In Manitoba it’s Louis Riel day, on PEI it’s Islander Day, but In Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and it’s Family Day, so I couldn’t think of a better way to mark the occasion then with some honest-to-goodness family building time.  And whose more like a family if not the members of your band?  The folks in Nightwood certainly are embracing the spirit of the recently-enacted holiday by bonding over this week’s QBiM Q&A.  They’re the first band in ages who’ve undertaken answering the questions collectively, and I think they’re all the better off for having done so.  At the very least, it makes for the most engaging and lively Q&A of the series!

(photo: Marilis Cardinal)

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A couple week’s ago you were introduced to The Racoon Wedding here, and shortly thereafter, Scott Wilson, the band’s multi-talented multi-instrumentalist sat down and scribbled some As to our Qs so that we could get to know the Brantford, Ontario natives a bit better.  Scott tells me things are going to be quiet for the band in the next few months, but look for them to be out on the road in late spring.

(photo: Owen Cherry)

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Full disclosure here:  Man-of-many-monikers Jeff Sauder (he was always “Sauder” to me) and I have a history.  We’ve known each other since we were about six or seven, attended the same elementary and high school, rode the same bus, lived in the same area of town and demonstrated an early passion for music (although I think he had it one up on me: I loved Tears For Fears and he was a Beatlemaniac).  Sauder is the  drummer for Bronx Cheerleader, another fantastic band grown in the soil of the Niagara region, and signed to Yummy Recordings.  Their 2005 album, Tough Guy Clichés is an underrated and under-appreciated study in style and substance.  It’s been awhile since there’s been any music out of the Bronx Cheerleader camp, but Sauder and co. got in touch a few weeks back to let me know that something would be coming down the pipes soon, and I thought what better way than to re-introduce them to the QBiM cognoscenti then with a Q&A, and they to us with a QBiM Exclusive cover of Pavement’s “In The Mouth A Desert” (link below).

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Last week I told you about how I stumbled on The Ghost Is Dancing a bit too late for my liking, so I’ve been sure to make up for lost time.  A few well placed emails got me in touch with Jamie Matechuk from the band and before I knew it, I had one of the best QBiM Q&A sessions on record so far.

(photo: myspace.com)

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A few weeks back, I was all hyped up to see Rae Spoon play a great small space in downtown St. Catharines called 73 St. Paul, designed to be a creative and cultural hub for the city.  Alas, though the show went on as planned, an ill-timed cold got the better of me, and I was in a much-need medicated sleep by the time Rae took to the stage.  Thanks to the good folks at Killbeat Music, I still managed to get some As to my Qs, and put Spoon in the spotlight as this week’s QBiM Q&A artist, the first for 2010.

(photo: Daryl Malone)

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