Various - Not Just Another Stampede Show (1993)

Today is a very special day. Not only does it mark the 11th time we've survived Sled Island (more or less - it's going to be nap time pretty soon here), but it's also the CCPS' 10th Anniversary.

Hooray for us!

To celebrate, we're going to give you this, a thing we've been sitting on for a few months, waiting for just the right time. Steve Heimbecker passed us this set of recordings that he made in 1993 as part of Cable 10's Stampede programming. Over the 10 days of the Stampede, seven bands played on a little bandstand on the grounds, as part of their daily Stampede Show. Things have changed a lot in almost 25 years, but we think this was just outside the agriculture buildings. How do we know? Well, you know...

Anyways, the expansive Greg Kushner archives include footage of Zoo Story and Jeff Kushner's solo set from this series. So we're able to provide a photo. And pad this post.

Producer - Rogers Cable 10 Community TV
Cable 10 Show Producers: Colleen Kerr and Heather Malek
July 7-17, 1993 (10 days - 7 bands)
Outdoor band stand, Calgary Stampede grounds, all afternoon shows - live cable TV broadcast
Recorded on Sony Pro Walkman cassette recorder, live audio feed from Mackie 2404,
Sound Engineer: Steve Heimbecker 

Tracks and total times are not exact
- Tomko Lamb (dulcimer), 4 tracks total 11:12
- Jeff Kushner (solo guitar), 3 tracks total 8:37
- Zoo Story, 4 tracks total 15:34
- Red Autumn Fall, 6 tracks, 25:05
- Parkades, 5 tracks, 12:02
- Glider, 3 tracks 9:50
- The Plaid Tongued Devils, 7 tracks, 29:35

© the artists

It's a pretty weird mix of stuff, with absolutely zero country content. 

Which makes this all the more awesome.

Empty Heads - Normality (2017)

The part of us that grew up in the 90's really, really likes Empty Heads. They had us hooked from "High & Dry," the first song on their first tape, and have been coaxing us along with their angsty, loud guitar rock. Chris Dadge's recording gives this a bit more of a Sebadoh-meets-Dinosaur-Jr-in-a-dark-basement feel, and that's totally okay by us.

If you missed the excellent Three Documentaries series from CJSW and Guillaume Carlier earlier this year, here's the piece on Empty Heads:



Get the  tape from the Empty Heads bandcamp or Debt Offensive Records.

PMMA - Draw the Line (2017)

We're really pleased that PMMA have returned to cassettes after their 7" and LP. The rikki-tikki drum machine at the start of the tape is a total fake-out to their merging of anthemic punk and dark wave. We've enjoyed all of PMMA's recordings, but this one stands out (perhaps due to Craig Fahner's recording), with the title track on here being worth the price of admission alone. But there's no video for that track, so here's the lead track instead:



Get it from the PMMA bandcamp.

Child Actress - Milking a Dead Cow (2017)

Rena Kozak has played under a few names in the past few years, and has been on stage with a pile of great bands. She's settled on the name Child Actress for this tape, which pulls more towards the dreamy pop of Gold than the low-fi punk of the Shematomas. This is a (mostly) one-person show, and a really great one at that. The tape feels slightly claustrophobic, which fits with the dark themes of the tape.

Get it from the Child Actress bandcamp.

Dream Whip - Dream Whip (2016)

Dream Whip play a low-fi pop that pulls equally from 60's girl groups and 90's indie rock. Sure, they're mining ground that's pretty close to bands like the Dum Dum Girls, but this is pretty fine stuff.



What, they broke up already?

Ah, well - get the tape from the Dream Whip bandcamp.

Lab Coast - In Real Life (2017)

It's been a while since we posted, mostly because we've been immersed in the schedule for this year's Sled Island, trying to figure out how we can see all the Calgary bands that are playing. And maybe also a couple of Edmonton ones.

Anyways, here's a band we have a complex love/hate relationship with. We love them 'cos they're so good, but hate them b/c they're a significant cause of the constant re-shuffling of our cassette collection. This tape is a live collection, with the A side being a CJSW session from a year ago. The B side is a mix of various live versions of "Waiting," some noisier than others.



Get the tape from the Lab Coast bandcamp or (we assume) Hot Wax.