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!

 

World's worst blogger

Well, I guess I should accept the title. I'm sure there's scads worse out there. But nevertheless, I hang my head in moderate shame for the dearth of posting.

We've been busy!

We have, actually. Charge of the Light Brigade's full-length album The Defiant Ones is out now, and it's been getting some great reviews. If you haven't seen 'em, here's a few:

Alex Young, Lithium Magazine - "The songs on 'The Defiant Ones' are held together with heartbroken melodies wrapped up in Sneyd’s ravaged vocals that will leave speechless anyone searching for Canada’s next indie rock sensation."

T.O. Snob's Music - "A solid, no excuses rock record."

We're still even picking up reviews for our debut EP:

Trick w/a Knife - "Take me out a razor blade: Charge of the Light Brigade kills it."

We had a great release gig for The Defiant Ones at Mitzi's Sister, playing with our most populous incarnation yet. I hit the stage with Marc on keys, Jason on bass, Owen on drums and two great horn-players, Leland Whitty on sax and Martin Matuszczak on trumpet. The sound was massive. Here's a live video of the title track (the sound is rough, distorted to fuck, but you get the idea.):





Having the lot of us up there giving our all felt sooo good. Got a great response and we can't wait to get out and put the magic on display some more. If you missed Mitzi's, our next gig is at C'est What in Toronto on March 23rd. We'll be back to a leaner band, but it's still gonna be ass-spankin' awesome.

We've got a bonafide music video coming, too, for "Charge!!" That's just a few days away, and it's shaping up to be a fun little slab of in-your-face rockness. Should have a revamped web-site shortly as well.

So there's been no laurel-resting 'round here, leastways no-how. And I'll have more to report to you lusty brigadoons, well before another season has passed by. That's a promise.