For about a two or three year stretch in the late 80s, if you wanted to track me down after-school or on a Saturday, you would have to go to a certain 2nd floor indie record store, housed in a heritage building in downtown Winnipeg. Without fail, you’d find me there, perched on a stool a the end of the counter, trying to maintain a conversation with the clerks over the ear-splitting volume of the latest 12″. And, if I wasn’t in “my spot”, I would be out... → Read the rest of this article
Shortly after completing his latest album at the end of 2008, UK singer/songwriter Liam Frost parted ways with his record label, Columbia. Luckily, he was able to walk away with the master tapes for “We Ain’t Got No Money, Honey, but We Got Rain”, which he released on his own label in the fall of 2009.
With an alternative/folk sound that, to me, is reminiscent of San Francisco’s Matt Nathanson, Liam is quietly grabbing the attention of fans on both sides of the pond,... → Read the rest of this article
It’s no secret that the best things usually come on the side – you don’t have to go any further than sweet potato fries for proof of that. When singer-songwriter Suzie Bradford went looking for something “on the side”, what she found was a new sound and a new love.
Formed in Spokane, WA in 2003, The Side Project was born from Suzie’s need to find a more feminine outlet for her music than the rockin’ guy-group that she was fronting at the time. Joining musical... → Read the rest of this article
Released mid-2007, Canadian indie-band Stars fourth full-length album, “In Our Bedroom After the War” isn’t just a collection of tracks, but a soundtrack of sorts. Not for a movie, a musical, or a television show, but for a relationship. Whether real or fictional, it’s the classic tale of “love is war”; sometimes we fight as allies, and sometimes as foes. It’s not often that an album will have me creating (and even costuming) characters in my head, but this one even has... → Read the rest of this article
You may be asking yourself, “How does indie music fit into a website about handmade goods?” Well, for some of us it’s obvious; from the songwriting, to the recording of the cd, to the hand-printed posters that are tirelessly placed around town before each and every gig, indie music is all about the DIY. My new column, “Played by Hand”, will be a coast-to-coast look (and listen) at unsigned bands and singer-songwriters who are doing just about everything by... → Read the rest of this article
