Library Voices

HELP!

2010-05-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

We have received a number of very kind and generous offers from music fans wanting to donate to Library Voices.

We don't feel right taking anything without giving you something in return. In response to your kindness we headed into the studio & recorded a little somethin' somethin' that we would like you to have for free.

Please Help Yourself

Press release regarding the flood.

2010-05-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 13, 2010

LIBRARY VOICES

LOSE EVERYTHING IN STUDIO FLOOD
NATIONAL TOUR DATES WILL BE HONOURED

On April 13 Library Voices released Denim On Denim, a feel good summer-pop album with an apocalyptic tinge - to an overwhelmingly positive critical response. Three weeks later their studio/rehearsal space would be destroyed in a flood of biblical proportions. Their space was located in the 10,000 sq ft basement of the Regina Cultural Exchange, a provincial, non-profit arts organization and building. The water, which is believed to have stemmed from a burst water main, reached over 8ft deep across the entire basement. The plumbing firm responsible for repairs estimates 598,000 gallons of water, weighing approximately 4.9 million pounds infused the space and destroyed everything the band had.

Literally every instrument and piece of gear was destroyed except for a saxophone and a Moog synth that miraculously floated to safety. Some of the instruments lost included a vintage Roland Juno 6, a Korg SV-1, a Fender Jazz Bass, an Ernie Ball Music Man, a vintage Korg PS-900, countless guitars, amps, horns, drums, organs, microphones, reel to reel tape machines and tape, and a Casio Sk-1 circuit bent by Tablebeast with only 100 in circulation (other owners include Trent Reznor of NIN and Devo).

Library Voices also had several thousand dollars of rented equipment, which despite purchasing the rental insurance is not being covered. In addition to the equipment loss, many of the bands worldly belongings suffered the same fate including; all of Amanda's artwork, Michael's academic career, a massive comic book collection and a couple hundred of Brennan's records, including our prized copy of No Jacket Required.

Library Voices, along with many others in Regina's music community have been working around the clock to haul the wreckage out of the Cultural Exchange, in an effort to get the venue up and running as soon as possible. It is one of Canada's longest running all-ages venues, and it is in a time of need. The band have pledged to borrow, rent and extend their lines of credit in the name of rock & roll to ensure they don't have to cancel any upcoming tour dates.

LIBRARY VOICES – SUMMER TOUR DATES - 2010

June 11, 2010 - Winnipeg / Royal Albert Arms
June 12, 2010 - Thunder Bay / Crocks
June 13, 2010 - Sault Ste Marie / Lop Lops
June 16, 2010 - Montreal / Il Motore
June 17, 2010 - Ottawa / Maverick
June 18, 2010 - Guelph / Ebar
June 19, 2010 - Toronto / Horseshoe *NXNE Show
June 21, 2010 - Peterborough / Red Dog
June 24, 2010 - London / Call The Office
June 25, 2010 - Waterloo / Maxwell's
June 26, 2010 – Windsor / Phog Lounge
June 27, 2010 - St. Catharines / S.C.E.N.E. Music Festival
July 15th- 18th - Ness Creek Music Festival
July 22nd - 25th- Calgary Folk Music Festival

http://www.myspace.com/thelibraryvoices

http://www.youngsoulrecords.com

For further information on Library Voices, please contact:
Julie Booth
Freshly Pressed PR
416 536 2698
julie@freshlypressedpr.com
www.freshlypressedpr.com

Coming to a tavern and/or library near you!

2010-04-30T12:13:00.001-07:00

It's official. We're headed right, or East, in support of Denim On Denim.

We are also incredible excited to announce we're starting a series of concerts that will take place in actual libraries!

It’s hard to believe that an entire generation has never had to hike down to the library to do research for school reports on tigers or the Canadian Shield. They’ve never had to plagiarize a 1976 Encyclopedia Britannica as if it were the ‘be-all-end-all’ on any subject. Search engines computing algorithms have replaced the card catalogue. Tiny dancing pixels at 72dpi have replaced the tactile experience of sifting through pages. The txt message has even replaced the love letter. The Wiki-generation may single handily be responsible for the extinction of the public library. This concert series is Library Voices modest attempt from keeping their favourite social institution from going the way of the woolly mammoth, the honeybee, and Star Trek TNG. It is our hope that, if even for just one night, communities with gather somewhere besides their local watering hole – that they will converse face to face, that they will share in experiences, and if all goes well maybe even sign out a book or two.

Library Voices would also like to take this opportunity to publicly vow that you won’t find us performing in internet cafes a few years down the road…

LIBRARY TOUR DATES – MAY 2010
Saturday May 1 – Weyburn Public Library (2:30pm) – Weyburn, Saskatchewan
Saturday May 1 – Moose Jaw Library Theatre (7:00pm) – Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Saturday May 15 – Estevan Public Library (6:00pm) – Estevan, Saskatchewan

LIBRARY VOICES – DENIM ON DENIM TOUR – JUNE 2010
Friday June 11 – Winnipeg, MB – Royal Albert Arms
Saturday June 12 – Thunder Bay, ON – Crocks
Sunday June 13 – Sault Ste Marie, ON – Lop Lops
Wednesday June 16 – Montreal, QC – Il Motore w/ The Grates
Thursday June 17 – Ottawa, ON – Maverick w/ The Grates
Friday June 18 – Guelph, ON – Ebar w/ Besnard Lakes & Young Galaxy
Saturday June 19 – Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern (NXNE)
Monday June 21– Peterborough, ON – Red Dog
Thursday June 24 – London, ON – Call The Office
Friday June 25 – Waterloo, ON – Maxwell’s w/ Off Victoria
Saturday June 26 – Windsor, ON – Phog Lounge
Sunday June 27 – St Catharines, ON – S.C.E.N.E. Music Festival (w/ Shad, Lights, & more)

more dates coming soon....

Photos from UVIC Grad Party @ Element - April 8th, 2010

2010-04-29T16:55:00.000-07:00

Our cotton-tech/traveling companion Handsome Joel Hansen snapped these photos.

The trip to this show consisted of a 1863Km drive, a new alternator,2 separate blizzards, pushing the van up the summit of a mountain, 1 lost cell phone, 2 continental breakfasts, 1 new air freshener.

The trip home consisted of 1 smashed drivers window and 9 endless hangovers.

Our cotton-tech/traveling companion Handsome Joel Hansen snapped these photos.

Photos from the Regina CD RELEASE SHOW!

2010-04-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

Rae Holtsbaum took some lovely photos at our CD release!
You can view here other work here!

The Georgia Straight gives Denim On Denim 5/5

2010-04-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

Taken from The Straight
Click to visit the original review.
Library Voices
Denim on Denim (Young Soul)
5/5
I sure hope the members of Library Voices are New Pornographers fans, because it’s a comparison they’re going to get whether they like it or not. It’s unavoidable, really. Like the better-known Pornographers, Regina’s Library Voices specializes in giddy indie pop layered with electric guitars, analogue keyboards, and multipart vocal harmonies. Heck, the eight-piece band even has a lead singer named Carl (Johnson in this case, rather than Newman).

Hopefully they’ll take it as the compliment it’s meant to be. After all, the New Pornographers are one of the most popular and critically well-regarded acts to ever emerge from this country’s indie milieu. Having already received props from SPIN and The New Yorker, Library Voices looks to be headed for its share of international recognition as well. Based on its debut full-length, Denim on Denim, it’ll be well-deserved.

