Ohbijou- Beacons

What crazy weather, eh? The last thing that I remember before curling into my bed is the heavy rain brought on by the thunderstorm outside - which made me decide to stay in and wait for a while before hitting my gym. Looks like my plan obviously failed and I just passed out. While I was waiting, I was listening to some Indie Folk bands, including The Wooden Sky, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Forest City Lovers, and Timber Timbre.

Then I realized how hot/advanced the Toronto Indie Folk scene is. I have to say though, this genre has been gaining more popularity among the youth just over the last years and it is fantastic to see that Toronto is one of the best places to check out these gifted bands. The band - Ohbijou is in my opnion one f the most talented of them - and they have had a significant influence in that scene.


Ohbijou is a Toronto born band who has been touring all across Canadian festivals; playing a countless number of shows. This band was started as a project by Casey Macija - the lead singer - and then expanded it to a band with her younger sister Jennifer, as well as other members to provide instrumental support for the two sisters.

I came to know Ohbijou when they participated in the second "Friends in Bellwoods" album. This project is supported by Toronto Indie Rock community and benefits are contributed to the Toronto's Daily Bread food bank.

When I first listened to the song "the Otherside", from the "Friends in Bellwoods" album, I was instantly in love with Casey's pure and gentle voice. I started digging them so I checked out a few more songs on their MySpace site. Their music is so perfect on a day like today when you decide to stay in and have a cup of coffee, tea, or whatever else chills you out.

I especially like a song called "Black Ice". It is not only because of Casey's, but I love the lyrics of this song; "I took the bus down Bathurst street and saw where all the lonely people meet down there" To me, when I listen to this part of the song, I immediately start picturing the sight of the one of the most favorites places of the city and personalize the song till the end.

I just bought their second EP- "Beacon" - this afternoon. I'm a little late discovering this band - it was released in 2009. I love it so much. I have posted some songs from the album which I like; so why don't you enjoy a nicely quiet evening? Treat yourself with a favorite beverage. They are currently on tour on the west coast and no specific dates for Toronto are posted, however; they are from Toronto and I am sure that it won't be long before I can happily announce a show in Toronto for Ohbijou.


here is a YouTube video of Black Ice and New Years! Enjoy!!

5th PROJEKT + The Artful Vandelays + Special Guests

On Thursday July 29^th we have a Double Headliner Show with 5th Projekt + The Artful Vandelays! Our resident Music Psycho Bryen Shi will be opening the show with his band: Jagged Black Desire!

Hello everyone, happy Wednesday day! I am not a big fan of this gloomy weather this morning. But to brighten you all, I have an amazing news to share!

Our co-writer/editor Bryen Shi and his band Jagged Black Desire along with my dear friend Anton's amazing band The Artful Vandelays are both playing tomorrow at Sneaky Dee's from 9p.m. The Artful Vandelays are releasing their self titled EP on July 30th. Luckily, I was able to listen to all the songs from the EP. All songs are streaming on the band’s MySpace site... and I am in love with them! You might have noticed that the hits on the website have been increasing right? It's just me endlessly repeating it. If you get a chance - check it out. They are not just another indie rock band. Trust me!

So here are the details for the show; you can also check out the event on the Facebook (Click here)

$5 at the door. 19+ event.

Sneaky Dee's

431 College Street

Toronto, ON

BAND LINEUP:

Skag Barons – 12:00 am
http://myspace.com/SkagBarons

5th PROJEKT – 11:10 pm
http://myspace.com/5thPROJEKT

The Artful Vandelays – 10:15 pm
EP RELEASE SHOW
http://myspace.com/TheArtfulVandelays

Jagged Black Desire – 9:30 pm
http://myspace.com/JaggedBlackDesire

I will be your paparazzi for the evening, taking tons of pictures for Bryen :) Come and see me as well!

