Author: Sheldon

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Hillbilly Highway – Jeff Stuart & The Hearts

by Sheldon Birnie

Jeff Stuart & The Hearts are a six-piece indie roots band out of Edmonton. Two albums deep, and with a bunch of festival gigs and big-time opening spots behind them, Jeff & The Hearts are taking to the Highway to spread their sound across Canada. With a stop in Winnipeg tonight with local lovelies The Sweet Alibi, Jeff took some time out of last-minute tour prep to chat with Stylus about their latest record, Equal Parts Reason & Moonlight, and touring and writing with a large band.

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Corb Lund brings Cabin Fever to Winnipeg

by Sheldon Binie

Corb Lund has been around the independent Canadian music scene for over two decades now. Touring extensively in the 90s with heavy Edmonton alt-rockers the Smalls, and ramping up international success as a solo country & western artist since the late 90s, Corb Lund knows the value of hard work, good songs, and good friends. He took some time last month to chat over the phone with Stylus about his new record Cabin Fever, and his band the Hurtin’ Albertans’ upcoming Winnipeg show. While some technical difficulties appeared throughout our conversation, you’ll find the bulk of it below. Giddyup! Continue reading “Corb Lund brings Cabin Fever to Winnipeg”

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Diamond Rings :: I’m Just Me

By Adrienne Yeung

Everything about Diamond Rings (aka Toronto native John O’Regan) dazzles these days, especially when every facet of the platinum-mohawked, bejewelled musician throws back an image of the musical and visual changes that have taken place over the past two years. His second album, Free Dimensional (released Oct. 23) is obviously grown up out of Special Affections‘ (2010) sparkly DIY-esque pop: It’s polished, deliberate, and endlessly catchy.  While a phone interview sadly failed (the recorded interview is literally five minutes of mumbling, crackling, and my repeating “Hello? Hello?” into the Stylus phone), we managed to finally connect via trusty e-mail to find out what he’s got to say about his changing presence and sound. Continue reading “Diamond Rings :: I’m Just Me”

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Hillbilly Highway – Lower Companions drop new disc

by Sheldon Birnie

Since the 2009 release of their debut LP, Jason Maas & The Lower Companions have been grinding it out in Winnipeg’s roots scene. Now, on the eve of the release of their latest record, the six song Lock & Step, at the Times Change(d) this Saturday, singer, songwriter, and band leader Jason Maas got on the phone here to Stylus to talk about the band, the record, and what comes next for the Lower Companions. Continue reading “Hillbilly Highway – Lower Companions drop new disc”