Category: Update

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Tortoise: New Album Track Listing and Release Date!

Dog Is Blue - Tortoise album cover***UPDATE: Zunior’s got an advance digital release of Tortoise for sale right now! Get the MP3 download of the album here for $8.88 or choose the CD with MP3 option to get the best of both worlds! ***

We’ve taken our sweet time announcing this, as we wanted to make sure all our ducks were in a row, but we’re excited to finally spread the news that: our sophomore full-length album, Tortoise, is ready!

The official release date is tentatively set for May 17 2011 and will coincide with a tour of eastern Canada to be announced shortly featuring the likes of Pat LePoidevin, Construction & Destruction and Laura Peek, and culminating in a joint Toronto CD-release party with Anna Atkinson (who played on a lot of our album and will also be celebrating the release of her own debut)!

If you’ve been poking around the site over the last few months you might have come across demos for half of the songs. Here’s the official track listing:

  • Dusty Bones
  • Slow Boat to China
  • Southern Ontario
  • Tortoise
  • The Way It Goes
  • People
  • Stan & Georgie
  • Handcar
  • She Said
  • Laura’s Song

Keep up to date with release details and the odd free track by checking back here, as well as on our Twitter and Facebook pages. Suffice to say that the album will be available at all fine digital retailers (especially Zunior.com) as well as phyiscally through various independent record stores and mail order right here.

Thanks for all the support. We’re very proud of this album and can’t wait to get it out there!

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New Merch: Dog Is Blue T-Shirts!

Dog Is Blue T-ShirtsWe’ve finally gotten off our butts and made t-shirts! This first run is an ultra-limited edition white on navy that is going like wearable hot-cakes.

We got these made locally at a very friendly place in our neighbourhood. They are cotton and use eco-friendly inks!

The idea is to do a one-time batch of this colour/design, then do something different next round. That means once these guys are gone, they’re gone!

As a bonus, if you order online we’ll throw in download codes for BOTH of our previous releases (codes emailed after purchase)!

Within Canada: $15
Plus Shipping
[wp_cart:Dog Is Blue T-Shirt:price:15.00:shipping:5.00:var1[Size|Small|Medium|Large|X-Large]:end]

International: $15
Plus Shipping
[wp_cart:Dog Is Blue T-Shirt:price:15.00:shipping:7.00:var1[Size|Small|Medium|Large|X-Large]:end]

This is also an excuse to test out some fancy-shmancy new features that will allow us to start selling things like albums & downloads directly from our own site. Give us feedback on the process!

[show_wp_shopping_cart]

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Album Notes: Almost There

Album Notes for TortoiseHere’s a page of chicken scratch album notes from my dog-eared, coffee-stained notebook.

It probably looks like nonsense, but here’s what I can tell you for sure:

One of those two sketches represents a painting by Laura that will be the actual cover of the album. Also, all the track names with check marks beside them will definitely be on the album (barring two name changes), though not in that order.

Rounding out the 10 songs chosen will be 2 tracks not on that list in any way (one being She Said and the other, Laura’s Song).

The scribbled black shapes are just my way of working out composition visually (that’s what a BFA gets you, kids).

Stay tuned for a big announcement including full track listing, cover, new press shots, release date and a tour! Holy crap!

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Album Update: Fun with Bass

Univox Bass GuitarHere’s a strange admission: None of our previous recordings have featured a bass guitar.

The low-end was always supplied by either a synth (the Realistic MG-1 is a personal favourite) or an electric guitar EQ’d down an octave.

That’s all changing on Tortoise, as a while back I stumbled across a real beauty of a bass guitar. It was a gamble, as the price reflected that it didn’t actually work, but that’s never stopped me before. A wire connecting the pickup windings had disconnected, which made for an easy fix.

The end result is a real nice 1970s Univox quasi-P-Bass copy that plays like a dream (not that I know much about dreamy bass guitars…).

