Some days I feel like I'm surrounded by people whose sole pleasure in life is complaining about how much shit they have to put up with. They have to love bitching about how bad they have it considering how much time they spend doing that each day. Or maybe it's an addiction, a defense mechanism that hides just how little confidence they have in themselves. Lord knows I'm not the most optimistic person in the world, by cripes, enough with the bloody negativity already! Matt Bahen of The Schomberg Fair has [...]
Toronto's The Schomberg Fair have a very unique style that meshes dark themes with roots rock. The trio return with another small dose of that in the form of a new EP, Mercy , on November 8th. An evil American Gothic shroud covers most of the EP. The record kicks off with the frenzied banjo-plucking rollick of "Oh Mercy", a song that's part hoedown, part sinister sermon. The album is neatly bookended by "I'd Raise My Hand", which features an evil minister/congregation call-and-response that would make Nick [...]
Honestly, the incessant need to classify bands into a simple sound has probably hurt The Schomberg Fair more than almost any band out there. You can barely read a review without hearing someone slapping some sort of "speed gospel" or "death metal blues" sticker on the cover. Not only do the descriptions make no sense and probably turn casual listeners off, they overlook a lot of the creative elements the band brings to the table. Matt's ferocious banjo picks, Nate's fuzzy bass and backing vocals (that are so deep they make James [...]
Toronto-based dark roots rock trio The Schomberg Fair are getting set to release a new album. On November 8th though, they will tide fans over with the release of the 5-song Mercy EP. Check the band out in studio: Here's the track list for the EP: Oh Mercy Black Train Orphan Bones Mark of Cain I'd Raise My Hand The Schomberg Fair play a CD Release show at Sneaky Dee's in Toronto on [...]
So hear it is. The result of months of hard work from some of our favorite bands across this nation (and even a special cameo from one of our favorite American outfits). Basically, the idea was simple: Pay tribute to a Canadian legend on Canada Day. Oh, and get some free content for the blog of course. In all seriousness, Gordon Lightfoot has been making music for decades and his stories are passed from generation to generation. Unfortunately, when asked about the greatest Canadian songwriters, Gordon is often left off the list. [...]
These are clearly the best bands playing at NXNE this year and if anyone tells you otherwise, they are lying to you. The best ones are bolded. WEDNESDAY 15 JUN 2011 Pat Jordache 9 PM – Pat Jordache @ The Garrison <a href= http://awmusic.ca/1/mp3/Pat%20 Jordache%20-%20Get%20It.mp3("G et It -- I Know You're Going To") 10 PM – Wax Mannequin @ Bovine Sex Club ("Broken Friends") 11 PM – Red Mass @ Horseshoe ("Saturn") [...]
Roots Rockin' Gospel Magic . The four words subtly added to the top of a new tour flyer are a more accurate description of The Schomberg Fair than I could ever come up with on my own. Succinct and apt, those four words say it all. The band can make you sway, hoping for salvation or own the dance floor when they break into Apocalyptic speed riffs. The Fair leaked some new material and hot damn, even in demo form it may just split your wig. "Touched By Fire" seems huge [...]
  The Sadies @ Horseshoe Tavern: photo by Michael Ligon It seems that other than my solitary blog post last week , this year's blogging has been falling by the wayside. I did have a chance to wade through my photos from The Sadies New Year's Eve show finally. The show wasn't my first choice by any stretch, but having found myself going solo that evening I weighed my choices, narrowing them down to perhaps checking out the indie rock bill at the Tranzac or seeing The Sadies at [...]
Just over a year ago, I posted a cheesy US Magazine-styled list of the ten biggest rock stars in the city, and (relatively) surrounding area. It wasn't meant to be taken too seriously, since such a list would mean that I was excluding hundreds of other worthy contenders, since our city and (relatively) surrounding area is teeming with them. It was also kind of a spur of the moment thing that was initially intended to be sort of a one-off thing. But I've come to realize that people (especially rock stars) love to see themselves on lists. So [...]
![CD Review: Gospel, Schomberg Fair [Hi-Hat Records, 2009]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2174257_lg.jpg)
Toronto - Music is a like a huge evolutionary tree. One style can change and evolve into another, and elements of that style may split off and create entirely brand new branches of music. That isn't to say that any music that is "new" is necessarily "better". Just like evolution, the adaptive changes that occur allow it to better exist in its new environment. The successful adaptations survive and multiply, and the unsuccessful fade away. The one amazing thing about music that makes it markedly different from evolution is its ability to fuse completely different styles into [...]
