That’s right, the debut 7″ from KFB megastars Teen Plaque is now up for grabs! There are 50 copies available. They are each one hand-numbered and lathe-cut into a very limited edition vinyl. There aren’t even really fifty because Jamie is getting some and I am getting one or two as well. El Searlo doesn’t need any because he punched his turntable and broke it. To any of my friends or KFB artists who think you will get one just because we share straws in our cherry cokes, well tough noogies because these are limited limited and there are no promos and only the fifty lathe cuts so if you want one better order it now!

TEN BUCKS

Thanks to everyone who came out to our last show with LA punk legends the Zeros! We’ll have some pics up soon but in the meantime here is a video from our last show at the Biltmore. It was shot by Aurelién Michon and Julian Bowers, the two cuddliest guys in the world. This song is so new it hasn’t even been recorded yet so look for it maybe on our next album? Thanks again to everyone who has been sharing the link around for No Revival 2! It’s got a lot of downloads so far and we are all really proud of it so keep linking it to anyone and everyone!

The Swell Season at Malkin Bowl Sunday 22^nd Aug.

Glen, The Frames and Black Francis

As I write this The Swell Season are just about coming to the end of their North American tour, and luckily for Vancouverites, this included a special performance outdoors at the Summer-special, soft-seater Malkin Bowl. The gorgeous Czech Marketa Irglova (complete with hot new pixie hair cut) and Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard blew me away. Support came from none other than The Pixies’ frontman Black Francis/Frank Black/Charles Thompson!

I, inexcusably, slept through getting to Stanley Park in time to see Black Francis perform alone. Luckily, he made an appearance later in the night but I will get to that later…

The first song was a Pixies cover (Cactus) by Glen and Marketa alone. Immediately it was obvious that Glen’s voice contrasts so well with Marketa’s. His is very Irish; strong, and impossibly loud (he even played one song without a mic!). Marketa’s voice is as delicate and soft as her playing. I knew how great they could be live from the film that thrust them into the limelight; ‘Once’. But hearing them together on stage was really moving and at the same time so much fun.

They played a couple of songs from the newer album, and of course the crowd pleasers from the film. Personal favourites included the more-recent single ‘Low Rising’, Marketa’s haunting ‘If You Want Me’, the decisive ‘When Your Mind’s Made Up’, and tear-jerker, ‘Once’. Glen hardly needed a microphone at all, his voice is so powerful. Despite the sad undertones in most of their songs, jokes were thrown about on stage and when Glen asked the sound guy to turn down the piano whilst Marketa was playing (He cited an abundance of sustain, saying “It just doesn’t sound good”) she pretended to be upset and stormed off stage. Then Glen did a little “I’m sorry” face at her whilst still singing. What a pair of cuties!

After the first song Glen invited some of the audience to get more intimate and sit up on the stage, so a few lucky ones got a few close-up songs before security broke up the party. Other highlights included a little 4 year old girl climbing on stage and dancing around, seemingly unaware of her audience. It was adorable!

Later on in the set, at the request of the audience, Glen broke into ‘Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy’ saying it felt like the whole evening had been leading up to that short ditty. And as part of the encore, we got to see Black Francis after all. They made a duet of ‘Where Is My Mind’ that was prefaced by the story of how Glen discovered the Pixies as a rabble-rousing teenager in Dublin and how much their music meant to him. It was the perfect finale! Black Francis leant in to snap him and Glen with his iPhone. I’ll have to see if I can find it on the internet somewhere….

Seeing The Swell Season live lived up to all of my expectations. Marketa was quiet and gorgeous, Glen lead the show, the fiddle was beautiful and the Glen/Marketa singing combo brought out a little eye juice. I suggest that you grab a chance to see this band live with both hands!!

-Heather Welsh

Well, folks, it didn’t take long.  Tim and I were the last to arrive and when we opened the door, it was already complete pandemonium.  Colin was in a stained bedsheet chanelling Caligula (Malcolm McDowell’s version) yelling he was God within human form.  Spence’s listless body had been hoisted onto a wall with a pentagram painted on his stomach and the words, “FOOLISH MORTAL” written on his forehead.  Devin and Rob were grovelling at Colin’s feet, offering him grapes and hams which they roasted overtop of a fire made from their instruments.  The less said about Cody, the better.  I’m just still shocked a human being could endure what happened to him.

I guess they had the idea that since the session would invariably end in disaster,  they decided to just go ahead start the mayhem themselves before anything else happened.  Tim, after a few moments of stunned horror, shruggged his shoulders and decided to join in and start flogging Devin and Rob while Colin laughed maniacally at the heavens.  I sipped a beer.  It’s complete debauchery.  Madness.

