On this week’s episode we welcome back Laverne!

Featuring the steady grooves of bassist Pherbie Midgley, the tasteful percussion of drummer Geoff McLellan, and the fitful guitar work and raw vocals of front man Max Anderson Baier, Laverne are a refreshingly unconventional art punk unit and are one of the best kept secrets in the Vancouver underground music scene.

After dropping an impressive debut record titled Yarrow back in 2018, the band is looking to push expectations and defy boundaries with their sophomore record Lack of Vocation.

Photo by Dani Cyr

On this episode, we’re speaking with vocalist Laura Mina Mitic and guitarist/vocalist Pat Ferguson of the band Carmanah.

Carmanah are a six piece act from Victoria BC who blend the traditional sounds of roots music with  modern indie rock sensibilities into a sound aptly coined “West Coast Soul.”

In their fruitful tenure as a band, Carmanah have toured and performed with the likes of Shakey Graves, Moby, kd lang, Current Swell, and Ziggy Marley often traveling from gig to gig in their van run on used vegetable oil. The band has also gained notable critical acclaim and national attention  with two of their singles topping the CBC Music charts along with earning a 2019 Western Canadian Music Award nomination for best Roots artist. 

Inspired by and deeply connected to the natural beauty of their home on Vancouver Island, Carmanah are an environmentally and socially conscious group looking to spark action and meaningful change through their bountiful song catalog and adventurous performances.

Photo by Gabriel Hall

David Vertesi is a singer/songwriter and solo artist most well known as the bassist and backing vocalist for the Juno nominated indie rock group Hey Ocean. 

Vertesi is also a session and touring musician who has worked with Shad, Said The Whale, Dear Rouge, and Hannah Georgas and is the executive director and co-founder of Vancouver Mural Festival.

With his third album Life Ghouls, Vertesi has crafted a moody and introspective concept record that explores all the regrets, insecurities, and weirdness of modern life. 

The Elastic Stars are a psychedelic rock act in the vein of genre pioneers The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, and late career Beatles.

Colin Cowan and his band have opened for national and international touring acts including Post Animal, Wand, Lightning Dust, and Destroyer and played the HR MacMillan Space Centre for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 2019.

The band’s fifth album MUZiK is set for release August 25 2020.

Lazy Ghost are a psychedelic surf rock band from the world famous resort community of Whistler BC. Since 2016, the band has made a name for themselves playing sold out shows in and around Whistler and have grown a devoted international fan base thanks to successful tours in Western Canada and Australia.

The band’s 30 date North America spring/summer tour was understandably cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic so Lazy Ghost decided to redirect their energies into writing and recording a new EP.

Lazy Ghost’s next EP Hungover Hopeful is set for release on August 21 2020.

Joshua Wood is a vocalist, guitarist, and frontman of the Joshua Wood Orchestra. Hailing from St. Catharine Ontario, Joshua Wood has been an active member in the Vancouver music scene for the better part of a decade, performing in a number of groups including the folk ensemble Devil In The Wood Shack.

His latest project the Joshua Wood Orchestra featuring producer Felix Fung and members of Sunday Morning and Wrecked Beach are set to release their debut EP titled Bad Way on August 14 2020.

Photo by Sara Baar

When quarantine measures went into effect in Canada around mid March 2020, the live music industry had to close down for what has proven to be an indefinite amount of time.

Multiple news sources have reported that over 90% of indie music venues in Canada will not survive unless they get financial assistance from the government.

On this episode, we’re joined by Mo Tarmohamed who is the owner and general manager of the Rickshaw Theatre in East Vancouver to talk about the current situation facing independent Canadian music venues and what you the listener can do to help.

Learn more at the Canadian Independent Venue Coaltion’s official website here.

Photo by Misha Bajwa

Adam Mah is an electro pop artist previously known for his tenure as the vocalist/guitarist and lead songwriter for the pop/rock act Derrival.

Since blazing his own trail as a solo artist, Adam has been featured in the 2019 Westward Music Festival, the Elevate Music Project, Sofar Sounds, and has opened for local pop rockers Hotel Mira and Australian alt rock band The Rubens.

Adam’s collaborator and producer Shane Stephenson also joined us on this episode to add his perspective.

Photo by Ryan Kevin

Palm Haze are the musical duo of Anna Wagner on vocals and bass guitar and producer/guitarist Lucas Inacio (a.k.a Flover).

Formed in Illhabela Brazil with the band soon relocating to Vancouver BC after writing just two songs together, Palm Haze have crafted a sound that is airy, dreamy, and commanding drawing from a variety of influences including shoegaze, trip hop, and alternative rock.

In a few short years, Palm Haze have released two well received self-produced EPs, have had their music featured on the Netflix series Northern Rescue, and have played with touring acts such as Exploded View, Shadowhouse, and The Macks and local bands including Washers, Laverne, and Sleepy Gonzales.

Photo by Angela Fama

Soft Plastics is the latest musical project of vocalist/guitarist Carey Mercer who is most well known in Canadian music circles as the songwriter and visionary behind the Polaris Prize nominated art rock act Frog Eyes.

After concluding Frog Eyes after an impressive 17 year run from 2001-2018, Carey and his collaborators look to broaden their musical horizons as Soft Plastics with the release of their fascinating and unconventional debut record titled 5 Dreams.