Cranking up 2015’s standout albums
TOP 10 RELEASES: From Dan Mangan to David Gogo, these artists made an impression over the last year
The Garage starts off the new year with one last look at 2015. It should add Tobias Jesso Jr.’s Goon to a list of impressive albums by Grimes (Art Angels) and Carly Rae Jepsen (Emotion).
These 10 albums also made an impression.
Jan. 20: Dan Mangan + Blacksmith: Club Meds. Full steam ahead into commercial suicide. The album Mangan had to make.
Feb. 3: Schuld & Stamer: Kud-delmuddel. Blues vets take contemporary approach to an old genre.
Feb. 24: Kelly Haigh: Post Apocalyptic Valentines. The album comes with a storybook, reproductions of her paintings, anecdotes, all adding up to a person you’d like to know.
April 7: Pharis and Jason Romero: A Wanderer I’ll Stay. Modern folk inspired by and reflective of a respect for the past.
May 12: Alex Cuba: Healer. Grammy-nominated Latin pop, highlighted by its warm intimacy.
June 2: Swank: Keep It Together. Where an energetic country meets punk-inflamed rock. The band’s best album.
June 23: Hilary Grist: Tomorrow is a Chance to Start Over. Ostensibly a children’s record, but realistically lullabies for adults. Seductive, serene.
Sept 22: David Gogo: Vicksburg Call. A kind of restatement for Gogo of his devotion to blues, soul and rock.
Oct. 6: Destroyer: Poison Season. Summer in the city.
Oct. 20: Good For Grapes: The Ropes. Watch this band.
News
As leader of D.O.A., Joe Keithley called himself an informal politician, but with a byelection coming up in February he is becoming a formal politician — meaning he wants to lead the Green party to victory in the Coquitlam-Burke Mountain riding. Keithley has entered politics before, but thinks this election will be his chance to demonstrate the values for which D.O.A. always has stood: Protection of the environment, empowering people, affordable education. Keithley has run D.O.A. for 35 years, achieved international acclaim and proved himself a hard-working businessman. That should prove his worth, but his campaign needs money. Those who contribute will get a tax refund and he has sworn to post all his campaign expenses.
An attempted Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to buy the Railway Club for $300,000 seems to have failed. An investment in the club might have earned a place on the Wall of Fame or a “co-owner” T-shirt or silver or gold VIP privileges. Does the current owner know about this? Steve? Is the Railway, which has been so vital, really up for sale?
The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer have lifted another video, In the End, from their album A Real Fine Mess. The album has been rereleased as a double 12-inch vinyl album.
Fundraisers
He calls himself “misterBlake” and occupies a unique place in Vancouver music. He’s both a fan — he has an enormous Beatles collection — and a performer — he has just released his third album in a year, Coming Home. He’s incredibly generous and has made several notable friendships since the ’60s. Roy Orbison, Rita MacNeil.
However, many people know misterBlake through his foundation. With his foundation, he is able to help societies and organizations in need. Since November 2014, misterBlake has donated approximately $131,000 to charities as different as Living with Diabetes or Patti Dahlquist’s youth opera.
A performer or a recording act will sometimes say in an interview that they want to give back to the community; misterBlake is doing it.
Shake Shake Shake is the umbrella name of what looks like a varied night of music. Appearing in this fundraiser for Parkinson’s disease are Star Captains, David Morin, Tonye Aganaba, Dutch Robinson, Emily Chambers and Camaro 67. The goal is to raise $10,000 for research. Jan. 8, Imperial Room.
Babe Gurr hopes to help the First Impressions Theatre troupe when she appears with her band at Deep Cove’s Shaw Theatre on Jan. 23.
CD of the week
Although Kym Brown’s Cursery Rhymes was recorded in London, England, there is still a strong Vancouver connection. Mark Henning and John Ellis are just two of the locals involved in the production. Otherwise, Brown played most of the instruments and co-produced with Lord Fader in London. In Vancouver, she was in the middle of a well-received local project, Pygmalion. Cursery Rhymes is lighter, but it has its darker moments in Princess Avenue or the pleading Tell Me Now. There also is a goodhumoured playfulness (Almost Happy, Whatever) to leaven an album that veers from the Bjorklike Got the Stuff to the pop rock of Autoload to dance floor-aimed electronic pop.
Gigs
We Found A Lovebird (Jan. 9, Guilty And Co.), Dino DiNicolo (Jan. 9, Deep Cove Brewery), Tower and Trees (Jan. 9, Media Club), Ranj Singh (Jan. 13, Heritage Grill), Old Man Canyon (Jan. 15, Fox Cabaret), Dead Soft and War Baby (Jan. 16, Rickshaw), Yukon Blonde (Feb. 5, Commodore), punk-inflamed folk band The Dreadnoughts (check out the book, This Place Is Awesome, about its Euro tour. Feb. 13, Rickshaw), Delhi 2 Dublin (March 5, Commodore), Said The Whale (May 7, Fox Cabaret).
Tom Harrison is the author of the eBook Tom Harrison’s History of Vancouver Rock ’n’ Roll. Download it at Amazon, Kobo, Apple iBooks and Google Play.