This week we spotlight Flemingdon Community Food Bank
10 Gateway Blvd, Basement North York, ON (416) 422-4322
info@fcfoodbank.com

Monday’s 1:30 to 3:30 Singles
Tuesday’s 1:30 to 3:30 Families
Wednesday’s 1:30 to 3:30 Families
Thursday’s 1:30 to 3:30 Families

Thanks for your help.

Stepping in with girls, girls, girls. Leading off, Aussie singer/songwriter Julia Stone and her new single "Break" and the accompanying music video via Arts &Crafts. In a shift from her folk origins, Stone has shed a proverbial skin to emerge in an entirely new form. With its surreal, metallic synths and horns, the single is reminiscent of David Byrne’s ensemble work, and is the perfect introduction to Stone's new era.

BTW is given over to saluting the musicians who have so graciously and generously donated their time and energies on my behalf by performing at Lenny, We Got Your Back! This benefit concert for yours truly takes place at the Horseshoe Tavern, Mar.28 with an 8PM showtime. My heartfelt thanks to everyone, and there have been many of you, who have had a hand in making this happen. I am humbled and grateful. Gonna be a hot show, tell your friends.

Jaymz Bee is an artist, musician, philanthropist and broadcaster who has produced countless events, over a dozen albums and been a member of several bands including The Tiki Collective, Tuk, The Royal Jelly Orchestra, Bonzai Suzuki and Look People. He's hosted and/or produced charity events for JAZZ.FM91 (over 16 years), Unison Benevolent Fund, Covenant House and the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation (amongst others).

Very representative of how New Brunswick-based roots rock outfit led by Lisa and John McLaggan, Tomato Tomato do their thing is Canary In A Coal Mine. The new album by Tomato Tomato, is now on all digital platforms, and through their website tomatotomato.ca. The latest collection marks a significant creative step forward, having been recorded at Nashville studio The Bomb Shelter (Alabama Shakes, Margo Price) with producers Jon Estes and Andrija Tokic, along with some of Music City’s finest musicians.

Here we go into 2019 and wishing all of you all the best and may much good music fall on your ears. Due to an ongoing medical issue, BTW is gonna become a little more limited in scope, as my situation limits the number of live gigs I’ll be able to attend. On the other hand, an increasing US profile means we’ll be able to get access to more US indie acts and that base, in turn, will continue to be exposed to more up and coming Canadian talent. 

A splash of Goth here, a greasy garage feel there. Toronto-based rock band Madame Psychosis kicks off 2019 with the release of “Just Wanna Be Myself”, the lead single off their upcoming album. With sing-along lyrics and a catchy hook, this radio-friendly single highlights the fight for individuality in a world full of predetermined expectations. The song was recorded by Alex Gamble at Union Sound Company.

Toronto unit Great Lake Swimmers are currently halfway through a nine week North American tour in support of acclaimed new album, The Waves, The Wake. The band returns home for what promises to be a very special performance on November 23 at The Danforth Music Hall with special guests Sister Ray prior to heading across the Atlantic for a 19 date European tour to close out the year.

Recorded in the 145-year-old Bishop Cronyn Memorial Church in London, Ontario and produced by Chris Stringer (Union Sound), lead singer-songwriter Tony Dekker decided to challenge himself by writing new music without any acoustic guitar, which has always been his instrumental mainstay. He further digressed from previous songwriting patterns by looking at each track individually and then tailoring the instrumentation to bring each song to life in its own distinctive way.

When casting the male lead what elements were you looking for?

I had a look and intensity that I wanted, but equally important was finding someone who was game to try different things. I went into the shoot with a rough outline and a few key shots I wanted to capture to tell the story, but the rest was improvised play.

Harrie Demero was recommended to me as someone who was professional and easy to work with. He endured freezing cold water, getting eaten by ants when tied to a tree, dodging rocks falling from the cliffs, and all my random ideas. Even the kiss at the end was decided on the day, while he was shivering between takes.

After I met him I actually rewrote the script slightly. I originally had a more nuanced plan for the video, but it would have required multiple takes and being able to review the shots to see if we captured what I was looking for. I realized that we only had a few hours to shoot to catch the morning light, so rewriting it in a way where the story was told more physically was helpful. Being able to tie him up wasn’t so bad either. I should write my own scripts more often.

So this summer, dark romance duo Folly & The Hunter returned from hiatus with fresh energy and a hot hand of polished, sophisto, cinematic indie-pop, led by the gritty new single, “Remains”. The Montreal based band of multi-instrumentalists Laurie Torres (Rae Spoon, Little Scream, Land of Talk) and Nick Vallee are way pumped on the release of upcoming album, Remains, dropping Oct.26

Remains is filled with striking melodies and tightly woven rhythms which come together to stay memorable. Recorded over 2 weeks at the Tragically Hip’s Bathhouse Studios, the goal was to get the band sequestered into a studio without outside distractions and have them live and breathe the making of this album. Engineer Nyles Spencer was a source of technical inspiration with Nick handling bass and guitar duties while Laurie played most of the other instruments. Mathieu Parisien (Karkwa, Patrick Watson, Aidan Knight) mixed the album.