2011 in Music

"Twee Time" is my little radio show wherein I spin under-appreciated music for the part time punks who play their records very loud, and pogo in the bed room in front of the mirror, but only when their mums gone out (and for the pop kids who know what song I nicked this description from). Check it out live every Friday 20:00-21:00 in Montreal on CJLO 1690AM / CJLO.com.

List also published in the CJLO Magazine. This is the unedited version.

Band of the Year

It was very difficult for me to come up with this "2011 in Music" synopsis. The only band that has been on my mind all year is JEFF the Brotherhood. And We Are the Champions, as much as I liked the album, does not do these guys justice.

You must see brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall perform live to really experience the filthy, fuzzy binding of all the music that I love: garage, punk, psych, rock, and pop. It's unbelievable what JEFF can do with only three drums, three cymbals, and a three-string guitar. I don't believe in pedal effects, this sound comes straight from the soul.

JEFF the Brotherhood - We Are the Champions

Listen to: Ripper / Shredder / Wastoid Girl (or how about the whole thing? Yeah!)

Fave 2011 Releases

Twee Time's favourite albums of 2011 (in no particular order), with selected tracks.

01. Ringo Deathstarr - Colour Trip

Listen to: Imagine Hearts / So High

02. Kids on a Crime Spree - We Love You So Bad

Listen to: I Don't Wanna Call You Baby, Baby / To Mess with Dynamite

03. Bearsuit - The Phantom Forest

Listen to: Cut Loose / Please Don't Take Him Back

04. The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar

Listen to: Austere / Whirring

05. Cults – Cults

Listen to: Abducted / Go Outside

Fave Old Releases

On repeat in 2011.

01. The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main St.

02. Peach Kelli Pop - Peach Kelli Pop

03. Nobunny - Raw Romance

04. The Feelies - The Good Earth

05. Red Mass - 7-Song EP

Live Shows to Remember

01. JEFF the Brotherhood with Uncle Bad Touch and Peach Kelli Pop (Club Lambi)

02. JEFF the Brotherhood with The Spits and Neil Hamburger (Club Soda, vice.com launch party)

03. The Strange Boys with White Fence (Il Motore)

04. Parlovr, The Barr Brothers, Passwords (Arlene's Grocery, M pour Montréal CMJ Showcase)

05. Nightseeker with Metalian (Katacombes)

Other Memorable Moments

01. Seeing JEFF the Brotherhood for the first time

02. Nobunny materializing on stage at Casa del Popolo to the sound of squealing girls

03. Non-stop, 48-hour, no-sleep, espresso-shot-partying with the CJLO peeps in New York City

04. Meeting Dean "The Deaner" Murdoch from FUBAR/Nightseeker

05. The return of The Adam Brown (Royal Phoenix Bar, Pop Montreal)

Most Annoying Moment

Being too poor for Osheaga.

Biggest Disappointment

The Rapture

Twee Time Dance Party!

Friday December 16, 2011 right after the news at 8PM: Tune in to CJLO for a very special Twee Time Dance Party and Record Giveaway!

Sing a little sweeter, and love a little longer with Twee Time and guest CJLO DJs Shakter the Reaktor (The Reaktor), Lady Oracle (The Limelight), and Sugar Face Nene (Beat the World).

Dance with your kitty to music by Go Sailor, Blanket Arms, the Smittens, Tullycraft, and more!

In the second half of the show, call in for your chance to win a rare 7" vinyl record by Boyracer, courtesy of the Twee Time gang and Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records from Athens GA.

Boyracer - It's Not True Grit, It's Real Dirt 7"

# HHBTM068

Careful What You Wish For

9 To 5 Style

It's Love

Whatever Gets You Thru The Day Is Fine With Me

The track "It's Love" is a cover song, originally by The Softies, so you can't get anymore Twee than that.

Only 500 copies of this little record were pressed, and one of them can be yours! So be sure to brush up on your "Tweevia" (Twee-trivia), 'cause we're not gonna let this one get away that easy.

Wherein I apologize to Dean "The Deaner" Murdoch

It was Friday December 2, 2011. Dean "The Deaner" Murdoch of FUBAR fame was on his way to Montreal; booked to perform with his band Night Seeker and guests Metalian at Katacombs the next day, and to screen FUBAR 2 with live commentary! I was all set to fill in as host of the Go-Go Radio Magic Show on CJLO.

To promote the event, I was given a live interview with The Deaner. It must have been about 4 years since I had interviewed anyone (let alone a fictional character), but I had to seize the opportunity and just Give'r. I mean, what an amazing stroke of luck, right?