This is a group that knows its way around a hook but isn’t afraid to offset its bubblegum sweetness with unexpected bursts of noise. Observe the fuzz-skronk guitar that rips through the surface of “Family Night” for an examples, or the swirling feedback and synth oscillations that close out “Haunt This House”. Keyboardist Michael Dawson, who writes Library Voices’ lyrics, also has a few lyrical concerns that add a jagged edge to the otherwise upbeat proceedings. These include, in no particular order: self-medication, the weight of other people’s expectations, and the apocalypse. In fact, Dawson seems particularly obsessed with the end of the world, as it’s the theme of at least two songs—“End Times” and the instantly unforgettable “Party Like It’s 2012”.

One hopes that getting all this dark stuff on record has helped Dawson get it out of his system, and the album’s closing tune, “Hello, Cruel World”, suggests that it has: “I spent a winter indoors just getting to know my new self/I read some books and wrote some songs/And when I emerged I was who I claimed to be.” We should all be so lucky. For the love of God, Michael, please post a reading list on your blog.

Live photos from 560 Seymour in Vancouver.

2010-04-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

The incredible Christine McAvoy shot some photos of our show on Saturday, February 10, 2010 in Vancouver. Please visit her site HERE.

Buy Denin On Denim online now!

2010-04-15T11:42:00.000-07:00

We are very pleased to announce that Denim On Denim charted at #5 on iTunes Canada on release day!

It is available HERE

Haunt This House

2010-04-05T21:03:00.000-07:00

Some time ago we "shot" a music video with Andy Dixon (Chemistry Design, Ache Records, Secret Mommy, The Red Light Sting, etc, etc.). I say "shot" because the video is actually created using countless still photographs and Andy's insane stop-motion editing skills.
We are really excited about it - so excited in fact that we couldn't wait to share some of it with you. Here are a few screen shots from the Haunt This House music video.
Look for the video posted here VERY soon.

Denim On Denim EPK

2010-03-29T19:07:00.001-07:00

Drinking Games music video!

2010-03-26T13:01:00.000-07:00

Library Voices - Drinking Games (music video) from Young Soul on Vimeo.

Here is the video we've made for Drinking Games.

Artist: Library Voices
Song: Drinking Games
Album: Denim On Denim
Release Date: April 13, 2010
Label: Young Soul Records

Produced by: Jayden Soroka and Colin Hubick
Directed/Cut/Visual Effects: Jayden Soroka
Secondary Visual Effects: Tim Thurmeier

Special thanks for Neil McDonald for letting us have free reign over his studio and for having so much junk.

Denim On Denim CD RELEASE TOUR

2010-03-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

Denim On Denim CD RELEASE TOUR

April 09 - Courtenay BC @ Avalanche w/ Yukon Blonde & In-Flight Safety
April 10 - Vancouver BC @ 560 Seymour w/ We Are The City
April 16 - Estevan SK @ ECS
April 17 - Yorkton SK @ The Spot
April 20 - Lethbridge AB @ Henotic
April 21 - Edmonton AB @ Black Dog
April 22 - Canmore AB @ The Canmore Hotel
April 23 - Saskatoon SK @ Amigos
April 24 - Regina SK @ The Exchange
May 01 - Moose Jaw SK @ Library Theatre

Denim On Denim

2010-02-10T13:42:00.001-08:00

Drinking Games
Insider Trading (On Outsider Art)
Haunt This House
Party Like It's 2012
Write Me A Myth
Bookish
Bodies Of Fiction
Model City
End Times
Family Night
Balloon Menagerie
Hello, Cruel World

Denim On Denim

2010-02-04T15:14:00.000-08:00

Denim on Denim will be released on April 13, 2010(Young Soul Records /EMI). Young Soul Records is the most recent label to join a decorated EMI Label Services roster alongside the likes of: Arts & Crafts, Hidden Pony, Secret City, Ultra Records, Century Media and Side One Dummy - all utilizing EMI Music Canada’s distribution and services reach.

Denim on Denim was (painstakingly) recorded in Regina in the back of a local dance studio. Staying true to their objective of documenting spacious and concise pop songs meant omitting dozens of ideas and tracks from the final mixes. Yet, the record is still teeming with instrumentation - guitars and keys, horns and synths, and (of course) the occasional feedback loop. Denim on Denim was produced by Library Voices and Orion Paradis and features guest appearances from co-prairie musicians and friends in Woodpigeon, Rah Rah, Sylvie, Northcote, as well as Andy Shauf. Right down to the die-cut album packaging - the exterior cut-away lightening bolt revealing the denim inner sleeve, demonstrates the attention to detail that extends to every corner of their work.

As with their previous EP, Denim On Denim is rich with cultural reference. Stan Getz and Fyodor Dostoevsky make cameos in songs about late night escapades. Similarly, Haruki Murakami, Charles Bukowski, Dennis Wilson, and Gram Parsons (among others) weave their way through tales of indulgence, promiscuity, modern living, and the forthcoming apocalypse. This is feel good music for an audience with a conscience (albeit likely, a guilty one). Lead single from Denim on Denim - Drinking Games is available at http://www.myspace.com/thelibraryvoices

The bands unabashed celebration of the term 'pop music' has at times, been met by confusion, leading some to expect bubble gum or auto-tuned FM shine. Although apologetic for the misunderstanding the band stands behind the term. They could have called it, “Post-Twee-Power-Folk-Nu-Beach-LoFi-Modern-Indie”- but they didn't. It's pop. Just pop. You know, like The Stranger, The Zombies, and Videodrome.

We're packing scarfs and sweaters. Parkas and yeti repellant. WINTERrr TOURrr 2010

2010-01-22T12:01:00.000-08:00

LIBRARY VOICES - WINTERrr TOURrr 2010

Feb 12 - Regina, SK - The Exchange *CBC Canada Live Session w/ Northcote
Feb 18 - Nelson, BC - Spirit Bar
Feb 20 - Vancouver, BC - Saskatchewan Olympic Pavillion 9PM
Feb 21 - Vancouver, BC - Saskatchewan Olympic Pavillion 9PM
Feb 22 - Vancouver, BC - Saskatchewan Olympic Pavillion 9PM
Feb 23 - Vancouver, BC - BC Place - medal ceremony
Feb 25 - Kelowna, BC - Habitat
Feb 26- Calgary, AB - Gateway (SAIT)
Feb 27 - Edmonton, AB - The Pawn Shop

Download Baby It's Xmas now!

2009-12-24T10:43:00.000-08:00

Well this is it. Christmas Eve. The stockings are hung, our tummy's are filled with holiday baking, and the spiced rum is coursing through our veins like a morphine drip.

Earlier this week we spent an hour rehearsing and recording a little holiday duet written and performed by our beloved friend Julia McDougall (www.juliaandherpiano.com)

It feels a little loose and rough, but so do we after all of the festive "cheer" we've been taking in this week.

Download HERE : www.myspace.com/thelibraryvoices

Wishing all the best to you and yours,
Michael, Carl, Mike, Amanda, Paul, Eoin, Brennan, Karla, & Julia.

Happy Holidays from Library Voices (and NXEW)

2009-12-16T16:39:00.000-08:00

Where does the time go?

Has it really been a decade since Magnetic Fields released their masterwork 69 Love Songs.

