Archive for April, 2011

Jill Barber finds her sound

Friday, April 29th, 2011

Jill Barber (Photo by Ivan Otis)

Singer-songwriter Jill Barber found “her” sound. You might be scratching your head at that statement; after all, she’s on her fourth critically-acclaimed album (Mischievous Moon, released on  April 5) and has endeared herself to audiences everywhere she has performed.

But Barber, in an interview last week with East Coast Noise when she was touring Quebec, says she feels she found “my true voice” on her last record, Chances (2008).

“In retrospect, my earlier albums, which I’m really proud of, I feel like they were more experimental,” she says. “Not experimental in genre, but I know (more…)

Posted in Interviews | Comments Off

Racoon Bandit heads to the hills

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

Racoon Bandit

Charlottetown’s Racoon Bandit (Fraser McCallum, Adam Gallant, Roger Carter and Scott Gallant) is set to release its 12-song production, Into The Hills (Collagen Rock Records), on Tuesday.

“This collection of songs shares some common ground with our first album Campcraft, with plenty of story-songs and folk tales like the River Song and Wooly Toque,” says MacCallum. “However, it also (more…)

Posted in News | Comments Off

East Coast Music Award winners

Sunday, April 17th, 2011

East Coast Music Awards 2011 music award winners, presented only a few hours ago in Charlottetown:

Alternative Recording of the Year: Slowcoaster – The Darkest of Discos
Blues Recording of the Year: Matt Andersen – Piggyback
Children’s Recording of the Year: Rik Barron – Over in the Meadow
Classical Recording of the Year: Measha Brueggergosman – Nights and Dreams
Country Recording of the Year presented by Cavendish Beach Music Festival: Meaghan Blanchard – Chasin’ Lonely Again
DVD of the Year: The Trews – The Trews Acoustic – Friends & Total Strangers (Director: Tim Martin)
Bell Aliant Fan’s Choice Entertainer of the Year: Chris Colepaugh & The Crew
Bell Aliant Fan’s Choice Video of the Year: Highway of Heroes (Director: Tim Martin).
Female Solo Recording of the Year presented by Budget Rent-A-Car: Rose Cousins – The Send Off
Folk Recording of the Year: David Myles – Turn Time Off
Francophone Recording of the Year: Lennie Gallant – Le Coeur Hanté
Gospel Recording of the Year: Chelsea Nisbett – Anchored Roots
Group Recording of the Year: The Once – The Once
Instrumental Recording of the Year: Gypsophilia – Sa‐ba‐da‐OW!
Jazz Recording of the Year: Dwayne Cote & Duane Andrews – Dwayne Cote & Duane Andrews
Loud Recording of the Year: The Fed Pennies – Brain Disaster
Konica Minolta Male Solo Recording of the Year: Matt Andersen – Piggyback
Pop Recording of the Year presented by Coca-Cola: Meaghan Smith – The Cricket’s Orchestra
R&B/Soul Single Track Recording of the Year presented by BMO: Chelsea Nisbett – Anchored Roots
Rap/Hip‐Hop Single Track Recording of the Year: Ghettosocks – Don’t Turn Around (feat. Edgar Allen Floe)
FACTOR Recording of the Year: Wintersleep – New Inheritors (Producer: Tony Doogan)
Rising Star Recording of the Year: The Stanfields – Vanguard of the Young and Reckless
Rock Recording of the Year presented by Roland Canada: Chris Colepaugh & The Crew – Missed a Page
Roots/Traditional Group Recording of the Year: Ennis – Lessons Learned
Roots/Traditional Solo Recording of the Year presented by Purity Dairy: Dave Gunning – A Tribute To John Allan Cameron
Vibe Creative Group Single of the Year: David Myles – Need A Break (Producer: Joel Plaskett)
SOCAN Songwriter of the Year: Rose Cousins – “I Were the Bird” (Performed by: Rose Cousins)
World Recording of the Year: The Idlers – Keep Out

ECMA 2011 Music Award Winners:

Alternative Recording of the Year: Slowcoaster – The Darkest of Discos

Blues Recording of the Year: Matt Andersen – Piggyback

Children’s Recording of the Year: Rik Barron – Over in the Meadow

Classical Recording of the Year: Measha Brueggergosman – Nights and Dreams

Country Recording of the Year presented by Cavendish Beach Music Festival: Meaghan Blanchard – Chasin’ Lonely Again

DVD of the Year: The Trews – The Trews Acoustic – Friends & Total Strangers (Director: Tim Martin)

Bell Aliant Fan’s Choice Entertainer of the Year: Chris Colepaugh & The Crew

Bell Aliant Fan’s Choice Video of the Year: Highway of Heroes (Director: Tim Martin).

