ARTIST AND INDUSTRY NEWS THE BUZZ


THE SUNSET KIDS’ video “Brave” was nominated for Indepen- dent Music Video at the 2016 Hollywood Music in Media - Visual Me- dia Awards. The HMMAs were held in Hollywood on November 17/16 (www.thesunsetkids.ca).


With a showcase at Reeperbahn 2016, POOR NAMELESS BOY’S “Leave Myself Behind” was added to the Winter Chilloud playlist on Spotify Deutschland, and has achieved 425,000+ streams! (www.poornamelessboy.com)


Singer/songwriter LISA MOEN from Outlook SK released a new single and video, “All I Ask Of You,” in Novem- ber. Lisa wrote this song hoping to in- spire others to never give up on their dreams, no matter the challenges life throws at you. “All I Ask Of You” follows up Lisa’s last three self-penned radio singles - “Silly Boys, Trucks Are For Girls”(#1 released song on DMDS the day


of release), “Testdrive” (#3 on DMDS the day after release) and “Before Sundown,” as well as 6 singles released with her previous band BULL- RUSH. Tracks were recorded and produced by CCMA and SCMA Award Winner Bart McKay (www.lisamoen.com).


NATURAL SYMPATHIES debuted first electro-pop single, “All Wrong,” followed by “Space Invaders.” Natural Sympathies is the first solo effort of Amber Goodwyn (Cobra & Vulture, Nightwood). Trading her former guitar music for low-fi pared-down pop ditties, it’s is an eclectic mix of playful vocal harmonies, urgent lyrics, old school drum machines, elemental percussion, organ and synth. An EP is forth- coming (https://naturalsympathies.bandcamp.com).


JOHNNY 2 FINGERS & THE DEFORMITIES hit the road for their first ever Eastern Canadian tour in October-November, with 19 shows over 24 days. They kicked things off in Winni- peg MB and headed as far east as Mon- treal QC. This February-March, they’re heading the other way with dates in AB and BC. They released a live video for “McMillan’s Monster,” shot by Saska-


toon’s Little Jack Films at the 2016 Ness Creek Festival. The group has recently received press on Vice, Saskatoon’s Star Phoenix, and numer- ous Saskatchewan blogs. Their latest album, “McMillan’s Monster,” made SaskMusic’s Top 10 Best Albums of 2015 and was described as “a delight” by Vice. “Right now, there’s a guitarist from Moose Jaw who might be the saviour of Saskatchewan guitar rock. And he’s missing a bunch of his fingers…. Johnny 2 Fingers & the Deformities take their cues from southern-fried boogie rock and infuse it with a boozy belt of punk rock for good measure.” - Ominocity. 2016 was a great year - with shows at MosoFest,Ness Creek Music Festival, and Gateway Festival. They have shared the stage with The Pack AD, The Wooden Sky, Moon Tan, The Mayhemingways, Megan Nash, Fred Penner and Public Animal (ww.johnny2fingers.com).


WWW.SASKMUSIC.ORG


The SASKATOON MUSICIANS’ ASSOCIATION, Local 553 of the Canadian Federation of Musicians, awarded James Hodges with their first Special Recognition Award for distinguished contributions to the professional arts. It was presented on, Octo- ber 6 at the Saskatoon Musicians’ Association Gala Showcase at The Bassment. The award recognizes Mr. Hodge’s dedicated work as an agent, impresario, manager and volunteer board member to the pro- fessional music, drama and dance communities over the past four decades. As the owner of Crosstown Entertainment and Roadside Attractions, Hodges was co-producer of the first few Sundog Pleasure Faires, and sat on the management team for Saskatoon’s first Fringe Festival. He presented many professional dance events and acted as prairie publicist for the Royal Winnipeg, National and other Cana- dian ballet companies. As a business manager, James is perhaps best known as the manager of Streetnix, one of Saskatchewan’s most suc- cessful musical acts. He also brought national and international stars to Saskatoon. In addition to his arts-business ventures, Hodges con- tinues to be both a knowledgeable and valuable advocate for profes- sional artists and organizations, and currently serves on the board of the Saskatchewan Arts Alliance.


SLOW DOWN MOLASSES and RESPECTFULCHILD made the journey from Saskatoon to Montreal to wow eardrums at internationally respected festival POP Montreal. Exclaim.ca noted about SDM’s new album, “There’s a ram- bunctiousness throughout that makes 100% Sunshine feel vital and relevant - no small feat for a decade-old band. More importantly, Slow Down Molasses face existential dread head-on here, shaking their fists at the void and clinging tightly to the warmest parts of this life.” Weird Canada described respectfulchild’s music, “A voice warming distant like prairie sundogs, trickle beats like footsteps rippling around grasp- ing holes. Not all loops return to where they began, some pull up- ward.” (www.slowdownmolasses.com, https://respectfulchild.com).


HUNTER BROTHERS’ first single “El Dorado” was created with the stellar production skills of Brad Rempel (High Valley), Grammy award-winning producer Seth Mosley and Michael “X” O’Connor. Their follow up single, “Long Way to Love You,” an upbeat track about long distance love, was a Top 40 radio hit


late last year. Since their explosive launch, the Shaunavon-based brothers have been performing live acoustic sets on radio stations and television spots, sharing their versatile harmonies and soulful sound across the country. They’ve also become known for their unparalleled ability to create song parody videos – with their most recent attempt, “The Tractor Got Stuck” gaining more than 1.5 million organic views on Facebook. Their brand new single and video “Getaway” goes to country radio and digital outlets on February 17. Their highly-antici- pated debut album (also titled “Getaway”) drops March 3 digitally with CDs available March 17 (www.hunterbrothers.com).


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