EVENT: Help Save CJAM 91.5 FM!

Now that the dust has cleared and the month long campaign to perch Phog atop the mountain as Canada's Best Live Venue on CBC Radio 3, it's time to get serious again. CJAM 91.5 FM still needs your help.

Over the past month, more and more news has been coming out of the CJAM studios, first a trickle, then a leak, that Windsor's Campus & Community Radio Station may be in danger.

The story was quickly picked up by local media, including The Windsor Star and AM800, but it seems it lost a lot of its momentum when the Phog voting started heating up. I suppose that's just the nature of the beast - it's much more enjoyable to jump on a fun train than a potentially tragic one.

But unfortunately it's a problem now that if we don't deal with it now, we may not have a CJAM to worry about later. And we've got just a week left before the CRTC starts making its decisions.

First, the facts. Pure and simple. I can't say any better so here's the words directly from CJAM's website:

CJAM is currently applying for an amendment to our broadcasting undertaking to assume a new signal at 99.1 FM. While CJAM has been broadcasting at about 1000 watts for over 10 years, the station was never granted Protected Status from the CRTC, thanks to pressures from the FCC who were concerned with CJAM’s level of interference with adjacent American stations. Without Protected Status, CJAM faces the risk of losing its signal to other applicants. In fact, CJAM faced that very risk recently when the CBC decided to apply for 91.5 in the fall of 2008. The CBC ultimately withdrew its application, but CJAM still faces possible removal from the FM band thanks to a pending American application for our signal.

CJAM has identified a new signal – 99.1 FM - that could afford the station protected status and has moved forward with applications for this new signal to Industry Canada and the CRTC. The application currently before the CRTC is now open for public comment, and this is where we need you, our community of listeners, programmers and volunteers to make your voice heard. If you value CJAM and community radio in Windsor and Detroit, please express your support of our application.

Letters may be submitted electronically at the CRTC website, by fax at (819) 994-0218, or by conventional mail to the following address:

CRTC
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N2

So there you have it. Funny thing is, CJAM was harassed by the FCC recently that their signal at 91.5 FM was interfering with an American College Station at 91.7 FM and now they've decided to give a major radio network (SmileFM) 91.5 in the area. Seems odd.

There's also a petition on-line you can sign if you're not the letter writing sort but still want to help out.

Now, I suppose there are many people out there (as seen in the comments board on The Windsor Star's website) who seem to think that CJAM is a waste of time anyway because they play too much stuff that either a) they've never heard or b) is in a language they don't understand.

CJAM strives to be your alternative voice in the community. That means that you are most likely going to hear something you aren't used to. That's the idea.

While other stations in the area cater to the masses with their (mostly) pre-programmed mandate of playing the biggest hits of the day by the biggest artists, CJAM lets it's trained staff of programmers dig deeper into the world of music and program a wholly unique broadcast each and every time. They explore new worlds of electronic music than just Moby, find meaner streets of punk than Simple Plan, discover lusher melody in song than The Killers and unleash more bone crunching rock and roll than Nickelback. Are you going to like everything they find for you? The numbers say no. Chances are you won't. But do you like everything you hear on 89X? Or The Rock? Or CBC Radio 3 for that matter? I doubt it. And no one is saying you can't listen to 89X or The Rock as well as CJAM. Diversity never hurt anyone (except maybe the Roman Empire, but that may just be Nero's fault).

And the wonderful thing about CJAM - something that I think most naysayers don't realize - is the diversity of its programming. It's not just the same people over and over again, each programmer has their own show in their own time slot, each and every week. You may not like everything on CJAM but you may just find you really like the stuff on "Mostly Blues" every Wednesday at 9am while going to work. Perhaps you like to check out the deep vaults of heavy metal on "Sonic North" on Thursdays at 9pm. There is a program that covers just about every genre of music on CJAM, from deep roots to jazz to death metal. Start with one show you really like and you'll find CJAM does indeed have something for you. And if you think these are all just bands that will just disappear, take a look at this list. These are all bands who achieved mainstream success due to national support from college radio stations across Canada and the U.S. (not to mention the world) before mainstream/corporate radio picked up on them: U2, R.E.M., Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, The Clash, Elvis Costello, Jane's Addiction, Pixies, Sigur Ros, Oasis, Metallica, Green Day, Rancid, Beastie Boys, Slayer, Beck, Amy Winehouse, hell, just about the entire early hip-hop years, up till probably the mid-1990's...the list is infinite. Chances are, unless it was a corporately built entity like one of Disney's Stepford Musicians (Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, etc.), they were probably played on college radio first. The trickle down to the corporate radio is always underappreciated.

And seeing that CJAM is our alternative voice on the air, it's also not just about the music. CJAM overs programming discussing many hot topics weekly that many stations refuse to mention or give time to - worker's rights and issues are the weekly theme for the long-running "All In A Day's Work" (Thursdays, 4pm) and Windsor community issues are the concern on "Scaledown Radio" (Mondays, noon) to name just a few.

What was that U.S. President Barrack Obama praised Canada for in his recent visit? About how ethnically diverse we were and how understanding we were towards each other? Well, no one has a more ethnically diverse series of programming than CJAM. There are weekly shows for many of the ethnic cultures in our own Windsor community, such as "Chinese Reflections" (Saturday, 4pm), "Croatian Magazine" (Saturday, 3pm), "Macedonian Roots" (Sunday, 3pm) and "Ethiopian Voice" (Sunday, 5pm), again, to name but a few. These are programs that address not only news and issues of the home countries but news and issues of the communities in Windsor. Thinking globally and acting locally.

So the question really, when it comes down to it, is not whether you listen to CJAM. I'd like to hope you do, but again, the numbers indicate that many of you don't (or won't). But your support will at least allow Windsor to have an alternative voice to the ones that the corporate offices are pre-planning for you, that our little pockets of ethnic diversities can feel like their part of our community while maintaining a little sound of home, that we can all be aware and informed, not just about what's good about music in the world but about ourselves.

We've shown the country that we can make a small bar like Phog the Best Live Music Venue in Canada. Now let's show them they can't take away our voice. Not without a fight.

BREAKING NEWS: Phog Lounge wins CBC Radio 3's Searchlight Contest for Best Live Music Venue in Canada

The votes are in and after a grueling slug fest with 114 nominated venues across Canada from Victoria, BC to Charlottetown, PEI, Windsor's little orange indie venue Phog Lounge has come out on top!

The best part of this win - apart from the seriously kick-ass concert we're going to get at Phog courtesy of CBC Radio 3 and broadcast live on the Sirius Satellite Radio Network - is the amount of genuine community that the entire city has shown when something unique from Windsor was pitted against the rest of the country.

Windsor is not exactly known as a musical hot spot in Canada, despite the fact that I think we are by a landslide. But in Toronto and Montreal and Vancouver, you'd be hard pressed for any of the Hipsters mentioning Windsor in casual conversation as a place that is bubbling over with talent.

Yet they are now. Or at least their ears have perked up and they're willing to listen.

Local media helped out immensely. In the past, much of Windsor's media (particularly the mainstream media) have ignored Windsor's musical scene unless it was somehow connected to the Symphony or it was an artist who had already secured the adoration of at least the rest of Canada, if not the States (such as The Tea Party or Jody Raffoul). So to see such outlets as A-Channel, The Windsor Star, and CBC rally around Phog, alongside the always supportive CJAM 91.5, WAMM Magazine and the countless Blogs and Twitters and Facebook soldiers was truly inspiring.

