News

Becky and Maya of The Pack a.d. are loading up their new van, named HAL, and bracing themselves for the tour of a lifetime! To commemorate the September 13th release of Unpersons, they'll be playing 40+ shows over three months. Be sure to check them out, and buy them a beer. Those girls work hard!

To satiate your appetite for Unpersons, we've posted "Sirens" from the new record here.

As gritty and intoxicating as ever, Maya Miller and Becky Black pound punk and garage rock into a fuzzy pulp.“Sirens” lures you in with that snarl and keeps you planted until the drums have burned solidly through your skull. - RCRD LBL

Sept 03 - KEXP session, Seattle, WA (will be airing at a later date)

Sept 10 - Fresh U Jamboree, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB
Sept 12 - The Alibi, Arcata, CA
Sept 13 - Streetlight Records, San Jose, CA (afternoon show, all ages)
Sept 13 - Hemlock Tavern, San Francisco, CA
Sept 14 - The Crepe Place, Santa Cruz, CA

Sept 15 - Hypnotic Lounge, Las Vegas, NV

Sept 16 - Soma, San Diego, CA
Sept 17 - Whisky a Go-Go, West Hollywood, CA (with LA Guns)
Sept 18 - TBA, Las Vegas, NV
Sept 19 - The Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
Sept 20 - The Badlander, Missoula, MT
Sept 21 - Mootsy's, Spokane, WA

Sept 23 - OLIO Music Festival - Vancouver, BC
Sept 24 - Rifflandia Music Festival, Victoria, BC
Sept 26 - Habitat, Kelowna, BC (with guests Sun Wizard)
Sept 27 - Republik, Calgary, AB (with guests Sun Wizard)
Sept 28 - The Pawn Shop, Edmonton, AB (with guests Sun Wizard)
Sept 29 - Louis' Pub, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK (with guests Sun Wizard)
Sept 30 - Lo Pub, Winnipeg, MB (with guests Sun Wizard)

Oct 01 - The Aquarium, Fargo, ND
Oct 02 - Hell's Kitchen, Minneapolis, MN

Oct 03 - Bayport BBQ, Bayport, MN
Oct 04 - Vaudeville Mews, Des Moines, IA
Oct 05 - OFF Minor, Dubuque, IA
Oct 06 - Daytrotter Session Recording - Rock Island, IL
Oct 06 - The Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL

Oct 07 - Call The Office, London, ON (with Hollerado)
Oct 08 - Casbah, Hamilton, ON (with Hollerado)
Oct 09 - The Mansion, Barrie, On (with Hollerado)
Oct 10 - Mansion House, St. Catharines, ON
Oct 12 - Market Hill, Peterborough, ON (with Hollerado)
Oct 13 - The Mansion, Kingston, ON (with Hollerado)
Oct 14 - The Alexander, Brantford, ON (with Hollerado)
Oct 15 - The Opera House, Toronto, ON (with Hollerado)
Oct 16 - Cafe Dekcuf, Ottawa, ON

Oct 19 - Phog Lounge, Windsor, ON
Oct 20 - Lager House, Detroit, MI

Oct 22-28 QUEBEC Shows TBA

Oct 29 - The Vibe Lounge, Rockville Centre, NY
Oct 30 - The Charleston, Brooklyn, NY

Nov 01 - O'Brien's Pub, Allston, MA
Nov 02 - Hard Rock Cafe, Pittsburgh, PA
Nov 03 - Motr Pub, Cincinnati, OH 
 

It has been a busy fall for Mint. Lots of bands on the road and lots of music conferences. Next up is our CMJ showcase will be on October 14th at Fat Baby (112 Rivington St - right in the heart of the Lower East Side) and will feature The Pack A.D., Novillero, Vancougar, The Awkward Stage and our newest signing Hot Panda (album out in February).

See you there!

Meet the latest addition to the Mint Records family, Olivia Fetherstonhaugh or, as we like to call her musical alter ego, fanshaw. As a prior member of The Choir Practice and important part of Vancouver's eclectic music community, we think she's going to fit in just nicely. Her Mint debut, Dark Eyes, will arrive in record shops on February 9th 2010.

Always one to support her friends, Olivia recruited fellow Choir singers, Larissa Loyva (Kellarissa, P:ano) and Shane Turner (Love and Mathematics) to play on her record. Visual artist Karin Bubaš (also a Choir member) created fanshaw artwork and took photographs. She also snatched up fellow CiTR Shindig winner, Johnny Payne (Victoria, Victoria, The Shilohs) to play drums.

fanshaw is able to toe the line between accessible and adventurous. Her voice reminds me of Laura Gibson. The warbles and fluctuations challenge you, but the sounds warm you even with only the minimal instrumental backing. The thing that helps her stand out? She can effortlessly switch from intimate quirky vocal delivery to a chanteuse with the vocal power to dominate a song as well. - herohill.com

Our pals in Hot Panda are feeling a little restless. In addition to preparing for Vancouver's always exciting Victory Square Block Party, they are writing new material and packing their bags for their second European tour. Not bad guys, not bad. 

Their dates look like this:

Aug 18 - Comet Tavern, Seattle, WA
Sep 04 - Victory Square Block Party, Vancouver, BC
Sep 15 - Guilt and Co, Vancouver, BC
Sep 24 - Reeperbahn Festival, Hamburg, Germany

Sep 26 - Weekender, Innsbruck, Austria
Sep 28 - L'Internationale, Paris, France
Sep 30 - The Brixton Windmill, London, UK

Oct 01 - Labour Club, Northhampton, UK
Oct 02 - The Old Queen's Head, London, UK
Oct 03 - The Bull and Gate, London, UK

Our resident rocktologist/cremationist Shane Nelken is preparing to pack up the van for another tour. This time, The Awkwward Stage is heading South of the Canadian boarder to play in fine cities such as Seattle (home of the world's largest glass of orange juice), San Francisco (home of the world's largest baseball glove) and many, many more! Click here for The Awkward Stage's complete tour schedule.