Digital HairCut DD/MM/YYYY

Last night, I was watching a YouTube video of the band MuteMath.  I clearly remember the feeling of astonishment when I first saw their performance during the V-fest at the Molson Amphitheatre last August. Then I started asking myself; “Has the indie live shows dramatically evolved in this last 5 years while I missed out lots of gigs or is it just a new genre become more popular in the music scene? Or, Am I the one who is just becoming aware of this kind of music and I embrace them?” I guess the answer to the question is it can be any of those things. In the human history, a new form will be created following after some sort of chaotic change. So can I call these artists/bands as "experimental" or something else? Well, I will leave it up to you for now.

So I started going back to my memory, digging who else – specifically from Toronto - has blown my mind like the MuteMath andThe Octopus Projects, One band to my mind - DD/MM/YYYY, a wicked band name right? 

DD/MM/YYYY- is a born and bred Toronto experimental indie band. They are currently touring Quebec and Ontario. I think their music is very distinctive so that you will either immediately like or dislike it. But all I can say is that you MUST see them at shows before you make your final decision. They will blow your mind, with every unconventional instrument that you could ever imagine!

I saw them during this year's NXNE at the Yonge and Dundas square. I was alone watching the band sitting. By the end of their performance, I was standing in the crowd and very curious to see what they are going to do next.

DD/MM/YYYY will be playing at Garrison with Arab on Rader on August 7th. I have to miss the show because I will be in Chicago, checking the Lollapalooza.

Here is their YouTube Video, Digital haircut. Enjoy!

DEAD WEATHER LIVE IN TORONTO – Sound Academy By Bryen Shi

I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing him live; with the exception of a few live DVD’s, television appearances, and the almighty YouTube. One thing I know for sure is that when Jack White rolls into town – you’re in for one hell of a show. Needless to say, I was excited.

As a huge fan of the Kills, I'm glad to say that when Allison Mosshart is fronting a whole band, she blows my mind. She has this dangerously feminine allure; you want to get closer, but be careful - this kitty has claws. She rocks harder than most guys could every hope to - and she howls every word like it's her last. She definitely holds her own on the stage full of boys. Allison Mosshart is rock and roll.

The Dead Weather has interesting stage chemistry. Despite being behind the drum kit for the majority of the show, Jack White is the face of the band – leaving lead singer Mosshart just slightly in his shadow. Guitarist Dean Fertita and bassist Jack Lawrence take a background roll to let these two extreme personalities rule the stage.

Ruling the stage is something they are good at too. The Dead Weather has captured something that is missing in most modern rock – mystery, danger, beauty. To quote Keith Richards; “Everyone talks about rock these days – the problem is they forget about the Roll.”. The beast that is The Dead Weather certainly took that statement to heart – these songs have just as much roll as Richards could hope for – maybe more.

The terrible sound system at the Sound Academy didn’t stop the Dead Weather from bringing the crowd to their knees with their brand of dirty, swampy blues. Real rock and roll is alive and well.

The Thundermonks- New EP: Get Fed

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I’m having a very stressful week this week so far; my schedule is jam-packed and there are so many things that have to be accomplished. However; on the bright side I have lots of gigs to check out this week. I am going to see the Dead Weather tomorrow at the Sound Academy and going to another gig on this Friday where my friend EunJi is playing the violin as a support member of a band, P.M.S at the El Mocambo. The band will take the stage at 11pm, so come check it out and say hi to your Music Psychos – Bryen and I will be there for sure!

As you can see; my plate is pretty full. I have a great tip to keep a smile on your face - my best stress freeing solution is either going to a kickboxing class or blasting some music. After a day like today, I turn on my stereo and listen to funky music at home. Perfect for Summer weather, happy and up-tempo ska tunes from TheSlackers or Westbound Train will lift off some burdens from my shoulders. I dance around like a penguin in my little apartment, making sure no one is watching! (which is damn important!) Everyone does it sometimes right? It's like Cameron Dias from the movie, the Holiday, when she dances to the Killer's beloved tune, "Mr. Brightside".

