So my label put out GGMU’s debut EP. It seems I should have maintained a working relationship with them (don’t worry we still have sleepovers all the time). Why, oh little reviews like the following for their debut LP, ZOMBIES!:

The Toronto Star wrote:

Arguably the most impressive indie pop band to come out of the East Coast since Two Hours Traffic

Ground Control had this and more to say:

ZOMBIES!!! marks Glory Glory Man United as a band to watch in the coming months. This album and the directions it takes combined with the overall sound of it seem destined to attract the attention and favor of Constantines, Sonic Youth and Mission Of Burma fans, but the record is made all the more exciting by the fact that Glory Glory Man United is only getting started; what they do next is anyone’s guess, but hopefully we won’t have to wait long to find out.

Herohill wrote:

ZOMBIES! feels like the remarkably polished and precise evolution…they firmly define their sound and have written a record that local slacker kids will cop and try to imitate in the years to come.

Wowzers!!!!!!!! Congrats guys!

RELEASE SHOW TONIGHT (Thursday July 8th)

Come join GGMU at Gus’ Pub this Thursday night for some electric mayhem. We’re releasing our very first (self-produced, DIY-recorded) [check those reviews again! -Rob] full-length album, ZOMBIES!!!, on CD and powder-blue vinyl, in kickass handmade silkscreened cases. The Toronto Star loves it. Herohill loves it. Ground Control loves it. You will too. You can stream the whole thing on our myspace!

With very special guest(s) Jon McKiel. We’re quite excited.
http://www.myspace.com/jonmckiel

http://www.myspace.com/ggmu

EDIT – Start time and cost

it is just the two bands, cover is 5 bucks. ggmu will likely start sometime between 11 and 12, depending on when people start showing up. people have to work in the morning and all that, we’re going to try to have a relatively early show and party down afterward so people can trickle home as they like.

on that note, anyone reading this and planning on attending should please be there for 10 pm. i hesitate to say it’s going to be amazing because obviously i’m in one of the bands but i’m psyched.

There is a benefit show tonight downtown featuring some of Halifax’s best metal bands raising money for one of their own fighting cancer. It’s a great lineup without the additional good you’ll be contributing too so metal fans should make an effort to get down there this evening. They have a good patio too if it stays nice out this evening.

Kobra Promotions Presents:

Terratomb
Hellacaust
Thy Flesh Consumed
Select And Dismember

$5 at the door+ donations welcome. 19+ BRING I.D. DUMMY!!!!

Our metal brother Quinn (North End Metal All-Stars, War Ensemble) has fallen on hard times recently fighting cancer. Regular treatment to destroy this hellish disease has left him unable to work and this benefit is on to help him lift his spirits and get some well needed cash in his pocket.

SUPPORT OR DIE!!!!

www.myspace.com/terratombonline
www.hellacaust.ca
www.thyfleshconsumed.com
www.myspace.com/selectanddismember

If you wish to send a donation directly to Quinn, please contact Ross Vickers or Peter Mestre for Quinn’s PayPal information. Thank you.

Facebook Event Page

So based on a combination of finanacial, personal and just needing change reasons I am [edit2: MAYBE] getting out of the Rock Garden. I will shutting down after this weekend most likely. Although I am hoping to find someone to continue to operate the space as a jam space, a potential offer may keep me around a bit longer but I need out. [EDIT1: I actually already have one meeting lined up, so fingers crossed].

EDIT3: The space is 100% not shutting down. I just have no idea what my future role in it will be. The above was a little dramatic. I don’t recall but I am hoping I was drunk when I wrote that!  Drama is not my style. I was sad and bitter and not liking recent events but…c’est la vie.  Currently I am trying to make arrangements to replace the investor I lost yet work less. Once that plan has definitely failed I have been contacted by a number of great people that could continue operating the space as an hourly rental space. I hope to rule out my preferred options ASAP and then move forward with talks with others. Will update as things develop one way or the other.

Pretty much from day one things were behind. So the space has never been quite where I wanted it. I have basically built a life-style business – for a lifestyle I can’t sustain. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavricks, wrote: I’m also a big believer that financial debt is the ultimate dream killer. Now I wouldn’t say debt killed my dreams, but it sure made sleeping difficult sometimes.

