Helen Austin. 2013 JUNO nominee for Children’s album of the year.

I had the opportunity to speak with Helen about her JUNO nomination and her musical career. From moving to Canada to playing songs with her daughter to advice for artists to what she is wearing on the red carpet…I’ve got the scoop!

You're originally from the UK. What made you decide to move to Canada?

I’m married to a Canadian and we lived there for 10 years and then just one day we wanted to stop living in a big city and wanted to live somewhere pretty...and with nice people.

From reading your biography it seems like you are someone who wants to try lots of things. From being a comedian in the UK, to a folk singer-songwriter, to creating a children's album. What's next? 

Oh, I’ve got a few things next. I’m working on an EP with a guy in Cincinnati, so we’re releasing that under the band name Big Little Lions, and I recorded an album last year in LA with a guy called Bleu. He’s a producer for various people. And I think that album is coming out sometime this year, but that’s all in the hands of my publisher and record people. I like to do a lot of things. I get bored easily.

I've followed you on Facebook for a while now. I noticed that you were a bit surprised by the nomination. What does it feel like being nominated for a JUNO?

Oh, I mean it’s just… It’s a JUNO isn’t it? It’s like one of those things I never thought I’d be nominated for because...well just because you don’t. And then you get nominated and it’s like, “Wow, it’s a JUNO.” So, yeah, I was just so happy to just have that. It’s opened so many doors just to be nominated.

Heads up! This Sunday, you could be one of 1000 acoustic guitarists at Turvey Centre jamming with Jack Semple, Bob Evans, Ben Winoski, Ken Burton, and Ray Bell as part of this year's JUNO Jam. For more information, click HERE. 

GROUNDERS

Who are they, you ask? A pretty awesome band from Toronto that will be hitting up #yqr on April 14^th. During Canadian Music Week in March, Leah and Alyshia from RAGEregina.ca sat down with Mike and Evan to talk about their music and their show in Regina.

How long has the band been around?

Mike: We’ve been together for about three years now

How many GROUNDERS are there?

Mike: There’s five of us

What’s up with your new EP?

Mike: We basically put out a couple singles last June and finished it up in September. We’re really happy with how it turned out. We recorded it all in Toronto and it’s been doing pretty well. And yeah, we’re excited to play new songs that people haven’t heard before.

"It actually is a huge inconvenience," says Zachary Gray, frontman for Canadian indie rock band The Zolas. "We were only dressed for Austin weather, because we were just at SXSW before this, so...no warm clothes."

It's March in Toronto. It's minus 4 or something like that, and it's snowing sideways. Zachary Gray and bandmate Tom Dobrzanski are in town for Canadian Music Week. They're sick as dogs and the airline lost their luggage. They're sad. 

If you missed July Talk Wednesday night at The Exchange, you missed more than just a live show, you missed a musical experience.

The Danks: An indie rock band from Eastern Canada that you're going to love love love. We chatted with co-founders Alec O'Hanley (formerly of Two Hours Traffic) and Brohan Moore in Toronto this week about the upcoming album and artichoke loaves. 

The songs in the video are Automocar (which you can download for free HERE) and Die Young by The Danks.

The Underground Garage: A cozy venue that I've been told is usually impossible to get into on the weekend. Every inch of the place is surround by "things"- bras hanging over the bar, Christmas tree lights everywhere, flags from various countries and every crazy little thing you could imagine.

At 11:00 PM on March 20th, a nice crowd had gathered for Jack McNairn from Kitchener, Ontario. Four rocking, smiling, eye-catching fellows hit the stage and jammed their 40 minutes away. It was an intimate crowd and most people seemed to know the words and just wanted to be as close to the band as possible. It was so apparent that the band loved what they were doing and so did their fans.

Jack McNairn could have been playing for 30 people or 1,000 people and I think they would have rocked out just as much. Their rock-pop-blues-roots music and style seemed to hit the spot. I quite enjoyed listening to and watching them.

After doing some research, it seems like this band is growing very loyal fans instead of focusing on just the numbers. I think this is something to be looked at as very positive and something that can get lost for a lot of bands trying to make it. I would rather be part of a smaller crowd loving every moment of the music than part of a huge crowd standing still with blank faces. And eventually for Jack McNarin I think the two could be combined together for the best of both worlds. 

Anyway, check out their music if you have a few minutes. And if you ever have a chance to catch them live, I would certainly recommend seizing the opportunity.  

July Talk. If you haven't heard of this group out of Toronto, Ontario, expect to be hearing a lot about them in the coming future. Boasting one of the most unique sounds in Canada, July Talk is a one in a million band with style and attitude few can match.