Luther Dickinson, lead guitarist and vocalist for the North Mississippi All Stars, joins the Black Crowes? And one of the tracks on the upcoming Crowes release “Warpaint” is “Whoa Mule”? What the hell is going on? All in all a very cool addition to the Crowes, but if this means less NMAS touring or recording, I’ll be a bit bummed.

And in completely unrelated news, Grady is playing Vancouver and Victoria, and I just found out about it. Thanks for nothing Pollstar. And I’m on the Grady mailing list (at least I thought). Regardless, the Vancouver show wasn’t sold out and I’ve got my ticket now. Not sure about Victoria I’m just going to show up and hope it’s not sold out. Plus Gordie’s doing an in-store thing @ Vancouver’s Long & McQuade (not the one on Hastings in the DTES).

From this “best of Toronto” article -

Best bassist
NICK SEWELL

While many know him as the thunderous low end from defunct power trio Illuminati, Sewell now lurks with high-octane punk ‘n’ roll waste cases Drunkula. Check his collection of obscure vintage axes and the way he can rip hot bass fills without a pick. Obviously a graduate of the Lemmy Kilmister School of Bloody Fingers.

Way to go sunshine, you deserve it!

This is an up and coming artist that I’m quite pleased to introduce you to - my little brother, Josh McKillop.

Josh started his musical career playing drums in our basement. Our parents have always been supportive of our projects/interests, and by paying for lessons and allowing a teenager to bang away on a drum kit for hours at a time only proves it. Because trust me, there was nowhere in the house you could go to hide from that sound. At some point Josh decided he wanted to switch from drums to guitar, and our mum was all too happy to buy him his first guitar - and Josh hasn’t looked back since. Now where he gets this musical talent is still an open question - I can’t hold a note, keep a beat, or play a single note - on any instrument. Yet Josh managed to record the following songs (see below) by playing every instrument, recording the vocals, and tracking it all together.

Josh McKillop - Twin Sisters
Josh McKillop - Giftcard

Head over to Josh’s MySpace for more tracks, including the song he wrote for his girlfriends birthday - “Dana’s Birthday Song”.

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

I’ve been meaning to write about Staggered Crossing for quite some time now and never got around to it. They’re a Canadian band that I’ve been listening to for years now, but have never seen live. And as it turns out, I probably won’t, ever. I say probably because the note on the band’s website states that they’re on “hiatus indefinitely”, rather than call it a permanent breakup. I guess only time will tell. They will be playing one last show, at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto. I listen to their self-titled album in iTunes almost weekly, and I always have a couple of StagX tracks on my MP3 player. Ah well…

Staggered Crossing - Further Again
Staggered Crossing - By The Grace Of God

I’ll be honest with you up front. I only went because I was given a VIP pass + guest.

One of my previous posts about Vfest (Vancouver edition) drew the following awesome comments:

Are you stupid or something? Vancouver Vfest is gonna be whicked. You must A) listen to crap or B) have no taste in music.

suck my c*** …vfest is and will be incredible…excuse me while i go shave my back.

wait a sec, I see your favorite artists average about 60 years of age so I guess anyone relevant nowadays might not sit well with a fan of dinosaur rock

I expect this post to bring some more hatred out, esp. since I didn’t have to pay to go.

Where to start.. Metric wasn’t bad, they really just aren’t my cup of tea. Art of Dying wasn’t bad, they were outright awful. Fortunately, the folks behind Vfest were giving out free ear plugs and chewing gum. Both came in handy. I didn’t arrive in time to catch You Say Party! We Say Die! which is kind of a shame, because I’ve heard good things about their live performances, even though I’m clearly not a fan of that style of music (being a dinosaur and all). Smoosh was a pleasant surprise as I’d never heard of them before today.

