Rockanagan ’08 is here.

Friday and Saturday night you can see over 40 bands playing at 6 downtown Kelowna venues. A two-day pass costs only $30 but MUST BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE thru Hemp City (526A Bernard Avenue, Kelowna – 250 868 3088).

Tickets will be exchanged for a 2-day wristband at the door of any participating venue. Anyone not purchasing a weekend pass at Hemp City prior to the festival must pay a $10 cover charge at each venue for both Friday and Saturday.

6 Downtown Kelowna Venues – Sturgeon Hall, O’Flannigan’s Pub, The Grateful Fed Deli, Doc Willoughby’s, The Fintry Queen & Christopher’s Restaurant

Look who’s coming to Town!

Ali Milner
Atre Este
Basic
Bardo
Brittany Kalesnikoff
Break the Pattern
Cannibass
Chris Gheran
Closing Iris
Cold Driven
Danny Echo
Drunk and Pretending
Fields of Green
Grizz Lee
Gorgeous Priceless
Happy
Inkblot
JGirl
Joseph Blood & the Bluetick Hounds
Justin Hale
Kevin and Devon
Kim McMechan
Lead Pipe Cinch
Lefty
Liquor Store Warm
Marko Azul
Missing Starla
Mr. Feely and the Touch
Napalm Willy
Olga Osipova
One Bullet Resolution
Random Robbery
Redfish
Sadie Donovan
Shattered Tone
Smoking 45s
Souljah Fyah
Stonecrow
Tabitha
Whiskey Dick

with Black Lungs & Johnny Traunt
Advance Tickets: $12
Doors at 7pm

The Cancer Bats have come to destroy. Fueled by a burning desire to rage harder, play louder and have more fun than any other band, Cancer Bats mix hardcore, southern metal, and punk rock into a lethal rock and roll explosion.

The band originated in May of 2004 with singer Liam Cormier and guitarist Scott Middleton, former member of Toronto metal band At The Mercy Of Inspiration. The two wanted to form a project that combined their favorite parts of bands like Refused, Black Flag, Led Zeppelin and Down, among others. The line-up was rounded out with the addition of Andrew McCracken on bass and Mike Peters on drums.

The four-piece wasted no time writing and recording songs for a self-released demo that saw light in January of 2005 (later reissued on Oct 31 2005 on vinyl by Tragicomedy Records). Determined to spread the gospel of rage and get its music heard, the Cancer Bats spent the next year touring extensively all over North America with bands such as Every Time I Die, Nora, Alexisonfire, Haste the Day, It Dies Today, Comeback Kid, A Life Once Lost, The Bled, Misery Signals and This Is Hell. Show after show, from coast to coast, the Cancer Bats, whose explosive live shows inspire floor punching, windmills, and arm spinning, had begun to establish their own devoted legion of fans.

With the hellacious buzz about the Cancer Bats fuelling across North America, the band unleashed its highly anticipated debut album ‘Birthing the Giant’ on the most evil day in history 06/06/06, on Distort Inc. (home to Alexisonfire). Produced by award winning Canadian producer Gavin Brown (Three Days Grace, Billy Talent) the album featured bold, infectious riffage that peaked the interest of audiences and press across the globe. With critical acclaim resonating from all sides of the planet, the year following the debut release saw the Cancer Bats fly to the top of the Hardcore Punk scene. From signing licensing deals with Hassle in the UK and Shock in Australia, to winning the Favourite Hardcore/Metal Group of the year at the 2007 Indie Awards and Best Independent Video at the 2007 MuchMusic Video Awards, the world had started to take notice of Canada’s favourite flying mammals.

