2006 was intense. Macchiato Kids kicked off and there was no stopping the mayhem. London-NYC-Toronto-Austin-Portland-Glasgow.
Leh-Lo What can I say. Leh-Lo's songs are like that glimpse you get...where for a split second you see yourself the way others do. The lyrics are double edged swords and the music simmers. Zig Zag is one of my closest friend's statement. www.myspace.com/lehlo This record is a door.
Mark Plati and I finished the Hey Gravity record and it kicks ass. I met Hey Gravity @ ITC at a show. They gave me a roundhouse kick to the head and I ended up working on their record. It was that simple. The original tracking was done in San Francisco with Jeff Salzman (Killers) and Mark Plati and I finished the record off and mixed it in NYC. You have to check this band.
One of my all time faves.www.myspace.com/heygravity Get a copy of Risen.
The Mood were amazing to record. Mac Kids and The Mood spent some time at Electric Lady Studios then finished off at Alice's Restaurant. Their music tells the story of living and loving in the East Village and singer Marco Argiro is literally a one man army. DJ Baron laid it down and Corinne - what a voice !! www.myspace.com/marcoargiro Their cd Get In is available now.
Intervurt put the pedal to the metal in 2006. These guys are vikings. Full on !!
They came to NYC and laid waste to Electric Lady Studios, Mission Sound and Alice's Restaurant. Their record will melt your IPOD. Seriously. I dialed DIESEL into mine and ended up with molten plastic welded to my eardrum. Mac Kids got a work out on this one. Well worth it. www.myspace.com/intervurtrocks
If someone doesn't sign these guys I will eat a hat factory.
Electric Soft Parade are the real deal. I slept on a barn floor with these guys.
Music from noon til dawn and some of the best songs and inspired playing I've been part of. Check them out on myspace. www.myspace.com/electricsoftparade
Their record No Need To Be Downhearted is a blinder.
Eden Ants rocked it one more time in Toronto at Phase 1 Studios. Their newest release Take What You Want is indie rock spilling over - too hot to handle.
This record is like being slapped by someone you have a crush on. They release March 23rd in Toronto. Mark Plati mixed.
Tara Slone, band mate, friend and feline rock seductress had Mark mix 3 songs this year. I played on a few tracks and added production on a track.
Her record Just Look Pretty And Sing is out now. Like Tara this record is a gem. Jordon Zadorosny produced it.
Throwback Suburbia. Holy motherlode of songwriting and arranging skills. These Portland guys were a pleasure to eat gator and work with. Great guys great tunes. Their 4 songer Four Play is about to be unleashed. Love these guys. Mark and I had a great time on the west coast. www.myspace.com/throwbacksuburbia
Currently Mark Plati and I are working with Belle Phoenix from Sydney Australia. She's on the infinity bus alright. Luscious songs. Spiritual lyric and smoldering delivery. Dark Side of Wuthering Bends.
Jan 13/06
The end of 2005 was full of change and opportunity. I
finished recording and editing Leh-Lo's record and
took it to Mark Plati to mix in NYC. I love his
record (ZIG ZAG). The song calibre is way up there
and I really get a lot from the lyric. I'm proud
because Leh-Lo's a good friend. Also from the JOYDROP
alumni, I took 2 Tara Slone single mixes to Mark
Plati. I wasn't satisfied that the tracking was
complete so we ended up recording more guitars and
keys in the middle of the mix session. I like that
gun to the head come up with something hot on the spot
stuff. I did keys and Mark kicked a tasty slide part.
After that I did some additional production and
smatterings of keys on MASS's songs Inside-Risen and
Bird In A Cage. That was cool. Andy from Mass
(formerly of Dodgy) showed up in NYC and Mark Plati
mixed again (and did some keys and tambo) The tracks
were originally tracked by Jeff Saltzman who produced
The Killers. The tracks needed to be edited still but
Mark got it done and the songs kick ass. Check MASS
out www.masstheband.com or myspace/mass They're
amazing. I saw them live in Manchester and they
ripped the club to pieces. There were no survivors.
Everyone walked away a MASS fan which is why I was
happy to work on their music.
In 2006 Mark Plati (www.markplati.net) and I will be
partnering up for some projects as THE MACCHIATO KIDS
INC. We'll produce/record and mix on projects that we
have a mutual interest in. That'll be cool because
we're different types but we both play
bass-guitar-keys and we're both driven and hardcore
about making killer records. Next up I'll be spending
Feb/March in NYC songwriting with a cool (I'll let you
know once it's 100% confirmed) artist and getting
ready for CMW and SXSW. After that it's a record in
London in April with another ITC band called INTERVURT
who are dark alterno-rockers. (www.intervurt.com) I
think Intervurt will be cool because I'm kind of in
the mood to rock hard. After Intervurt I finish The
Venafro Cafe Orchestra record in Glasgow. I'm looking
forward to Austin. The last time I was there I was
gigging and I had a great time. Drive thru Daquiri
bars, Full on rock 'n' roll vibes and Signoritas.
Bring It On !! Check out LEH-LO, Tara Slone and MASS
on my audio page.
Cheers and thanks for checking the site out.