That’s the crux of my decision. For the amount of hours I spend at the space compared to the returns, I know I could be doing better. Of course, when things are good, they’re good. But when they slow down, there are still payments to be made. Now the days are rare when no one is here, but I still sit here for a longer than average work day and think – well I just made no money to put on my debt. And the good times have balanced it all out to date [the space was profitable the last 4 years, just not profitable enough for me], but the uncertainty – and no guarantee that the next month WILL be better – has made it difficult to agrressively tackle my debt. And that has been weighing heavy on me. A lower but consistent income now would better suit where I am in life versus the highs and lows that come with running a small business. If someone ever wants to make a deal for a personal investment contract, so game [because of its focus on debt].

To make things work even close to the way I want them to will require more money put into the space. And that in turn requires a committment of another 1-2 years here myself for sure. And that is something else I don’t think I can do. I barely see my wife. She works days and is in bed by the time I get home. To varying degrees, that has been the last 5 years. Hands down the shittest part of my job.

I had an investor earlier this year who due to problems with his existing business partner had to bail. That derailed a lot of plans and put me in a tighter position than I had been previously. So the “required money” noted above was gone and that got me questioning all the other points laid out here.

I will miss being surrounded by music on a daily basis and hearing new bands before everyone else. But I will also enjoy seeing the sun more than I have over the last 5 years. If future business ventures are successful I would love to do jam spaces again but would now know how to do them right from day one [and would be ideally debt free].

And I am not totally giving up on business or the music biz yet. It is probably easier to consider winding down the Rock Garden as a new opportunity starts. Ryan Cooper, one of the partners in the space, is also a partner in a new donation/pay-what-you-want/crowdfunding service for musicians called IOUmusic. So that will be quietly entering public beta this week or next. The personal bonus there is that it will not require 12 hour days and even if it did I can certainly work it around my wife’s schedule.

So going forward my three main focuses for the next bit will be:
1) my wife
2) eliminating debt
3) IOUmusic.com

I took on partners last year, and I thought they were amazing then. I don’t even know how they could talk to me right now. Not only could they, their understanding is off the charts.

So to my wife Joi, partners Ryan and Joy Suttle and to all the bands who have graced the space over the past 5 years, thank you for your patience, understanding and support.

It has been the most amazing 5 years of my life [I just fear a 6th or 7th may have ruined it all!].

All the best, or as my friend Andrew Gillis signs off, in music,
Rock Garden Rob MacArthur

Any money raised will be going to the Canadian Cancer Society.  I have worked and volunteered for the CCS. I can tell you first hand they have many programs where money raised directly impacts the lives of of people fighting cancer. From helping supplement the cost of drugs patients need to providing them a place to stay when they need to travel to Halifax for treatments. The services they provide make a world of difference to the people they help.

For those interested in baking cupcakes, you can sign up until this Friday. There will be prizes awarded the best cupcakes including some swag from Johnny Cupcakes.

For those that just like to eat cupcakes, there is already a pretty good list of bakers signed up with most contributing multiple kinds of cupcakes. So take a walk this Sunday coming and stop in for some sweet lil’cakes!

Kudos to fellow sponsors for their support. The Hub is the venue for Cupcake Camp. While photographer Chelle Wootten will be snapping shots of all the edible goodness for the bakers and then folks enjoying their hard work during the event. Chelle also took pics for the poster and it was put together by one Isaac Hansen.

In case you cannot read the text on the poster, it says:

If you are looking to get in touch with anyone about the event you’ll be contacting Johanna Gerrits.

Hope to see you there!

Myles and the Fuzz have hit the road today with the Sleepless Nights, bound for Ontario and the Pitter Patter festival.

The festival founded by Keith Hamiliton [booker at the Boat in Toronto, a dj, leader of his band Hamilton Trading Co. - probably lots of other stuff I don't know about] has a pretty great vision that is hard to not get behind:

The Pitter Patter Music Festival is based on a simple set of principals:
Fair compensation to the artists
Easy access for the patrons
The need to discover and cultivate new Canadian talent
The desire to expand the radius of support for new music outside of Toronto
By sticking with the above principals and the not-for-profit ideals on which the festival was founded Pitter Patter hopes to continue expanding and ultimately envisions itself as a national festival, setting the standard for how Canada supports the arts.

See that point about easy access for the patrons? Well if you have heard of any of the bands playing but maybe are tight for cash, don’t worry. The festival is now an entirely pay-what-you-can affair for the patrons!

