Phog Lounge and Phog Phest on A Channel with Christie Bezaire

Thanks so much to Christie Bezaire for featuring us on A Channel News!

Upcoming Music at Phog Lounge

Thursday March 25 - Jadea Kelly (Toronto) w/ Joshua Gropp (Stratford) and TBA - 9pm - $5 Friday March 26 - Gardening, Not Architecture (Los Angeles) w/ Crazy Diamond (Toronto) and A Welcome Breeze - 10pm - $5 Saturday March 27 - Diana Catherine and The Thrusty Tweeters (Toronto) w/ The Eric Welton Band - 10pm - $5


Tuesday March 30 - The Pack A.D. (Vancouver) w/ Bradley (Vancouver) and The Magic Hall of Mirrors - 10pm - $7 Advance or $10 Door

A glimpse of Yukon Blonde (Vancouver)

Yukon Blonde played Phog at the end of February with Two For The Cascade, and it was epic.
Wonderful.
And I already have them booked again for May.

Just a teaser until then.

March/April Events 2010 Listings for Phog Lounge - UPDATED

March

Friday 19 - Ramona (Toronto) w/ The Heels - 10:30pm - 19+

Saturday 20 - NOTHING BOOKED - NO COVER - COME DRINK

Monday 22 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts - 9pm - 19+
Tuesday 23 - In Review Magazine Launch w/ Marty Gervais

Wednesday 24 - Smash The Glass Publication Launch

Thursday 25 - Jadea Kelly (Toronto) w/ Joshua Gropp  - 9pm - 19+

Friday 26 - Gardening, Not Architecture (Los Angeles) w/ Crazy Diamond (Toronto) and A Welcome Breeze- 10:30pm - 19+
Saturday 27 - Diana Catherine and the Thrusty Tweeters (Toronto) w/ The Eric Welton Band - 10pm - 19+

Monday 29 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts - 9pm - 19+

Tuesday 30 - The Pack AD (Vancouver) w/ Bradley (Vancouver) and The Magic Hall of Mirrors - 9pm - 19+

Wednesday 31 - Citizfaction Election Event

April

Friday 2 - The Wheat Pool (Edmonton) w/ Tom Curry - 10pm - 19+

Saturday 3 - The Peace Leeches (Blenheim) w/ The Details (Winnipeg) and WHYME - 10pm - 19+

Monday 5 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts - 9pm - 19+
Wednesday 7 - Juice Open Mic Poetry - 9pm - ALL AGES
Thursday 8 - Huron (Hamilton) w/ Bend Sinister (Vancouver) and The Eric Welton Band - 9pm -
Friday 9 - The Polymorphines (Ottawa) w/ Krupke (Toronto), The Bulletproof Tiger, and Life in a Vacuum (Kitchener/Waterloo) - 9pm - 19+
Saturday 10 - Graham Playford Trio (Montreal) w/ Shane Murphy Band (Montreal) w/ TBA - 19+
Sunday 11 - Devin Sproule (Charlottesville, Virginia) w/ Mantler (Toronto) and TBA - 9pm -
Monday 12 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts - 9pm - 19+
Tuesday 13 - Leif Vollebekk (Montreal) w/ Giant Hand (Ottawa) and David Dubois - 9pm -
Wednesday 14 - FURS Electronic/Interactive Show - 9pm - 19+
Thursday 15 - Amos The Transparent (Ottawa) w/ The Bad Ideas (London) and The Magic Hall of Mirrors - 9pm -
Friday 16 - Raised By Swans (London) w/ ASK - 10pm - 19+
Saturday 17 - Sean Connery Supergroup w/  - 10pm -
Monday 19 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts - 9pm - 19+
Tuesday 20 - Laura Peek and The Winning Hearts (Halifax) w/ Pat LePoidevin (Sackville) - 9pm -
Friday 23 - The Micronite Filters (Oshawa) w/ Sandman Viper Command (Burlington) and The Archives (Toronto) - 10pm -
Saturday 24 - Young Rival (Hamilton) w/ Muzzin - 10pm -
Monday 26 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts - 9pm - 19+
Thursday 29 - English Words (Charlottetown, PEI) w/ TBA - 9pm -
Friday 30 - Allison Brown CD Release w/ Lonesome Lefty and The Cryin' Shames - 10pm - 19+

