CESCHI: (w/ Gregory Pepper & Mad Adam as his backing band)
ceschi.bandcamp.com

Ceschi (pronounced chess-key) Ramos makes his own version of progressive hip hop spliced with elements of folk & indie rock. Although he has almost “mathy” technical rap abilities he’s first and foremost a singer-songwriter at heart. Although one Ceschi song may consist of punk influenced machine gun fast raps, the next may be a quiet folk ballad played on acoustic guitar. From quiet and playful indie folk ditties to literally pushing the audience, spitting fast-chopping raps; Ceschi embodies the spirit of a true showman – proving to us that one man can do it.

THESIS SAHIB:
soundcloud.com/thesis-sahib

Thesis Sahib has been contributing to the underground hip hop movement for the past fifteen years, both as an innovative rapper and a well known graffiti artist. His articulate, rapid-fire delivery, harmonic vocals and imaginative lyrics have graced an impressive catalogue of sought after releases on CD and vinyl. His art and music incorporate sculpture, kinetic, and auditory elements. Often combining both 2D aesthetic with circuit-bent electronic toys, compositions written on modified Gameboys, a face mask costume fitted with a heavily effected microphone and circuit-bent sounds have become part of his music and on-stage performances.

FLIGHT DISTANCE:
flightdistance.bandcamp.com

Flight Distance are an Ottawa-based indie Hip-Hop group consisting of rap duo Bender & Patience, backed by DJ Calkuta. Whether it’s their ultra high-octane, riot of a live show or their cold and calculated recorded material, FD continue to stand out above any act on the scene. The sample-driven beats of Bender and Calkuta have led to production credits for numerous MC’s including Vast Aire of Cannibal Ox. Flight has played countless shows across eastern Canada, leaving a trail of broken hearts and tequila bottles in their wake. Duck and cover.

Kazoo! #141: Friday May 25th
@ eBar (41 Quebec St)
***EARLY SHOW*** Doors @ 8:30pm, over by 11pm
19+ | $5 cover

Poster by Gregory Pepper

What a blast!! Thanks to everyone who helped make Kazoo! Fest 2012 our best year yet! The whole week was full of incredible performances and inspiring moments. Thanks to all of our amazing performers who came from near and far, and to everyone who came out and supported the festival!

A special thank you to all of our volunteers who did everything from postering, doing merch, working door, making pancakes and ensuring everything ran smoothly. Our volunteers are the reason we’re able to pull off a whole week of events. If you see someone who was helping out this week be sure to thank them because they are truly the heart of the festival.

This year we were very fortunate to have the support of a number of incredible local business sponsors and community partners. Thanks for supporting independent art in Guelph! We also worked with a number of inspiring arts organizations to co-present events: Ed Video Media Arts Centre, Images Festival, Fortnight Music, Wavelength, Kaleidoscope Promotions, Cassettestival and The Festival of Moving Media. It was truly a pleasure to work with all of you and hopefully we can work together again in the future.

Our annual Kazoo! Zine & Comic Expo was also a huge success. The Expo featured over 40 tables of zines & comics and an after-party which included an inspiring panel discussion. Thanks to everyone who participated and to The Dragon who helped make the Expo happen. We’re already looking forward to next year!

Here are some photos and videos from this year’s festival:
(with more to come soon)

Video: The Magic – Never made a sound (live at eBar)
Video: Motëm @ ANAF
Photos: Minotuars, Lee Reed, Culture Reject @ Van Gogh’s (via Ontarion)
Photos: Kazoo! Fest at Ed Video

A special shout out to Gregory Pepper for making our festival artwork this year and Live Action Fezz for the awe-inspiring live 3d visuals.

While Kazoo! Fest 2012 is over, Kazoo! happens year-round. Coming up in a few short weeks we have the 140th show in our ongoing series featuring the mighty Bruce Peninsula alongside The Skeletones Four at eBar. You can find more details about the show here.

Thanks again!

