LOST THE PLOT (out september 10)

Fiver - Lost the Plot

YO!!! was really happy to be asked to pen a one-sheet (*see/read below) for simone schmidt's forthcoming debut long-player under the Fiver moniker. Lost the Plot is a KILLER, KILLER album and you should open yer mind/heart/soul (and wallet!@#$%!!!) and check it out (*peep "the undertaker" above)!@#$%!!! VIN only wants the BEST for you (and your stereo)!!! PEACE

LIVE (IN THE MIX)

*shit got pretty craze at SAVE ON MEATS last monday. TSM had me down for another 7" session (i'd say "45," but i've been banned from playing 12" 45 rpm records)!@#$%!!! this live mix was from earlier in the night. wanna give a BIG shout out to FIVER who i drop at the end of the set (*new album coming out SOON on triple crown audio)!@#$%!!! it's SICK!!! later that eve i got a little cosmic (tape does exist), inspired no doubt by a lil' sipreano TRUTH IS LIGHT re-edit megamix. shouts to jason lev out there in LA LA land!@#$%!!! PEACE

i'm a witch

ladyhawk-no can do (2012)

Howdy rock fans (don’t forget to roll), it’s 2012 and things have certainly done changed!@#$%!!! The once inspirational MuchMusic is now a tween’d up joke of its former self and from coast-to-coast, the CBC has just dismantled its regional music libraries to clear room for rentable office space. Were the programmers/hosts even tapping into the vast vaults of vinyl and CDs??? Ah, right, no big loss then. In bigger news, social networking has eclipsed traditional print/radio/TV's readership, ratings, and relevance (this Internet contraption is addictive, eh???) and on the local record label front, Triple Crown Audio have made Vancouver-based/Kelowna-bred Ladyhawk an offer they couldn’t refuse, quality vinyl distributed right from their hometown.

So what does it all mean senor??? In these diluted days and nights of corporate culture dominance, it’s getting harder and harder to find bands who make music for music’s sake. Thankfully, Ladyhawk are bringing it back to the essence w/ their latest long player release. No Can Do is the group’s third studio album. It’s also their most assertive and soul stirring yet, available on CD/LP/Digital via Triple Crown (home to fine recordings by Destroyer along w/ Ladyhawk-affiliated Sports and Duffy & The Doubters). Featuring 10 Duffy Driediger (lead vocals, guitar) penned songs performed in the telekinetic way only Darcy Hancock (lead guitar, vocals), Sean Hawryluk (bass, vocals), and Ryan Peters (drums, vocals) can, No Can Do (*no relation to Hall & Oates, Chromeo or Kiwi chanteuse Ladyhawke while we’re at it) rips hard and harder. Recorded at The HIVE Creative Labs w/ Colin Stewart (+ electro-acoustic help from Black Mountain/Lightning Dust’s Joshua Wells), mastered by audio guru Jeff Lipton (Bon Iver, Destroyer-Kaputt, Numero Group) w/ the good people at Chicago Mastering Service handling the crucial vinyl lacquer cut, the results are rebel rousing to say the least. 

Having watched Ladyhawk evolve from “The Dugout” (Ladyhawk, 2006), “War” (Fight For Anarchy EP, 2007), and “You Ran” (Shots, 2008) to its current perch as grizzled (but always lovable) veterans of the Canadian music landscape, I can guarantee that this album will fuck you up something good. Don’t believe me??? Try it for yourself any way you see fit. Stand and be counted at one of their upcoming live shows, listen to No Can Do outside (*equally effective in mother nature as accompaniment for your daily street beat rituals) or even as a soundtrack to your next house party. Whatever shape your support takes, don’t forget to dance (even if you end up flat on your ass in a beer-soaked Horseshoe Tavern or deep in a puddle at a soggy interior B.C. baseball diamond)!!! Blessed w/ the ability to lift us high and higher, never loose faith. Ladyhawk will take care of the rest.

-       Kevin “Sipreano” Howes (Voluntary In Nature, Light In The Attic)

PS – Oh yeah, what does No Can Do actually sound like??? Choice!!! Potential clues for lazy journalists who won’t actually peep the album itself: Duffy posts some mental videos on his the eye of ladyhawk blog, Darcy cooks up dream BBQ (and loves Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, and INXS), Sean also plays in Baptists/Slow Learners, and Ryan has been linked to a certain TIME COOKIE. Keep digging out there peoples... PEACE!@#$%!!!

destroyer-ideas for songs (TCR006LP)

In 1997, Granted Passage Cassettes (now Triple Crown) asked Vancouver-based singer songwriter Dan Bejar for a contribution to a various artist compilation under the latter’s Destroyer moniker. Whether or not Bejar had an infinite backlog of extra material, wanted to play a lengthy practical joke, or was still gaining confidence regarding the strength of his emerging craft, the musician generously submitted over twenty tunes for consideration. Dubbed Ideas For Songs, Bejar’s home recordings were eventually issued as a sixteen-track private press Destroyer cassette and distributed amongst music fans across British Columbia. Emblazoned with an uncanny full-frontal image of a Bejar doppelgänger on the tape’s sleeve, it arrived on record store shelves less than a year before 1998’s City Of Daughters breakthrough.

In 2011, Triple Crown Audio Recordings is giving Ideas For Songs new life and the respect it deserves with a legitimate vinyl release . Enhanced by a fresh transfer of Welsh-born painter Sylvia Sleigh’s (1916-2010) original nude portrait artwork, top-notch tape restoration and dynamic audio re-mastering by Otic Sound’s Josh Stevensen, these formative 4-track Destroyer jewels, initially recorded between 1995-1997, provide Old Testament insight into the creative mind of a forward-thinking songwriter and far exceed the lowlife quality of current bootleg downloads. With nine full-length platters under his belt, Bejar has developed into Canada’s preeminent poetic troubadour—our generation’s very own Leonard Cohen if you will. Connected by a fearless approach to musical evolution and a deft literate touch, it’s easy to imagine that if Cohen and Bejar switched decades and Canadian provinces, we might have just caught Destroyer accepting his Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award instead of Mr. Leonard. Yes, our man Dan’s that good…

Ungovernable speculations aside, Ideas For Songs is guaranteed to deliver golden revelations and the purest of enjoyment to hard-core Bejar devotees as well as less obsessive Destroyer fans. More than just a collection of fly-on-the-wall recordings, the LP reflects an intimate capture of early twenty-something Bejar and his guitar, peppered to perfection with odd bits of tasteful effects, keyboards, and other instrumental bobs… Far from a wham bam cash grab and never before presented with such fine attention to detail, we encourage you to embrace this physical release, and Destroyer’s January 2011 Merge long player Kaputt, with that hard-earned bread. Your record player will thank you. Triple Crown thanks you too… Your vinyl collection deserves the best!

- Kevin “Sipreano” Howes (Voluntary In Nature, Light In The Attic)