitch-perfect layered harmonies and well-written folk music with Eastern European influences.

Somehow we missed The Allens at Home County. Maybe you know them as The Woody Allens. After checking out a video of their live performance at Home County, we get how they could sell out Aeolian Hall last month.

North Lakes Meet The Great Lakes

North Lakes (PEI) Dog Is Blue (TOR) with Windsor's own Eric Welton and Eryk Musyk 

Saturday, Nov. 10 @ Phog Lounge

Sending reverberations from beyond the Confederation Bridge, North Lakes are a rock n’ roll band that radiate with swagger and bravado. Taking their cue from ‘60s pop and garage rock, the energetic five-piece combines vivid lyrical imagery and a colossal roar of musicality to craft punchy, concise rock records. Source.

Dog Is Blue are Paul Watson, principal songwriter and cookie-tin pedal enthusiast, and Laura Heaney, purveyor of ghost-noises and multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire; together they bramble around proudly with all the jangly toys of a tickle-trunk and the surefooted bravado of travelling snake-oil salesmen. Lighthearted in their dedication to the ephemeral, these two get their ya-yas out peddling a unique brand of self-described ghost-folk. Source.

Eric Welton and Eryk Musyk are two of Windsor's most respected musicians. Together tonight for an acoustic set that should not be missed.

CATL. To Trample Windsor

CATL.

Friday, November 9th
Phog Lounge  8pm
wsg Danny Kroha - ex- The Gories and The Demolition Doll Rods

Dirty. Sweaty. Fun. Toronto-based catl. are a ‘trio steeped in blues tradition yet refreshingly idiosyncratic’ (Vish Khanna | Exclaim! | May 2012).

Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images

Show Review: D2D2A2

We expected a line out the door for Vancouver's Delhi 2 Dublin on Tues., Sep. 18. Instead, the door to the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor was locked.

When they say doors at 9, they mean it. Once they welcomed us in, we spent the next 20 minutes wondering if anyone else was going to show up. Like most of the Canadian indie musicians that tour the States, Tarun Nayar, or simply T, was philosophical. The $12 cover was probably too much (the price of two drinks at any non-dive bar in Ann Arbor). It was the band's first time performing in southeast Michigan (someone with a clue booked them for Blissfest in 2011).

We'll never understand the musical cultural divide between two countries that share thousands of miles of border and speak the same language. If anyone is the epitome of a cultural bridge, it's Delhi 2 Dublin, with their perfect fusion of Bhangra and Celtic and hip hop. They even made us Google "tabla" and "dhol"; we love that.

In the end, about 20 people were treated to easily one of our top shows of the year. Everyone danced, and there are few bands that we can say that about. It's impossible not to dance, propelled by Ravi Binning on the dhol, the kilted Andrew Kim on electric sitar and guitar, Sara Fitzpatrick on fiddle, the charismatic Sanjay Serin at the mic and T adding electronics, background vocals and the tabla.

Starting (Nov. 6) at Winnipeg's West End Cultural Centre, Delhi 2 Dublin are touring Western Canada, ending with a show at The Commodore in Vancouver on Nov. 30.

Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images

Show Review: Make way for The Walkervilles

There was a band not mentioned in our post about Dusted at Windsor's Phog Lounge on Oct. 4. Not because we forgot about them. We just enjoyed The Walkervilles so much we thought they deserved their own five minutes of fame on N2DS2W.

Anyone familiar with Windsor's music scene knows the members of The Walkervilles: Pat Robitaille, and Mike Hargreaves and Stefan Cvetkovic of Michou (Stefan has another alter-ego, Efan and His Island Surfers). But we weren't sure what to expect. Were they a barbershop trio or as brief mentions hinted, a Motown cover band?

The answer is neither. Although they reach across the river for some inspiration and vibe, these artists are more than derivative. This is one of those felicitous occasions when the pieces all come together and good notes happen. The Walkervilles are having fun, and it sounds like it. 





Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images

The Pack Are Back!

The Pack A.D. w/ Topanga @ Phog Lounge
Also opening: Salt of the Chief Cornerstone (Windsor)

We have been witness to the auditory assault of The Pack A.D. The images here represent some of the most raw, energetic music that two people can create. Wear good shoes and ear protection

Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images

Show Alert: Two lovely ladies and some Words

English Words
w/ Molly Rankin and Crissi Cochrane
Thurs., Oct. 24 ~ Phog Lounge, Windsor

PEI comes to Windsor as English Words bring songs from their first full-length album, Red Potion. We've been fans of the band since they were known by the name they'd rather forget, and their four-song EP, Customer Appreciation. They are definitely people we love.



There's definitely been a lot of love in this house for Molly Rankin's (yes, of that Rankin Family) sassy pop. The bouncy "Way Home" has been a favourite of Bob the Budgie since we got him last year, and never fails to get him chirping along. Here's proof (be sure to scroll all the way down).

And Windsor's Crissi Cochrane? We think she's Pretty Alright. She hasn't stopped working since "I Won't Try To Break Your Heart" made it into rotation earlier this year on CBC Radio 3, recently releasing this video, and promising new songs from a forthcoming album during her set.

Show Review: Left in the dust

"Cause a distraction. I can get your attention. I am getting through somehow."

