CD Release & MayDay Festivities

The time is near, folks.  Our album, This Sinking Ship, will be available as of Friday, April 30th!  The party is going down the same night at This Ain’t Hollywood, where we’ll be taking the stage alongside the Fat Cats.  A lot of work went into this album, it was entirely self-produced, recorded, mixed and mastered at SubCollective Studio.  The rest of this week will see us folding and gluing like there’s no tomorrow (’cause there may not be, dammit…) in preparation for the party.  We hope everyone who’s able will make it out to help us celebrate, we’re all pretty damn pumped that we’ve finally gotten to this point.

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.

Save the Sky Dragon

Below is a message sent to members of Sky Dragon’s Facebook Group, please take a moment to have a look & see if you can offer any of the support they’re in need of… It would be a damn shame to lose another part of the arts community in Hamilton’s Downtown.

Cheers.

————————————————————–|

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.

Mayday

Big thanks out to Kevin & all at Sky Dragon/Mayday Magazine for putting together another great day!

I myself got there just before Ijo Vudu Dance group got started.  If you missed it, these folks had half the street moving (in near unison) along to their beat.

There were plenty of other performers throughout the day, including the Human Race (a one man noise machine), Weakgenes, Lee Reed, & the Rhyme Travellers, which features our friend & & collective member, Nate (aka MC Unudun).

Alongside the music, there was live mural painting (which was awesome to watch evolve), as well as some scattered art throughout the street.  

The Subterraneans closed off the night (and would’ve kept going if they hadn’t wanted to take the stage down from under us).  Thanks to the crowd that stuck around right to the end, and to Undun & Lefspek from the Rhyme Travellers for helping us out on a couple songs!

There are plenty more photos from the day (though none of the band, so if you’ve got some let us know!), you can dig at thesubterraneans.ca or see all of them on our Facebook Page.

We should have download cards by the end of the day, so if you’d like to get a copy of our (likely) last show at the Pepper Jack Café, come out to our next show and get yourself one!  We’ll be offering them out on a pay-what-you’re-able basis, so please help us out as best you can, and I’ll get Abbey to hug you.  If you’re outside the area, but would still like a download, email us at thesubterraneansmusic@gmail.com and we’ll sort out a reasonably simple solution (we hope to have online purchasing directly on the website soon).

We got two more songs recorded last night, so we’re that much closer to having an album proper.  Lot’s of work to do yet, but it’s starting to come together…

Dig.

Hamilton’s Mayday Street Festival Info

Below is the full info for the Mayday Festival in Hamilton, next Saturday.  The Subterraneans will be closing the festivities with a full hour of music, including a special guest (or two).  Come out, enjoy the day.  Lots of art, music and good times!

Dig:

MAYDAY STREET FESTIVAL
DATE: Saturday May 2
LOCATION: King William St. (between James St N and Hughson St N)
11 am to 11 pm
Join us for the third annual celebration of Mayday: A Festival of Liberation. King William Street is closed down for the day and musicians, artists, community organizations and more take over. All are welcome to this free celebration of arts and social justice. A children’s play area and Bouncy Castle make the day fun for families, while good music, good food and informative displays and workshops offer something for everyone. The Mayday Festival asks us to imagine a planet free from poverty, war, discrimination and environmental destruction. Lets come together to envision this better world in the streets of Hamilton! The incredible lineup of performers includes: International Hip Hop sensation Lee Reed, the Subterraneans, Steve Sinnicks, the Rhyme Travelers, Teal Booth, Montreal Jazz Chamberlain, The Human Race, Ijo Vudu Dance Company, Rose Gowling, Heidi-Ann Crocini, Dave Gould, Sean Park, Weakgenes, and more! Check www.skydragon.org for updates.

Performance schedule:

11am-11:30am: First Nations Opening

11:45am-12:30pm: Montreal Jazz Chamberlain

12:40-1:10: Brandon (Irish Music)

1:20-1:50: Bucky & Dan

2:00-2:50: Ijo Vudu Dance

3-3:30: Rose Gowling & Heidi Ann

3:35-4:05: the Human Race

4:10-4:40: Lea Beauvais

4:50-5:20: Weakgenes

5:50-6:30: Rhyme Travellers & Guest

6:40-7:20: Steve Sinnicks

7:35-8:05: Rose Gowling & Heidi Ann

8:10-8:50: Teal Booth

9-9:50: Lee Reed

10:05-11: the Subterraneans