Mise en Scene :: Pizza parties, world touring, & BreakOutWest 2014

MES

by Anastasia Chipelski

If it weren’t for Breakout West, Winnipeg might have the sad luck of totally missing a local gem of a duo. Mise en Scene have been logging road time and living out of their backpacks for the better part of the last year, and are squeezing in a few local shows before dropping off the prairie’s radar again. Continue reading “Mise en Scene :: Pizza parties, world touring, & BreakOutWest 2014”

Introducing :: Joe Nolan

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photo: Heather Pollock

by Daniel Emberg

Joe Nolan seemed to almost pop out of nowhere a few years ago in Edmonton, but it took little time for the music world to embrace the young talent. In addition to being a disarming, if slightly enigmatic, songwriter, Nolan’s got a distinctive voice that is equally at home teasing a pretty melody for all it’s worth as it is flirting with a lupine growl. His most recent album, Tornado, came out on Six Shooter Records earlier this year and has garnered much love across the land. It also scored Nolan two nominations at this weekend’s Western Canadian Music Awards: Roots Solo Recording of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year for “Tightrope Dancer,” the opening track on the album. That also means he’ll be playing as part of the BreakOut West festival in town this weekend, so Stylus sniffed him out by phone for a little chat. Here’s our first conversation with Joe Nolan. Continue reading “Introducing :: Joe Nolan”

Introducing :: Scenic Route to Alaska

Scenic Route To AlaskaDecember 22 2013-239-Edit-2
photo: Michael Kuby

by Daniel Emberg

The fellas of Scenic Route to Alaska (Shea Connor – drums/backing vocals, Trevor Mann-lead vocals/guitar, and Murray Wood – bass) have deep chemistry that keeps their lifelong friendship from being sapped by life as a touring creative collective. After playing together in various forms since early adolescence, they formed Scenic Route in late 2010 and have quickly made enough of a name that they were recently voted the second best band in their hometown of Edmonton by readers of the local arts weekly. The guys are currently supporting their second full-length effort Warrington, which is up for Pop Recording of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards. They are coming to Winnipeg for BreakOut West this weekend, and Stylus caught up with Shea Connor by phone as the band was making a stop in Red Deer. Once Shea’s jaw got off the ground (Brent Sutter had just walked by) the conversation started moving and now we’ve got this introduction to Scenic Route in Alaska. Continue reading “Introducing :: Scenic Route to Alaska”