About: trish

Caveboy is a three piece all female band out of Montreal. Michelle Bensimon (Lead Vocals, Guitar, Synth), Isabelle Banos (Synth, Bass, Backing Vocals) and Lana Cooney (Drums, Backing Vocals) have just finished up a tour with Rah Rah and Dear Rouge.  After blowing away our founder, Hendrik, in Kingston we knew we had to find out more about this band.

This past weekend Hanson returned to Toronto with their Roots & Rock ‘N’ Roll tour. Ten cities, two nights each, the #RNRTour is giving Hanson fans a look at the music that influenced the band as well a large helping of Hanson’s back catalog. If you’re a fan, you’d know they’ve released 10 albums since 1995 and that they’ve been touring since 1998. Saturday night they brought along Paul McDonald to open the covers show.

McDonald, ex-American Idol contestant (he finished 8th) hit the stage at 7:00pm with his acoustic guitar and immediately won the crowd over. With a unique, recongnizable voice, Paul sang some heartbreaking lyrics, smiling at the crowd between songs and engaging in banter. “This is the saddest song I’ve ever written” he smiles, looks down and begins to play.

Thanks Riot Fest, you were spectacular!

Babes in Toylands
The Airborne Toxic Event Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls The Dying ArtsBleachers Rancid Wu-Tang Clan Weezer

Thrice

Courage My LoveAll Time Low

Motörhead
Weezer – shot from the crowd – we will be in the pit tonight!Alexis on Fire

ALEXISONFIRE

One of the few reunion shows, makes me feel
pretty lucky, although I may have heard a rumour there could be some more shows
added.

Motörhead

Oh Lemmy, what can I say! Their mix of
rock, punk and heavy metal intensity is just what I’m looking for.

Weezer x2

I’m just going to say it, I’ve never seen Weezer live. Thank you RiotFest for letting me get in a two for one. Day 1 – Pinkerton, Day 2 – Blue. I can hardly wait!

The Airborne Toxic Event

One of my all time favourites, super happy they’re on the bill and any time I can see these fantasic musicians play, I’m in.

Wu Tang Clan

What??? Yes, I can’t believe I’m going to get to shoot these guys. They’ve got a new album, “A Better Tomorrow” dropping December 2nd and I’m pretty sure we’ll get to hear some of it on Sunday.

Rancid

They’re playing Out Come The Wolves, only my favourite album. When did this become a thing? I’m glad it is.

Andrew W.K.

This is another “I can’t believe I get to shoot this” moment. Not only does he party hard, he’s so smart!

Thrice

A reunion I’m thrilled about.

Die Mannequin

Love, love, love. So glad they’re on the bill.

Against Me

Insert emotional attachment here. Lots of history with this band. Looking forward to new material.

Gwar

CAN NOT WAIT TO SEE THIS BAND! Masters of the stage show this should be fantastic.

The Dirty Nil

I first saw these guys at Canadian Music Week and they blew me away. Great energy, they’re localish, from Hamilton and they deserve to be there.

Stuck on Planet Earth

They were on the same bill as The Dirty Nil at CMW and well worth your time at Riot Fest.

Tasha the Amazon

And I’ve been told I absolutely have to check out Tasha the Amazon doing zero research and going into it open.

I’m going to stop but there are so many more go check out the schedule and if you haven’t bought a ticket yet, what are you waiting for?

To be honest, this lineup is problematic in that, it’s impossible as one human being to see everyone you’d like to see. A pretty awesome problem to have.

Did I miss your favourite? Let us know who you think we should add to our list!

One of my favourite perks of writing for a music blog is the opportunity to attend shows like this one. The Rock’n’ Horse Saloon is a small, up close and intimate environment nestled in Toronto’s entertainment district. It was the perfect spot for Wes Mack‘s Edge of the Storm CD Release Party.

Let me start by saying, it was a hot one Sunday night at the CNE! With temps hitting the 30’s you might expect the bands to take it easy. Not so! Cold Creek County came out and gave it their all getting the crowd “warmed” up for Dallas Smith.

Autumn Hill

It may seem like an unlikely pairing, Autumn Hill with Rick Springfield but it worked. I wouldn’t necessarily expect these two audiences to cross over but it didn’t really seem like anyone left when Autumn Hill finished their set. And for me, it was a fantastic pairing. Thanks to the person at the CNE who’s responsible for this lineup!

Cast in Cadence is a solo project which morphed into a touring band. Originally just Ryan MacIntyre in Toronto the now four piece call Ottawa home. We had a chance to chat with the band before their Hope Volley Ball Show where they opened for Sam Roberts. HOPE is committed to raising money for local Ottawa charities and over the years has donated more than 3.5 million dollars to over 110 charities. HOPE,  “Helping Other People Everywhere”. Thanks to Sean Sisk for shooting this one for me!

SC: How’d the Hope Volleyball show come together?

CIC: The Hope show is one we’ve wanted to play for years, as does any local Ottawa band. Sunshine, beer and jams with over 20,000 people….who wouldn’t want to play it!? However, the organizers have kept the opening slots available only for local bands who have taken a winning place in radio station, Live 885’s “Big Money Shot” (a battle of the bands). We were fortunate to take second place this year along side our friends Lemon Cash and the Lionyls.

SC: Can you tell me about the first show you played together?

CIC: So Cast In Cadence actually started as a solo project by myself (Ryan MacIntyre) in which I was writing and recording pretty well everything myself in the studio. Our latest album “Vocation” was my second release and I decided I no longer wanted to be a “one man wolf pack” nor did I want to be perceived as a solo project. So I searched Ottawa and surrounding cities for solid musicians who have similar tastes in music and want to do this seriously. I found the guys (Nick Marson – drums, Skyler Radmore – bass/vocals, Adam Traversy – lead guitar/vocals) just before sending the album off for post production and just in time to throw a show together have group pics taken for the album. Our first gig was at Zaphods (in june of 2014). I think we rehearsed maybe twice before that show but the boys killed it anyways and I remember having a smile the entire set. I hadn’t had that much on stage in a long while.

