Paul – Page 9 – Dog Is Blue

January 19, 2011September 30, 2011

Painted Dog Is Blue!

We received this small painting recently as a gift from our good friend Tom. A fervent supporter of the band, he comes to most of our shows in Toronto and is a trusted ear when it comes to new songs or demo recordings. He based this piece on one of our recent intimate sets at our local hangout, Broadview Espresso. you can see Laura’s colourful dress and the weird shape of my old Japanese Saturn electric guitar (he also perfectly captured my current Teen Wolf look).

He’ll probably kill me for posting this, as he mentioned it was a quick sketch done while testing out some new art materials, but we love it so much I couldnt’ resist.

Thanks Tom!*

*We also have an awesome painting in our apartment by Tom of a colourful cat with a massive outstretched tongue. He’s a great artist and I really should build him a website…seriously, Tom, if you’re reading this, let’s get your art online for all to see!

January 14, 2011August 27, 2018

Dog Is Blue At The House of Miracles

The House of Miracles

We’ve got lots on the go over the next few months, so stay tuned for a bunch of announcements. Suffice to say the biggest news is that we just booked studio time at the famous House of Miracles in London, Ontario. We’ve wanted to record there since becoming a band, so we’re pretty damn excited. We’ll be there for a few days putting finishing touches on our new album, Tortoise, which we’re hoping to have out in April!

Expect more demos in the meantime, as we’ll need help narrowing down which new tracks make the cut. So far we know that “Tortoise” will be the title track, and “Southern Ontario” is a must, as it’s become one of our most requested live songs. “Little Dragon Slayer” is up in the air at the moment, so take a listen to all three and let us know what you think (on Twitter, Facebook, or via email: paul at dogisblue.com)!

Also keep your ears out for some pretty wild collaborations and covers coming down the pipeline before then…

January 12, 2011February 4, 2011

Show Recap: Broadview Espresso with Anna Atkinson

When: Jan. 8, 2011
Where: Broadview Espresso, Toronto ON
Who with: Anna Atkinson

Set 1:

Hot Air Balloons (and Submarines)
Wish
Seacaptain
Happy Hallowe’en
Stan & Georgie
People

Set 2 (with Anna Atkinson):

Colours (Donovan cover)
Dusty Bones
Tortoise
Southern Ontario
Raise Your Dead
It Happens in Florida (Burning Hell cover)

A stark contrast to our set the night before in Kingston, this was the sort of show you could only get away with in an intimate setting amongst friends and fervent supporters.

The idea was simple: pare down the excess (re: no light rings or huge pedal board) and collaborate with our good friend and ultra-talented multi-instrumentalist Anna Atkinson. The result consisted of a quick set by each act before joining forces for what Anna called “the mega set.” “Mega” in this case meaning unrehearsed and haphazard—something that in the wrong atmosphere would have crashed and burned, but in the dimmed lights of Broadview Espresso, amongst an attentive and interactive audience of familiar faces, was welcomed with an air of mischief and fun.

It wasn’t fun and games at first though, as our trusty Korg Polysix seemed to have a mind of its own, bending notes all over the place (turns out it was just cold from having spent the night in the trunk). Thankfully, one of the many perks of living across the street from the venue was being able to run back and grab our Roland Juno 106 as a stand in*. Also, just like the previous show, we didn’t write a set list and forgot to play “Young Enough,” a song we had actually rehearsed with Anna prior (look for a new version of that tune at some point).

Thankfully, the slap-dash set seemed to still go over well (our new Twitter friend Matt, who also helped us name “Little Dragon Slayer,” tweeted: it was probably one of the coolest musical experience I’ve had. follow him–he’s clearly a smart dude).

Speaking of Twitter…one of our favourite online personalities, Louise Andre, took some great photos:

Dog Is Blue Live at Broadview Espresso in Toronto on Jan. 8, 2011, by Louise Andre

Dog Is Blue and Anna Atkinson Live at Broadview Espresso in Toronto on Jan. 8, 2011, by Louise Andre

*Laura doesn’t like the Juno 106.

