Two shows this coming weekend!  Friday night (January 21) we’re in Hamilton at the Casbah with Hamilton’s own Sam Klass, performing a solo/loop/trip-tastic set of grand proportions; our good friends (and co-inhabitors of  SubCollective Studio) SparrowTales,  featuring Erik Peterson, Jon the Bassist  Busuttil & Subs’ David Abbey on drums, will deliver a folk-rock-dub experience  you should definitely dig; Finally, hailing from Guelph, the Ragged Bankers!  Should be a helluva night, and I heard tell of more than one birthday celebration  happening here, so the dance-floor ought to be in full swing (npi)!

Then, Saturday (January 22nd), we’re playing a full night in Guelph at the  Cornerstone.  It’s our first proper swing through Guelph, so tell your friends &  come out to support, we’d love to see some familiar faces!

2011 is shaping up to be a pretty exciting/stellar year in the SubCollective camp.  We’re all rocking side projects at the moment, Dave Reed & (albeit not as a side  project) Jesse with Satisfied  Customers, Abbey with SparrowTales and Jesse &  myself have been playin’ some Hip-Hop with Satisfied Customers’ Julian Brisbois and MCs Nate & Crayzdom under the moniker Infinity Factory.  Meanwhile, as the Subterraneans Collective, we’ve been busy writing some new material.  I’m already pretty pumped to start recording, though that’s a ways off yet.  We’ll be creeping out some previews when we play live for sure.

We’ve also got some big show announcements coming up in the near future, so keep an eye on subcollective.ca for those!  Hope to see you all this weekend!

J.

Photo Credit: Jamie Morren (http://throughjymeslookingglass.blogspot.com)

What’s shakin’ ladies & gents?

We’ve been quiet the past month or so, but rest assured we’ve been hard at work.  We’ve got some new songs coming together and some other fun in store for the upcoming cold months.  Check out our events listing where we’ll be posting the upcoming shows for October and onward.  Hamiltonians look out; we’ve got one coming up on October 16th that we’re super pumped for.  We’ll be at the Casbah opening the night for Marco Benevento, who’s celebrating the release of his new album, “Between the Needles and Nightfall” (out now).  This is gonna be one of those amazing nights you don’t want to miss out on.  Advanced tickets are available now at Dr. Disc, Shady Grove, the Casbah & online/over the phone (1-888-222-6608) from at TicketWeb.ca.  We’re also looking towards some shows in St. Catharines, Brantford and Guelph in the next little while so keep eyes for dates to come.

Some news on the album as well: This Sinking Ship was 4 weeks running on the chart at CFMU in September, as well as making the !earshot national chart in the top 150.  Huge thanks for the support at CFMU (93.3fm) & INDI 101 in Hamilton!  We’ve got the album floating around at local/college stations all over, so start making requests to hear it.

That’s all for now, stay tuned!

J.

That’s right folks! This Sinking Ship is coming to 2LP vinyl, and right now you can pre-order yourself a copy a couple of ways. If you’re in Canada, your best option is through our website ($15 cdn, shipping included); in the US, head to the Pork Records site ($13 usd, shipping included).

The double vinyl package includes a free download copy of the album (which you’ll receive while the vinyl’s being pressed), as well as three BRAND NEW unheard, unreleased & otherwise unavailable tracks. Right now is the best time to jump on this, as the price will go up in the not-too-distant future, so don’t miss out.

Photo by Jamie Morren

Whew… The long haul is finally over & This Sinking Ship is now out there in the world.  A million plus thanks to everyone who made it out to the CD release show at This Ain’t Hollywood.  All your support means the world to us, and none of this would’ve been possible without it.  Thanks also to everyone who picked up a CD, and if you didn’t you can get one right now by ordering through subcollective.ca.  There’s some awesome photos up from the party too, thanks to our friend Jamie Morren.  Keep eyes for some video and audio from the show, we’re working on pulling that stuff together as we speak.

…that said…

It’s with a heavy heart I must impart the news that Jon the Bassist has decided to end his run with the Subs.  We are all surprised and saddened to see him go, as he has been an integral part of the band since it’s inception seven years ago.  As a forming member of the original duo, Jon is by far one of the most talented musicians I’ve ever had the pleasure to create with, and he will no doubt be difficult to replace.  Truly the end of an era.