‘Hail Destroyer’ is the Cancer Bats sophomore studio release. Co-produced by Eric Ratz (Big Sugar, Theory Of A Dead Man, Billy Talent), Kenny Luong (Billy Talent), and Greg Below (Alexisonfire) and recorded at Vespa Studios, the album features an edgier, much heavier, and finely tuned collection of songs. From the punchy opening riff of the title track “Hail Destroyer” right to the melodic outro of “Zed’s Dead, Baby,” the Cancer Bats do not disappoint. Integrating more Punk, Stoner Rock, Metal, and Hardcore into the mix and taking a much more introspective approach than its predecessor, ‘Hail Destroyer’ sees the Cancer Bats taking their musicianship to a whole new level. Lead singer Liam Cormier’s heated vocals and heavily personal lyrics keep the energy high throughout the album, while axe-wielding Scott Middleton’s electrifying solos and shredding riffs make you want to rock out like never before. Throw in Mike Peter’s rhythmic ferocity and you have an album that will leave you salivating for more.

If you caught Vancouver’s Hey Ocean at the Center of Gravity festival, or at Doc Willoughby’s this year, you caught a great live band you are destine for great things.

They’re coming back to Kelowna, and playing with Shad at the Well at UBC-O on September 27th.

the bio:
Often described as one of Canada’s best up-and-coming talents, Hey Ocean is a young band with a remarkable talent for blending various musical styles into a brand of infectious pop that is uniquely their own.

The beautiful melodies and clever lyrics of singers Ashleigh Ball and David Beckingham have been described as both poetic and thought provoking, however it is apparent that these two play off each other effortlessly. The duo – who have had a long-standing musical relationship – are joined by the wildly energetic David Vertesi on bass and the groove-obsessed Daniel Klenner on drums. Together, they have created a musical repertoire that cannot be ignored.

What began as a very casual musical partnership on the beaches of Costa Rica, has now morphed into one of Canada’s most successful independent bands. Their rapid success can be attributed to their do-it-yourself attitude, which has recently helped build their self-owned label, Pop Machine.

Often described as one of Canada’s best up-and-coming talents, Hey Ocean is a young band with a remarkable talent for blending various musical styles into a brand of infectious pop that is uniquely their own.

The beautiful melodies and clever lyrics of singers Ashleigh Ball and David Beckingham have been described as both poetic and thought provoking, however it is apparent that these two play off each other effortlessly. The duo – who have had a long-standing musical relationship – are joined by the wildly energetic David Vertesi on bass and the groove-obsessed Daniel Klenner on drums. Together, they have created a musical repertoire that cannot be ignored.

What began as a very casual musical partnership on the beaches of Costa Rica, has now morphed into one of Canada’s most successful independent bands. Their rapid success can be attributed to their do-it-yourself attitude, which has recently helped build their self-owned label, Pop Machine.

Having shared the stage with the likes of Bedouin Soundclash, Xavier Rudd, Sarah Harmer and Wintersleep, their onstage charisma and playful demeanor continue to capture the hearts of listeners – both young and old. Recent performances include appearances at Calgary Virgin Festival, Saskatoon Jazz Festival and Whistler Arts Festival.

When asked what fans can expect from Hey Ocean’s sophomore release – It’s Easier to Be Somebody Else – Ashleigh Ball, the band’s lead vocalist candidly replies “A bunch of songs that sound nothing alike. However, they will be unmistakably Hey Ocean”. Continuously leaving fans in awe, Hey Ocean combines sheer talent, charismatic songs, and an undeniably energetic live show, making them a must see band for 2008.

Briana Stewart with Treelight Room and Gorgeous Priceless.

Even early on in life, Briana Stewart had the right tools to become a solid singer songwriter and performer. At the age of three, she began her classical training in piano that would carry her into her teens. By the time she entered her early 20’s, Stewart also found herself dabbling in poetry and began absorbing a strong blues influence in such artists as BB King, Otis Redding & Billie Holiday. With this new found passion in the blues, she began to translate this skill for poetic writing and being able to pick melodies out of thin air, into song.

And once the material started taking form, everything just rolled along and led quickly into recording at Bugbear Studios in Vancouver. After only a few months of hard work, she has managed to finish her self-produced debut album ‘Hero of Fools’.

