Moneen/Sparta 20th Anniversary Shows w/ Chastity Show Review - November 7th, 2023 (Winnipeg, MB @ The Park Theatre)

 

Photo courtesy of Riley Taylor/@larvalungs/www.moneenlovesyou.com

Brampton's own Moneen took on Winnipeg for the first time since 2009 with a stellar support lineup: New Mexico's Sparta (who were celebrating 20 years of their debut, Wiretap Scars), and Chastity from Whitby, Ontario. This is a Dine Alone Records fans' wet dream.

Moneen are out on tour performing 'Are We Really Happy With Who Are Right Now?' in it's entirety for it's 20th anniversary, and a handful of fan favorites from Red Tree and The Theory of Harmonial Value (which just appeared on streaming for fans to enjoy, alongside their debut EP 'Smaller Chairs...')

 Canada's emo-grunge prince Chastity went on at 7:30, and performed a great 30 minute set. I have unfortunately missed every time Brandon has came here but I will not make that mistake again, as I've fallen in love with his music over the course of the year; it was a welcome surprise to see Chastity announced as support on this tour. Performing a selection of his well known songs which include 'Sun Poisoning' and 'When You Go Home I Withdrawal', as well as a handful of early songs such as 'Manning Hill'. In talking with him and his current touring bassist (who performs dream pop music under the name 'ellis'), they mentioned that they will be coming back in the spring to perform a longer set, please pay attention to that!

After that was Sparta, who performed the entirety of Wiretap Scars from 2002. Sparta's Jim Ward was one of the co-founders of At The Drive-In, and appeared on 3 of their albums until they called it quits in 2001. Jim co-founded Sparta soon after with other former members of ATDI (with Cedric and Omar forming The Mars Volta), and rejoined ATDI for a reunion in 2012, leaving permanently after this. Sparta's current lineup consists of Ward on guitar and vocals, Matt Miller on bass and vocals, and Neil Hennessy (of Joyce Manor/Lawrence Arms/The Falcon...) on drums. Jim is one of my guitar heroes, so seeing their energy, with how they crafted their ambient guitar transitions in between songs and more, was fascinating to watch. It was nearly an hour of watching a great group of people play great music, no stopping and talking.

The headliner was of course, Moneen. They played the entirety of Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now? along with an encore that included The Passing of America, Locke and Tonight, I'm Gone. Kenny Bridges, Chris Hughes and Erik Hughes stage presence remains energetic as it was in the old Moneen music videos for "Are We Really Happy..." and "Start Angry", and Peter Krpan never misses a beat, whether it's a fast, more progressive song or one of the "slower", more dynamic songs ("Tonight, I'm Gone"). A huge highlight of the show included Kenny sliding up and down the Park Theatre's beer-drenched wooden floor and (jokingly) failing to do a somersault/frontflip - but being crowd surfed back to the stage in good condition to get to his guitar. It brings me back to watching Moneen's Jubilee Hall show from 2003 (the show they played with Alexisonfire in New Brunswick with Jersey opening), which can be found on YouTube. It was an emo-core show in the purest form - finger pointing, body shoving and great feeling from the boys in Moneen. Big love to Moneen, Sparta and Chastity for showing Winnipeg how it's done, and great job to everyone on selling out the venue on a TUESDAY night.

-Fish 

Go check out the Moneen webstore, where you can buy cassettes, vinyl, shirts and much more (pay attention, because they might put up the 20th anniversary vinyl too) 

https://www.moneenlovesyou.com/

 

 

 

 

Courage My Love

 

Photo credit: Anthony Chung

Ontario is no stranger to great pop rock and punk bands, both past and present. Like Pacific, Seaway, Bearings, Sum 41 and The Dirty Nil all come to mind. Courage My Love is no exception. If the name doesn't familiar, it's possible that you might know Phoenix and Mercedes' new band, Softcult. More about that in a minute. Courage My Love formed in Kitchener, Ontario, in 2009 as a pretty heavy pop punk and rock band featuring twin sisters, Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn on drums/keys/backing vocals and guitar/vocals respectively. Joining them on bass was David Blake-Dickson on bass, who contributed to the recording of their first EP in 2011, For Now. He was replaced by Brandon Lockwood in 2012.

