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.

CD Review: Inoke Errati “Make-Outs & Movie Stars” EP

On Sunday February 20th, local powerpop darlings Inoke Errati released their long overdue follow up to 2006’s The Wink and The Gun, a 5-song EP entitled Make-Outs and Movie Stars. In what started as a sold out show at The Loop (based on advance ticket sales) quickly turned into an intimate showcase in one of Windsor’s largest and good vibe venues. Thanks to an unexpected snow storm that set records for snowfall, the 400+ who purchased tickets became just over 200 warm bodies, all of whom braved the elements to attend a rock and roll event that also featured openers Beijing Bike Club, Shortcut To Last (who almost stole the show with a great performance and stage presence) and The Greatest Invention.

After three warm-up acts, Inoke Errati finally hit the stage for a slightly shortened set highlighting all the tracks off the new EP plus some choice nuggets from The Wink and The Gun, including their viral hit “Jennifer”. Jake and the boys were in fine form, playing to a crowd hungering for a rock and roll show following the dreariness of the days meteorological events. Inoke Errati are popsmiths, pure and simple. They write catchy bounce-a-long summer anthems (even in a Canadian winter) that all sound like songs destined for a TV show or film soundtrack. Not because they’re throwaways, but because they have the energy to vitalize a scene or carry a soundtrack album.

The EP itself is a nice capsule to let people know where Inoke Errati have come since The Wink and The Gun several years ago. They’ve matured slightly (although if you’ve ever gone out drinking with Jake, you may argue that), with a more polished sound, but the energy and passion are still evident on each track. They’re still having fun making music and it shows, never sounding like they’re simply content riding an old horse.

They manage to ride a narrow line between the pop stylings of bands like The Lemonheads with more mainstream powerpop like Fountains of Wayne. The lead off track, “Lights Out”, is a perfect opening track with its infectious hook “Lights out/turn up the radio/I can’t sleep with all these thoughts about you”. It’s a short intro for those who aren’t familiar with previous Inoke Errati recordings or a welcome back hug for those who do.

“Chloe”, the band’s second album, almost sounds like an unofficial sequel to their biggest hit, “Jennifer”. The opening chug of the guitar hints at it but then it takes a slight twist, but lyrically it almost sounds like the same protagonist from the “Jennifer” song telling a new girl not to pursue him (perhaps because he’s hung up on a certain girl whose name starts with J).

“Make-Outs and Movie Stars”, the EP’s title track, almost sounds like a Gin Blossoms song if they’d had more balls. The guitars have a beautiful chunk about them, a roughness that alludes a devilish demeanor underneath that O.C. smile.

“Not in California” is Jake at his most Evan Dando. This sounds like a song The Lemonheads would have released had they continued to pursue the poppier side of their songwriting. Big guitars and big vocals help drive this song to be the beach party hit of the summer.

The closer “How Do You Do It?” again has that Gin Blossoms feel. In fact, if you’d told me it was a new song by them without me knowing it was Inoke Errati, I’d have believed you, if not for the fact that the guitars have more attitude than the Gin Blossom’s entire catalogue had previously shown.

Inoke Errati are the undoubted master of the radio pop song. Their songs are catchy and infectious ear candy that for approximately three and half minutes each, take over your brain cortex and make you bounce. There are no hidden meanings, no songs of protest or inner reflection. Their songs never get vulgar nor get experimental for the sake of being “indie”. Instead they rely on a formula that’s helped rock and roll be the soundtrack for teenagers in love, lust and heartache since the 1950’s. For those who hang out in the bedrooms waiting for new Radiohead albums or comb record stores for Animal Collective bootlegs, I will warn you that these guys simply aren’t for you. Inoke Errati are more in the 89X vein than CJAM, more inclined to play a rock concert in the middle of Ouellette Avenue that a house party on Drouillard Rd. They are constantly on the look out for a good party to soundtrack and they have no problem starting that party if they can’t find one.

Here’s a clip from local film maker Gavin Michael Booth (from his web series How Many Days?) covering the EP release party:

You can next catch Inoke Errati this Friday March 11th at The Blind Dog (671 Ouellette Ave.), in support of Toronto’s Low Level Flight (featuring Ryan Malcolm from Canadian Idol), as well as opening acts The Years, Intra Meridian and The Main Squeeze. Doors at 9:45pm, 19+ show.

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

Inoke Errati release video for “Jennifer” with new EP on the horizon

Back in September of 2010, many of you may have seen the poster to our right around Windsor or the Almighty Internet. It proclaimed that local power pop trio Inoke Errati were looking for a female lead for their new video for their song “Jennifer”, being filmed by local video filmmaking guru Gavin Michael Booth (whose recent video for Texan band The Afters, “Light Up The Sky”, filmed in Windsor with local Windsor actors, exploded on the internet and MTV universe). “Jennifer”, perhaps one of the catchiest pop anthems Windsor’s ever heard, is from their debut album The Wink and The Gun, and has long been a scene and internet fave. And with the upcoming release of a brand new EP (being released Sunday February 20th at The Loop), it was high time these guys had a video out.

So last September they held auditions at the new Symbol Nightclub, looking for the perfect Jennifer for the video. Or so that’s what the hundreds of applicants thought. Turns out it was all a ruse that made the video (seemingly) far more fun to make and (obviously) far more fun to watch – it’s a “reality” video of sorts, where the auditions themselves actually became the video.

Here’s the finished product and I’ll be damned…now I’m going to  have “J-J-J-Jennifer please…” running through my head for another week…

Inoke Errati EP Release Party with special guests TBA, The Loop (156 Chatham St. West, above Pogo’s/The FM Lounge), Sunday February 20