Despite the fact we're all a little grayer and a little rounder, it still feels like only yesterday we were standing on the doorstep of Y2K. Armed with bottled water and canned goods we braced ourselves for a digital meltdown. Stephen Merritt's prolific triple-album served as our soundtrack, a record so vast and comprehensive that Dave Eggers likened it to David Foster Wallace's sprawling Infinite Jest. Somehow singing along to "I Don't Want To Get Over You" just made it a little easier to swallow the fact that not only had we still not colonized space, we were still light years away from the hover-boards and time travel promised to us 15 years prior by Back To The Future.

As our gift to you, in hopes we can all share some love this holiday season, we would like you have have our rendition of the Magnetic Fields 'Book Of Love'.

Download it here.

Wishing the best to you and yours this holiday season,
Library Voices

CBC RADIO 3 BUCKY AWARD SHORT-LIST

2009-11-16T12:33:00.000-08:00

It was announced today that we have been short-listed for a CBC Radio 3 Bucky Award in the category of "Best Live Act"

We'd be flattered if you considered taking a moment out of your day over the next week to vote on our behalf.

http://radio3.cbc.ca/buckyawards/vote

Much Love,
LV

PHOG

2009-11-16T11:38:00.000-08:00

Some photos taken by Cristina Naccarato at the always awesome Phog Lounge in Windsor a few weeks back. She also has some great photos of Rah Rah on her blog. http://www.crustina.blogspot.com/
Oh and hey we made the CBC3 Bucky Awards Shortlist. Neato!

Home And Halloween

2009-11-11T10:38:00.000-08:00

We are back in Regina. Thanks so much to everyone who helped make it such a wonderful tour, from Victoria to Charlottetown and back to the prairies again. We met so many wonderful people and bands and I can honestly say that every show was wonderful to play, whether it was to packed houses at the Legion in Calgary and the Seahorse Tavern in Halifax or to 20 wonderful people and bar staff in Lethbrigde. We are going to miss In-Flight Safety and Julie Fader so much! We couldn't have asked for more fantastic people to share a tour with.

What did you do for Halloween? We played a rather ridiculous party in Barrie, Ontario at The Mansion. What a night! From what I remember. Our two 'Best Ontario Friends Forever' (BOFFs?) Caitlyn and Matthew were on hand and shared this photo with us. Also, I was bored before our show in Hamilton so I recorded a Vangelis-inspired version of Kundera On The Dance Floor in our hotel bathroom. Yes, the same hotel that had the Hooters attached to it. I've called it the Kundera Caitlyn Mix. Thanks to Mike for help tweaking the keyboards and thanks to Caitlyn and Matthew for the fun times!

Check it out:
Kundera Caitlyn Mix

Montreal At Le Petit Campus

2009-10-28T16:39:00.000-07:00

Bucky Award Nominations

2009-10-28T00:16:00.000-07:00

It has been over 24 hours and I can still feel the effects of watching Paranormal Activity. If you have an open mind, an inclination towards fear and a yearning for being freaked out I can't recommend this movie enough. After seeing it last night I couldn't sleep for hours and wound up waking up in the bathroom of our hotel in the middle of a sleepwalk. Yikes!

As posted on our facebook, thank you to everyone who has nominated us for the CBC Radio 3 BUCKY AWARDS BEST LIVE ACT. We won a Bucky last year for Best New Band Name and it would rule to get nominated for another one. Just a reminder, to let cbc3 know who you liked seeing live the most (oh and there are also tonnes of other Bucky Award nominations that can be made) you can post on their website:
http://radio3.cbc.ca/

You can also email:
feedback@cbcradio3.com

And you can twitter. I'm not exactly sure how this whole twitter thing works yet. Maybe I'll ask Amanda about it tomorrow.

For the record here were my favorite live acts of the last year:
a.)Woodhands/The Rural Alberta Advantage (I can't choose between them for the life of me!)
b.)Zeus (eeeeggaaaddffffppptttthhh!!)
c.)Rah Rah (oh and hey you can nominate their song "Duet For Emma Lou" for the Most Canadian Song Bucky Award. I'm going to.)
d.)Great Bloomers
e.)Spiral Beach (These kids slay.)

-Carl

PS. We've all been sick at some point during this tour. Here's the aftermath from a recent show:
PPS. We recently shot a music video for Drinking Games in Regina. It should be finished in December.

MOVIE NIGHT

2009-10-26T22:57:00.000-07:00

Tonight a few of us went and saw Paranormal Activity. The movie. And it was awesome! See it before the wave of pop culture it's riding crests and all the attentive theatergoers turn to irreverent movie-talkers.

select snapshots from the current tour

2009-10-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

SEPT2609 ROBERTS CREEK jeff storytelling on the beach. prairie kids on the water!

SEPT2809 KELOWNA paul and jeff find & capture a black widow in the garage of the home we are staying in

SEPT2809 KELOWNA the spider is now hidden in our trailer, and trained to attack gear thieves

SEPT2809 KELOWNA the day 2 boys became men

SEPT3009 CANMORE carl redecorates the hotel room (or) wtf is brennan doing?

OCT1109 SAULT STE MARIE thanksgiving dinner. 10cent wings, karaoke, and friendship. a terrible photo but a precious memory. (that goes for most of these photos)

OCT1109 SAULT STE MARIE that night something that will never happen again occurred. LV and In-Flight Safety had a song-for-song rock-off at LopLops. This is a photo of us giving our love and encouragement to our buddies. Our collective competitive streak almost matches the love we feel for one another. almost. but not quite.

OCT1309 SOMEWHERE BETWEEN MONTREAL AND MONCTON jeff locks carl in a phone booth. typical pittstop.

OCT1509 LEAVING CHARLOTTETOWN again with the prairie kids and the water

OCT1709 TO HALIFAX a view of the maritimes from shotgun

More to come darlings. promise.
xo. manda & LV.

We Freakin' Love The Maritimes

2009-10-16T14:36:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how awesome antibiotics are. Oh modern science. Whilst most of the band are falling like dominos to sickness I'm on day three of taking prescribed drugs and feeling better than I have in months! And just in time to take in the east coast. We played Hunter's Pub on Prince Edward Island a few nights back - fun times - and Capital Bar in Fredericton last night which was a fantastic show. Really, we can't get enough of the east coast and all the wonderful people out here! We met a lot of very nice people at last nights show including the wonderful Capitol bar staff and a nice girl named Julia who took some great pictures of the show like this one:

And this one of the end of the night when we joined In-Flight Safety for a swashbuckling rendition of Midnight Oil's Beds Are Burning:

Thanks Julia!
For more of Julia's show pictures check out her flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juwhalen

Next up Moncton, more bloggery to follow.
_carlos

today we were responsible adults for an hour (or) which are good, which are bad...

2009-10-14T18:12:00.001-07:00

Now in the maritimes! In-Flight Safety Country!

Today Brennan, Carl and Amanda went to the doctor in Moncton. We were feeling pretty under the weather as about 75% of the Library Voices/In-Flight Safety Camp has had some sort of malady since our kick-off. A big thanks to Julie Fader for the small pox (just kidding, we miss you Julie!, it's not small pox, and Carl also brought the rickets into the camp).

And an even bigger thanks to John (IFS) and his parents who put us up in Moncton last night, fed us, and gave us each our own individual bed!...that never happens on tour with 9 people. Ever. Pure luxury. This morning John's dad Bill drove us to the doctor and escorted us about the town.

