Pages tagged “ladyhawk”

Scruffy Canadian indie rockers go from great to good

Much like The Replacements before them, the dudes in Ladyhawk make beer-drinkin’ rock ’n’ roll. Not that this Kelowna, British Columbia, group sounds like the ’Mats, per se; it’s just that the hirsute Canadians’ unkempt look, don’t-give-a-shit riffage and gnarled vocals comprise a relatable, non-intimidating sound. It’s what made the adolescent sneer of the band’s inappropriately slept-on, self-titled 2006 debut fantastic. While Ladyhawk doesn’t top its first album with Shots, there’s plenty to enjoy. “I Don’t Always Know What You’re Saying” chugs with guitar-heavy zeal, and tracks like “Faces of Death” and “Corpse Paint”—though decidedly less evil than their titles imply—are rewardingly ominous. Unfortunately, the band gets bogged down far too often with a slow-verse-then-guitar-solo model, making Shots a nice overall listen but not much more.

Not to get all Jerry Seinfeld here, but what’s the deal with Canadian rock bands? I mean, what’s the deal? It's like, they rock, and they're not from the U.S. or the UK! They must be putting something in the Labatt Blue up there because over the past few years, bands like Black Mountain, Tokyo Police Club and The Besnard Lakes have been putting out album after album of pure rock goodness that would make Neil Young proud. Incidentally, these bands all seem to sport some serious lumberjack-style beards, which probably serve as a survival mechanism for those cold winter months.

But we digress... Another of those wonderful Canuck rock troupes, Ladyhawk, is prepping for its latest U.S. tour with Saddle Creek friends Neva Dinova. The tour is in support of Shots, the band’s newest, booziest (boozy in a Raymond Carver sort of way, not an Andrew W.K. sort of way) record. Ladyhawk has posted a couple of free tracks, so you can hear for yourself.

The band also has a new documentary hitting the festival circuit soon. Let Me Be Fictional captures the band’s bare-bones recording sessions in an abandoned farmhouse in Kelowna, British Columbia. But you already knew that. You can watch the trailer on the film's official site.

Dates:

April
22 - Salt Lake City, Utah - Kilby Court
23 - Denver, Colo. @ Hi Dive
24 - Omaha, Neb. @ The Waiting Room*
25 - Lincoln, Neb. @ Box Awesome
26 - Madison, Wis. @ University of Wisconsin Club 770
27 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ 7th St. Entry
30 - St. Louis, Mo. @ Bluebird*

May
1 - Chicago, Ill. @ Schubas
2 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Beachland Tavern
3 - Buffalo, N.Y. @ Orbits Soundlab
4 - Burlington, Vt. @ Higher Ground*
7 - Boston, Mass. @ Middle East Upstairs
8 - Northampton, Mass. @ Iron Horse
9 - New York, N.Y. @ Mercury Lounge
10 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Union Hall
11 - Washington, D.C. @ DC 9
12 - Charlotte, N.C. @ The Milestone*
13 - Chapel Hill, N.C. @ Local 506
14 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Drunken Unicorn
15 - Charleston, S.C. @ Pour House
16 - Savannah, Ga. @ Jinx
17 - Nashville, Tenn. @ The End
19 - Birmingham, Ala. @ The Nick
20 - Baton Rouge, La. @ Spanish Moon
22 - Norman, Okla. @ TBA*
23 - Austin, Texas @ Emo's inside
24 - Denton, Texas @ Hailey's*
27 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Modified
28 - San Diego, Calif. @ Casbah
29 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Spaceland
30 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Bottom of the Hill
31 - Portland, Ore. @ Town Lounge

June
1 - Seattle, Wash. @ Chop Suey*

*Shows without Neva Dinova.

