The Rural Alberta Advantage was born out of singer/songwriter Nils Edenloff's exodus from the province that inspired the band's name and many of the songs from their enthralling debut album, Hometowns.

Edenloff grappled with homesickness after his move from Edmonton, Alberta to Toronto, Ontario in 2003. To cope with his loneliness and isolation in the 'big city', the shy songwriter penned a series of odes to his former home, celebrating the country's wild rose, the purple skies and the "dethbridge in Lethbridge."
On the urging of his fellow ex-pat musician friends, Edenloff took his songs to a struggling weekly Open Mic night in early 2005 to perform them for an audience. In a matter of weeks, he was handed the job (paid in beer and 2-for-1 pasta specials) of hosting the night alongside drummer Paul Banwatt. The two quickly formed a musical bond, with Edenloff's plaintive folk songs backed by Banwatt's raucous, razor-sharp percussion. As the Open Mic night faltered, the two found themselves playing hours' worth of songs per night, and developed a solid "set list" for their weekly routine.

The twosome's arrangement became permanent as a series of other local musicians joined and left the project (by now dubbed "The Rural Alberta Advantage", courtesy of a provincial slogan co-opted by Edenloff's brother). The pub that had been home to their Open Mic night closed down (their final night featured a classic barroom brawl involving overzealous motorcycle gang members/would-be karaoke stars), but the Rural Alberta Advantage continued to perform, now playing shows in and around Toronto. A demo was recorded in late 2005, featuring Edenloff, Banwatt, Amy Cole, Ken Farrell and Anissa Hart (Ohbijou). By the completion of the demo, the RAA settled into its current, three-piece formation, with Cole becoming a permanent member of the band.

In 2006, the Rural Alberta Advantage recorded a five-song, self-titled EP. Shortly thereafter, the group was invited to play a show with local indie rock superstars Henri Faberge and The Adorables at their weekly residency at Kensington Market hotspot The Embassy. As official an initiation into the indie-rock community in Toronto as there could be, The RAA played the show to great acclaim from the Adorables' faithful. Thanks to their exciting live performances and gritty, honest songs, a loyal following for the RAA began to grow. The band continued to play in Toronto and throughout eastern Canada, steadily increasing their fanbase with a performance on MTV Canada and a slot at the Pop Montreal festival in 2007.

As well as playing live, the band spent much of 2007 in the studio, recording their debut full-length record, Hometowns. Originally scheduled to be the inaugural release of a new record label formed by a local producer, the band found themselves label-less when the producer decided to abandon his plan. The RAA began selling copies of Hometowns themselves at shows in early 2008, without an official release.

Hometowns began catching the ears of bloggers across the country on pure word-of-mouth. Herohill.com proclaimed the RAA "the best unsigned band in Canada", and I Heart Music.net deemed Hometowns "a near-perfect album". The band's reputation for stellar live shows garnered them a sellout crowd at the 2008 North By Northeast festival, and the band played similarly successful showcases at the 2008 iterations of the Halifax Pop Explosion and Pop Montreal.

The band's big break came in November 2008, when major digital music retailer eMusic.com selected the Rural Alberta Advantage, from a fan recommendation, as an eMusic Selects artist. This honour gave the band publicity and exposure to over 400,000 music fans and subscribers worldwide. Repeating, and surpassing, the successes of past Selects artists Crystal Stilts and High Places, the RAA sold thousands of copies of their record in mere weeks, an astounding feat for an unsigned act. Hometowns became the highest-selling Selects album in history and a critical darling overnight, appearing on dozens of "Best of 2008" lists in newspapers, blogs, and radio podcasts across North America and Europe.

The inspiring DIY success story of the Rural Alberta Advantage has continued to gain momentum and attract fans and followers, with a breakthrough performance at eMusic's showcase at the 2009 SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, getting the seal of approval from Pitchfork ("This band could be huge") and a nod as a "buzz band" from the Associated Press. More glowing press reviews and sold-out club dates in major cities throughout the United States have followed, and the trio of kids from Canada now find themselves signed to US indie giant Saddle Creek. Hometowns was released properly for the first time on Saddle Creek in Summer 2009, and more tour dates throughout the USA and Canada are planned.

THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE

11/11 Hamilton, ONT Casbah
11/12 Ottawa, ONT Zaphods
11/14 Kingston, ONT Grad Club
11/15 Peterborough, ONT Red Dog
11/18 Montreal, QC Club Lambi
11/19 Montreal, QC Cabaret Juste Pour Rire / M For Montreal
11/20 Toronto, ONT Lee's Palace
11/21 London, ONT Call The Office
12/08 Covington, KY Mad Hatter +
12/09 St. Louis, MO Off Broadway +
12/10 Oklahoma City, OK The Conservatory +
12/11 Austin, TX The Parish
12/12 Dallas, TX The Cavern +
12/14 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room +
12/15 Los Angeles, CA Bootleg Theater +
12/16 San Francisco, CA Bottom of The Hill +
12/18 Portland, OR Backspace
12/19 Seattle, WA Vera Project
01/07 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's
01/08 New York, NY Terminal 5 &
01/09 New York, NY Mercury Lounge

+ = w/ Shaky Hands
& = w/ Passion Pit

On November 3rd, 2009 Yeasayer will reemerge with "Ambling Alp," the first single off their sophomore record ODD BLOOD (due February 2010 on Secretly Canadian). This will be the first recording since Yeasayer's contribution of "Tightrope" to the Dark Was The Night benefit compilation and their critically acclaimed debut LP All Hour Cymbals (Nov. 2007). The single will be released digitally and on a limited 12" vinyl packaged in a space age colored metallic sleeve that will also feature remixes by Memory Tapes and DJ /rupture.

Recorded & produced by Yeasayer - with engineer Steve Revitte and mixed by Britt Myers - it's immediately clear with "Ambling Alp" that the band have advanced drastically in their songwriting and studio abilities. With "Ambling Alp" they've crafted nothing short of a pop anthem.

A stand out from their recent live sets at Pitchfork Festival, Bonnaroo and supporting Bat For Lashes, Yeasayer will play "Ambling Alp" among other new tracks from ODD BLOOD on there upcoming set at Fun Fun Fun Fest as well as a small handful of north east dates before going underground until the albums release in 2010.

This year begins a new chapter for Portland group The Shaky Hands. Former drummer Colin Anderson left in mid-2008, a few months before the band's second album, Lunglight, was released to critical acclaim. Nick Delffs' brother Nathan covered percussion for a short stint at the end of last year but ultimately the band wanted a stable drummer with whom they could connect. Jake Morris, of fellow Portland band The Joggers, joined in January 2009, shortly before The Shaky Hands left for a two-week tour with The Meat Puppets. On the road, the band found that Morris was exactly what they wanted in a drummer and bandmate; they clicked almost immediately. The addition of the new drummer set the wheels in the motion for The Shaky Hands to begin writing their third album, evolving their style to match the changes they'd undergone as a band.

Following the tour with The Meat Puppets, Delffs packed his bags and went to live in India for a month and a half, leaving behind his guitar and embarking on a fast from Western music. He sang in the temples and wrote lyrics for the new album, which the band had already started writing, but took the longest break he'd ever taken from playing in a band. This journey, which culminated with a 23-hour plane ride leading directly into a 37-hour drive to Austin for SXSW, altered the direction of the new record—although perhaps not in the most obvious way.

“I feel like my trip to India had a profound effect on the album,” Delffs explains. “Because I wasn't playing music with anybody and I was having this break, I ended up thinking about it a lot, on the verge of obsessing over things. A lot of the planning and lyrics were done out there, finishing some of the songs. I was really inspired by Indian music and I feel like it changed me, but I wasn't inspired to make it. It almost inspired me to make straight forward rock for some reason.”

Delffs launched back into the rock scene immediately, playing SXSW and touring back up to Portland. The band spent nearly two months on the road with The Thermals in spring of 2009, where they wrote and developed songs, allowing the new tracks to attain lives of their own each night. After the tour, at Morris' recommendation, the band went into Jackpot! Studios with producer Jay Pellicci (Deerhoof, Erase Errata). There they spent ten days recording the songs they'd written and practiced, mostly in one or two takes.

“It turned out to be the perfect experience for recording the album,” Delffs says. “This was the first time I really trusted someone else to produce and mix everything. We were there for ten days and somehow we made that small amount of time work out perfectly. We never labored over any performances. We really wanted to get the essence of the live band. And generally the first or second take had the most feeling and captured the song the best.”

The finished album, Let It Die, is a collection of eleven organic, impassioned rock songs that are happily unpolished and grounded. This disc is split into Side A and Side B to compliment the varying styles the songs on the record embrace, with Side A collecting more raucous, upbeat track and Side B offering hushed, mellower numbers. The standout, for Delffs, is the compelling “Allison and the Ancient Eyes,” a song he feels embodies both sides and their corresponding feelings.

“We had specific little things that we agreed on and talked about a lot,” Delffs says. “We wanted it to be really bare bones and have it extremely simple. I think we all just knew the songs pretty well and how they should go. We didn't want to overtalk it.”