Well, it's all paid off. Toronto and Vancouver and Montreal can claim to have bigger success stories off the stage, they can laugh and say it doesn't really matter, but deep down, to many, this stings. Through all their talk and their talk and their talk and their talk, they've shown the rest of Canada that when push comes to shove, that's all they had. Meanwhile, in Windsor, we not only said Phog was the Best Live Music Venue in Canada, we made sure it would happen. We talked the talk, but more importantly, we walked the walk.

This became something bigger than Phog Lounge. Coach & Horses regulars voted for Phog. Chubby Pickle regulars voted for Phog. Even Boom Boom Room regulars voted for Phog. This became a Windsor thing. This became our chance - finally - to send out our battle cry to the rest of the country that Windsor does have a music scene. That Windsor does have a sense of musical community. That Windsor will not be ignored.

And after the sound of the roar has quietened, Phog Lounge has emerged as not just the Little Venue That Could, but proved it was The Little Venue That Did.

Congratulations Tom & Frank for all you've given in 5 years.

Congratulations, Windsor. I'm proud of you.

EVENT PREVIEW: Another Saturday Knight, Whale Tooth (Toronto) and My Son My Son @ Phog Lounge

As we wait on baited breath to hear the announcement today at CBC Radio 3 whether Phog Lounge won the Searchlight Contest for Best Live Venue in Canada (after slugging away for the past month and beating out such venues as The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto and Salla Rosa in Montreal), let's take a look at a special double header happening at Phog on Saturday February 28, featuring two local bands, Another Saturday Knight and My Son My Son, with additional musical assistance by Toronto band, Whale Tooth. Also, check out the first BONUS SECTION at the bottom for some FREE mp3's generosly donated by the participating bands.

Three bands will be tackling a double header show at Phog, starting with an all-ages showcase starting at 5pm. The "adult" version (meaning you must be 19 years old or older) starts around 9pm. It's the same three bands, different order for both shows and slightly different line-up (for one of the bands).

The All-Ages Show is going something like this (times are approximate):
5pm - Chad Howson of Another Saturday Knight will do an acoustic showcase.
6pm - Whale Tooth (Toronto)
7pm - My Son My Son

The "adult" show will be like this:
10pm - My Son My Son
11pm - Whale Tooth (Toronto)
12am - Another Saturday Knight

So who are these three bands?

My Son My Son emerged from the seeming rise in emo-driven bands a year or so ago, but soon distanced themselves with a sound that seemed to gain more from progressive rock than emo. Guitar driven with intelligent changes, My Son My Son are playing packed shows around Windsor and have had recent success taking their show on the road to promote their EP, Sounds Like An Adventure.

Another Saturday Knight have become local favourites over the past few years, thanks in part to their hard work and dogged determination when it comes to promotion. I mean, does anyone not have an ASK sticker or button? Their musicianship is solid and their live performances are flawlessly tight. Their music is classic post-punk, similar in vein to bands like Joy Division, Interpol or Editors, with a trace of the vocal stylings of Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip. They released their debut full-length, Another Saturday Knight, late last year and have followed it up with regular airplay on The Rock in Windsor and Chatham, as well as shows from Windsor to Toronto.

Whale Tooth are coming down from Toronto after successfully releasing their debut self-titled EP last month. They play a quirky yet infectious style of indie-pop that is danceable yet enjoyable from the comfort of your chair, taking notes from the New Wave legends but not dismissing the modern sensibilities as well. They've been playing all over Southern Ontario at various venues and will be heading back to Toronto to play Canadian Music Week in March.

BONUS SECTION

Here are a couple of FREE mp3's donated by the bands for you to download and check out. If you like them, keep them, put them on your iPod, play it to others, etc.

(To Save the mp3's, Right Click on the mp3 and "Save Link As". This will bring up a Save File box where you can save the mp3 to your area of choice on your computer)

Whale Tooth - "Hibernation Song"
This track comes off their self-titled EP they just released last month and will have on hand at the show.

Another Saturday Knight - "Morals"
This track comes from their debut release from late last year, also self-titled. If you like it, the full CD will be available for sale at the show as well.

("Hibernation Song" is (c) 2009 Whale Tooth and "Morals" is (c) 2008 Another Saturday Knight; these mp3's are made available with the express written permission of the bands in question and are made freely available for purposes of event and band promotion. These mp3's are not for sale.)

PROFILE: Windsor's Heidi joins hosting staff on BBC Radio 1

She may be known internationally as the in-demand electronic DJ who answers simply to Heidi, but this globe-trotting vinyl spinning superstar is Windsor's very own Heidi Vanden Amstel.

Heidi is still remembered by many in the local music scene as one of the Loop's best bartenders from "back in the day" but today she is known for just about anything but.

Always a music fan, a year long sabbatical to England back in 1997 exposed her to a whole new electronic underground, expanding the love created by so many of her friends back home in Windsor. A permanent relocation in 2000 only cemented her new musical passion and started a ride that is still going on to this day.

In 2003, she was part of the team that opened the critically acclaimed vinyl music shop Phonica Records in London and soon she would not only be selling vinyl to some of the world's greatest DJs but would be spinning alongside them. A meeting with German duo M.A.N.D.Y. (Patrick Bodmer and Phillip Jung) lead to some gigs in Berlin and since then, she hasn't looked back.

A residency at perhaps the world's most well known DJ hotspot, Ibiza, not to mention countless regular gigs in Berlin (The Panorama Bar and The Watergate Club), Frankfurt (The Monza Club) and London (Fabric), as well as countless more shows across the United States, France, Spain, Italy, Australia and even here in Windsor at The Boom Boom Room. If there's a club that needs a groove in this world, Heidi's probably been there or is booked to do so. A member of the German-based electronic stable Get Physical, she released her first single, "Vejer" with partner Riton, in 2006, as well as the DJ Mix CD, Monza Club Ibiza Vol. 1, also on the Get Physical label. She's teaming back up with Riton again to release a new single this year for Get Physical's Five Year Anniversary compilation, a track entitled "To The Gum".

Her most recent endeavour is another feather in her cap and indeed one we can all be proud of. She's recently joined the hosting team for BBC Radio 1's electronic DJ show, In New DJs We Trust, heard each Friday in the UK and on-line around the world. The show has a rotating cast of hosts, with Heidi doing the fourth Friday of each month. The entire show is overseen by legendary DJ Pete Tong.

You can hear Heidi's next performance this week and listen on Friday morning (Thursday night after the bar!) at 2am to 4am (or available to listen on-line for the following 7 days) at the show's website. This week she's joined by guest DJ, Andrew Weatherall of the UK (who, oddly enough, is from Windsor, England), who got his start working alongside Paul Oakenfold, and has worked on remixes with such bands as Bjork, Beth Orton, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine and others.

This once again shows the diversity of Windsor's reach into the world of music - we're not just limited to indie rock or heavy metal or folk music. Music is a universal language with many shapes and sizes (or chords and beeps) and Windsor is making an impact everywhere.

CD REVIEW: StereoGoesStellar "StereoGoesStellar"

StereoGoesStellar
"StereoGoesStellar" (Independent, 2009)
Produced by Kevin Couvillon & StereoGoesStellar

2008 was a banner year for Windsor music. Led by now international sensation Neverending White Lights, whose albums continue to soar up charts across the country, collecting Juno and MuchMusicVideo Award nominations and accolades a plenty, followed by the alt. rock success of One Man’s Opinion in the U.S. and on Modern Rock radio, the acclaimed festival showcases of The Golden Hands Before God while touring for their North American wide release, the tireless tours and MuchMusic infiltration of Michou, the late year domination of the North American critics for Fiftywatthead’s latest offering, as well as the onward and upward skyrocketing of Pat Robitaille, Windsor has been striking gold more often than not with its musical ambassadors as they take their wares on the road and the airwaves.

