“We weren’t necessarily going for an animal name,” Bison BC co-guitarist/ co-vocalist James Farwell tells me when I ask about the name Bison. “We’d tossed around these Godawful made up words - ‘what looks good in a good metal fo...
Minto Climbs Olympus by Matt Hagarty
It's any young band's dream to record an album with such a marquee name as Steve Albini's. Recording with the famed sound engineer/pundit responsible for output from Nirvana, Superchunk, The Stooges,...
Interview with Dope Soda was done in June, 2012 by D'Arcy Briggs
Ska Fest: When and where do you guys meet? When did you decide to form the band?
Dope Soda: Well Dope Soda was a project I have been wanting to do for a v...
Critical comments by various curators and interviewers of artist Brandy Saturley
It always does me proud to discover a local band making quality music that's true to the landscape of this varied terrain. Rocky, cool, stormy, eclectic, thoughtful and laid back, these words only begin to describe the Parlour Steps sound. ...
Interview with RMRM done in October, 2012 by D'Arcy Briggs
Ska Fest: So first off, RMRM have become known as one of the region's best ska, reggae, and party bands. What were some of the original ideas behind the group and how would yo...
Merchandise sales are essential for touring artists, and a new program will give them a bigger slice of the pie.
When I last interviewed Vancouver punks the Rebel Spell, I was surprised to discover that, long before the band had formed, their singer and principal lyricist Todd Serious knew the Subhumans’ Gerry Hannah. Stepha and Todd were living in ...
Interview with The Delirians done in June, 2012 by D'Arcy Briggs
Ska Fest: When and where did you guys meet? When did you decide to form the band?
Delirians: Most of us, like many other bands, grew up in the punk rock scene, ...
Cambridge has been prominent in the Vancouver punk scene since late 2005. Tour is nothing new to them; this is their second cross-Canada run. The first one went quite well up until a breakdown in Brandon, Manitoba caused them to miss some s...