Trike is a duo, comprising of Stephen Taylor and Xania Keane. Stephen plays keyboard, digital guitar, trombone and sings. Xania plays fiddle, glockenspiel, keyboard, sings, dances (Irish/Quebecois style) and raps.

Trike's style is Synth-pop, New Wave, with various other elements. They are audience-interactive, teaching people dance moves they make up. Their songs are catchy pop songs, high energy and dancey. Onstage, there is a great deal of theatricality and performance.

Their influences are: Pulp, The Cure, Talking Heads, Devo, The Cars, Belle and Sebastian, old Public Enemy, Magnetic Fields and Joy Division.

There is a lot of humour in the music, and the songs are pretty bouncy/happy, although there are also a lot of bittersweet emotions in the lyrics.

Addicted to performing, Trike has played almost forty shows since the beginning of September in Vancouver and Victoria, BC, Canada.

Trike also won $20,000 on "The Gong Show" (a contest which was on radio and television) with their instructive-dance song, The Trikey, which enabled them to go on tour to Europe in the Spring of 2008.

Their album, "The New Album" was number six on the charts of Kootenay Coop radio for three months.

Dead Rock West

Tour Dates
9/02/08 – US Tour – Coming Soon!
9/14/08 – UK Tour – Coming Soon!
9/17-20/08 – Americana Music Festival – Nashville, TN
9/25/08 – Germany Tour – Coming Soon!

**Stay tuned for more tour updates to be announced soon…

The best music tends to hit a listener from seemingly out of nowhere, fully formed and ready to infiltrate the psyche. Of course even the newest discovery has paid their dues somewhere, which means there are often real treasures right under our very noses. So it is with Dead Rock West.

With a name like Dead Rock West, you would be correct in assuming there are occasional country and folk influences, but really, that’s just skimming the surface of the bands capabilities which span Country Music, Americana, and Roots Rock sounds to give you that music that keeps you dancing and singing along. Dashes of garage, power pop jangle, and rock n roll populate the set list, played with passion to match the tight song craft and perfectly blended vocal harmonies provided by the band’s founders, Cindy Wasserman and Frank Drennen. Their voices are a seamless mix that adds melody to already impressive hooks, like icing on an already pretty tasty cake.

Dead Rock West the group is really a culmination of years of work in Southern California nightspots. Drennen spent time playing the acoustic clubs in San Diego, teaming up in with former Alarm guitarist Dave Sharp and forming pop group Loam shortly thereafter. They would go on to release two albums in the U.S. and Spain, and win a San Diego Music Award in the process for their song “Telephone” - later recast by Dead Rock West as an amphetamine fueled Byrds flavored rock number.

For her part, Wasserman is no stranger to either stage or studio. Most recently she has toured and recorded with Grant Lee Phillips, John Doe, and Mark Olson. In fact, all the members have extensive touring backgrounds. Bassist David J.Carpenter has toured and recorded with Toni Childs as well as John Doe and Phillips. Drummer Bryan Head does double duty with his band Abandoned Pools, and has toured with Shelby Lynne. Most impressively, pianist Phil Parlapiano was previously in Geffen Records act The Brothers Figaro and has performed with Grant Lee Buffalo, Tracy Chapman, Lucinda Williams, Rod Stewart and Social Distortion, amongst many others.

All that experience is used to great effect on Dead Rock West’s debut album on the Populuxe label, Honey & Salt. Recorded at Grandmas Warehouse in Echo Park, the disc was recorded in tribute to older recording methods using a 2" tape, 24 tracks, and no click tracks or pitch correction machines. In addition to the members of Dead Rock West, the genesis of the album involves a few other key players. The Section Quartet (Sam Phillips, etc.) provide strings and pedal steel player Greg Leisz also contributes, with the album mixed by Grammy winner Richard Dodd (Tom Petty, George Harrison, Steve Earle, Traveling Wilburys etc.).

“Basically I contacted Richard Dodd via his web site,” Drennen recalls. “I told him about ourselves, that we were recording to tape and I asked if he ever mixed any one who was not rich or famous. To my surprise Dodd responded saying he was interested in hearing our works in progress. Nervously, I sent him the songs. We weren’t even finished overdubbing at this point. After a couple of long phone conversations, I was convinced that this man was in love with music and wanted to be a part of projects he can be proud to put his name on. Needless to say we ended up in Nashville and spent six wonderful days hearing our songs come alive and listening to his stories.”