With 2009 only a few months old, I’d like to offer a name for you to remember as a candidate for our Next One. StereoGoesStellar.

This five piece has been working hard on the local circuit for the past few years, releasing an EP in 2006 called Jumpin’ The Skull to local acclaim, while slowing building one of the scene’s most vocal and loyal fan bases. Built around the majestic piano and soaring vocals of singer Jeremy Coulter without being exclusive of the remaining four members, they have built a sound that is fresh and new while being altogether familiar.

On Saturday February 28, StereoGoesStellar will be holding a CD release party at Plush Lounge (375 Ouellette Ave.) to celebrate the release of their self titled full length debut, a 12- track collection that offers something for just about everyone. As Coulter mentions in their Press Release, the CD is “a great representation of the music our band creates...from fast upbeat songs to more somber slower songs.” It’s that diversity that marks the band’s strengths.

At first listen, the album almost comes across as a schizophrenic 16-year old, not sure whether it wants to jump on its bed screaming for just for fun or stare at the stars through a broken telescope. But on repeated listenings it becomes obvious that their influences run deep and wide and it’s their unbridled love for music that shines through. And if you aren’t a fan of one track, just skip to the next one...their sound is so varied that you’re bound to find one that sticks to you for days.

The album starts off with what could easily be their first single, a playful romp called “88 Keys”, that immediately will draw some comparisons to their scene siblings Michou. Although it may simply be because of the naked honesty of Coulter’s voice (it’s painful fragility is very similar to that of Michou’s Michael Hargreaves), StereoGoesStellar definitely deserves to be noted for their own musical voice and choice of directions. The second track, “Far Too Gone”, drew a whirlwind of recollections for me, almost sounding like a remastered gem from the 1980's from The Outfield, or perhaps a B-side from 90's indie rock band Idlewild. On tracks like “Night” they show they’re not afraid to sway from what predictable waters and try a different approach, not only to songwriting, but to actual musical delivery and it comes off damn near as good as anything Death Cab For Cutie has released lately (perhaps since Transatlanticsm).

But while their faster poppier songs are no doubt the highlights of their live shows (you can feel how good their shows probably are just listening to them), it’s on the slower tracks that StereoGoesStellar really shows what it can offer beyond what most of their local peers can do. An honesty in the song that revels in its simplicity and uses that to accentuate the poignant drama of the lyrics themselves. Ben Folds would do well to check this CD out as my favourite two tracks on the CD are “The Worlds Greatest Fadeout” and “Wish Upon A Plastic Star” are two classics that immediately brought to mind the soothing comfort I found in the haunting melody of Ben Folds’ 90's staple “Brick”.

The last track seems like a surprising addition as it’s a mellow take on the Pat Benatar 80's classic “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”, reinvented as a desperate plea to an ex-lover rather than the searing angst-laden rocker it started out as. Their version got such glowing approval from original songwriter Eddie Schwartz that he insisted on doing additional production and mixing on the track.

The album definitely has a few misfires but as an entire collection it’s a joy to listen to - the hits greatly outshine any of the misses. It definitely makes one long to hear the songs live and offers an eagerness to hear how this band will mature on future releases.

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As an added bonus, here's a short Q & A I did with StereoGoesStellar guitarist Mick DiMaio about the new album.

Do you think the CD captured the true live sound of SGS or is that an extension of the sound?

Mick: Before we started recording this album, we agreed that we want to present a better representation of our live sound than our first EP, Jumpin' the Skull. So, when we were tracking album we put a lot of time into generating the most authentic tones with each instrument. We spent countless hours playing with amps, pedals and drum sounds in an effort to most effectively articulate a typical SGS set.

You've recently picked up Toronto-based management in Dembroski/Denny. How has this helped the band?

Mick: Getting in touch with Dom Denny at D|D Artist Management was a huge step forward for the us. Since this working relationship was established we've had opportunities to work with some pretty fantastic individuals. For example, we were able to do our piano tracking at Doane Leblanc Studios in Toronto, and Creighton Doane later became involved with mixing the CD! We also did a cover of "Hit Me With your Best Shot" which was mixed by the song's original author Eddie Schwartz in Nashville, Tennessee. The biggest advantage of having a management team is the overall insight that's available around the clock. Dom has had a lot to do with helping us organize ourselves during the entire recording/ release process of this full length. There are a lot of aspects of the music industry that we just don't understand, so having a seasoned vet in our corner has been awesome.

You're not shy about playing all kinds of shows, from playing with the hardcore bands to playing with the indie pop bands. Why do you think SGS sounds have so accessible to such a diversity of crowds?

Mick: I guess our sound has turned out to be pretty universal. We each bring different elements to songs in the writting process that has helped to create a blend of somewhat aggressive, pop tunes. I think because of this we don't really c! ater to any specific demographic, which has helped to get a lot of dif ferent people out to shows. That being said, our moms are totally into the band, it doesn't get anymore badass than that, right?

What local bands have influenced or inspired SGS to continue their drive to make an impact on not just the local but national music presence?

Mick: Over the years we've developed some great relationships all over the Windsor music scene. Bands like One Man's Opinion, who are doing us a solid by playing our CD release which is happening February 28th at Plush Lounge. They're just a great rock band made up of the nicest guys around. They've had a huge response to their debut full length, scoring a ton of air time on 89X. Also bands, like BLURT and Holloway Roberts, who are no longer together had a huge impact on our band over the last four years, hooking us up with countless shows. Some other bands in Windsor that are drawing more and more attention are Amour Amour, Michou and My Son My Son. Windsor has been pretty quiet on the national scale, but hopefully in the next little while local bands will start turning some heads, because there's actually a pretty extensive pool of talent in this area, who have a lot to offer the Canadian art community.

WEEK IN PREVIEW: February 23 - March 1, 2009

Here's a quick glance at the week ahead in music in the Windsor area. Check out the Open Mic listing at the end for a stage near you!

For sound samples for shows, click on the bands names for a quick trip to their MySpace or other music outlet site.

Monday February 23

ALL-AGES: The Artist Life (Toronto, ON) wsg Orphan Choir, My Son My Son, and The Gutterhearts
The Chubby Pickle (762 Ouellette Ave.)
Toronto pop-punk darlings The Artist Life (who recently played Windsor opening for Protest The Hero) return to The Chubby Pickle for a Monday All-Ages show packing some powerful local punch with Orphan Choir and My Son My Son. I'm afraid I couldn't dig anything up on The Gutterhearts (I'm assuming they're not the more well-known UK punk act). The Artist Life's frontman Ian Blackwood cut his teeth in the popular street punk band Jersey for years and this new project was recently named Unsigned Band of the Month for September 2008 in Alternative Press Magazine. This is an All-Ages event and it starts earlier than usual, at 7pm.

The Milkmen
Milk Coffee Bar (68 University Ave. West)
Another night of chillaxin' at Milk with the sultry improv jazz sessions of the Monday Milkmen.

