The band spent all of the Winter months writing, rehearsing, performing and recording the Strength EP, which is due out May 2012.  The songs are hard, aggressive, thick, dynamic and lyrically pretty clearly about strength – my interpretation of strength – there were some ups+downs writing the material but no un-scalable brick walls.

Now Spring has come and I’m in the midst of writing some new material for the second EP titled Beauty.  I have come to realize, that I have NEVER written from a conceptual space like Beauty before.

It’s disorienting. Most of the material I have written is heavy and generally deals with issues we don’t wish to speak about (living beyond trauma, anger, depression, etc…).  But Beauty – well that’s something we seemingly engage with every day, and can’t stop talking about, particularly in a time of heavy media saturation – billboards, tv ads, magazine pull outs, facebook, etc…

The facebook element really intrigues me – in past we would look to magazines and other external media to draw comparisons and build our sense of Beauty worthiness and attractiveness – I feel that now we do this more so by stalking our friend’s pages and the pages of totally random seemingly happy + seemingly beautiful strangers.  We are very willing to take on the role of the advertiser by posting what we believe to be beautiful photos of ourselves to broadcast a particular notion we’d like to persuade an audience to believe. Simultaneously, we play role of  an audience who is willing to accept the potential deception of the seemingly wonderful scenarios portrayed in the photographs/posts of others.  We should recognize that with any medium there will be an inherent bias in the message – facebook photos are self-selected for us to look our best and to meet some standard (a standard that is quantified by the number of Likes). It’s an instantaneous model for the pursuit of crowd-sourcing a standard of our own Beauty.

But we all know that Beauty is far more than aesthetic. Many times when I think of Beauty I immediately think of love, or truth or justice or good or some other highly conceptual positive element. But I’m not entirely comfortable with that – again that’s too self-selecting, and things like being good or engaging with truth can be painful and difficult actions, but entirely necessary – can’t a painful truth be Beauty?

Can broken hearts be beautiful?

I’m trying to work from neither the aesthetic nor the emotional elements of Beauty. The definition that has really made the largest impact has been the phrase “being in one’s hour.“  It’s the only one that’s really rung true in my mind as a place to start writing new material.  It I have LITTLE IDEA what this EP is going to sound like in the end….it’s a grand experiment this Beauty.

And as for Taxes.….well you see I was supposed to be doing that this afternoon – but decided to write to you instead…..if ever you feel really down and out about your Beauty (whatever that means to you), know that you are always and forever more beautiful than taxes will ever be.

So – check it out – we are playing Canadian Music Fest (a part of Canadian Music Week) as part of woah! Music’s showcase!

Fri Mar 23rd @ Duffy’s Tavern @ 9pm!!! (We love to play – but even more excited to play for our first festival this year!). $10 at the door (CMW wristband peeps – you get in free of course). 

This means 2 things:

1. See you Friday night! 

2. We will be at the daytime conference at the Royal York on Thur, Fri + Sat.

Conferencing for some people can be intimidating- but hey – you  know at least 1 band there & you can totally fake like we’re doing hardcore business deals over Twitter   People can seem a little cold, but usually a nice hello, a firm handshake and a warm smile and people will open right up!  You can reach me + Marco directly via twitter — @bandbandana or @marcoadamovic — If you’re there too and want to chat about art and music and labels and love, let’s meet up!

I’ll be headed out to see DangerBand on Thursday night + Saul Williams on Fri night (After our show of course!);  I’m going to do my darndest to see Lickpenny Loafer + Cousin Rufu on Sat night (we’ve played with these guys – amazing vocals on both bands).

Don’t forget — NEW MUSIC IS HERE!! 

There are clips up of the pre-mixed tracks! If you would like a preview of the new Strength EP before it is released in May, send us a Tweet!

Ok – CMW is going to be hectic – so everyone, eat well, take care of yourself and each other and we’ll see you out there at the shows!

SECONDLY…for your listening pleasure –> NEW SBS SONGS!!! These are the tunes we’ve been working on in studio!

