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!

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 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...

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:

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.

Master Tracks: Diemonds

In this edition of Master Tracks, Diemonds bring the rock for "Little Miss", but Moe starts feeling like he's trying to turn around a bad date. With a few beers and a lesson in "Arrangement 101", though, things do indeed turn around. Check it out here or below:

Master Tracks: Big Ideas

This time on Master Tracks, Big Ideas accepts some of Moe and Lawrence's ideas for their song "Set a Fire". Moe tries not to mess with the bassist's "contrary motion," the guitarist learns a new chord, the boys pick prettiness over twang and the drummer tries not to lose his shirt. Check it out here or below:

Master Tracks: Everything All the Time

In this edition of Master Tracks, studio virgins Everything All the Time set a record (longest day? shortest day? most gang vocals?) working on their song "Love Love" with Moe and Laurence, who have to navigate FIVE sets of keyboards. Look out for Laurence's secret mic technique, drums that are "more April Wine than AC/DC" and the use of a rattlesnake. Take a look here or below:

Master Tracks: Turn Off the Stars

And so the new season of Master Tracks begins with Toronto band Turn Off the Stars taking "Heartbeats" from demo to download in a day (give or take 10 minutes) with the guidance of Moe and Laurence. The band finds a focus after being around the block in the music business, Moe plays bass during an intonation crisis, Laurence finds "no love in this coffee," and the band literally sings Moe's praises for the traditional gang vocals. Check it out here or below:



And in an AUX web exclusive, Moe relates a cautionary tale for musicians who didn't play before the age of ProTools. Watch here or below:

Welcome for real! Master Tracks Preview Roundup

YES! It may have taken just a slightly shorter time than it took to release The Downward Road, but the Updates blog is here. If you had been going to the Updates section of Incompletely Conspicuous for the latest (sort of) news on TPOH-related stuff, this is now where you'll go instead. I've copied the Updates posts from the past two years (not much) and put them here, so for stuff from 2006 and before, you can still meander through what will now be the Updates archive. The Updates links on the main site will be changed (uh...eventually) to direct you straight here. Of course, there are other changes and tweaking to be done, so hang in there.

Oh, I should mention: I haven't started this new chapter of the Updates because there's actual band news, like they're getting back together or anything. Everything is as it's been, with everyone leading their own lives and crossing paths from time-to-time (yikes...I should be updating the "To Review" page on the site. New babies have been born, people have moved, jobs have changed...) and there are no new reunion plans. Seriously. So the Updates continue to be mainly about life going on, and any remnants of the past that come back to pleasantly haunt them. :-)

Now, let's get down to business!

The big news lately has been the promo push for Master Tracks, Moe's series with Laurence Currie where they produce a young band "from demo to download in one day," mainly because their home at AUX.TV is making the leap from the internet to digital television tomorrow and the second season is currently in production. New episodes should be embedded here as they come in, but you can catch up on the first season at Master Tracks' online home.

Leading up to all this, Moe and Laurence have been making the media rounds talking about the show, the AUX tv launch and life in general. You can check out the coverage at Torontoist and at Dose.ca. Moe also had a chat with Kevin McGowan on The Ruckus podcast at rabble.ca, including a couple of the finished demos, as well as a couple TPOH tracks for good measure. Take a listen here!