January 11, 2011January 26, 2011

Show Recap: Kingston with Bellevue, Brad Sucks & Sticky Henderson

When: Jan. 7, 2011
Where: The Mansion, Kingston ON
Who with: Bellevue, Brad Sucks, Sticky Henderson

Set List:

Dusty Bones
Southern Ontario
Seacaptain
Tortoise
Young Enough
Happy Hallowe’en
Raise Your Dead

We arrived at The Mansion in Kingston early*. Early enough, in fact, that they were actually building the stage (there was a circular saw under the merch table most of the night). Once it was all setup everything looked great. The crowd filtered in and eased our doubts of playing to no one.

Our set seemed to go over well. Of course, wearing light-rings and having a blinking sign helped to get people’s attention (as did my beard…here I was about to shave, but audience catcalls about my facial fur have me thinking twice). Volume wasn’t an issue this time around either, as I was armed with a larger extension speaker for my homemade amp (and I didn’t drop the it like last time).

“Dusty Bones” (to be recorded soon) has been our go-to opener lately—with a folky first half that abruptly turns raucous, it’s sort of a condensed version of what you can expect from a Dog Is Blue show. Although, we might want to actually start writing set lists beforehand, as we got lost in the excitement and forgot to play a few of our other new favourites.

As for Bellevue…ahh, Bellevue. Great people in an even better band. Playing with them back in November at the Silver Dollar was such hoot that we were very happy when they asked us to join them for this show. Their set was amazing—upbeat and tight while showcasing some great new songs. They had us dancing at the merch booth.

Rounding out the bill was the talented and authoritative Sticky Henderson (who commanded the stage like a veteran and launched a campaign against the 3(!) noisy snare drums behind her), and Brad Sucks—self-proclaimed “one man band with no fans” (who actually had a band and a bunch of fans) whose tight sound had his diverse fan base rockin’ out at the front of the stage.

Check out some photos from the entire show by Matt at Kingstonmusicreviews.ca. Here are a few of us:

*We actually got to Kingston around dinner time. Trying to be healthy, we ate salads at a pub down the street. Unfortunately, these “salads” were really just piles of cheese with the odd piece of lettuce thrown in that sat like soggy bricks in our stomachs.

January 6, 2011November 28, 2012

New Music: Happy New Year, Little Dragon Slayer

Everyone’s always optimistic in early January. After all, there’s a shiny new year ahead of you brimming with potential. Of course, you have to wonder what became of the promises of the year before, and the year before that…

This notion was heavy on my mind in November when we spent a few days in the countryside plumping around playing music (and eating very well) at the Daverne Farm in Adolphustown. Hoping to do some recording, all priorities were adjusted when confronted with an amazingly full-of-character, but out of tune piano in the living room.

The result is a first attempt at “Little Dragon Slayer,”* a song based around a guitar progression somewhere between Stan Rogers and Velvet Underground, but haphazardly arranged on the spot for the keys. Laura’s backup vocals and Anna Atkinson‘s viola give a much needed classy contrast to my club-fisted and graceless bashing of the piano.

Little Dragon Slayer by Dog Is Blue

*We couldn’t decide on a name for this one, so opened it up to our friends on Twitter. Their great suggestions (almost went with “No Treasure”) turned us away from the obvious and also helped decide whether “Dragon Slayer” should be one word or two.

January 4, 2011January 26, 2011

Now Available from Bandcamp

Dog Is Blue #11, 6x6" mixed media on canvas Welcome to 2011, folks. We’ve got some big plans this year (including a new album in the works), but for now just a quick post to let you know that our most of our music is now available via Bandcamp.

Let’s get one thing straight though, Zunior is our store of choice. It’s the most artist-friendly place around with an amazing catalogue and the full Hot Air Balloons EP will remain a Zunior-exclusive.

That said, if you’re not inclined to create a Zunior account (and take advantage of the awesome bi-weekly free samplers), then you can now get …Makes Ghoist Noises and the title track from the Hot Air Balloons EP at Bandcamp as well.

Of course, we’re also on iTunes, emusic and probably torrents if that’s your thing.

