Tag Archives: Toronto

Best New Bands of 2012 HUMMINGBIRD AWARD #10: THE WEEKND

14 Dec
The Weeknd is better than Frank Ocean so we gave him a Hummingbird

The Weeknd is better than Frank Ocean so we gave him a Hummingbird

Best New Bands of 2012 HUMMINGBIRD AWARD #10: THE WEEKND

I hate secrets. Especially when they are about me. So why is The Weeknd such a secretive dude? Why won’t he tell us the truth or remove the shroud and celebrate his greatness. We want an interview! Here is what we do know, his music is absolutely amazing, he is Abel Tesfaye, he released three mix tapes in 2012, he signed to Universal Republic, he has important friends, he is a man, he sounds like Drake and R. Kelly, he is one of our favorite new artists for 2012, he just won a Hummingbird. So here is what we said last month…and enjoy our gift to you! He should be #1, but dude your Trilogy came out too late this year. He skyrocketed up our list around September and held onto to Spot 10. We even got several hundred votes from readers for him.

Vitals:
Home: Toronto, CA
Members: Abel Tesfaye
Sonic Soulmates™: R. Kelly, Drake
Trackables™: Notable tracks from his release Trilogy, but listen to the whole damn thing
“This Morning”
“Wicked Games”
“House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls”

Follow The Weeknd:
Facebook
Twitter
official

Hummingbird Awards – ALL YOUR BEST NEW BANDS FROM 2010, 2011 and 2012:
Hummingbird Awards 2012
#12 Rose Elinor Dougall
#11 Fear of Men
#10 The Weeknd
Hummingbird Awards 2011
Hummingbird Awards 2010

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UNCORKED™ – Band of the Day (1.23.12) Pow Wows

23 Jan

Pow Wows make me feel this way inside. Photo credit: http://wearethelastbeatniks.com/2011/09/16/pow-wows/

Uncorked™ Pow Wows

Definitely a dry spell. Can’t even remember the last band we profiled from Toronto, ON…after a little research, it just so happens to be the one year anniversary of our last Toronto band. That’s right, the Black Pistol Fire, sure thought they were gonna big. There’s still time. What does that mean? Have the hipster journalists finally left the cleanest city in the world? Maybe or just maybe we were waiting for Pow Wows to emerge. Maybe there’s a backlash up north, the underwater dreamscapes may have finally been drowned out by the re-emergence of some good ‘ol garage rock. The MC5 style, dingy clubs, heavy distortion, Elvis crooning, leather and greased up locks. I chose three tracks from Pow Wows debut. The three that made me feel good inside, the ones that showcase good rockmanship and some catchy hooks. Think of The Cramps and The MC5 sucker punching Bowie and dragging him to a biker bar. Really Bowie in a Biker Bar, leather and no make-up. Love it!

Buy the new record Nightmare Soda here here

Vitals:
Hometown: Toronto, ON
Members:
Rocky Rircardo
Kelly MacGrewver
Jay Share-It
F. Scott Baudelaire
Juarez Laredo
Sonic Soulmates™: The MC5, The Cramps, Bowie getting all sweaty
Trackables™:
“Seeing Black”

“EIO (During the Flood)”

“Seance” – Great track

Follow:
Facebook

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Band of the Day (8.16.10) Emma-Lee

16 Aug Canada shines bright with Emma-Lee

BOD (8.16.10) Emma-Lee

It’s Monday morning and I was in the mood for something a little more emotional. Something a little out of character for me, but I puttered around the web and stumbled on this absolute beauty…Emma-Lee. Her album came out back in March 2009..I may be a little late to the game here, but I don’t care. She’s a Toronto native, one part Bonnie Raitt, one part Norah Jones, one part Chrissie Hynde and one part Rickie Lee Jones. She can sing with the electric guitars, full orchestras, or sound as if she’s recording in Nashville with a slide guitar. She makes the guitar sound better and she has a deep understanding of the music she loves. Even covers Skeeter Davis “The End of the World” in the YouTube video below. Her voice is sultry and big all at the same time, listen and follow please. She might even be a headliner at The NBD Inukshuk Festival.

Emma-Lee is accompanied by:
Devrim Eldelekli
Kevin Mendes
Mark McIntyre

Hear:
“Never Just A Dream”

Watch:

Follow:
Emma-Lee site
Facebook
MySpace (Buy her new album Never Just a Dream from MySpace and get an autographed copy)

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HEAR IT: (7.1.10) MATHEMAGIC – “Breaststroke”

1 Jul

HEAR IT: (7.1.10) MATHEMAGIC – I think it’s a perfect summer track. Made for the beach tent, dawn with your loved one and one blanket as you watch the sun go down. It’s dreamy, spacey and a good good next stage of The Pet Sound…I am coining that term for all bands that use The Beach Boys “Pet Sounds” sound…

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Band of the Day (7.1.10) MATHEMAGIC – Happy Canada Day!

1 Jul Canada Rules the Music World

BOD: (7.1.10) MATHEMAGIC – I love Canada Day…I’ve celebrated it several times in Banff, Vancouver and Calgary. It’s a great time, and it’s a dandy excuse for us to celebrate the fact that today’s best music is coming from the Great White North. Arts & Crafts introduced most of us stars and stripers to the scene with Broken Social Scene, Stars, Zeus, etc. It was Arcade Fire from Montreal that owned 2008, and now it’s Mathemagic who will blow your mind. On April 13th they released their Paper Bag EP and it’s wonderful.

Mathemagic is a collaboration of brothers Evan and Dylan Euteneier from Guelph Ontario. Their sonic similarity most resembles that of The Beach Boys, Animal Collective, Washed Out and even a little Toro y Moi.

Follow them on MySpace only.

Members:
evan euteneier
dylan euteneier
karen jacobs
Hometown:
Guelph/Toronto

Tracks:
“Breastroke”

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