The end result are the Honey & Salt tracks, as catchy and varied a collection of songs as you’re likely to come across. Whether it’s Wasserman or Drennen taking the lead, Dead Rock West’s way with a melody cannot be denied.

www.deadrockwest.com
www.myspace.com/deadrockwest

Tim and Dave , close childhood friends, grew up in Victoria and then moved to Vancouver to pursue music. To make ends meet we began to work in the film industry as lighting technicians. I also picked up some minor acting roles.We got to work with the likes of Robin Williams, Robert de Niro, Al Pacino, and even my favorites Ringo Starr and Jack Nicholson. During this time I gained the experience of lighting rock videos (one of which went to number one on Much Music). Anyway, because of this we were able to buy recording gear and teach ourselves the art of recording music. In the process of recording we were robbed of most of our recording equipment. We worked to replace the gear and eventually produced this C D, Never Leave it Too Late, by Mojo Filter. Can you dig it?


1 Sparks in the Ashes (modern blues rock with some groovy tempo changes at the end)


2 Sunset Blvd (LA Rock)


3 Remember That Girl (Rock n Roll)


4 Sleepless Nights (Fast Rocker)


5 News of the Day (Heavy re-write interpretation of a "Day in the Life", by the Beatles


6 How Can Love Be Wrong (Garage rock punk)


7 If Not For You (funky clean guitars with dual vocal harmony)


8 Do You Feel Like Talking (funk rock)


9 You're On Drugs (rockin boppin comedy number with sax)


10 Too Much (Clean and jazzy but it still rocks)


11 War Song (I want You) (Heavy war rock with a nice rippin guitar solo at the end)


12 The Universe (Ballad with a big ending)

We now have written over 100 songs. a lot of our new material is even more centered on the vocals and harmonies. We are currently producing a video for Sunset Blvd. We started this while in Los Angeles, shooting scenes along Sunset Boulevard. Completing the principal photography in Vancouver on 35 mm film. We are now collecting our nickels to develop the film and edit the video.

Thanks for listening, Tim Heller (Vocals and Guitar)
Dave Innes (Vocals and Bass)
These are some of the influences filtered through the
MojoFilter
Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Black Sabbath, Sly Stone, Led Zeppelin, Iggy Pop, Ramones, Talking Heads, Cars, Devo, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Alex Harvey, STP, CCR, Ray Charles,, Marilyn Manson, Weezer and Britney Spears (just kidding).

From the land of sunshine, in between the beaches, it’s Subsonic Sounds run by Justin Vincent. Always a perfectionist, every little detail regarding Subsonic Sounds is handled by Justin himself, right down to the Biography writing! His genius never fails to amaze as each individual note of the track falls through the speakers like a thousand emotional raindrops pouring into the listeners ears at once. Haha, in most of my songs I actually am usually talking about cars, strippers, money, girls, speeding, not working and going to the beach, herbs, doing doughnuts in someone else's exotic cars, politics, girls, any other stuff I feel like talking about, and girls, and strippers too. People like me! They like my music too! I am not pretending to be anything I am not. I did not have a hard youth, and that was nice. I haven’t had to take a bus ever really. My electric has only been shut off a few times…..haha, Same with my cable too. I don’t care about anybody’s class or color, or what you have or don’t have. I help out who I can and hope for help from those who can help me. I believe that music is just an expression of art and any painter can paint any picture that he or she wishes.

I guess as far as a biography goes, I lived in MA until I was 22 and then relocated to Florida in 2003 when I had decided I needed to stop suffering through the grey dreary days MA had so often. I graduated high school in 2000 and decided not to go to college. I do not regret this decision as of yet, I am doing just fine without a “higher education”. I grew up as a "skater" and a "snowboarder". I then converted to a "speed freak" -the automotive kind, not the twitchy, shakey kind. I like cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, helicopters, planes, jet skis, and hovercrafts. I also enjoy real estate and currently have my Florida Real Estate License (to “fall back” on, even though I am never falling back). I have played drums and guitar for about 15 years or so now. Now, in Florida, I have a home studio complete with a vocal booth. I run Reason for the bulk of my sequencing and Pro Tools for vocals and final mixdown. The music I make is primarily hip hop based but influences from all over hopefully will be obvious to all. I am capable of creating music from any genre. Subsonic Sounds is basically anything that I produce or projects that I have coordinated and produced. I guess that’s it for now. -jvince

11 new originals from Heidi Vincent, a new indie project in the alternative pop vein. Happy Now is the anticipated debut release. It's the result of my life experiences, my love of writing and singing. It’s the result of 8 months of rehearsing and recording. It’s a result of the incredible and talented musicians in Vancouver that have indulged my vision and have become good friends in the process. We all came from different backgrounds, new wave, reggae, pop, punk even metal and this is what helped give the songs a flush feel and a positive result.

