Shows!

This friday, we're opening a show at our beloved MUSIC SCENE. Check it out at http://www.themusicscene.ca/

We're really excited for this one, as we jam there every week and it'll be the first actual show we play there.

Also, I'm really excited to announce my picks for my Top 10 New Rock Records of 2007. The show goes to air next wednesday at 9pm on www.therock.fm however, if you're bored and want a cool show to add to your IPod etc, the link is here.

ENJOY!~

Cheers to you, cottage country!

Awwww man, how I wish I was right back there. What an amazing long weekend we had in Wasaga. That pic is literally 10 minutes after unpacking and having our first of many shots of Litchi. Wonderful stuff by the way. Our drive took about 3.5 hours as the snow was the worst I've EVER driven in. Thank God I wasn't actually behind the wheel, as Brendan is the man and kept his cool as we prayed out loud in his VW. We couldn't even see 4 feet in front of us at times, but slow and steady gets shitfaced, and we made it alive. The order of things this weekend doesn't matter because we really had no intentions of a schedule, or working order of songs etc. We just wanted to get some ideas to tape, and have a blast doing it. It was really great to not feel the pressure of getting actual full songs done in time. We just cranked up the guitars and let Craig drum away. We ended up pulling an all nighter right through until saturday evening, then slept a few winks and got back it. Sunday was quite messy and blurry at that, but we had so much fun. I love these dudes so much, and we truly have a unique relationship when it comes to this music thing. It's like we share the same brain at times. Kyle would come up with one harmony, then Brendan and Sean would hop all over it and a song would be near completion before you knew it. I just sat back and laughed for most of the weekend. I think I might have added a bass line here and there, but that's about it. I just wanted to have fun....mission accomplished.

This is from Kyle:

I've taken it upon myself to mixdown the 3 songs we got the most work done on. The mixes may not be the greatest because my ears along with everything else of mine are pretty much useless right now.

So here are the links to the songs:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/8avd8z

http://download327.mediafire.com/mzmpzhgxvz1g/drvypolxjpz/Song+%231+Unfinished.mp3

http://download327.mediafire.com/relebmofy2ng/drvypolxjpz/Song+231+Unfinished.mp3

Take a listen and enjoy, these recordings are just the beginning of what we're capable of boys. Until next time!Kyle

Hot Spot

I awoke to these images on my tv. Sometimes I wonder if someone upstairs is mocking me. Tonight we leave for the cottage to record some stuff for 3 days, and although this fire happened about 10 minutes away from our spot, I've been told we're just fine to head up. Just crazy timing I guess. I don't have much to report other than the fact that I've been looking forward to this for about a month. We always get serious tracking done, and with Brendan, Sean, Kyle and Craig, I know we'll return with at least 2 tracks done.

The weather is supposed to be just evil up north right now, so pray for me! If this is my last post ever, tell my family I love them, and that I went out rockin'! LOL. I'll be back monday with pictures, and hopefully a post with new songs.

A Picture Says...

Sometimes I'm sitting around the house, and I need to get out and just walk around. Usually this takes me to Chapters, where I grab a coffee and walk around looking at books, and hang out in the music section. Last week I bought my new copies of Magnet, Under The Radar and Harp. Well last night, I did just that and although I already have my monthly mags, I was so surprised to see the new Autumn deWilde book, titled Elliott Smith. I knew it was out, but just last week I was there and looked for it, and none were in stock. Yes, I bought it. Yes I read the entire thing in one sitting. I originally knew there was some writing in it, but the majority of the book is just big beautiful photos of Elliott. However, there are a ton of really hilaious stories told by those closest to him, including Beck, Chris Walla, Ben Gibbard, and people who actually recorded music with him. I sat on the couch for literally 2 hours and read it front to back, taking time to stare at each picture. Lots of them I had never even seen before, which had me in tears at times. It's truly a must have for any fan.
Check it out : http://www.chroniclebooks.com/site/catalog/excerpts.php?isbn=0811857999&store=books

Horses, Stables, and Things To Come....

There's my beautiful girl. Karlie has really shown me some amazing things in our 5 years together, but lately she's really gotten back into being around horses. This is something I've never been into, but because of her love of riding and taking care of her friends horses, I've really become a lover of these amazing creatures. On saturday we travelled to Lyndsay to peek at 2 mares that are apparently free to us if we're willing to take them on. Karlie has co workers who board and train them, so we might be able to actually own a horse! If not these, I will absolutely make it a priority to have at least one for her to take care of. She's so amazing with them. They truly love her back as she loves them. It nearly moves me to tears.

