Halifax's The Devil's Half Acre.

Halifax-based The Devil’s Half Acre originally started out as a solo project for frontman Chase Ross, but turned into a full band project almost by accident in 2009.

Since then, the band has released two records. In December, The Devil’s Half Acre’s EP The Town was released, a concept album of sorts based on Ross’s home of Kentville, N.S.

He joins us this week via e-mail to fill us in on the group’s history and what’s coming next …

1. Tell us about how The Devil’s Half Acre formed … from a solo project to a band effort … was it a difficult transition?

The Devil’s Half Acre was at first a name that I used when I played solo. I was pretty inspired by Townes Van Zandt and Neil Young. In the late summer of 2009, my friends in a band called Action/Adventure asked me to play with them at Gus’ Pub for their EP release show. The line-up also included The Numbered Head. I felt like I wouldn’t fit at all, so I recruited a drummer and arranged some songs that I had so they could be played louder, amplified and electric. I also played half of the set on the acoustic guitar. Ultimately that has been the point of The Devil’s Half Acre, to showcase a louder, rock and roll, Neil Young and Crazy Horse type of sound along with my quieter acoustic songs.

2. You must have had clear ideas and goals for yourself when you started the project. Did you have to change anything to make your concept suit a band?

I feel like I’ve had to change more in my solo writing then with the band. With a band, songs seem easier to write, ideas come easier and our writing process has always been open. Nothing is set in stone (more…)

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Girls Would Kill

Saint John-born, Halifax-based electro group Girls Would Kill released its first full length album Bloodshed last month after recording it between the two cities with producer Colin Crowell.

The two-piece, made up of Adam Higgins and Mary Ferguson, has been touring recently with Audrey & The Agents and has more dates planned for early in the new year.

The band joins us this week to chat about the album and what’s up next …

1. Hey guys, how are things going? What’s the latest with Girls Would Kill?

Adam: Things are good. We’ve just put out our first proper album. It’s called Bloodshed, and we’re working on all the stuff that goes along with that. We’re working on a few videos, a remix and a couple cover tracks to release along with a some singles.

2. The album was released a month or so ago – how does it feel now that you’ve had a chance to step away and reflect on the project you worked on for more than a year?

Adam: Yeah, it came out Nov. 11, and it’s been a huge relief to finally have the songs out of our hands. We spent a ton of time (more…)

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Mark Bragg (photo by Adam Penney)

Last month, we told you about Newfoundland’s Mark Bragg, who released his latest album, Your Kiss, in September. Bragg and his band are touring the east coast over the next week, and he joins us today to chat about the new record, tour and more …

1. How are things?

Things are great. Just gearing up for a Maritime tour, really looking forward to that.

2. How is the tour going?

I toured southern Ontario last month and it was a ball. I’m just gearing up now for the Maritimes and I can’t wait, it’s been a while.

3. Are the songs from Your Kiss relatively easy to bring to the stage since they were recorded live off the floor anyway, or do they take on a different form in front of an audience?

They always take on a different form. In fact, since I play with different musicians a lot it’s never the same show twice. I’m flying to Halifax on Friday for a short Maritime tour and I’ll be backed by some musicians who I haven’t even met yet, though they come highly recommended. It’s always a new adventure. (more…)

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Saint John, N.B.'s Penny Blacks (Kâté Braydon photo)

Recently we posted news that Saint John, N.B.’s Penny Blacks was releasing its new album, Harbour. It’s the band’s third release, following two earlier EPs.

Starting as an outlet for Hospital Grade’s Jason Ogden to expand his musical horizons and deal with a relationship that fell apart – “I had sort of spectacularly destroyed a very long, important relationship,” he tells East Coast Noise — Penny Blacks turned into a band over time.

Ogden’s bandmates are Dan Chamberlain, Chris Braydon, Ali Leonard, Clinton Charlton, Chuck Teed, and Erin Sharpe. This week, Ogden and drummer Clinton Charlton joins East Coast Noise to chat about the new album and more …

1. Hey guys – how does it feel to have the new album on the streets?

Jason: It feels great! It’s been a long haul getting this thing together, but now that it’s done we’re all pretty ecstatic about it.  The reactions we’ve gotten so far from social media and shows has been great. We’re looking forward to more!

Clinton: Gratifying! Some of these songs have been kicking around as long as the band has been, and to see this album fully realized is so exciting. I’ve been in this band for about five years now and (more…)

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Halifax's The Stogies.

Halifax’s The Stogies released their debut record, a five-song collection of messy, guitar-laden rock n’ roll called No Couth, No Class, No Nothin, in August.

The four-piece made up of Blake Johnston, Dave Driscoll, Sean Carver and Dave Lidstone has been making a name for itself over the last three years, performing throughout the Maritimes and Ontario. The band says it draws inspiration from the Rolling Stones to the White Stripes, and it shows.

Future plans include a slot at Molson Canadian Nova Scotia Music Week 2011 and tours of Ontario and Alberta next year. The band is also starting pre-production for a full length album which should be available in summer 2012.