There was only one way to record this album and that was to just do it. No talking, no second guessing and no re-visiting old material. The goal was to grow, experiment and put it down on tape, well ok, the drums were on tape and the rest was digital. We had already completed the pre-production with a month of jamming out the tunes at the Rockspace and by the time we got to the studio it all fell into place.

Drums and Bass were recorded at John McLean’s studio The Factory (Marilyn Manson, Motley Crew, Billy Talent, Bon Jovi) in Vancouver, BC on the Neve 8048 62. I wanted to capture the warmth of tape for this part of the album, and we stayed as long as I could afford it. A lot of positive energy was generated in those sessions, when it came time to lay down the guitars we were more than excited. Lab Monkey Studio’s in Vancouver, just off Commercial Drive is owned and operated by the definitively venerable, Shawn Cole. And, although the studio is a beat up, slightly musty and hard to find, it was a significantly positive and a creative womb to us.

This is where the album was fleshed out, through the fall and over the dark winter months we moved along in a natural progression. Guitars, overdubs, keys, vocals, harmonies, all the extras, tweaking everything along the way and even adding crazy things like horn section in few songs. You just find what it needs as you go along. Finishing co-incidentally as the spring arrived, a brand new year and brand new opportunities.

I had recorded an album before, had my songs played on radio internationally. I’d showcased on television. I’d played live and supported bands such as Morning Maker, The Winks, Bocephus King, Craig Jacks, Simone Pope, Deluxe and had headlined shows at some of the best Vancouver venues. I’d done quite a bit for someone active for a mere 6 years. But, never with a full album that I was excited about or had even been able to get printed. That time is here with Happy Now.

I love music. I love expressing myself through music. These songs are more sophisticated, they are the dirty-pretty sound that I have searched for, the ones rattling around in my empty head for a couple of years. Girly, defiant, murderous, tongue in cheek, the album articulates every emotion of my love and life.

•  I <3 Vincent
•  Powerful Pop
•  Sing along with this one
•  More!
•  This is really good!

Fred Eaglesmith
Fred was born, as he sings in Indian Motorcycles, "in the springtime of the '57 Chevy." Growing up on a series of farms in southern Ontario, Eaglesmith recalls spending his childhood in two places: working on the farm, or going to church.

He started writing and playing music, influenced by Elvis and the sounds of roots music drifting into Ontario from far-away radio stations. By age sixteen, Eaglesmith had left home, hopped freight trains out west and made his way back east to the farms of Ontario.

His songs are populated with people he has been and has known: tried-but-true blue-collar guys, tired cowboys, young boys in love, bare-knuckled farmers, heartbreakingly good women, beautifully bad women, lonesome good guys, bravura bad guys and Friday-night criminals. Say Eaglesmith, "I think the bottom of the barrel is where the answers are." In Eaglesmith's sure hands, a song about a dreamless small-town snowplow driver is a song about you.

Eaglesmith's songs have been covered by a steadily growing list of artists: The Cowboy Junkies, Chris Knight, Dar Williams, Kasey Chambers, among others, and James King. Film director Martin Scorsese has used his songs, as have others including James Caan in his movie "Viva Los Nowhere." Fred has also had feature roles in several film productions.

Eaglesmith won The Juno Award for Best Roots and Traditional Album - Solo, a winner of the Canadian Independent Music Award and was a finalist in the 2006 International Songwriting Competition for his song, "Alcohol and Pills." Two tribute albums of Eaglesmith's work have been recorded, and Fred and regularly scores on critics' top ten lists on both sides of the border, in Europe and in Australia, and on Americana charts.

Whether you are a "Fredhead," or more of a fan of 50 Cent, if you enjoy music at all (and a good laugh), Fred Eaglesmith is not to be missed.
- The Courier Online
Since first hitting the road in 1996, Fred Eaglesmith and his amazingly versatile band have received critical acclaim from almost every major and minor newspaper in Canada and the US. Eaglesmith is also accompanied by one of the most devoted fan bases since The Grateful Dead. "Fredheads" faithfully trek thousands of miles to participate in one of Fred's fests, and to hear the outstanding alt-country and roots artists who share bills with Eaglesmith.

A Fred Eaglesmith show features a mix of passionate, funny and moving music, ridiculously funny comedy, honest tears and poignant observations all at once. Eaglesmith's commentary on affairs -- current ones as well as those of the heart -- is hilarious, uproarious, and provocative, as are his plainspoken zen observations. As one reviewer said, "It takes a jaded soul to leave a Fred Eaglesmith show unaffected."

•  Now this is banter!
•  Memorable. Catchy. Sad.
•  Carmelita painful and angst ridden
•  There really are songs about...
•  Sometimes you wanna shoot somethin