Since forming in 2006, Bruce Peninsula’s rolling soul revue has left countless clubs shaken and all critics convinced. Colliding a large female choir into an imaginative four-piece rock band, the music is a strange mix of American gospel, African folk and modern progressive rock, resulting in a style often praised for it’s “genre-less” qualities. Bruce Peninsula are uninterested in walking well-trodden paths and simply believe in singing from the gut and letting the rhythm lead.

In 2009, Bruce Peninsula’s self-released debut full-length, A Mountain Is A Mouth, was nominated to the Polaris Music Prize long-list by critics nation-wide. In 2010, they provided the soundtrack Small Town Murder Songs, a feature film by Ed Gass Donnelly that premiered at TIFF in 2010. Bruce Peninsula entered a lengthy hiatus due to illness in 2011, but unveiled a b-side series called The Bruce Trail Fire Sale that ran throughout the year, comprised of one-off videos and performances offered for free online. In October, Bruce Peninsula returned with their sophomore LP, Open Flames (Hand Drawn Dracula).

THE SKELETONES FOUR
www.theskeletonesfour.com

Compiling songs he’s written over the past five years, psych pop mastermind Andrew Collins presents a remarkable collection of soulful prog that’s dizzyingly great. A shy but incredibly skilled and gifted musician, Collins recently formed the Skeletones Four with Evan Gordon, Jordan Howard and John Merritt: a fantastic new band and outlet for his quirky, mathematically challenging tunes. Despite their off-kilter time signatures, tricky structures and synth-y sheen the songs are warm and starkly emotional. S4 are a hypnotic rock’n’roll band whose prog-y leanings are propelled by airtight post-punk rhythmic precision. At the same time, a vague classic rock-inspired psychedelia infiltrates both their soul-inspired pop ballads and their full-on guitar freak-outs, making the Skeletones Four the most fascinating young band in southern Ontario.

Kazoo! #140: Thursday May 3rd
@ eBar (41 Quebec St)
All Ages / LIC
Doors 9:30pm | $10

Poster by Gillian Wilson

At 11am, we’ll be featuring a performance from one of Guelph’s best new acts, Esther Grey. Lead by Steph Yates and Tyson Brinacombe, Esther Grey play a unique blend of haunting lo-fi folk and reverb drenched rock. Following that we have Bry Webb & The Providers, a new project from Bry Webb (former singer and guitarist of The Constantines). This intimate show will feature songs from Bry’s amazing new album ‘Provider’.

The Pancake Breakfast Show happens at Ed Video. Admission is $10/pwyc and this is a family friendly event. Proceeds from this show will go to support NDACT (North Dufferin Agricultural & Community Taskforce) to Stop The Mega-Quarry.

The day starts off early with our annual Zine & Comic Expo running from 11am-4pm. The Zine & Comic Expo will feature independent DIY publishers, comic artists and zinesters from across Canada. Admission is free and you can find more details here. Immediately following the Expo we’ll have a special after-party at the eBar.

Earlier in the evening, we have a special multimedia performance by Tristan Perich (NYC), Lesley Flanigan (NYC) and Lucky Dragons (Los Angeles) at Ed video. This show is co-presented with our friends at Images Festival and Wavelength Music Series. We’re honoured to be hosting such internationally renowned artists, you definitely don’t want to miss this one.

At The Cornerstone we’re hosting a small cafe show for two amazing songwriters: The Weather Station and Gord Auld (of Lowlands). This show is PWYC and capacity is very limited, so if you want to get in, show up nice and early!

We’re hosting two more shows that night. At Van Gogh’s we’re co-presenting a show with our pals at Fortnight Music. Eamon McGrath will be celebrating the release of his new album ‘Young Canadians’. Del Bel, a band who’ve been getting a lot of attention lately, release a remix album entitled ‘KaREEMIX AbDEL JabBEL’ featuring a line-up of friends of Kazoo!. Also on the bill is local songwriter Alanna Gurr playing a set with her band and House League, a brand new project featuring members of Evening Hymns, Matters, The Magic and more.