Tom
Nov 4/05
In
The City
In the City 2005 was an
amazing journey. I flew to Manchester on a Thursday night and woke
the next morning in Manchester. Like some mad Dr Who episode, one
minute I was in Toronto soaking in the sunshine and the next I was
in Manchester...soaking wet. It rained the first day. Somehow that
seemed to augment my determination and I crossed from my Oldham St
Merchant Hotel to The Midland Hotel which was the In The City
HQ. After getting my pass sorted out (Thanks Emily Taylor) I
proceeded to the hotel bar and set my schedule for bands I wanted to
see and meetings that I'd already set in place. Each day was
relatively speaking the same. Up at 11:30, Midland Hotel Bar
talking/networking/schmoozing from noon until 4 pm, live shows +
meetings until 2 am and then back to The Midland Hotel Bar between
2:30 am and getting back to my bed usually around 4-5 am. It was a
marathon but I met a few Mancunians who knew everybody and where the
best gigs and free sushi was at so...thanks James F Masters. (I'm
sure the F stands for f***ing mad as a hatter. James also had great
vibes and was very generous).
I saw a lot of bands. Around 40. I thought most were good and a
strong handful were exceptional.
M.A.S.S ( www.myspace.com/mass ) absolutely blew the
roof off of The Vault at their show. They had killer pop/punk/rock
songs that were delivered to the audience with more energy than I've
felt coming off a stage in a very long time. I wish them all the
sucess in the world. The Research were a 3 piece that
reminded me of a cross between The Flaming Lips and Pet Sounds era
Beach Boys meets Sonic Youth. All three musicians (2 women and a
dude) were excellent singers and the arranging was top notch. The
Bluebirds
( www.thebluebirds.uk.com ) were very strong live and their
songs (Rising Up is the one that reminds me of how much I
love music) were beautiful. I caught their live show and the
audience loved them. Great songs, great guys and their manager Rick
Platt is a real gentleman. They've got the romance of The Beatles
and The Kinks and their songs haven't left my head since that show.
Corporation Blend kicked ass as well. There live show
was intense and their songs are amazing. I talked to Dexy (their
singer) about recording and sounds and he had a lot of cool ideas.
At THE
CANADIAN SHOWCASE I saw every single band. Priya Thomas
was completely amazing. Explosive is an understatement. This woman
(and band) is full-on. Nina Haagen meets Bow Wow Wow and that
describes about 1 % of who she is. She's touring with John Cale
right now and is blowing some minds for sure. Big Dig !! Cities
In Dust were like a wound up Punk Rock top that blew through the
venue destroying all in their path. Kick ass songs, spilled beer, a
60 foot long mic cable and using someone's table as a surf board
made me an instant fan. The High Dials were also a hugely
capable and engaging band. Their songs remind me of The Flaming lips
meet Arcade Fire. They also levelled the place. Peaking with a
Sitar solo ending that had the pit full and everyone grooving and
shouting for more....I was proud to be a Canuck !
THE JAPANESE SHOWCASE was totally and completely astounding.
PEZ were a mix of Bop-Jazz and Heavy Rhythms. Their playing
made me think of what rush hour must sound like in Tokyo. Their set
was like a runaway train. RODEO CARBURETTOR were punk rock
warriors. With the edge and lack of mercy of punk mixed with the
punch of rock. Simply put, they annihilated the bar and completely
blew away everyone in the room. They were one of the best bands at
In The City. DMBQ were the last to play and they were like
walking into a timewarp. They had the noise scene mixed with hippy
rock perfected. The crowd loved them.
RED JETSON were another favourite. Crashing waves of sound
and texture and whisper to a scream dynamics with a singer that
steers the ship. They have their own sound for sure. A lot of mood
at their show and I was totally pulled in. Great band !! I'm going
next year and encourage anyone that loves music and the UK scene to
check out www.inthecity.co.uk.
Oh yeah and Korova from Scotland get the best dancers award for
their performance at The Vault Dance Classic. Well done. No one
knew you were so incredibly talented in the dance arena.
Sept 25/05
The Great Escape ! It'll
be good to get out of Toronto for a week and visit the sunny climes
of Manchester UK. I'm attending "IN THE CITY 2005" from the 29th of
September until the 4th of October. There'll be a lot of bands to
check out and hopefully new friends made at this massive coming
together of music industry and artists. I've been researching like
a mofo and already have my eye on a number of cool bands.
Sept 10/05
Eden Ants. What can I say ? These guys are relentless artists.
They just kicked the ass off a sold out Horseshoe show in
Toronto and have been nominated as "BEST INDIE BAND" for the Toronto
Independent Music Awards show at The Phoenix. Adymm Ender is one of
my favourite singer/lyricists and EDEN ANTS are big Bowie and Pulp
lovers (met Jarvis on the street in NYC when mixing - we'd been
talking about him MINUTES before) , so we get along really well.
They're in my links. Please check them out !!!
Sept 8/05
I'm putting together the final LEH-LO mixes for ZIG ZAG
in October
with Mark Plati in NYC. This record is a surprise. Nothing Leh-Lo
does is predictable. Everything he does feels good. (LEH-LO wrote
the top 20 US hit Beautiful when he was in Joydrop)I can't wait to
hear the 11 songs in their running order.
Aug 22/05
Check out Mojo/August's review of PALOMINO's EMMANUELLE. I love it
when you can tell the journalist has listened to the entire record.
I'm pleased.
That's it for now. I'll be back in touch when I get back from ITC.
Cheers and thanks for checking out the site.
Tom McKay
