Aegis Fang is no more,(The fang is still a thing but it’s all good we barely gig anymore. – MIke), but Mike has been busy performing around Victoria at various pubs and drinking holes. He has a new solo EP called Hard Luck. Has a bit of an alt-country vibe to it.
This one here features homeboy Jesse Roper!
And I like this one…bluesy.
One more…. a pretty one (and sad one).
***
and how about that rain today in Vancouver? It rains a lot here in our corner of the Pacific North-West…but today was tropical jungle rain!
I took my daughter to school…eh, it’s grey out, a little wet. Come home and rally my son for daycare and the walk down it was torrential!
As one friend tweeted…you know it’s raining when Vancouverites are commenting on it.
@Jeremy_Baker You know its bad when everyone from Vancouver is actually talking about the rain. Usually so used to it, but not like this
Last night was a fun night at Lucky Bar. Can’t Stop the Awesome was a classic party rocker throw down.
The party started right when doors opened at 10PM and people streamed in. My set was short and sweet and by the end people had the boogie on the dance floor.
Victoria’s blues rock band Aegis Fang turned the screws some more. What an amazing set. Aegis Fang does a lot right when the focus of the party is dancing and having fun. They do a great job of mixing originals and covers. Their covers fit their sound and they communicate with the audience letting us know what’s up.
Halfway through the set… Mike moves out from behind the kit and trades with Nate… party continues. I have a couple favourite Aegis Fang songs. “Ghetto Man” might be their most popular in Victoria as we played it on the radio for a bit.
I have always enjoyed “Foot Down.”
These guys remind me of a dirtier, rougher Current Swell. The subjects of the songs and the Island boogie are very Current Swell.
The party continued with Unky Murge. Murge channeled his rovcker vibe for a set heavy on hits and good vibes. At one point, he stops down and brings vocalist Georgia Murray on stage to lay down a couple songs with Murge on the turntables laying down the beats.
Ran into lots of friends. Thank you to everyone that made the party what it was.
TONIGHT! I am DJing a special fundraiser at Veneto Lounge. 9PM-midnight. Murray Aid Victoria
Savage. Propulsive 80s style hardcore. These chicks (and dude) wail!
Their 2012 LP Sorry was just half a point away from getting Best New Music’d by Pitchfork. The Vancouver punkers travel the land playing DIY style ragers. Most recently they were in Europe where they packed along a 7-inch single. As much as I love the record, man this single is solid. The A-side :”Two of You” is good but the flip “Hunting holiday” is my new favourite song.
White Lung was part of that Rifflandia punk rock night at Soprano’s with Fucked Up. I was already jealous of you SOB’s that hit that show… now twice as much. They would have been new to me then…but maybe I would have been blown away a month and half earlier and had White Lung in my life sooner.
***
My next party will be Sunday, November 11th at Lucky Bar. I am building my war chest full of bangers and modern rock remixes to be just one cog in a great machine of music.
Aegis Fang are great guys. I met them many moons ago when they were just getting started as a professional(ish) rock band and hungry to build a following.
They offered to help in anyway they could and it happened to be 24 Hour Relay for The Kids season… so they became part of the Amalgamated Team Zone.
The style of Aegis Fang might be described as a grungey blues? sure.
I immediately gravitated to a few songs I am familiar with, “Ghetto Man” and “Foot Down.”
The record plays like a gritty chill. I have it on while doing my work. Not too many highs or lows. That might not translate to pop stardom or a track showing up in a crucial scene of Grey’s Anatomy, but allows the record to be more a working class soundtrack to the day’s chores.
A song I really enjoyed comes late on the disc, “Island Life.” Hey, I live on the Island too!
I’d say this is a hard record for me to review because I’ve met Nat and Mike and Colin many times in the past and they carry themselves like such rockstars. I can’t help but smile while enjoying their passion.
Take a second and hit their MySpace and have a listen if you like a gritty, Island-hazed style of Blues music.
First day back after another fantastic 24 Hour Relay for The Kids. The Amalgamated Team Zone over came some serious setbacks and a crushing recession to pull together and raise an astonishing $8262! A big thank you to so many Zoners who came together to help send kids to camp, but especially Captain Rhaye, BC Smoke Shop, The Bulletproof Babes, and Aegis Fang.
A few highlights… well off the top, the team Wasted Talent has a Drinko Plinko board game in tent city that crushed. I enjoyed tipping pints with members of the Sharpies and The Canoe Brewpub. Wayne from the BC Smokeshop brought a keg, so that makes him a pretty special humanitarian in my world.
Allie The Zone Ranger and Bank Girl somehow managed to rally hard late, and stay up with me when it was my turn to jock the Zone @ 91-3’s water station during the witching hours of 4-7AM.