Tuesday February 24

Clare Renaud's Session
The Kildare House (1880 Wyandotte St. East)
A real traditional Celtic feel to this impromptu jam session that has all the flair of a Cape Breton house party. You never know who's going to stop by with what instrument and play what song. And the beer ain't half band neither.

Ron Leary & "Mr. Chill" Kelly Hoppe
Aardvark's Blues Cafe (89 University Ave. West)
Ron Leary and Mr. Chill play a smattering of songs, with some choice covers mixed in with songs from Leary's brilliant debut CD, theroadinbetween, and Mr. Chill's fantastic Cold Testament.

Wednesday February 25

Daren Dobsky & Josh Zalev
Aardvark's Blues Cafe (89 University Ave. West)
Dobsky and Zalev lead an occassional all-star ensemble through a series of covers, from Led Zeppelin to Jeff Buckley, rock and roll to the blues.

Kenneth MacLeod
The Dominion House Tavern (3140 Sandwich St.)
Kenneth MacLeod is a one-man musical wrecking crew. His talent is overwhelming and his intensity equally so. A variety of music, from East Coast to contemporary, with a supporting cast of local musicians.

ALL-AGES: TerminaTour featuring:
Blessed By A Broken Heart (Montreal, QC), Lovehatehero (Hollywood, CA), Agraceful (Dayton, OH), Vanna (Boston, MA), In Fear and Faith (San Diego, CA), Kiros (Calgary, AB), I Am The Vine and Jack London
The Chubby Pickle (762 Ouellette Ave.)
An All-Ages Windsor stop for Blessed By A Broken Heart's Terminatour, a smattering of heavy music diversity featuring heavy alternative to screamo, from pop-punk to Christian hardcore. They've added two locals, I Am The Vine and Jack London, easily two of Windsor's fastest rising young stars on the hardcore circuit. This is an All-Ages event and it has an early start at 5pm.

Thursday February 26
The Windsor Scene on CJAM 91.5 FM
Randi Irving continues to host the on-air version and multi-JAMMY Award winning companion to "The Windsor Scene", each and every Thursday evening from 6pm to 7pm, on CJAM 91.5 FM, Windsor's Campus and Community Radio Station. Hear tracks from some of Windsor's current musical stars as well as nuggets from the vault, not to mention live interviews and peformances! On this Thursday's edition, hear a live acoustic performance from two of the members from Two For The Cascade, Kevin Buckridan and Stefanie Zacagninni.

Huladog
The FM Lounge (156 Chatham St. West)
Always a great night of live jazz and funk jams by a group of Windsor's premiere players. Huladog have been at it for years now and they play the perfect blend of great jazz and booty shakin' funk.

Jamie Reaume
The Gourmet Emporium (1799 Wyandotte St. East)
The former brainchild behind Foreign Film Star, Reaume is still one of the city's hardest working musicians. Despite the break-up of FFS last year, Reaume keeps busy with a series of shows throughout the week around the city showcasing a deep pocket full of songs. He should be launching a new band, The Golden Eagles, and a solo project, Between Blinks, early this year.

"Mr. Chill" Kelly Hoppe, Tom Hogarth and Chris Borshuk
Mezzo Ristorante & Lounge (804 Erie St. East)
Mr. Chill teams up with the incomparable voice of Tom Hogarth as well as Chris Borshuk for this intimate showcase. A great night for dinner and some music.

Friday February 27

Mr. Chill & The Witnesses
Big Tony's Original Woodfired Pizza (911 Walker Rd.)
"Mr. Chill" Kelly Hoppe and his Witnesses play an intimate show at a great pizza joint. If you feel like some music with a bit of food without the bar crowd, this is your place to go.

The DoneFors (Toronto, ON) wsg James O-L & The Villains
Phog Lounge (157 University Ave. West)
Toronto's The DoneFors have beeen building up quite a buzz on the indie circuits, garnerning press coast to coast for their brand of roots music. Singer/songwriter Janine Stoll leads a troupe of seasoned musicians through a quirky array of music that is as equally influenced by Joni Mitchell as it is Radiohead. Warming up the stage will be locals, James O-L & The Villains, another of our fine storytelling units.

ALL-AGES: Aquila, Kingdoms (Kitchener, ON), Assassinate The Following, Final Fall and Blessed By Tragedy (Point-aux-Roches, ON)
The Chubby Pickle (762 Ouellette Ave.)
The All-Ages metal assault at The Chubby Pickle continues with their third all-ages event in a week. This time it switches from a more punk veined outing to pure doom and metal. This onslaught features some of the new blood of Windsor's metal scene, lead by Aquila, whose metal onslaught has been ripping apart Southern Ontario for a while now. This show apparently marks the final performance of Final Fall. It's a fantastic warm-up for the 19+ bill that follows it that night. This is an all-ages event, with doors at 5pm.

Shot Down Stars, Sledgehammer, Chuck Norris & The Delta Force Chorus, Weapon of Choice and Academy Drive
The Chubby Pickle (762 Ouellette Ave.)
The 19+ version of the evening's prior all-ages showcase brings a different line-up without losing any of the thunder. Scene vets Shot Down Stars and Sledgehammer always pummel a club to dust with their sound and performances and the younger bands warming up will surely do their best to keep up. Should be a loud one...

Jody Raffoul
The Village Inn Concert Hall (Leamington)
The man has played Giants Stadium in New Jersey, opening for hometown heroes Bon Jovi, yet still finds time to repay his love for his own home in Windsor-Essex County by playing so many shows in every area of the county. He continues his non-stop rock and roll journey with a stop in Leamington at the Village Inn.

Saturday February 28

A Charity Event for Rafiki Kenya featuring
"Mr. Chill" Kelly Hoppe & Greg Cox (of Mr. Chill & The Witnesses), Ron Leary, David Dubois (of The Locusts Have No King), Adam Rideout-Arkell (of Yellow Wood), Jim Meloche & Kyle Marchand (of Orphan Choir), Joel Bruyere (of Thousand Foot Krutch), Eric Welton and Stefan Cvetkovic (of Efan!).
The Kildare House (1880 Wyandotte St. East)
Pick Of The Week: This is my pick of the week as the show to check out (which was tough because there are so many great shows this week, not to mention the calibre of talent on this Saturday night alone), but the validity of the cause was the clincher. A stellar line-up of some of Windsor's finest singer/songwriters, all donating their voices to a great good. Check out my previous article of this event for more info on the cause and the performers.

ALL-AGES: My Son My Son wsg Whale Tooth (Toronto, ON) and Chad Howson
Phog Lounge (157 University Ave. West)
My Son My Son headlines a special all-ages show at Phog Lounge as part one of a double-header bill. Toronto's Whale Tooth, who have been on a steady rise in Toronto's indie-rock scene of late will also be on hand following their recent EP launch last month. Another Saturday Knight's Chad Howson will open the show with a special acoustic showcase. This is an All-Ages event, with doors opening at 5pm.

Another Saturday Knight wsg Whale Tooth (Toronto, ON) and My Son My Son
Phog Lounge (157 University Ave. West)
For part two of the double header (and the 19+ version), Chad Howson brings all the boys up on stage as Another Saturday Knight plays party host and headliner, again with Toronto's Whale Tooth and with My Son My Son starting off the festivities.

