Beware! The Leopard

Abandoning Your Musical Roots

As part of my vinyl ripfest that's been happening at work, I've been listening to a lot of R&B and Blues, my musical home.  I don't know when or how it became established, but whenever I listen to Blues I am instantly transported to someplace warm and cozy, with a little fire in the corner and searing guitar riffs over the mantle. 

In the last six or so years, since I started playing in alternative/indie bands, I have been moving away from the blues.  I don't listen to the Blues much anymore, I don't play them either.  It has me questioning whether abandoning your roots is really the best way to create music. 

Most artists tend to stick to their mould, or at least close to it (e.g. U2, Morrisey, Rolling Stones, Sufjan Stevens, Owen Pallett, the list goes on).  There are a few artists that have been able to move substantially away from their roots and still make it sound good (Beatles, Radiohead, can you think of more?).  So should artists try and break the mould that they were created in? or are we best if we stick to what we're best at?  Should I, and thus Beware! The Leopard move back towards bluesyness? 

What do you all think? 

The Record Store Grind

For those of you who don't keep up,  I work in a record store when he's not playing with Beware! The Leopard.  It is a vinyl only record store, which makes me jones for new vinyl each and every day.  

The owner, who has amassed a vast collection of 45s over the last 40+ years, is now realizing that he is entering the autumn of his life, and he doesn't need the actual records anymore.  He still wants the music of course, so he's given me the task of ripping them to CD so he can sell the 45s (some of which are worth thousands of dollars).  Initially the task was a bit daunting; stacks of 45s arranged into compilations either by label, artist, or sound (ie. Detroit 70s).  Most this is soul music which was a little bit outside my knowledge base, and some of it is so schlocky that a couple of hours of ripping makes the poet inside me cry, but every once in a while I get hit by a gem.  Today is one of those days.  Gloria Taylor has come like a ray of sunshine into this gloomy office/dungeon on Queen St.  Her combination of soul/funk and pop is just very raw.  Some of her lyrics can be a little bit cheesy, but overall her voice just sounds very true. I definitely say check her out. 

Also, if you haven't already, check out Travis Wammack, an awesome guitar player.  His versions of NightTrain and Louie Louie are absolutely fantastic.  I don't know how he got his guitar tone, but the tremolo-y goodness is superb.  Listening to his guitar is listening to what 1960s rock and roll was all about.

And the winner is...

CMW almost over

For those of you outside of Toronto, this weekend has been the Canadian Music Week festival.  From Wednesday to Sunday 700 artists performed at various venues throughout the city.  Due to my record store connections, I managed to score a free wristband and managed to check out a few shows.  What a mixed bag it was. 

First up was Ghostkeeper on Thursday night.  These guys are awesome, blending psychedelic music with folk-pop in such a way that keeps you on your toes as a listener, and on your feet as a dancer.  Shane Ghostkeeper (yes that's his real name) is the brains behind the outfit, and you can here a variety of influences in his voice, from Dylan and Neil Young, to First Nations chanting.  These guys are currently on tour across Canada and I urge you to check them out.

I didn't catch the name of the band that played after Ghostkeeper at the Bread and Circus, but four words will suffice: one Nickelback is enough.

On Friday night I checked out Winter Gloves and the Russian Futurists at Lee's Palace.  The former blew me away.  A perfect synth-pop sound with enough guitar in the mix to give it some edge.  They had 5 synths on stage, and that also helped win me over with all members trading duties between guitars/bass/synths and glockenspiel.  They impressed me so much that even though I'd get a discount from my shop, I spent $20 right there to grab the record. 

The Russian Futurists weren't quite as good.  They still had the synth-pop sound, but the reliance on backing tracks and the lack of charisma on stage really killed it for me.  As someone who uses a looper, it may seem hypocritical to criticize the use of backing tracks, but for me, playing a recording of something that was played at home (as opposed to live looping where the part is played in front of the audience) leaves me a bit cold.  I mean why not just get another member to play those synth pad parts? It just seems lazy to me.  The lead singer had about as much charisma as a squished grape, just standing there stoically.  Maybe that's part of the schtick, some comment on Soviet-era emotion, but I just didn't get it.  The music is enjoyable, but skip the live show if you have better options.

Tonight I'm going to check out Real Estate.  I'll let you know how it goes.

New Beware! The Leopard Contest

Hey everyone! You read correctly, it is time for another contest! This time it is a drive to boost our fans on Facebook, and followers on Twitter.  We need to get the word out about our music, and we need your help. 

So here's the deal.  On April 1st, we will be choosing a name at random of someone who is a fan of our Facebook page (found here).  That person will win perhaps the coolest thing ever, a free copy of the EP, as well as will have a song written about them which will be performed at our Hamilton and Toronto gigs in April and May respectively.  The song will also be posted on our websites, and uploaded to YouTube. 

