When I first heard it, Donovan Woods‘ music took me by total surprise, and that says a lot when you consider how quiet and understated his album The Hold Up is in comparison to my short attention span.

But there I was, up on a ladder painting the ceiling in the kitchen, listening to CBC Radio 3, when Donovan’s song “He Drinks Gas” comes on with its peculiar opening lines (”I bet him he wouldn’t drink any gas and he did just to spite me”) and I was hooked, even though it was nothing more than a guy with a guitar telling a strange little story punctuated with some gentle touches of piano and banjo. Immediately it was down with the brush and out with the laptop, and within minutes I learned that not only was he a TO resident, he also had a show coming up at the Savannah Room (294 College, $10) on Saturday, February 2nd.

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Saturday morning - 10 AM to be precise. Most musicians seem genuinely surprised to discover there’s a ten o’clock in the morning as well, but Canadian indie-rock icon Ron Hawkins has chosen this moment to invite me into his Kensington loft so I can pick up a copy of his soon-to-be-released album, Chemical Sounds.

When Ron invites me in, I have to step over a miniature plastic tea service. It belongs to his young daughter, Ruby B., to whom the new album is dedicated. Luckily enough, I meet her during my brief stay. Pint-sized and adorable, it’s obvious who takes centre stage in this ensemble. As only a child truly can be, she’s vibrance personafied, and I soon realize why this musician’s household is up so early; ain’t nobody sleeping late here anymore.
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When Shortwave released their debut EP breaker/breaker last summer they got a nice little surprise in their inbox - a fan letter from former Boys Brigade frontman turned Grammy-winning producer Malcolm Burn. It wasn’t long before Burn extended an offer to the band to come down and spend a week recording at his Colonial mansion in the Catskills. Shortwave’s answer: “Hell yes!”

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As far as online labels go, EN:PEGDIGITAL is pretty damn cool. Since they save themselves a ton of money by not having to press, print, and distribute a physical product, they’re able to deliver high quality MP3s of their artists’ music for the low, low cost of only $2.00USD/album. Suck on that, iTunes! The formula has allowed the label, an official splinter cell of n5MD, to serve up 37 high quality releases from 30 international artists in the last couple of years.

Saturday night, you can catch a showcase sponsored by EN:PEGDIGITAL at the White Orchid (812 Dundas Street West), featuring live PA sets by cisc, odori, and Famine.

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Many moons ago, a trio of jazz musicians banded together to play some straight up standards. Although their initial aspirations were relatively straightforward and by-the-book, something odd happened along the way. The piano player, Dafydd Hughes, traded in his piano for a electric keys and the occasional bit of laptop noodling , Chris Banks put down his upright and picked up an electric bass, and drummer Roger Travassos exchanged his brushes for a pair of sticks. They abandoned the standard repertoire in favour of original instrumental pop songs and added Paul Mathew on guitar. And that’s the way they all became the Deborahs.

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