THRIDLY….. today is my Father’s and Kurt Cobain’s birthdays. Below are some videos of music that they’ve both inspired me to enjoy and consume as my own –people always ask us about our influences – these examples explain the influences in SBS quite clearly I think. (They are long videos, the first 2 mins of each gives a good taste of the rest of the song).

February is a super hectic month because the calendar days are truncated – I’m not sure if that means we actually have less time, but such is the way with our ability to perceive time.  I’m tired.  Not going to lie.  Actually the whole band is a wee bit tired – we’re taking a 2-3 week breather to write instead of rehearsing or doing shows. (So I guess we’re still working – but it’s not exactly the same).

Since the beginning of 2012 we’ve played 4 shows for some 500 people (playing with Arkells, The Elwins, Dead Shyre, CSI Annex,  Lickpenny Loafer + Cousin Rufu), engaged a publicist, have a team working on building the culture label, have a logo for the culture label, updated our EPK,  been in studio with Vikas Kohli at FatLabs and completed 6 new songs (in 51 days that’s not bad).  We’d like to do more – but we need to take a small step back, rest up and plan for the upcoming EP releases.

Originally we were going to release 1 full length album of 15 songs or so – that has changed.   We have decided to release three, 5-7 song EPs titled: Strength, Beauty & Shimmer. We will release one EP every 3-4 months (essentially every season, just like a fashion designer releases collections – thanks for the inspiration Jason Goldlist).  SBS is pretty lucky that even though we are only a 3 piece band, we’re all actual musicians who can play instruments and sing at the same time (no joke – that’s pretty rare) – so we have a lot of variety in the song types we can create. Breaking down the album into separate EP’s will allow for each distinctive sound live it’s full life – then we can also provide listeners with the ability to make their own albums – when our band and/or label site is up.

The videos above are all about deep seated drunk love – isn’t that what February is always associated with – the heart + love in North America.  But I’m just sayin’ that the heart’s got nothing without the lungs to feed it oxygen and a mind to put to use all that delusional emotion.  I’d love to see little lung + brain emoticons to share with loved ones – if anyone has some available send them our way… We speak a lot about heart in music – but man – it takes all kinds of muscles and organs to make something like music work and work beautifully: it takes heart + guts + balls + brains + any other number of muscles, tissues and organs I know not of.   (This is top of mind for me as my back’s been out of commission and I had never realized just how fully I took for granted how a whole body+mind is needed to make music – or love for that matter)…carrying on…..

This post really could have been 2 or even 3 posts – but I simply couldn’t stop working.  Now it is time for bed…..or maybe just a few more tweaks before I go to sleep….

The past two weeks have been an absolutely ridiculously phenomenally challenging and yet a remarkably enjoyable start to the new year!

3 shows in 4 weeks! People reaching out to us for future shows! Last minute EVERYTHING – my little heart’s all worked up!

Our kickass end of 2011 show at the legendary Velvet Underground….AMAZING…..it even got us another gig! I needn’t say more.

First show of 2012 was Jan 7th with our dear friends Dead Shyre at The Central! They sounded amazing with a tight new lineup – this was one of my favourite shows they’ve done!  Maha Kamal, amazing lady who pushes for social justice through her profession as a lawyer, AND is a phenomenal photographer was at the show too! (She is also the wife of Dead Shyre’s rocking lead singer Ali Rizvi). You need to check out Maha’s photography – it’s amazing. I kinda wish she also had a blog, I’d follow that in an instant (just putting it out there Maha!).

And then Jeez louise!….

I’m still in awe of our show on Friday Jan 13th at Hart House for UofT’s Student Union’s Week of Welcome!

OMG SBS is on the marquee line!!

We opened for The Elwins + The Arkells. This was the biggest show we’ve done to date – about 250-300 super excited energetic university kids and the energy flowing through the room was IMMENSE!  Marco was sweating, Rustom was smiling, and I was singing my little heart out. The audience JUMPED, DANCED + MOSHED with our tunes! I mean they had never even heard of us before and to get that kind of response was

fucking gold.