  

If you are digging the summer weather and love ska/funk tunes, I have an awesome band to share! Thundermonks is a Toronto-based 7 piece band, which is complied of young 90's born members. To be honest, I have received a couple of review requests from other bands, but none of them seemed interesting or unique. It was all same old, same old. However, when I listen to the Thundermonks song, “Good Time”; it just gets stuck in my head and I find myself humming the song. So I decided to contact one of the band members.

What I was really impressed about this band is that, despite the age, their music sounds very mature and skillful. They have a new debut album, “Get Fed”, which is available on iTunes. Luckily enough, I was able to listen to all the songs from the album.

This album starts off with very up-tempo songs, such as “Earnest”, and “Good Time”, whose chorus are so catchy that you will remember the tune from the first time listening to the songs.  The third song - “Doctor” - brings a new element to the album – a ska and hip hop blend, showing that this band is capable of going beyond the one genre. After bringing back the momentum and intensity of the first few tracks with their forth song; “Streetlight”, the album transforms into a different phase with the fifth song, “East”. This song leans more toward an R& B/Jazz feeling. They finish the album with a down-tempo song, the aptly titled “Change in Weather”.

Not only does this band seamlessly integrate elements of different genres, but also the order of songs is amazingly done. I love how it starts and ends; - it’s like a full course-meal, which is profoundly thought through from the beginning to the end. It is very exciting to see that young musicians like the Thundermonks could have accomplished an album of this level with their debut.

I am happy to announce that the Thundermonks has a show here in Toronto on July 21st at Drake Underground. I will be there for the live show review. I am thrilled to see them, as I would love to check out how well they can translate this album into a live performance. Don't miss out this great opportunity!! The cover cost is ONLY $ 5.00!!! More details please check out their My Space page: click here

Here is the video of “Good time”. Their album; “Get Fed”, is available on iTunes from here

Announcement!

Happy Monday everyone! What’s UP!? 

I hope everyone had an awesome weekend - I had a quite interesting weekend. Starting off with a sad note, my beloved Mp3 player - which probably had 8 GB of amazing music - died on me on Friday. Rest in peace, you’ve been a great friend. I got a new one right away and right now I am trying to put as much music as possible, but I’m having a problem with iTunes… just one problem after another it seems L

On a happy note, the weather in Toronto was amazing! I spent lots of time with my friends over the weekend and needless to say; I had a blast.  I just found out that one of my friends has an AMAZING roof top on her apartment, so I guess I will be dropping by more often for swimming and chilling at the roof J

All weekend fun aside; I have a big announcement to make today. This is gonna be a positive change and I am really looking forward to it.

As of today, my blog Music Psychos will be a group blog, which means that I will have other people contributing to the blog posts. With that said; I’d like to introduce you to my friend – and Music Psychos’ newest contributor – Bryen Shi.

In addition to being one of Music Psychos very first readers, Bryen is also the lead guitarist and vocalist of the band Jagged Black Desire. I’ll pass the post over to Bryen so he can tell you a little about himself:

Hello world! Glad to meet you!

Kanae and I have some pretty similar music taste – but when it comes to some bands we are complete opposites! So here at Music Psychos, I’ll be covering some things that you’ll be used to and some things that you may not have found here before!

I’m also glad to announce that we will begin to offer FREE mp3 downloads of some of our favorite underground artists! As Kanae had previously mentioned; I am in a band - so don’t be too surprised to find me doing the occasional round of shameless, self promoting!

Back to you Kanae!

Also, you may have noticed the recent change in the context of this blog. I am going to focus more on Toronto Indie Artists and bands, as well as shows in Toronto – this includes live show reviews, EP reviews, and Artist interviews.

If you are interested in having us to feature your band and music, feel free to send an email to: musicpsychos@gmail.com

I am extremely excited about these changes and hope you are, too!

Marcus Walker Live show on July 9th @Graffitti's

Toronto is a fantastic city to enjoy music. Lot of music festivals are held here throughout a year, including NXNE, Toronto Jazz festival, CMW, and other countless local festivals, which features local musicians. But what I also have found is the fact that a lots of great artists/bands are underrated. It doesn't have to be the mainstream to embrace music, right? It doesn't also need to be always associated with $$ either.