And to think we only wanted to record some songs.

Please send us photos of our loved ones.  Or Red Bull.  Preferably Red Bull.

-Julius Bowersius

[We're serious about the red bull -Ed.]

Yes it’s finally here! Our second compilation. I could honestly not stress more how much work was put into recording these songs and arranging this compilation. All of these artists mean a lot to me; as artists and as people. More importantly however, these songs mean something to me and I chose each of them because I really do care about the quality of music that KFB releases. For a year and a half now, this “record label” has been a big and exciting part of my life. I can’t imagine having a better group of people to share this time with. Thanks to the artists for their help. Thanks for coming to this website. Welcome to our new friends. Please support independent record shops and DIY labels. Form a band. Record everything. Fight the power!

-Tim the mute, Vancouver B.C. 8/17/10

CLICK ON THE ALBUM COVER TO DOWNLOAD

Tracklist:

1. Fall Fair Car – Come Around
2. The Lion In Love – Unceremonious Splendour
3. Eeek! – Sassafrance
4. Julian Bowers is Getting Married – Getting Married
5. The Shiny Diamonds – Such A Sucker
6. Cottage Days – Everything Was Beautiful, And Now
7. Born By Science – V Card
8. Pretty Eyes For Captain America – Under The Stands
9. Sticky Silver – Turpentine Girl
10. Red Soul – Eyeliner
11. Gold And Shadow – Fiction
12. Count Oak – Hungry For Us
13. Devon Parkin- Glass And Marble
14. Sommer – Whipped In The Wind
15. Teen Plaque – Teen Plaque Text Message
16. Button Fields – Untitled
17. Village – Stranger Thoughts
18. I Came Back For You- Hey Kid

Hey KFB Crew,

You may have noticed that the new comp isn’t posted. That’s because I am still waiting for the Button Fields song. Hopefully I’ll have it later tonight and I’ll be able to post the comp this week. You may have noticed the awesome cover already posted in the free music section. Well here are some updates anyway.

Spencer and myself will be back in the studio with Eek! on August 27th and 28th.

The Shiny Diamonds are playing the Biltmore on August 12th for the FaderMaster Annual Revue.

Eek! are playing The Cobalt on August 11th with our chums Woolworm.

Fall Fair Car have released their new LP which you can buy at Scratch Records for $8

Sam from Cottage Days is moving from Toronto to Vancouver to focus on music and art and KFB related joy. Welcome Sam!!!

Sommer has been featured on a new compilation LP from American Typewriter Recordings (Write to him to buy one).

We will be recording Devon Parkin sometime in the next couple of weeks.

It looks as if the new Sommer LP we are releasing may be on CASSETTE! This is pretty sweet and a much better idea than Eek!’s idea of a floppy disk.

All of these things are exciting and make me feel very good but I have just been taking a bit of time off for personal issues and now that I am working full time as well I am just constantly exhausted. Also it’s very hot outside. I am working hard on lots of KFB stuff and there will be more to reveal before the summer is over.

See you soon!

-Tim

Click on the image below to listen/purchase the new LP.

Or if you’d like to try it out then download some free EPs here. Their Modest Mouse cover is worth a listen as well!

[Photo stolen from the Vancouver Sun, no copyright infringement intended.]

Martha Wainwright Sings Edith Piaf- The Centre For Performing Arts In Vancouver June 26th 2010

by Heather Welsh

This was my first time in the Centre, and I thought it was really rather nice. Great acoustics, so even being sat upstairs in the peasant seats I caught every note coming from the beautiful grand piano.

Jose James and Jef Neve opened the show, James told us he was recently signed to the famous Impulse Records but it was Neve who grabbed my attention. Maybe I appreciated him more because of the hours spent sat at my own piano before school.

After people-watching in the interlude, the seductive Martha took to the stage with 3 instrumentalists, a very tight black dress and some huge sparkly dorothy-style heels! It wasn’t until later when she introduced her band that we learnt the pianist was in fact Doveman a.k.a Thomas Barlett who is like, the best touring pianist ever. He’s toured with The National and The Swell Season, as if you need any more persuading he is a good egg.

Anyway, back to Martha… She was a delight, mimicking Piaf’s famous dramatics as well as dress, and yet still made the songs feel her own. She sang Piaf so well in fact, that during her vocals I almost forgot she isn’t French. Between songs she chatted away like she was performing for a few old friends. She revealed they had just been to Tojo’s and were sharing around a bottle of sake with them on stage. I think they had spent a liiittle bit too much there, Martha asked us to buy her album as a result! By the end of the set, she had paid tribute to her late mother as well, singing one of her English-language songs that had been translated to French.