Hart House a+ UTSU totally spoiled us with our own green room, with food, and booze! Gah! It was one of the most vindicating moments of our professional artistic lives – we were actually being treated like artists! We would have been happy with some water and a push onto the stage!  Hart House, Vita Carlino, The Elwins  -these guys all gave us simply amazing love.  The Elwins even let us borrow their bass player + tuner for sound check – totally awesome guys.  Keep your eyes out for their upcoming CD (releasing in Feb!).   We didn’t have a chance to meet The Arkells in person – but god damn they rocked out that night!   SBS was also joined on stage that night by Karim Rizkallah and his gorgeous Halo (– it’s SUCH a COOL instrument – see video below).  He joined us with only 2 days notice – totally rock’n roll).  Karim & his halo will hopefully also be making an appearance on the album.

Oh yeah – that’s right – We are recording an album in February!  Gah! Crazy how quickly that came up!

This is a year of cutting out the bullshit – and it feels great!!  Cutting out crap (from a diet, relationships, work, etc), has really let the most important things take precedence and receive the attention they deserve.  It feels sooooo good to have put so much hard work into something and to see the energy reflected in your audience.  !!! I WANT TO DO IT AGAIN !!!

Let’s do it again!

(We’re going to do it again on Feb 17th at The Drake Hotel! You should come and do it with us – keep your eyes out for more deets!)

Although we have made plans, I’m not certain what’s in store for the band, the label, or even just little ol’ me in the year to come, but for everything that has been the past year:

Thank you

to all the amazing people who have been working alongside the band, the label, the community to continue to work against the random factors of Life through creating art! Thank you for fighting the good fight.  Your support and love and sheer wild bewildering believing has provided our little band with a beautiful community, a stunning audience at our shows, and the joy of performing.

To have you come to a show, post your thoughts on our Facebook page, hangout with us on Twitter, send us an email (see below), talk to us about your thoughts on music, life, love, community, change – we have been very privileged to engage with you.  Thank you for sharing in our music!

Our last show of the year is Friday Dec 16th at the legendary Velvet Underground in Toronto - it will be loud and lovely.  If you are at the show we would love to have your thoughts on the new songs!!! We will definitely need your feed back on songs!!!  (see below)!  SBS + Friends are then heading away to the Hart House Farm to write, and record demos for the upcoming album due out Spring 2012.  We will be sharing demos in late December an early January.

Every day is a new year – not in a shmultzy kind of way – but in the way that love, joy, merriment, peace and resolutions can be had at any time! Don’t sweat the insanity that is supposed to be “The Holidays.”  Besides – The End is Nigh! Which means we get to begin again.

Much love,  your band always,

SBS

New Music

SBS is writing, writing, writing, rehearsing, rehearsing, rehearsing, playing, playing, playing, deleting, deleting, deleting, and then writing, writing, writing again. We’ve played 2 amazing shows in October already!

This is Hush a new song inspired by South Asian mothers who don’t want to let go of their sons.

11.11.11
An amazing coincidence of a day! And we’re playing a show with our friends Dead Shyre at The Central on Fri Nov 11 from 6-9pm!SBS will be doing a rare  acoustic set -likely with some experimental material.  It will still be high energy  (I don’t think SBS knows how to do a low energy set)…. but it will be a little more vocally oriented. (You’ll be able to hear the lyrics to the songs this way!).

Facebook is Purple
We’ve updated our FB Profile to include MUSIC + VIDEO care of Reverb Nation.

If you are already a fan click on the    Band Profile  link on the left hand side of the SBS FB Page.  If you aren’t a fan already – check out the beautiful new layout here!

Men are Rad
Men are Rad and need to be healthy! (Because we love you and need you to be healthy too!)
Our darling Marco is donating his face to Movember in order to raise funds and awareness for men’s health issues. He’s shaved off his beard and is starting from scratch to grow out the now famous Movember moustache!
Check out his page to see his mustachio growing progress + maybe donate some funds too on his Movember page!

UPCOMING SHOWS!

New York I’m coming: Nov 17, 18 + 19
I’ll be in NYC to check out Tisch’s ITP program in action!
While I’m there I’m hoping to hop into an open mic or two!
Any suggestions for places to eat, things to do, spots to check out or spaces to play are all welcome!