Check out the Pitter Patter site for: A Brief History of the Pitter Patter Music Festival and the complete schedule

For Fuzz fans, this tour will also be the first chance to grab a preview copy of their new album “You Can’t Heal a Sick Riff” which was produced by Mike O’Neill. The album will be officially released this fall.

http://www.myspace.com/mylesdeckandthefuzz
http://www.myspace.com/thesleeplessnights
Facebook Event page for the guys’ tour

Complete Tour Dates:
22 May House Show Moncton
23 May Raw Sugar Ottawa
25 May Black Shire Pub London
27 May Red Dog Peterborough
28 May Marcello’s Toronto
29 May The Boat Toronto
31 May Trepid House Waterloo
1 Jun The Ship Hamilton
2 Jun The Jupiter Room Montreal
4 Jun The Capital Fredericton
5 Jun The Seahorse Halifax

In the bleak summer of 09, three pals with some time on their hands formed a new loud rock n roll band…..

And made it one of my favorite new bands to come out of Halifax in a while. Dirty low-fi power pop punk that KICKS!! Thanks in no small part to Meg’s instinctual beat down on the kit. For a first time drummer she plays with enough confidence and raw ommph to convince anyone this is not a) her first band and b) that she hadn’t played drums before.

The band is fronted by KC Spidle – formerly of Dog Day and still Husband and Knife [with BV's bass player Evan playing there too].

This is the band’s first tour beyond the Maritimes, show them some love!
It is also Meg’s first tour ever + first time traveling across Canada, so show them a good time folks!

You can follow tour updates at:
http://badviben.tumblr.com/

Check out some music and keep an eye for their future return via their MySpace page. My current fav track of the moment = “We’re Dead”
http://www.myspace.com/bdvbes

Tour Dates:

• 6 May 2010 FRIENDSHIP COVE w/ DRUNK DIAL & OMAN RA II MONTREAL, Quebec, CANADA
• 7 May 2010 TERANGA w/ BAG TAG & SOUP CANS TORONTO, Ontario , CA
• 8 May 2010 TRINITY LOUNGE SARNIA, Ontario, CANADA
• 9 May 2010 THIS AIN’T HOLLYWOOD w/ SAILBOATS ARE WHITE & RATTAIL & TROPICS HAMILTON, Ontario , CA
• 11 May 2010 BABYLON CLUB w/ CENTRETOWN CRIPPLERS, KNIFEMARE OTTAWA, Ontario , CA
• 12 May 2010 P572 HOUSE QUEBEC, Quebec , CA
• 13 May 2010 THE CAPITAL w/ CURSED ARROWS FREDRICTON, New Brunsw, CANADA
• 14 May 2010 THE PARAMOUNT w/ THE NUCLEAR & THE ROBINS MONCTON, New Brunsw, CA

So Sundays use to be the busiest day of the week at the Rock Garden. Since the New Year though they have been pretty hit or miss. No real clue why….I am kind of blaming Isaac…..though he really didn’t do anything…. But to try and get folks back in on Sundays, every hour booked on a Sunday in May counts as one entry in a draw for free jams to the end of the year [6 months of 1 free weekly 2h jam - free jams do not have to be used on Sundays].

All you have to do is book time on Sunday, make sure to use your full name or band name and you are entered. We will post the winner of the random draw the first week of June.

Saturdays have never been super busy, so we may start offering some deals on Saturdays as well too. Right now this is all an experiment so we will see what happens….. [many of you using Foursquare?]

Bookings can be made:

• In person at 2304 Hunter St.
• By phoning 404-7007
• Or emailing bookings@rockgardenjamspaces.com

We will reopen on Sunday May 2nd.

If you are booking for Sunday May 2nd or after, leave a message or email us and we will be checking for messages periodically.

If you are looking for time while we are closed we apologize for any inconvenience.
We had to close due to a TV show filming in the hall above us.

Our hours and if we are closing for anything like this can be seen on our website at http://www.rockgardenjamspaces.com or on our Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/therockgarden [which also shows up on our website].

Thanks
Rob

I say not a sweet chance!

Facing the (Free) Music
March 12, 2010
For 10 years, music execs have waged a war against digital file sharing — and software like Napster and websites like The Pirate Bay — which have decimated the industry’s profits. But recently, there are signs from Europe that the battle over free music may be changing.

Or you can read the transcript