Reactions to Winter Gloves’ debut album, about a girl, and their energetic live shows has garned praise like “Best New Artist” from iTunes and an invite to join Thunderheist on the recent Exclaim! Tour across Canada.
The guys will continue to bring their constant buzz of bass and gritty synths (as well as the coveted CDs of exclusive material thrown offstage at their live shows) on the road this summer across the US and a series of festivals like Hillside, Osheaga, and Toronto’s Harbourfront Summer Series.
Look for a bonus album of complementary material to their debut to surface this Fall! (right-click “save link/target as”)
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More information on Winter Gloves:
http://www.myspace.com/wintergloves
[SinglePic not found]Max Kerman – lead vocals, guitar
Mike DeAngelis – vocals, guitar
Dan Griffin – vocals, keyboard, guitar
Nick Dika – Bass
Tim Oxford – drums
Sharing a love of the kind of raw, soulful “Springsteenesque” rock that inspires a teen to pick up a guitar and start a band, the Arkells formed in Hamilton, ON, in 2006. The ambitious and prolific five-piece quickly found its groove, and recorded debut EP “Deadlines” in 2007. From the strum of the first track, the six-song EP showcased the Arkells masterful blending of traditional blues hooks mixed with modern rock-laden riffs, and a touch of classic Motown era rhythms. Their catchy melodies and unbridled energy live garnered critical acclaim with NOW Magazine describing the Arkells as having “an awesome muscular quality that sets it apart from the output of so many of their sad-sack indie rock peers…”
Since the release of “Deadlines” the band has traveled across Canada sharing stages with Tokyo Police Club, Matt Mays & El Torpedo, Danko Jones, Ladyhawk, Alexisonfire, and City and Colour. More recent performances include a stint opening for legendary rockers Black Crowes, MTV Live and V-Fest. With live shows fueling the buzz created by the EP, the band quickly caught the ear of Dine Alone Records (home to City and Colour, Bedouin Soundclash, Attack in Black and Black Lungs) who re-released “Deadlines” digitally in March 2008.
The Arkells’ first full-length album titled “Jackson Square” (released October 28, 2008 on Dine Alone) features undeniably catchy tracks like No Champagne Socialist, Ballad of Hugo Chavez, and Oh, The Boss is Coming! which just hit Top 10 on the BDS Rock Radio charts. “Jackson Square” captures the essence of the band’s hard-hitting live show and their boundless passion for making meaty, rootsy rock that any listener can relate to.
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More information on Arkells:
http://www.myspace.com/arkellsmusic
All the touring with my various bands was coming to a stop, and I had to find a bed. An old friend gave me her Montreal room where I could smoke too much and burn her copper pots. The rest of the songs took shape from the quiet back porch of that temporary refuge.
I have always loved to sing other people’s songs, which is why this record is painted with them. Hearing my favorite singers sing other people’s songs has always been an inspiration as well. A favorite: Johnny Cash owning Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down”, or Jeff Buckley’s incomparable cover of “Hallelujah”. I gathered a few songs that I wish I had written and tried to bring something different then the original. I had the good luck of hearing Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard sing “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” every night when Stars went out on tour with them. I would always make sure I was side stage for that one. When I first brought it to my band Tumbleweed, it naturally took a different course, one I hope fans of the song will embrace and find as a compliment. Sarah Harmer was playing in Weeping Tile when I was first introduced to her music. You could roast a marshmallow with her beautiful voice and I always felt “Old Perfume” was a little gem hidden inside a more ruckus mine. “Run For Me” was a song that carried me through a difficult period and articulated something I couldn’t. Richard Hawley’s production of that song is so incredibly beautiful and rich; the only thing I could do was to bring it to a barely there. I think Christine Bougie plays guitar with such amazing intuition on our version. If you have heard her own records, or listened to Honey From The Tombs, then you will already be acquainted with the strong song writing skills of my great friend Jenny Whiteley. “Baby I” was the only cover song I did on my last record, but I had to go back to her for more. “Day To Day” is from her second record, Hope Town, and a love song that sounds like the wind wrote it. The melody, like a hymn, feels as though it’s from another time, and another place – the middle of the sea perhaps, in 1863.
The songs I penned myself came from a time of flux… trying to get to the bottom of what ‘home’ really means. The same questions kept coming up for me; where do we stash the collection of betrayals and disappointments we carry through our lives? If you find yourself miles away from a person with whom your communication has become crooked and bent, can you ever find your way back? Do we ever actually ‘get over’ anything?
Together, my own songs along with my choice of covers creates a bed where the lonely can rest for a little bit, where little hopes, little deaths, and big loves are flammable but fallow.
Every idea needs a backdrop and that’s where Mr. Martin Davis Kinack comes in. I knew he would be the one to bring Masters Of The Burial to light when I listened on my headphones, to the Apostle of Hustle records he produced. The many colours that seemed to come up from behind and whisper in my ear brought such a smile I couldn’t wait to ask if he would be my guy. He showed me to a barn by the escarpment cliffs, we put on our pajamas and got buried in snow.
I was able to bring so many of my comrades to this hidden forest, the ones who had toured with me on my last record: Dan Whiteley, Christine Bougie, Darcy Yates and Doug Tielli. Other guests slid in like a sleeping bag, such as the fast fingered Marc Roy (guitar), Dean Stone of Apostle of Hustle (drums), Kevin Fox (cello), and Genevieve Walker (violin). Singing such beautiful back ups, my very close friends, Leslie Feist, Ariel Engle and Jenny Whiteley, came to support not just the songs, but me! Hot Butterscotch, aka Stars’ Evan Cranley and Chris Seligman along with The Stills’ Liam O’Neil, killed the smooth on the horns. Jesse Zubot was my most futuristic musician, sending his amazing violin parts on “Bound” over the internet, as I couldn’t persuade him to leave his busy Vancouver home. I think it sounds like he’s standing right beside me.
Evan Cranley actually played a big role on this record. He would duck in when his ears knew he was needed. He played the backbone beat on “Day to Day”, keyboards throughout the album and also wrote the string arrangements on “Old Perfume” and “Finish Line”. I’m a pretty lucky lady to be shacked up with such a talent.
So, as you can see “solo work” is a bit of a fib. Without this community, the record would be a lonely, less interesting listen.
This record is the dark of the night. It’s the sound of someone climbing into bed. The soundtrack of the time in between when the candle burns out and your dreams begin. The time of night when all we have tried to bury comes back to us masked in midnight mind stories. Light the fire, pour up one more, draw the curtains and tuck in.
- Amy Millan, July 2009
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More information on Amy Millan:
http://www.myspace.com/amymillan
http://www.arts-crafts.ca/amymillan