December 31, 2010January 26, 2011

Best of 2010: Our Favourite Songs By Other Bands

Dog Is Blue #11, 8x8" mixed media on canvas Alright, 2010 is coming to a close very soon, so it’s time to wrap up the best of fun. We’ve already done our favourite band moments of the year in two parts as well as our favourite 2010 albums by other bands. All that’s left is our favourite songs of the year.

There were some real humdingers dropped this year, so it was tough to widdle down, but here they are in a very loose order starting with our favourite:

Ryan Driver – Everything Must Spin
Construction & Destruction – The Oracle
Born Ruffians – What to Say
Brasstronaut – Lo Hi Hopes
The Mohawk Lodge – Cold Hearts
Diamond Rings – All Yr Songs
Zeus – Kindergarten
Yeasayer – O.N.E.
Hooded Fang – Highway Steam
The Sojourners – Nobody Can Turn Me Around
Winter Gloves – Plastic Slides
Rich Aucoin – Brian Wilson Is A.L.I.V.E.
Broken Bells – The High Road
Boxer the Horse – Mary Meets the Pilot
The Beauties – Fashion Blues
Belle and Sebastian – Come On Sister
Spoon – Got Nuffin
Sufjan Stevens – Vesuvius
The Abramson Singers – Take A Camera
Owen Pallett – Scandal At The Parkade
The Gertrudes – Warm Wind from the South

There you have it. These tunes all killed it this year. Go hunt them down and support the bands.

Bring on 2011…

December 30, 2010January 26, 2011

Best of 2010: Favourite Band Moments Pt.2

Dog Is Blue Band Photo By Luther Mallory

Picking up where we left off earlier this week, here are the rest of our favourite moments of the year (in chronological order). Oddly enough, these all take place in the final stretch of 2010…

5. Going Analog

This one may sound like a vague hippie sentiment, but it’s not. Digital is great—we sometimes just like to get away from the computer. Case in point, this year we started demoing on an old cassette 4-track, but then came across a great setup including an 8-track Fostex R8 reel to reel recorder with tons of tape and a huge matching 812 mixer. A bit of crazy glue later and we had an entire reel of new demos, including the live demo of our new song, “Tortoise.” Most of this is probably gibberish to you non-gearheads (like Laura), but I assure you, it’s awesome.

Continue reading “Best of 2010: Favourite Band Moments Pt.2”

December 29, 2010January 26, 2011

Best of 2010: Our 10 Favourite Albums By Other Bands

I never really understood musicians who don’t listen to music. We listen to a lot of it. Hell, one of the reasons why Laura and I are so jazzed to make music of our own is that we’re always so inspired by the great stuff coming out of our speakers.

In that regard, and in keeping with this week’s Favourite Band Moments of 2010 recap (the second half is coming soon), here’s a look at a dozen albums we couldn’t get enough of this year in very rough order:

Boxer the Horse – Would You Please
Zeus – Say Us
Born Ruffians – Say It
Brasstronaut – Mt. Chimaera
Hooded Fang – Hooded Fang
Spoon – Transference
Broken Bells – Broken Bells
Yeasayer – Odd Blood
Winter Gloves – All Red
The Acorn – No Ghost
Forest City Lovers – Carriage
The Gertrudes – Dawn Time Riot

I’m sure we forgot a few, but definitely check these albums out—you won’t be disappointed! Stay tuned for our favourite songs of the year later this week.

December 27, 2010January 26, 2011

Best of 2010: Favourite Band Moments Pt.1

Dog Is Blue band photo by Luther Mallory It’s always a fun year when you’re in a band. Being the season of year end lists, we’ve put together our favourite moments of 2010. I should preface this by saying that our definition of “Favourite” is a bit odd, as some of our most-revered shows have been the worst ones—the sort that if you can get through and still want to play another the next day then you know you can hack it. Keeping that in mind, here are Dog Is Blue’s top moments of the year in chronological order:

1. OndaRock Compilation

The year started off with a bang as, after writing a great review of our debut album …Makes Ghost Noises, Italian music magazine, OndaRock, asked us to send a brand new song to be part of a sort of “bands to watch” compilation. “Hot Air Balloons (and Submarines)” was born. The compilation was a great collection of music and it lit the fire under our butts to start the next item on the list…

Continue reading “Best of 2010: Favourite Band Moments Pt.1”