So weekend re-cap...Friday was Billy Blasko's birthday, so I went over and hung out with The Stables while they rehearsed, and had a few beers. I got a sneak peek of a brand new tune, and couldn't stop singing it all weekend. Their new record is going to be amazing. Saturday not only did we check out the OTHER stables, but I got to see my brother Dana. He is currently serving time in Lyndsay Correctional Facility for a possession charge. The whole story is too stupid and long to attempt to type, but he's been in since September and should be home for xmas, God willing. He looks great and has such an amazing attitude. I love him a lot and pray he'll be with us soon. Saturday night was Trish Robb's show at JP Fitzpatrick. I can't get over how talented my friends are. Sometimes I feel I'm not worthy, but seeing her and her band up there really made me proud. She will 100% be signed and out of here within a year or so. Sucks for us, but I truly think she will "make it."

On Sunday, I slept in until about 3pm, then got up and found out we had to cancel our rehearsal due to a death in our drummer's family. We support eachother and totally understand this stuff. Instead, Brendan, Sean and I went to Billy's and did some tracking for the disc. We stayed up until the wee hours, drinkin' and cranking the mixes of what will soon be our first actual piece of listenable music. We're all really excited. Billy and I were the last ones up and even tracked a music bed for a new song. I have no idea where it came from, but it's really creepy and 80's influenced. Also, last week when I was sick, I watched CONTROL and Superbad. The Ian Curtis film was horribly depressing, but I loved it. I'm weird like that. Superbad kind of lived up to it's name. A few funny parts but the fat kid says "fuck" way too much, and I can't help but think of George Michael from Arrested Development. What would Jason Bateman's character think of his son getting wasted and trying to bang chicks?

Friday we leave for the cottage. I cannot effing wait. This is my favorite time of the year...the snow falls, and people go away from places like Wasaga Beach. We head in, set up instruments and play for 3 straight days. Sometimes life's alright! Back tomorrow...longest post ever!

Snow (Hey Oh)

Snowfall warning forCity of Toronto continued ..10 to 20 centimetres of snow likely by Thursday night..A low pressure area over southern Illinois will bring the first winter storm of the season tonight and Thursday. While rain heavy at times is falling over most of southern Ontario there are signs that a change is imminent.An off duty Environment Canada meteorologist reported wet snow on highway 400 south of Barrie around 5.15 PM. This is the first sign that a changeover to snow is starting to occur.

Of Course I lifted that off of the Environment Canada Web Site. I just wanted to have it here as the first snow storm of the year is headed our way apparently. I'm giddy like a little kid when it first snows. I hate it after xmas, but from here until Dec. 25th, bring it on.

I'm going back to bed. Here's an angel in the snow!

Elliott Smith - Angel In The Snow

Uuuuuuuugh....

Hey dudes. I finally got that effing cold that everyone else has or had. Yep, I thought I was a tough guy and that I could just ignore it and do my regular party schedule this past weekend but it caught up with me and kicked me in the junk. I'm only on here because I hopped into the shower and cleaned up my act so I could host my New Rock @ 9 tonight. I'll have some updates later, but I'm also hosting the Morning After Show all week, which means I get up at 4am, then sleep all day. The past weekend was great, and the show at The Velvet Elvis was one of my fav shows thus far. Lots of people came out, and both The Idlers and The Discounts (surprise guests) were both great. I'll get some pics up soon enough. As for now, I'm going to fake it through this show and do my best to make it back to bed. Achoo.

Creating My Own Buzz...

Literally! Lol...preparing to mix another song right now at Billy's and thinking about how really fucking good some of these songs are starting to sound. We had a great jam last night and I'm looking forward to the show tomorrow. Hope you come out!

The Champion Heartache : The Call

Download Link : http://www.sendspace.com/file/hd1450

Friday Night's Alright....

I missed a post yesterday, but you all survived. Just a quick note that this friday night, we're opening for The Idlers who are on a national tour right now. We have a couple new songs ready to try out, and we've been idle ourselves for the last little while, so it'll be fun to play at The Elvis again. As far as the whole album thing goes, I was at Aaron's on monday and we're just about ready to send this thing away for mastering. I'm not going to say when, but when it's done, it's done, then we can move on and try out other fun things. Something I am looking forward to is our first cottage session of the year. This time we have a new cast of characters coming up to try making some noise in Wasaga, and hopefully returning with something to listen to. Each winter, I head up to Karlie's Grandfather's cottage because there's nobody there. We get there, set up and rock for basically 2 days straight. That's how this whole band started really, so it should be fun. Shitty thing is that The Stables won't be joining us, but we do have Joel, Kyle, Brendan, Craig and Sean heading up on Nov. 30th. Cannot wait. Anyhow, please come out and see us on friday. Should be a good night. We'll be on at ten.