Here is a photo of us outside Bill's ride (noice IFS sticker!), with all our happy new drugs. This is Carl's first time ever taking antibiotics. We'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again to the Mullanes for your beds, Thanksgiving leftovers, gas, time, patience, laundry facilities, cats, love, bathrooms, and of course your lovely son.

Take care Blogdom.
Manda. LV.

King Of Carrot Flowers

2009-10-14T17:37:00.000-07:00

Yes sir, the blogging will be coming fast and furious now that we've rediscovered our resolve.

WINNIPEG:

Winnipeg was crazy. We rolled into town and found ourselves in the middle of a massive blizzard. After putting on all the sweaters we had with us we went to the university for a radio interview and came upon this photo:

Wow. We plan on recreating it with the In-Flight Safety gentlemen sometime in the very near future.

After the interview we played at our friend Jack's Lo Pub, easily one of our favorite venues. Between bites of their new and improved pub grub new drummer Jeff paused for this pose:

The whole night was fantastic and we set a new band record for most strings broken in a single show. Special thanks to Ricardo and Old Folks Home for their awesome performance and to the Gimli crew for coming out. And to Mike B for putting on the Pop! Et Cetera festival of which our show was a part. Can't wait for next years incarnation!

THUNDER BAY:

To be honest we were feeling a little conflicted before this show. We've played at the Apollo when we've came through Thunder Bay in the past and we've always had a wonderful time and received amazing hospitality from the owner Sheila and her mom Konstantina. We look foreward to seeing them whenever we come out east. This time however the show was booked for Jack's and despite our initial reservations it turned out to be a barn burner of a show. In-Flight Safety rocked a full house and we followed with what I remember as a sweaty blast of dancing, broken glass, singing and smiles. Thunder Bay + Saturday Night = Awesomeness. Mad Props to In-flight John for the DJ set afterward. We can't wait to play again on our way back west!

All I gots for now,
Carl & LV

Look mom....We're Blogging! (or) The Western Part

2009-10-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

(written Tuesday October 13 2009 8:13pm)
Week 3, Blog 2. Yup. We’re on top of it.

We’ve been on the road with In-Flight Safety (and sometimes Julie Fader too!) for over 3 weeks now, and have played in venues from Victoria to Sault Ste Marie. We’re currently making the 2,121 km drive from Sault Ste Marie to Charlottetown. Nothing but time to blog! ...and the future we will be making a much more concerted effort to keep the interweb posted on what’s going on. Promise.

At the moment we’re somewhere on a wet dark highway in New Brunswick. Brennan is driving while Paul is taking a shotgun nap from their shared driving commitments. Pretty much everyone else is in nap mode, except a few on laptops. Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything is playing over the van’s shitty speakers, an audiobook that we’ve been listening to since Winnipeg. After listening to the excerpt on Newton I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m pretty sure that Isaac Newton was reincarnated as Charles Bukowski. Think about it.

The past few weeks have brought tons of good times, the kind of experiences that happen when you cram 15 artists into 2 vans, and some unseasonably cold weather. So cold. Everywhere. Various highlights from the past 3 weeks include:

· Rifflandia in Victoria. Such a great festival. We shared a bill with Zeus—their album has been in regular rotation in the van for some time now, and their live show was nothing short of wowsa.

· In Vancouver we met up with Julie Fader & In-Flight Safety. We’re so excited to find that we all get along super well, and it’d be hard to find a more genuine and fun group of people to hang out with for 5 weeks. Honest. Best ever. More of our adventures will be documented in the future.

· Also in Vancouver some of our most favorite Vancouverans (Vancouveranians? Vancouverites?...), Trio Accord, joined us on stage to play Step Off The Map and Float. It was pretty cool to play with them again, this time in their hometown, after we played with them at the Western Canadian Music Awards.

· The Little Legion in Roberts Creek is always a great time. We got to see our dear and much-missed friend Liam, and of course we filled up on a Gumboot breakfast before hitting the ferry.

· In Kelowna, we played at the ever-evolving Habitat. Every time we play there, it looks better and better from the time before. The next morning Paul and Jeff became men. They found a Black Widow in the garage of the home we were staying in, captured it, and now it lives in our van and is trained to kill any intruders. Be warned. Library Voices will not be robbed again.

· Calgary was rad. We played with some of the best bands touring around Canada right now. Spiral Beach, Two Hours Traffic, and of course In-Flight Safety were also on the bill. Check out Spiral Beach’s new album. It just came out.

· We played 2 shows in hometown Regina, where party times never disappoint. One night was at the Exchange, the other at O’Hanlon’s. It was good to be home for a couple nights and see some familiar faces, do some laundry, and get our poop in a group for the trip out East.

Along with those shows the Western leg of our tour included shows in Saskatoon, Lethbridge, Canmore and Edmonton. Each show had some great highlights, but the risk of droning on boring your pants off (hate for you to be at work with no pants. No point in getting fired over it), I’ll stop here. You can use your imagination, maybe write a short story compilation based on your musings, get it published, and quit that shitty job where you have to wear pants. My gift to you.

We’ll post again tomorrow to let the Kingdom of Blog know about what’s been up on the Eastern leg that we’ve travelled thus far. Photos, anecdotes, notes and lists will be posted in the upcoming days while we visit the Maritimes, while we make a genuine effort to get out of our heads and into your computer.

Lots of love.

Manda. LV.

Where does the time go? (or) California Roll vs. Lobster Roll

2009-10-09T14:04:00.001-07:00

We've been meaning to blog. Really we have.

We are now entering week 3 of our cross Canada tour with In-Flight Safety and Julie Fader. I can't think of a better group of individuals on earth to spend time with. With the west coast behind us now we start to make our way toward the maritimes, and In-Flights home turf. An East coast/West coast feud in Canada just doesn't have the same gusto as Tupac vs. Biggie. It's more like sushi vs. lobster.

The gentlemen in IFS have been keeping a blog for Exclaim. Be sure to check it out! We also found out today that they've drawn a winner in our Exclaim/Gibson guitar giveaway contest. We're hoping we can get some photos of the winner with his new ax to post on the website.

Last night we played a surprise show for a few friends at our local watering hole here in Regina.
Our friend Chris was kind enough to take a some photos.

Show added = Halloween in Barrie!

2009-10-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

Library Voices
Oct. 31st
The Mansion
Barrie, On
(34 Dunlop Street East)
19+

EDMONTON SHOW MOVED TO HAVEN!

2009-09-30T10:05:00.001-07:00

Dear Champion City,
Just letting you know our show on FRIDAY, OCT 2 w/ In-Flight Safety & Julie Fader has been moved to Haven Social Club ((15120 A Stony Plain Road)

Hope to see you there!

