Thursday, September 1, 2011

Once more into the breach...


Been an interesting summer with some pretty cool gigs. Amongst other shows, Charge of the Light Brigade played a boat, and a garage, neither of which I can say I've ever done before. Photos will be up in the next few days. They were both pretty damn fun. Being out in the middle of Lake Ontario rockin' it is a wild experience, and the garage show was something I'd never done back in my punk-rock high-school band days, so it was high time we got that off the ground. Played to a pile of people wandering by on their way to the Ex on a gorgeous sunny afternoon. Good times.

Right now's pretty sweet, too. Charge is in rotation on CBC Radio 3, and we've picked up some great coverage and play this summer:

- Lithium Magazine called the band "Canada's next indie rock sensation"
- T.O. Snob picked The Defiant Ones for his best albums of the year so far
- ExploreMusic.com picked "Young Love" as a featured track
- InsideToronto published a long interview with the band
- An eclectic playlist as chosen by us appeared at TheArtistMixTapes.com

We've got a great show coming up with Clockwise at Mitzi's Sister on Thursday, September 15th. I'm teaching myself keyboards leading up to that gig, so believe me, this one's gonna be a treat. Or completely insane. Probably both. I've dabbled with keys a little over the years, but never tried to seriously incorporate them myself into performing. Our producer Marc Koecher is such a damned good keyboardist, what with the classical training and all, that it seemed silly to even try. But he's a busy man, and keys-types are a rare commodity out there these days. So what's a singer-guitar-slinger to do but add one more weapon to the arsenal? Mastering the art of switch-hitting between guitar and keys is the most challenging part, even more than singing with keys actually. But it's loads of fun, too, and opening up some new avenues for our songs. Can't wait to break this stuff out for real. Cya there!