Over at the ANAF, Motëm will be celebrating the release of his new full length LP ‘Psychos’. We’ll also be hosting Abstract Random, an ‘electro dub-hop’ 3 peice band that use multimedia projections. Elaquent will also be dropping some beats from his new album, ‘The Scenic Route’, an album of instrumental hip hop beats for fans of J-Dilla and Madlib. Opening the night are local house duo Alan Gregor with their own unique brand of dance-party igniting jams. We’ll also have DJ Diamond Rings spinning tunes between sets.

This show will also feature a secret guest who will be headlining the night at 1am. We can’t tell you who but this is something you don’t want to miss. Check our twitter feed for an announcement on Saturday night about this surprise guest.

Whew! What a crazy night it’s going to be. Hope to see you out!

Later on Friday night we have two incredible shows happening at the same time! At Van Gogh’s first floor we have Nathan Lawr’s funky afro-beat band Minotaurs taking the stage alongside Hamilton based political MC Lee Reed and Culture Reject opening the show. Between sets DJ Jungle Cat will be spinning tunes. Details about the show can be found in our schedule.

Our other show happens right across the street, so you can jump back and forth if it isn’t at capacity. At the Jimmy Jazz we have a free show featuring Toronto post-punk heavywheights Metz. The bill also includes Ell V Gore, dark garage inspired post-punk from Elliott Jones (founder of Brides). Opening the night are one our favourite new local bands Baseball Furies. It’s going to be a fun and very loud show, so bring your earplugs!

Don’t forget to follow us on twitter @kazooguelph and use the hashtag #kazoofest for the most up-to-date info about the festival.

Don’t forget to follow us on twitter @kazooguelph and use the hashtag #kazoofest for the most up-to-date info about the festival.

Immediately following that is the first show of Kazoo! Fest 2012 at eBar. Starting off the night is one of Guelph’s newest and most exciting bands, INTERSTLLR, who bring their unique brand of layered auto-tuned pop music for our first set of the festival. Following them we have one of the newest bands from Arbutus Records, TOPS. This Montreal based 4-piece play their first Guelph show at Kazoo! Fest and we’re happy to have them. Headlining the night is Cadence Weapoon who returns to Guelph with a set of new material off his forthcoming album ‘Hope in Dirt City’. Over the past month Cadence Weapon has been releasing a bunch of amazing new material on his soundcloud and even has a brand new video for his new single ‘Conditioning‘. It’s going to be an amazing show!

The show at eBar will also feature live 3d projections by Live Action Fezz. Cat People DJs will be spinning tunes between bands. Hope to see you out!

We’re just a few short days away from Kazoo! Fest 2012. We’re really excited to share our 5th annual festival and we hope that you’ll find the time to check out some of the amazing events happening all week. Over the last week we’ve been busy pulling together all the details and we’ve got some exciting updates to share.

Since our print programs were released we’ve made a few changes to our schedule. Unfortunately Paradise Animals will be unable to perform but we’re happy to have Culture Reject taking their place. We’ve also added New York based experimental artist Lesley Flanigan to our co-presentation with Images Festival and Wavelength on Saturday April 14th at Ed Video.

We’ve also announced our DJ schedule which features: DJ Diamond Rings, DJ Gregory Pepper, Cat People DJs and DJ Jungle Cat. See the schedule for details.

The 4th installment of our ongoing Kazoo! Fest podcast series is available. This episode hosted by CFRU‘s Boston Carlyle features a selection of exclusive and unreleased tracks from Motëm, Del Bel plus an interview with Live Action Fezz (of Alan Gregor). You can download the podcast here.

We still have a very limited number of Crony Passes available for sale. Crony Pass is our all-access Kazoo! Fest pass and is available for only $35. These passes are available exclusively at The Cornerstone (1 Wyndham St. N). We’ve also got advance tickets for our opening night show featuring Cadence Weapon, TOPS, and INTERSTLLR. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. If you’re not in Guelph you can reserve tickets or passes by emailing kazookazoo@gmail.com.

We’ve also made a embedded google map with the venues for this year’s festival and an embedded schedule with links.

We’ve also had some media coverage in the past few weeks, here’s a list of what people are saying: Exclaim!, Guelph Tribune, The Ontarion and CTV.

Can’t wait to get things started! Thanks again to all our volunteers and our sponsors who help make this all possible.