Also Shane will be on MuchMusic's Going Coastal this Sunday for part II of his appearance... Stay tuned for Part III yet to come! And don't forget to check out the latest CBC Radio 3 Podcast (#108) for another dose of rock 'n' roll advice on Dear Shane.

Our latest Fresh Breath of Mint zine is here! We're pretty excited about the new Bella craft ideas, Carolyn Mark tour stories, Vancougar crossword puzzle, Nardwuar interviews and Immaculate Machine comics. If you haven't picked up one at your local record store, send us a note and we'll make you a care package!

Like Vinyl? Like Neko Case? Well, our pal Jack at Lance Rock Records in Nanaimo is releasing most of Neko's back catalogue on limited-edition, collectors LPs, and we're lucky enough to have a few to pass on to you.First up is Blacklisted, and copies are available now for pre-order at MapleMusic. It's a gorgeous album and the pristine 150 gram vinyl comes in a gorgeous gatefold package. Visit our friends at MapleMusic here for a copy of your own.

And while you're there, check out our latest 7" releases: One Woman Show from Nick Krgovich of P:ano and Volume One of our split 7" series, featuring The Awkward Stage and Young and Sexy.

On April 4th, Dave Gowans, Lasse Lutick, Morgan McDonald and Dan Gaucher will be celebrating 10 years of playing music together at Vancouver's Biltmore Cabaret (395 Kingsway). Not content to rest on their laurels, the Buttless Chaps are as sharp and spry as ever; together with Mint Records they will be releasing their first digital only release, titled, CBC Radio 3 Sessions.

The CBC Radio 3 Sessions will be available on April 1st, exclusively through iTunes and Zunior.com. It features old friends, Jesse Zubot (Fond of Tigers, Zubot and Dawson) on violin, and Peggy Lee on cello. The release includes a myriad of the Chaps' favourite songs; "Fresh Horses", "Migratory Birds" and a cover of the Echo and the Bunnymen classic, "The Killing Moon," to name a few.

Since their formation in 1998, the Chaps have toured the Canadian and US wilderness extensively and performed with artists such as The Rheostatics, The Handsome Family and The Stars. Their brooding jangly orchestral folk music will make you come to the realization that life, although pointless, is also wonderful.

So mark these dates on your calendar:

April 1st
The Buttless Chaps CBC Radio 3 Sessions
*The first digital only release on Mint Records, available exclusively through iTunes and Zunior.com

April 4th
The Buttless Chaps' 10th Anniversary Show with The Parlor Steps
The Biltmore Cabaret (395 Kingsway)

* Advance tickets available at Red Cat, Zulu and Scratch Records.

** CBC Radio shall be there to record the evening for their Concerts on Demand.

*** See you there.

Hey! You! Here's your chance to advertise your band/company/radio show/stuff in our fancy Mint fanzine!

If you haven't seen it yet, we've been printing Fresh Breath of Mint for two years now and our Fall '07 issue (number 7 to be precise) is coming out soon. Now, Why would I want to be involved, you may ask yourself...

Well, in Johnny Cusack's High Fidelity fashion, here are our top 5 reasons:

5) Fresh Breath of Mint is Fun! Who wouldn't want their ad sitting next to Carolyn Mark's recipe for potato salad?

4) We work really really hard to get FBOM to you, the music fan! And so do our record shop friends, distributors, non-music store pals, touring bands, campus radio stations, and our lovely street teamers across the country.

3) And, FBOM is consumed rapidly by music fans across the country. Just ask our friend Aaron, at KMA.

2) And, it is not just in consumed rapidly in our country, FBOM has been sighted in other countries too! We've previously distributed copies at SXSW (12,000 copies!!) and other conferences and events (such as Mint shows).

1) We've got big plans for our next issue! Along with our regular mail-outs, 6,000 copies shall be released into the wild at CMJ.

Fresh Breath of Mint #7 is due out on October 1, 2007, and we are anticipating a split run for this 64-pager: a minimum of 9,000 copies in the USA and 9,000 copies in Canada. (Interestingly, for Issue #6, we had intended to make 4,000 copies of a 40 page issue, but demand was such that we made 12,000 and expanded it to 56 pages!)

Here are some ad rates for our Fall Issue (number 7):

full page (5.5" wide x 8.5" high) CAD $250 + gst
1/2 page (5.5" wide x 4.125" high) CAD $150 + gst
1/4 page (2.625" wide x 4.125" high) CAD $100 + gst
1/8 page (2.625" wide x 1.937" high) CAD $50 + gst

booking deadline: August 25, 2007
artwork/payment deadline: August 31, 2007

format:

PDF, EPS, TIF, or JPEG
Illustrator AI or EPS
300 dpi greyscale -- please allow for newsprint dot gain

If you have any questions, please email Shena.

The Pack AD are sending out postcards from their upcoming USA tour. If you like seeing things other than bills in the mail, send your name and address to info@mintrecs.com (preferably before March 8th) and Becky or Maya will personally write you a postcard from their tour. After their big Canadian tour last summer, Becky and Maya learned that touring results in many hours of driving. And, to help relieve the boredom that comes with traveling long long distances, Becky and Maya plan on embracing the lost art that is letter writing, packing an archaic typewriter in their tour van and updating their friends with handwritten postcards. Neat!