Stogies’ guitarist Dave Driscoll joins us this week for a chat …

1. Hey guys – how are things?

Things are great. Our first EP No Couth, No Class, No Nothin was released in late August. We made a short trip to Ontario and played some shows in early September and have been hanging out and playing shows around N.S. for the last month or so.

2. Tell us about the band – what were your prior musical adventures and how’d you all meet up?

The band started about three years ago under a different name. (more…)

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Nina Khosla and Tim Isaac are Lovestorm.

Moncton area duo Lovestorm, comprised of Tim Isaac (Isaac & Blewett) and Nina Khosla (Great Balancing Act), is releasing its sophomore record this weekend with shows throughout Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick (tour dates below).

Written and recorded in the sweltering heat of Mexico’s Pacific Coast, new album Overripe finds the musicians without their trademark instruments (cello and harmonium). Instead, Isaac and Khosla rely on seedpods, an improvised washtub bass, tin pans and a borrowed viola, as well as ukulele, flute and keyboard.

They join us this week to discuss the new record and more …

1. How are things in camp Lovestorm? How do you feel as you’re about to release album #2 this weekend?

Nina - Things in Camp Lovestorm are exciting! Our second album is (more…)

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Mia Martina will release her debut album on Aug. 30.

The village of Saint-Ignace, New Brunswick isn’t known for producing pop stars, but Mia Martina hasn’t let that slow her down. Born Martine Johnson, the small-town NBer started performing at a young age, singing in talent contests in Moncton. She left her hometown after finishing high school in Saint-Louis-de-Kent, and enrolled in psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Hoping for a career in music, Martina landed an internship with indie label, CP Records, which is now based in Toronto. She soon put her musical talents on display and was signed to the label as an artist.

In the last year, Martina’s name has become known for her remix of Edward Maya’s Stereo Love (which originally featured Vika Jigulina singing with Maya), which was nominated for a Juno (Dance Single of the Year) and became a smash hit over the last year. Her follow-up single Latin Moon has also garnered considerable play.

Martina’s debut full-length record, Devotion, comes out on Aug. 30, and today (Saturday) she’ll be performing at the Summer Rush festival in Halifax with the likes of Classified, Pitbull and more.

Martina joins us this week for a brief chat.

1. Hey Mia, I hear you’re on a bit of a whirlwind lately gearing up for your debut album. How are things going?

LOL! Yes it has. Things are going so amazing, I am really excited for Aug. 30. I have been working so hard for the last three years on my album, and now it’s finally ready.

2. What’s it like putting your first album together? Being relatively new to the music business, what have you learned so far?

It has been very challenging, I started as an intern at CP Records (more…)

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Eldon Thiele recently released a new EP.

Eldon Thiele has had a unique career on the east coast. Known by day as Jason Betts, Thiele took his stage name from each of his grandfathers and adopted the band name Zwerg – a Dutch word meaning “dwarf.”

A talented pianist and singer, the Moncton native began performing at an early age and at 18 formed Zwerg, which has released four albums to date. The band’s music, a polished pop/electronica mix with sometimes cryptic lyrics, hasn’t always been well received by the masses. Thiele says when he was younger, his intention was to “provoke a response,” but today he’s just looking to create music for people to enjoy.

Recently, Thiele released a new EP, Package Up My Soul, and he joins us this week to talk about his music’s new direction and his future plans. (more…)

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Careers in Science

We’ve spoken to Moncton native Eric Bourque a few times in the past about his band Knife Party (here and here). That band went on hiatus when drummer Bourque left for Toronto to study audio engineering.

But Bourque is headed back east this weekend with his new punk band, Careers in Science. In just over a year, the Toronto band (also featuring Dave Proctor, vocals; Callum McPhee, guitars; Matt Winkler, bass) formed and released its first record, Whateverwolf, in pretty quick order. A new album is already in the works, and the band has a handful of east coast dates planned over the next few days (dates below).

Bourque joins us again this week to talk about (more…)

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Scott Nicks

Originally from Truro, N.S. and now based in Halifax, Scott Nicks has been steadily building his name in the east coast music scene.

Nicks released his a five-song demo recording in late-2006 and followed it up with the full-length, A Song for Tuesday Blues, in 2008. For that recording, Keith Doiron (bass) and Jordan Murphy (drums) were added to The Scott Nicks Band. Brad Lahead of Long, Long, Long also performed on the record.

In December, the band released a new record, Slowly, and recently added guitarist Justin McGrath to the group while Billy Habib Taylor (Tupperware Remix Party) fills in on bass while Doiron is in school.

The group is now focused on touring as much as possible and has shared the stage with the likes of Old Man Luedecke, Mathias Kom and Kim Barlow (Spring Breakup), Hooded Fang, Maylee Todd, Michou, We Are The City, Aidan Knight and others over the years.

The band just got back from a tour of Quebec and Ontario, and Nicks joins us this week for a chat: (more…)

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