BB is playing the Beaver on Thursday for the 1234 V launch

Hello! This is just a quick note to let you know we are playing at the Beaver on Thursday for the 1234 V Zine launch. What is 1234 V? Have a 'look and learn' session by clicking on this link, but maybe not while you are at the office. All of the stories are true, and none are anonymous. Jo Snyder and Sarah Michaelson, the publishers of 1234 V, will be on hand to discuss the project and solicit submissions for the next issue. Jo will also be playing guitar with BB, and Sarah will DJ (Mama Cutsworth.)

In addition to my chums Sheila and Jo, BB will feature two super guest stars singing their hearts out: the now familiar Lief Mossbaugh AKA Panther Pants, and Stephanie Markowitz (pictured). Stephanie, best known for her film and theatre work, is a regular performer with The Phonemes, and appeared on keys with BB at the Tranzac last year. On Thursday you will have a chance to open your ears and receive the glorious sound of her voice. You can also wish her a happy birthday, if you are feeling bold (it's the night before the show.) Lief, who joined us for a tune at the last show, will be joining us to perform a brand new song I wrote with his powerful pipes in mind. It's called "It gotta man."

Please join us for this special night.

How to predict a tornado

One of our favourite comedians is Toronto's Kathleen Phillips, best known for her stand-up routine and for the hilarious short films she posts online. Recently, Kathleen created this educational video about a weather predicting dog:

I first met Kathleen in 2005 when Stephanie Markowitz and I were casting for the first run of our musical The Rat King. A natural beauty, petite Kathleen reminded me of Badlands era Sissy Spacek- until she stood up on a chair and howled like a ghost with indigestion. We enjoyed the audition, though I knew she had the part before we asked her to howl. Kathleen played the role of Carson Cannon in all three stagings of our musical.

Apart from the role of Carson, towards which I am naturally biased, my favourite Kathleen piece is probably Aqua Landlord. Imagine coming home to your apartment, only to find your landlord in the tub. Naked. Actually, you don't have to imagine it, Kathleen has done that for you already.

For more Kathleen, visit her youtube channel, her blog, or show her a little love on facebook. Be careful though- some of her videos will make you laugh quite loud, so if you are hiding in a cubicle pretending to work, cover your mouth with your hands, or maybe bite down on a bundle of socks so you won't get caught amusing yourself.

We put a tune up on myspace

For a little preview of the EP we've been working on with James Bunton, visit our newly revamped myspace page and have a little listen. The tune is called "New Job."

Happy Saturday, my friends.
xoxo
MM

When you hear the alarm bell ringing you better come runnin'

A big thank you to everyone who came to the show at The Beaver last night. We had a great time and it was wonderful to see so many familiar faces in the room.

Toronto has such an amazing art & music community, and Will made The Beaver a place where this community could convene, as well as a place where strangers to the scene wouldn't feel so strange walking in to enjoy an evening out, or even just an afternoon coffee. Now that Will has left this world, it feels extra special to play a show at the space he built, with that massive piece of art by General Idea hanging in the background (you can see it behind Light Fires in the above photo.)

Backstage at the Beaver, Sheila Sampath and I had quite a time trying to get into our elaborate fireman & engineer costumes, so we ended up not wearing them, but I thought I would include this shot so you could have a peek at the elaborate show-stopping looks we tried to rock for the evening.

Free show tonight at The Beaver

Tonight we will be playing a free show at the Beaver with the new band Light Fires. Who is/are Light Fires? Gentleman Reg and James Bunton. You might know James as the drummer from Ohbijou, or as producer/engineer to any number of your friends' recordings (if you live in Toronto, West of Bathurst Street, the odds are pretty high that someone you know is working with him right now.) We have been working on an EP with James as well, and he's pretty great. As for Gentleman Reg, he is a familiar face to readers of this blog. Light Fires is a departure from Reggie's usual material- more Hot Nuts* than Horseshoe Tavern- and it will be their last show for the summer, since James is touring with Ohbijou until the temperature drops and the leaves turn yellow.

Reggie will also be performing his special song "The Man in The Middle" with Betty Burke- and he's not the only special guest. We are proud to present, on vocals, for a soulful number from another (imaginary) era- Mr. Lief Mossbaugh (pictured above). Lief plays with The Hidden Cameras, and can often be heard singing falsetto harmonies on their tunes. He's also an esteemed Oboist, joining Regina's orchestra for the 2010-2011 season, after a successful run with the Saskatoon symphony. Lief will be singing a tune called "You Can't Stay Young." He may even bring along another special guest, but we'll keep that under wraps for now...

The show starts at 11 pm and it is 100% FREE. The Beaver serves dinner until 11, in case you want to come early to see our muscley arms pull the amps in. I'm sure a few of us will be tankin.'

Hope to see you tonight.
xoxo
MM


*Hot Nuts is a monthly drag party at the Beaver.
*Tankin' - wearing a tank top. Not me, but probably Reggie.

Wear your Granny Boots with us on June 30th

Tomboyfriend, the band with one of the best names of all, has invited us to play Granny Boots with them on Wednesday, June 30th at The Gladstone Hotel. It's Pride Week, so we're going for a festive vibe, and trying something unusual.

Shaun will be off at Glastonbury with Dan Mangan, so in lieu of trumpet, the festive feeling will be created by Dr. Rhythm 880, a wee little drum machine imbued with soul. Special guests Jo Snyder, AKA Jo Snyder music, formerly of the Winnipeg punk bands Anthem Red, and Sixty Stories, will be playing guitar, and Sheila Sampath of The Airfields and Shameless Magazine will appear on keys. How is that for festive and unusual? And there's more.

Gentleman Reg,* one of my favourite people to share a stage with, will be singing with us as well. This spring, I spent a few months in the writing cave, and one of the projects I chipped away at was a set of songs written for friends to sing with Betty Burke. Reggie's song is called "The Man in the Middle," and this will be the first time we play it.

We hope to see you at the show on the 30th. In the meantime, click on Tomboyfriend's name to see their fantastic video "Dance Dance Revolutions Co." We're looking forward to seeing them live!

Thanks for visiting, and come back soon!
xo
MM

*The photo of Reg above is from the February 14th Wavelength 10 year anniversary & closing party at The Garrison. At the end of the show almost all of the current & former members of The Hidden Cameras got on stage together for a surprise set. It was the first time some of us had played together in seven years. Great night.

Resurrection

The last time I wrote a blog entry, it was February, and BB had just done some dates with Woodpigeon in Ontario and Quebec. There was snow on the ground, and the trees were grey and bare. Now the sun is everywhere, and Toronto's famous humidity is back to bake us all inside out.

A lot's been going on since those last few ultra-positive posts, written in the dull light of winter. On May 21st, our community lost someone irreplaceable. Will Munro was a friend, a brother, a son, an artist and a culture maker who built spaces to welcome people who'd been shut out before.

Here is a link to the memorial piece printed by Eye Magazine in Toronto.

There is a lot to be said about Will, life, death, and community, but I will allow the piece--composed of submissions by Will's friends, myself included-- to speak for itself.

Spring, the season of resurrection and renewal, was a taker and a giver. Now, the short, hot, Canadian summer is nearly here. The radio silence of the last few months will be replaced by regular posts as Betty Burke resumes the project of telling stories three chords at a time. On the agenda for the summer are a few shows, an EP (recorded with James Bunton at Angles Up) to master and release, and the coming release of "You Can't Wear Suede In The Rain," the short film we made with Joe Clement. Posts about these activities will be interspersed with the usual mini-essays about good things, strange things, and things that are hard to classify.

Thanks for visiting the site. Come back soon!

Love
Maggie