From Samuel Langhorne Clemens to Charles Dodgson to Nora Roberts, many famous authors have written under pseudonyms so they could explore genres outside their usual realm. But these efforts rarely get the label so often pasted on Canadian indie musicians' who perform under their own kind of pseudonym: the side project.

"The bruise is so hard to cover when both of your arms are swinging, when they're keeping their guard."

No wonder some tend to bristle at the term, which seems to suggest that these personal expressions are somehow less than their collective alter egos-- in Brian Borcherdt's case, Holy Fuck. We'd argue that the only thing "side" about projects like Dusted is the privilege of getting to hear another side of these multi-talented artists, as we did on Thurs., Oct. 4 at Windsor's Phog Lounge.

"Heard you saying something about someone. But you don't know... no, you don't know. Some kind of static distracts us."

Dusted is Borcherdt and producer-engineer-mixer-musician Leon Taheny, who has an impressive pedigree when it comes to Canadian indie. Borcherdt's plaintive songwriting and soprano dusted with fuzzy reverb plus Taheny's one-man band command of drums, keys and bass pedals equals a truly transcendent experience in alt-rock, especially on songs like "(Into the) Atmosphere." Some of the songs on Total Dust (pressed on beautiful mahogany vinyl) did gather dust for two years; we're sure glad Borcherdt decided to cut them free.

"Some random image, some kind of message, well I couldn't tell. I couldn't catch it. Yet I got caught up in the spell. When will it all come down?"

Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images

Lyrics from (in order) "Dusted," "Bruises" and "All Comes Down" from Total Dust.

What Happens Next? The Dan Mangan Documentary

The night before musician Dan Mangan plays the biggest concert of his life, he invites a few close friends over for a poker game and explores the ideas of fate, destiny and the daunting question... what happens next?

Directed & Produced by Brent Hodge and Jon Siddall
Presented by CBC TV, CBC Music



NATIONAL BROADCAST AIRS THIS SATURDAY OCT 20
9 AM PST/12 PM EST ON CBC TELEVISION

Show Alert: Cadence Weapon, Whitehorse, Yukon Blonde

Mon., Oct. 15

Cadence Weapon
Magic Stick Lounge, Detroit
w/ Deastro (Detroit)

Whitehorse (Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland
The Ark, Ann Arbor

Yukon Blonde (opening for The Jezabels)
The Blind Pig, Ann Arbor

If we could clone ourselves, we would, because we hate to miss any one of these shows. We were set to see Whitehorse (and Doucet's White Falcon) earlier this year The Ark, when they canceled to go to SXSW (hard to blame them). Listen: "Achilles' Desire" from The Fate of the World Depends on This Kiss

And we love Vancouver's Yukon Blonde so much we've seen them four times, and would have happily done so again, as they continue to tour in support of the great Tiger Talk. Listen: "Stairway," from Tiger Talk

But there's no way we were going to miss Cadence Weapon, a three-time Polaris nominee and former poet laureate of Edmonton. Rollie Pemberton is simply one of the best hip-hop artists in Canada. He's touring in support of Hope in Dirt City, which landed on the 2012 Polaris short list, and is described as "a unique hybrid of psychedelic soul, old school rap, IDM and mutant disco... a groundbreaking achievement in hip-hop."


Listen: "Conditioning " from Hope in Dirt City

A Feast of Festivals

Time and money prevent us from attending as many music festivals as we'd like (we had the most ROMO for the Wolfe Island Music Festival-- what a lineup). Although our Big Three lacked the camping factor, we certainly experienced the range festivals have to offer: from NXNE in the Big Smoke, to folk at the Home County, to home in Windsor getting the boot at Phog Phest 4.

Home County brings in the bright lights of Canadian indie; this year it was Polaris short-lister Kathleen Edwards and Joel Plaskett Emergency. It also features workshops that result in wonderful and unexpected combinations-- The Kramdens and members of Cuff the Duke covering Neil Young, Plaskett and Bahamas, the lovely Olenka Krakus (of Olenka and the Autumn Lovers), Dave Gunning and the Kramdens.

Phog Phest has more of a family reunion/backyard party vibe: friends, dogs, beer, folding chairs, tents, kids, meatball sliders and wood-fired pizza and chocolate chip cookies from Mettawas Station of Kingsville, good conversation and great music.

They've got the recipe down. It's a given that Phog Phest will showcase Windsor talent we've heard and enjoyed, like The Unquiet Dead. Tom and Frank keep it interesting with a mix of tried-and-true ingredients-- this year Toronto's Rural Alberta Advantage and New Country Rehab-- and lesser known bands Phog is famous for getting on stage before they break, like Montreal's Cobra & Vulture.

Cobra & Vulture

The Unquiet Dead

New Country Rehab

New Country Rehab

The Rural Alberta Advantage
 

The Rural Alberta Advantage

But the unexpected star of Phog Phest 4 turned out to be a Wellington boot. For a buck a chuck, attendees took turns trying to throw the boot the farthest for prizes in the Welly Boot Chuck. Although S2W made a valiant effort, the only prize we took home was a framed Phog Phest 4 poster signed by all the bands. It sure looks a lot better than that boot did by the end of the night.












Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images