The Bands of OctoberDAZE
A few words about the other bands on our upcoming OctoberDAZE night:
Away Forward
So I’ve been a big fan of Mean Red Spiders for a long time. I first discovered them when they had a version of Planes, Boats and Trains that got played a bit on Much Music (Canada’s version of MTV) back in the 90s. I saw the video and fell in love, jangly/reverby guitars you could lay out and daydream into, beautiful vocals and aesthetics of the video. I had no idea who Burt Bacharach was at the time, nor did I even realize it was a cover.
At that time I naively thought they were probably rockstars living in a mansion in Forrest Hill or something with their success of getting a video on Much Music! A little bit later, I interviewed them for my ‘zine "William!" that I made in London, Ontario in maybe 97 or so. They were playing Call the Office as part of a NXNE adjacent event. They were super kind and politely explained that Much Music success was a bit of an illusion and most bands don’t actually get paid anything for playing NXNE.
Later on when I had moved to Toronto and was playing in BlueScreen we briefly shared a space with the spiders and I crossed paths a little bit over the years, but the spiders were winding down by then.
Fast forward a little bit, in 2016, Greg and Lisa from the Spiders and Andrew from Soft Copy decided to form a new band, Away Forward. The new project is definitely in the dream pop vein of the Spiders, and their perseverance shows their unwavering dedication to dream pop and love for creativity. They are so productive as a band: to date, they have put out 4 full-length records and one EP.
Afterglow (2023) and Catching the Sun (2020) are probably my favourites, but they’re all great records. Here's one of my favourite tracks: Always from their 2020 record Catching the Sun:
I can't wait to see their set with long time collaborator on lights General Chaos who did lights many times for the spiders!
Soft Set
I first met Nathan and James back while they were playing with In Support of Living. I’d often run into them around the city, at the Elmo, shows, etc. Toronto's shoegaze/dream pop scene isn't massive, you do get to know nearly everyone eventually.
Nathan and James have put together the band Soft Set and have been making some absolutely amazing music. The first EP was mixed by Mark Gardner (Ride), Mark Crozer (who toured with JAMC) played bass on a track, and Simon from Slowdive has mastered some of their records. They have two beautiful vinyl releases that are fantastic.
My favourite track: More, more, more. It's beautiful vocals and the lyrics just get you. More, more, more - It's human nature; we always want another ticket, another round, another day...More, more, more... The video was directed by Simeon Ross:
Their band now includes Ian and Matt from the Diableros and the Airfields, two bands that Fjord Rowboat played a lot of shows with over the years. Also, their band includes James Callan (aka Prepare My Glider on keys). His stuff is amazing and is on ShoreDive Records who put out the Mind your Mind compilation!
yoyoman1
Sir Veil
Sir Veil is a new project of Tyson (also formerly of the Airfields and Diableros) and Barry (ex Lipstick Machine). Expect hooks and harmonies steeped in cauldrons of psych, garage, jangle, and twang. First shows are always the best, the excitement, the nerves! - I'm totally looking forward to their set.
General Chaos Visuals
Richard Trapunski
What can I say, Steve's visuals are legendary in Toronto. You've seen his work at Wavelength and so many other shows. Some of you might remember he did visuals for BlueScreen and Fjord Rowboat shows, so it's wonderful to work with him again!
Needless to say, I’m thrilled with the line-up of bands for our first show/vinyl release. For those that live in the area, it would be lovely to see you. You can get tickets here or at the door.