I think the key for me actually surviving the weekend and not dry heaving in my parking lot at 11 AM while unpacking; was the fact that I went home for a square dinner and a nap before coming back for the late night shenanigans.
Already, we’re talking about next year ‘round these parts. Part of me want sot form TWO teams. I don’t think Coral will be too into that idea. But I think it would be cool to have a team of athletes and kids to compete in the running aspect of the 24 Hour Relay and leave the drinking of general hippy drum circles to the Amalgamated Team Zone.
I want to call the Kids team, The Junior Zees or The Fashionable Guns. What do you think?
***
From the Emailz:
—–Original Message—–
From: Lauren [mailto:***@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, June 08, 2009 9:39 AM
To: jeremy@TheZone.fm
Subject:
Hey Jeremy,
You have to help me out! You played a song last week during my drive home, I dunno, maybe around 5ish, it was by a band called Sex Ed I thought, it is driving me crazy, they were really good but I can’t find anything on YouTube or anywhere…..I think they are from Van and he had written the songs for his girlfriend while he was in college and then they kind of got discovered when his songs got distributed somehow around his campus.
Thanks so much,
Lauren
Hey Lauren,
You’re awesome. That song/band is one of my favourites right now. From what you’re told me, I think it was Passion Pit (that’s the artist that wrote all the music for his girl while in college and he’s from Massachusetts) and the song we’re featuring on the Zone is called “The Reeling” from the record Manners.
I hope that helps. If it is incorrect, let me know and we’ll try something else or I’ll need more info.
Thank you for the email.
Rock.
Jeremy
***
And because I don’t always get it right the first time.
—–Original Message—–
From: Jaime [mailto:***]
Sent: Friday, June 05, 2009 6:26 PM
To: jeremy@TheZone.fm
Subject: Thursday’s connect three!
Hi Jeremy,
I meant to write down the name of the first song/band you played yesterday on connect three but I flailed! Can you tell me what it was? It really was epic.
Jaime
***
On Mon, Jun 8, 2009 at 12:56 PM, Jeremy Baker <Jeremy@thezone.fm> wrote:
Thank you for finding my Victoria rock internet show Capital Rock City. Lots of great music this week (just like every week right). Find Capital Rock City in the iTunes store for a free weekly subscription or use the Zone’s handy dandy RSS Feed.
I met the boys in Doc Currie last week at Logan’s opening for The CFC (not to be confused with the Couples for Christ). DC is just two just guys doing the drums and guitar thing. Lots of audio weirdness. Two was thinking they sounded like Modest Mouse, I disagreed and pulled some threads of Japanadroids out. But listening to “Eastern Shore” again on Capital Rock City… it is a little more noisy and experimental.
Aegis Fang! Lets do it, this Thursday at Sugar for Beats and Babes 2!
The good kids in Saul asked me a couple weeks ago if they could use a clip form the Zone Afternoon Show in an intro to a song on their new record. I said, “yuppers!” And now you’re hearing it on Capital Rock City. man, those were some good oranges. I still remember them. And to tie CRC 57 in to The Paper Cranes, Miranda went to Save-On and bought some oranges too.
The Racoons are on tour right now… Ontario maybe? They’ll be back in Victoria for a show at Sugar on June 12th. new ep, “Islomania” is out in Early June as well.
The “secret song” at the end of the “I’d Rather Be Sailing with” ep is a song that lead singer Matt describes as their “National sounding song.” The National are taking FOREVER to follow up Boxer, so the Racoons will have to scratch that itch for me.
That’s all I got. Thank you for downloading Capital Rock City. If you like the show, please share the fine music of Victoria with your friends and pass the link on your social networks.
I had a great night at The Clubhouse last night. Lots of Zoners came by to make request, jibber jabber about rock and roll, have birthdays, not say hi to me, and one even told how much , “she LOVES me.” Apparently I make her laugh every morning when she wakes up. SWA?
Aegis Fang are a couple might groovy fella’s who are part of the Zone’s Amalgamated Team Zone 24 Hour Relay for The Kids… Team. (psst, click the link and please donate a couple nickles… pretty please). The boys in Aegis Fang are performing Thursday, April 16th at The Cambie in Esquimalt. I’ll see you there!
Orange Aeroplane is very new to me. I can’t even find their website online right now… but Miranda of The Paper Cranes like them and she turned me onto the band, so they are good by me. Very interesting airy, melodic “indie” rock sound.
Fineas Gage are a few (or all) of the ladies from an old Vic band called Big Muff. They kinda sound like Veruca Salt.. kinda sorta… don’t they?
Greg Wolfe is another new performer. From what I can gather, it seems like Greg is still getting his songs crafted and working on building his career. He was brave enough to share a song with us on Capital Rock City and I think it sounds pretty good. Folky.
That’s all I got. Thank you for downloading… if you like the show please share the link or my blog with a friend.
The Morning After 