Hidden Towers

Post-Apocalyptic Lullabies to Paralyze

By Scott Lyon

Hidden Towers, photo by Kate Henderson and collage by Lindsey Hampton

Hidden Towers, photo by Kate Henderson and collage by Lindsey Hampton

When Hidden Towers took first place at CiTR’s Shindig 2009 competition, it marked the first time since 3 Inches of Blood’s 2001 victory that a band playing heavier music had won the competition.

A look at winners from years past reveals myriad styles, from hip-hop collectives to folk-pop, but it’s undeniable that metal has rarely been well represented in the competition. CiTR music director Luke Meat commented, “Every year the type of hard rock or heavy metal we seem to get at Shindig seems to be your stereotypical Korn or Nickleback knock-offs. Hidden Towers were a pleasant and welcome surprise.” Discorder recently had the chance to sit down with Hidden Towers founder/guitarist Chris Cantrell and discuss the band’s victory, their influences and the future for Hidden Towers’ music—which interestingly may or may not include humanity as we know it.
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Half Chinese

"One of them was to kidnap the Kidnap Kids! and destroy them."

By Sancho McCann

Half Chinese, photo by Kate Henderson, collage by Lindsey Hampton

Half Chinese, photo by Kate Henderson, collage by Lindsey Hampton

Half Chinese, a Vancouver-based indie/avant-garde rock band, placed second in Shindig 2009, CiTR’s annual battle of the bands. Harrison Pratt, Enzio Verster and Danny Dakak make up Half Chinese. Pratt and Verster are an offshoot of the now-defunct Light Bulb Effects. They met Dakak when he moved in with Pratt in 2008. “We had lots of jam sessions and just fell in love with this man,” Pratt said. Read More »

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Never on a Sunday: Part 3

with Rock & Roll Pizza Party and the Astoria Soul Club

By Discorder Staff

Illustration by Mérida Anderson

Illustration by Mérida Anderson


Rock & Roll Pizza Party

(Third Wednesday of the month)

Venue: The Biltmore
Music: Garage and punk
DJs: Kyle Scully, John Arnett and Ashley Marie
Cover: $7 for local bands, $8 for touring bands
Drink Specials: $3.75 PBR, $4.75 on feature draft

It seems obvious now, but the idea is actually totally ingenious. Jillian Mann has been a promoter for the Biltmore for two years now and entertained the idea of having her own night there. When given the go, she had to come up with something that would get people out on a Wednesday night. What better than the best music and free food? “We thought of naming it Hot Lunch and having free hot dogs,” said Mann, but then the idea of free pizza dawned on them. “We found out there’s a bar in Montreal that already does a Rock & Roll Pizza Party, so I contacted the promoter for it and asked if we could have one here,” Mann told me in an interview outside the venue while we watched people pour in. “He was really excited about the idea … Now there’s one on Calgary, too.” Read More »

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Woodhands

Remorsecapade (Paper Bag Records)

Review By Sarah Berman

Woodhands - Remorsecapade

Woodhands - Remorsecapade

Much like its title suggests, Remorsecapade is a portmanteau: a frantic blend of equal parts euphoria and despair, excitement and heartbreak. Hailing from Toronto, the drum and synth duo have injected an unexpected amount of emotional honesty (and intensity) into their sophomore release.
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Bob Wiseman

Bob Wiseman Sings Wrench Tuttle: In Her Dream (Blocks Recording Club)

Review By Miranda Martini

It’s been a decade since Bob Wiseman Sings Wrench Tuttle: In Her Dream was first released and the enigmatic former Blue Rodeo keyboardist began to winkle his way into the collective heart of the underground music scene. Wiseman’s persona in those days was a prankster, willing to mess with fans, music execs, and the artist formerly known as Prince all in one go. But what makes In Her Dream so interesting isn’t the gimmicky weirdness that made its creator a household name (ha, ha); it’s how easily the songs on the album upstage the gimmicks. Read More »

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We Are The City

In A Quiet World (Self-Released)

Review By Mark PaulHus

We Are The City - In A Quiet World

We Are The City - In A Quiet World

The last year or two have been busy for determined Kelowna trio We Are The City, yet somehow in between touring (sharing the stage with bands like Bend Sinister and Said the Whale) and attending boot camps, they have managed to record a creatively funded full-length album. In A Quiet World is a well- produced first offering from the Peak Performance finalists; it showcases 11 tracks of ambitious, piano-laden indie rock written by three men who are surprisingly competent despite their youth. Read More »

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The Slew

100% (Puget Sound Recordings)

Review By Nathaniel Bryce

Originally, the Slew came together when Montreal DJ Kid Koala and Seattle producer/guitarist Dynomite D were approached to score the soundtrack to a documentary that never ended up seeing the light of day. With the music already in place and at the urging of friends Chris Ross and Myles Heskett, former rhythm section from Australia’s Wolfmother, an album was recorded and eventually a touring act hit the road in order to showcase these rough hardened nuggets of twisted rock ‘n’ roll goodness. 100% is the name of this debut and it’s certainly a strange kind of monster. Read More »

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Chin Injeti

He's kinda like a big deal.

By Leanna Orr

Illustration by Lindsey Hampton

Illustration by Lindsey Hampton

Chin Injeti is not shy. From terrorism to sex to post-colonial literature, the Vancouver-based producer/musician initiates candid conversation on topics that I, as an interviewer, would never dare to introduce. When asked for his reflections on the decade past—the ’00s—Injeti responded, “It was the transition decade. 9-11 changed everything. Sex is not special anymore.” Perhaps spending long hours in the studio with hip-hop artists like 50 Cent, Dr. Dre and Clipse (plus the rappers’ lascivious fans) has coloured Injeti’s view of contemporary sexual practice. The disillusionment is understandable, considering the number of times Injeti must have listened to Kanye boast, “Got head from a girl in Special Ed. / You know the pretty ones in that dumb class,” while producing the new Clipse track, “Kinda Like a Big Deal.” Whether in regards to romance, beats or artists, Injeti is always searching for something special. Read More »

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Venews

"How do we encourage creativity in Vancouver? We need to legalize it"

By Jordie Yow

Illustration by Lindsey Hampton

Illustration by Lindsey Hampton

“This is going to be really huge if it goes through; it will change the city,” whispered Dave Duprey, owner of the Rickshaw, Grace Gallery and the Narrow, before he went up to speak in favour of a report that the city of Vancouver’s cultural services had compiled for Jan. 21’s city council meeting. The report, with the innocuous title “Regulatory Review for Live Performance Venues,” is based on two meetings that cultural services had with stakeholders in Vancouver’s live performance community (full disclosure, including myself) to discuss problems and possible solutions for the bureaucratic nightmare that can be running a venue in Vancouver. Read More »

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Instrumental Love: Kidnap Kids!

"Jerks! Kidnap Kids!"

By Sarah Charrouf

Kidnap Kids!, photo by Shaun Stander

Kidnap Kids!, photo by Shaun Stander

I was invited into the Kidnap Kids! jam space, which is really just the garage behind Celina Kurz’s parents’ house in North Vancouver. I was expecting to go in there and look at all the instruments and talk about their amps and keyboard, but it became apparent right away that they’re not concerned so much with their instruments as they are with joking around and telling stories. Read More »

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