IPO Vancouver 2014
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Artists From Vancouver
Ajaye – “Ajaye” is Ajaye Jardine, who Vancouver music fans know as half of the mother-daughter country-pop project, The Jardines! Her solo work is quite different, delving into the electro-pop arena, but just as cool! If you’ve seen Ajaye play in The Jardines, be ready for something else entirely…and you will love it just as much! An EP is in the works, so watch for it!
Graham Brown Band – Long a stalwart in the Vancouver music scene, this fine singer/songwriter serves up a tasty slice of crunchy alt-country, drawing heavily from influences such as Neil Young, Steve Earle, Tom Petty, and Johnny Cash on his latest CD, Hiwatt…and what you should do is buy it if it’s not already in your collection! Preview files of the next CD, Give & Take, will be available soon, and we can hardly wait to hear them!
Catlow – Having achieved indie acclaim in The Dirtmitts, Natasha Thirsk channels her ethereal vocals and hook-filled melodies into her new guitar-driven electro pop child, Catlow. The latest album, Pinkly Things, highlights Thirsk‘s coy vocals as they float over dense atmospheric guitar rock, with blippy synth textures and a power-pop heart. Sing-song melodies flex their electro muscles within sweet, eclectic songwriting and chilly neo-disco, while falling back on hot indie rock. Great stuff!
China Syndrome – A band whose songs will remind you of everything you love about power pop! Filled with catchy hooks, bouncy guitars, upbeat vocals and harmonies reminiscent of such greats as XTC, The Replacements, Badfinger, and Guided By Voices, their latest CD, Nothing’s Not Worth Knowing, has been described by venerable indie rock magazine The Big Takeover as an “absolutely solid, songwriter-intensive slab of catchy, muscular Vancouver power pop.” You NEED to hear this band!
Citizen A and The New Supremes – A Vancouver supergroup, featuring members of Pepper Sands, The Orchid Highway, The Walk-Ins and The Top Drawers, as you’ve never seen them before! If you love Diana Ross and The Supremes, and other Motown and girl group greats, this is one show you will definitely not want to miss, as nobody does the hits quite like these “gals” – trust us!!
ColourSurround-Sweeping guitars with melodic bass lines and driving drums are the touchstone of this quartet who are strongly influenced by early ‘90s Britpop bands such as The Verve, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Suede, Blur, et al, along with some grunge thrown in! Cool stuff!
Siobhan DuVall – The leader of Duvallstar, and former guitarist for The Bomshells, Bif Naked, and The Widows (with Billy Hopeless), Siobhan is the consummate performer, whether fronting a band or rocking the house solo, as she will for IPO. Known for her sophisticated sexy power punk, Siobhan has played the main stage at the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival and Sony Playstation Skatespace in Whistler BC, and has appeared on VH-1 in New York City! Her stories in between songs are almost as good as the songs themselves!
Danny Echo – With influences drawing from the greats like The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Beatles, Radiohead, Oasis, and U2, Danny Echo reverberates with all that is melodic, all that is catchy, and all that is rock n’ roll on his latest full length release, Rock Bottoms Up, and barely tones it down for his recent acoustic EP, Unplugged and Unglued. Smoke machines, projectors, smoking guitars, and fire extinguishers (?!!) have become a part of the visual assault of Danny Echo gigs, making the live show an experience not to be missed!
elle-ectric – Having explored several musical writing styles – from jazz to folk to hip hop to house to top 40 – elle-electric now concerns herself with creating art for art sake. The songs on her upcoming album, The Queen Of Mars, draw inspiration from her lovers, dirty rock and country guitar riffs, as well as her folk style soul, and combine this with passion and grit to create her own unique cinematic soul meets gritty country rock style. Fans of Lana Del Ray, Metric, and Joni Mitchell will love this stuff!
Jason & The Diatonics – They combine the singer/songwriteryness of Jason Poulsen and musical prowess, good looks and keen olfactory senses of Joel Mohr, and the brotherly love of Erik Olson and Steph Olson. Their combined badassery delivers a fresh style of acoustic pop that is both accessible and unexpected. Their music features catchy melodies and whimsical wordplay that will appeal to fans of artists from Jason Mraz to Lenny Kravitz to Brendan Benson and Mates of State, to name but a few! Pick up either of their two fine CDs, or come to their IPO showcase, and you will be instantly hooked!
Jessicka – A singer/songwriter whose beautifully brooding piano-based pop will touch your heart as well as satisfy your musical palate. Though she hails from Vancouver, her tunes have a pronounced European feel, and an occasional spring in their step. Great stuff!
The Orchid Highway – A great rock n’ roll band who have for years churned out song after song well permeated in the influences of the ‘60s psychedelic/Brit-pop Invasion. Their songs reverberate with trippy jangle and harmonies galore, but don’t be fooled – their energetic live shows make them one of the most rockin’ bands around! Their debut self-titled CD (available on Rainbow Quartz) is also sure to please the powerpop salivators among you!
Pill Squad – Punk and garage rock influenced by the Cramps, Sonics and the Damned, featuring members of the Hip Type, China Syndrome, Full Leather Jacket and the Blow-Up Dolls. IPO Vancouver will be their debut performance, so don’t miss it!