San Francisco I’ll see you soon: Nov 20 – 27
After NYC I’ll be flying to the West Coast to see friends + family (it’s been 10 years since my last visit!)
While in San Fran I’ll be finding a cool open mic spot to play – any leads let us know!

The Velvet Underground
Stoked to be playing the legendary Velvet Underground in Toronto on Fri Dec 16th (presented by WOAH Music).
Keep an eye out for the FB Event with details!  In the meantime – here is a link to the “BitterSweet Symphony” by the band – The Velvet Underground (you know – just cuz).

HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS.

that is all.

• Daniel Trinh came by and took some GORGEOUS photos of the band last weekend and we now have some amazing photography for the site. It’s soo easy working with Dan and we are soooooooooooo excited to do a formal, stylized photoshoot in the coming months.

• We have SHOWS booked! Hooray! Sat Oct 15th at Smiling Buddha with Dead Shyre and Samer Shahid Khan.  It’s going to be an awesome party at a relaxed venue downtown.  We also have a show booked for Sat. Dec 16 – more details tba for that one!

• Our website is still in the works! I made it a bit more difficult than it should have been for our website producer, Chris Mallon, by not transferring some name servers recently……SO SORRY CHRIS! But he’s on it and the first version of the site should be up very very shortly. Had a great Mobile meeting with Nik Papadakis – omg – so super informative. Mobile is a medium that is definitely on our radar.

• We are so lucky to have some amazing mentors/advisers and we had a chance to chat with Fleur Leslie, at Small World Music (Chair of the Board of Directors).  She sat down with us and helped talk us through some business planning with engaging teams, building robust contact database and focusing what our core business will be and how it might expand in the next 3 -5 years (always daunting especially when you’re only really 2 months in – but vision helps steer this creative ship!).

• We have a real space to work out of at the Centre for Social Innovation down at Queen and Spadina.  AMAZING energy and people in that place – super stoked to be working out of there!

Which brings us to the time for Marco’s vlog – we’ve met with our growing MineOwn Media team over the past month and Marco wanted to send out some love – in song form and highly inspired by Romperoom – “and I see Timmy and David….”  they never saw Bandana or Tanuja or Nik Papadakis for that matter – but in Marco’s vision of the Romperoom Shout Out – he sees us all!

Wrote this in 2008 for the North Shore Writers’ Festival Short Story Contest  

In Mumbai, skies would gape open and bare teeth. Taxis would awaken from slumber, their drivers clutching wheels like guns, ready for battle in the streets. Crows would descend, operatically unafraid, into the wet jostle for space and survival. And Mohan would open his eyes and walk to the window with a grateful pace.

‘Dr. Mo, will this hurt?’, and once again Mohan was exploring the metal laced mouth of Tim Stewart, who had the talent of being a thirteen year old comfortable enough in his own skin to talk at all times, to anyone, anywhere, and even with motionless lips. Tim’s utterances, however many, however nasal, were unforced, sourcing from some deep well of expression within him. Mohan thought about his own words, how they tended to meander, river-like, hugging curves of thought but never spilling honestly onto the shore. All the levies might break under all that pain, and that hope that held him prisoner to dreams, that shackled him here to this dentist’s office where his own name sounded foreign. ‘We’re actually done…you can close your mouth.’ Tim’s eyes had widened. ‘Are you okay Dr. Mo?’, and then unexpectedly, due to the youth of the inquirer, ‘Do you miss home?’. It was motherly, the intuitive concern, the complete lack of conceit. Perhaps, for once, Tim’s words deserved a response that matched their true worth. Mohan nodded truthfully, feeling as if the crows had suddenly burst into the office, as if the monsoon itself had released its blessed rains.

First month down – 17 to go……September is a new year for many students – but really aren’t we all students of in the school of life?  (hahahaha)….September has always felt way more like the beginning of a New Year to me than Jan 1st- and in that regard here are some of our new school year resolutions……

New songs, New shows, New website.….NEW FULL LENGTH ALBUM!!!!