StereoGoesStellar wsg One Man's Opinion and Firelife
CD Release Party for StereoGoesStellar's full-length debut
Plush Lounge (375 Ouellette Ave.)
I recently reviewed SGS' debut full-length for WAMM Magazine (it appears on the website, WAMMonline) and I must say I was quite impressed with the result. These guys have developed an indie pop that draws on some familiar resources, but they've made their own watermark on it as well. They've enlisted One Man's Opinion, the hottest alt. rock band to come out of Windsor since Ashes of Soma. These guys are getting monster radioplay on stations like 89X, WRIF and others, not to mention high profile gigs in the U.S. Also on the bill are up-and-comers Firelife, who have been drawing some great praise of late.

Meters To Miles
The Coach & Horses (156 Chatham St. West, below Pogo's)
Meters To Miles marks the return of long-time scene vet Dan Marshall to the Windsor's stages. Dan was the frontman behind one of Windsor's most popular power-pop bands of the 1990's, B-Plan. Following B-Plan's dissolution in 2000, he resurfaced in the short lived dark electronic project, Cinch (when Dan left Cinch a year later, the remaining members formed Dronefly). After a brief hiatus, Marshall emerged not only with a new endeavour (as a solo performer under the name Dhani Marshall) but an EP released on Universal Music. The title track of the EP, Dandelion, was getting critical acclaim and he was getting acolades across the country. But family called and he was unable to properly support and, once again, he disappeared into the shadows. He has re-emerged with a new project, closer to B-Plan but still sounding modern.

Inoke Errati wsg Junior Achiever (Hamilton, ON), Turn It Up! (Edmonton, ON) and Heels
The Chubby Pickle (762 Ouellette Ave.)
Windsor's reigning power-pop kings, Inoke Errati ("I Know Karate" if you still haven't figured out there name yet) are back bringing their infectious hooks to the stage they helped make famous. Caught somewhere between Cheap Trick and Foo Fighters, Inoke Errati write great catchy pop songs that were meant to be a soundtrack for life's greatest party. "Jennifer" has been stuck in my brain for years now. They're headlining a great bill that features a sampling of more great power-pop from across Canada, including Hamilton's Junior Achiever, the latest project of former Killjoy Gene Champagne.

Client 9
The Mill Tavern (3199 Sandwich St.)
Fun selection of rock and roll covers, featuring Dale "Elad" D'Amore from Guitar Army and ex- of The Spy's and Bill Desmarais of The Wannabees.

Jonathon Roung Band
The Gourmet Emporium (1799 Wyandotte St. East)
Local singer/songwriter Jonathon Roung leads his band through some select covers as well as songs from his debut EP, Stranger on the Corner.

Sunday March 1

Dusty
Aardvark's Blues Cafe (89 University Ave. West)
One of the city's premiere entertainers, hand down, he plays an impressive mix of songs, from outlaw country to rock and roll to a little dab of hair metal. Genuinely super dude with a great sense of humour.

Open Mics Around Windsor
Monday: Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts, Phog Lounge (157 University Ave. West)
Monday: Open Mic with Clinton Hammond, The Kildare House (1880 Wyandotte St. East)
Tuesday: Open Mic with Stefanie Sarafianos, The Mill Tavern (3199 Sandwich St.)
Tuesday: Open Mic with Andrew MacLeod, The Dominion House (3140 Sandwich St.)
Tuesday: Open Mic with Jamie Reaume, Twig N' Berries (2135 Wyandotte St. East)
Tuesday: Open Mic with Travis Reitsma, The Sanctuary Coffee Lounge (1735 College Ave., 6-10pm)
Wednesday: Long & McQuade Open Jam, The FM Lounge (156 Chatham St. West)
Thursday: Open Mic with Brian VanderPryt & Mark Crampsie, Mick's Irish Pub (28 Chatham St. East, 2nd Thursday of each month)
Friday: Open Mic with Tara Watts, Cafe Morena (999 Erie St. East)
Sunday: Open Mic with Dan Marshall, The FM Lounge (156 Chatham St. West)

PICK OF THE WEEK: Fiftywatthead, Explode When They Bloom, The Jet Trio and Ton at The Chubby Pickle Tonight

It's no secret that Windsor loves its loud music. Whether it be hardcore, doom metal or plain ol' heavy metal, Windsor has always had a big soft spot for the thunderous.

Tonight's line-up at The Chubby Pickle (762 Ouellette Ave.) is perhaps the greatest showcase of pure heavy rock and roll Windsor's had in years and if it had room for one more band (Fiftywatthead's sister band Lodown) it would be perfectly complete.

Fiftywatthead is on a national rise right now, following the release of their third album, Fogcutter, on Montreal's Signed By Force Records. Fogcutter perfectly captures the sludge and dirge of Fiftywatthead's explosive live sound and it's being recognized across the continent for it's power. Here's a brief look at what the rest of the world is saying...

"Nothing asserts their unbridled supremacy and command of meaty riffs, groove-laden beats and High On Fire/Clutch-inspired grind more than these eight blasts of agonizing hatred and ungodly bellowing...Fiftywatthead nail you to the wall and relish every bit of blunt trauma, redefining the terms of the statement “fucking loud” in the process." Keith Carman, Exclaim! Magazine, November 2008

"...basically takes traditional doom/stoner and brings it bang up to date with a touch of modern extremity." Michael Roberts, MetalReview.com, November 11, 2008

"...a good injection of riff sauce...", Stereokiller.com, December 2008

"Fogcutter is one of the better doom-metal albums I’ve heard recently. It’s very heavy and very loud, and the band is happy following their own musical path." Jeff Modzelewski, 411mania.com, December 30, 2008

"Riding on the wave of success brought forth by bands like Mastodon and The Sword, Ontario’s Fiftywatthead is another example of doom and stoner metal’s rise to prominence in the metal scene to fill the void left by metalcore and melodic death." All Metal Resource, January 19, 2009

The rest of the line-up is simply stellar. A nice blend of heavy sounds to lead up to the majesty of Fiftywatthead.

If Lodown is Fiftywatthead's sister band, then Ton is their little cousin. Their brand of heavy is unique amongst the scene, neither falling into the hardcore/thrash set nor the stereotypical stoner metal. But they've developed a faithfully loyal fan base in Windsor and continue to play just under the radar of their two bigger "cousins".

Sometimes The Jet Trio seem to be about one drummer away from being Spinal Tap, but that's primarily because they have perhaps one of the best senses of humour of any band in the scene. But despite their occassional lunacy, their music is anything but comedic. Their 2006 album Motoro was easily one of the year's best to come out of Windsor and their shows were epic forcs of nature. Their stoner rock riffage gained them legions of fans and after a length hiatus for much of 2008, it's nice to see the Trio (now a quartet with the move of bassist/vocalist Geoff Zanetti to being simply a vocalist/frontman and the role of bassist filled by Grand Marais' four-stringer Mark Muzzin) back in action. Hopefully 2009 brings us the follow-up to Motoro.

Apart from Fiftywatthead, perhaps no one in the city's hard-edged music scene is attracting as much attention nationwide as Explode When They Bloom. They successfully headlined Harvesting The FAM's mini-tour of Southern Ontario and their 2008 release, As the Animals Make Their Way Through the Crowds, was picked as one of the best albums to come out of Windsor last year by WAMM Magazine's editorial staff, not to mention critical acclaim for Metro Times Detroit, LondonIndie.com, and more. Their sound is distintive, combining a heavy sense of melody with an unbridled angst that creates a sonic web that is captivating, both live and on record.

This show is hands down my Pick of the Week as the show to be at. If I wasn't working my "day job" (or night job as it were), I would be there with bells on. So I encourage everyone to be there and have a drink for me...