SC: Last show you attended as a fan?

CIC: Well technically the very last show I attended as a fan would have been at Hope watching Sam Roberts (whom we had the chance to sit down and have a beer with coolest dude in the biz!). Before that would have been a ton of my all time fav bands at Montebello’s “Rock Fest” last Month in June. I caught Sublime with Rome, Deftones, Offspring, Rancid, Mad Caddies, The Pixies and a ton of other bands I can’t remember for reasons we’ll leave unspoken. It was an amazing weekend and I highly recommend checking out this fest to any rock fan who hasn’t been yet. Take a nap before you go though, you’ll need it! 😉

SC: Where did you record Vocation?

CIC: All of Vocation was tracked at Drive Studios in Toronto with Flatliners’ producer/former manager, Steve Rizun except for “Coming Down” recorded here in Ottawa @ Pebble Studio (mainly because I wanted real people to track the violin/cello part vs. using synth) with engineer extraordinaire Mike Bond and “Slacker” which was recorded at The Armoury Studio in Vancouver in 2012 with engineer Paul Dutil as a sort of spontaneous/last minute recording session on my drive to Los Angeles.

SC: This started as a solo project, how did working with a band change the writing process?

CIC: Immensely! Normally I’m just chill’n out alone in a quiet room with an acoustic guitar and whatever I can scribble lyrics onto (if my lyric book isn’t on hand). Ill come up with a few ideas and the song is written. With these guys there are ideas musically I never would have conjured on my own. Of course there are times when collaborating where we’ll reach a disagreement on a certain part or idea but through this process we always come out with a final product better than any of us would have created otherwise. This has happened for songs like “Out The Door”, our latest single “On Your Way” and a brand new song not yet recorded “A Million Miles” which was pretty well written in an hour and started with Sky and Adam repeating a simple/cool little riff on their guitars.

SC: Did the 88.5 contest change the opportunities available to the band?

CIC: Absolutely. For one we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do this show with Sam Roberts, or even this interview for that matter. Its given us the clout required to say we’re not just a hobby garage band, we’re serious about this and we’re writing songs which we believe rock fans want to hear and are now slowly being able to thanks to Live and other stations now spinning us. Plus, it’s pretty rad to turn on your car and hear yourself on the radio.

SC: When are you coming back to play Toronto?

CIC: Well considering our guitarist just moved there (and is making the commute for rehearsals) sooner than later is my guess. 😉 We’re in talks with the guys at The Horseshoe and will hopefully be lining something up before the summer’s out. I’ve seen many shows there, love that bar!

SC: And I have to ask… what’s the origin of the band name.

CIC: Unfortunately there’s no awe-inspiring story behind the meaning of the name “Cast In Cadence”. Quite simply, I always loved the name Cadence and was originally going with that until I searched it on Youtube and Myspace and realised how many other artist were under this alias. So I wanted to find a name no one on the planet had ever used before. Something completely original. I then came up with “In Cadence” but still found other musicians using this. It was in Beijing China 2010, I was playing a festival with a band I was drumming for. I was showing them and fellow bands from the festival the mixes of the first CIC album “Serotonin” and telling them about my quest for originality name dilemma over a few drinks in a hotel room. Somewhere in the mix of Chinese beer and rusty trombone jokes (delivered by the good fellas in an amazing Swedish punk band, Los Polados, check them out!) I blurted out “Cast” In Cadence and we all loved it. I made a Facebook page the very next day, and we all know when you make anything Facebook official now a days it’s a done deal. So here we are, Cast In Cadence. 😉

Thanks to Ryan for talking with us and I’m hoping I get a chance to see them live myself, soon.

The Fifth | Birds of Bellwoods | EP Release

From the first note, Birds of Bellwoods drew me in to their new EP, The Fifth. Starting out simply and building from there, the addition of strings to the sound is perfection.

Track one, Sky got the most play. The pace builds and by the time they get to the chorus, “the youth I used to know”, the intensity is off the scale. Layered with harmonies and intensity. The lyrics seem to tell a story of loss, denial and acceptance.

Come Home showcases the four part harmonies and the softer side of love. Mixing high and low with strings and bass, there’s a strength in the sound that makes me wish there was more, and that I was there when they wrote it.

The Heavy bass beat and fast lyrics in Roll Your Stone, has an old fashioned feel to it, and yet it has a modern lyrical flow, it’s brilliant.

By far the darkest track, in my opinion, is Grey Ghosts. “Set my bed on fire today. Whiskey makes the trouble fade.” against the sweet sounding harmonies, it gives me goosebumps for the full 5 minutes and 6 seconds.

The title track, The Fifth, comes last with it’s tempo changes, gives us a look at the heart from the inside out, admittedly not always a pretty place.

Over all, the songwriting is smart and sharp. The sound is not purely indie folk, the flow of the lyrics and beat, at times, is rap reminiscent. Honestly, I think everyone should listen to it. Each track is bringing its best to the table. I can’t pick a favourite.

These guys are going places. Birds of Bellwoods are Stephen Joffe (Lead Vocals/Mandolin), Chris Blades (Vocals/Banjo), Kintaro Akiyama (Vocals/Standup Bass), Adrian Morningstar (Vocals/Guitar).

Watch for them at Jasper Folk Music Festival, TURF, The Horseshoe Tavern and Indie Week in Toronto.

Album Available On – iTunes – Spotify – Rdio – Bandcamp – Soundcloud– And More