Get yourselves acquainted, as this bad boy provides the bottom thump for half the songs on the new album…

Univox Bass GuitarUnivox Bass GuitarUnivox Bass GuitarUnivox Bass GuitarUnivox Bass Guitar

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Recording Update: House of Miracles Photos

Dog Is Blue Recording at the House of Miracles, Feb. 27 & 28 2011Quick update: we’re back from recording at the House of Miracles!

We made the snowy drive late Saturday night for a few days of recording with Andy Magoffin. Our car was so crammed full of gear I thought it might burst, but we still managed to fit Anna Atkinson between guitars in our backseat.

Suffice to say, we had a great time in the studio and we’re incredibly happy with the way the album is coming together. Here are some quick teases and tidbits for what you can expect:

– 8 of the 10 songs were predominantly recorded live off the floor.

– In contrast to …Makes Ghost Noises, acoustic guitar is the main instrument on only one track so far (in fact, that’s the only song it appears on at all at the moment).

– Our 6-string banjo is the lead instrument on 2 tracks (one of which being “Laura’s Song” ).

– Anna Atkinson is the 5th Beatle. She contributes viola, accordion and backup vocals (not to mention that she and Laura sound amazing together).

– The word “raunchy” was thrown around a lot in describing the guitar sound.

– I sound like I’ve never said the word “fuck” in my life.

– Laura’s biggest screw up might be the albums best moment.

Stay tuned for more important updates concerning the release of Tortoise (a word Andy had a lot of fun saying, by the way) as well as a tour to support it! In the meantime, here are photos from the session (we brought a video camera too, but I forgot to pack any tapes…).

Dog Is Blue Recording at the House of Miracles, Feb. 27 & 28 2011Dog Is Blue Recording at the House of Miracles, Feb. 27 & 28 2011Dog Is Blue Recording at the House of Miracles, Feb. 27 & 28 2011Dog Is Blue Recording at the House of Miracles, Feb. 27 & 28 2011Dog Is Blue Recording at the House of Miracles, Feb. 27 & 28 2011Dog Is Blue Recording at the House of Miracles, Feb. 27 & 28 2011Dog Is Blue Recording at the House of Miracles, Feb. 27 & 28 2011Dog Is Blue Recording at the House of Miracles, Feb. 27 & 28 2011Dog Is Blue Recording at the House of Miracles, Feb. 27 & 28 2011Dog Is Blue Recording at the House of Miracles, Feb. 27 & 28 2011Dog Is Blue Recording at the House of Miracles, Feb. 27 & 28 2011Dog Is Blue Recording at the House of Miracles, Feb. 27 & 28 2011Dog Is Blue Recording at the House of Miracles, Feb. 27 & 28 2011Dog Is Blue Recording at the House of Miracles, Feb. 27 & 28 2011Dog Is Blue Recording at the House of Miracles, Feb. 27 & 28 2011Dog Is Blue Recording at the House of Miracles, Feb. 27 & 28 2011

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Goodbye: Project 165 Goes Out with a Bang

Project 165We got some sad news on the weekend: Project 165, one of our favourite art spots/alternative venues run by some of the best people around, is closing it’s doors next week. It’s tough funding an artist run space on the best of days, rent increases and hard economic times make it nearly impossible.

We’ll miss Project 165 like nobody’s business, as the fertile and supportive atmosphere has been home to some of our favourite shows. Unfortunately, the real kicker is that we can’t even be there for the big closing party coming up this weekend (we’ll be recording our new album in London…bittersweet).

Of course, that doesn’t mean YOU can’t be there to kick it one last time with the best crew around. Here’s the Facebook event with all the details.

Goodbye Project 165. Thanks for the good times.

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Painted Dog Is Blue!

Dog Is Blue by Tom YeoWe 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!
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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…

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Now Available from Bandcamp

Dog Is Blue #11, 6x6" mixed media on canvasWelcome 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.

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Best of 2010: Our Favourite Songs By Other Bands

Dog Is Blue #11, 8x8" mixed media on canvasAlright, 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…

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