A Change of Frequency Music festival

Next month, on May 10th and 11th, there will a music festival over in New Westminster held in memory of our departed friend Todd Simko: A Change of Frequency.   The proceeds of this festival shall be going to Canadian Mental Health Association to help bring awareness to this unspoken but highly common ailment in our society.  The show shall feature such acts as Fake Shark Real Zombie, White Ash Falls, Salteens, Castel Project, Scott Acomba, Ben Sigston, Kevin House, Fine Times, Jessica Lee, By Startlight, La Chinga, Wes Coast, Combine the Victorious and an incomplete lineup of Todd's former band Pure.
 

Robert Edmonds poster design

Tickets are available online at Hearing Protection Required (the name comes from Todd's recording studio) and you can also check out the event on facebook.  We are also offering a free download of the final Pure song that Todd ever played guitar on, So West Coast, over on the Boutique Empire bandcamp page.

Please join us for two nights of music honouring our friend's memory and fulfilling his dream to bring live music back to the venerable theatre in New Westminster, The Columbia. 

Thanks for reading.

So West Coast - now with Robert Edmonds cover art

The word is getting out about So West Coast, the last Pure song Todd Simko played on, and thankfully we now have a  Robert Edmonds' designed cover for it too!  (original photo by Janis Nicolay

Please have a listen, download and share it!



A Change of Frequency music festival is getting some nice attention in the press and radio, thank you to everyone involved.  Tickets are available now, links at the site.  Be sure to join us all on May10th and 11th for a really fulfilling weekend of music.   The first Pure/Guilty About Girls rehearsal sounded surprisingly good, and Combine the Victorious has a new song to debut written expressly for our friend Todd Simko.  Quite looking forward to this one!

Thanks for checking it out.
MRH

New song from Pure "So West Coast"

In honour of our friend Todd Simko, we are making available a free download of the last song he ever performed on as the guitarist in Pure: So West Coast. 

We recorded this song back in 2010 at the Boutique Empire studio as a bit of an experiment.  Joined by the wonderfully talented Juice and Misty of the Yoko Casionos on drums and bass respectively, Jordy Birch, Todd and I all got together for a fun-filled afternoon of music.  The song came together in just a few takes and then we did the usual overdubs of vocals and percussion.  Everything went quickly and easily, it was probably one of the smoothest Pure recording sessions we'd ever had! (Big thanks once again to Juice and Misty for helping that vibe!) The result is the track you can hear below, which was recently remixed by none other than John Webster (the same guy who'd mixed Generation Six Pack and recorded the initial demos that got Pure signed to Reprise Records back in the 90's).



Please feel free to download and share this song, we'd be happy to have Todd's work remembered by as many people as possible.  Also remember to join us on May 10th & 11th for a mini Pure reunion at the "A Change of Frequency" festival in New Westminster at the Columbia.  

Thanks for checking it out,
MRH

New Video - The Town Pants "Sorrow"

Just spent the weekend editing a new video together for The Town Pants - everyone's favorite West Coast Celtic band.   They had headlined a show at Venue as part of the Celtic Fest here in Vancouver a couple weekends back.  After a brief series of shows in New York state surrounding St. Patrick's day they returned and we started looking at the footage.  The following video, their version of Bad Religion's song Sorrow, was shot at Venue and subsequently edited here in the Boutique Empire studio.

Have a look, I think it really conveys the spirit of the band and shows off the energy of their live show.

Last Days of Mushroom Studio

A great venerable recording studio in Canada is closing it's doors this week.  Hipposonic (more popularly remembered as Mushroom Studio) has been sold and this country's equivalent to Abbey Road is shutting its doors forever.  It is with both regret and some selfish excitement that I can announce that we'll be in there tomorrow evening to record a new Guilty About Girls song with Jordy Birch and Lucas T Poth.   These last day sessions are part of owner Rob Darch's desire to offer something memorable and historic to the audio community before we witness the departure of his great sounding studio.   Tomorrow should prove an emotional day, but I'm excited to be a part of one last sessions before it transforms into an office space.

An additional note for posterity is that we've asked John Webster to help record our session.  Way back in the late eighties John once produced Jordy and Todd Simko's first band After All.  Even though Todd is no longer with us I think it's a rather pleasant way to say goodbye to one of my favorite studios anywhere in the world, and rather poetic for Jordy to retrace a few old steps from his past.

Please stay tuned for the reveal of the song Riot Riot  a moody piece that I'm suspecting many old fans of Pure might be pleasantly surprised to hear.  Another great song from Mr. Birch.

Thanks for reading,
Mark Henning

Vince Tuckwood's new Album- Sparse

Author /singer-songwriter Vince Tuckwood has completed his first of a two part album series.  This initial offering, titled Sparse, is a stripped back acoustic collection of songs that features Vince's love of poetry and guitar.  He's been refining this material for the past year with consistant live performances in the New England area.  The album also features cover art by none other than artist Robert Edmonds, the man who has created the cover art for all the Boutique Empire releases. 

Please have a listen and let Vince know what you think.

New Single-Guilty About Girls-The Boys in the Band

Jordy Birch has returned with a brand new Guilty About Girls single "The Boys in the Band."  It was just released on iTunes today.  Please check it out and pick up a copy for your playlist.

Click here to Link to single on iTunes