Sonically, in their early days, their material is for fans of bands who were up and coming at that time, such as Tonight Alive, Crystalyne (more Canadian music), Against the Current (they were a bit later. but worth the mention) and VersaEmerge, and even some of the big players in the game who came up earlier, such as Hey Monday and Paramore. They would later transition to a synthpop/alternative pop sound which has callbacks and influences from all kinds of artists, including Pale Waves, Cocteau Twins and HAIM. In total, the band would release 6 EPs and 2 albums, and received a JUNO nomination (the Canadian Grammy's) in 2014 for their Becoming EP. They appeared at Vans Warped Tour 2017, and toured with As It Is, Trash Boat and Holding Absence in 2018, also appearing at 2000 Trees fest that same year.

The sisters felt cast down by their label, which led to their disbandment in 2020. Very soon, their new band, Softcult would be formed. Softcult is more of a indie/dream pop and shoegaze sounding-band, in the same vein as bands such as Loathe, Teenage Wrist and Lush. Please check out Softcult as well, as they are gaining serious heat, as of these past couple years. They will also be going on tour in the US with Movements and Mannequin Pussy, which is a stacked bill adding Softcult on it.

Here are some links which you can use to support the artist(s) music

Courage My Love Spotify

Softcult Spotify

Softcult Instagram

Courage My Love Bandcamp

 

 

 

 

Locater 'Clandestine" album release show review w/ Guilty Sleep, Agapito.

 

Nicholas Gammon and Brendan McLean of Locater playing at the Goodwill Social Club, February 25th 2023. Photo by Justin Fisher

Locater (FKA Louser) played a release show in celebration of their new album 'Clandestine', which was released February 17th, 2023 on No Sleep Records. This is a bit of a recap and review on the shoegaze/punk show, plus some pictures that I took that I liked.

The show opened with the band Guilty Sleep, a newcomer to the indie/shoegaze scene. They just finished recording some music with Griffin of Winnipeg easycore act, A Grizzly Fate on the board. Guilty Sleep consists of guitarist/vocalist Eric Ducharme, guitarist/vocalist Haise, drummer Liam Sewell (of Co Komono/Seweller/Jupiter Meltdown) and bassist Nick Paluck (of Jupiter Meltdown). 

Guilty Sleep perform at The Goodwill Social Club. Photo by Justin Fisher

Guilty Sleep play a blend of grunge and emo influenced shoegaze, with lush guitar soundscapes, big drums and even a telephone mic akin to Deftones. They can make you feel floaty, but also have some fast-paced songs that make you want to jump or mosh. They'll be a band to look out for in the future when they start releasing music. I absolutely loved their set and I can't wait to see more of their stuff. Despite the band name, the bombastic, spontaneously loud sound of this band will not make you want to sleep.

Agapito was the next band of the night, and I went in blindly, having never heard anything. They absolutely blew my mind with their mixture of post/progressive hardcore with a rock and roll energy. Agapito is more-or-less a supergroup, with a former member of Comeback Kid and Mike Peters from Cancer Bats on drums. I didn't get any pictures unfortunately, because I was so entranced by the bands performance. From the lead vocalists' rock and roll attitude to the colourful melodies used on both the guitars and the basslines. There was even a point where the rack tom fell over because of how hard this bands' music hits! This is a band you NEED to see, where the live experience is going to be so much different from a studio release. Keep an eye out for more music and shows from them, and also check out Cancer Bats if you're not familiar with them.

The last band was Locater, of course. Bit of backstory, they used to go under the name 'Louser' until early February 2023, but due to legal issues, were forced to undergo a name change. The band released one 'self-titled' EP under that name, but Clandestine was released right after their name change, after signing to No Sleep Records. The band consists of core members Nicholas Gammon on vocals, Sean Kaye on bass, Nick 'The Fonz' Fondse on guitar and Jesse Hardie on drums. For the release show, Brendan McLean (who has played with Elder Abuse/Higherlows/etc) hopped on 2nd guitar. Some of the bands these core members have played in include: Witchtrip, Ceilings, Elder Abuse and Badfriend. Locater's style is a mixture of grunge and shoegaze, reminiscent of bands like Narrow Head, Teenage Wrist and Nothing. The show itself was intimate, with an awesome vibe when it came to the lighting. I was talking to my photographer friend Brittany Lambert after the show, she was saying when it came to editing, the lighting was a challenge but one that she enjoyed. The projector visuals on the ceiling added a nice effect to the show. The setlist included a good handful of the great tracks from Clandestine, as well as some classics from their 2019 'self-titled' EP including Vitamin L.