Here's a demo of an old song I did about 5 years ago, just for fun.

Matt Holtby: You Make Me Smile

Link:http://www.sendspace.com/file/8fokeb

The Best Weekend EVER....

Wow. I'm almost worried about writing this post because there's so much to include, but I'll do my best. Friday night was the Band Of Horses show. I had so much to do at work and this was an early show, but my boss was cool enough to help me finish up my duties and hit the highway on time to catch the openers. The Drones kicked off at 6:30. They were truly wicked, and very punk inspired. Think My Bloody Valentine meets The Sex Pistols. I was glad to see them. At 7:30 The Horses hit the stage and began the show by tell us that everyone in the band was very sick. You couldn't tell, because Ben sounded the best I've ever heard them, and I've seen them 3 times now. After the show, 3 carloads of friends came back to Karlie's and we partied until about noon the next day. Sean, Kyle and I wrapped up that party by drinking coffee and baily's in the hotub like real weirdos. The neighbours must've loved us. Aw well, that was just an amazing night.

By the time I finally slept and woke up at 5pm, I was feeling pretty rough, but Brendan and I knew we had plans to see Caribou, and I didn't want to miss it. Thank God I went, because no word of a lie, it was the best show I've EVER been to. We arrived on time to catch Born Ruffians, who are a wicked Toronto act, but I had no idea what to expect for Caribou. We had enough time to grab a couple tall cans and get right up front, and that was the best spot to be at the Opera House that night. There was a DJ spinning on the stage before they came on, and he was cut off by the booming sound of 2 drummers at the front of the stage. Dan Snaith of Caribou doubles as a drummer and multi-instrumentlist too. It was the loudest start to a show yet. Move over Mogwai, because I now have a new favorite live act. I only knew about 4 songs, but it didn't matter. The light and video show that went along with the music had me in such a trance that I just started laughing. I can't understand how someone like me who loves music and concerts so much, has never seen this band live. Best show ever.

Ok, I'm done for now. Lot's to do, but tomorrow I'll post the interview with Dan, and some other fun stuff that's on the way!

Wanna know what I'm talking about? Check this link out...an entire performance in the Pink Room. Blow your mind much? http://youtube.com/watch?v=S13JQjBhH2c

Matt

On The Road With The Horses...

Well tonight is the big night. Shitty thing is that the Phoenix Concert Theatre turns into a disco at like 10pm, meaning the show starts at 7pm sharp. Regardless, I am ready to rock. We've got about 20 people heading to the show, and then heading back to Karlie's for a post show bender. I've linked a couple of cool interviews below, and a link to the band's road blog too. That's it for today as I have a shitload to do before I leave, but I'll be back monday with pictures and a review.

Blog Of Horses: http://bandofhorsestour.blogspot.com/

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/features/article/50199/southern-comfort-an-interview-with-band-of-horses-ben-bridwell/

http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2007-11-08/music_fivequestions.php

http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/entertainment/entertainment_item.asp?NewsID=437

Control

Nope, I haven't even seen this film yet, but today I found myself completely wrapped up in the life of Ian Curtis. I've watched the trailer a few times, and youtube'd a few clips of the band playing live, and re-discovered what I love about Joy Division. In the film, each actor actually learned their instrument and Sam Riley does a pretty decent job at portraying Curtis' barrotone brilliance. I have to drive into Toronto to see it, as it's just "cool" enough to come to the surrounding theatres. What a joke.

Anyhow, not much to report today. It's snowing as I type this, and I'm really excited about the weekend. Going to see a couple of concerts, having a party at Karlie's afterwards, and not working. Sounds just fine to me. Today I offer a Joy Division album.

Joy Division: CLOSER

Bloody Right!

Could it be? Another brand new My Bloody Valentine album next year? Apparently so! Reading pitchfork as I do about every hour, paid off for fans of the shoegaze hall of famers today. The follwing is a direct copy and paste from the site:

"[The new album is] going to be this 96/97 half-finished record finished, and then a compilation of stuff we did before that in 1993–94, and a little bit of new stuff."I pretty much know what the one that's going to come out this year is going to sound like because it's already pretty much three-quarters done already...it sounds like what we sounded like-- different but not radically different. People will go, 'Yeah, it sounds like My Bloody Valentine.'"