So I have decided that from now on, I would like to focus more on the Toronto indie bands and shows in Toronto. Of course I will keep writing my random "stuck tune syndrome" posts.  As you may have noticed from the last couple of posts, I will try my best to let you guys know who are these amazing artists/bands will be playing in Toronto, so that you will not miss it! Stay tuned with music psychos!


It is unfortunately that I cannot make it to the show,( I have a primary engagement tomorrow,,,)however, if you got a night off tomorrow, Friday of July 9th, and wondering what to do or where to go, I got a great suggestion for you!! Marcus Walker, a Toronto singer-songwriter, is playing a show at Graffitti's in the Kensington market.

He has been performing over 15 years ( 15 years!!!! Think about it I was only 10 years old when he first  started playing shows!! WOW ), and starting off shows with a couple of new songs after one year break. His music is very chilled and groovy! My favorites are " The Hollow Tree" and "October". It is perfect for a day like these days, when it is smoking hot outside and all you wanna do is to chill in a patio with a beer.( ummm, nom nom nom,,) Especially it is perfect to spend a Friday night with a great music in the beloved kensington market. I love the place! So why not to check out the show right?

Here is a sneak-peak for his performance on YouTube



You can check out more details about the show from Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140569322620394&ref=mf

and here is his My Space site

http://www.myspace.com/marcusdeluxe

I am definitely planning to check his future shows. so Marcus! keep me posted, OK?







note: all the copy rights for the pic and video on this post are from Marcus Walker.

Earl Greyhound: July 7th: GARRISON

"A girl, who can rock a bass, is hot." I've learned it from Akko from GO!GO7188, the bassist of the band. She always says that when she plays the bass,  she plays as if she was a man. When I was in a band when I was younger, I choose to play the guitar, only because I am kind of a show-off. But my friend, Noriko, who had played the bass for 3 years with me, she always made sure to play like a guy. She was needless to say, hot..

The same thing can be said to Kamara Tomas, from Earl Greyhound. Her existence on the stage is tremendous.The Brooklyn-based three-piece band, Earl Greyhound is not just a "three-piece band". Their performance wows a number of the audience even before starting a show. The band setting is quite unique. A gigantic drum set in the middle of the stage, with very simple guitar and bass setting on the sides. The size of the drums is probably bigger than I am. well that is  for sure.. Like a size of a bear, that is hot!! lol

 The drummer, Christopher Bear, rocks the drums, smashing every single drums! ( yes, his name is already awesome as his last name is "bear". He is massive, too!!) The scene can be very aggressive.

I saw their performance at the OK GO's gig at Mod club a few month ago. I was this close to buy the CD though. instead, I got the OK GO's T-shirt ( ok, I love the band men!!) Anyhow, the band totally scared me off as I was right in front at the show and there was a huge drum set in front of me. whenever he kicked the drum, the whole stage seemed to move a bit by bit toward me along with the music. An amazing gig for sure. Now I kinda regret that I didn't get their CD.

Their music is pretty influenced from the 70's or 90's heavy rock or blues. Very fun to watch their show. So on July 7th, they will be playing at Garrison. The tickets are available on Rotate This at only 9 bucks. If if you got a night off, it's worth going there.

Anyways, if I found someone to go with, you will see me there.

Here is the video and my space link. enjoy!

 




Check it out them on their My space site:


http://www.myspace.com/earlgreyhound

Live show review : Artful Vandlays @ Velvet Underground

" Oh, Canada~..." Happy Belated Canada day! While people in red, (except these who were protesting for the public inquiry on the Bay St.  They happened not to wear red...), were celebrating the birthday, I decided to attend my friend, Anton's band's gig at Velvet underground.

The venue has very special atmosphere. It fits in so well in the Queen West " Hippie" neighborhood. It's very welcoming to the regulars, yet, a bit intimidating for the newbies. I love the venue though, it's very nostalgic. Anyhow, enough about the venue, so let's talk about the show.


