Music
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F-ckin’ chillin’ out with Chopin
Tom Thacker, frontman for legendary Canadian punk quartet Gob, has creatively grown since the group rose to fame in the mid ‘90s. The band, which plays Winnipeg’s favourite Osborne Village institution Ozzy’s on Oct. 31, did not always view its music as artistically important.
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Keep on keepin’ on
Self-proclaimed “Greatest Rock n' Roll Band in the World” the Supersuckers will be stomping their boots into town following the release of their ninth studio album, Get the Hell.
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When you’re here, you’re family
Members of Ethnica started playing as a cover band called Side F/X. But recently, they’ve morphed into a metal group, and just released a self-titled EP last month.
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If It Feels Good Do It
Toronto-based artist Bahamas, known as Afie Jurvanen off stage, is one month into a long stretch of touring. But he’s found an effective way to spend his time on the road.
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Enjoy the darkness
It’s a freezing cold Sunday afternoon. The members of The Will to Power are in my car. The coffee shop we’d arranged to meet in is too crowded and noisy, so we’ve relocated to the Safeway parking lot. Despite the overcast skies, and the fact that little light penetrates my foggy windows, lead vocalist and songwriter James Hofer is wearing sunglasses.
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Get Low
Alan Sparhawk, guitarist and lead vocalist of legendary alt-indie act, Low, has mixed feelings about returning to Canada. The Minnesota trio’s Oct. 18 show at Winnipeg’s West End Cultural Centre marks the beginning of a three-week tour that will take the band across Canada and the United States. However, it’s not the canuck audiences that worry him; it’s the border crossing.
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Re-entering orbit
It’s been two years since Jordan Dorge, frontman of Winnipeg death metal sextet Laika, has played a live show. But on Oct. 11, he’ll return to the stage with bandmates Steve Tedham (synth), Mike Mason (bass), Ian Garraway (guitar), Alex Kling (guitar) and Blair Garraway (drums) at the Windsor Hotel for the release of the band’s sophomore album, Somnia. To mark the occasion, Dorge hopes to plan an evening that metal fans will not forget, including performances from Tyrants Demise, Mortalis, Withdrawal and Occvlt Hand.
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Out of the basement
Twin Towns, a folk-rock quartet from Kelowna, B.C., is about to hit the road in October for the first time. The band, founded in 2011, originally consisted of vocalist/guitarist Nick Gibson and guitarist/backing vocalist Matt Price.
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The east of west
"You are all good people," proclaims John Scoles through the megaphone.
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Rock me, Joe
Ten years ago, legendary Boston quartet Pixies reunited for a tour that almost kicked off in Winnipeg. It was something fans thought they’d never see after singer/guitarist Charles Thompson (aka Black Francis/Frank Black) ended the band in ’93. So now that Pixies have been reunited for longer than their first run, when the band (fleshed out by guitarist Joe Santiago, drummer David Lovering and bassist/vocalist Kim Deal) released five important records, toured the world and influenced a generation of kids with the trademark loud/quiet/loud formula, we’ve had to wait for a new LP.
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From combines to CDs
From early on in her life, Janelle Nadeau knew exactly what she wanted to do.
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Breakout West takes over Winnipeg
Break out your earplugs one more time, Winnipeg. Things are about to get loud as our city wraps up the Year of Music with BreakOut West, the third and final music awards event of 2014.
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Pop pop perfection
When Winnipeg pop duo We Won the War formed last year, Tyler Del Pino, 27, and Ryan Cheung, 28, had already been making music together for years - they just had to give it a name. The partnership between the Fort Richmond Collegiate grads, both actively working behind the scenes in music production, writing and publishing, quickly turned into something serious, resulting in them placing other projects on the back burner.
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The grand optimist
Winnipeg’s Nic Dyson first picked up a guitar when he was eight. While in high school he was inspired by his friends to start singing, and 2012 saw the release of the Dreaming Under a Broken Tree EP. This past August, the 20-year-old Dyson self-released his debut full-length record, This One’s For You.
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In the clouds
Local experimental musicians and filmmakers are about to take over Manitoba Hydro Place for Suspended Animation, an event that will feature the screening of local experimental films alongside a live soundtrack.
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Viva Mexico!
Outside the West End Cultural Centre, a cool breeze announces the impending arrival of fall.
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Whose House? Jeremy’s House
Although hardcore punk quintet Comeback Kid was formed in Winnipeg in 2000, only guitarist Jeremy Hiebert and bassist Ron Friesen continue to call the city home. The band, which released its fifth full-length record Die Knowing in March, only features two original band members in Hiebert, and vocalist Andrew Neufeld.
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Dust off your dress
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) music director/conductor Alexander Mickelthwate is pretty jazzed about kicking off symphony season in Winnipeg.
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Ghost vvorld
2014 has been a big year for Alvvays. The Toronto-by-way-of-Cape-Breton band’s self-titled debut, released in July, has been praised by such media outlets as Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone and Pitchfork.
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Village on the ‘Moon’
For the 13th year in a row, the Harvest Moon Festival will shine over the village of Clearwater, Man. The festival, hosted from Sept. 12 to 14, boasts an array of enticing qualities, ranging from the aural to the edible.