Beware! The Leopard

Bring on the Hammer!

Alex will be playing a solo gig this Friday at the Freeway Coffee House in Hamilton!  It's a short notice gig unfortunately but it would be great to see all of you out.

Big thanks to Ania Ziemirska for throwing the call our way. 

Ania is a great singer-songwriter who is going to be huge, check out her stuff HERE

NXNE and Starving Artist DJ set

Still no word from NXNE, but we are on standby, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled on our blog or twitter @bwaretheleopard to ensure you get all the deets should we be called.

Also, Alex is DJing this Friday at the Starving Artist (Bloor and Landsdowne), something he does the third Friday of every month.  Come on out to hear some blues, funk, soul and good old rock 'n roll, only on vinyl.

Jonesing for some gear

Ok, I really cannot afford any new gear at the moment, but I thought I would post on it nonetheless.

There are a few pieces that I would really love to get my hands on.  Both of which are not so easy to find (which makes it easier to avoid buying them).  

The first is a Kawai MP8 Mk II

I used to sell these in England, and when I got my Nord Electro 2 it was a tough decision whether to go with the Nord or get one of these babies.  The Nord won out because it was light and it sounded good, exactly what I needed for gigging.  I still love my Nord, but at home I would really love the full weighted action that the Kawai provides.  The piano sounds are exquisite, comparable with all the other top of the line digital pianos, but more important are the full length wooden keys which make it feel more like an acoustic piano than any other digital piano on the market.  Not to mention all the goodies liked balanced outputs, USB controller capabilities, and a truly customizable sound where you can change everything from the string resonance to key touch, etc.  This is truly a fantastic piano.  Kawai has been around in North America for a while now selling their wonderful acoustic pianos, but they haven't really got a good distribution system for their digital pianos.  It's going to make finding one of these at a decent price a bit more difficult, but that gives me time to save up for it. 

The second item on my list is a Silvertone Amp.  Jack White plugged in a later model and made musical history with the White Stripes, and his guitar tone is absolutely incredible.  For a Blues guy like myself that tone is the Holy Grail of guitar tones.  I don't necessarily want the power that Jack produces with his head and cab combo, but there is something about the Silvertone sound which is extremely appealing.  I had the pleasure of trying out this combo amp from 1959 at a local guitar shop, and let's say that it exceeded my expectations.  It's only 40 watts, and is actually quite a bit quieter than comparable 40 watt tube amps (like my Hot Rod Deluxe), but given that most of the time at gigs the amp is mic'd anyway, that's not such a big deal.  The big deal is the gobs of classic tone that this amp provides.  With a very cool look, retro tremolo sound, this is something that I hope the shop doesn't sell before I can save my pennies. 

NXNE and Windsor

Hey everyone

It's been a while since our last update.  Things are still trucking along, writing, rehearsing, and finding gigs.  Although I definitely wish that I had someone who could do the latter for us. 

As many of you know, the summer is a busy time for festivals, patios, and general party mayhem.  Beware! The Leopard has been put on standby for NXNE, so should a band drop out, we could potentially get the call to fill in.  This is very exciting news, and hopefully next year we'll make the cut directly.

We also have a gig in Windsor at the Phog lounge on August 18th.  We'll be showcasing some new tunes, and it will be a great time, so anyone in the area be sure to come down and check us out.  Further details are coming.

If anyone knows any venues in SouthWestern Ontario that may be available for a gig on the 19th of August, please point us to them, as it would be great to have the mini-est of tours and play for some of you that we rarely see in person.

Alex

Writer's block overcome

When it rains it pours.  For the last number of days, weeks, months I've been up against a bit of a songwriter's block.  I'm sure there's a number of reasons for it, but as an artist it is truly frustrating when you pick up your instrument and nothing new or interesting comes out.  But I suppose if you do it often enough one day something new does come out. 

Not only has something come out, but a bunch of stuff, so in the coming weeks as they're polished be prepared to hear some new tunes.  Those who came out to Mitzi's on Thursday were privy to one of these tunes, "Camden's Burning". 

For those of you struggling with writer's block or some creative block, just keep at it and eventually, things will change.

Fanlist freebies

Hey everyone!

Just letting you know that everyone who signs up for our mailing list will have access to two song downloads on our Reverbnation profile HERE.  So sign up and you'll be in the loop for all B!TL freebies!

Alex

I've got the promotion blues

For the independent artist self-promotion is almost as important as the music itself.  How many times have you heard a friend talk about how they know someone who is just the most amazing drummer, guitarist, songwriter, etc. but who only plays in their basement.  A good song is essential to making it in the music business, but so to is having connections and knowledge on how to promote oneself properly.  Without the latter, you can spend the rest of your days as the most amazing garage musician to never leave their house. 

Knowing this, I've been reading and reading and reading some more on the various ways that exist to promote one's art.  There are literally a gazillion websites that exist to upload your tacks to (MOG, Sixtyone, Garageband, Reverbnation, etc.) and you hope that maybe a small percentage of their readers click, listen, and enjoy your music enough to pay for it, or at least spread the word a bit.  Then there's the blogosphere.  It seems that every university music junkie and their grandmother has started a blog about the music they currently enjoy.  The most widely read of these blogs (like Pitchfork and Stereogum) are now considered filters of what is hip and listenable in the indie community.  Smaller blogs tend to follow the lead of the big guys, by either reviewing the same albums, or putting a local slant on the bigger "indie" artists (by reviewing a show, or something similar).  In the last few months I can't count how many Basia Bulat, Efterklang, and Owen Pallett reviews I've read.  Don't get me wrong, these artists are fantastic (if you haven't heard Pallett's latest go buy it Right Now), but with the mainstream "indie" press and blogs already covering  how wonderful these artists are, wouldn't it make sense for the smaller blogs to try and source out something that nobody has heard of yet?  There are only a few blogs looking at the truly obscure, unheard of bands.  One of my favourites is Obscure Sound where Mike the editor is constantly on the lookout for good but unknown bands that he can review and thus promote on his site.  Unfortunately Beware! The Leopard is not on Mike's radar yet, hopefully one day.

It may sound like wingeing and I suppose it is kind of, but I just find it odd that in an era where everyone complains that mainstream media outlets are facsimiles of each other without adding anything new or interesting to the mix; that the indie community would continue the trend in their own way. 

So come on guys, whether it's reviewing our album or the hundreds of other small indie artists looking for any small break, there loads of room to offer something new to your readers.  I implore you to please try it.

Gigs this week!

Hey everyone!

Just a very quick note to let you know that we've got two gigs this week. 

Thursday April 22nd, we're playing at the Heart of the Hammer Cafe (937 King St. E, Hamilton).  Show starts at 8:00 and it is Pay What You Can. 

Friday April 23rd, we're playing at the Imperial Pub in Toronto.    Details are still being worked out so stay tuned!

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.