December 02 - Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory
December 03 - Baltimore, MD @ Golden West Café
December 04 - Charlotte, NC @ Milestone
December 05 - Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn
December 07 - Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone Café
December 08 - Covington, KY @ Madhatter Club
December 09 - St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
December 10 - Oklahoma City, OK @ Conservatory
December 11 - Austin, TX @ Emo's Jr.
December 12 - Dallas, TX @ The Cavern
December 14 - Phoenix, AZ @ the Rhythm Room
December 15 - Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater
December 16 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill

“We only write about two feelings: one is the first day of summer when you and all of your friends are standing on the edge of a cliff watching the sun set and being overcome with all of your hopes and dreams at once. The other is when you're walking alone in the rain and realize you will be alone forever.”

Jonathan Pierce and Jacob Graham met at summer camp when they were children and have been best friends ever since. Soon after their initial meeting, they formed a persistent yet unprosperous electro pop band called Goat Explosion and toured extensively in North America during their teenage years. Around 2003, Jonathan and hometown friend (and master woodsman) Adam Kessler formed indie rock group Elkland, which was quickly signed by Columbia Records. In the years immediately following, Elkland garnered attention in clubs and on the indie music scene with their infectious debut single “Apart”. In the meantime, Jacob formed a band called Horse Shoes (Shelflife Records), specializing in melodically strong and sentimental love songs. Jonathan ultimately decided to take a few years off from writing music after becoming disillusioned with the music business and parted ways with Elkland in 2005.

Jacob and Jonathan had long planned to start a new band together, and having tired of electronic music they agreed to shift the emphasis from synthesizers to guitars without ever having learned to play them. Their first co-written song, aptly named “Best Friend” was a strong indication of the direction and spirit of the band, and thus The Drums were born in late 2008 amidst an exciting and hopeful political climate. They self recorded and produced around fifteen songs while living in central florida and with big dreams and a batch of songs they believed in spent the beginning of 2009 saving money to move to New York City.

With their arrival in New York, The Drums added former Elkland guitarist Adam Kessler on second guitar and NYC born drummer Connor Hanwick (formerly of lo-fi teen pop duo Cape of No Hope) to the line up and set up a month long residency at a small club on the lower east side of Manhattan. Word of mouth quickly spread and by the end of June 2009, The Drums’ concerts had become a weekly dance party attended religiously by the most critical music fans in New York City.

The Drums began performing all over the city for the remainder of the summer, and so the party continued. With their "explosive live show" and a sound and image that are at once familiar and brand new, they were soon dubbed "New York's official coolest new band" by NME and began receiving national radio play in the UK as well as college radio in the US.

The Drums offer the unlikeliest of hybrids, and stage a clash in their songs between wildly opposing aesthetics and ideas, as though Sun Records and Factory Records had joined forces. Let's Go Surfing, their debut single, released on Moshi Moshi (who put out early records by Hot Chip, Florence and the Machine, Friendly Fires and Kate Nash), features New Order-style trebly, melodic bass, Ventures-esque guitar, and what many are calling “the most infectious whistling line since Peter, Bjorn and John.”

"We originally set out to start a band that sounded like The Wake," say The Drums, referring to the quintessential doleful mid-80s Factory band. And then, nailing their aesthetic, they add: "[But] there's an instant gratification in straightforward music. That's why we love the 1950s. It was the beginning of basic pop music. They did it from scratch and pulled these amazing, timeless melodies out of thin air."

It’s a combination that may not seem logical, but when you hear it you'll know you need it, you've gotta have it and it's what you've always been looking for.

West Coast Tour Dates

Thurs 12 November - SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Popscene, 3330 Ritch
Sun 15 November - SAN DIEGO, CA - The Loft
Mon 16 November - LA, CA - Spaceland FREE SHOW
Thurs 19 November - Santa Barbara, CA - Stroke UCSB FREE SHOW

Jonathan Pierce - The Singin'
Jacob Graham - The Stringin'
Adam Kessler - The Twangin'
Connor Hanwick - The Bangin'

Four Tet releases his much anticipated new album on January 26th 2010 on Domino Records. There Is Love In You is Kieran Hebden's first full-length album in over four years and is his fifth LP to date. Love Cry, backed with the track Our Bells, will available as 12" on Dec. 8th. There Is Love In You will be released on CD, LP and via digital download. Tracklisting is as follows:

1 - Angel Echoes
2 - Love Cry
3 - Circling
4 - Pablo's Heart
5 - Sing
6 - This Unfolds
7 - Reversing
8 - Plastic People
9 - She Just Likes To Fight