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The Toronto Independent Music Awards are taking place on Friday, July 23rd at the Phoenix. Homegrown talent nominees include Amber Long for Best Female Fronted and best song for 'Blinding Epiphany'; acoustic duo Carly and Mark for Best Folk and AfterpartY is up for Best Pop. Check out http://torontoima.com/new/ for updates and ticket info on the show. Best of luck to all of the incredibly talented indie artists and musicians who remind us how to make music that matters.
HILLSIDE IS OVERHAULED BY A LIME PARADE
When I was 16, I was more concerned about homework, zit popping, prom-dress finding and curfew-meeting than I was about taking on one of the biggest festivals of the year. But for pop duo, Lime Parade, this weekend welcomes them centre stage in front of legions of music fans at Guelph's summer staple, Hillside Festival. I've interviewed, listened to, and heard a lot of artists. But Lime Parade took me by surprise. It's an infusion of indie pop rock, reminiscent of 90's Bens Folds and encapsulates Death Cab. You can listen to great musicians – but this Parade comes through with songwriting that far deflects their young age. Intricately written, and emotionally charged, Lime Parade incorporates 60's pop harmonies, catchy riffs and lyrics like “Where will I be 20 years from now flitting back and forth in the space between us?” (Cloudy Skies) that beg you to just set the myspace to repeat until you realize you've only listened to two tracks over and over. In an email interview with the Royal City natives, Lime Parade explain simply that, “As a young band, eager to have a career in music, we are laying it all on the line to bust into the indie scene. We strive to keep our music true to ourselves, and not sell out. We also push each other continually to create the best music we can and maintain a great level of musicianship in the band.” Parade founders Olivia Borkosky (vox, ukele) and her band mate Michael Gora (guitar, keys) are pushing their way from gig to gig, frequently joined on stage by Allister Derbyshire on drums and Jamie Nesbett on bass. “Our stage show is complemented by our musical maturity,” they say, adding, “As teens we strive to be a tight sounding band and we have gone through the grueling years of Royal Conservatory Music to help put us where we are today. You can feel our passion for our music on stage and our level of comfort for performing really shows as well. The fact that our lead singer plays a ukulele and wears sequins, tutus, and bowling shoes doesn’t hurt either!” And while that myspace is a simple taste of what's to come, Lime Parade is currently in the process of creating a full length CD working with Michael Borkosky (illScarlett, Melanie Doan), hoping to release the studio effort in 2011. “We love different music from all genres and decades,” they write. “We still like to jam out to Don’t Stop Believing, but on a more current note, we are influenced by bands such as Metric, Imogen Heap, Coldplay and Stars, who we are stoked to see perform at Hillside!” The Lime Parade marches Hillside on July 24, 12:15 Lake Stage and they'll be back in Guelph on August 14th for the Sunlight Music Festival. “Simply never change who you are. Hold on to your passion and your dreams. There will always be someone out there who gets it and loves what you do,” they encourage. For a sneak peek of what's in store, check out myspace.com/wherelimesparade. I'm warning you – you won't want to turn it off.
UNCAGING A BRAND NEW CD – TRAP TIGER CD RELEASE PARTY
Local indie favourites, Trap Tiger, are set to release their latest project, “Twisted Shapes”, Friday July 23rd at Maxwell's Music House. The 5 guys who comprise Trap Tiger met only in early 2009 and set out straight to creating refreshing experimental indie pop complete with hand claps, synths, snappy song titles (“Evil Queen”) and repetitive lyrics that you simply can't get out of your head. For Trap Tiger, the slew of gigs they've performed since their inception is a testimony to this Friday's show. “I think what makes us stand out on stage is how we interact with each other; we like to entertain each other as much as we like to entertain the audience,” writes Kevin Suess of his bandmates in an email interview. “We're up there as 5 friends who share a common interest and it's amazing that we've been provided the opportunities to perform our music.” The launch of their first EP, “Lush Jungles” snapped up their fans, and the band has gone on to share the audiences with bands The Arkells, Michou and Down With Webster. “Canada has probably been – and likely will continue to be – the best place in on the planet to be an independent artist since the beginning of the 21st century,” says Suess. “Musically, our five members have incredibly eclectic and often disparate tastes, as well as far-reaching ambitions, but we take our wont to approach the craft each from a diverse and unique angle as a strength; our tension and fragmentation may be what makes us as interesting as we are.” For a solid dose of the newest wave in indie pop music, check out Trap Tiger online at myspace.com/traptiger and check them out for the launch of their first full length release, “Twisted Shapes”, Friday July 23rd at Maxwell's Music House.
GET DOWN WITH WEBSTER WHEN THE BEAT ROCKS THE BLOCK
It sometimes feels like indie bands are a dime a dozen in Toronto. Many fantastic musicians, many excellent songwriters, and many that remain indie. For some of those artists who elect to be apart of the record label phenom, few stand up beside the ecclectic, fresh, 7-piece, Toronto-natives, Down With Webster. In a phone interview with lead guitarist, Pat, he spoke about being a part of Toronto's scene, and over-hauling the Beat Rocks The Block stage with Mariana's Trench and Stereos this Saturday, July 24th. “For us, it was never a question of ever giving up, we just kept playing all the time,” Pat recalls of the band's early start. “We became better at writing songs, and eventually kind of realized wow, our songs are good enough to be on Much Music or any other radio station. People took notice, and look what happened.” It was 2008 that DWW would win Rogers Mobile/Universal Music's best unsigned Canadian act. The attention they received would begin sparking attention from the labels, notably Timbaland and Gene Simmons in 2009. But in the end, it would be Motown that would sign the guys. Now armed with two hit single, Your Man and Rich Girl$ (where they sampled Hall and Oates) both from their official debut effort Time To Win: Volume 1, Down With Webster have become the new pop staple for fans across the country. “The short story is that (Rich Girl by Hall and Oates) came on at a party on someone's iPod,” explains Pat of the inception of their sing that debuted at #47 on Canada's Hot 100. “And Cam just started rapping and we were all like, 'that's kind of cool. We should doing something with that.' But I think what really put the song into the forefront, is that I believe a classic song will never die. That song could have been sung 30 years ago, and 30 years from now. As long as there's rich girls and guys trying to get their attention, I think it's a pretty priceless song and it could fit in any situation. It meant a lot to me.” Now Down With Webster plans to bring those hits to the main stage Saturday July 24th when Beat Rocks the Block. “It's good to be back in Canada,” says Pat, “it's always nice to come home. We have a great scene going on here in Ontario. Every time we come back it gets better and better.” downwithwebster.com. Full line-up and information about 91.5 The Beat Rocks the Block at 915thebeat.com.
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