Reunion For Christmas!

So we're back after a year with happy reunion news. TPOH (Moe, Dave, Kris, Brad and Renée) will be playing the Q107 Jingle Ball December 13 in at The Phoenix in Toronto. This is the first reunion in ages to actually be open to the public (most in the last few years have been private or corporate affairs) and the only one for ages besides the Stampede gig to be pretty much a full-length set - reportedly slated to be about 50 minutes.

Holy crap, huh? So check the details here and we'll see you there!

A Moe Berg Song About YOU?

We've mentioned before the great work Moe's wife Laura has been doing with her company My Smart Hands, which teaches babies and other kids to communicate through sign language to help their early communication skills. Her YouTube videos with daughter Fireese (with musical help from Moe) have views in the millions. Now she wants to take her video production to the next level, and your help can mean some pretty sweet perks for TPOH fans.

Laura has an Indie GoGo campaign going to raise money for a new series of instructional videos. While the many perks for contributing include exclusive song and video downloads and a chance to have your child in one of the new videos; other big Moe-related perks include copies of his excellent short-story book The Green Room, advice on a submitted demo song of yours...and for the top perk, a Moe Berg song with your name in it!

What really matters, though, is that the Bergs can get bigger and better taking their message of fun communication and literacy to more and more families around the world. So whatever you can give will no doubt be appreciated. So donate now!

TPOH @ Canadian Music Week: Two Precious Songs

So I forgot to post video of the gang reuniting again to play two songs to honour their friend Graham Henderson at the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards during Canadian Music Week back in March? Um...yeah. Here you go.

Monteforte Finale Videos!

We could blather on and on like we used to about how brilliant Monteforte's (alleged) final show was Saturday night / Sunday morning. But the kids these days have those fancy video cameras in their phones and such. So let's (Amit and I, so far) show some of it to you!

We started with...







And the encore...

Also, Mrs. Berg has photos on her Facebook here, and this guy has fancy watermarked photos here. Thanks, everybody!!!

Monteforte Finale!

Lead guitar Vikki Sleaze and bassist/fearless leader Brad From Halifax, 9/12

Back in September, Mrs. Berg released her book The Baby Signing Bible with a big party at The Rivoli featuring the ridiculously mighty Monteforte in a rare reunion. While the guys had the idea it would be their final gig, mercurial frontwoman Roxy had other ideas. She seemed to be the only member of the legendary band with any sense of history whatsoever.

Drummer Bobby "Crunch" Dupont and lead singer Roxy

Allegedly with a publisher's offer for a salacious tell-all on the table that made her bandmates blanch (the offer, not the table - it's a nice table), she demanded that Monteforte do One More Show: at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, bigger than any MF show evah, possibly involving fire and something she wears on her head. Not wanting certain pictures and stories to come out, the boys agreed to give everyone some closure.

And so it happened that after 20 damn years, Monteforte will rock the living crap out of you with music you'd never admit you like because you're a pussy for ONE MORE SHOW. The band who invented post-irony play the Horseshoe in Toronto Saturday February 16 with sets at 11pm-ish and 12:30am-ish, with opening band Healthy Libido playing at 10pm. Admission for history is 10 pathetic bucks. Be there, because there will be no tomorrow. (Although tomorrow will be Sunday, but it won't really be tomorrow...you know what we mean, right? Okay.)

Reunion @ the Stampede? What?

Backstage: Renée, Kris, Moe and Brad. Photo courtesy Kris Abbott.

Yes, it's been awhile again, but this kind of snuck up on us and smacked us in back of the head. The Pursuit of Happiness played their first gig in about six years a couple days ago at a private corporate event associated with the Calgary Stampede. Part of the contract, evidently, was staying mum about it until it happened, but now it has happened, there's plenty to share. All of it so far comes from Kris, documenting a whirlwind 48 hours there and back (she had the furthest to travel from Kingston, while Renée had the least distance, still living in Alberta) in a Facebook photo album and a performance video of "Beautiful White" and "Ten Fingers".

But wait, there's more. Kris sent along three other live videos to share with you. You can rack up the YouTube playlist, but here's a sample. Enjoy! And a big thanks to Moe and Kris for getting us caught up.

Kris and Dee still here, and with their album!

Doesn't seem like so long ago we were talking about Kris and Dee working on their first album, and now we have a cover, release date and party! Still Here Inside will drop independently May 5, available at Zap Records in Kingston Ontario and online at Kris and Dee's own new site.

A release show/party happens at the Grad Club in Kingston on Friday May 13th with special guest Sticky Henderson. The fun starts at 9pm with just 5 bucks for admission. But for now, you can get a preview of the album with a new track each day on their Facebook page and myspace page. So take a listen and post your best wishes for Abbott and McNeil!

