The Jimmyriggers

We welcome our newest writer, Pamela Fillion! She recently did an interview with The Jimmyriggers who will be playing at O’ Patro Vys this Saturday evening… The Jimmyriggers are a four piece roots/folk rock band consisting of David Pearce (bass, vocals), Andre Kirchhoff (guitar, vocals), Kevin Moquin (guitar, lap steel), and Lewis Handford (drums). Their songs blend together country-rock, folk, roots, and pop quite nicely. The two-part harmonies and intricate melodies make them stand out. Furthermore, these guys are great supporters of the Montreal music community.

The Doldrums

Transplanted Montrealer Eric Woodhead, better known under The Phantom Tollbooth-inspired performance alias Doldrums, is coming to Casa del Popolo this Thursday. Prepare for an evening of dancing beneath “a sea of chopped up samples, disembodied …

Doomtree Preview: Dawn is excited

So there I was, checking some of these great suggestions, like Cecil Otter, P.O.S., and Dessa, a philosophy grad poet who’s quoted somehere as saying she’d rather be your 10th favorite rapper than your favorite girl rapper, and while she’s easily in my top 10 as a rapper, she sings beautifully too…

CMW Preview: Punk and Metal

One thing I remember about last year in Toronto was all the amazing metal and punk shows I randomly came across during Canadian Music Week. Here’s the guide to this year’s CMW for those of you who like it loud, fast and distorted…

Canadian Music Week 2012 Preview

We here at Forget the Box had an amazing, sleep deprived experience at the 2011 CMW. So in early January, when we began to sketch out ideas of what festivals and events we wanted to cover over 2012, going back to Toronto for another CMW was an obvious choice. Now without further ado, here’s a preview of some of the acts Forget the Box is excited to catch at this year’s festival…

Play me that song: The art of being a great cover band

Our conversation got me thinking. Not only how it would be nice to write about music that people whose social lives don’t revolve around the Plateau might have actually heard about for a change, but also before that night I’d never really thought about just how hard it is to be a cover band. When I think cover band, my mind immediately goes to sketchy/bored looking musicians at a wedding or some seedy dive bar on a Tuesday night…

Charting the Frigid Arctic of Igloofest

Montreal’s Igloofest has grown up significantly over the past six years and this year is by far it’s most stand out year yet. Last Saturday ticket booths suddenly closed, over capacity. To the frustration of hundreds of festival goers, all entrances and exits to Igloofest were now closed as they had achieved a historical admittance of just over 10,000 people. This edition’s line up exploded off the official website in an array of bright colours and cheeky models promoting the festival’s snow suit contest. *Edit: Tonight’s closing event is sold-out before even starting!!!

2011: The Year in Posts

While it may have taken a bit longer than expected (admittedly, this is really, really late, but we’ve been busy), our list of our top 20 posts of 2011 is here. We asked our writers to tell us their favourite posts or the posts they felt were the most important, both by themselves and other writers that appeared on FTB over the year…

Tricks to Enjoy Igloofest to the Max

Last Friday I found myself entering Igloofest for the first time. My friends were surprised to learn it had taken me so long to actually attend this winter gathering. I could never picture myself dancing in the cold but last Friday I found a way to enjoy Igloofest properly and thoroughly. Here are a couple tips for dancing around in the cold and snow!

Igloofest playlist: filling your weekends up until February

Here at Forget the Box, we made some New Year’s resolutions. One of them is to have our playlists back on a monthly basis. I guess the summer’s festivals were pretty rough on our livers but no worries, dear music lovers, we’re back for good! We’re starting the year with a subjective guide on what not to miss during the three weekends of Igloofest…

2011 Year in Review: Arts

From infringing on corporate culture in Montreal and Buffalo, venue hoping in Toronto during Canadian Music Week, catching experimental music in Brooklyn and hanging with bonafide rock stars at Osheaga, 2011 proved to be yet another exciting year for the arts section at Forget the Box…

There’s nothing sexier than rock ‘n roll: The Triple Gangers, Hut and Moves at The Bovine Sex Club

When The Triple Gangers asked me to cover their show at The Bovine Sex Club on December 15th along with fellow Toronto bands Hut and Moves, I had two words in response: Hell! Yeah! I …

Bran Van, Thank You Mam

Bran Van 3000 are legendary in the Montreal music scene. Ever since making it big with their hit Drinking in LA, which, by the way was originally entitled Drinking in Longeuil, they’ve been touring and bringing their eclectic sound to adoring fans everywhere. (I don’t know how much fun drinking in a metro or on the South Shore would be?)

Bran Van doesn’t release albums very often, in fact they’ve only released 4 albums since 1994. Which makes a Bran Van album release kinda like getting laid in the back of a Chevy, it doesn’t happen that often, but when it does – You’re really lucky!

Behind the Curtain with The Wizard of Oz: An Interview with David Lortie

Who is Dave, what does he do, why should we care?

When David Lortie began promoting events for Montreal’s hip-hop and turntablism scene he was an eager, fresh faced seventeen year old who was doing it solely because he was passionate about the music he loved. Much has changed since those early days, however Lortie’s passion and enthusiasm for event promotion and planning has not been dampened…

Frank Turner in Montreal

English songsmith Frank Turner landed in Metropolis recently as part of his North America Canada tour. With him for the ride were his band the Sleeping Souls and support acts Into It Over It and Andrew Jackson Jihad. Turners shows tend to get a lot of attention as word of energetic, heart-felt performances grew after his previous tours…

CFCF Debuts Night Bus II at Blizzarts

Montreal producer, CFCF aka Michael Silver, debuted his ambient electronic Night Bus II mix at Blizzarts alongside DJ JRC last Thursday. The set is a follow up to last year’s Do You Like Night Bus? mix, which had critics and bloggers excited about the possibility of an emerging genre called Night Bus. Forums were filling up with lengthy debates about whether…