Busy times busy times! A couple of quick things. Firstly, The Wooden Sky’s new album “If I Don’t Come Home You’ll Know I’m Gone” is now available for pre-order at maplemusic.com. The first 50 pre-orders will receive an exclusive copy of the “Bedrooms & Backstreets EP” as well as a copy of “The Lonesome Death of Helen Betty Osborne” 7″ and will be entered into a draw for the grand prize - an 8GB iPod Touch loaded with the new album (including a bonus track), the band’s full catalogue and some of their favourite music that they want to share with you. Follow the link below, and place your order now!
In other news, Ten Second Epic’s new single “Every Day” keeps tearing up the MuchMusic Charts. Thanks for your help requesting. Please keep it coming! REQUEST VIEW
Classified’s new video for the song “Up All Night” has just been released as well. You can check that one out HERE.
If you’re heading out to Warped Tour in Calgary or Vancouver next week, make sure to say what’s up to Shad and Rob Dyer/Skate4Cancer!
THE WOODEN SKY
The Wooden Sky have posted two songs from their upcoming full length, “If I Don’t Come Home You’ll Know I’m Gone” on their MySpace. The record is out August 25th and is already getting really great reviews. In preparation for the release, the band hits the road on July 19th to make there way across Canada on their “Bedrooms and Backstreets Tour”. This is no normal tour; shows will be taking place in some very interesting and unconventional settings including rooftops, campfires, gondolas and even in a canoe!
SHAD
Have you had a chance to check out the new video for “Compromise” ? Shad remains the man, this video is definitely rad! You can view it @ www.shadk.com where you can also follow his Warped Tour “Bloggy-Blog” and check out exclusive pictures and videos from shows and tour life!
CLASSIFIED
Only a few days left until Classified departs on his Australian tour with The Hilltop Hoods starting July 17th!
He returns to Canada just in time to perform at this years Wakestock taking place in Collingwood Ontario. Lineup includes Social Distortion, USS, Closet Monster and more! www.wakestock.com
The guys also have shows in the very near future. They play Lakefest in Belle River on Saturday the 25th! Follow us at www.twitter.com/crashparallel for all of the latest show releases and updates direct from the band.
VALERY GORE
Valery is now on her East Coast tour! She will be playing shows at the Halifax Jazz Festival and Evolve Festival to name only a few dates. You can find the rest here - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=139983706320&ref=ts
TEN SECOND EPIC
Ten Second Epic’s new video for “Every Day” featuring our buddy, Lights, will be hitting the airwaves sometime next week. Keep it tuned to our twitter to find out where the video will be posted first! Also, as you may have heard during Silverstein’s interview on MuchOnDemand, Ten Second Epic have been added to their fall tour! We’ll have dates and details in the coming weeks so stay tuned to weareblackbox.com and twitter.com/weareblackbox for all the latest.
Just a quick reminder that this week is bonkers in southern Ontario, especially for us here at Black Box. Valery Gore & The Wooden Sky highlight a great NXNE schedule, while Shad, Classified & Ten Second Epic descend upon the MuchMusic Video Awards on Sunday night trying to take home some hardware. Crash Parallel make their return to the stage at Burlington’s ‘Sound of Music Festival’ as well this weekend. Lots to do, lots to see! Hope to see you out!
Happy warm weather to you all. It’s been a bit since our last update, so here’s a quick note on what everyone is up to.
We’re extremely excited to announce that Black Box will be releasing Shad’s record, “The Old Prince” in the United States on June 30th! We recently inked a distribution deal with Caroline, and we’re honoured to have Shad as our first Black Box release in the US. The record will be out just in time for Warped Tour. Make sure you check out Shad’s brand new MySpace profile at myspace.com/shad, and stay tuned for clips from his forthcoming video for the song, “Compromise”!
Ten Second Epic’s video for “Welcome To Wherever You Are” continues to climb the MuchMusic Countdown, and has found itself atop the MOD Daily 10 on a number of occasions this month. Thanks for the ongoing support. The band is shooting their next video for the song “Every Day” on June 2nd, so stay tuned! Also, heads up to Southern Ontario - London, Guelph, Hamilton, Toronto - TSE is coming your way this week!
