Preoccupations (fka Viet Cong) is a Calgary based band but since Matt Flegel recently moved to Montreal we figured they make the cut. This band is so good and has so many great sounds but mostly it is their impeccable taste, musically and otherwise that makes them one of the coolest bands going. (Except Monty is a huge GnR nerd. YAY!)

Technical indeed. This prog/Industrial band is so sharp and tight they border on electro. That said there is a human element that shines through the machines and their song writing is far more interesting than any formulaic dance music. They have a new album out which you can get here: Something Stranger Coming on the Horizon and the play Youngnesse they did the music for is on stage now at Festival OFFTA in Montreal! 

The Barr Brothers can play just about anything they want. Country, rock, folk, blues and a mix of everything, actual brothers Andrew Barr (Drums) and Brad (Guitar, vocals) along with harpist Sarah Page are all over the map. Luckily they are talented enough to go wherever their instincts lead never losing sight of an identity that always feels authentic. Their new EP Alta Falls is out this week.

Suuns are the perfect combination of simple and complex. Post post post punk, slightly experimental, definitely dark. Once I told Ben Shemie they were like a zero-pop band. He said “does that mean we’ll never be popular?” No, Ben, no it doesn’t.

DJ team Par for the Course lay down an awesome soundtrack at Nouveau Palais on thursday nights in Montreal. Eric Dougherty (also an amazing musician and singer p.s.) and Jacob Spector are the perfect duo to ask, “Is the Macarena relevant?” and “Do you think Harry Nilsson would make a good drinking buddy?” So come on inside, we’ll get you a martini and find out.

Songs we played: Glen Campbell: Wichita Lineman, Los Del Rio (ft. Bayside Boys Remix): Macarena, The Microphones: I Felt Your Shape.

Katie Moore has been on everyone’s albums. From The Barr Brothers to Socalled and that doesn’t include the live shows! But she is also a singer and musician in her own right and we had her and her partner Andrew Horton (also her bass player and fishing buddy!) in for some trivia and to discuss her latest album, Fooled By the Fun.

You can buy the album here: https://katiemoore.bandcamp.com/

The songs we played: Heart Like a Wheel, Chain-Link, Fooled By the Fun.

 

 

During the POP Montreal Music Festival we ran four bands through some rapid-fire trivia rounds: AroarA, Beliefs, Wake Island and The Besnard Lakes. Listen to the end for a bonus interview with ‘Morrisey’ and ‘Marr’ of the Smiffs!

Featuring the following tracks:

See You Again – AroarA

Catch My Breath – Beliefs

Submarine – Wake Island

Colour Yer Lights In – The Besnard Lakes

Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (Smiths cover live at Sala Rosa) – The Smiffs

This episode was recorded live at The Marché des Possibles in Montreal. The guitarsmiths we tested are Chris McCarron, Jordey Tucker and Michael Felber. In addition to such bands as Stars, The Dears, Socalled and The Barr Brothers  they are members of the elite group of musicians that form Urockaoke a live karaoke band that is as good as it is fun. We have been to many of their parties and let me tell you you could not do something better for your staff party/fundraiser/corporate bonding weekend retreat/wedding/barmitzvah/whatever. They are for hire, so you should probably hire them. They are the best wedding band on the market. Just sayin’. Ok, enough of the gushing, let’s get to the trivia!

We’re gonna take a wee break for the rest of the summer and let Amy pop out a baby, so we will see you back here in September with some fresh episodes! Bon vacances! XX

On June 21 we recorded a special Beatles trivia show with audience members at the Marché des possibles in Montreal’s Mile-End neighbourhood. Following the trivia challenge (won by Sarah Shoucri) we were joined by Jason Kent (Sunfields) and Peter Grant (Day Tripper) who played all of our Beatles favourites for an epic singalong!

MDP is a very fun community initiative between the borough and POP Montreal. Running for eight weeks in the summer, it features a market of local artisans and farmers, live music, a bar, food trucks, and a variety of activities for kids and adults.

 

The country duo of Mike O’Brien and Michelle Tompkins are certainly not the first couple that has played out their relationship through country music. But their unique harmonies and clean, unadulterated guitar sound blend together in a way that sounds both familiar and fresh. If you’re like us you crave country music most in the summer time, when the days are long, the road is clear and the options seem endless…