Voxtrot, Irving and Spiral Beach Hit Toronto

The Montreal Gazette catches up with Ramesh Srivastava of Voxtrot before their Montreal show. There is a little background information to the story about a girl named 'Jenny' that Ramesh met while spending time in Scotland. OK, it doesn't talk in tells about 'Jenny' but after seeing the show last night at Sneaky Dee's in Toronto and 'Jenny' being present, those in attendance got a little more of the story. :: more ::

Last night we jumped at the opportunity to see Austin's export Voxtrot at Sneaky Dee's in Toronto. With little left of their own equipment to play the set with they were forced to borrow a piece or two from tour mates Irving. We see their time in Canada has been good to them so far. "This is our first time in Canada" singer Ramesh Srivastava tells the crowd. "Maybe Canada is superior to the United States" (crowd cheer) "haha I thought you would like hearing that". With this being the first time Torontoians had the chance to catch the guys we were pretty excited to see and hear the guys. They don't have a lot of music to choose from with only 2 EPs being released from their vault, so there weren't many surprises as to what was going to be played, other they the order they were going to be played. The guys did not disappoint the faithful, playing high energy guitar getting most into a head-bobbing dance. The set wasn't long but as their EPs, its all about the quality in their songs then anything else. The only thing that would have topped off the night would have been if Ramesh's friend 'Jenny', to whom the last song of the night was going out to, would get up on stage for a promising dance... but that is a story in itself. As most bands, Voxtrot has a MySpace page where you can listen to some sample tracks. Just remember that the band doesn't have many released tracks as it is, so you will have to opportunity to hear about 40% of their collection directly from their MySpace page. Opening up the night was a local group from Toronto called Spiral Beach. They are 1 part Sugarcubes, 1 part B-52s, 1 part Devo and a pinch of Mini-pops (oh you remember them). Nevertheless, they were the biggest surprise of the night and thats in a good way. The kids from Spiral Beach have good harmonies, and the singer Maddy Wilde added the spark to the each song. They are no stranges to the city of Toronto, so if you are in the city you can probably catch them somewhere, until they are old enough for mom and dad to let them out on tour. Here are some MP3's for your listening pleasure found from the Spiral Beach website. :: New Clouds :: Voodoo :: Day OK If you like what you hear, you can always contact the band to purchase the CD :: spiralbeach@spiralbeach.com

Between the bands Spiral Beach and Voxtrot, Irving took the stage at Sneaky Dee's to add a heavier sound to the night. The guys out of California brought a lot of energy by kicking off the set with some new songs off their new album Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers. All the songs were new to us since we had not heard anything from Irving in the past, but it all sounded great live. Other then the odd feedback noice they were clear, loud and packed with a lot of bunch. I think they are worth checking out if they are in your hood and since they are in the middle of a current tour they just might be. Check out their MySpace page for sample songs and tour schedule.

Voxtrot EP Will Please Mothers, Sisters, Daughters and Wives

Despite the fact that they have yet to release a full-length album Voxtrot still manages to pickup high praise for the quality music they are releasing. I guess its a case of quality vs quantity for the guys from Austin, Texas. We may be a little late with the announcement of their latest EP to be release, but better late then never. On April 4th Voxtrot put out a five-song EP, the band's second, entitled "Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives" (label: Cult Hero). From the sample tracks that we did get our hands on we can certainly say that the EP contain consistent guitar energy and a refreshing sound. Lets hope that if they ever do release an LP in the future they can keep up the energy and quality throughout the entire album. Check out some samples off the latest EP - "Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives" and other tracks from previous releases off their MySpace site. Check out the "The Voxtrot Kid" blog by band member Ramesh Srivastava. It isn't updated very often but still worth checking out every once in a blue moon. The guys from Voxtrot are currently on the road to showcase their talents. Here are some dates and locations on their journey: :: April 12th - Montreal, QC :: April 13th - Toronto, ON :: April 14th - Detroit, MI :: April 15th - Chicago, IL :: April 17th - Minneapolis, MN :: April 18th - Des Moines, IA :: April 19th - Lawrence, KS :: April 20th - Norman, OK :: April 21st - Denton, TX :: April 22nd - Austin, TX :: more ::

Sometimes people just don't understand how artists struggle each and every day financially to bring us the valued entertainment we crave for with live music. It can really make us sick to hear that some thief's made off with Arab Strap's tour money over the weekend. It all went down at a Philadelphia restaurant while the guys were on tour. Just don't ask them why they were carrying around $6,000 with them without it being handcuffed to their arm. :: more :: A follow-up to their very popular release album "Gimme Fiction", Spoon have found themselves a home in the studio with the expectations to release a new album in early 2007. They will be playing the odd show in the meantime, including a scheduled performance in London, UK on May 16th. :: more ::

Indie rock band Calexico have followed up their 2005 album "In the Reins", recorded with Iron & Wine, with a new treat. On April 11th, Calexico released their latest creation entitled "Garden Ruin". :: Jim Harrington, liveDaily :: Andy Heater, Kevchino.com :: Matt Schild, Aversion :: Tracy M. Rogers, Hybrid Magazine :: Brian Orloff, Harp Magazine