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!

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 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!

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: 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!