Magnolius (Toronto) and Perilelle at Phog, February 20, 2010

MAGNOLIUS, on their 5-venue tour of Southwestern Ontario brings explosive Hip Hop from Toronto, on stage with Windsor's PERILELLE.  It's your best bet if you're looking for a break from indie rock and crave a show of authentic talent.  MAGNOLIUS incorporates assembly-line style emceeing with lush beats and breaks, while PERILELLE fuses warm trip hop with hard technical rhythms via synthesizer, drum machine and of course, her silvery voice.

When: Saturday, February 20th, 2010

Where: Phog Lounge, 157 University Ave West, Windsor ON.

 

Details: $5, 19+

RSVP via Facebook

What are critics saying about headliners MAGNOLIUS?"The chemistry between the duo, Shan Vincent de Paul & Derek DaCosta... well if you could bottle it, you could sell it back to N-Power and make some tidy wedge. It's angry and aware, yet sharp and has sense of humor" - WHISPERS Mag (UK)

"Best of all is their successful spanning of that sometimes-massive space existing between the disparate sides of tradition and experimentation within hip-hop, moving from one to the other with casual ease." - EXCLAIM! (Toronto) 

Listen to MAGNOLIUS Music on Bandcamp 
Hear trip-hop from PERILELLE

Bonus: You can catch Magnolius twice while they're in the area.  Check them out in Detroit at the 1440 Collective on Friday, February 19th with friends Stryfe, Detroit CYDI, RenCen and more!

 

Visit MAGNOLIUS myspace and find out about the other stops on the tour! 

Phog's February & March Listings

Monday 1 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts - 9pm - 19+

Tuesday 2 - Brent Lee - University of Windsor Jazz and Funk Recital - 8pm - ALL AGES

Wednesday 3 - Canadian Lawyers Abroad Fundraiser w/ Mike Hargreaves and Efan Music - 9pm - ALL AGES

Thursday 4 - Andy Brown - full band (Fredericton) w/ TBA - 9pm - ALL AGES

Friday 5 - The DoneFors (Toronto) w/ James O-L and The Villains - 10pm - 19+

Saturday 6 - Make Me Young! (Toronto) w/ A Huron Union (Sarnia) and Muzzin - 10pm - 19+

Sunday 7 - Coastal w/ My Last Summer Sky - 7:30pm - ALL AGES

Monday 8 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts - 9pm - 19+

Wednesday 10 - Juice Open Mic Poetry

Thursday 11 - Vicious Guns (Toronto) w/ TBA - 9pm - 19+

Friday 12 - Michou w/ TBA

Saturday 13 - Lonesome Lefty and The Cryin' Shames - 10:30pm - 19+

Sunday 14 - Pat Robitaille w/ Mini Mansions (Los Angeles) and TBA - 9pm - 19+

Monday 15 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts - 9pm - 19+

Wednesday 17 - Stephen Surlin (DJ FURS) Electronic TBA - 9pm

Friday 19 - Chris Page (Ottawa) w/ Leighton Bain Full Band - 10:30pm - 19+

Saturday 20 - Magnolius (Toronto) w/ Perilelle - 10:30pm - 19+

Sunday 21 - CR Avery (Vancouver) w/ TBA - 9pm - ALL AGES

Monday 22 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts  - 9pm - 19+

Tuesday 23 - Rah Rah (Regina) w/ Stereo Goes Stellar - 9pm - ALL AGES

Thursday 25 - Twilight Hotel (Nashville) w/ TBA - 9pm - ALL AGES

Saturday 27 - Yukon Blonde (Vancouver) w/ TBA - 10:30pm - ALL AGES

March

Monday 1 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts - 9pm - 19+

Tuesday 2 - Woodhands (Toronto) w/ The Peace Leeches (Blenhiem) - 9pm - ALL AGES

Wednesday 3 - Pat Robitaille w/ Dan Roth (Toronto) and Sarah Loucks (Peterborough) - 9pm - 19+