Female Solo Recording of the Year presented by Budget Rent-A-Car: Rose Cousins – The Send Off

Folk Recording of the Year: David Myles – Turn Time Off

Francophone Recording of the Year: Lennie Gallant – Le Coeur Hanté

Gospel Recording of the Year: Chelsea Nisbett – Anchored Roots

Group Recording of the Year: The Once – The Once

Instrumental Recording of the Year: Gypsophilia – Sa‐ba‐da‐OW!

Jazz Recording of the Year: Dwayne Cote & Duane Andrews – Dwayne Cote &

Duane Andrews

Loud Recording of the Year: The Fed Pennies – Brain Disaster

Konica Minolta Male Solo Recording of the Year: Matt Andersen – Piggyback

Pop Recording of the Year presented by Coca-Cola: Meaghan Smith – The Cricket’s Orchestra

R&B/Soul Single Track Recording of the Year presented by BMO: Chelsea Nisbett – Anchored Roots

Rap/Hip‐Hop Single Track Recording of the Year:  Ghettosocks – Don’t Turn Around (feat. Edgar Allen Floe)

FACTOR Recording of the Year: Wintersleep – New Inheritors (Producer: Tony

Doogan)

Rising Star Recording of the Year: The Stanfields – Vanguard of the Young and

Reckless

Rock Recording of the Year presented by Roland Canada: Chris Colepaugh & The Crew – Missed a Page

Roots/Traditional Group Recording of the Year: Ennis – Lessons Learned

Roots/Traditional Solo Recording of the Year presented by Purity Dairy: Dave Gunning – A Tribute To John Allan Cameron

Vibe Creative Group Single of the Year: David Myles – Need A Break (Producer: Joel

Plaskett)

SOCAN Songwriter of the Year: Rose Cousins – “I Were the Bird” (Performed by:

Rose Cousins)

World Recording of the Year: The Idlers – Keep Out

Posted in News | Comments Off

East Coast Music Awards news and notes

Friday, April 15th, 2011

Ruby Jean & The Thoughtful Bees will perform at Electro-East tonight.

It’s that time of year again. The East Coast Music Awards are taking place in Charlottetown over the next few days – hundreds of the east coast’s best musicians, and their fans, will be filling up bars, clubs, theatres and other venues through Sunday.

I attended the ECMAs in Charlottetown a few years back, and the city might have provided the best ECMA experience I’ve had (out of three – Charlottetown, Halifax and Sydney). Something about their downtown … (more…)

Posted in News | Comments Off

Fridays with … 3-Across-Dee-Eye

Saturday, April 9th, 2011

3-Across-Dee-Eye is a group of four Cape Bretoners (three teachers and a carpenter) currently freezing in Yellowknife.

The band, which performs an eclectic mix of tunes, consists of brothers Paul and Nathan McGrath (from Sampsonville), David Dowe (Port Hawkesbury/Cheticamp) and Stephen Richardson (Grand River). The band formed in 2007 and has one album to its credit, 3-Dinkie-Pile-Up. The album is available through iTunes and other digital distribution sites.

A second full-length album, Sock Puppet Serenade, is in progress, and several of its tunes are available for streaming online.

What follows is a lengthy, interesting and, at times, odd interview with all four guys pitching in. Enjoy … (more…)

Posted in Fridays with ... | Comments Off

Fridays with … The Grass

Friday, April 1st, 2011

The Grass will play its final show tonight.

As I write this, the boys in Dartmouth’s The Grass is likely gearing up to perform for the last time in Halifax. The band is at The Seahorse with Charlottetown’s Raccoon Bandit and Halifax’s Gigas.

As we reported a few weeks back, after six years, four albums and several line-up changes, the four-piece of brothers Willis and Dylan Ryan, Daniel Baldwin and Ryan Stanley are done. (more…)

Posted in Fridays with ... | Comments Off