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BALCONYTV TORONTO IS BROUGHT TO YOU IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE UNDERGROUND GARAGE
PRESENTED BY NOEL COPEMAN
http://www.indieweek.com
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2011 East Coast Music Award Nominees for "Fan Choice Entertainer of the Year", Alert The Medic is a four piece rock band from Halifax, Nova Scotia, whose anthemic sound and high energy performances have been captivating audiences everywhere. Alert The Medic's sophomore album, "We, the weapon", received 2010 Music Nova Scotia Award Nominations for Group Recording of the Year and Pop/Rock Artist/Group Recording of the Year as well as 2010 East Coast Music Award Nominations for Sirius Satellite Rock Recording of the Year and Vibe Creative Group Single of the Year for "Atlas", the debut release from the album. "Atlas" achieved national rotation for over 14 weeks and cracked Mediabase's Top 50 Active Rock Canadian Charts. The album continues to break new ground, charting on college radio stations from coast to coast. In 2010, Alert The Medic performed at the JunoFest celebrations in St. John's, Newfoundland, alongside fellow rockers The Arkells and Hollerado, and garnered a coveted spot on the Music Nova Scotia Week Gala Awards Show stage in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

"We, the weapon" is Alert The Medic's highly anticipated follow up to their 2006 Self-Titled debut. This album is nothing, if not forceful. A dynamic display of infectious melodies and passionate performances; driven only by their collective rock tendencies. Fueled by childhood MTV propaganda and the beckoning bright lights of their nearby Halifax metropolis, these former rural rockers are determined to fill the map with thumbtack holes.

In 2006, Alert the Medic joined forces with talented Producer Laurence Currie (Sloan, Wintersleep). The first single off this Self-Titled project, "Reported Missing" climbed to #1 on East Coast Radio and garnered the group national attention. 2008 saw Award Nominations from both the ECMA and Music Nova Scotia, including CBC's coveted Galaxie Rising Star of the Year and, with the welcomed addition of guitarist Troy Arseneault, Alert the Medic began pre-production for their sophomore album. The year was capped off with the D250 Rollercoaster Tour with Ill Scarlett and appearing as the special quest of Our Lady Peace at Center 200 in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

In the spring of 2009, Alert the Medic temporarily relocated to Toronto and rejoined Currie to create, "We, the weapon" - the next installment in their collection. Toronto provided inspiration in the most unlikely of places - culture, history, people and poverty, overthrown by an endless skyline and glimpses of beauty, all tangled within a concrete jungle. These experiences were pivotal in the development of Alert the Medic's unique sound. "We, the weapon" is an excellent representation of big city claustrophobia and small town frustration, citing that somewhere in-between there is always room for another voice. Songs such as "Let's Hear It For the Symphony" and "The Wound That Won't Heal", call on the youth of the world to stand up and be counted, while "The Weatherman (pt.2)" presents a haunting tone, finding the lack of light at the end of the tunnel.

Alert the Medic's blue-collared approach to touring and compelling live performances make them a stand out on the East Coast music scene.

http://www.alertthemedic.com
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BALCONYTV TORONTO IS BROUGHT TO YOU IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE UNDERGROUND GARAGE
PRESENTED BY NOEL COPEMAN
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In their 12 years together as a band, The Junction have experienced all facets of the music industry, from rising suburban pop/rock experimentalists to major-label up-and-comers and back to DIY indie rockers blazing their own trail. The Toronto-based trio have established a consistent, anthemic rock sound that can only come from highly-developed cohesion and an unbridled joy of music.

Their third in a series of EPs, And With This Comes Tomorrow, caught the attention of Universal Music in 2005, who quickly signed them to a record deal. Their consequent self-titled 2007 major label debut was praised among fans, but didn't translate to the degree the label had hoped. Combined with a desire for sovereignty, the band decided to regain control and start their own label, The Junction Inc.

Being an independent band hasn't held the Junction back. They've since released a successful sophomore LP, Another Link In The Chain (2009), praised by the Torontoist as "a fitting addition to a catalogue that documents the band's old-fashioned, hard-earned place in the city's—and the country's—independent music consciousness," and ChartAttack.com, who predicted that "the Junction could very well become one of the country's best pop bands." They've also toured across Canada several times, including a prestigious performance at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, while their songs have appeared on Hockey Night in Canada and in heavy rotation on MuchMusic.

The Junction are gearing up to release their third LP, Grievances, on March 6, 2012. The album closely trails an emotionally taxing episode for Brent Jackson, who ended a seven-year relationship right before the recording of the album and has since lived "homeless", camping out on friends couches and living on the road. Though the experience heavily informed his songwriting, Grievances is not a "breakup record". Instead, it's a musical examination of universal human pathos in all its forms -- brightness and love, but also detachment and heartbreak -- a consequence of Jackson's ongoing "quest for the real".

Recorded in Montreal with acclaimed producers Gus Van Go and Werner F (The Stills, Hollerado, Priestess), Grievances displays the chemistry and maturity that Jackson, Taylor, and Jameson have developed over more than a decade. Poignant, direct songwriting intersects with bouncy, feet-moving arrangements, while textured production recalls the evocative sonic ambience of Radiohead and Portishead. Newly-recruited second guitarist/vocalist Marcus Wong joins the Junction to fill out that depth in concert.

"It really feels like a clean slate for us," says Jameson. "Without the burden of external expectations or fear, it allowed us complete artistic freedom. The relationships were already established, ideas were flying in the studio and it just felt like pure comfort."

http://www.thejunction.ca

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Rugged, raspy, and roaring with charisma, Halifax's Ben Caplan is to folklore what smoke is to bourbon. Perfectly coupled. Ben's songwriting is as bold in range as it is in ferocity. Fuelled by a quality of melodrama and powerful lyricism, it's the romance and the manhood crashing with his voice that gives Caplan a truly innovative and experimental artistry. A sound that bridges the gap between controlled composition and unruly passion.

Striding in pace with gypsy-inspired strings amid the sultry tones of clarinet and saxophone, Caplan has marked his place in the Canadian music landscape with a growling spirit similar to that of Tom Waits. Caplan's tours have extended throughout the Commonwealth, the rhapsodic energy in his live show an elegant cacophony gaining attention around the world. Breaking between guitar, banjo, piano, and melodica, Caplan's stage show is almost reminiscent of a burly and bearded Freddy Mercury; a raging, strong, and exploratory songwriter, it's the blues in his soul, and the heart in your chest pounding as one that makes Ben Caplan & The Casual Smokers an unmissable act.

The music of Ben Caplan & The Casual Smokers is diverse, ranging from poetic ballads to frenetic gypsy anthems, but even when the band delivers the roughest of bar room stomps, there is a surprising depth and musicianship to the songs. Expressive percussion, upright bass, violin, sax, clarinet, flute, and terrific use of call and response sing-along choruses all help Caplan & The Casual Smokers stand out from the masses influenced by the same sounds.

http://www.bencaplan.ca

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BALCONYTV TORONTO IS BROUGHT TO YOU IN ASSOCIATION THE UNDERGROUND GARAGE
PRESENTED BY NOEL COPEMAN
http://www.undergroundgarage.ca

Filmed during Canadian Music Fest 2012!

Visit Michael's website! http://www.ilovembf.com

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