Live Appearance

Echoes From A Dimly Lit Studio Pt.6

Hello.

First, it’s NXNE week here in Toronto so we will be appearing at the venerable Rancho Relaxo, Saturday June 15 at 1AM. NXNE passes will get you in and cover is TBA which means relatively cheap compared to other venues. It’s one of TO’s best kept secrets that Rancho is the place to be in the wee hours of NXNE week, especially during the closing weekend. It’s usually packed with REAL MUSIC FANS – all nicely tipsy.

Second, it’s been radio static here at pmaps dot net and that can only mean one thing: we’ve been hard at work in the studio. In fact, we took a break this week for NXNE and will be returning to the studio – in this case, Nassau 6 in Kensington – this coming Monday to resume and complete our work. Why the studio change, you might ask? Well that’s because we are in the final mixing stage now. 90% of the recording part of the record was completed at our own  Echo Valley studios but we’ve taken the tracks to another studio to get our hands on even more vintage gear and to get another perspective, etc., etc.  Both our good friend, Nathan Vanderwielen and myself are doing all the mixing.

So what’s the new album going to be like?  Well, to sum it up this is one for the freaks and geeks.  Prom queens and star quarterbacks need not apply, although you’re welcome to try.  In past blog entries I dropped some song titles.  Here’s another tidbit: The name of the album, due out this fall, is DARKER LIGHTS.

Photographic evidence:

more vintage gear ...

…

Dean and Nathan mixing ...

Andy at the Grand Piano

…

Dean and Andy add additional guitars and bicycle to the tracks...

Echoes From A Dimly Lit Studio Pt.3

Things are going slowly but are getting more and more exciting.  Take (for instance) the fact that we have a new member joining the band.  Andy Soto is a good friend of mine.  In 2008  I produced a record called Doubleplusgood for his Paris, France-based band, Utopium. In 2010 Andy came to visit Toronto again and helped out with the making of our debut full length, papermaps,  contributing some piano, insights and additional engineering. He fell in love with our city and pledged to return, for good.  Well, Andy is back!

We are still perfecting those same three songs … recording the final lead vocals and working on the textures that Andy will be adding to the mix.  You can witness the early genesis of these new textures at our Canadian Music Week showcase (Hosted by Two way Monologues and GreenShades) at Rancho Relaxo, Saturday March 23 at 11pm sharp! Andy will be joining us on stage for the very first time!!!! So please come out and help us welcome Andy to the Toronto indie music scene! Also, we will not be returning until June for NXNE…(unless something very special compels us to do otherwise).

Astute link followers will also notice that I will also be appearing solo at Shanghai Cowgirl, Thursday March 21 11:30pm as part of CMW.

-dean

Here’s the poster for the BIG SHOW
FB Event (please join): https://www.facebook.com/events/545414052165619/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Echoes From A Dimly Lit Studio Pt.2

We’re coming out of the woodwork, out of the woodwork, out of the woodwork, outa’ the woodwork, like a reluctant gargoyle …

Hello. We’ve been in studio-land head-space for a few weeks now and we are knee deep into that esoteric art form known as album making and I would prefer to stay there, exclusively if possible, if it were not that we have been called to duty by our very good friends, THE CHEAP SPEAKERS to help launch their baby into the world and so on Saturday Night, upon a very late announcement and with little or no rehearsal (and even less sleep), the PAPERMAPS trio will be hitting the stage at the stroke of half-past midnight inside the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern after said very good friends. It should be an evening to remember! I have no idea how much it costs of the top of my head. Maybe, like $8. Look it up here: http://showgopher.com/#!Toronto/2013-03-02/HorseshoeTavern We are “special guest.”

Another place to catch us live in the middle of album making season will be during this year’s Canadian Music Week (Fest) on Saturday March 23 at the Rancho Relaxo, 11pm sharp! Come to that show and you are sure to hear way, way more new material from our next record and there’s sure to be a surprise or two regarding band line up changes and sounds…

As for this dark and (at times) chilly studio – I’ve been laying down the guitar tracks  (again and again) and doing a some keeper vocal takes for songs with titles like, “The Edge of China Town” and others (i.e., the same 3 songs mentioned last week).  We work slowly.  No photographic evidence this week, I’m afraid.  Check back soon…

A Place Called Echo Valley and Our Next Record…

Hi,
Some of you may have already noticed – we are not that band any more.  In my opinion, this is a good thing. Bobby, Betty and myself have been working on new material as a three-piece for a few months now. It’s been a slow, and at times awkward, but very rewarding process.   I know this sounds funny coming from the main songwriter but I finally feel like we are making the music I’ve always wanted to make –  it’s just much more focused.  That doesn’t mean we won’t be expanding our ranks  – in fact we have plans to add a new member very soon but meanwhile we have established a great vibe that we want to continue nurturing.