Saturday was an amazing night, full of seeing some great friends and even better music. Thanks to Locater, Guilty Sleep and Agapito for the great hangs and the awesome photographers (Brittany, Matt) working the show, as well as the Goodwill for hosting a great weekend of music. Cheers everyone.

Locater Spotify 

Agapito Spotify

My personal instagram

Holdfast/Brittany Lambert Photography

Matt Friesen Photography

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brandon Maxwell - Walk Away TRACK REVIEW

 

Picture credit: Unknown

Brandon Maxwell is a punk rock musician and Twitch content creator out of Orange County, California who incorporates many influences and genres into his sound, including ska, emo, pop punk and post-punk. Brandon was formerly a member of the skacore band Maxwell Smart, in which he played guitar and vocals. In his own words, the point of his own music is to bring light to the darkness [of life], until we can understand it and fear it less.

 His track "When I'm Old", released in October of 2022 gives us a taste of his songwriter-punk side, with some undertones of Rancid and the like. I'm happy that I got to meet Brandon in a The Hard Times comment section of all things, and he wanted to share a taste of what you'll be hearing out of the Californian pop rock/punk singer-songwriter. His new single, entitled 'Walk Away', was written by Brandon (who also performed guitar and lead vocals on the track). Rounding out the session is Tristan Garcia from Maxwell Smart on bass, Dan Evans of Bite Me Back on drums, Tara Hahn of Half Past Two on background vocals and Esteban Flores on keys. David Irish at Pot of Gold Studios in Orange County engineered, mixed and mastered the release. David Irish has worked on some notable releases including a handful of We Are The Union releases. 

Source: Brandon Maxwell's Social Media

Brandon noted that 'Walk Away' is a slight departure from the style he usually plays, which I love regardless. This most likely means that when a full release comes, it won't be super focused on one sound, rather an experimentation of different genres and subgenres. Walk Away goes for a bit of a mid-2000s post-punk revival and indie rock/power pop sound and excels at it. The organ in the majority of this track paired with the pushing drums and anthemic guitars give it a Death Cab For Cutie or The Weakerthans quality, and Brandon's vocals matched with his harmonies work very well for this type of music.

'Walk Away' is a just a great piece of emotional pop rock music, through and through. Some great harmonies and a hook that will make me want to keep it on repeat for at least the next little bit. Brandon is starting out extremely strong as this is his first non-acoustic song under his solo name, and he will be releasing more songs very soon with both a similiar sound to this, and heavier stuff for the traditional punk fans. To put it bluntly, there will be something for everybody.

Brandon Maxwell's new single 'Walk Away' releases officially March 3rd, 2023, and will be available wherever you listen to music. Remember to support small and/or local artists! Here's a few links to his social media and his streaming pages that you can find his music on.

Brandon Maxwell Spotify

Brandon Maxwell Soundcloud (if you're interested in hearing his old stuff!)

Brandon Maxwell Twitter

Brandon Maxwell Twitch

Maxwell Smart Spotify

 

 

 

Tyler Zanon (Youth Fountain)

I'm happy that I get to do a write-up on Tyler, as he's one of my favorite songwriters in the alternative/heavy music scene currently. I thought it would be a good time to get this one out of the way!

Picture by Ed Abarca

 Bedroom Talk (now known as Youth Fountain) started as the solo pop punk/emo/post hardcore project of Tyler Zanon, who was influenced by bands such as The Used, Movements and Senses Fail to write heartwrenching, hardhitting tracks dealing with mental health, failing relationships and more. Tyler wrote and recorded a demo with the songs 'Blooms' and 'Grinding Teeth' sometime in 2017, as well as posting covers onto his YouTube channel. In late 2017, Tyler would get together with Cody Muraro (Parting Ways, Take The Earth Beneath Us, currently Real Friends), who grew up in Kelowna with Tyler and was originally meant to be just a special feature according to a source close with Tyler. The first Bedroom Talk songs that featured both Cody and Tyler were 'Worried' and 'Grinding Teeth', They would change their name to Youth Fountain soon after and were signed to Pure Noise Records, releasing a self-titled EP in the summer of 2018. Later into 2018, Youth Fountain would start playing shows with bands such as We Were Sharks, Abandoned by Bears, No Liars and more.

When 2019 rolled around, Youth Fountain started releasing handfuls of more teasers and singles for their upcoming debut full-length, 'Letters to Our Former Selves', released in summer 2019 with multiple popular music videos and singles. That year proved to be an extremely busy year for the boys, playing both one-offs with bands such as Calling all Captains and A Grizzly Fate, plus tours with Can't Swim, Free Throw and Seaway. 