So all you have to do is join our Facebook page to be entered!

Now here's the catch.  If you tweet about this contest on twitter (and include @bwaretheleopard to let us know), or if you blog about the contest (and comment here so we know), than you get an extra entry.  Yep, that's right, you have two chances to win instead of one.

So if you enjoy our music and think that having a song written about you would be kind of neat, make sure to tell everyone you know!

Now get tweeting peeps!

Getting back into vinyl

So about 8 months ago I started working at a vinyl record shop, Kops records, in Toronto.  We specialize in roots music and have a huge collection of 45s. 

It had been quite a few years since I had lost touch with that part of me that loved vinyl records.  They're big, cumbersome, and tend to be hard to travel with.  But now that I'm much more sedentary, with the starting of roots growing in this hard Toronto soil, coupled with the fact that I get great discounts, my vinyl collection is growing exponentially.

There are a few key things that one needs to know about vinyl, and why it should be the medium of the future.

1.  It is beautiful.  Yes a vinyl record is larger than its CD or mp3 counterpart, but the black discs with its magical grooves and the packaging which actually lets you enjoy artwork in a size larger than afforded elsewhere is a piece of beautiful art.  There's nothing quite like getting the wrapping off your new record and coaxing that perfect piece of plastic out of its case. 

2.  It sounds good.  Played through a well set up sound system on a decent turntable, records have a warmth and depth that CDs and Mp3s just can't match.  Maybe it's analog compression, maybe it's just nostalgia for a time when music wasn't disposable, but to me it sounds better.

3.  It will last.  Vinyl records, due to their plastic-y nature do not deteriorate if kept in good conditions (free of dust, not extremely humid).  CDs begin oxidizing and are unreadable 20-30 years after manufacture.

4.  They create value and appreciation for their contents.  Unlike Mp3s and CDs which have essentially become disposable media for the music buying public, vinyl records encourage people to think about what they're doing.  One must take care of a vinyl record, be gentle, and treat it like the piece of art that it is in order to enjoy it's everlasting delights.  This encourages the vinyl buyer to bond with the art, and view it less as disposable fast food and more as a gourmet supper to be relived in memory every day.

5.  It forces you to listen to the music as its creator wished.  You can't put your turntable on shuffle.  If you don't rip it, the music won't get lost in the ether of your ipod either.  It is designed to be listened to track by track in the order specifically selected by the artist.  This itself enhances the listening experience.  Try listening to Antlers "Hospice" in random order and see if it makes sense, or Dark Side Of The Moon, or any other concept album.  There is a reason the tracks are in the order they're in, and the album can be best enjoyed that way. 

So that's that, 5 reasons why I'm reigniting my love of vinyl, and I suggest you look into it too, to get the most out of your music.

My current top 5 records:

Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here

Antlers - Hospice

Lightspeed Champion - Life is Sweet! Nice to meet you

Curtis Mayfield - Curtis

Syl Johnson - Is it because I'm Black

Alex

Gig Reminder #JunctionTO

Hey everyone, just a heads up that we'll be playing the Troubadour tomorrow night.  It's one the happeningest places in the most happening neighbourhood of Toronto, so we're super excited.  Come out, have some beers, meet some nice peoples, and enjoy a great intimate concert.

We've been Mogged!

For those of you well schooled in the arts of internet music websites, you will already know about Mog.com where people can post tunes, review them, and connect with each other through music.  It's an interesting idea which, for me at least, follows on the heels of theSixtyOne.com which has hastened its own demise through various unwieldy format changes. 

Being the infinite egoist that I am, I was googling Beware! The Leopard today and came across a review that one of the Mog users had posted of our EP.  It's always great to learn that people are liking the tunes, but even better when it is a member of the public and not a member of the press who got a free CD in the hopes of a good review.   Thanks Democlez for your support and kind words, we're glad that somebody out there is listening and enjoying!

Grooveshark and other news

Only two weeks until the next gig at Mitzi's sister, and we're getting excited.  So excited that we've found a couple of new places you can get our tunes.

If you haven't been following our twitter feed, you probably won't know about this really cool site called Grooveshark.   It lets you stream music to your computer and it has an enormous selection of titles, you can create your own playlists and save them, and the music is hosted offsite, so you don't need to take up room on your hard drive.  Beware! The Leopard's debut EP "Cli-Che" is now available for streaming!

Also, if you haven't visited our page on TheSixtyone you should, as you can now stream, or buy our tracks directly from there!.

See you at Mitzi's!

Gigging it up tomorrow at the Starving Artist. This is a really intimate venue, with some great drinks/food, and it should be a lot of fun. Come support local music!