Endangered Ape becomes extinct

From the mouth of babes:

Like all garage bands do, Endangered Ape are calling it quits.

We have three shows left – July 30 at The Hydeaway in Edmonton / July 31 at Broken City (NOBUNNY!), and then a going-away extravaganza on August 15 at Henotic featuring old friends and new friends, as well as The Famines, Sharp Ends (and surprise guests?). Try to make it pals…

Who knows what the future has in store though right?

(via Paul Lawton and Evan van Reekum)

These folks have done a lot in the last year and a half to get the Lethbridge music scene on the map and to encourage new and local bands to get out there and play bigger, badder scenes.

Plus, E Ape is just straight up rad music.

Go to thier last few shows, grab some limited edition merch and buy thier music. You will regret your life if you don’t.

Tobagon Island

Lethbridge will be mad reppin’ at this years Sled Island.

Both Endangered Ape and new “girl group on acid” Myelin Sheaths (ft. Girl O’Clock and Joel of Boys from Nowhere infamy) will be playing.

To wet your appetite, a little E Ape from my backyard. A slightly old line up but pure rawk.:

Playlist April 10th 2009 or: Happy Zombie Day

Oh man, Saturday’s Sled Island pre-party/fundraiser was fucking amazing. I didn’t think Fucked Up could top their last year’s Sled Island show where he preformed with a still bleeding forehead injury, self induced by smashing a beer bottle, smashing a beer bottle on himself. However, I was proven so very wrong and for the first time in my life I was ok with it. The energy, the climbing, the pant dropping, it was cloud 9 1/2. Endangered Ape and The Sharp Ends preformed mind blasting sets as usual. Pretty much best ever.

This weeks playlist:

Wilco – Radio Cure – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

*Eric’s Trip – Universal Dawn – Purple Blue

*Richard Laviolette and his Hollow Hooves – Stop Dancing – Aging Recycling Plant

Volcano Suns – Room with a View – All Night Lotus Party

*The Pine Tarts – City – Faux Foxes

*Plunt – Boner – Plunt

*The Bayonets!!! – Bus Link – NO ALBUM YET! GET ON IT BAYONETS!!!

Meercaz – Unlust – Meercaz

*Johnny and the G Rays – Trying to Change My Head – Every Twist Reminds

Telekinesis – Tokyo – Telekinesis!

The Love Language – Sparxxx – The Love Language

*Joel Plaskett – Though and Through and Through – Three

Pick of the Week:

Richard Laviolette and his Hollow Hooves!

Sasquatch Pre-Amp

Fleet (mother fucking- not that they would use that language…) Foxes.

So excited.

Playlist December 12th 2008 or: Lethbridge winter storm warning!

Lethbridge is under a winter storm warning. I am well afraid to go outside….

Artist – Track Title – Album * = Canadian

1. Friendly Fires – Paris – Friendly Fires

2. Polysics – Mr. Psycho Psycho – Now Is the Time!

3. Of Montreal – I was Never Young – The Sunlandic Twins

4. *Contrived – Attention (black ops.) – Black, Blank, Blank

5. *Safety Show – The Uninvited – Blackwater

6. *Ghost House – Snow Day – The Old Ghost House

7. Shearwater – On the Death of the Waters – Rook

8. Jenny Lewis – Trying My Best to Love You – Acid Tongues

9. James Yorkston – Tortoise Regrets Hare – When the Haar Goes In

10. *Rah Rah – Tentacles – Going Steady

11. *The World Provider – Hard Feelings – Hard Feelings

12. *The Russian Futurists – The First Five Times – Do You Trust Your Friends?

13. *The Coast – All Farewells – The Coast

14. *Brian Borcherdt – While I Was Asleep – Coyotes

15. Okkervil River – Last Love Song for Now – Black Sheep Bpy Appendix

16. Los Campesinos – You’ll Need Those Fingers For Crossing – We are Beautiful, We Are Doomed

17. Sufjan Stevens – Dear Mr. Supercomputer – The Avalanche

18. Jonas Reinhart – Worm Punching the Struggling Fires – Jonas Rienhart

19. *The Ostrich – Tunafish Disaster Film – Alberta Boom! Mixtape

20. *The Wicked Awesomes – Somewhere in Noweheresville – Alberta Boom! Mixtape

21. *Endangered Ape – Last Shitmas

Pick of the Week: Tie between Endangered Ape’s (and company…) Holiday track “Last Shitmas” (recorded with many very very good friends, a pint of grown-up egg nog and around a hand held voice recorder with real live sleigh bells. E Ape, you are holiday spirit personified. xo) and Rah Rah’s “Tentacles” (which is a song I cannot get sick of, no matter how hard I try.)

Also, check out CBC Radio 3’s music news. A good source for a smattering of interesting things. That is, if you haven’t already heard about it on Twitter.

“Next Shitmas” or: my holiday special, complete with sweater vest!

Last night, I joined Lethbridge lo-fi favorites Endangered Ape and a few special guest’s to record a soon-to-be classic Christmas song. 6 takes, 5 glasses of grown- up egg nog and 1 Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer claymation special later we put together a memory which may take years to forget.

Infused with real live sleigh bells and enough Christmas cheer to make even Santa want to throw up, this track is nothing but sheer love and happiness.

Lyrics and track available at E Ape’s blog.

But if you can wait, I will be airing it tonight on CKXU during my  live radio show tonight.

Alberta music scene explodes faster than Stelmach’s ulcer during the recession.

