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• Arts

  Holy rollers: Make Your Exit rocks the Church

  

  Posted by Brian Towie at 10:42 am on December 10, 2009
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  The power of Christ compelled Make Your Exit.

  Or, at least the power of a Christian venue, to be more accurate.  Though the music isn’t religious, the Toronto-based experimental rockers went to such a venue to record their sophomore EP Remind Me The Reason I Came — available at Soundscapes and Criminal Records. At the behest of producer Brent Bodrug (who has worked with such Canadian luminaries as Alanis Morissette and Jacksoul), the five members spent a 10-day stint at a century-old church in Trenton, Ont. — converted into a recording studio — to cut the record.

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• Arts

  The little instrument with a colourful history

  

  Posted by Kerry Prunskus at 3:14 am on December 4, 2009
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  If a piano could talk, what would it say?

  Jeremy Elliott, Sales Manager at piano shop Paul Hahn & Co., tells the life story of a treasured instrument called “the little red piano.”

  Nestled intimately in a charming window nook inside the showroom of the Rosedale store, it lives up to its nickname.

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• Arts

  Speak no music, hear no music, see the music

  

  Posted by Julie Tu at 1:37 pm on December 1, 2009
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  When it comes to performing, it’s not just what you do, it’s how you look while doing it.

  Mike Ferfolia, a 28-year-old Toronto musician, made the switch from no-name to designer glasses, a change that increased his applause volume.

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• Arts

  lsdoubledcup steals show at Punchclock Workers Collective fundraiser

  

  Posted by Christina Butty at 7:54 pm on November 28, 2009
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  Toronto has a ton of great well-known bands, but lsdoubledcup has been flying under the radar for way too long.

  Last night they played at the Whipper Snapper Gallery on College Street as part of the Punchclock Workers Collective fundraiser. Singer Simone Schmitt belted out lyrics in her bare feet while the band filled the room with nine surfy, psychedelic drone tracks.

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• Arts

  Dinosaur Bones prepare to unearth a new album

  

  Posted by Brian Towie at 8:31 pm on November 17, 2009
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  You don’t have to dig too deep into Toronto’s music scene to hear the name Dinosaur Bones.

  Indeed, the indie rock rookies have made a name for themselves already, despite existing for little more than a year and a half and releasing one self-titled EP. They’ve already notched appearances at Edgefest, NXNE, and have been nominated by the XM Verge Music Awards for its Artist of the Year and Album of the Year prizes.

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• Lifestyle

  Feist steals spotlight at Holt’s holiday window unveiling in Toronto

  

  Posted by Christina Butty at 2:39 pm on November 6, 2009
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  Bloor Street in Toronto was the place to be last night as Holt Renfrew’s fifth annual holiday window unveiling kicked off the holiday shopping season, especially when singer Leslie Feist took the stage.

  Interestingly, Feist was a last-minute addition to the lineup of musical guests when American soprano Kristen Chenoweth canceled with a sore throat. She kicked the proceedings into a new gear following bluegrass pickers, the Abrams Brothers.

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• Arts

  Q&A: Toronto band The Playground Hookers writes songs with ‘soul, swing, syncopation, bottom end and sex’

  

  Posted by Carl Hiehn at 12:39 am on November 5, 2009
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  With an EP in the works, a number of local Toronto gigs on the go – including their recent Oct. 22 show at Tiger Bar – and a new band name, Toronto-based indie rockers The Playground Hookers (formerly Kabulu Chair) are causing some underground buzz.

  Via email, I caught up with Nino Gheciu (vocals/guitar), Anton Malkin (guitar), Shin Kamiyama (bass) and Mario Lunardo (drums) to find where things are going. Or at least, where they want things to go.

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• Arts

  Toronto band won’t be ignored

  

  Posted by Reinisa MacLeod at 7:49 pm on October 26, 2009
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  Since their recent move to Toronto, the Unknown Culprits have been determined to prove themselves in a new city.

  Originally from British Columbia, the threesome have added a new drummer, toured their home province, released a live acoustic DVD, and a five-song EP — all in the past year.