Living With Lions continue their assault on the US, having just announced a run of dates in June with our friends in The Swellers from Detroit, MI. They’ll also be announcing some select Western Canadian dates in the coming days. If you haven’t checked it out already, Adeline has released the Dude Manor EP on 10″ Vinyl - click HERE to order.
The Wooden Sky sold out The Music Gallery in Toronto last Friday in what can only be described as a breathtaking and inspiring performance. Joined by Evening Hymns and The Silver Line, this was a very special night for us. The band is finishing the mix of their new record, which we can now tell you will hit shelves on August 25th! More tour news and new music coming in the next couple of weeks!
Valery Gore has been confirmed on handful of summer festivals, including Ottawa Bluesfest, The Atlantic Jazz Festival, and the Evolve Music Festival. She’s also confirmed a performance at NXNE on June 19th as part of the Now Magazine showcase, and a slot opening for Sea & Cake at Supermarket on June 27th! Also, the winner and runners up have been announced in the Valery Gore Remix Competition. The winner is Kidstreet from Toronto - you can download their mix of “Shoes Of Glass”, along with the mixes of the 3 runners up HERE. Make sure you check them out and pass them along to your friends.
Classified is off for a couple of days before finishing the final 3 dates of his national tour. Hopefully you caught one of the shows, as it has been epic from coast to coast. The sold out show at the Phoenix in Toronto was a strong indicator that the new record is really connecting with people. We should have some exciting news regarding the MMVA’s to announce in the coming weeks as well, so stay tuned!
Crash Parallel is finishing up mixing their new record in LA with Matt Wallace. Keep an eye out for some select summer tour dates, and an album release date announcement coming soon!
It’s been a bit since our last update, so check out the hotness!
Classified has announced a national tour starting in Vancouver, BC on April 23rd. The tour is in support of the new record, “Self Explanatory”, which drops April 7th. Classified will be appearing with his HalfLife crew, including Mic Boyd, Chad Hatcher, J Bru and DJ IV. Check the tours section for all the dirty details and stay tuned for contests and other fun junk associated with the upcoming dates.
Ten Second Epic plan to announce national dates for May as well in the next week or so, in conjunction with the launch of their new video for “Welcome To Wherever You Are”. MuchMusic is planning some excusive behind-the-scenes coverage, so keep an eye out for that up on MuchAXS.
It’s CMW this week, and we’re stoked to have Crash Parallel, Ten Second Epic and Valery Gore all playing showcases. Check the tours section for all the details. Shad is also up for Urban Artist of the Year at this year’s Indie Awards. The award will be presented as part of the CMW festivities.
Also, keep an eye out for Valery on CBC’s “Here and Now” with Matt Galloway this Friday. Check valerygore.com for all the info. Shad is also appearing on AUX.tv’s Alt. Sessions program on March 23rd. The program runs from 9-11pm, and can be seen on the Bite TV digital channel - available for free during the month of March (Rogers 322, Bell 530, Cogeco 123).
Other than that, The Wooden Sky is mixing their record this week, Crash Parallel is preparing to go into studio and Living With Lions are on tour in the US. SXSW is coming up, so we’re jazzed about that. Come visit us at the Indie Village if you’re around.
On another note, if you’re not cheering for Canada in the World Baseball Classic…shame on you. GO CANADA GO!
Just a quick update on a number of things going on over here. First off, I’m starting to do these updates in video-blog form, so if you like watching instead of reading, here you go:
It’s a little longer than anticipated - future blogs will be shorter, I promise. On with the update!
1) We’re extremely proud to welcome a new member to the Black Box family on the management side. Her name is Valery Gore, and she’s from right here in Toronto. Her new record, “Avalanche To Wandering Bear” was released in November on Do Right Music and has been getting some very positive feedback. Exclaim calls it “One of the best written and produced records of the year that should establish Valery Gore among the strongest female voices currently writing music.” Make sure you check her out at: valerygore.com myspace.com/valerygore facebook fan page
2) Living With Lions have a couple of sweet announcements. Firstly, their video for “A Bottle Of Charades” is being played on MuchMusic now. To encourage their fans to get requesting, the band has set up a contest to be entered into a draw for some great prizes including tickets to a show, and LWL vinyl courtesy of our friends at Adeline Records. To check that out, hit up their blog!
