Canada (music group)
Encyclopedia
Canada is an American indie folk-pop music group from Ann Arbor, Michigan
. Its songs are generally acoustic and feature guitars, drums, cellos, glockenspiel
s, melodicas, rhodes piano, organ and accordion
s. The group is known for its group vocals and harmonies and energetic live shows where members switch instruments between songs.
"With a blend of pop, folk, and country, Canada keeps an even keel with amazing melodies and even more engaging instrumentation, never becoming tiresome or trite in its mission to craft the perfect pop song... They have made what could very well be the best pop album to come out of the ever-fruitful Detroit music scene in 2006, and considering the quality of the competition, that's no small praise.
The band, composed of long-time friends, formed in late 2004 and self-released the six song How Dare You EP in July 2005. Soon after, they were approached by indie Michigan label Quite Scientific and soon signed with them to record a full length album. Recording took place during the fall and winter of 2005 in Lansing, Michigan
on a soundboard originally used to mix portions of the second and third Star Wars
films.
The band released its first album, This Cursed House, in June 2006. The album became the #1 most-added album in college radio for June 20, 2006, and later climbed to #13 on the CMJ Radio Top 200 (CMJ New Music Report, Issue 971).
Canada proceeded to embark on a series of tours with friends Page France (Suicide Squeeze), Saturday Looks Good To Me (Polyvinyl) Headlights (Polyvinyl), and Margot and the Nuclear So and So's. Joe, Ryan, and Aaron (Shaul) became brief members of Saturday Looks Good To Me during this time, playing bass, drums, and glockenspiel respectively. Ryan later became a more permanent member with the group and toured with them as their drummer during their 2007 US and European tours. Canada also performed at the 2006 Pygmalion Music Festival in Champaign-Urbana
, the 2006/7/8 CMJ Music Marathon in New York City
and SXSW 2006/7 in Austin
.
Canada embarked on its longest (8 week) nationwide tour in the summer of 2007. The band was prepping the release of their second full-length (which would have been called Put Singing Birds Into Your Messy Hair), when creative, scheduling, and recording issues put a halt to production in late 2008. The band currently has no plans to re-unite, despite several offers for reunion concerts in Southeastern Michigan, however their second record may become available digitally sometime in the future.
http://www.quitescientific.com/QSR004DistroSheet.pdf
CMJ New Music Report, Issue 971
http://www.losingtoday.com/features.php?review_id=1010
http://www.slgtm.com/biography.html
http://2006.pygmalionmusicfestival.com/bands
http://www.mercuryloungenyc.com/calendar/archives/calendar_200611.html
http://2007.sxsw.com/music/showcases/band/29727.html
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
. Its songs are generally acoustic and feature guitars, drums, cellos, glockenspiel
Glockenspiel
A glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
s, melodicas, rhodes piano, organ and accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
s. The group is known for its group vocals and harmonies and energetic live shows where members switch instruments between songs.
"With a blend of pop, folk, and country, Canada keeps an even keel with amazing melodies and even more engaging instrumentation, never becoming tiresome or trite in its mission to craft the perfect pop song... They have made what could very well be the best pop album to come out of the ever-fruitful Detroit music scene in 2006, and considering the quality of the competition, that's no small praise.
The band, composed of long-time friends, formed in late 2004 and self-released the six song How Dare You EP in July 2005. Soon after, they were approached by indie Michigan label Quite Scientific and soon signed with them to record a full length album. Recording took place during the fall and winter of 2005 in Lansing, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
on a soundboard originally used to mix portions of the second and third Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
films.
The band released its first album, This Cursed House, in June 2006. The album became the #1 most-added album in college radio for June 20, 2006, and later climbed to #13 on the CMJ Radio Top 200 (CMJ New Music Report, Issue 971).
Canada proceeded to embark on a series of tours with friends Page France (Suicide Squeeze), Saturday Looks Good To Me (Polyvinyl) Headlights (Polyvinyl), and Margot and the Nuclear So and So's. Joe, Ryan, and Aaron (Shaul) became brief members of Saturday Looks Good To Me during this time, playing bass, drums, and glockenspiel respectively. Ryan later became a more permanent member with the group and toured with them as their drummer during their 2007 US and European tours. Canada also performed at the 2006 Pygmalion Music Festival in Champaign-Urbana
Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area
The Champaign-Urbana metropolitan area, also known as Champaign-Urbana, is a metropolitan area in east-central Illinois. It is the 191st largest metropolitan area in the U.S. It is composed of three counties, Champaign, Ford, and Piatt...
, the 2006/7/8 CMJ Music Marathon in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and SXSW 2006/7 in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
.
Canada embarked on its longest (8 week) nationwide tour in the summer of 2007. The band was prepping the release of their second full-length (which would have been called Put Singing Birds Into Your Messy Hair), when creative, scheduling, and recording issues put a halt to production in late 2008. The band currently has no plans to re-unite, despite several offers for reunion concerts in Southeastern Michigan, however their second record may become available digitally sometime in the future.
Discography
- The How Dare You EP (EP) (July, 2005)
- It Takes A Village To Make Records (Compilation) (March 25, 2006)
- This Cursed House (LP) (June 10, 2006)
- Canada Cassette EP (limited edition of 100) (EP) (June 7, 2007)
- Put Singing Birds Into Your Messy Hair (LP) (SummerSummerSummer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
/Fall, 2008)
Sources
http://www.fanaticpromotion.com/cmj06/http://www.quitescientific.com/QSR004DistroSheet.pdf
CMJ New Music Report, Issue 971
http://www.losingtoday.com/features.php?review_id=1010
http://www.slgtm.com/biography.html
http://2006.pygmalionmusicfestival.com/bands
http://www.mercuryloungenyc.com/calendar/archives/calendar_200611.html
http://2007.sxsw.com/music/showcases/band/29727.html
External links
- Canada Official Website
- Canada @ Myspace
- Record Label
- [ Allmusic]