I would have liked to have heard some of her classics too, but hey I can do that in the future, last night I got to see a little slice of history in Martha’s passionate tribute to one of France’s most celebrated artists.

Heather Welsh is from England, which is in Europe somewhere.

In the next few days I will be showcasing some of the many extra-ordinary inhabitants of this planet that I have come across in my recent travels. The first is someone who’s post I chanced upon on answers.com or some such thing responding to a music post. The quality of her “answer” was to such a degree that I had to know more! Seeing that she had a website link under her name, I clicked my way into a world of discovery.

Under her unbelievable pseudonym of “alternagrrl”, this 13 year old (real name Alexis) has really felt things and left a long-forgotten trail of internet wreckage in her wake. Though not accessed by it’s creator for nearly half a decade, the sci-fi pink coloured alternagrrl site and it’s darker sister page flamingliver (an outlet for Alexis’ “goth poetry”) are left behind as internet artifacts. Like the bedroom of a deceased loved one, frozen in time, every carpet-bound shirt and unwashed coffee mug are seemingly awaiting the return of their master. A day that is unlikely to ever arrive.

As you will soon discover for yourself, Alternagrrl’s angsty musings on politics, her parents and institutionalized learning are trite at best and her supposed “rants” are laced with such inane material as conversations she’s had with the aol chatbot. I am providing an excerpt here and not recommending you read the whole piece.

• (16:24:14) ZolaOnAOL: I am chatting with people on the Internet.

  (16:24:16) Lexy: ok

  (16:24:16) ZolaOnAOL: Good.

  (16:24:19) Lexy: yeah

  (16:24:19) ZolaOnAOL: “Good”? Yes?

  (16:24:22) Lexy: sure

  (16:24:22) ZolaOnAOL: Is there an echo in here?

  (16:24:24) Lexy: no

  (16:24:25) ZolaOnAOL: Good you stopped repeating me.

  (16:24:29) Lexy: i never was

Hardly captivating.

Alexis’ love life leaves plenty to be desired. Confused feelings lead to more boy trouble in this tale: “I danced with him once after my friends made me. He said he liked me and then he started being all dumb and like hardly talked to me (but you know, he hadn’t talked to me very much before) and so I was thinking, Dude, you said you frickin liked me! What’s your problem?! Gawsh I’m glad he’s gone. Not really.”

She doesn’t seem too impressed with the public education system either. “[I] frequently have issues with school and people who go there, so don’t be surprised to hear me getting a bit overzealous in my persecution of institution.” Alexis warns. She then clarifies her stance on the subject, “In a nutshell, it sucks.”

Not everything sucks though! Alternagrrl has plenty to say about her favourite music, hinting at a deep appreciation beyond the surface. She describes her love for Scottish indie rockers Franz Ferdinand “I LOVE THIS BAND!!!” and NYC favourites Interpol and singer Paul Banks “I lurve this band (and their lead singer…)” She later quotes the offspring, shouting “HEY HEY DO THAT BRAND NEW THING!”

Her profile must be read to be believed, a list of facts that runs the emotional gamut with such exhilarating highs and crushing lows as “My mother is dead and my father is lousy” and “I’m terrible at sports” followed soon after by “I love South Park!” and “I love food.” In the same breath, she declares the oft-believed-yet-seemingly-unfathomable idea that “I am unique in appearance, belief, and personality.”

If this wasn’t enough, her other page at flamingliver.blogspot was not only full of more gems, it also contained POETRY. A chilling take on domestic abuse, the slow burning “What You Did” takes on “a problem that too many families in this country face every day”. The author explains her creative process: “i don’t know why i thought [of] it but i did, and I think it’s kindof epic. lol”.

My favourite part of this one is the bravely non-onomatopoeiac ”SCREEEEAAAMMMMM” between the fourth and fifth stanzas. Read it a couple of posts down from the top on the Nov 9th entry on Flamingliver.

Here it is.  [ALTERNAGRRL]

Annnd her self-proclaimed goth poetry blog [FLAMINGLIVER]

and down the rabbit hole you go…

Someone go get me a fancy jewel-encrusted hat because No Revival 2 is DONE DONE DONE!!!!!

The art is done the songs are here and mostly in a final order and it’s even longer than the last one so go home and wash out your ears to fit it all in ok? Make yourself un-listen to the new Christina Aguilera album and then induce amnesia through competitive eating because everything you need to know about music Kingfisher Bluez is about to sing into your face!