The Windsor Scene with Lauren Hedges

Lauren Hedges

Playlist for May 11, 2011;

Dylan Punek – Equinox (Dylan Punke – 2009)

Sick of Sarah – Simple Parts (2205 – 2011)

Hunter Valentine – Barbara Jean (Lessons From The Late Night – 2009)

The Cliks – We Are The Wolverines (Dirty King – 2009)

Threat Signal – Revision (Vigilance – 2009)

Goliath – By The Throat (Funweiser EP – 2011)

The Nefidovs – Beg Your Pardon Demo (Set Faced to Stun – 2011)

Shared Arms – Aunt Jemima/Another Sticky Situation (Unreleased Jams – 2009)

The Blue Stones – Vain Vixens (The Blue Stones – 2011)

Gypsy Chief Goliath – Elephant in the Room (The Windsor Zene Sampler – December 2010)

Devilz by Definition – A Gram Short 20 (The Windsor Zene Sampler – February 2011)

The Heat Seeking Moisture Missiles – Hidin’ in the Bushes (The Windsor Zene Sampler – December 2010)

Inoke Errati – Control (The Wink and The Gun – 2006)

Beijing Bike Club – The Past (The Windsor Zene Sampler – January 2011)

Thieves in Remand – Trace of Truth (Single – 2010)

Falling with Glory – Fight with Honour (The Windsor Zene Sampler – January 2011)

What Seas, What Shores – Pave the Oceans (Cordyceps EP – 2010)

Some great shows coming up this week. Like, really great ones. No excuses for being bored over the next few days, as you’ve always got somewhere you could go.

Thursday night at The Blind Dog (671 Ouellette Ave) will be heavy as a really heavy thing (pardon the SYL reference) as Hamilton’s Threat Signal bring to town their monstrous metal, joined by locals Goliath, Blackthorn City, Cyreene, A Dream in the Morning, and what could very well be the final show of Bloodshoteye. Lots of reasons not to miss this one, it starts at 5:30, is all ages, and is only $10 in advance of $12 at the door.

On Friday the 13^th, forget superstitions and come to FM Lounge (156 Chatham St. W.) where The Nefidovs will be celebrating the release of their first full-length. Their crazy ska-ish-ness will be joined by skater punks The Rowley Estate, pop-punkers Shared Arms, and the bluesy rockings of The Blue Stones, who have recently released an EP themselves. This show is without cover, which is all the more incentive to go, and to purchase the album, ‘Set Faces to Stunned’ which will be available for purchase at the low-low price of $5!

Get more bang for your buck (I’m a used car salesman today, apparently) on Saturday where you can catch 14 bands for only $10 (if you buy presale from local acts) at The Blind Dog. This all ages Rock/Pop Fest is being put on by Gateway Productions, and features Inoke Errati, The Blue Stones, Beijing Bike Club, and The Tragedy of Mariam, among others. The show starts at 1 pm and lasts all day. A great deal and sure to be a great time.

Sun. Feb. 20: Inoke Errati release new EP to sold out crowd at the Loop?

Despite still being several days away, it appears that the guys from Inoke Errati may be already sitting comfortably in the knowledge that the release party for their new EP, Make-Outs and Movie Stars, will be to a full house.

This Sunday, Windsor’s premiere power pop kings release the highly anticipated follow-up to 2006’s The Wink and The Gun, a 5-song EP produced by the band themselves, with engineering and mixing done by Joel Bruyere (of Thousand Foot Krutch) and mastered by famed engineer Joao Carvalho.

Inoke Errati are a stand out band in many ways, perhaps mostly because of their determination not to sit back and simply wait for good things to happen for them. They’ve toured, played with national touring acts, and sold out venue after venue around Windsor by good old fashioned hard work. The fact that they’re well on their way to selling out The Loop (156 Chatham St. West, above Pogo’s) – which is no small feat, as it’s capacity is 440 people – by pounding the streets and taking a personal approach to selling tickets, is proof positive of the rewards hard work and dedication to your craft can net. At press time, they’d sold well over 300 tickets and they printed 400. Which, if your math skills are calculator reliant, means that there’s only room at the door for 40 more people to get in (if you want to get advance tickets at only $5, email info@inokeerrati.com).

Inoke Errati – a fixture in the local music scene since 2003 – have stuck around as long as they have for the same reason veterans like Ten Indians, fiftywatthead and Kelly “Mr. Chill” Hoppe have. They don’t chase fads, they don’t try and predict what the music industry wants to hear, they simply do what they do best and stick at it. In Inoke Errati’s case, it’s write infectious powerpop with big hooks and a story that everyone can relate to. And they realize that rock and roll, once you strip away it’s pretensions, it’s wardrobes and it’s MTV gloss, is really about uniting as many people as possible through the power of a good chorus and the energy created by the interweaving of the music makers and their listeners. Which is something this power(pop) trio have mastered in spades.

They’ve kept the new EP tightly guarded (even their MySpace only offers clips), so here’s a listen back to their big single from their last record, with a new video recently made by local film maker Gavin Michael Booth.