The band has also been confirmed on this year’s Bamboozle Left happening April 4th and 5th in California. They’re playing on the Sunday, along headliners like Taking Back Sunday, Deftones, Thrice and 50 Cent…yes, actually 50 Cent. More info at: thebamboozle.com
3) Ten Second Epic’s record “Hometown” is in stores now! Released on January 27th, the album debuted at #16 on the Canadian charts, the 4th highest debut of the week. We’re going to have some behind the scenes footage from their new video for ‘Welcome To Wherever You Are” up in the next week or so, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
4) It’s conference season, and we’re lucky to have almost all of our artists representing! Canadian Music Week is in Toronto from March 11th-14th. Two of our artists have showcases, so if you have a CMW wristband, come check them out:
Ten Second Epic - March 13th @ The Kathedral
Valery Gore - March 14th @ The Supermarket
South By Southwest happens the following week, and we have no less than FOUR artists performing this year!
The Wooden Sky - March 20th @ Volume
Classified - March 20th @ Music Gym Patio
Living With Lions - March 20th @ Buffalo Billiards
Shad - Date/Venue TBA, but he will be there!
If you’re at either CMW or SXSW, come say whats up!
5) Random notes:
Shad - Hitting up some Western Canadian dates this week. Check them out if you can! shadk.com for more info.
The Wooden Sky - Are finishing up vocals on their new record before heading to SXSW. We’re REALLY excited for the album, hopefully you are too. They’re also playing some shows in Quebec and Ontario in the next couple of weeks. thewoodensky.com for more info!
Crash Parallel - Just finished up some East Coast dates, and will finish off this album touring cycle this Saturday, February 14th @ The Mod Club. They’re heading to LA to record with Matt Wallace (Maroon 5, Deftones, REM) this Spring, so stay tuned for more updates there.
Classified - “Self Explanatory” is out April 7th across Canada. The single, “Anybody Listening” is in the top 40 on radio in Canada, and the video should be hitting the airwaves before March. Following SXSW, he’s headed to Europe with D-12, then back to do a tour across Canada following the album release. For more info, visit his myspace!
That’s about all for now. I feel like I’m out of breathe. Remember to visit us online:
Ian
I feel like we’ve been dropping a lot of bulletins lately, but there’s a lot going on! So please bare with us…
Lots going on with Living With Lions! They have launched their video for the song “A Bottle Of Charades” and it is being featured on MySpace! The video has also been added to rotation on MuchMusic, so keep an eye out there. The Lions have also been nominated for two FU Awards (fuawards.com), which are awards handed out by 102.1 The Edge’s Punkorama radio show in Toronto. The band is nominated for Song of the Year for “A Bottle Of Charades”, and Best Live Performance.
To check out the video, learn how you can vote for Lions at the FU Awards, and to take a peek at their most recent (and ridiculous) video blog, hit up their MYSPACE.
Ten Second Epic are about halfway through their national tour with Theory Of A Deadman, and so far so good! For those of you that are heading out to the shows, they are selling their new disc, “HOMETOWN”, which hits shelves next Tuesday. If you can’t make it out to a show, you can always pre-order the record at www.maplemusic.com. Not sold yet? You can preview the whole record on their MYSPACE from January 23rd-26th. The video for “Life Times” is up to #15 on the MuchMusic Countdown, so thanks for your support! Hometown - OUT JANUARY 27TH!
Finally, we’ve got some cool news on the Shad front. His song, “Brother (Watching)” was included alongside 48 other artists in CBC Radio 2’s ‘Obamas Playlist’ - a list of songs that voters deemed to define Canadian music. For the complete list, check out the following link: Obama’s Playlist
CBC Radio3 has also posted some in-studio live recordings Shad and his band did back in November. This includes some new stuff and some older stuff - all of it is worth checking out. Here’s the link: Shad’s Radio3 Sessions
Upcoming Shad Dates:
Jan 29 - Guelph, ON @ Vinyl
Jan 30 - Peterborough, ON @ Gordon Best Theatre
Jan 31 - Toronto, ON @ Nathan Phillips Square
Feb 12 - Kelowna, BC @ The Habitat
Feb 13 - Golden, BC @ The Roadhouse Tavern
Feb 14 - Calgary, AB @ Hi-Fi Club
Feb 19 - Victoria, BC @ Lucky Bar
Feb 21 - Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore
The Wooden Sky should have a new video blog up from their recording session in Montreal soon. So keep checking back on that front. Thats all for now, go check out the new Lions video, and cast some votes for the FU Awards!