Related links:
Band of the Week: Ladyhawk
Ladyhawk on MySpace
MP3: Ladyhawk - "I Don't Always Know What You're Saying"

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

Hometown: Kelowna, British Columbia
Members: Duffy Driediger (vocals, guitar); Darcy Hancock (lead guitar, vocals); Sean Hawryluk (bass, vocals); Ryan Peters (drums, vocals)
Fun Fact: Recording sessions for the band’s latest album often stretched into the wee hours of the morning, thanks to copious amounts of sugary sangria.
Why It’s Worth Watching: After releasing a 2007 EP that Hancock admits “didn’t really sound like us,” the band has returned to its roots on Shots.
For Fans Of: Neil Young, The Band, My Morning Jacket

When childhood friends Duffy Driediger, Darcy Hancock, Sean Hawryluk and Ryan Peters were ready to self-record their first album back in 2005, they had a very specific sound in mind for Ladyhawk's debut. “We wanted to have a real live-sounding record,” Hancock explains. “We did it all live in the same room because we refused to wear headphones.”

Upcoming documentary Let Me Be Fictional follows the members of Canadian rock band Ladyhawk as they record their latest album, reflect on society’s definition of adulthood and return to the town where they grew up together – all while consuming large quantities of alcohol. You weren’t really expecting Ken Burns, were you?

Ladyhawk is the latest in a recent surge of indie rock bands to announce its foray into film. The band's entry comes hot on the heels of White Rabbits and The National, both the subject of documentaries in the works.

The film begins with the members of Ladyhawk returning to their hometown of Kelowna, British Columbia, to record their album Shots. The guys rent an abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of the town in order to strip back down to the basics (which evidently means living for 10 days without modern plumbing) and focus on their music.

Filmmakers Mona Mok and Rob Leikner also follow the band members on tour, at a Pride Tiger concert, and walking away from a frightening car accident unharmed. (Please at least partially disregard the author's previous comment doubting the artistic merit of this film.)

For a sneek peek at Let Me Be Fictional, check out the trailer on the film's official site.

Related links:
Ladyhawk.com
Ladyhawk on MySpace
Paste: Ladyhawk on Tour

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

The Canadian whack-you-over-the-head rockers of Ladyhawk, after sitting out on recordings for a bit behind the 2006 release of their self-titled debut LP and subsequent 12-inch, Fight For Anarchy, have announced the advent of a follow-up record and accompanying tour dates. The tightly performed, if alcohol-infused, Shots hits stores in the U.S. March 4 on Jagjaguwar (April 7 in the U.K.). The label promises sounds inspired by the locale and season of recording, an old house in the band’s hometown of Kelowna, British Columbia and winter, respectively.

The band is providing a sneak preview of the first track off the new album, “I Don’t Know What You’re Saying,” here. Meanwhile, word is that the band will schedule U.S. tour dates to follow its Canadian trek. Stay tuned.

Current dates:

March
18 - London, Ontario @ Salt Lounge
19 - Hamilton, Ontario @ Casbah
20 - Montreal, QC @ Le Divan Orange
21 - Ottowa, Ontario @ Zaphod Beeblebrox
22 - Toronto, Ontario @ Horseshoe Tavern
27 - Winnipeg, Manitoba @ Pyramid Cabaret w/ Black Mountain
28 - Regina, Saskatchewan @ The Distrikt w/ Black Mountain
29 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan @ Amigo's w/ Black Mountain
31 - Edmonton, Alberta @ Starlite Room w/ Black Mountain

April
1 - Calgary, Alberta @ The Warehouse w/ Black Mountain
2 - Kelowa, British Columbia @ The Habitat
5 - Vancouver, British Columbia @ Commodore Ballroom w/ Black Mountain

Related links:
Paste: Ladyhawk discusses mini-album, mega-tour
LadyhawkLadyhawk.com
Jagjaguwar.com

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.

Last time Canadian rock quartet Ladyhawk made an album, it had to record the material twice. The first take was a low-budget rush job cut live off the floor in an attempt to recreate the band’s frenetic performing style. Unhappy with the end product, the four musicians then headed back to the studio and re-recorded their eponymous debut from scratch, a decision that pleased both lead guitarist Darcy Hancock and his steadily growing fan base.

“[Jagjaguwar Records] said they’d put it out the way it was, but we weren’t really happy with it the first time around,” Hancock says. “It was hard to do again, but I think it was worth it.”

After undergoing such a painful process for the band's debut LP, the Kelowna, B.C. natives simply forewent the songwriting and editing stages altogether for their next release, a vinyl-only 12-inch due out May 22. Recorded on hiatus between tours in early 2006, the six-song mini-album is a far cry from the labor of love their painstakingly produced debut became. Instead, Ladyhawk’s forthcoming effort (or lack thereof) is the product of four friends, two days in the studio and one all-important bag of mushrooms.