Love,
LV

Fall Tour w/ In Flight Safety & Julie Fader

2009-08-19T07:55:00.000-07:00

Library Voices Fall Tour.
*w/ In Flight Safety
# w/ Julie Fader
Aug 21 – Steep Rock, MB. - Chris & Rae’s wedding
Sept 4 – Regina, SK – The Exchange w/ VIC & Lazy MKs
Sept 11 – Regina, SK – U of R Welcome Week (acoustic)
Sept 12 – Saskatoon, SK – Louie’s w/ Volcanoless In Canada
Sept 17 – Brandon, MB – Western Canadian Music Awards
Sept 18 – Brandon, MB – Western Canadian Music Awards
Sept 19- – Brandon, MB – Western Canadian Music Awards
Sept 20 – Brandon, MB – Western Canadian Music Awards
Sept 25 – Victoria, BC – @ Sugar ( Rifflandia Fest ) w/ Zeus & Cuff The Duke
Sept 26 – Roberts Creek, BC – The Legion w/ Matt Goud
Sept 27 – Vancouver, BC – The Media Club *#
Sept 28 – Kelowna, BC – Habitat *#
Sept 30 – Canmore, BC – Communitea Cafe *#
Oct 2 – Edmonton, AB – Flow Lounge & Grill *#
Oct 3 – Calgary, AB – Legion #1 w/ Two Hours Traffic & Spiral Beach *#
Oct 4 – Lethbridge, AB – Henotic *
Oct 6 – Regina, SK – The Exchange *
Oct 7 – Saskatoon, SK – Amigos *
Oct 9 – Winnipeg, MB – Lo Pub *
Oct 10 – Thunder Bay, ON – Jacks *
Oct 11 – Sault Ste Marie, ON – LopLops *
Oct 14 – Charlottetown, PEI – Hunters Ale House * w/ Milks & Rectangles
Oct 15 – Fredericton, NB – Capital Bar * w/ Milks & Rectangles
Oct 16 – Moncton, NB – Paramount Lounge * w/ Milks & Rectangles
Oct 17 – Halifax, NS – The Seahorse Tavern * w/ Milks & Rectangles
Oct 20 – Montreal, QUE – Le Petit Campus *#
Oct 21 – Kingston, ON - The Living Room *#
Oct 22 – TBA
Oct 23 - TBA
Oct 24 – London, ON - Call The Office
Oct 25 – Windsor, ON - Phog Lounge
Oct 26 – Guelph, ON - U of G Center (noon)
Oct 27 - Hamilton, ON – The Casbah - *#
Oct 28 – Guelph, ON – The E Bar *#
Oct 29 – Toronto, ON – El Mocambo *#
Oct 30 – Ottawa, ON – The Live Lounge *#
...More dates coming soon!

Performing @ Carl's brothers wedding. Congrats Daniel & Candice.

LV set @ Virgin Music Fest Calgary.

Calgary bound - now with less Stampede.

2009-08-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

Hello All,
Just wanted to drop you a little note to let you know that we've made it home safely and have been nestled into our humble abodes for a couple of days now. A couple days rest does the body a lot of good, but now we're off again.... Sunday we're playing Virgin Fest in Calgary. Other artists include, Metric, White Lies, Tokyo Police Club, and the band we're most excited about seeing Shout Out Out Out Out. We play at 6:10 sharp. Hope to see you there.

Above photo by Pete Nema @ The Horseshoe in TO. Thanks Pete!

Overdue Update

2009-07-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

Windsor
Windsor was not our most densely populated show ever, but the people there were amazing and it was a blast to play for them. Afterwards sound guy Ryan 'Power Dealz' Drabble put on Michael Jackson and everyone jumped on stage and started playing along.

CHECK IT

A few of us sat by the river and stared at Detroit later that night. A photo of the lights can be found at our exclaim blog i believe. One will magically appear here in the future as well.

Montreal: A Night Off In Pictures

2009-07-19T23:41:00.000-07:00

Karla got a suprise from a weird dude with one of those spider head massage things.

Didgeridon't.

Perhaps due to the Just For Laughs comedy festival we came across a street downtown that was completely covered in spray foam.

I got foam on my shoes.

And on my head.

Karla, the lovely ex-Reginian Dara, Ryan and a glowing yellow orb along la rue St. Denis.

Umm...

Ahh...

Had a few drinks.

And some more cheese curds(!).

Then finished the night off with poutine.

Thank you Montreal! We had a wonderful time.

Montreal

2009-07-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

It happens every time we play Montreal:
I sneak away when no one is looking and buy a bag of cheese curds, that rarest of rare commodity on the prairies but so common in Montreal that you can find them in pretty much any depanneur. Since my body has declared itself to be more or less anti-dairy I tell it that I'm only going to have a couple and save the rest for later. Before i realize what's happened I've ravaged through three bags of curds and eaten a giant poutine. Massive fail. The feeling that follows is what I imagine taking psychedelic drugs with Atavan while wearing a clown mask and staring into a mirror would be like. The rest of the band asks me why I'm acting like I'm on drugs and then gets very angry and starts shaking me as they demand to know how much cheese I've taken. Sigh. Luckily last night most of the sickness wore off before we played.And the show was great! It was at Zoo Bizarre, which resembles a small, pleasant bat cave. We played with Pattern Is Movement from Philadelphia who were fantastic and very nice fellows. They couldn't believe that we came from a city that sounded so much like, well you know...

Tour Day Four - Ottawa

2009-07-17T23:16:00.001-07:00

Thanks so much to everyone who caught our set tonight at Ottawa Blues Fest! As the sun set over the St. Lawrence (correction: the Ottawa River) it was totally a moment to remember.

Afterwards at club 'Edge' we danced our bums off. I received my first kiss from a drag queen and for once Ryan and my dance moves seemed to be appreciated.

Tomorrow we are off to Montreal. Life is good.
-Carl

Tour Day Three - Ottawa

2009-07-16T23:33:00.000-07:00

So Mike is doing a tour blog for exclaim.ca. Be sure to check there for fascinating, articulate and entertaining commentary on tour life with the Library Voices. Unfortunatly he isn't flying into Ottawa until tomorrow afternoon for our show at Ottawa Blues Fest on the Subway Stage at 7pm so I thought I'd give an update here:

The last three days have been spent driving from Regina. We arrived in Ottawa this afternoon, not nearly as stinky and grouchy as you might expect. I spent the night with our sound man/tour manager/short-shorts wearer Ryan Drabble, he of the terrific Saskatoon band Slow Down, Molasses and head sound guru at Amigos. We caught 'Lightening Crashes' by the '90s band Live at the side of their stage. Pretty weird hearing the most awesome song of grade seven being sung along to by so many people at such close quarters. We also caught the face-melting end of STYX's set. So many solos! So much hugging!

Whoa, Ed the singer from Live just walked by me in the lobby of the hotel where we're staying and where I'm using the free Internet. I said 'ahhh, good set' and he either ignored me or has significant hearing loss. Regardless, eye contact was made. Weird!

We also ate some amazing vegetarian lasagna, missed M83's set by three seconds. Dammit.

On a personal note I'd like to say that I think smoking is silly and good on our bass player Eoin who's trying to quit and hasn't had a smoke yet this tour. You can do it Eoin.

Okay I should hit the sheets before someone from Kiss wanders by and things get strange again.
Goodnight blogosphere.
-Carl

Tour begins today -

2009-07-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

We've launched our blog for Exclaim!
You can follow our travels @ libraryvoices.exclaim.ca

Canada Day photos by Chris Graham.

Tigher Jeans & Bigger Glasses Tour 09

2009-07-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

Canada Day At O'Hanlon's

2009-07-05T11:50:00.000-07:00

Sled Island

2009-07-03T13:49:00.000-07:00

We had the pleasure of playing Calgary's Sled Island Festival again last weekend. Thanks to everyone who came to our show at the Underground! As usual the festival was a blast - blurs and streaks of running from venue to venue trying to catch as many bands as possible. Highlights included:

Yukon Blonde - Best buddies who've recently relocated to Vancouver and are going to take over when they finish their full length record.