Kris & Dee in the studio, Mrs. Berg in the Dragon's Den

Work is well underway on the debut album by Kris & Dee, along with their bandmates Anna Rees on drums and Will McGongal on bass. Occasionally poking their heads out of the studio to eat and do day jobs, they say the album should be ready by the spring.

Sooner than that - tonight, to be exact - Laura Berg will be appearing on the hit CBC-TV show Dragon's Den, in which budding entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a group of tough-minded people with lots of money to invest. What will the Dragons think of MySmartHands? Will Laura sic Fireese on them? Find out tonight at 8pm eastern on CBC (you can even join in on Laura's Twitter party during the show), or watch online after that.

Update: those outside of Canada can now watch on YouTube!

Kris and Dee back in Toronto, Mrs. Berg's Win, Master Tracks' New Season

To catch up yet again, we begin with Kris and Dee, who travel from the wilds of Kingston back to where we first met them in the Big Smoke. Busying themselves with more shows, adding members to their full-fledged band and even starting work on their first album, the Abbott-McNeils will make a triumphant return to Toronto with a show Thursday night at Slacks, 562 Church Street. There's no cover, and doors open at 8pm.

Another triumph recently as Laura Berg, lovely wife of Moe, won the 2010 SavvyMom Mom Entrepreneur Of The Year Award for her work with MySmartHands. Along with prestige and press exposure, she receives a great array of prizes - from cash to mentorships - which she's putting toward taking her business even further. Congratulations, Mrs. Berg!

As for Mr. Berg, the latest season of Master Tracks is currently unfolding on AUX-TV, as Moe and Laurence Currie take more bands from "demo to download" in a day. Head to the website for info on catching the latest episode on tv or to watch online. Here's an episode featuring one of Moe's favorite bands of the last couple years, Stereo Goes Stellar.

Art For Moe's Sake

Over there is the work of Marc Eliuk, reminding us of the Moe we all remember. Marc did the portrait as part of his "The Artist Who Interviews" series, also talking to the Moe we know now about beginnings, "Master Tracks", influences, advice and even Monteforte (maybe he should have asked when the hell MF is ever playing again!). It's well worth checking out, as are the myriad examples of Marc's art on that site.

Also, word is a music magazine in the UK is doing a little something about Love Junk as part of a fairly prestigious list. Stay tuned for updates on that in the near future...

Kris and Dee Raising the Roof, etc.

And now to catch up with Kris and Dee, who have had a pretty amazing summer so far. After being part of the Save Our Prison Farms rally with none other than Margaret Atwood and doing a lot of writing on a vacation in Newfoundland, their gig schedule just keeps rolling on.

Tonight (yes, sorry for the late notice), they'll be playing at the Music Market Cafe in Napanee at around 9:20pm (only a $5 cover and two great acts preceding). Then next weekend, they're at the Raise the Roof Women's Music Festival in the Kingston area on Sunday afternoon at 1:30.

Since the new embed function on YouTube is being annoying right now, head over there to check out Kris and Dee performing three original songs at the recent Homegrown Music Festival: "Mars", "Presence of Me" and "Polar Bears".

Welcome U.S. iTunes! (finally)

Okay, so we'll be doing some catching up on things for the next short while, starting with a funny status message Moe put on Facebook: "Out of nowhere, the first two TPOH records appeared in the American iTunes store. A bit late but thanks Capitol Records."

Indeed, better late than never, and so folks in the U.S.A. can pick up Love Junk and the crazy-rare One-Sided Story here at their iTunes Store.

Since every country/region has to have its own separate iTunes Store (an annoyance to many people), a reminder (as suggested in the sidebar) that TPOH is also available to some extent in the iTunes Stores of Canada, the U.K., Ireland and Australia. But don't bother much with the biography, which mentions "drummer Dave Gilburg" and "Bran Barker on bass". :-)

Kris & Dee's May Day, Laura's app

Sorry for the late notice, but if you're in the Kingston area tonight, celebrate May Day with Kris Abbott and Dee Abbott McNeil in a great night of music in The Living Room of The Mansion (506 Princess Street) with High Heels Lo-Fi and Music Maul. Cover is $10 and doors open at 9pm.

In other news of the ladies of TPOH :-) Laura Berg's My Smart Hands empire has expanded to your iPhone (or, in my case, iPod Touch). The MSH app is now available at the iTunes Store in full and Lite versions, starring Mrs. Berg in a video dictionary of all kinds of words for a baby to use with sign language, along with tips on how to remember them and tests to sharpen your skills anywhere a baby can take you. Head to the iTunes store here to pick it up!

Mrs. Berg, You've Got a Lovely Empire

Let's change the focus a little outside of music for a moment, because great things have been happening with Moe's lovely wife Laura (or as many call her, "Mrs. Berg"). Ten years after they started going out - and Moe's run as the romantic loser of Canadian rock came to an end - Laura's business has been featured in the big way in The Globe and Mail, "Canada's National Newspaper".