Preston & Fletcher – If the Avengers were musicians, they would want to be Preston & Fletcher. They share a penchant for hooky melodies, insightful lyrics and British sports cars. Their songs have as many twists and turns as a Rallye Monte Carlo where the drivers are Bacharach, Lennon and McCartney, Aimee Mann and Jon Brion. As you read this they are putting the finishing flourishes on what promises to be an extraordinary debut recording, which we can hardly wait to hear!
S.K. Robot – With three distinct songwriters, S.K. Robot creates harmony and hook laden infectious pop-rock that sounds at once both fresh and familiar. They proudly proclaim they are the bastard children of Debbie Harry and Robert Pollard, implanted with the beating heart of Alex Chilton, and un-apologetically POP! Check out their debut self-titled CD, and hear for yourself!
Scrambled Debutante – A power trio who serve up a delectable concoction of punk-pop, noisepop, shoegaze, garage, and RAWK! Fans of The Pretenders, Veruca Salt, and Nina Hagen – to name but a few – will dig it!
Riley Smith – A young singer/songwriter whose songs combine the ultra catchy radio friendly hooks of bands like Green Day (for whom he once opened!) and Blink 182, with the breezy acoustic folk rock feel of artists like The Eagles and James Taylor, while maintaining the grungy rock edge of bands like Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots. His debut album, Lockley Road, was three years in the making, and was well worth the wait!
Star Collector – It’s been more than five years since these one-time stalwarts of the Vancouver scene last played IPO, and we’re thrilled to have ‘em back! Their patented blend of decadent hooky Americana, British powerpop and glam influences and powerhouse vocals will knock you off your feet! If you don’t already own them, their Flash Arrows & The Money Shot and Hundred-Bullet-Proof CDs are a “must have” for any true power-pop fan, and well-worth seeking out –their IPO show is a rare live performance, which you will not want to miss!
The Top Drawers – Everybody knows that the top drawer is where all the best secrets are kept safe, and that is equally true of the 12 songs contained on The Top Drawers’ latest CD, You’re So Fine. Richly steeped in ‘60s Brit-rock flavour, The Top Drawers are intent on reviving the joy, the energy, and the fun of rock n’ roll!
The Vaporettos – If your thing is quirky British mod and psychedelic rock, you will LOVE The Vaporettos, as their recently released self-titled EP contains some of the hookiest experimental pop on either side of the Atlantic! Think The Kinks, Zombies, and Bowie jamming with Zappa and The Strawberry Alarm Clock – or better yet, come check out their IPO showcase, and hear for yourself!
The Walk-Ins – Featuring members of The Top Drawers (see above), The Unknown Soldiers, and Captain Dust, the band has conspired to create a new musical concoction that seems strangely familiar, yet somehow alien. Mixing blues, rock and ‘60s pop in a musical blender, seasoned with a hint of grunge and a dash of grit and grind, The Walk-Ins strive to bring delicious music to hungry ears. Yummy!
We Found A Lovebird – Their latest release, Let’s Start The War, features a blend of sticky bubblegummy sunshine pop with darker shoegaze undercurrents. Fans of The Beach Boys, Big Star, The Archies, and Guided By Voices will all love this bird’s song!
The Winlaws – A Canadian pop supergroup, featuring Steven Drake (one of the original members of Odds!), Patrick Jacobson (The Top Drawers), Scott Perry (The Orchid Highway), Kevin Gau (The Left), Pete Werner (local country-rock stalwart), and Shane Wilson. The resultant musical lovechild is some crunchy Americana in the vein of Graham Parsons, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, and The Burrito Brothers, that fans of both country and pop can surely appreciate!
Canadian Artists From Outside Of Vancouver
Kendall Patrick and The Headless Bettys – Like the poet and troubadour of days gone by, Kendall Patrick is firm in the conviction that her melodic musings should challenge preconceived notions and conventional thinking. With her new band, Kendall Patrick and The Headless Bettys, Patrick is creating music that not only has a profound and powerful message but songs that are conveyed in a manner that is both accessible and memorable. Fans of Ani DeFranco, Brett Dennen and Tegan & Sara will dig her solo material and will want to watch for a new one with the band! One of Nanaimo’s most inspiring young artists!
The Perms – Long known in their hometown of Winnipeg (and throughout the rest of Canada) for their infectious hooks, The Perms have released five (!!) full length albums, plus their most recent opus, The Aberdeen EP, in which they put all their focus into crafting arrangements that would push their instinctive writing skills and seasoned musicianship to a whole new level. The results of their hard work are high-energy, guitar-driven songs that feature sing-a-long melodies with an aggressive, harder-edged sound. Fans of OK Go, Weezer, Badfinger, Supergrass and The Cars need to check this out!
International Artists
Lannie Flowers – Although he and the band hail from the great state of Texas, they’ve done what no other artist in the history of the LA Music Awards has done…namely, taking home four awards from last year’s event in November! His latest CD, New Songs, Old Stories, picks up where his earlier disc, Circles, left off, but rocks even harder! Badfinger-esque in-your-face guitars and vocal harmonies blend with softer shifting harmonies more reminiscent of XTC, but that fans of artists from The Raspberries to The Velvet Underground will be sure to appreciate! We also appreciate that he and his band have played the IPO festival in many cities throughout the world and continue to do so, with no sign of slowing down!