Rural Alberta Advantage @ Broken City - This show was magic. You could feel the energy and excitement vibrating all through the room. They're on tour right now, maybe you can go see them!

Monotonix @ Tubby Dog - Insane show, great notdog.

York Redoubt - Energetic kids from Halifax who shared the stage with us at The Underground. We are all fans now.

Woodhands @ The Legion - The crowd was making the floor bounce up and down so violently during their set that I believe the building nearly collapsed. Such is the power of Woodhands' keytar rock.

Brasstronaut @ The Palomino - Indie/Jazz fusion. Their forthcoming album is going to blow minds.

We also saw Andrew WK which was a long time coming and Paul got his picture taken with Nardwuar the Human Serviette. We'll be posting that soon.

ONE MORE THING:

Library Voices are featured on the CBC Radio 3 podcast this week.

http://radio3.cbc.ca/

Listening to it made me so happy that I get to play music in this band.
Ciao For Now
Carl

2009-06-16T17:08:00.000-07:00

Photos by Chris Graham

Photo from K-os dates.

2009-05-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

Library Voices: Now with more pitch shifter.

It's May 15th and still snowing in Saskatchewan.

2009-05-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

Deja Vu: Above photos are a fairly accurate depiction of what happens in the van.

Sled Island

2009-05-12T10:22:00.000-07:00

Hey All,
LV is proud to announce they'll be playing Sled Island again this summer. The initial line up was released last week and includes Andrew W.K., Malajube, Holy Fuck, Woodhands, and Final Fantasy. Anyone want to meet up for lunch at Buddha's Veggie?

Above photos are a fairly accurate depiction of what happens in the van.

On the road again...

2009-05-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

There's something to be said for being a travelling band. You inevitably find yourself emerged in scenarios that would just never occur in your day to day life. You find yourself plugging dozens of quarters into an arcade game you don't even really care for just to pass the time. You're forced to visit gas station washrooms that use paper filters full of used coffee grinds as an air freshener. You spend (literally) hours playing the "Name Game" with movie titles as if you were competing for your life. You listen to Joe Cocker's Live album atleast once a day.

Thanks for everyone who came out to show in Saskatoon on Saturday and to everyone in Alberta who made it out to the K-os dates. It was great to see some old friends and meet some new ones. We just wanted to take a moment to let everyone at the Calgary show know that despite the terrible tumble he took off of the barricade, our beloved robot Emiglio is healing quickly from his injuries and we expect him to make a full recovery in time for our tour in July. Oh yea, by the way, we're headed back out on the road for the better part of July.

Our beloved friend Chris Graham took the above photo at some salt flats. We'll be posting his photos from the trip all week!

LV featured in The New Yorker.

2009-04-22T14:32:00.001-07:00

Well hot damn! Library Voices found their way into the New Yorker today. Now I can confidently reply yes when all the hillbilly's in my hometown ask "you're one of them readin' types ain't you?"
Read here.

New dates with K-os

2009-04-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

Dear Albertan friends,
We're coming to visit. It won't kill you to put down your steak and wash the oil off your hands for one night...

May 3 - Edmonton, Ab - k-os Yes! Karma Tour
Edmonton Events Centre

May 4 - Calgary, Ab - k-os Yes! Karma Tour
MacEwan Hall

Sleater Kitty

2009-03-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

Toronto!
It's nice to finally be back in the big city. With the recent arrival of lead guitarist Brett Dolter - recently flown in from Regina to play the rest of the shows with us - we are off to Port Hope for a show tonight and then tomorrow is the big day at El Macombo at 10:00pm with Young Rival to follow. We are also playing the after party, where ever that is. We spent the afternoon at the Steam Whistle brewery downtown next to the CN Tower and Skydome. More on that to follow. We had a write up in a Globe and Mail blog:

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/media/blogs/popculture/2009/03/canadian_music_week_2009_kicks.html

Special thanks to Lish who's putting us up while we're in the city and to her wonderful cat Sleater Kitty.

Carl

Toronto Bound

2009-03-12T08:08:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends,
A couple updates from the road:

-Thunder Bay, played at the Apollo with the fantastic We Were Lovers from Saskatoon. The hospitality as always was amazing; Shelia the venue owner and her mother Konstentina cooked the bands up a feast and even though it was a Sunday night the turnout was great and the dancefloor was even better.

-Sudbury, played in a garage with some rad teens and the best dad ever. (I think it's officially called "the garage") He was pretty much a wicked tough hockey dad except into music and the result was the best jam spot / small venue ever. The garage was sound proofed and had a better PA than half of the venues we've played in. Paul fell and broke his elbow on the 3 feet of ice covering every inch of Sudbury and we lost Mike in a pothole somewhere on the highway. All things considered it was one of the most satisfying shows we've played. Huge thanks to the Millard family for putting us up and allowing us to feed their prehistoric dog some blueberries.

-Guelph, played the ebar last night with Hollerado who killed it, as did the venue. Everything was great from the food to the stage (which is seldom big enough for us) to the sound and most of all the people. The four hour drive from Sudbury provided us with plenty of time to ease in to the night allowing for a less rushed more enjoyed evening. The pool table was fed around thirty loonies which was a bargain for the enjoyement it provided. Paul made a three quarter table jump shot to defeat the combo of squirrel and baby duck, aka Aj and Mike. To finish the night off our good friends Mike and Brad let us stay in the attic, guelph's prize alternative venue that has housed shows for the likes of attack in black, jon rae and more as well as being a welcoming floor to crash on. we are currently enjoying some potent coffee and prepairing to take toronto by storm.

Eoin!

Library Voices Factoid #84

2009-03-05T10:41:00.000-08:00

Bryce Cessalman is a great photographer from the Sunshine Coast. He was kind enough to take some photos of us while we were out that way.
http://www.brycecasselman.com
http://brycecasselman.blogspot.com/

Library Voices Robbed in Vancouver - $10000 worth of gear stolen

2009-02-23T09:28:00.001-08:00

Following our show at the Media Club on Sunday, February 15 our van was robbed while we slept. Left unattended for only a couple hours in the wee hours of the morning - it was still enough time for thieves to tear apart our trailer with bolt cutters and make off with about $10000 worth of gear. Although they only took about 1/3 of the equipment in the trailer, they managed to get a little bit from just about everyone. They got Paul's saxophone, Darcy's accordion, Michael's 4x10 bass cab, Karla's bass head, Eoin's case of pedals and cables, Mike's rack tom and bag of misc. percussion, Brennan's new guitar (that he acquired that very day) and pedal case, as well stacks of other misc cables, pedals, and a strobe light.

Although we were forced to cancel our show Monday in Chemainus so that we could get our trailer welded back together, the rest of the tour went off without a hitch. We managed to borrow and rent enough gear to finish up the remaining shows. All upcoming shows are also good to go.

I'd also like to take a moment to sincerely thank everyone for their support at those shows and for all of the kind words we've recieved over the past few days. It helps keep in perspective why we all play music in the first place.

You can read a story about it that appeared in Chart Attack here.

Library Voices Factoid #37

2009-02-16T10:03:00.001-08:00

Did you know that British Columbia does not celebrate Family Day?