FROM THE VAULT: Johnny West Interview (Aug. 1, 2005)

Many years ago, before The Windsor Scene arrived on CJAM 91.5 FM or in Upfront Magazine or WAMM Magazine, it was merely a web site, full of links and interviews.

Once such interview I did years ago was with a singer/songwriter who was as talented and prolific as he was a mystery to most people in the local music scene. I had only discovered him at the nudging of CJAM Station Manager and local musician Adam Fox, but I can honestly say I'm glad I did. His name is Johnny West and, although he's much more known now than he was then, he's still somewhat of an enigma. He plays very fleetingly in public but releases several releases a year. His last two - 2008's brilliant The Chicken Angel Woman With A Triangle and this year's An Absence of Sway (which I regret to say I haven't heard yet) - were both made available to pick up for free at Dr. Disc in downtown Windsor. That's right. He gives away his CDs for free.

Anyway, this interview was done August 1, 2005, for the release of his latest CD (at the time), Nostalgia Triggering Mechanism.

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In music, it seems that the genius’ are always the one’s perceived as being just a little crazy. Brian Wilson, Syd Barrett, Frank Zappa. Even Windsor’s own Alexander “Skip” Spence (original drummer for Jefferson Starship, co-founder of Moby Grape) flirted with the genius tag before schizophrenia kicked in. But it’s not the mental illness paranoia that gets them their names in the record books – it’s the way they go about creating their music. They think, the move, they play – they create­ – completely outside the box. They don’t set parameters or guide lines to confine their music; they simply release it and let the notes, chords and melodies land where they may. Windsor may have its own resident genius, burrowed away in his home studios, creating some of the most exciting and mind-blowing music – those kinds of songs that seem beyond any realm of instinctual writing, but somehow manages to hit upon every emotion or grand idea. His name is Johnny West and he is easily Windsor’s best kept secret. He has recorded more albums in the past two years than most bands will record in their career. And each album speaks like a different voice within his communal mind – sometimes sounding like a collaboration exchange between Beck and Brian Wilson, other times like Nick Drake working with Ween. There are sounds that at first don’t seem to fit until you slowly realize it’s your mind that doesn’t fit – your brain is trying to perceive the pop sounds the way it was told to, not how it actually wants to listen to them. And once you manage to wrap your ears around his pop orchestrations, its hard to turn away. And even then, you can still hear them haunting your own mind, just as surely as they did his prior to him recording them for us all to hear. The Windsor Scene managed to interrupt the work in progress and talk to the man himself about his own views and opinions, on himself, his music and the state of the creative spirit.

What music inspired you to want to start making your own music?

Johnny: I don’t think anything really inspired me…I just had a desire to create music that didn’t seem to stem from anything in particular. I always had music in my head, long before I could articulate it in any coherent form. I’ve been told stories of how, when I was very young, I would stagger over to a table or refrigerator and start hammering out a rhythm with my hands. Only, instead of being formless noise, it was an intricate pattern that seemed to be accompanying some unheard music. But hey, I’m just going on what other people have told me… I do remember incurring the wrath of my kindergarten teacher for singing at inappropriate times, and I irritated a few people in later grade school years when I would use my pencil box as a snare drum. I also brought about the violent deaths of a few pens that way. Their dying cries still haunt me at night.

I started renting various keyboards around the time I was eleven years old, before getting one to call my own for Christmas. In the beginning I didn’t have much of anything resembling talent, but I didn’t let that stop me from improvising half-baked songs about ducks and firearms. Those songs are still kicking around on tape, too.

Over the years I acquired different instruments and taught myself how to play them, did the same with recording equipment, and gradually became less terrible at whatever it is that I do. There’s kind of a funny story about how I ended up playing guitar the way I do, but no one seems to notice that there’s anything unconventional going on unless they actually see me play. I’m just glad I discovered a way to get some sound out of the instrument that isn’t entirely hideous.

Did you see any local bands prior to getting into music?

Johnny: I didn’t, and I could probably count the number of local bands I’ve seen perform throughout my life on two hands. Or maybe two hands and a foot. I’m not exactly sure.

How long have you been making music?

Johnny: I’ve been making and recording music in various forms for about ten years now. I don’t think any of my other projects lasted for much longer than two years, though it’s difficult to say with all the jumping around we did.

So do you play with any backing band?

Johnny: I don’t have a band at the moment. I did at one point, but it dissolved more than three years ago, and I don’t expect I’ll ever put another one together. There don’t seem to be many people who are interested in working the way that I do - and if they are, they’re about as reliable as a homemade pregnancy test. Things operate a lot more smoothly when I do everything myself.

So who was this mystery prior band…

Johnny: I had a two-man outfit from about 1998 - 2001 called Papa Ghostface, with Gord Thompson and my then-less-hairy self trading off instrumental duties. We recorded a lot of fairly insane, mostly-improvised music that I don't think I could come up with any intelligible description for. In July of 2000, that accidentally evolved into Guys With Dicks (the real band). I came up with the name as a joke (the first CD was called "Without Dicks"), thinking we would never play together again, but people kept flitting in and out of the picture until we were whittled down to a lean three-piece in the last quarter of 2001. Gord took over bass duties and Tyson Taylor moved behind the drum kit. There was also a short-lived side-project I worked on with Tyson called Mr. Sinister, but only one CD came out of that. The band broke up near the end of May 2002, though there wasn't an exact date. Gord is now the lead guitarist in Surdaster, while Tyson plays the drums for tech metal purveyors Closed Casket Funeral. Tyson and I have talked a few times about trying to make music together again, but I'm not sure if it'll ever happen.

What would it take to get you into another band nowadays?

Johnny: Reliability is half the battle. I would have to know that people were going to show up roughly when they said they would. I can't work with people who have no concept of time (and no respect for mine) anymore. I've done it more than once, and it nearly cost me what little sanity I have.

It's difficult for me to find people I would want to work with, and whenever I think about it I usually come to the conclusion that it doesn't make any sense to even bother looking for them, because I know what I want to do, and I wouldn't enjoy taking other people through it step by step. The main reason Papa Ghostface and Guys With Dicks worked was because almost all of the music was created through improvisation, and we were able to tap into something that allowed us to follow one another. That wouldn't work now, because I don't operate that way anymore. I think I'd start to feel like a dictator if I was constantly telling other musicians what notes to play, where and how to play them...I mean, to me, that kind of defeats the entire purpose of playing with other people.

The only thing I can think of that would get me back in a band setting at this point would be if I came across someone who was capable of bringing something really unique to the table, with no interest in working from any kind of musical template. I've thought a few times about trying to put together a band to make music that's more ambient in nature and has nothing to do with my solo endeavours, but I'm not sure I have the patience to pursue something like that. Maybe once I'm done working through all the music that's in my brain right now, I'll give it some more thought.

But right now, I know what I want, and for some strange reason I'm able to bring it to fruition without any outside interference. It's not that I'm a visionary artist, or a musician of virtuosic proportions, or anything like that...I think I'm just getting closer to knowing what I'm doing. Once I figure it out, it'll probably be time to do something else. Maybe put together a graveyard jazz outfit, with long, winding songs about love and corruption within the animal kingdom.

How would you describe your sound?

Johnny: Back when I had a band, I wasn’t sure what to call our music. I once referred to it as “stoner blues” as a joke. My drummer called it “fucked”, and played out a scenario in which someone walked into HMV and asked where the fucked section was. My solo work is quite different from anything I’ve done with other musicians, and I’ve never been able to describe it or stuff it into a specific genre, outside of saying, “This CD’s mostly synth-based,” or, “This one’s more organic, and there are more nasty words.” This sometimes leads to exchanges like the following:

SOME RANDOM PERSON: “What kind of music do you make?”