Well, I totally blew it. Here's how...

At the time of the interview I had only seen the first FUBAR movie, and almost a decade ago at that. Instead of staying up late to actually watch FUBAR 2, I read the synopsis on freaking wikipedia. I know. Idiot.

The plot summary on wiki is dry and matter-of-fact; let me paraphrase:

Beer, Fort McMurry, town slut, infidelity, worker's compensation, bilateral orchiectomy, marriage, lost friendship, suicide pact, and attempted murder. But everything works out OK at the end because of Santa.

So this is what I had in mind when I was coming up with questions. The synopsis takes what's obviously a damn hilarious movie and gives the reader the impression that it's a dark and depressing tale of morality and the spirit of Christmas.

I have the freaking DVD at home! What was I thinking?! Why didn't I just watch the movie?! Anyway, we make do with what we have at the time.

I left work at 16:30 to make 100% sure I'd be at CJLO in time for the interview. The Go-Go Radio Magic Show starts at 18:00! The damn metro was down, which turned a typical 25-minute B-M-W ride into 1.5 hours sweaty crowded travel time.

But I made it to CJLO breathless and quite frazzled, with 15 minutes to spare. I frantically searched the CJLO vault to retrieve the FUBAR 2 soundtrack with all those rockin' Night Seeker tunes.

The CD was gone. We had no Night Seeker to play! What a clusterfuck.

Either it was in the wrong section (I checked them all; soundtracks and compilations, rock, metal, punk, jazz...), or it was somewhere in the office to be ripped to our digital archive, or someone nicked it for themselves.

I was livid. My mood went from just a little tired to straight-up bitchy. I KNEW the CD existed at the station, because I had played it on my own show before. Argh. Luckily I could snag their Genie-nominated song No Place Like Christmas off youtube.

So I called The Deaner and was able to get him on the phone just after 20:15.

I became painfully aware after my first question that I had asked the wrong thing. My remaining questions were boring and ridiculously uninformed. To add insult to injury, I ran out of questions. It was so awkward.

Another problem was, I edited myself. Plus, I was unable to ask obvious questions about beer and drinking, or getting drunk. You know, the fun stuff. I knew that wouldn't fly at CJLO, or on AM radio. And I worried so much about being "professional" that I forgot about the fun and couldn't come up with good things to talk about. I even went so far as to neglect the fun!

I'm so sorry Dean. Please forgive me. I was rusty and sober as hell.

To end the interview, I invited The Deaner to CJLO and said that he was more than welcome to come in and spin some tunes with the Go-Go Radio Magic Show.

So what happened next?

We went there. Oh yes, we did. We talked about ways to sneak in alcohol. And he stopped to buy beer live on the air.

I'll probably get in real trouble for that, but honestly... our short discussion about alcoholic beverages took the edge off, and in retrospect I think the interview ended on a better note. I played Iron Maiden for him, so hopefully The Deaner and I are all good.

Here's a video of Night Seeker, taken back in October...

Next post: Interview highlights on MP3, and a Night Seeker show review. Stay tuned.

Go-Go Radio

Friday, December 2 at 18:00-20:00 I will be filling in for Prince Palu and Oncle Ian to guest-host the Go-Go Radio Magic Show! Lots of Canadian music planned, and new releases so the kids will know what they should be listening to these days. Go to CJLO for details, or Click to Listen Now!

Parlovr Dance Party!

Parlovr at Arlene's Grocery in New York City 10/21/2011

Playing "Pen to the Paper" at the the M pour Montreal CMJ Showcase.

Wish I could rewind my life and see this show again.

Show Review: The World/Inferno Friendship Society

The World Inferno Friendship Society @ Club Lambi.

Written for the CJLO Magazine

It was Wednesday May 18, 2011—just three days before the impending Rapture that would kick off the end of the world (as predicted by Harold Camping). In anticipation for that fateful moment, I made a list of five simple things I wanted to do before death on Saturday:

1. See one last show
2. Party with friends
3. Dance like crazy
4. Sing 'till my voice turns hoarse
5. Find a partner in crime to loot with

I figured what better band to go see right before the Apocalypse than The World/Inferno Friendship Society.

Over the last 15 years, this punk rock cabaret collective from Brooklyn, New York have gained an international cult-like following due to notoriously crazy performances, particularly at their annual Hallowmas celebration.