What's next? Will they take away Labour Day?

Landlocked Blues (Tour Updated #2)

2009-02-16T09:45:00.000-08:00

This just in. Breaking news from the LV Camp. Despite the claims in our last blog posting, we did in fact manage to wrangle some breakfast at the legendary Gumboot in Roberts Creek. Can you say spinach and olive omelette? Several cups of coffee later we made our way to the ferry and began the epic 20 minute boat ride to Horseshoe Bay. It gave me a taste of what a life at sea would be like and I have decided it's the only life for me! ... so this afternoon we are about to set sail once again. Starboard ho!

Yesterday we spent the afternoon filing in and out of a one bedroom apartment posing for an infinite number of photos which Mr.Andy Dixon is going to assemble in a stop motion music video for us. Please check out a few of Andy's projects (Secret Mommy, Ache Records, Winning, The Chemistry, and his latest solo album).

Last night we were blessed with the opportunity to share the stage at the Media Club with Vancouver's Animal Names as well as a farewell performance by The Centers and the man behind the beard, Matt Goud. Thanks to all who came out.

It's time I take it to the streets in search of coffee.

Mike

nice nice very nice

2009-02-14T21:46:00.000-08:00

welp tonight we're in Roberts Creek at the Little Legion, prepping for what should be a super fun valentine's day party. local lovers are starting to pile in for a night of happy times, good vibes, pool, and music-related shennanigans.

we've been pretty terrible at keeping the blogotron informed. we're currently on night #3 of a western canada tour. thursday night we hit up calgary at one of my favourite places to play--the marquee room. after that we had our very first 12-person sleep in the van. it was......interesting (but not like fun interesting...). Last night we were in kelowna for a night of friends, fancy pants, teens, dagger threats (no jokes--the show almost got shut down), and super happy fun times with Yukon Blonde and other Kelowna favourites.

this tour all 10 pieces of LV has been blessed with an addtional 2 gingers to pack the van. Matt Goud (Means) and his marmalade beard of golden love has brought his guitar and bucket of smiles along to play each night. sound man extraordinaire Ryan Drabble from Saskatoon has also joined us, providing us with microphones, sonic wisdom, and various cheap jokes along the way. two super great guys with huge hearts and a knack for fun.

Sadly tomorrow we'll have to skip breakfast at the much sought after Gumboot in Roberts Creek to head to Vancouver where we'll be meeting up with Andy Dixon www.thechemistrydesigns.com to shoot a video for Haunt this House. Fun!! our first real live music video. later on we'll be hitting up the media club with animal names, the centres, and of course...matt goud.

haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay............

yours in blogalisciousness,
amanda.

Welcome to 2009

2009-02-05T07:45:00.000-08:00

"He no longer had to worry about death or venereal disease or the vastness of the universe."

-Murakami

"Somebody help me! I'm being spontaneous!"

2008-12-12T14:10:00.001-08:00

December 12. National Geographic is reporting today will be the biggest, brightest full moon of 2008. I'm here to report it will be the day Library Voices sheds their biggest, brightest smiles of 2008. Today marks the day we break from the studio for the holidays, and take time to evaluate the first mixes of our new album.

It's (semi) official! The album will be called Museum of Natural History & Make Believe and features 11 new songs. Over the past 3 months, between tours, work, and life, we've been tucked away crafting our first full length record. Thanks to the support of the Sask Arts Board and the unmatched patience of engineer Orion Paradis, this time has afforded us the opportunity to experiment a lot more in the studio. An old tube radio that belonged to Orion's grandmother was rewired to act as an amp and all sorts of instruments and vocals were run through it to create a warm, authentic 60's sound. Brennan got the chance to plug in his old, staticy surf guitar amplifier. I got the chance to fiddle over a handful of handmade instruments including circuit bent children's toys and a prepared music box. Darcy ran her brand new Nord Electro through virtually every device we own. Brett proved that somehow there is room for Daydream Nation era feedback in quiet pop songs. Wind chimes? Check! Thunderstorms? Why not! A gong? Well, we'll have to wait and see...

The experience, although at times trying, has been incredibly fulfilling and rewarding - and now in retrospect I can't think of a better way to spend a Tuesday afternoon than nestled away in the tracking room with Paul and Brennan. Each of them smashing a snare drums simultaneously while I beat on a tin box full of children's tambourines with a maraca.

And so although there will certainly be fine tuning and overdubs to come after the holidays, it's starting to feel like the end is in sight. We're feeling like Jim Carrey at the end of the Truman Show as he braves the waves and inches toward the outside world...

Home Again

2008-12-04T09:10:00.000-08:00

The tour out East was almost a complete success. The only aspect that fell short of expectations was our negligence to the blog. The shows were all great and we met a lot of wonderful people. The weather was on our side and downloading Bejeweled onto my ipod proved to be the best decision of my life, killing literally 100's of hours in the van.

This week Hunting Ghosts (& Other Collected Shorts) gives it the old college try and climbs to #21 on Earshot! campus charts. We're proud of the little late bloomer.

While we were in Toronto this past week we sat down for a couple of interviews. Eoin met with the good folk at blogTO. We gave him only one only one rule - keep it clean! You can check that out here.

As well, CityNews ran a feature with about a bazillion photos and a little video interview. Am I always that shifty eyed?

The above is from our show at Zaphod's in Ottawa and was stolen from Lenny W's flickr page.

portrait of the artist as a young dog

2008-11-25T08:41:00.000-08:00

ten people waking up in an attic in guelph. downstairs our host mike is making us potatoes for breakfast, beside me darcy is demanding that bret massage her feet, brennan is texting his beloved, dawson is nintendo DSing, eoin is miraculously awake again and off to grab coffees and poor paul is coughing away, soldiering on in the face of his awful cold.

last night was quite a show. we played here in guelph at a bar called jimmy jazz. our set was adventurous and afterwards a few of us had the pleasure of backing up paul mcLoud and also this very nice lucas fellow. defiantly one of the highlights of tour. perhaps the most surprising moment of the night came when bret bought me a beer and put a shot of gin in it without telling me. this was his nod to the proud saskatchewan tradition of dropping a shot of gin into a pint of bohemian beer, a 'boh-gin,' also known as the worst next morning of your life.

today our song love in the age of absurdity is the new music canada track of the day over at cbc radio3. we would like to thank the cbc3 for their continuing love and affection!
carl

point form

2008-11-23T22:29:00.000-08:00

brett here
-----
blog is the ugliest word in the english language and so I bring you instead an uninvited entry on an internet journal
------
and point form is the most effective means of communication in the english language so I will separate each thought by these ------
------
there you are now we're in a new point, just testing
------
Darcy has just reminded me that I am the most unlikely member of this band. My only connection to any of these people was the fact that I bought organic groceries from Darcy at a quaint, community organic grocery store in downtown Regina called Nature's Best. It's two blocks from my house, and I probably do more socializing with the people in that store than I do with any other humans out there - hey oh!
------
Due to the wonders of the gasoline economy few Canadians actually converse with the people they buy groceries from. If they did, the tellers wouldn't need to wear tags saying 'Hello my name is....'
------
Due to the wonders of the Mawson plan, and the novelty of gasoline engines at the time the plan was formed, downtown Regina is pedestrian-friendly. That's why I can walk to the grocery store. That's why I'm in this band. Yay! - pedestrian-friendly urban planning!
------
library voices - from 14th Avenue Regina to St. Catherine's - that's a lot of gasoline, but hey there's ten of us so per capita we're not doing too bad!

