Artist: McEnroe And Birdapres, Album: Nothing Is Cool, Song: Nothing Is Cool

"Retro nouveau, west coast electro, ain't a damn thing changed but the tempo."  McEnroe and Birdapres are hip hop artists on the Peanuts & Corn Record label based out of Brandon, Manitoba.  McEnroe actually started the label after he became more involved with the production of other hip hop acts, in 1994. He, along with Pip Skid (see blog 9/23/10) and DJ Hunnicutt, formed the rap collective, Farm Fresh, during the early nineties and had some cross over success with the alternative music crowd.  They actually shared the stage with bands like The Rheostatics, Bob Wiseman (see blog 1/6/11), Red Fisher (see blog 11/29/10) as well as The Pharcyde.  By the late nineties though, the members began recording individually or collaborating with other artists.  Peanuts & Corn Records have a lot of talented hip hop artists that don't get enough recognition and McEnroe has had his hands all over their production output.  Birdapres is one such artist except he is actually from Vancouver, British Columbia.  He and McEnroe teamed up in 2004 for this one and only release entitled, Nothing Is Cool.  You can check out the title track which I absolutely love (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NbFaZcWI4Q).  Both artists have since released solo albums.  McEnroe has a new EP coming out this year and you can follow them both at http://www.peanutsandcorn.com/.  You can purchase the album, Nothing Is Cool, from Itunes.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Artist: The Beatdown, Album: The Beatdown, Song: Beatdown

The Beatdown are a ska band from Montreal, Quebec.  They are Alex Giguere, Pascal Lesieur, Jovanny Savoie and Nicholas Fizzano.  Both Alex and Pascal were part of another band called, The One Night Band, and went on to form, The Beatdown, sometime around 2009.  Both bands purvey an authentic 60's ska, reggae sound with gritty soulful vocals.  They are Toots & The Maytals ("Time Tough", "Pressure Drop", "54-46 That's My Number", "Monkey Man", "Broadway Jungle") meets The Young Rascals ("Mickey's Monkey").  Alex Giguere not only provides the vocals and guitar work but as well, produced their debut, self titled album in 2010.  The album is strong and lead single was a rendition of the Rare Earth ("(I Know) I'm Losing You", "Born To Wander", "I Just Want To Celebrate") classic, Get Ready.  However, for myself, I completely dig the album closer entitled, Beatdown.  This song leans a little closer to rock and roll than ska but it certainly has elements of both.  You can hear a song sample and purchase the album from Itunes.  The band has toured the country and has supported former King Apparatus front man, Chris Murray (see blog 7/19/11), on tour.  They are signed to Stomp Records out of Montreal (http://www.unionlabelgroup.com/) and are expecting to release a new album next month.  You can follow them at http://www.facebook.com/thebeatdown.  Thanks for reading and enjoy! 

Artist: The Jeremiahs, Album: You and I, Song: Walk Of Shame

The Jeremiahs were an alt-country band from Toronto, Ontario.  More specifically, the community of Ward's Island.  They were multi-instrumentalist brothers, Chris and Jeff Wilson, along with their spouses, Cath Campbell and Carey West as well as John Gallo Mazzei.  They released their first independent album under the name, The Hokey Jeremiahs, in 2001, entitled, Holy Cow!, which perked a few ears.  This eventually led to a recording grant and their subsequent 2003 release entitled, You And I.  The album featured local musicians, Rebecca Campbell (see blog 6/4/11, 4/3/12), Kevin Fox (8/3/11, 3/23/12), Tim Bovaconti and Steve Briggs.  Both Bovaconti and Briggs are very respected guitar players that need no introduction and have been around the scene for a great many years.  Bovaconti is currently touring with Randy Bachman (see blog 11/13/10, 11/9/11) and Burton Cummings.  Briggs actually lent his talents to some of my wife's recordings and is one of the nicest people I've ever met.  This particular track entitled, Walk Of Shame, is an instrumental that conjures up memories of Johnny Cash.  I happened to catch the band playing at Harbourfront in Toronto by chance and picked up their disc.  Carey West and the Wilson brothers were also in a reggae/funk band called, The Liquidaires, around the same time for a couple of releases.  Today, Carey West is a solo artist and you can follow her at http://careywest.com/.  Her husband, Jeff Wilson, is very involved in world music and is a member of the Juno nominated bands, Jaffa Road (http://www.jaffaroad.com/) and Maza Meze (http://www.mazameze.com/).  Unfortunately, The Jeremiahs' discography is a very hard find these days.  I couldn't find any copies of the album, You And I, for sale at the time of this blog.  Carey has posted some MP3's on her website for download but this particular track isn't included.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!  

Artist: Witchkiller, Album: Day Of The Saxons EP, Song: Day Of The Saxons

Witchkiller were a rock band from Ottawa, Ontario.  They were Douglas Lang Adams, Todd Pilon, Steve Batky and Kurt Phillips.  They only had one release which was an EP entitled, Day Of The Saxons.  It was recorded at Phase One Studios in Toronto and released in 1984.  The band broke up shortly thereafter and the members went on to other bands.  Most notably, Adams and Pilon joined the band, Reckless, for a release that same year.  This EP has aged well and has become a highly sought after rarity for metal enthusiasts.  Thankfully though, it can be enjoyed by all since it's re-release on Metal Blade Records.  It is available on Itunes.  There have been many comparisons to bands like Iron Maiden ("Murders In The Rue Morgue", "Infinite Dreams", "2 Minutes To Midnight") and Judas Priest ("Love Bites", "Turbo Lover", "Living After Midnight") as a result of their style and medieval themes within the music.  The title track and album opener is pretty darn good as well and you can check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPoOgxQ5o7g.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!