Trained as a teacher, when Laura was teaching baby daughter Fireese how to use sign language to communicate her wants before speech would catch up, she saw the benefit it had for her vocabulary and verbal skills later. Wanting to stay home with her, she came up with the idea for My Smart Hands, a business where she would teach baby sign language to other moms and kids. As part of the Your Business series, The Globe has featured Laura this month, talking about the history of the business and the techniques (including social media) she's employed to make it a global concern. Check out the video here! (Photo from Laura Berg's Facebook profile)

Master Tracks: Rides Again

Time to catch up on some more editions of "Master Tracks" with our friends Moe and Laurence. This time, the Oshawa power trio Rides Again head into Metalworks with hopes to bring "more angst" to their song "Time Bomb" - and changes to changes Moe had already made. But the collaboration comes together as Moe looks for chaos in a "guitar event" and Laurence helps by swinging a microphone over his head. Take a look here or below:

Kris and Dee video, and a big show to come

Here's a snippet of Kris and Dee at that show at The Mansion Thursday, by all accounts a wonderful set with great friends. (Just a reminder: Kris is on the left, Dee on the right.) But it doesn't end here.

"Canadian Musicians Support Prison Farms" will be happening March 20 at the Sydenham Street United Church in Kingston. On the bill with Kris and Dee will be Sarah Harmer, Luther Wright, the inimitable Fred Penner, Open Heart Society and Maya Thau-Eleff. Admission is $15 ($5 for those unemployed or under-employed) available at various Kingston locations. Check the Facebook event for details.

Kris and Dee: onstage...and on the farm?

They've been dipping their toes in the live show pool for a little while, but Kris and Dee Abbott McNeil are jumping in with a gig Thursday at The Mansion in their home base of Kingston, Ontario. They're pretty excited to have Anna Rees on drums and playing a proper set on a bill of some great Kingston musicians. It also bodes well for more live shows in the area coming this summer. For more info, check out their Facebook Event page and share your well-wishes for them - or even better, if you're in the area, let them know you'll be at the show!

Meanwhile, Kris has become active in the cause to help save six Canadian "prison farms": farms run by inmates for rehabilitation, to develop skills and provide food not just for the prisons themselves, but surrounding organizations like food banks and shelters. Introduced to the issue at a local town meeting (the Frontenac farm is in her area), she became fascinated by the achievements of the prison farms program and disgusted by the Federal Government's decision to scrap it. On Facebook, she wrote: "The decision of the Fed Government is nothing more than another American style adaptation of a WALMxxx business plan and a very dehumanizing approach to the future of Corrections in Canada."

She recently wrote a letter to her local MP, which was passed on to the Minister for Public Safety, and took part in a recent picketing event (getting up very early to hang out with a cow in the cold outside the CORCAN offices). To find out more, take a look at Kris' Facebook Notes or her Myspace blog post.

Master Tracks: Drive Faster

This time on Master Tracks, Moe and Laurence show that it takes a lot of meticulous (yet fun) work to make a song sound like it was done live off the floor in one take. The song in question: "Analog" by the Toronto-via-Calgary band Drive Faster, who had recently changed their name in the search for a new sound. They go a long way toward finding that sound - in between games of pool - with some help from Moe's Stratocaster and "delightful" lead vocals that make Moe feel like he's been drinking. Enjoy it all here or below:

Master Tracks: Mamabolo

In this edition of Master Tracks, the director gets some direction, as film festival favourite Rob Stefaniuk (Suck, Phil the Alien) plays keyboards for Mamabolo (named after the lovely Barb up front), whose track "Close Your Eyes" gets the demo-to-download-in-a-day treatment. Moe and Laurence take what was a "Rush-style arrangement" and put all the cool things in order, with the help of a bass from a garage sale and some delicious Italian sandwiches. Check it out here or below:


And while we're here, there's also a swell web bonus video in which Moe ushers us into the glamorous world of guitar tuning. Enjoy here, or down there:

Ambers For Christmas...and Boxing Week!

Behold the mighty Suchy Sisters of St. Albert, aka The Ambers. Last week, Renée and her sisters put on "The Canadian Christmas Canon", a concert with holiday music new and old and vaguely-related, and you can find it all from Concerts On Demand on CBC.ca for your gift-wrapping or opening pleasure - and it IS a pleasure (turns out Renée's sisters are as funny as she is).

But that's not all. Though the CD they made with Moe lo these many months ago, Rain and Sun, has been on CD Baby for a while, next week it gets a proper release party. Not only will the ladies be rocking it out live at The Ivory Club in Edmonton December 28, Moe (who just happens to be home for the holidays) will be playing alongside them! If you're anywhere near the City of Champions, hightail it on your snowmobile for an amazing night - until we can drag the girls out for more shows in other places.