We remaining are anxious to move forward, however, and so would like you all to please welcome Jess Stone to the Collective fold.  Jesse, formerly of the Satisfied Customers, is ready and willing to step up and will be laying down the groove with us starting at the upcoming Come Together Music Festival over the May 24 weekend.  We all look forward to seeing what the future holds despite this brief misstep, and we hope you’ll continue on the ride with us.

“After all what remains, after you?”

While we’re at it, leading up to Friday, you can hear us on the radio this week, doing guest spots with Lou Molinaro (INDI 101.5 fm, Wednesday at 3:30pm) & Ric Taylor (CFMU 93.3 fm Friday between 5 & 8pm).

Also, this coming Saturday is the Sky Dragon’s 4th annual MayDay Festival, where we (the original four-piece lineup) will be performing an entirely improvised instrumental set.  Not even we’re entirely sure what to expect, but it’ll be groovy as all get out, that is for sure.  Confirmed acts so far include: Nilla (Canada’s finest female MC), Rackula, Sarah Marlowe, Steve Sinnicks, Teal Booth, Dave Gould, Katie Caron, Better Homes for Meaner People, Boreal Plains, The Human Race, Blue Bottle Flyers, La Bella Union and Little Silver Tabby.  Come down for the whole day and check out the happenings along King William Street.  The festival starts at 10am and rolls on until about 11pm.  For more info you can visit Sky Dragon’s Website.

More info on This Sinking Ship’s availability will follow throughout the week.  In the meantime, you can hear the whole album on our webpage or find it on Grooveshark as well.

Dig.

Cheers.

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Hello Friends,

Apologies for the lateness of this update, and many thanks to everyone
who came out to the meeting held last Sunday at the Sky Dragon
Centre. Your concern, passion, emotion and ideas were invaluable, and
the meeting went a long way toward buoying the spirits of Coop members
and supporters. Thanks also to all those people who have phoned and
emailed with suggested solutions and offers of support. These
communications have been warmly received, and every suggestion is
being considered in turn (there’s a lot of them!).

The situation as it stands is that the Coop is still looking for a
first mortgage, in the amount of $270,000. In addition, the Coop
needs help with some expenses concerning building appraisal, legal and
accounting fees. The deadline for Teacher’s pulling the mortgage
remains April 18th, which is a tight timeline.

Presented at the meeting on Sunday was the idea that the Coop needs to
undergo structural changes in order to ensure its long-term financial
viability, to improve its effectiveness, and to better involve the
community. These changes involve modifying the Coop model and opening
it up to different stakeholder groups, including community members and
partner organizations. This process will take months to complete, but
it needs to start now.

The most significant next step in the campaign will be a larger, more
structured community meeting. At this meeting, the Coop’s vision and
operating history will be presented in detail, along with the
structural challenges it has faced and continues to face. Coop board
members will explain the various aspects of the Sky Dragon project,
and reveal a plan for its renewal, growth and sustainability. Most
importantly, community members will be asked to contribute their ideas
and to help the board collectively generate solutions.

Immediately, the Save the Dragon Campaign could use the following
help:

1) A $270,000 first mortgage (provided by one person, ten people, 20
people, etc….)

2) Pro-bono legal and accounting help

3) Financial Donations (we will be confirming their status for
charitable receipts shortly)

4) Help putting up posters and handing out flyers for the Community
Meeting

5) Help disseminating update emails

6) Volunteer help for upcoming events, including the May 1st Mayday
Festival, the April 17th & 19th Halton Eco-Fest, and other Centre
projects as needed

7) Tangible ways in which the Coop can be supported (know anyone who
wants to buy some locally roasted Fair Trade / Organic Coffee? ☺)

8) Becoming a member of the new Coop! (details TBA at the Community
Meeting)

If you are able to help with any of the above items, please don’t
hesitate to contact the Coop. We will return your email or pone
message as quickly as we are able.

Right now some of the most important things you could do are to tell
as many people as you can about the event below, try to come out to it
yourself, or volunteer to help organize it. We need folks to help us
set up the event and promote it, artists to decorate it, musicians to
play at it, and volunteers to help it run…

Save the Dragon

Monday March 29
Ricca’s Furniture Building
228 James St. North, Hamilton

7 pm to 9 pm

Presentations by Sky Dragon boardmembers, community consultation, art, music, refreshments. All are invited, all voices welcome.