Tangiers 
Who: Tangiers
What: Garage Rock
Where: Toronto, ON
To Contact: Sonic Unyon, (905) 777-1223, www.sonicunyon.com.

Snarling trash at its best, Tangiers are currently riding more buzz than a dumpster full of glue sniffers. Formed in Toronto by Deadly Snakes refugees Josh Reichmann and Yuri Didrichsons, (both on guitar and vocals) with James Sayce on bass and Marco Moniz on drums. Tangiers hit loud, fast and heavy with debut album Hot New Spirits (Sonic Unyon, released March 2003), a collection of 13 tracks written by Didrichsons, Reichman and Sayce that references the toughest aspects of post-punk rock and roll.
Recorded at Toronto's Chemical Sound in December 2002, Hot New Spirits wastes no time in establishing the bands garage credentials, veering quickly from snarling vocals to spitting guitars, and avoiding recent clichés with new wave thrash fused to subtle melodies.
The album was self-produced, recorded in one room off the floor with vocals overdubbed, exercising studio trickery only to the extent of setting up amps in the hall for that authentic reverb sound. Reichmann used a classic '80s Tele/Twin set up, with Didrichsonn taking to task "some hollowbody guitar I can't remember through a Garnet amp," according to Reichmann.
Tangiers is already hot to record their second disc, scheduled to head into the studio before the end of the year. "I don't have much patience waiting for bands I like to come up with their second album," says Reichmann. "We have a bit more time now, so we're upping the ante. For this album, it was "best song wins," but now everyone has so many good songs, we're just taking turns. We have a solid understanding of what our band sounds like now, so we are writing for the studio, knowing that it has to translate live."

Jeffrey Caissie 
Who: Jeffrey Caissie
What: Acoustic Punk Singer/Songwriter
Where: Green Bay, WI
To Contact: Jeffrey Caissie,

Originally from Calgary, AB, Jeffrey Caissie made his start in a number of punk bands, an element that is still apparent in the acoustic style of his solo debut album, I'm Just Trying Not To Lose My Head (Meter Records). With a catch in his voice and a disaffected lyric, Caissie manages to force the old "one man and a guitar" standard into a compelling listen. Backed by sometimes band members, The Beatrats, Tim Schweiger on electric guitar and Justin Perkins on organ and harmonica, the songs all feature hooks galore, practically begging for the full band treatment.
With the direct and sincere approach of punk, Caissie weaves his stories with no added padding. Relocating to Green Bay, WI after marrying his girlfriend, ... Lose My Head is the result of a long and anxious wait for a US work visa. According to Caissie, sitting around and waiting for the paperwork to process led him to a local music store where he rented a cheap acoustic and started strumming to relieve the boredom. Playing a couple of live sets after some local hardcore bands gave him enough confidence to pursue his solo inclinations. The lead man in a number of Calgary punk bands, Caissie is now the main operative behind Meter Records and also fronts The Fragments in Green Bay. Standout songs include the first track, "Limo Roulette", which is available for download off his Web site, and "Do The Math", rife with sharp observations and pointed imagery. A bonus track on the CD is a song called "Here Comes A Regular", a cover originally written by punk grandfathers the Replacements.

Danielle French 
Who: Danielle French
What: Eclectic Pop
Where: Okotoks, AB
To Contact: Scarlet Raven Productions, (403) 607-8553, .

Cruising through the ether with fellow artists like Jane Siberry, singer Danielle French is possessed of a diverse and slightly surreal talent. Piece is her second album (her debut, me, myself & I, was released in 1995), written and recorded over the course of four years and finally released in 2003. Produced by French with help from Chris Brett, the album has a wide-open sound, with loose arrangements and soaring vocals, drawing a line amongst all the obvious influences but creating a wholly original work.
Written between 1993 and 1998 by French, with the exception of a song from Howard Redekopp and a cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill", Piece features contributions from Burton Cummings (guest vocals on the moody To The Death), ex-Rheostatic Don Kerr on drums and Paul McLeod (the Skydiggers) on vocals. French has played an opening slot at Lillith Fair, appeared on television show Rita And Friends, won awards for her songwriting and even written, directed and danced in her own short film, Avalon. She has also recorded and toured as part of Grrrls with Guitars, and informal group that performs in a "songwriter-in-the-round" format and has released a compilation CD.
French often shows up for tours in her customized Dodge minivan, which she has converted into a camper. At last year's Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert, NV, she pulled up, dropped green Astroturf, a mailbox and a white picket fence and puttered around in a housecoat all day, much to the delight of the assembled revelers of the ephemeral city. With her sense of humour, French is truly a strange and unique talent.

Credit: Rod Christie is a Toronto-based freelance writer.

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