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• Arts

  Indie bands enjoy mixed reactions Wednesday at the Horseshoe Tavern

  

  Posted by Reinisa MacLeod at 1:44 am on October 23, 2009
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  It is a Wednesday night and the Horseshoe Tavern is practically empty. A group of independent bands is set to play soon.

  At 9:00 p.m., the number of people milling around the room roughly totals 16. This includes the first band, Unknown Culprits, and their merchandise person. It is barely a deterrent for the Toronto trio as they jump in to their first song.

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• Arts

  Stoppard play mixes rock music with Cold War politics

  

  Posted by Jeff Cottrill at 6:26 pm on October 2, 2009
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  Can you combine the youthful joys of classic rock with the complex social and political issues of the Russian occupation of Czechoslovakia? In Tom Stoppard’s world of post-modern reference-mixing, you sure can.

  The Czech-born, British-raised dramatist’s latest play, Rock ‘n’ Roll, is a wise look at rock’s unspoken role in Czechoslovakia’s rebellion against communism. The play, which debuted in Toronto last night, has less of the playful word games and literary revisionism of Stoppard’s better-known works, but makes up for that with finely-drawn characters and a strong heart. You don’t have to be an expert on Cold War history to appreciate this play, though it helps.

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• Superfeed

  Toronto’s F–ked Up nabs $20K Polaris Music Prize

  

  Posted by Superfeed Editor at 11:53 am on September 22, 2009
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  From CBC | Toronto News

  Critically acclaimed hardcore punk band F–ked Up has taken the fourth annual Polaris Music Prize, the honour given to the best Canadian album of the past year.

  The Toronto ensemble, recognized for their full-length album The Chemistry of Common Life, picked up the $20,000 award at the Polaris concert and awards show Monday night in their hometown.

  “That is insane,” shocked singer Damian Abraham remarked as he took the stage at Toronto’s Masonic Temple to accept the award.

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• Arts

  TIFF: Chronicling the life of a legendary folk artist

  

  Posted by L.C. Willis at 12:35 am on September 19, 2009
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  Fans of all ages flocked to Yonge-Dundas Square for a free premiere screening of the American Masters documentary Joan Baez: How Sweet The Sound tonight, part of the Toronto International Film Festival.

  There wasn’t an empty seat as viewers lined the square to see Baez, considered to be the “voice of a generation”, perform an intimate 35-minute concert following the film.

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• Superfeed

  Nick Cave: from Tupelo to Indigo

  

  Posted by Superfeed Editor at 11:52 am on September 17, 2009
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  From RSS – This Just In

  The Australian songwriter-cum-author held court at the Eaton Centre’s Indigo outlet last night for a live interview with local online-radio host Alan Cross, and for what appeared to be — judging by the long line of fans snaking up to the store’s second level — one epic autograph session to promote his new, second novel, The Death of Bunny Munro.

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• Lifestyle

  Cabbagetown celebrates its own

  

  Posted by Jocelyne Dignard-Saleh at 11:12 pm on September 14, 2009
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  It was a perfect weekend for a street fest: sunny, slightly breezy and not too warm.

  The three-day Cabbagetown festival offered various activities; a marathon, pub crawl, walking tour and even a film festival.

  Your physical, mental and even spiritual needs could all be taken care of within a few blocks, as groups from different religions, political parties, neighborhood associations, all vied for the attention of festival-goers meandering up and down Parliament, Carlton and Winchester streets .

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• Arts

  Buried mirth: Amy Millan explores death, tears and loving your belly

  

  Posted by Brian Towie at 8:51 am on September 2, 2009
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  Her cheery demeanour can mislead those who don’t know her, but make no mistake, Amy Millan’s latest is as grave as it comes.

  The Montreal-based chanteuse (and Cabbagetown ex-pat) of Broken Social Scene and Stars fame takes it to the cemetery on Masters of The Burial, her second solo release dropping on September 8. Produced by fellow BSSer Martin Davis Kinack and guest starring Leslie Feist, Liam O’Neil (The Stills) and Evan Cranley (Stars), the album’s cheery, countryfied twang almost makes the listener forget Millan’s waxing poetic on sadness, finality and death, notably on her cover of Death Cab For Cutie’s I Will Follow You Into The Dark (one of three, the others being Sarah Harmer’s Old Perfume and Richard Hawley’s Run For Me.)

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