“[The drugs] just gave us a lot of focus," Hancock recalls. "I think we worked really fast and lost track of time. We’d think the day must have been over, and we’d still have like six hours left.”

Once jokingly titled The Mushroom Sessions, the record was at the last minute nonchalantly re-dubbed Fight For Anarchy, a name that fits its songs’ raw and unedited sound. On opening track “War,” available for listen here, every stray guitar strum and every background noise isn’t just audible—it’s loud and clear, front and center.

“Nothing was even written with each other before we went in,” Hancock explains. “We’d just go in and be like ‘this is a song’ and just do guitar and drums and then take it from there and see how we could make it interesting.”

Such a casual attitude by no means stops with the recording process either. Ladyhawk hits the road tomorrow for its longest tour to date, sharing the stage with the likes of Saturday Looks Good To Me, Tapes N’ Tapes and fellow Canucks The Constantines. With 48 dates covering every corner of the U.S. and Canada, exhaustion is likely and monotony is pretty much guaranteed, but Hancock shrugs his shoulders at both, ready for the journey ahead.

“We’ve never done this much touring,” he says. “We’re kind of excited, but I imagine we’ll get burned out by the end.”

Fight For Anarchy tracklist:

1. War
2. If You Run
3. Amber Jam
4. Boy You Got Another Thing Coming
5. Red Teeth
6. You Ran

Tour dates include:

March
3 - Vancouver, British Columbia @ Plaza Club
4 - Seattle, Wash. @ Chop Suey
5 - Portland, Ore. @ Holocene
7 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Hotel Utah Saloon
8 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Spaceland
9 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Modified Arts
10 - Albuquerque, N.M. @ Launch Pad
12 - Dallas, Texas @ Ellum: Onstage
13 - Houston, Texas @ Proletariat
15 - Austin, Texas @ Jagjaguwar Showcase @ Mohawk
17 - Austin, Texas @ Chunklet Magazine SXSW Party @ Red Seven
19 - Birmingham, Ala. @ Bottletree
20 - Greensboro, N.C. @ Two Art Chicks
21 - Washington, D.C. @ The Red And The Black
22 - New York, N.Y. @ Cake Shop
24 - Buffalo, N.Y. @ Soundlab
26 - Bloomington, Ind. @ Landlocked Music
27 - Chicago, Ill. @ Abbey Pub
28 - Iowa City, Iowa @ Picador
31 - Toronto, Ontario @ Lee's Palace

April
2 - Madison, Wis. @ High Noon Saloon
3 - Winnipeg, Manitoba @ Pyramid Cabaret
4 - Regina, Saskatchewan @ The Exchange
5 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan @ Louis' Pub
6 - Edmonton, Alberta @ The Starlite Room
7 - Calgary, Alberta @ The Hi-Fi Club
8 - Calgary, Alberta @ The Hi-Fi Club
9 - Canmore, Alberta @ Canmore Hotel
12 - Vancouver, British Columbia @ The Plaza Club
13 - Victoria, British Columbia @ Sugar Nightclub
14 - Tofino, British Columbia @ The Legion

May
2 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Great American Music Hall
4 - Portland, Ore. @ Dante’s
5 - Seattle, Wash. @ Neumo’s
6 - Vancouver, British Columbia @ Plaza Club
9 - Denver, Colo. @ Bluebird Theatre
10 - Omaha, Neb. @ Sokol Underground
11 - Des Moines, Iowa @ Vaudeville Mews
12 - Chicago, Ill. @ The Abbey Pub
14 - Ottawa, Ontario @ Barrymore’s
15 - Montreal, Quebec @ Le National
16 - Toronto, Ontario @ Lee’s Palace
17 - Buffalo, N.Y. @ Mohawk Place
18 - New York, N.Y. @ Irving Plaza
19 - Boston, Mass. @ Paradise Rock Club
22 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Grog Shop
23 - Columbus, Ohio @ The Basement
24 - Newport, Ky. @ Southgate House

Related Links:
Ladyhawk’s homepage
Ladyhawk on MySpace
Jagjaguwar Records