Their devoted fans—the Infernites—are known to dress up and congregate in mass numbers to sing along and mosh their asses off at World/Inferno shows. These people like to party, and (as the legend goes) the party doesn't stop until all the fancy outfits are shredded and doused in cheap wine and beer, everyone does the “claw”, and at least one acolyte begins to bleed profusely.

This rumour excited me. Right away I could scratch four things off my list: show, party, dance, sing. And from what I had heard, frontman Jack Terricloth will smash shit up and steal right along with you when the riots start. A partner in crime—that makes five. My list would be complete.

I called out to everyone I knew: "Come with me to see this show! It-is-going-to-be-epic." But there was no answer.

Distraught, I put on my usual concert garb: chucks, jeans, and a t-shirt. But out of respect for the band I later changed my mind and slipped into my best dress, put on makeup, wore heels, and hurried off to Club Lambi by myself. I prayed on the way that the Infernites would be there to celebrate our last nights on earth.

But, to quote the “Hollow Men” by T.S. Eliot, "This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper." There were about 30 living people at the venue that night, and maybe two or three ghosts of dead punk rockers. What happened, friends?

(Note: CJLO's own Matty Matt from Radio Fun sent a text later and joined me at the show!)

Even with poor attendance, it was pretty damn great to be there.

On tour to support their latest release, The Anarchy and the Ecstasy (what a fitting title for the Apocalypse!), the World/Inferno came to Montreal with seven band members, many of them new to the lineup. Performing that night were Mora Precarious (drums), Leslie Wacker (alto sax), Rebecca Schlappich (violin), Frank Morin (guitar), Matthew Landis (keyboard), Sandra Malak (bass), and of course Jack Terricloth (vocals, guitar).

Before taking the stage, Jack introduced himself to every attendee personally, and invited us to come toward the stage and see the band play. The true fans went right up front, and when the World/Inferno opened with “Tattoos Fade”, the tiny crowd went nuts. They danced so hard it made the floor bounce.

The show lasted about an hour, and mixed old and new songs. “I Am Sick Of People Being Sick Of My Shit” and “Canonize Philip K. Dick, OK” made the usually calm Canadians in the audience panic just a little, and old favourites like “Cats Are Not Lucky Creatures”, “Just the Best Party”, and “Only Anarchists Are Pretty” (the encore) left the one or two true Infernites in attendance very happy.

The stand-out track for me was the ballad "The Politics of Passing Out", due in part to the lyrics and music reminiscent of Billy Bragg's “A New England”, and the accompanying vocals of bassist Sandra Malak (her voice complimented Mr. Terricloth's so well).

The acoustics at the venue were solid, and minor technical difficulties (a temperamental mic stand, and a guitar mistakenly left unplugged at sound check) became part of the on-stage banter among the band.

No World/Inferno show would be complete without Terricloth's storytelling. He lamented the loss of his punk-rocker friends long since passed, and asked the crowd which dead-and-gone Canadian punk bands they knew. In response to The Nils, Jack told the tale about how some dude named Paul stole their van when The Nils toured the US. The band tried to find the elusive “Paul” and get their gear back. However, since Jack was less than helpful in giving clues of Paul's whereabouts, the search was in vain. Punk rock history, folks!

The event wasn't crazy, but it was intimate and nice. There were even a couple of guys in suits. Thankfully the Rapture never happened, and the World/Inferno Friendship Society can come back. Listen friends, this band has it all, they just need us.

Twee Time

My little radio show called "Twee Time" on CJLO.com 1690AM in Montreal has been nominated alongside the most talented DJs in the city for two Diego Awards this year!

The Yank Crime Award (Best Rock Show)

• Radio Fun
• Go Go Radio Magic Show
• Twee Time
• Beyond that Graveyard III
• Dirty Work

The Niche Award (Best Specialty Show)

• With Gay Abandon
• Beats From the East
• Marvelous Darkness
• Twee Time
• Eat My Country

Check out some of my podcasts on podomatic!

Wish me luck.

xoxo -Stephanie Dee

A little story about luck

Today's track is Your Love Is by Christine's Cat (Sarah 13)

This little flexi is the most expensive record I own. You would be disgusted if you knew how much I paid for it.

Note that the record is number 13 (baby). I won this on eBay a few years ago, and it became lost in the mail for a short time! It was returned to sender because Canadian Customs rejected the parcel for whatever asinine reason. Panic, panic! Thankfully, the fabulous auction seller was kind enough to send it again free of charge, and the record arrived at my door safely after about 2 months (and in perfect condition).

Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day!

All the best to you and yours.

Love always,

Claudia and Bunny from Twee Time