Doors for the show are EARLY, so don’t say you weren’t warned. Doors are at 7:30pm, with the music starting at 8pm. Opening the show are two great new bands – Shortcut to Last and Beijing Bike Club – as well as The Greatest Invention, the new moniker by the band formerly known as Credible Witness. The plan is to have Inoke Errati finished earlier so they can celebrate the release party out in the crowd as well, with DJ Vin Vicious taking over to close out the night.

Inoke Errati ‘Make-Outs and Movie Stars’ EP Release Party, with special guests The Greatest Invention, Shortcut to Last and Beijing Bike Club, with host DJ Vin Vicious, The Loop (156 Chatham St. West, above Pogo’s), $5 Ticket, 19+, Doors at 7:30pm, Show starts at 8pm

Fri. Feb. 11: Beijing Bike Club & Shortcut To Last host indie rock show at The Coach

While the FM Lounge hosts some of the scene’s most respected veteran performers, the legendary Coach & Horses (156 Chatham St. West, below Pogo’s) showcases some of the emerging talent from Windsor’s indie rock scene.

Beijing Bike Club of Essex, whose song “The Past” is featured in the FREE January Windsor Music Sampler (courtesy of your pals at the Windsor Zene), bring a nostalgic sound to the stage. It feels at parts like ’90s bands like Better Than Ezra or Live, but with more of the hipness of Jimmy Eat World or Weezer. The song is more mature than their years and if this what they’re starting point sounds like, these guys are going to be huge within two years. They’re also opening up for Inoke Errati‘s EP release party Sunday February 20th at The Loop and Toronto’s Chasing Amee (who recently shot a video with Windsor’s Gavin Michael Booth) at the Blind Dog on February 26th.

Belle River’s Shortcut to Last also have a 90’s feel about them, but more akin to early Doughboys or pre-Grave Dancers Union Soul Asylum, although with a more So Cal punk swagger. Their single, “Undone”, will be appearing in February’s Windsor Music Sampler. Their songs are simple but smart, predictable but welcomed. These guys could be the sleeper pick to be the funnest live show of the summer if the energy from the songs carry over on a hot July day. These guys are also on the February 20th Inoke Errati show.

Playing For Keeps are not at all what I expected from their name. I was thoroughly expecting another Blink 182 knockoff and they are not even close. They’re somewhat reminiscent of some the more majestic anthems from Scottish indie rockers Idlewild. It sometimes gets close to pop punk but never seems to totally commit to it and remain just a ballsier pop gem.

A Wake To A Dream, featuring former One Man’s Opinion member Chris Wilbur, is another new band who’s been playing a lot of show lately and picking up some new fans. Somewhere between ’90s grunge and 2000’s indie prog, you’ll find these guys. They never get too intricate and never sacrifice the melody for an miscued time change. These guys are still finding their feet as a band (but that simply comes with man hours logged together on stage) but they’re just about there and when they do, they’ll start getting some notice. They also have a track (“The Importance of the Bass Guitar”) on the January Windsor Music Sampler.

Four great bands on the rise with a lot of promise. No cover charge means you don’t need the pressure of paying a cover to check out a new band you haven’t heard. Just pop in and spend that extra five bucks on a bar – and leave a little something for Bucky or Nicole.

Beijing Bike Club, Shortcut to Last, Playing for Keeps and Awake To A Dream, The Coach & Horses (156 Chatham St., below Pogo’s), Friday February 11, 9pm, No cover

January 2011 Windsor Zene FREE Music Sampler

Continuing with our December Music Sampler (dedicated to December’s FunnelFest), we are proud to unveil our second monthly music sampler for you download, FREE of charge (compliments of the Windsor Zene and, more importantly, the bands and musicians involved).

We are looking to release a 12-14 song FREE music sampler every month, showcasing some of the best this area has to offer in original music. There are no genre guidelines and we encourage any local musicians to submit a track to windsorzene@gmail.com – please include production credits (producer, studio used, etc.) as well as writing credits, etc. All genres welcomed, from folk to death metal, from hip hop to rock.

January’s sampler features a preview of Poughboy‘s upcoming opus, The End of Men, the title track from Dave Russell‘s new EP Unnatural Disaster, a rare unreleased track from Vultures!, a glimpse at a new supergroup in Windsor called NeanderTHRALL (featuring members of The Heat Seeking Moisture Missiles and Gypsy Chief Goliath), as well as some entries from some great new talent such as Beijing Bike Club, Awake To A Dream, Weirdonia and Falling With Glory. Singer/songwriters Crissi Cochrane (who relocated here from Halifax, Nova Scotia last year) and Daniyal Malik (who previously fronted the band Allusion) lead off the sampler, which also features songs from veteran metal outfits Pitch Union and Tyburn Tree. Rounding out the rest of the sampler are a new track from Britpop inspired Bombs (lead by Ryan Yoker) and a gorgeous track from Luna Borealis, a side project featuring Jason Testawich from Surdaster.

Download your FREE January music sampler today (and spread the gospel!). December’s sampler is also still available!

Windsor/Essex musicians and bands who wish to be featured on upcoming sampler releases: Send one high quality .mp3 or .wav file to windsorzene@gmail.com. We can’t guarantee the month your track will appear, as they are taken first come first serve, but they will eventually be released. All genres welcomed and encouraged. The Windsor Zene is releasing these samplers FREE of charge and are not collecting any residuals from the release of these samplers. They are designed to encourage people to try out new music from their hometown.