Thursday 4 - Ron Leary w/ TBA - 9pm - 19+

Friday 5 - Brasstronaut (Vancouver) w/ TBA - 10:30pm - 19+

Saturday 6 - 72Blues (Australia) - 10:30pm - 19+

Sunday 7 - Ace Kincaid (Ottawa) w/ What Seas, What Shores and The Bulletproof Tiger  - 9pm - 19+

Monday 8 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts - 9pm - 19+

Tuesday 9 - Pawnshop Diamond (Vancouver) w/ TBA - 9pm - ALL AGES

Wednesday 10 - Juice Open Mic Poetry - 9pm - ALL AGES

Thursday 11 - Innes Wilson and his Opposition (Guelph) w/ Gregory Pepper and His Problems (Guelph) w/ TBA - 9pm - 19+

Friday 12 - Stephen Surlin (DJ FURS) Experimental/Interactivity/Noise

Saturday 13 - Language Arts (Vancouver) w/ TBA - 10:30pm - ALL AGES

Sunday 14 - Ghostkeeper (Calgary) w/ Silver Starling (Montreal) - 9pm - ALL AGES

Monday 15 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts - 9pm - 19+

Tuesday 16 - Jean Paul De Roover (Thunder Bay) w/ WHYME and Efan Music - 9pm - ALL AGES

Wednesday 17 - Lonesome Lefty and The Cryin' Shames - 9pm - ALL AGES

Thursday 18 - The Balconies (Ottawa) w/ TBA - 9pm - 19+

Friday 19 - Ramona (Toronto) w/ The Heels - 10:30pm - 19+

Saturday 20 - Ketch Harbour Wolves (Toronto) w/ TBA - 10:30pm - ALL AGES

Sunday 21 - Neosupervital (Ireland) w/ TBA - 9pm - ALL AGES

Monday 22 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts - 9pm - 19+

Wednesday 24 - Oceanographer - Stephen Surlin

Thursday 25 - Jadea Kelly (Toronto) w/ TBA - 9pm - 19+

Friday 26 - Gardening, Not Architecture (Los Angeles) w/ TBA - 10:30pm - 19+

Monday 29 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts - 9pm - 19+

Tuesday 30 - The Pack AD (Vancouver) w/ TBA - 9pm - 19+

Phog Lounge on Today's Windsor - Part 2

This is part two of the interview with Today's Windsor, with less "hot tub" references than part one.

Phog Lounge featured on Today's Windsor!

Bevin and I talking at length about Phog Lounge...and why people seem to enjoy what we offer.

Construction and Destruction (Halifax) play Phog on Tuesday December 22nd with The Last Trio

http://www.myspace.com/davidtrenaman

Construction and Destruction is a band, that when they were first recommended to me by Dr. Disc owner Liam O'Donnell, I knew was going to be great.

They play a certain kind of east coast music that reminds me of certain parts of other bands from out that way: Museum Pieces and Eric's Trip to name two.
  
The sound at the live show is notably scarce. A two-piece usually. But it's the kind of stuff I've come to enjoy...quite a bit.



Because of Liam's friendship with this musical couple, I've asked The Last Trio (Alan Penner, Liam O'Donnell +1) to play this show. Which is code for, the best vibe in all of Windsor will be happening in Phog Lounge on December 22nd.

To learn more about The Last Trio, see this quick interview I did with them: http://bit.ly/51TJIh

Come out. It will be fantastic and friendly.

I did this interview with them recently. It'll give you some sense of what kind of awesome they bring to a room. I think it's absolutley ideal for the winter months.