Rainy, Poopy, and Caribou-y...

Yeah, wow did it ever get cold quick! A real rainy, windy mess out there today, but I have some fun things to look forward to. Unfortunately I found out today that the Band Of Horses show on friday at The Phoenix starts at 7pm sharp! Insane, however my cool as a cucumber program director has allowed me to switch shifts on friday so I can still go. That would've sucked and HARD. The next night, Brendan and I are going to see Caribou. I'm excited because I just started listening to his new album called Andorra, and it's really great. So, from tonight until friday, I shall listen to the 4 other albums so I'm ready to rock! I'm also interviewing the lead singer Dan Snaith too. Should be cool.



Thanks to Merry Swankster for the tune:

Caribou - She's The One

The Zombie Is A DJ!!!!!

Wow. Today is monday and I can't help but feel kind of shitty after such an amazing weekend. Brendan's party was absolutley the best time I've had in years. Our band played at around 11:15 in the main floor of the house, and it was a lot of fun. The sound was shitty, and Joel had never played before, but we held it together for about 7 or 8 songs. Good times for the Heartache. Then the Stables set up and rocked it as usual for about an hour and a half. The crowd was so great and the whole party was positive. No fighting, no drama, just a lot of medication and smiles. My fav part of the night was the DJ's. Steve De Taeye is so rad. He always mixes up the good indie rock with some crazy shit I never know. He was spinning in between bands and kicked off the rest of the night. Brendan then took over and totally blew my mind. That was my fav part of the night because he introduced me to music I just never get to hear. It was truly magical. Karlie had left by the time the DJ's really started, but I just hung my head and closed my eyes and loved every beat. I got to take over for 40 mins or so...my playlist was more dancey rock with LCD, Radiohead, Animal Collective and other fun stuff, but man it was such a good night. We hung around the fire and laughed our asses off until about 1pm the next day. I made a complete fool of myself but didn't really intend to be in the spotlight. It just so happened that I get really giggly after drinking for that long, and I sort of lost my head...sorry to all those who were at the butt-end of my jokes. I love ya! Thanks to everyone who came out and rocked it. This was truly a fantastic party. Looking forward to next weekend as Band Of Horses are playing...that should be intresting!

Matt

TGIF

No clue who those old bags are, but I thought it was funny. Yep, today is friday and I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. Our guitar player Brendan is having a private party for 200 of his closest friends, and we're playing a set, then dancing until the sun comes up. I'm spinning a set too which I'm really excited for. I've set up a list of songs that should have at least 2 people doing the running man. That's right, the running man. Other than that, I'm just glad this week is over. It's been up and down, but I'm loving this whole no work on the weekend thing. Nothing else to report other than I won't be here until Monday. Some stuff to look forward to next week include The Band Of Horses concert on friday, and hopefully I'll get out to see Control too. Have a kickass weekend, and email me sometime at Matt@therock.fm.

Where does the time go?

Today is November 1st. Anyone else wondering what happened to the summer? Yes, I know we've been spoiled like crazy with the weather, but it's just the simple fact that the older you get, the faster time goes by. Last night, I hung out with my friend Shane, and handed out some candy to the trick or treaters, or as one 2 yr old would say..."tick or teet." Ah to be young and innocent again. I'm having a day today. Just a blah, going through the motions type of thursday. Tonight I do my thing at Jack's Fill'n Station, so if you're bored and wanna win some a free beer, come and play rock trivia and hang out.

Here's a little mix for you if you're feeling the blah's too....

Ben Gibbard - Indian Summer

Band Of Horses - Window Blues

Bright Eyes - Weather Reports

Two Hrs Traffic - Stuck For The Summer

Elliott Smith - Go By

Swan Lake - Are You Swimming In Her Pools

Wilco - What Light

Keene Bros - Death Of The Party

Download Link: http://www.sendspace.com/file/w08c72

Boo!

Happy Halloween everyone! This used to be the biggest day of the year for me as a kid. I used to know my costume by the end of August, but ironically I'm going to a party on Saturday and still don't know what I'll be. I wanted to be a big furry animal like a bear or something, and tried one suit on and started to sweat like a whore in church, so I think I'll just go with a wig and fake beard and go as a bum. I guess I won't have to do much will I? Brendan and I went to the rehearsal spot and made some noise until about 2 am last night. I've got some cool ideas and thanks to my loop pedals, I think we're going to get this new project up and running pretty soon. As for tonight, I've made a specifically spooky playlist on my ipod, and I'm going to light some candles, roll one up and scare myself silly. Also, I highly recommend listening to my New Rock @ 9 show tonight! I've made a really cool playlist, and there's a few treats in there for the witches in flight.

