Q: Are He Not Peter Montreuil? A: He Are Indie!

Thanks for the responses to last week’s column. I realize that the column was a little disjointed, or more disjointed than usual, but it was a very frightening time for me, and I had to face some demons head on, so the structure of that column accurately reflected my mental state at the time.

This week, I’m going to look at some more music, mostly indie. One of the features of my timeline is that I frequently post about the great music that’s out there. Recently I did so, and a model building friend of mine from the U.S. posted that one of his favourite bands is “Silversun Pickups” and many people haven’t heard of them. “Hmm,’ I thought ‘must check this band out.” Coincidentally, the next morning I heard one of their songs on the radio at my volunteer gig! So here you go, Rory, “Latchkey Kids” from “Silversun Pickups”!

https://www.facebook.com/silversunpickups/videos/10158088050485287/

Despite their name, “The Dead South” hail from Regina, Saskatchewan. They play folk and bluegrass music. I had never heard of them before stumbling across the upcoming video on Facebook, but they apparently have quite a following worldwide. It’s pretty easy to see why, watching this well done video of a well written song. Here’s “In Hell I’ll Be In Good Company”.

https://www.facebook.com/musiccrowns/videos/10156074232033829/

In the last few months, I have also become aware of “PowerSolo”, from Denmark. This duo has a rather unique sound, and are kept quite busy in Europe, touring. They have spent most of the month of May in Spain. This video has a rather hypnotic quality to it, I find, and is really very clever. I hope you enjoy “Boom Babba Do Ba Dabba”. I do.

Last year at “indie week”, I got the opportunity to judge at several different venues. This next band, Unidentified Funk Object, was playing, and when I saw their name, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Turns out that they are a large band, with a horn section and a theremin! They had a great stage presence and were able to make me feel like I was in a 1950’s science experiment. Here’s their song “Pi”, and they pull it off!!

https://www.facebook.com/UnidentifiedFunkObject/videos/1683064141752645/

Coincidently, this next band was on the same bill as UFO. Andre Pettipas and the Giants are yet another great indie band from Nova Scotia. They have been touring recently but will be playing in the Port Hawkesbury area over the next little while. They are continuing to write and play and have some exciting news to share later this week.  This next video, a song called “Unity”, was written about the fires in Fort McMurray several years ago. Like so many of these great indie groups, they use their gift of music to bring us together, to help us heal.

https://www.facebook.com/andrepettipasandthegiants/videos/1649675815085687/

A few columns ago, I mentioned how someone can recommend a band out of nowhere. I was “messaging” an old plastic aircraft modelling buddy of mine about this column and he “said” that he knew of a band named “FM Berlin” and that I should check them out. Having never heard of them, I went to their excellent Facebook page, saw that a couple of my musician friends whom I respect “liked” them, and so I clicked on this video “At Least You’re Having Fun”. Now you’ve heard of them too. (You’re welcome.)

Let’s move a little closer to home for the rest of the column, and just see what’s out there to be seen. There is a very thriving “indie music” community in the Greater Toronto Area, rather like an extended family. The mutual support and mutual respect is wonderful to witness. One of the bands that I first became aware of was “Blackdog Ballroom”. Mike Stanfield is a great frontman, musician and person. He has always maintained his band at a high standard, they play every song like they are playing it in public for the first time! Note that this video, although missing a bit of the beginning of the song “Elusive”, is very rare due to the presence of a guest bassist, Dylan Stanfield. Clearly the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

https://www.facebook.com/blackdogballroomband/videos/1143978182323711/

“The Reed Effect” has been writing and recording as well, and here is a sample of their work from their most recent EP “A Strange Curiosity”. The song is “No Way Out Of Here.”. They are an very talented trio, who have an amazing repertoire of original music, but do great covers too. I remember being at “The Bovine Sex Club” (yes it is!) once, and they played “I Am The Walrus”. Did a good job too. I went to them after the set and told them that The Beatles never performed “I Am The Walrus” live. That was a fun night!!

Kudos to “Second Pass” for having both a “videos” category and a “music videos” category on their Facebook page. Again, in the preparation of this column, I went to several other band pages “on spec”, but was unable to find a usable video of one of their songs. One of the secrets of marketing is making it as easy as possible for your audience to access your product. Enjoy “Biting My Tongue”.

Here’s some recent work from “The Crooked”, and as tempting as it was to put up “Glove”a), I decided to go with “Tarot Cards”, instead. In a very short time, this band has built up a formidable reputation for “kick ass” rock. It’s always enjoyable to see one of their shows, their on stage chemistry has to be seen to be believed!

https://www.facebook.com/wethecrooked/videos/1560112970693433/

So what do we have here? You’ve seen, I hope, 10 videos from 10 different bands across a narrow band of the musical spectrum. They are all different, but all the same too, exhibiting energy and enthusiasm and a genuine desire to make our world a better place. Let’s keep supporting these indie musicians who are creating rather than simply regurgitating.

There is no doubt that this is a “Golden Age” for indie music! While I can’t find a “Golden Age” tune to reference, I can play those “Golden Vibes” for you. Here is a rare acoustic version of this great song from “James Blonde”.

https://www.facebook.com/JamesBlondeBand/videos/10157117811366102/

See you soon.

1. a) As I never miss the chance to say, I had a very small part in “Glove”, that excellent video.

=PJM=

A confirmed Cat person, Peter dabbled with being a water boy, a paper boy and an altar boy before finally settling on a career with the Canadian federal government.  Once, in his youth, he ate a Dutch  oven full of mashed potatoes to win a 5 cent bet with his beloved sister Mary’s boyfriend. (Of course he was much younger and a nickel went a lot farther!) He has retired to palatial “Chez Montreuil”, which he shares with his diabetic little buddy Reg the Cat. He is blessed to have his dear Lois in his life. He is not only a plastic aircraft modeller, but a proud “rivet counter”. Military aviation and live music are among other interests of his, and he tries to get out to as many shows as he can. He will be here for your enlightenment whenever the stars align. Profile photo courtesy of Pat Blythe, caricature courtesy of Peter Mossman.