Check out the “vlog” (video blog) below for details!  VIDEO DISCLAIMER:  I am almost always in “muppet mode” when on any kind of film based medium – photos, videos, etc… it’s a known fact.  You will notice many a “muppet moment” throughout the video.  Enjoy! (This is the first one – so it’s fairly ranty/rambling…but it’s full of rainbows and unicorns with a low dose of marshmallow bananas).

It’s been 1 month since we’ve have moved into project mode.  I had an amazing chat with Marco Adamovic (our fantastic drummer) – and he’s also on board to help build the label – how very very exciting!!! He’s simply an amazing dude with a great history in youth facilitation and artistic programming.  So we are soooo stoked.

We’ve finally come up with some real launch dates for our upcoming works!

• Sept – New Band Photography!
• Oct 1  – New Website!
• Sept/Oct – Questions and Answers (we have tons of questions about how you interact with music and really would love to get your thoughts and ideas on distribution, shows, videos – details coming in the next post)
• Nov – Shows in the US!
• Mar 13 2012 – New Album Release Date! (Hazah!)

We’ve got a lot of stuff going on and it’s all being brought to you by the letter W.  Well no, it’s actually being brought to you by a set of helping hands (Christine, Tanuja, Daniel, Chris, Nik!).  Live events, websites, grants…this team is going to rock some socks this fall.

Oct 1st will be the launch of a new website as well as Marco’s  turn to do a Vlog – his Vlog will be soooooooo much more together because he’s a pro!

Over the next 18 months (Aug 1 2011 – Feb 2013),  I’ll be working with an amazing team to build a record label that integrates commerce building and community building in order to continue building my own musical career.  Growing up with punk+alt rock in the 90′s that whole DIY thing kinda got stuck inside my mind.  If an opportunity does not exist – make one.

Yes – I’m pretty much insane to be leaving a full time job to attempt to build a competitive business in what is essentially a failing industry.  But there seems to be potential….and I find the allure too tempting.  This adventure is going to be really really hard and very trying (not only for myself but my family and friends who are providing their love and support).  Who knows – at the end of the day,  I could have very little – but – in the end I suppose I will have a story to tell my own children, (in particular daughters) one day – “that’s right sweetheart, mommy tried to be a rockstar back in the day……”  I never want to say to my future unborn children (and anyone else for that matter)   you can live your dreams without at least attempting it.

Needless to say – I need help (in so many different ways…but let’s start with the practical stuff no?)……

We are building a team.   Maybe you are interested in the music, the industry or the idea of being part of a social enterprise, but if you’re interested in giving some of your time, energy and talents to this endeavour that would be soo totally rad    Even if you have NEVER tried any of these things but have a huge interest and passion – please don’t shy from contacting us! (Lord knows I’ve never tried this before….)

There is a short list of potential ways you can get involved – if there’s something else you think we need, or that you could help out with – or are interested in pursuing – totally let us know!!  We are located in Toronto – but you don’t have to be.  We are all about building a team that’s engaged and excited by music, culture + community and good times.

THE LABEL: Building a viable social enterprise,  (commercial business that is steeped in community based values) to ensure a safe and accessible studio space, as well as development and promotions support to amazing community based artists!

THE BAND: Building Sing Bandana Singh, writing new music (alt rock), gaining more exposure, doing more shows!

Support that the Band + Label will need:

• Marketing Team: these would be people who are interested in helping to create electronic marketing campaigns (integrating Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, Fanbridge) that are meanginful and not spammy!
• Members of a Community Team: team members who talk to as many other people as they can about the music and upcoming events the feel and how others can get involved; this may also include going to amazing events all over the GTA to learn about other like-minded artists.
• Founding Team:
• this is a core group of maybe 4 people or so – who would create the working vision, with a strategy to execute to build the organization.   This would be a team that would also be focused on how to turnover interactions with the music and media into revenue and profits in order to create a sustainable organization.
• A concert booking agent: maybe you’re just really interested in working in music and events – we’d LOVE to talk to you!
• A publicist (or publicists):
• Artists – do you play? Or know someone who does?  The band is always interested in collaborations and live events and if you want to pitch some arty music ideas – we’d love to hear them!