The band of the day was, without question, Sebastien Grainger Et Les Montagnes. They played the 2nd stage and though the crowd was thin to start (Metric was finishing up on the main stage), they ended out w/ a pretty large group of folks. This was the 2nd time in 3 days that I’ve seen Seb et Les Montagnes, and they were great both days. You can expect BrooklynVegan to write about them in the coming months when they release their first album, and I’m sure his write-up will do them the justice that I can’t.

   
more Vfest photos @ Flickr

ps. I left way before The Killers came on stage, as you couldn’t have paid me to stay. Ditto AFI and Hot Hot Hair.

pss. Before you get your panties in a bunch about my insults, I absolutely acknowledge that every single musician in the world has more talent than I do.

Sebastien Grainger, former drummer/singer of Death From Above 1979, brings together a new group of friends for a garage/pop mall of toys, Sebastien Grainger et Les Montagnes. Living in Toronto with a tiny bird on his shoulder, he began writing and demoing what will become his first LP. Having played a few shows with just a guitar and wanting a more dynamic live show, friends Leon Taheny (Germans) and Nick Sewell (Illuminati) joined up for a few practices and the mountains came together. “I don’t want to make a “solo album”. The idea of collaboration has always appealed to me. What began as more relaxed acoustic guitar and piano based songs have since taken on a more primal and immediate form. The melodies and ideas are still there, only now with the band they live instead of dream.” Currently writing and setting up to record with producer Jimmy Shaw in their own studio, Sebastien’s triumphant take on Sonics-esque rock will be hitting people with the full glory of boisterous pop melodies. …”with Pixiesish anthems, rowdy rhythm-driven rock ‘n’ roll that upheld the tradition of his former band, and enough softer, sappier (but not sissyish) songs to elicit googly eyes from the ladies in the crowd.” (NOW Magazine, Toronto)

Sebastien Grainger et Les Montagnes - Young Mothers

Upcoming Tour Dates:

May 14: Edmonton, AB @ Starlite w/ Metric (ALL AGES)
May 15: Edmonton, AB @ Starlite w/ Metric (ALL AGES)
May 16: Edmonton, AB @ Starlite w/ Metric (LICENSED)
May 17: Calgary, AB @ Whiskey w/ Metric (LICENSED)
May 19: Victoria, BC @ The Central w/ Metric (ALL AGES)
May 20: Nanaimo, BC @ Coast Bastion Inn’s Benson Ballroom w/ Baby Control and Guests (ALL AGES, EARLY SHOW!! DOORS @ 1:30 PM)
May 21: Vancouver, BC @ Thunderbird Stadium - V-Fest
May 22: Bellingham, WA @ The Old Foundry w/ No Fi Soul Rebellion & Baby Control (ALL AGES)
May 23: Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey w/ Triumph of Lethargy, Baby Control & Sam Russo Sound System (21+ $8 adv)
June 9th: Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern - NXNE
July 13th: Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Bluesfest

This is just a quick update before I can do a proper one, but I would like to take back some of what I previously said about the Virgin Fest in Vancouver.

Since the initial lineup was announced, a number of good bands/acts have been added. Among the good ones - Mute Math, Pride Tiger, and Sebastien & Les Montagnes.

And, thanks to a certain bass player in one of the above mentioned bands, I will likely be attending at least one day of the festival. No, the irony is not lost on me.

Though Rusty broke up in 2000, they’ll always remain one of my favorite Toronto bands.

Rusty - Groovy Dead

Part I is here

White Line with Crazy Horse rehearsals recorded 1990
Days That Used To Be with Crazy Horse rehearsals recorded 1990
Revolution Blues with Crosby, Stills and Nash - Seattle, WA, July 1974
Windward Passage with The Ducks track - Catalyst Club, Santa Cruz, CA Aug 27 1977
Don’t Spook The Horse with Crazy Horse rehearsals recorded 1990

front cover | back cover

Love And Only Love with Crazy Horse rehearsals recorded 1990
Love To Burn with Crazy Horse rehearsals recorded 1990
Last Dance with The Stray Gators - Winterland March 18, 1973
Yonder Stands The Sinner with The Stray Gators - Winterland March 18, 1973
Bite The Bullet with Crazy Horse - Palladium, NYC, November 20, 1976, early show
Mansion On The Hill with Crazy Horse rehearsals recorded 1990

front cover | back cover

second half in a day or two second half here