When I and my "Regal As Fuck" friends got there, the first opening band was ringing on the stage. Let's be honest here.. (no offence) The first opening band was aright. it was nothing but special though. A typical opening band. They played lots of Canadian-theme songs for her birthday. However, the second opening band was just so awful... It was just a loud noise on the stage. Sometimes, I couldn't even hear a singer singing and timing was all off... Lots of people actually left the venue during the performance... I somehow managed to stay in though.

So after the opening bands, I really needed to heal my ears with some good tunes. My expectation for Artful Vandalys was pretty high as I mentioned in the previous post. Also it was because the performance posted on  YouTube were very consistent and fun.

The show started off with "Sign language". I love the song!! I have to say that the new drummer, Brendon, is amazing. He is fun to watch. I was really impressed with the technique! He is a great add to the band for sure :)
The show continued with my favorite song, "Dirty Blood", "Silent revolution". Very good show overall. I think if a band could make people dance, bang their heads, or even tap their top along with the song, the band is amazing. The only band who accomplished during the night was the Artful Vandelays. I hope to see them on lives again for sure or maybe new record release party in Toronto?? Will keep you guys posted for sure!!

KO : Let's Blaze

"...so what kinds of music do you like...?"

The frequent question on the first dates guys ask me when I mention how much I love music. My answer to the question is always the same.
"Everything... but country and hip hop.... but I like the indie/alternative rock the best."

It's just because it's impossible to list all my favourite bands/artists in 2 mins ( well even though I did, they would not know who they are...) or he may walk away while I am mentioning all of them.. hahaha, not a good idea to be ditched on the first date, right?

So let me put it clear, I am not a big fan of  the     "hip-hop" genre at all. The only album that I have is K-OS's new album, which I cherish for. My impression to the genre is not so great as the mainstream music totally has destroyed the genre, making it to something that is all about $$ and Sex. So this is just me being hippie enough to avoid the trend.

So you may wonder why I am talking about the shit that I don't even like, right? I just bought my second hip-hop album in my life yesterday and I HAD to get it. While digging the best pizzas in town from Gerrard and College, my friend, Mike, mentioned about the artist 2 days ago when my favorite people on the earth got together. He listened to his songs on the Edge and told us about him.

So I was just curious. Whenever people mention any bands/artists, I have to check it out immediately. So the next day, as the first thing in the morning, I started playing the song, "Capable" while I was getting ready to head to work.. Holly molly, I was in love with his music immediately!

Once I got to work, I downloaded his album, "Let's Blaze". I love it, and love it. I at least listened to it 6 times in row.I especially like "Capable", " Miss U" and " Kurt Cobain". I love the lyrics, especially from the song " Kurt Cobain". It is a bit surprising if you hear the song for the first time, but wows you for sure. I think " Miss U" is such a sweet song with a catchy melody. You have no idea how many times I repeated the song itself. Indeed, it stuck in my head...

The guitar tune is not exactly like "hip hop" style, but very blues, a bit of reggae somewhat every dark, but still encouraging. ummm, just listen, then you know what I mean... I love his strong voice, it reminds me of the lead singer from the Toronto local band, "Johnny Alexander" is this Torontonian things to have such a sexy voice?? then, I am in the right city for sure lol

So Let me talk about KO himself for a bit. he is from Toronto, Greek decent, who was raise in the Queen/Broadview hood. Heavily addicted to drugs when he was younger, around 14 years old. After experienced a number of rehabs in the U.S, he was back to his T.dot hood again. Then, started writing songs about the hometown.. Interestingly, he describes himself as "folk musician" I guess I can see that from his music. if you wanna read more in details, please check out his official website, http://www.ko-nation.com/

KO is playing at the Mod club on July 9th and I and some of my friends are definitely in. If you like the songs that I posted here on my blog, please check it out!

KO "Capable"

KO "Miss U"