Hey Everyone, just a couple of quick bits of info –
1) Ten Second Epic will be appearing on MuchOnDemand tomorrow (Friday) at 5pm on MuchMusic! They’ll be talking about the release of their new record “Hometown”, and their current tour with Theory Of A Deadman. For all of you in the Toronto area, that show comes to the Kool Haus tomorrow night. For all the rest of the dates, visit myspace.com/TENSECONDEPIC. Don’t forget to go pre-order “Hometown” at maplemusic.com, and keep an eye out for a streaming album preview on mtv.ca starting Monday!
2) Shad got some love from KevinNottingham.com which is a pretty high-profile hip hop blog from the US. Check it out here: kevinnottingham.com.
Don’t forget about Shad’s upcoming shows - Toronto, Guelph, Peterborough, Kelowna, Golden, Calgary, Vancouver and more…check them out at myspace.com/SHAD.
Just a quick update to ring in the new year. We have some tour updates and other news as well to pass along.
TOURS:
Check out the tours section for all the details, but here’s whats new… Ten Second Epic - National tour announced supporting Theory Of A Deadman, Jan 12th-25th Shad - Ontario & BC/AB dates announced, as well as SXSW and Warped Tour. Crash Parallel - Eastern Canada headline dates announced, including Toronto at Mod Club on V-Day. Classified - European tour dates with D12 and Royce 5′9, as well as SXSW and more to come! Matt Goud - Western Canadian dates with fellow Saskatchewanians, Library Voices.
On top of that, Living With Lions are currently in the midst of booking a US tour (see www.myspace.com/livingwithlions if you think you can help), and The Wooden Sky are hard at work in the studio working on their album. Busy times, and we’re off to a great start in ‘09.
Here’s a quick year end note from your friends at Black Box - we have some awesome news and notes to pass along as our last update of the year.
Shad won a CBC Radio3 Bucky award this week for Best Video for, you guessed it, “The Old Prince Still Lives At Home”. Check out this note posted from his fan page:
++ SHAD WON THE BUCKY AWARD FOR VIDEO OF THE YEAR!! WOOPWOOP!!!.. We love The CBC and all of y’all for voting!! Check the YouTube link (which our homeboy Myles cut and posted - much respect man!) to see Shad’s acceptance speech (I promise, it’s worth the time spent!!)… and also… check the CBC Radio 3 link. R3 is the the best online radio station that exists, and they do HUGE things for Canadian music… annnnnnnnnd.. they have some doooooppppe scarfs!!! View Shad’s Acceptance Speech radio3.cbc.ca ++
We’re also EXTREMELY excited to announce that Shad has been added to the entire 2009 Warped Tour on the Skullcandy Stage! We’ll have more info on this as it comes, but you can check out the entire 47 date list at warpedtour.com
Ten Second Epic’s video for the song “Life Times” continues to climb the Countdown on MuchMusic and the Daily 10 on MuchonDemand. Thanks so much for your support. You can pre-order their new record, “Hometown”, here: MapleMusic.com
In other news, Living With Lions just finished their video for the song “A Bottle Of Charades” which should be up at some point early in the new year - keep an eye out. If you missed the note last week, the band has signed a US deal with Adeline Records and Make Your Mark will be out in the States in early 2009!
Classified has finally dropped the viral video for his street single, “Trouble” to rave reviews. It’s an animated video, available exclusively online and on MuchVibe. Check it out here: “Trouble” on Youtube
Expect the new album, “Self Explanatory” in March.
The Wooden Sky is just finishing their tour with Pascale Picard and have already begun tracking for the new album in Montreal with Howard Bilerman (The Arcade Fire & more). Stay tuned there, and check out a recent roof-top performance from their home in Toronto on aux.tv
Crash Parallel is home writing some new material and enjoying some time off after an extremely busy Summer and Fall. Thanks to everyone who supported the singles, came out to the shows, and supported meTOwe!
Thats all from camp Black Box for 2008. We’re going to hunker down in this Southern Ontario blizzard and re-emerge some time in early 2009. Thanks for a great year, and don’t forget to add us to MySpace and Facebook.