I went to a life altering show last night, and I'm going to another one tonight, so I figured that I'd better get off of my round rump and review last week's excellent show at The Garrison before the backlog gets too ridiculous to handle. The promotional teaming of two of the city's finest, namely Dan Wolovick of TWM fame, and Tyler Wade of Zygiella fame, couldn't help but boast a lineup that would satisfy the need of every local music loving hipster in town. This was my first time checking out [...]
I hope that you're enjoying my deliberately dragged out and unabashedly self indulgent list of the top 50 albums of the decade , as selected by me; but I currently interrupt the countdown to bring to you this very special announcement and contest. There have been many exhilarating unions made in the past: Superman and Muhammad Ali ; Run DMC and Aerosmith , and Vodka and Red Bull come to mind, but none have had the universal impact that is sure to result from the joining of forces that is to take place [...]
Norman Wong Even though he coined it himself, I often wonder if Joel Gibb regrets encouraging the use of "gay church folk music" as a description for the music of The Hidden Cameras . Certainly they got a lot of mileage out of it in the band's earlier days, as it was both attention grabbing and accurate, but now, four albums in, it probably deserves to be retired. It's not that it's no longer descriptive - Gibb is still gay (one assumes), it's still music and it's still built on foundations of folk and church traditions [...]
Southern Ontario indie rockers Raccoon Wedding are set to play The Garrison in Toronto on November 28th along with banjo-plucking roots band The Schomberg Fair (album review). We have a pair of passes to give away to the show. You can enter by sending us a message via: Email Twitter Myspace Facebook For years Raccoon Wedding's Tom Ford has owned and operated the Ford Plant venue in Brantford,
Has any music loving Haligonian actually recovered from another amazing HPX? '09 brought in an embarrassment of National and International talent but the rocking just doesn't stop here in Canada's ocean playground. In the next 10 days, we have some absolutely stellar acts playing shows and the hill wouldn't be doing it's duty if we didn't talk about the bands still willing to make the extra 12-hour trek from Montreal. The Sunparlour Players are probably one of the best live acts in Canada. That statement is said so [...]
Welcome to my weekly roundup of inexpensive indie(ish) musical happenings in downtown Toronto, all for $10 or less. If I'm missing something you think I should list, or you have any comments, let me know. I star (*) shows that most interest me. Like this list? Join my Facebook group to get my weekly Toronto indie music listings. Subscribe to my weekly podcast (or download the episodes) here , or through iTunes . Or just listen to the latest [...]
CD Review: The Schomberg Fair - Gospel For many, the phrases "gospel" and "punk rock" should never be lumped together unless one is having a discussion about opposites. But one listen to the latest release by The Schomberg Fair , and you come to realize that there really isn't any other more fitting description than to classify these roots rockers as an unusual amalgam of dirty punk and speed gospel. Although this seems to be a new concept, if you do a little digging you'll see [...]
In classic herohill form, we go from a band that recorded in a church, to one that might make you want to burn the whole thing down or show up every Sunday to play for your eternal soul. The Schomberg Fair - a scorching three-piece now based out of TO – channels the emotion of the lost, the hurt, the sad, the damned and like the manic street preachers that populate Kensington Market, they know that before you can be saved you must lose everything you hold so dear. I know the battle between the devil [...]
Schomberg, ON isn't really known as a hotbed of indie rock. Tucked up along Aurora Sideroad, it evokes images of horseback riding and jumping schools rather than the clattery rock of trendy Queen West clubs. The aptly named Schomberg Fair are out to change that impression with their forthcoming album Gospel. It's true that Gospel is firmly rooted in the traditions of roots music. Banjo is
(Augh! I'm still shoring up the wordier part of this week's update - the last few days have been crazy - but I figured I could at least put up the week's picks. The full update will be up in a few hours, and the event calendar will be updated shortly after that. - Steve) Steve's Weekly Picks for Jan. 23rd - Jan. 30th, 2009: [...]
Quick Before It Melts
Snob's Music
Herohill
AWmusic
For the 'records'
It's Not The Band I Hate, It's Their Fans
The Panic Manual
Chromewaves
Narratives
Gracing the Stage
mp3: soko – i just want to make it new with you
Skrillex Uses Satanic and Homosexual Influence to Win Grammys
Music Alliance Pact – February 2012
A-Trak - "Round of Applause" / "Where My Money At" (MP3 Download)
Marilyn Manson - April/May 2012 US tour dates