Promotional Head's Up, Please

When a band books a gig at Phog, I supply a litany of information.
A list of things that happen, or are expected to happen before, during, and after a show.

We discuss money, posters, and promotion.

This third thing, promotion, is something I find myself having to ask bands for information about. Actually, to be more clear, I find myself stumbling onto Twitter posts from bands declaring their upcoming shows at Phog. Then, and only then, am I made aware that they even HAVE A TWITTER ACCOUNT.

Some of you are rolling you reyes.

For me, this is key to show promotion.
If I don't know that you have a band/musician Twitter account, blog, Facebook Fan Page, or FLAVORS.ME page, it hinders the promotional opportunities. People can't follow your progress on tour, photos from your other shows, video blog posts, tour video diaries, promotional giveaways, ANYTHING unless they ALREADY follow you (good luck) or if the promoter (me) can help let people know that you exist in these realms.

This week, I found a post from The Matavaras. A band from Halifax playing Phog on Saturday December 19th. Found. I didn't know they had a Twitter account. It's @thematavaras by the way. If I knew earlier, I could list it in the Facebook event listing, the blog, the calendar, etc. Since this example is leading me to making a list...I will begin doing so for you, the music fans of Windsor who ALSO embrace the tech connection.

Musicians, at the very least, I can help funnel people to your stuff if they are already interested in following or knowing more about your band, progress, and tour.

Please tell me, bands, if you are coming here, OR NOT, that you exist in these places so that I can help fans know more about your promotional efforts. This way, when you HAVE Windsor music fans following you, YOU can ask THEM great places to eat, buy guitar strings, rent a hotel room, or to find a floor of a fan to sleep on. It wouldn't be a bad idea to enact these suggestions in the cities you travel to frequently, as the only people who stand to benefit from this is you, your fans, and the venues you're playing.

Any thoughts?
Can anyone tell me ANY Canadian bands, Windsor or otherwise, that are currently using Twitter?
I will collect them for a little while, and then post them subsequently.
Thanks in advance!

EDIT - We have been gifted the answer...the list...by Brenda Lee (@kn0ttyn3rb), an awesome Canadian Music fan from Vancouver. She replied within minutes of this post with this unbelievable link to NONE OTHER than North By East West - the Canadian Music Blog SUPREME!

Here's the link to the ultimate Canadian music Twitter list. I need to add around 200 bands now...

Thanks Brenda, and thanks NXEW.ca

Have a new CD coming out?

If you are releasing new music, you need to take this contact info down:

Dylan Kristy - dkristy@thestar.canwest.com

He's the new CD reviewer for The Windsor Star Scene page.
This is the guy you need to contact, and get music to, in order to have your CD coevered in the pages of Windsor's daily newspaper. It doesn't matter if you're releasing digital download cards, vinyl, CD, or anything else. He's the guy to contact about getting some press about it.

Thought you'd appreciate the head's up, as it can be intimidating to cold-call the newspaper trying to find out who reviews CDs.

Simple information. Just wanted to deliver it to you as per my conversation with Dalson Chen recently.

An open call to other venue owners in Canada...

I have been talking about this for a while.
A collaboration.
But there are physical barriers.
So I'm using this to reach you...venue owners!
Especially those who fell into the CBC Radio 3 Searchlight contest for their special attention to live music hosting.

Here I am, on a Wednesday night, in the winter, with nothing booked.
That means it's usually quiet in the early evening, picking up in the last half-hour.
But I know something's going on somewhere else in the country tonight.

I would LOVE to start showing LIVE broadcasts of bands playing in other venues, cities, provinces. Phog has been live-streaming shows, on and off, for a good while now. We just need an internet connection, a camera of some kind that will connect to your computer (I use a FireWire to a Sony Handycam circa. 1995). Then you need an external microphone with a USB connection to your computer. Ustream.com and other streaming sites make it pretty easy to set-up the video and audio...and then once you've got your settings...you keep them the same and simply adjust audio for volume.

