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Wednesday, May 16^th Approximately 10:30PM

Vibonics just finished playing at the German Club! Fur Eel opened with a great set as usual and Sound Society is finishing the night off right.

Vibonics had a ton of soul and energy! Through their mix of strong vocals and hip hop styling’s, passion and movement was flowing all over the stage.

On Vibonic’s Music

Vibonics is a band that describes their style as “if a graffiti artist sprayed cans of rock, r&b, funk and rap music to paint a mural depicting a musical interpretation of the big bang”.

Although their style is a mix of genres, collaboration makes their music what it is.

“We build on each others’ ideas, each individual adding their own unique style and flare along the way.”.

 But by being open and diverse it is sometimes challenging to fit all the pieces together.

“There’s a lot of musical Tetris going on, making all the pieces fit, that that’s what makes it so much fun.  We've been blessed to have quality, open minded band members, both musically and in person, who contribute and push forward our collective ideas”.

On Being a Band with Six Members

Travelling with six members seems like it could be a challenge, but to the band it is a great time with friends and opportunities to experience life in different ways.

“We all take turns driving, blasting our music for the rest of the gang, and going crazy from the cabin fever of driving for dozens of hours on end. Alfred takes National Geographic documentary-style video footage of the band and Crossword snores in his sleep (fitting since he doesn't shut the fuck up when he's awake). Kubota goes crunk and twerks it out while bumping her jams, and always looks out for the band whether it's cooking a hearty plate of bacon-wrapped asparagus or supplying everyone with blocks of cocoa butter”.

Overall Summary/Recommendation

This band has a ton of flare and passion and it definitely comes across in their music. So even if you missed this band at the German Club, next time they are around (or you are somewhere around them) it would be best to see them.

Find them on BandCamp or Facebook!

Saskatoon band Reform Party are currently on tour promoting their upcoming EP and they'll be hitting up Regina on May 5th.

Reform Party is:

Kay - Vocals

Levi Soulodre - Guitar

Enver Hampton - Bass Guitar

Tallus Scott - Drums

The 4 band members have been jamming for a while together, sharing their love for punk, rock and hip hop. "The musical chemistry between the 4 of us has always been strong," said Enver Hampton, bass player. About a year ago, the band began writing songs together and released a few digitally last September. The initial 3 songs got a great response, with over 1,000 downloads in the first month. 

On their tour, the band has been playing songs off their EP, Perpetual Motion of the Modern Man, which will be out later this summer. "Our plans right now are touring regionally, plant some seeds in the prairies, then heading eastward to Ontario in June," said Hampton. 

Check out Reform Party in Regina on Saturday, May 5th at the Exchange with Tinsel Trees and Empire Choir. More info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/140269802770381/

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Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Eamon McGrath says his prairie roots have a large influence on his music. McGrath has been playing music since he hit the double digits, starting out in a punk band with his friends at age 11. Around age 16 he began writing his own songs with a “more folk or country interest”.

He moved to Toronto to pursue a more serious career in music. “It’s kind of a hub for canada,” said McGrath. “It’s a really great musical city. If you want to be a professional musician you kind of have to make the trek to Ontario unfortunately.”

McGrath is currently on tour promoting his latest album, titled Young Canadians. He recorded the album in Vancouver during 4 week-long sessions over the course of 2 years. “Eventually, at the end of it all I had an album. After all the sessions, I hand-picked the best tracks and got them mastered and called it a record.”

The album’s title is a tribute to McGrath’s patriotic spirit.  “I’ve been touring my previous record pretty much non-stop since it came out in 2010,” explained McGrath.“I was just traveling across Canada and Europe a lot and thinking about my identity as a Canadian. And thinking about how our history has been defined by moments in time that have managed to erase the distance between people. If something happens in Canada, you know people in Vancouver will feel the same thing as I might in Toronto and I think that’s a pretty neat characteristic of our country. 

“A few years ago when Canada scored that goal in vancouver for the gold medal, I kind of had this feeling at that moment in time, that that was another Canadian moment. I felt in that moment really connected to everyone across the country, no matter how far away they were geographically or culturally. 

“After that moment I picked up my guitar and wrote that song [Young Canadians], then I decided to name the record after that song and focused the album on that kind of a theme.” 

McGrath is playing with 3 different bands along the course of his tour, but in Regina he is playing a solo set. Don’t miss it at the Exchange on Sunday, May 6th. 

“It’s just a good rock and roll show,” said McGrath. “If you like art and music and you feel like you’ve got a place in Canadian history like all of us do, you should come out and listen.”

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Check out Tyler Gilbert's New Video "Break Free"

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www.tylergilbert.ca 

Regina singer/songwriter Andy Shauf is currently touring in Ontario right now for the third time. On April 19th, he’ll be back to play a homecoming show at the Exchange.

Shauf has been performing for 6 years, since right out of high school. “I started out writing really poppy, emo-ey love songs and I don’t really do that anymore,” said Shauf of his writing 6 years ago. “I’ve started to be more mature in my explanations of things that happened in my life.” 

Andy Shauf’s current musical inspirations include Elliot Smith and Wilco. “I’ve really been inspired by reading stories lately,” he added. “I’ve been writing a lot of songs that are just fictional stories.” 

Recently, at the Lazy MKs' video release, Shauf played a collaboration with the band. “I recorded that song with the Lazy MKs, it’s a song thats gonna be on my new album. They wanted to do a song together so I picked that one and they put their own spin on it.” 

Shauf’s upcoming album, an 18-song double album titled The Bearer of Bad News, will be released in the fall. Shauf’s been working on the album for almost a year and a half. “I’ve been recording it in my parents basement. I’m just about finished mixing it then it’ll get mastered then sent off to get publicized and pressed.”

He says the album will be “darker than [previous album] Darker Days. It’s a lot less poppy, it’s pretty mellow, sadder.”

"I just kinda liked how it sounded," said Shauf of the album's title, "and how it related to the subect matter of the songs. They're kind of tragedy and bad news songs." 

Playing with Shauf at his homecoming show will be Nick Faye, Jordan Klassen and comedian Jayden Pfeifer. “I thought a comedian to make people laugh between all the sad songs might be good,” said Shauf. 

Make sure to catch Andy Shauf at the Exchange on Thursday, April 19th! Tickets are $10 and the show starts at 8.