Music news, music news, music news…

Trying hard to come up with something original but alas no dice so here is some regurgitated info that you may or may not care about:

1. Indie fav’s Endangered Ape, Los Cremators and The Pine Tarts are doing an Alberta Boom tour which looks to be the best thing to happen to Alberta since the tar sands. Seriously, its going be freakin’ awesome. Playing at The Palomino in Calgary on the 5th with Thee Thems, label mates of The Sharp Ends and Hazard Lights. (thanks for the Facebook friend request guys!) , Hooliganzing it in Edmonton on the 6th with The Wicked Awesomes (who are very true to their name) and ending off in Lethbridge at The Slice. Amongst the 100 983 848 999 reasons to go to these shows, the 100 983 848 998th reason is the chance to pick up an Alberta Boom compilation ON TAPE. Yah, that’s freakin’ right. And you though 7inches were indie? F that noise.Full of good old fashioned Alberta indie, this tape will get you laid faster than a Delorean.

For more info on the tour, Endangered Ape and being awesome in general check out E Ape’s blog…Its full of nerdy music good times.

2. Speaking of 7 inches and The Wicked Awesome’s….I just nabbed their 7inch split with Montreal brothers from another mother O Voids at the Lethbridge show at The Zoo. Its freakin’ sweet as all get out and the album cover art is prime A quality. Check out how to order this this gold star split from Seven Ten Twelve.

3. Chinese Democracy finally happened.

4. CBC Radio Three did myself and an excellent friend of mine a huge solid with some free Martha Wainwright Tix for the Calgary show this Sunday. That’s right boys and girls; me and a Wainwright. What an intimate affair.

FUNdrive program playlist!: Miss JP and Cassandra on air togother again!

This years FUNdrive playlist. Short and sweet but all Canadian and all awesome!

Thanks Cassandra for co-hosting with me! We gave away some sweet prizes and will be hanging around, answering phones and giving CKXU love all week long! Phone into pledge 329 2400!

Artist – Album – Track Title * = Canadian

1. *The Evaporators – Tellin’ Youth the Truth – Gassy Jack and Other Tales (Nardwuar! The Campus-Community radio guru! Check him out at CiTR

2. *Women – Black Rice – Women (Calgary’s own! Local rocks! Check ‘em at myspace.com/women or from this article in Calgary’s independent newspaper FFWD.)

3. *The Coast – All Farewells – The Coast (From Halifax! I interviewed them! They’re really nice and cute!)

4. *Endangered Ape – Down with the Gullwing Doors – Endagered Ape (Local – Lethbridge! Awesome people! Great Vinyl collections held by several band members! Check ‘em out on myspace or CKXU events!!)

5. *Sloan – Can’t Face Up – One Chord to Another (I also interviewed them! Well, Jay Ferguson. We talked about his socks….!)

6. *The Stolen Minks – Bring it – High Kicks (Also form Halifax! They once called me super nice and awesome through their blog. I was smitten.)

That does it for this week but phone and pledge for some wicked CKXU swag! 403 329 2400 or www.ckxu.com

Endangered Ape – Tour – Making love across the globe

Yep, Lethbridge’s own Endangered Ape is touring across the globe this month! Ok, not globe but some very lucky spots will be hit with some crazy amount of sexy pretty soon, them plus The Wicked Awesome’s, whats up! Check out their MySpace page for tour dates, as well as listen to their music. They just recently finished recording which is good because previously the songs they had up on MySpace sounded terrible, which is a real shame as they sound great in real life.

Here’s a video of E. Ape playing at a recent chairty event held yearly in Lethbridge, Art for Peace. They’re far way which is sad for the audience but Radam’s sexiness radiated through the rain clouds and they sound like mean bad ass rock stars (which they are, I have proof in a bruise on my arm that the bassist gave me before the show right before he chugged a two-four of Russian Prince Vodka)

Also in Lethbridge’s local music scene – The Slice Bar and Grill has some wicked shows coming up including Wax Mannequin, The Wicked Awesomes, Animal Names, Beija Flor, and Women. Check out their MySpace too! I recommend “The Slice Special” pizza, with no sausage, because eating animal muscle tissue is gross.

I would tell you about other show at other venues but Lethbridge doesn’t have any venues other than The Slice right now. Which I guess is awesome if you love The Slice and hate finding new places, or have a bad sense of direction.

Summerlad and Woodpigeon – CBC R3 Session

As an avid CBC listener, I am always pumped to hear of a great new band. What gets me even more pumped is to see/hear great local bands that I spent many a night listening to and many a day talking with get some CBC love. So, when I saw both Woodpigeon and then Summerlad as the featured bands for CBC Session my heart got warm and fuzzy with Calgary love.

Woodpigeon in Session

Summerlad in Session

Summerlad is very near and dear to my heart and I was around when the band first started getting some action in Calgary. Having worked with two members, Aaron Fisher and Dean Martin at the lovely Cafe Beano, I heard a lot about Summerlad and got to witness a little of the shaping of the band.

Woodpigeon, another great Calgary band got started not very long ago in my memory and I remember the first time I heard of them. At a show at Broken City to see Julie Doiron play I ran into some old freids which in turn introduced me to new friends which in turn introduced me to 1/4 of Woodpigeon (1/4 is still so many people, they have 16 in the band!)

These little tales of almost fame have absolutely nothing to do with how great their music is and how much I think the Calgary scene is doing to support their local bands and to push to boundaries of music. Whether it be the heart pounding, skid dancing, electro shouting music of SIDS or the post rock ambient sounds of Azeda Booth, the Calgary music scene is changing and for the better. Who knows, maybe Lethbridge is next? “Endangered Ape in Session”, Atrophy Manuscript as “New Music track of the day” the now defunct Kids n’ Pets (but maybe in the future together again?) reaching the R3 30 charts. Its too bad that people in this very town write off Lethbridge as backwater nothing, but there is so much talent and so much going here, it just takes a little risk to find out. So do it!