Through the wonders of Craigslist, Briana managed to find Trevor Saunders and the creative connection was instantaneous! They are continually collaborating on new songs & performing at live venues all around Metro Vancouver. With the recent addition of Jeremy Boston (bass) and Brad Dirks (drums) – they are set to take their music to the next level. You can expect big things from this dynamic foursome in the near future.

Saturday night (Sept. 6th) at the Grateful Fed, Vancouver’s Crimson Roots.

The music of Crimson Roots is created by the trio comprised of Aaron Marsh on the skins, William Duplain on six strings and Dustan Toth on four strings and throat. In the dying moments of 2007 a young man walked down the stairs to a basement lair that would make the average man tremble. Just as the stench of rock began to dance in his nostrils a sudden movement from out of the shadows caught his eye. It was hard to say which hit him first, the soulful cry that this stranger’s instrument put forth or the gleaming and radiant beauty of the guitar he so nobly held. Before he could catch his breath from this first assault he was overwhelmed and taken over by a driving powerful beat which slowly grew and grew until, at a point when he could take no more, the cymbals erupted and triggered an explosion of force. The walls seemed to fall and colors swirled all around his head dashing here and darting there. In pure euphoria he plugged in his bass guitar and screamed with all the love and hate within him. As the three warriors pillaged the vaults of creativity within their minds the hours slipped by and then the days and when they simply could not go on… they stopped, took a break and had soup, steak, and a cigarette.

Saturday night (Sept. 6th) at the Grateful Fed, Vancouver’s Crimson Roots.

The music of Crimson Roots is created by the trio comprised of Aaron Marsh on the skins, William Duplain on six strings and Dustan Toth on four strings and throat. In the dying moments of 2007 a young man walked down the stairs to a basement lair that would make the average man tremble. Just as the stench of rock began to dance in his nostrils a sudden movement from out of the shadows caught his eye. It was hard to say which hit him first, the soulful cry that this stranger’s instrument put forth or the gleaming and radiant beauty of the guitar he so nobly held. Before he could catch his breath from this first assault he was overwhelmed and taken over by a driving powerful beat which slowly grew and grew until, at a point when he could take no more, the cymbals erupted and triggered an explosion of force. The walls seemed to fall and colors swirled all around his head dashing here and darting there. In pure euphoria he plugged in his bass guitar and screamed with all the love and hate within him. As the three warriors pillaged the vaults of creativity within their minds the hours slipped by and then the days and when they simply could not go on… they stopped, took a break and had soup, steak, and a cigarette.

Loose Change Trio is a vancouver based Soul/Funk band that is touring across Canada with a show in Kelowna at Doc Willoughby’s on Friday Sept. 19th.

Breaking the boundaries of traditional soul, the Loose Change Trio (LCT)
creates a vintage sound fusing jazz and funk with a genre defying
theatrical influence. LCT has been featured on the Vancouver television
show “Urban Rush”, completed two tours across Western Canada, performed
live on UBC radio, and had their song “Enough Said” featured as the song
of the day on CBC radio 3. They were also featured on Lisa Christensen’s
segment “Hidden Talent” on CBC radio 1. Not to mention the many music
festivals.

Loose Change Trio is a vancouver based Soul/Funk band that is touring across Canada with a show in Kelowna at Doc Willoughby’s on Friday Sept. 19th.

Breaking the boundaries of traditional soul, the Loose Change Trio (LCT)
creates a vintage sound fusing jazz and funk with a genre defying
theatrical influence. LCT has been featured on the Vancouver television
show “Urban Rush”, completed two tours across Western Canada, performed
live on UBC radio, and had their song “Enough Said” featured as the song
of the day on CBC radio 3. They were also featured on Lisa Christensen’s
segment “Hidden Talent” on CBC radio 1. Not to mention the many music
festivals.