I wish, wish, wish that another venue was willing to broadcast some stuff, so that I could PROJECT it onto our big screen on the nights when we don't have something booked.
I'd actually put it in the listing as something people could come and watch LIVE.
Touring bands could hit two audiences at once.

Is this a pipe dream, or is there someone out there willing to get the ball rolling by trying it out with one show?

If you're reading this and you have contact with a venue owner who might be open to this, send them to this post, or have them e-mail me at phoglounge@gmail.com.

It'd be killer to catch Said The Whale or Joel Plaskett or Jill Barber playing some other venue in Canada, knowing that they were playing to two audiences.

What do you think of this idea?

The Wooden Sky (Toronto) w/ MICHOU & Evening Hymns (Peterborough)

http://www.myspace.com/thewoodensky
http://www.myspace.com/eveninghymns
http://www.myspace.com/itsnicetomichou

Okay, look.

The Wooden Sky just played for a month, touring with Elliott Brood. Windsor's own Ryan Fields, who's been touring with both of them has been doing sound on this tour. He messaged me on Twitter to say that this is easily one of his favourite bands right now, after watching them 24 nights in a row.

Simply put, this band has been evolving steadily since its days as Friday Morning's Regret, when they played Phog every 3 months.
This is a super-gifted band, bringing super gifted friends, Evening Hymns, from Peterborough. Their myspace music is HAUNTING, and BEAUTIFUL, and will totally KILL in Phog's little audio-space. GO LISTEN!

And to add to the madness...the UBER-talented MICHOU will be playing on the bill also! Love these fellas.
This is an all-ages show.
You should come.


Below, is three parts of a slick documentary being shot about The Wooden Sky. I encourage you to take a look.

See you Saturday!
The Wooden Sky - A Documentary in Pieces - PART ONE (HD) from Black Box Vimeo on Vimeo.


The Wooden Sky - A Documentary in Pieces PART TWO (HD) from Black Box Vimeo on Vimeo.


The Wooden Sky - A Documentary in Pieces PART THREE (HD) from Black Box Vimeo on Vimeo.

Phog November Listings

 November
1 - Sharon Lavin Art Show Up
1 - BOOK FEST - Alexander Zelenyj Reading
2 - Peace Leeches (Blenheim) w/ TBA - 9pm
4 - Engineers Without Borders w/ What Seas, What Shores w/ James OL and the Villains
5 - Ox (Vancouver) w/ Barzin (Toronto) - 9pm
6 - Book Fest - Reading by Ray Robertson followed by Kelly Hoppe
7 - Book Fest - Reading 4:30pm
7 - The Wooden Sky (Toronto) w/ Evening Hymns (Peterborough) - 10:30pm
10 - Immaculate Machine (Vancouver) w/ The Zolas w/ TBA - 9pm
11 - Paper Lions (Prince Edward Island/Toronto) w/ TBA- 9pm
12 - Wax Mannequin (Hamilton) CD Release w/ Rae Spoon (Calgary) & Mark Bragg (St John's, NL) - 9pm
13 - Lindy (Toronto) w/ TBA - 10:30pm
14 - Myles Deck and The Fuzz (Halifax) w/ High Mother - 10:30pm
16 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts
17 - Raw Shock Monthly Film Fest - 8:30pm
18 - You Say Party, We Say Die! (Vancouver) w/ Little Girls (Toronto) & Friendly Foes (Detroit) - 9pm
19 - Radio Adelaide w/ TBA - 9pm
20 - Rep By Pop (Toronto) w/ Perilelle - 10:30pm
22 - Parlour Steps (Vancouver) w/ TBA - 9pm
23 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts
24 - Video Art Awards: Visual Arts Program - 8pm
24 - Andy Brown (Fredericton) w/ TBA - 12am
25 - Jackie Robitaille w/ Kaley Bird,  Sidney York,  Amy Thiessen - 9pm
27 - Caladonia (Halifax) w/ TBA - 10:30pm
28 - The Mark Inside (Toronto) w/ Young Rival (Hamilton) - 10:30pm
30 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts