by Amber Goodwyn
Last week I volunteered at the CJTR 91.3FM garage sale as a stacks tidier, sort of album re-filer and customer service moll. With all the bodies in the room, plus the heavy lifting of donated vinyl, it was definitely a roll-up-your-sleeves kind of time. But still totally fun.
CRATE DIGGING
I loved coming across li’l piles of rejected CDs, and trying to figure out what kind of person considered Conway Twitty and Marty Robbins as not quite worth their final cut, and what they’d kept instead — a casual anthropological or marketing study, of sort.
If you missed the sale, don’t fret. Garage sale season is upon us, what with the warm weather and spring cleaning vibes, and there’s lots of gently loved music to collect all over the Queen City.
SLIPPERY SLOPE
In great service to touring bands on their way to Calgary for Sled Island, as well as giving Regina’s own fabulous music scene a boost, a lass named Emily Ritenburg has created Toboggan Island for independent music lovers. Featuring 18 bands in three (close together) venues on one day (Tuesday, June 18th), the show includes the likes of Code Orange Kids (Pittsburgh), La Luna (Calgary), Monomyth (Halifax), Lords Kitchner (Edmonton) and Nap Eyes (Halifax), along with plenty of Regina and Saskatoon bands. My only complaint is that there are, like, maybe two ladies playing? Please let me know if I’ve miscounted. For more info check out Ominocity.com’s interview with Ritenburg.
VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR
If you’re a fan of stylish indie pop with Braids-inspired vocal effects, be sure to check out Saskatoon’s We Were Lovers when they play a CD release show at the Exchange on June 21. The band is picking up steam, and along with Data Romance (Vancouver) will be opening for Metric at the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival in Saskatoon on June 22. The video for their latest single “Islands” has over 10,000 views, and features steel drum inspired flourishes and enough outfit changes to make fashionistas salivate.
In my ears: Liona Boyd’s The First Lady of the Guitar, from the CJTR vinyl bins.
Check in: ag@prairiedogmag.com