ME: “Uh…Johnny West music, I guess.”

SOME RANDOM PERSON: “What the hell kind of music is that?”

ME: “You’re asking the wrong guy. Here—have some CDs!”

Generally, the only way I can adequately convey to someone the kind of music I make is to give them a CD or five. The trade-off is that people don’t usually tell me I sound like some other artist or band, which is nice.

I don’t seem to stay in one place for very long, so it’s difficult to come up with any kind of blanket term that applies to the music I make. But if I was forced to describe my sound, I guess I would call it “disjointed non-pop”.

Do you remember your first live show?

Johnny: Oh yes. Our first (and, as it turned out, second-last) show was quite an event. My bassist organized it. His parents worked at the Windsor Sportsman’s Club, and he told me he could get us a show there. In theory, we’d be able to use the house band’s equipment and play for as long as we wanted. The day of the show, I discovered that he had never spoken to anyone about us playing. We ended up transporting most of the equipment from my quasi-studio, only to discover that no one knew we were going to be performing. Eventually they agreed to let us play, but we weren’t allowed to use the stage. We set up on the floor and got through two songs before we were told patrons were complaining and we would have to stop. Less than twenty minutes after setting up, we were taking things apart and leaving. My band mates were crushed; I thought the whole thing was kind of funny, and made a mental note never to let Gord (the bassist) organize a gig again. In the end, my drummer and I celebrated our success by getting somewhat inebriated and butchering someone else’s music.

What was your most memorable incident playing with your band?

Johnny: Playing at a dinner banquet—which was a hilariously inappropriate atmosphere for the kind of music we made—and having most of the audience leave before we even started playing because the evening had stretched on longer than anticipated. We weren’t able to start playing until about an hour and-a-half later than expected. A few songs into our set, we were playing to about ten people out of the three or four hundred who had shown up. I punctuated serious songs with stupid facial expressions, and we joked back and forth with the people we knew (our entire audience, really). The first two songs of our set were captured on video, and it’s kind of funny to watch, knowing that the band was about to disintegrate almost immediately after that show. We were pretty tight, too.

How has the audience reaction been to your music?

Johnny: I rarely play live, but everyone who hears my music seems to respond to it in a positive way. It never ceases to surprise me. Even more shocking is the fact that some people have used select CDs of mine for make-out purposes. I’ve certainly never thought about it along those lines. But I enjoy getting any kind of feedback from people who’ve heard my music. It’s the closest I’ve been able to come to approaching it objectively, even if it’s kind of a vicarious pursuit.

Why have you chosen not to play live?

Johnny: I have a strange relationship with live performance. I think I would enjoy it a lot more if I had other musicians to play off of, because then we could stretch things out and improvise. It's not the same when it's just me up there, playing songs that generally weren't intended to be stripped down to guitar and voice. I enjoy the idea of boiling things down and giving songs a different interpretation, but for some reason I don't like being responsible for everything that happens onstage. I also don't like playing songs that have already been recorded, even if most of the people in the audience wouldn't have heard those songs anyway, so I end up pulling out a lot of new material and then losing interest in it after it's been performed. I think I enjoy the recording process a lot more---not because I'm a perfectionist (one listen to any of my CDs would quickly dispel that idea), but because the songs have time to unfurl and decide how they want to be treated. Having said that, it is nice when you get paid and realize that you don't have to share the money with anyone else.

It's kind of funny, though...back when I was aggressively trying to get shows, giving CDs to different people at different venues and following up repeatedly (and this is going back about two years), no one would give me the time of day. All I wanted was to play somewhere occasionally to see how people responded to the music, but I couldn't get anyone to listen to a CD let alone give me a date. When I finally said to hell with it and lost interest in the idea of playing live, people suddenly started telling me I should get out there and play at different places. I ended up playing one show at Phog, which is a great, open-minded venue, but there don't seem to be many other places in this city that would be interested in my kind of music. Of course, if one of my CDs got reviewed on pitchforkmedia.com and I started to get industry attention, I'm sure The Avalon and other places that shunned me would become incredibly supportive overnight.

So I guess there are a few different reasons for my losing interest in the idea of live performance. I'm all for catching some great live jazz, though.

What are your future plans for yourself, musically?

Johnny: I just intend to keep doing what I’m doing—making the music I want to make (whatever that may be at any given time), and then giving the resultant CDs to a handful of people who might be interested. I decided a few years back that I would never allow myself to write another song that incorporated a chorus or followed the traditional A-B-A format, so I plan to keep experimenting with structure and dynamics. I have about three different CDs in the works right now, though I’m not sure if they’ll emerge in that form when all is played and sung. But there should be some new stuff available before the end of the year.

What do you feel about the local Windsor music scene?

Johnny: Kind of indifferent. I know there are talented bands out there, but I’ve never been the kind of person to go out to a lot of shows and investigate. Part of my indifference probably stems from the fact that I’ve never really felt like I was a part of the scene. I’ve never had much interest in playing live and building a following; I just make music for myself. That’s something that still seems to puzzle some people.

What local bands currently excite you?

Johnny: I don’t think there are any local bands that currently excite me. Maybe that’s because I just don’t seem to get excited about a lot of music in general. I’ve been meaning to check out some things for a while now, particularly Ten Year Drought, but I never seem to get around to it with all the other music I’m trying to wade through. I liked the set Ryan Fields and his cohorts unveiled at Phog when we played on the same bill earlier this year.

So what kind of music do you find exciting?

Johnny: A lot of the music I listen to was created by bands that are defunct or artists who are no longer living, but there's some music being made right now that really grabs me. Idaho (Jeff Martin's endlessly-evolving project) is consistently amazing and unpredictable. Man Man are insane and great in equal doses...a bit like Tom Waits on acid, shot through with a healthy dose of twisted cabaret. Susumu Yokota makes some of the most compelling electronic music I've heard. Scout Niblett's another artist making music on her own terms. I know there are more, but I can't think of them at the moment.

Do you remember the first album you ever bought with your own money?

Johnny: Something terrible. I still have some disturbing corporate rock shit in my CD collection. It's kind of funny to keep around, if only to serve as a reminder of how much my taste has changed. My first purchase was probably something by Kansas or Journey. I was so excited when I found their obscure early albums. Before Steve Perry joined Journey! Before "Carry On My Wayward Son"! I still can't believe some of the music I used to be into before I hit puberty. Man...

What would you tell young aspiring musicians about starting a band in the Windsor scene?

Johnny: Though it’s been said often enough that it’s essentially become a cliché, it really is true that having a band is a bit like being married. It’s one thing to see someone once in a while, but when you start spending a lot more time with them under a more serious premise, it completely alters the dynamics of your relationship. In spite of the best efforts of everyone involved, things have a way of turning ugly when egos of different sizes are involved.

For someone looking to do what I do (assuming there are other aspiring one-man operations in Windsor), my advice would be to try to do as much by yourself as you possibly can. Reliable talent is very hard to find.

But above all, the most important thing is to enjoy what you’re doing, regardless of your situation. If you’re happy with the music you’re making, everything else is gravy.

So what recordings are available?