Way back in June 2012, while I was finishing up the final mixes for Inferior Ghost, we moved all our stuff out of what was once Chemical Sound and into a new space. At first the space was an empty white-washed shell with no electrical outlets, harsh lighting and a big chaotic mountain of gear in the centre – a quite daunting scene actually – but eventually with the help of some friends (namely Cameron Harding and Owen Norquay of Mesa Mesa, Jay Sad and Nathan Vanderwielen) we began building our new headquarters and named the studio/workspace, Echo Valley. Unlike Chemical Sound, Echo Valley is not a commercial studio but rather a shared facility where cool producers work and cool bands rehearse and record. Now that the studio is fully functional I am cheerfully looking forward to committing our new songs and vibe to tape.  I intend to document the process here at papermaps.net, so look for more updates about the new album – things like pictures, video clips, lyric scans, etc.

The upcoming show at the Horseshoe Tavern (Thursday Feb 7) will be the three of us  and we are going to play at least three (maybe four) new songs that we plan to record shortly after that show. The rest of the set will be comprised of back catalogue songs that we still enjoy playing and work best in our new configuration.  One song we will not play is “Reunion.”

What else??? Oh, we’ve moved our mailing list to a new mail service.  If you want to subscribe to our mailing list just look for the form in the top right corner of this blog called, Email Love.

I want to thank everyone who supported these past 3 years, especially those who continue to support us – and all you newcomers!

cheers,

-dean

Horseshoe Tavern Thurs Feb 7!

Hi!
We are breaking our Holiday Hiatus with a hometown show at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, Thursday February 7!  Joining us will be Toronto’s Alright Alright as well as our studio-mates MESA MESA who are a fantastic sounding band and the amazing VISTAVISION will also be making a rare live appearance!  Deets:

FB Event:  http://www.facebook.com/events/547064551972239/
Showgopher:  http://showgopher.com/#!Toronto/2013-02-07/HorseshoeTavern

November 29 – The Great Hall – Toronto

There’s a few reasons why you should attend this show. First, we’ve been on hiatus since October so this is a bit of a return. Second, we are a whole new PAPERMAPS in the sense that there are only three of us now: Bobby, Betty and myself (Dean). Betty will be debuting her new instrument – the super sexy baritone guitar. Bobby will be holding down the grooves fort and I will be holding down the treble fort along with Bobby’s cymbals…This is a first – a premier!  Third, we have some brand new songs that we are very excited to show you.  Fourth, this is in support of a great cause – MOVEMBER.  Fifth and finally, there are some great acts on this bill, including headliners Graydon James and the Young Novelists and just before us will be Brad Fillatre at 8pm and Cai.ro at 8:45pm.

It’s all quite exciting, really.

Place: The Great Hall (1087 Queen W, Toronto, Ontario)
Date: Thursday November 29th
Set Time: 9:45pm  Sharp! Early Show! Doors at 7pm
Cover: $20 at the door $13 in advance.
Get you tickets here: http://www.ticketbreak.com/event_details/5541

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/events/212606552203732/

Future Changes

Hello,

There really is no “best” way to say this, so here goes: as of September 30, 2012 Todd Harrison and Wendy Leung will no longer be making music in PAPERMAPS. That doesn’t mean that we won’t be making music together in the future, it just won’t be in the context of PAPERMAPS. Todd and Wendy’s reasons for leaving the group are their own and so I won’t discuss them here (or anywhere) but I want everyone to know that it’s been great making records and playing live shows with them. Both Todd and Wendy’s contribution to the self-titled album (2011) and especially our latest, Inferior Ghost (2012) were great in all respects  (Inferior Ghost being our most collaborative work). That music has taken on a life of it’s own and will always exist with or without the five of us playing it live.  That doesn’t mean I won’t play some of those songs anymore – but I am forced, by circumstance, to look forward now and not back.