Also, do yourself a fav, and check out this blog. Made my day!

The Beat Goes On...

So as promised I came back! Wow two days in a row, and I'm pretty sure nobody has even been here, but as I stated, it helps time pass at work. Last night I went over to my buddy Pete's place, as we've been talking about jamming for a while now. I didn't think it would really go anywhere, but as it turns out, Pete has an old 4 track unit with an old Roland drum machine. Now anyone who knows me, understands that regardless of my capacity of playing music, I LOVE to record. He kind of talked down the fact that it's an older set up, but I got a huge kick out of seeing someone else similar tactics to track your own stuff. We sat and listened to a bunch of his old cassettes and I was totally blown away. I'm now inspired to go back to the older unit I have and try to look at this from a different angle. Thanks Pete. Look out Bob Pollard!

Someone else I've been listening to and learning from is one Bradford Cox. He's the front man of a band called Deerhunter and I'm pretty sure he's one of the most prolific artists in music today. Not only does his band actively play and release albums, but he's also doing another project called Atlas Sound. He's just wrapped up an album under that name, but if you click the Deerhunter link up there, it'll take you to his blog where he basically tracks and uploads a song each day. It's really out there, and it's trippy, loopy stuff, but I burned a disc with all of his songs from his blog, and I'm excited about doing something different again. My band The Champion Heartache is great, and I love writing and recording original pop rock songs, but I feel I need another outlet. Something that is completely different than what we're doing, and really fucked up. So I think I'm going to start playing with the sequencer I have on rent, and get started on a side project. I still don't know where to start, but tonight after work, I'm going to make my way over to our rehearsal space and make some noise. I need a medium upon which I'll actually record the music, but I like the thought of recording songs and uploading them here for you to listen to. Hell, maybe I'll bang out a quick EP and call it something weird. Who knows. Bottom line...I've been inspired!

On another note, I'm spinning a set at Brendan's party this saturday which is amazing. I haven't DJ'd in a while, so I'm hellbent on selecting some creepy, dancey music for Halloween. The Heartache is playing a set that night too, and we've just added some new dates for the next couple months too. We're playing on Nov.16th and Dec.21st at The Velvet Elvis.

Listen to this: (Atlas Sound...Thanks to www.stereogum.com

http://www.stereogum.com/mp3/Atlas%20Sound%20-%20Calvary%20Scars.mp3

Holy Shit...It's been a year!

No idea whyI decided to come back here. I've been reading blogs from different bands latley and thought I should get back to dog-fucking at work and write some pointless entries. So, in the past little while (or year) our band has re-shaped, re-formed, re-bounded and re-corded some new songs that will be available very soon. This stuff takes so long, but I'm thankful that I have such amazing people behind me to help make this possible. The Champion Heartache's first album has literally taken a year to record. We're now in the mixing phase and it will be mastered and ready to go for January. In the meantime, we've been jamming on sundays and we've got about 5 newer songs that will be on the next album. We're adding them to the live set gradually and even pounded out a new one last night too. I promised myself I was going to take some time off to gather my head and write some new stuff, but instead we're going to continue to jam, and play the occasional show. One being on November 16th at The Velvet Elvis. We're opening for St.John's reggae rockers "The Idlers." This upcoming saturday is Brendan's Halloween party. No clue on what I'll dress up as, but we're playing a set with our dear friend Joel Phair behind the kit, as Terry Toutant has another gig with one of his other bands. I think he's got 3 or 4 on the go now. Good for you dude. Oh, and it's his birthday tomorrow too, so sing the song for him. On friday I went to see Rogue Wave. I went alone to The Mod Club and I was selfishly excited to see the lack of attendence. Why? So I could walk to and from the stage with nothing to worry about. They're so amazing live, and Zach Rogue's voice is better live than on CD. Hell I bought a t-shirt! Next show is Nov. 9th as Band Of Horses are playing at The Phoenix, and the next night, Caribou are in town too. That'll be awesome too. Autumn always rocks for concerts in T.O

That's it for now. I like the picture above so much...Just a perfect image of my best buddies with my fav band's lead singer. I'll be back soon and won't take a year.

Songs to love like I do: (Thanks to Neile's Life....http://neileslife.blogspot.com/ )

http://neileslifestorage.com/Please_Purchase/03%20Chicago%20X%2012.mp3

http://neileslifestorage.com/Please_Purchase/02%20-%20publish%20my%20love.mp3