Johnny: A full discography would be a frightening undertaking. In addition to my solo work, there have been a few two-man bands/side projects, and a bona fide band that shifted line-ups about half a dozen times. There were also a few things I engineered for other people, occasionally making the odd musical contribution. All told, I’ve recorded more than 50 “official” CDs from 1999 (when I was first able to preserve my music in the digital format) to date, not counting compilations and things I recorded for other artists. The majority of the CDs have gone unheard by most people. There are also a few hundred cassette tapes covering the pre-1999 years, but most of that stuff I won’t play for anyone, although it is kind of amusing to be able to chart my voice’s gradual descent into puberty and beyond.

Having said that, here is a list of my solo work available on CD (again, not counting compilations): Nostril Saliva EP (1999), Singing the Oesophagus to Sleep (1999), Sick Shit EP (1999), Don’t Talk Like a Baby (1999), Live @ the Naked Giraffe Theatre (1999), Sleep-Deprived EP (1999), Merry Fuckin’ Christmas (1999), Here Comes Trouble EP (2000), The Lifeline & Twisted Happenings of…/WOHIS (2000), Children Have No Eyes [incomplete] (2000), Sale of a Dead Man (2000), Beautifully Stupid (2002), Temporary Amnesia (2002), Keep Your Scars (2002), Live on CJAM (2003), Oh You This (2003), Nudge You Alive (2004), Pavement Hugging Daddies EP (2004), Brand New Shiny Lie (2004), Growing Sideways (2004), Who You Are Now Is Not What You Were Before (2005), Nostalgia-Triggering Mechanism EP (2005)

I didn’t start putting some amount of effort into making my CDs look somewhat presentable until Oh You This, so anything that came before would have to be a CD-R with handwritten info. Anything post-2003 comes complete with front and back inserts and a disc that doesn’t say “Verbatim” or “Maxell” on the front.

And where can one acquire these recordings?

Johnny: My CD’s are only available through/from me. To my knowledge, only one person has ever tried to find my stuff in a Dr. Disc or some other CD retailer and I think it's kind of funny trying to imagine the conversation they had with the person behind the counter.

"Do you have any CD’s by a guy named Johnny West?"

"Johnny West? Who the hell is Johnny West?"

"Well, uh, I heard it on CJAM..."

"We don't have any CD’s by Johnny West!"

"Are you sure? Maybe you could check again?"

"Don't make me hurt you."

I almost never sell CD’s, unless someone insists on giving me money; I usually just end up giving them to whoever might be interested and occasionally forcing copies on random people in bars just for the hell of it. As a result, I now have no copies left of the Pavement Hugging Daddies EP and only one or two copies left of Brand New Shiny Lie and Growing Sideways. But I think I'm going to stop sending CD’s to a handful of indie labels (I recently realized how little sense it makes, given my situation), so that should keep future CD’s around a bit longer.

So what kind of equipment do you use to record your stuff?

Johnny: I've assembled quite a bit of gear over the years, but the brainchild of my "studio" is a Roland VS-1680 digital recording workstation. I'm sure it's been obsolete for a few years now since they're constantly coming out with new, "better" and more expensive models with more tracks, but I haven't felt a need to replace it. I like being limited to 16 tracks, because it doesn't allow me to dress up songs with endless overdubs in an attempt to mask a lack of quality. A list of all my gear would make for some pretty ponderous reading, but one of my favourite pieces of equipment as of late is an old Arp Omni-2 analog synth. While it's incredibly limited compared to a digital synth, some of the sounds you can get out of it are impossible to replicate on anything else. After letting it collect dust for a few years as a makeshift shelf, it's been freed and I'm thinking about bringing it out of retirement. Also, RODE makes some nice microphones that don't necessarily break the bank. Recently I picked up a pair of K2s, which are tube mics and a bit pricier, but they may prove to be my favourite mics for acoustic guitar and other stringed things. They're sparkly and warm and...I sound like I'm trying to sell freshly-baked Christmas cookies.

While the world of software-based recording is foreign to me, it seems like a good way to allow people to record their music without having to shell out a lot of money. I can't really argue for or against it, since I don't have any experience with it. But if you don't have access to the plug-ins that format provides, mic preamps and compression are a good idea. I found that out the hard way. It helps to have a good outboard effects processor or two as well - kind of like having a spice rack. You may not always use it, but it's nice to have around.

The best piece of advice I could offer to someone looking to record their own music would be this: spending a lot of money on gear doesn't necessarily mean you'll end up with great-sounding recordings. Find equipment you like, and then learn how to use it. Experiment. Someone once said (and I paraphrase), "You can either spend a lot of money and time listening to someone talk to you about recording, or you can spend that money on recording equipment and teach yourself." I took the latter route, and while I've made a lot of mistakes, I've learned things along the way that I don't think any course would have taught me. Still, it's worth it to read up a bit about different things, particularly EQ.

Having your music professionally mastered is a nice idea, and it's great when it works, but it can be a pain in the ass trying to find someone who will do the work the way you want it done. My self-mastered CDs aren't as loud as anything you'd buy at HMV (or at least not anything recorded after 1991), but they also aren't squashed to death. I value dynamics over master volume. I also have a kazoo and a party whistle. Hear me tremble.

Then again, sometimes a 4-track and a cheap microphone are all you need. It all depends on what kind of music you're making, and what your aspirations are.

You mentioned that you’d done some engineering work with some other bands. Who have you worked with?

Johnny: I haven't recorded anyone else's music in years now, but most of what I did in the past was for friends…ADHD, Fetal Pulp, Jesse Topliffe (who's since relocated to Toronto, and with whom I essentially collaborated on a lot of what we recorded), and various other quickies. It didn't feel much like work most of the time, which is appropriate, since I usually wasn't paid much for my services. It was nice to be able to sit back and watch the music happen without getting dirty myself. A few things I recorded for people and never got around to mixing, which I find a little funny. But they never got back to me about it, so I don't think anyone was too upset.

It sounds a bit like you’re a cross between Brian Wilson and Phil Spector - without the fecal fetish father and the dead wife.

Johnny: Ha! Well, I don't think I have much of anything I could call a production style...certainly not anything as distinctive or elaborate as Brian or Phil. I'm pretty sure I did have a sandbox for a brief time during my youth, though. And I do have more than a few pairs of sunglasses, though most of them spend more time on stuffed animals than they do on my face. My stepfather resembles a rat suffering from heatstroke, if that means anything.

So who exactly is Johnny West?

Johnny: I’m probably the most cynical, profane person you’ll never meet, though you probably wouldn’t know it if you did meet me. I have such horrible luck with the opposite sex that it’s become a bit of a running joke between the left and right sides of my brain. I still can’t get my facial hair to do precisely what I’d like it to, but I’m confident I’ll get there someday.

And with that, Johnny returns to his home studio, once again answering the musical voices in his head that he captures so magically on his albums. And though they are only available through his website (or in person if you can track him down), I can guarantee you they are definitely worth the trouble and the listen. They will show you soundscapes and musical visions most people assume takes years in the studio and thousands of dollars worth of hallucinogens to achieve – you may not get it on first listen, but keep trying. It will unfold in your ear like the birth of a new audio galaxy.

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So there you have it. A little blast from The Windsor Scene past. His current album, An Absence of Sway, is available - again, for free - at Dr. Disc in downtown Windsor, just go in and ask for one (until supplies last).

For more info on his current whereabouts, he has a Blog called Dressing To Undress with all the juicy gossip of his thoughts and music as well as the seemingly obligatory MySpace, which seems to house more "works in progress" than final product.