The next step (for me and PAPERMAPS) is to continue writing new songs – songs that are (hopefully) just as exciting or better than our previous material and to develop a new, more concrete and minimalist sound. It’s a tall order to fill, but I’m up for the challenge.  I’m quite excited by it, actually. Even in the EX~PO days (when it was just me and the studio) I was keen on “layering up” my songs with oodles of parts/instrumentation.  The subsequent formation of the 4 piece (and then 5-piece) band was in reaction to the fact that the previous records were so sonically complex. It was natural to continue in that vein on subsequent records having access to such great players and ideas but now I’m excited by the idea of working within the context of a 3-piece, just Bobby Lee, Betty Dimo and myself.

On Thursday November 29 at The Great Hall we will debut the 3-person version of PAPERMAPS as part of a great Rockin’ Stache Movember event sponsored by Top Shelf.  We hope to see you there.

Tickets are available here: http://www.ticketbreak.com/event_details/5541

Facebook it here: https://www.facebook.com/events/212606552203732/

Cheers,

-dean

Inferior Ghost Vinyl Delayed for One Week

Hi people,
Due to some unforeseen circumstances on the manufacturing end the vinyl version of Inferior Ghost will not be available at the CD Release show (Tuesday August 28 / Horseshoe Tavern). The Vinyl should be available in stores and online in the coming weeks and those of you who pre-ordered (thank you) should be getting them in the mail sometime next week. For those of you who don’t collect vinyl records, CDs will be available at the show.  For those of you who do, Dean and Co. will be taking orders for vinyl at the show ($18. You walk away with a CD and a voucher.  Free shipping). Vinyls should ship by the end of this week.

Thanks,
-dean

AUGUST 28 – TORONTO – INFERIOR GHOST RELEASE SHOW

Hi,
It seems like September is just around the corner! We just came back from a 3000+ kilometer Canadian tour (tour pics and diary forthcoming) – it was a long laborous birthing for our new EP, Inferior Ghost. We’ve had a week off and should be well rested for our BIG HOMECOMING / CD RELEASE show at the Horseshoe Tavern, Tuesday August 28th. Set time: 11PM.  Admission is FREE. This is the LAST PUSH in the birthing. CDs and records will be in stores following this show (for exuberant prices – ok, ok,  for reasonable prices).  Joining us will be Little Barrie (UK, members of Primal Scream / Spiritualized) at 10PM. If you live in or near Toronto and like us you should really come out to this one!  I’m not sure when/if we will play Toronto again this year.  We might just decide to hole up in the woodshed for a while (the woodshed being the new studio, Echo Valley). Autumn is perfect for that sort of thing, no?  This new EP should give you something to chew on while we write/record a new LP.  The vinyl gods tell me the 12-inch records may very well be ready in time for the show.  People who pre-ordered their vinyl (thank you, thank you, thank you) can rest assured that they will ship on the 28th. Most of you live far away – so it works out great.   If you pre-ordered the vinyl and you come to the show, however, I’ll hand you a signed copy right there!!! We will have a list of names.
Please join the Facebook event (if you FB):
www.facebook.com/events/126427917502714/

Pretty pictures follow:

Other birds have told me that the record may already be in your local college radio library or slush pile. Cools.  Happy school days, keep your pencils sharp and make us the soundtrack to your collegiate life.

Fondness and Cheers,

-dean

SUMMER SHOWS!

Hi Friends!

We have a bunch of dates lined up from Toronto to Halifax in support of our upcoming record, Inferior Ghost (Out August 28 on Sparks/Universal Music Canada).

Here they are:

August 6, Drake Underground, Toronto ON 10:45PM (Elvis Monday Residency w/ Wendy Versus)
http://www.facebook.com/events/125694064237133/

August 11, Divan Orange, Montreal QC (w/ Philémon and Ohara)
http://www.facebook.com/events/419173558119555/

August 16, Gus’ Pub, Halifax NS (w/ Wendy Versus and TBA)
http://www.facebook.com/events/414248215278154/

August 17, Zaphods, Ottawa ON (w/ Wendy Versus and TBA)
http://www.facebook.com/events/427224560653958/

August 28, Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto ON (CD RELEASE PARTY!!! w/ Little Barrie)
Our CD/LP release party! FREE ADMISSION!!!
Note: Little Barrie stars Barrie Cadogan, guitar player for two of my favourite bands: Primal Scream and Spiritualized!!!

Our sister band, WENDY VERSUS will be joining us for most of these shows!

We don’t play live that often, so don’t miss out!

cheers,

-d