Merchant Ale House Grab and Smash

2008-11-23T21:36:00.000-08:00

This is Eoin,

Grab and smash is a very fitting title to this blog (I am not responsible for it) considering that within the last twenty-four hours both have happened. An affectionate and forward grasp last night reminded me of the old days in Catholic school, followed by some delicious micro brews. A good follow up if you ask me. We didn't have the opportunity to drink last night which meant some of us went to bed still feeling feelings not sure how I feel about that yet, the morning was great. Today felt like a gnarly long drive but in reality probably was only six hours. Mike T. and myself are bench mates now and I couldn't be happier. He is officially the karma to my sutra, the bee to my knees, the bitch to my ho or simply I'm a giraffe and he's a fox(y).....it works.
Tonight's show was awesome, played with Old folks Home, Ricardo is deadly. The beer here in Saint Catherine's is fantastic in house brewed and not straight hooch. You don't find that everyday. I'm handing this over to Doltron now night.

2008-11-23T19:13:00.000-08:00

this is carl.
sitting at a table in the back of the merchant ale house in st. catherines. it's nice to be in a place made of mostly of old brick, wood and tin after the wasteland of southern ontario box stores and concrete we drove through to get here. tonight we play with our old friend ricardo of old folks home. and things are already beginning to get a little crazy. we've come from shows in thunder bay and sault ste marie, bolth (sic) of which were great. in thunder bay we met a lot of new friends, we were fed by wonderful ukranian(?!) women and actually had a dance floor going for most of our set at the apollo. BUT the most remarkable thing about the gig was the next morning when eoin woke up at 7am quite nearly of his own volition - not having to be shaken, molested or battered around in anyway. even he was amazed that he was conscious. however the morning wasn't all gumdrops and roses; brett had to wake drummer mike up by pouring scalding hot tea all over his body. or did he? the matter is still a source of debate in the back seat of the van. sault ste marie was a terrific time: coffee shops, thai food, teenagers playing white rabbit in shady bars, dudes wearing neck chains in excess, tuning pedal salvation, more new friends, sub-par diner french fries, random police check stops and then, at the end of it all in a town called espanola that smelled like dog shit, two hotel rooms the size of modest prison cells that had to accommodate five people each. tomorrow most of us will see niagra falls for the first time!

This next portion of the blog will be written by one Darcy Jean McIntyre!

Our first tour out east has definitely been pretty wild and unpredictable. I always think that we kind of know what to expect from western tours, but jumping feet first into places where we don't know a single soul and usually don't have floors to sleep on is a bit of an eye opener to the unglamourous life of the indie rock band. Now don't get me wrong, we are having an excellent time. Its been lots more driving than we're used to, but not to worry as we have finally found our places in the van and are making two to a seat as comfortable as possible. Which isn't very comfortable to tell you the truth. Brett, Mike T, Brennan, and I just went to an all you can eat sushi place here in St Catherines where Mike T proceeded to order like a food crazed maniac to finally pronounce his satisfaction at the meal. Success! Unfortunately the success only lasted mere seconds when he then spilled a large bowl of sauce onto his crotch. Oh the laughter that ensued. Sigh.....only five more shows left and then back to the beautiful wasteland that is Regina Sk.

Toodles.

Notes From The Road. Chapter 1.

2008-11-20T20:15:00.001-08:00

Greetings from The Lo Pub in lovely Winnipeg, Manitoba.

I heard somewhere once that they Canadian goose begins his migration journey with several test runs before it actually heads south. Half a dozen false starts. Nervous wings and cold feet. Today I know how they feel. Every time we embark on any sort of tour the day always begins by circling the city several times - collecting forgotten items and rounding up missing members. All things considered, and despite the fact that Carl is without his beloved mole-skin notebook and Eoin has to try to keep warm for the next couple of weeks without a sleeping bag, we managed to arrive in "The Peg" just in time for a sound tech.

The weather has been a little iffy the past few days, but thankfully the highways were immaculate and the drive flew by with a little help from Red House Painters and Akron/Family.

Tonight we're sharing the bill with two great locals, Codename: The Sharks and Haunter. Our old friend Mike B. is also DJing the event. It's a nice way to start the tour before.

We had a couple of really great features this week in Chart & The Calgary Herald.

Codename: The Sharks has just taken to the stage. I had best log off the old nerd machine and get down with the rock.

-This is Mike Dawson signing off from the land of Fort Gary and Moosehead.

A Vote For Library Voices Is A Vote Against Terrorism

2008-11-18T07:34:00.000-08:00

Dear friends of the Library,
This past weekend we found out that Library Voices were nominated for two Bucky awards!

We are nominated for Best Lyrics, up against Sam Roberts, Stars, and Kathleen Edwards. Stiff competition? Yikes!

We are also nominated for Best Band Name

We'd like to thank the good folk at Radio 3 for thinking of us, and it would mean the world to us if you were willing to take a moment to vote for us. If you haven't signed up yet, you should anyway because their website is mindblowingly comprehensive.

http://radio3.cbc.ca/polls/?pollId=25

Apparently you can vote once a day.... and why not... it would give you a nice break from Facebooking while you are at work or school.

In 1996 punk broke again. In 1997 we were broke again.

2008-11-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

Carl will be appearing tomorrow afternoon (Friday, Nov. 14) on Grant Lawrence's radio show. Be sure to tune in to CBC Radio 3 and give it a gander.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the hometown show this past weekend. It was great to see another sold out event. For those of you in attendance, you may have notice we were joined on stage for several songs by Mr. Mark Hamilton aka Woodpigeon. While Mr. Pigeon was enjoying his late autumn stay here in the Queen City we also lured him into the studio to lay down some majestic guitars and down right heavenly vocals for our new album.

We head out next Thursday for handful of dates out East in support of Hunting Ghosts (& Other Collected Shorts). Preparations are already underway. Paul is busy entering all of the necessary coordinates into the GPS. Brett is busy packing all sorts of perishable food items that will inevitably all get lost somewhere in the van. And Karla... well Karla is relaxing on beach somewhere in Mexico right now, guzzling umbrella drinks and working on her winter tan. Her flight home arrives in just enough time to stuff her in the van and rush off to Winnipeg.

We're all looking forward to old friends, new friends, and greasy spoon breakfasts.

Wishing you a lovely Thursday morning,
M & LV

Now Entering The Blogosphere

2008-11-06T16:27:00.000-08:00

Here goes nothing. Welcome to the inaugural blog.

It gets dark so early here on the prairies. The girls are all wrapped up in scarfs and the boys are growing beards. Old man winter is breathing down our neck.

The Commodores are belting out their hits on the turntable and my cup of Easy Now tea is sending off smoke signals. I'm nestled up on the sofa reading Tristessa. For some reason transporting myself to Mexico seems more appealing than braving the cold tonight to meet up with Eoin for a pizza pie.

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, Carl, Darcy, and Brennan are headed into CBC 1 for a little interview and to perform an acoustic rendition of a new song. We'll try to post it in the near future.

Anyway, now that we have this technological behemoth up and running you can expect a steady stream of posts and updates.

Thanks for your time.

This is Michael "Easy Like Sunday Morning" Dawson signing off.