Thursday, June 16, 2011

Artist: The Kramdens, Album: Radio For Now, Song: The Train

"This is the beginning, this is where it starts.  We're here to burn some bridges and we're here to break some hearts."  The Kramdens are a 5pc band from Guelph, Ontario.  They've been kicking around the indie scene for close to 20 years now.  Radio For Now was their release in 1999 with indie label, DROG.  The members for this release were Craig Norris, Steve Knox, William Kee, Iain Grant and Robert Leader.  Grant was replaced by Mike Plater Findlay in later years.  Lead singer and keyboard player, Craig Norris is also a CBC Radio 3 host.  The band's most recent release was in 2008, with Sunny Lane Records.  The band is currently playing shows in Ontario and has released two Wilco cover songs as a tribute to the late, Jay Bennett of Wilco.  Both are available for free from the band's website.  You can follow them at http://www.thekramdens.com/.  My personal favourite off their album, Radio For Now, is a tune called The Train.  It's definitely one of the harder tracks on the release with clever lyricism and some dirty rock and roll guitars.  This song chugs like a locomotive.  You can hear it on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRAP_7sib4A&feature=channel_video_title).  While their new material is available through Itunes, this particular release remains a difficult find today.  Strangely enough, the band doesn't appear to acknowledge their earlier work on their website either.  At the time of this blog, there was one copy available on Amazon for $10.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!