In late 2019, Cody Muraro announced that he would be leaving Youth Fountain to pursue other musical projects, but Tyler announced that he would keep the band going as a solo project with him as sole singer with revolving musicians rounding out the rhythm section as he had been already doing. This leads to 2021, the year after we lost live music. The Chicago-area pop punk band Real Friends announced the Cody Muraro would be their new vocalist, replacing Dan Lambton who had left the band in early 2020. Tyler released some singles and an acoustic EP (re-recording of some tracks on Letters) to lead up to the release of their sophomore album, 'Keepsakes & Reminders', which was revealed to the world on November 5th, 2021.

Picture by Kyle Pigeau

2022 was also a very busy year for Tyler and Youth Fountain, more recordings being released (covers of 'www.nevergetoveryou.com' + 'Light Switch' + a deluxe version of Keepsakes & Reminders) plus tours with Four Year Strong/Knuckle Puck, Cory Wells and Belmont.

From what I can tell, 2023 is going to be another big year for Tyler, as he wants to release an acoustic EP, and go on another Canadian tour! 

Tyler Zanon is one of Canada's freshest and finest songwriters in rock, and with touring experience in Canada, USA and Europe with many other pop punk and emo bands (including with some who have in some way possibly shaped his writing style), Tyler is proving to be one of the scene's next biggest things within the years to come.

Below are some links for Youth Fountain which you can use to listen and support them.

Youth Fountain Bandcamp

Youth Fountain Twitter 

Merch

YouTube

Instagram

TikTok

Website

Spotify

Co Komono

Photo credit: Mikey Jablonski Photography

Co Komono

Co Komono is another band that is local to me, in the Winnipeg, Canada area. They are a 5-piece pop punk group who are influenced by a varied range of genres, including easycore, deathcore, indie rock and math rock. They have seemingly coined the subgenre term, called 'bummercore'. Active members are Jordan Skelly on vocals, Zach Skelly (also in Steady Glow and A Grizzly Fate) and Caitlin Brakel (formerly Epirus/Crisis Averted, currently also in Lowlife) on guitars, Nick Paluck (also in Jupiter Meltdown/Guilty Sleep) on bass and Liam Sewell (also in Jupiter Meltdown/Seweller/Guilty Sleep) on drums.

Co Komono was formed in late 2017 as a project between Zach, Liam (who went to the same high school) and Nick, under the name 'Memorial Brigade'. Derek Westra would join on guitar in early 2018, followed by Zach's 14-year-old sister Jordan, in the summer of 2018. Zach and Jordan come from a musical family, with their father Paul Skelly being the lead vocalist and guitarist of hard rock band X-Engine-X, who have notably opened for Godsmack on a Winnipeg date.

 

Memorial Brigade would play their first show in late 2018 and released multiple singles such as 'Kasper' in 2019. They would later release an EP called 'Fall of The Marginal' in 2020. 

Despite the world as we know it changing around this time, they persevered and started writing more music for a possible full-length, which will be released this year. They played a few more shows under the Memorial Brigade moniker when live music returned in 2021, notably the Manitoba Loud Music Awards and Cowboys Emo Night, but announced that they would be changing their name to Co Komono in January of 2022.

In June of 2022 they announced that they would be parting ways with Derek Westra. Caitlin Brakel, who had been playing in Epirus and Lowlife at this time was announced as their new member.

Over their short career, they have played many stages big and small, including Bankside Music Festival (alongside previously mentioned X-Engine-X) and The Burton Cummings Theatre (TJ’s Gift Foundation’s Rockin’ for Choices concert). They are a local music scene staple and have been one of the tightest bands in the community - especially as of current.

Co Komono is simply put, a talent powerhouse. The experience they have between all their former and current bands - e.g. Epirus, Jupiter Meltdown, A Grizzly Fate - makes the band super tight, very unique to the scene and is a pleasure to watch live. They have big things including a full length coming in 2023. I would like to thank Jordan Skelly, lead singer of Co Komono, for helping me write this.

Below are a few links in which you can use to support them, and follow their consistent posting schedule where they will be announcing new shows and music very soon.

Instagram

Website 

Facebook

Spotify

YouTube

Apple Music

Bandcamp

Last.FM

Here is one of their awesome merch designs designed by Tengkorak Kucing.