The Stellar Radio Choir are looking forward to their very first  cross-Canadian tour, which kicks off at the Tongue N Groove, June 13 with local indie rock band Planet Telex and Fernie post punk duo Mobina Galore.

The Golden B.C. based trio Stellar Radio Choir are looking forward to not only a couple high profile gigs back home in Ontario, but rocking out at the Tongue N Groove along the way.

“Last time we played the Slice, but the Tongue N Groove is a new venue for us,” said bassist Todd Menzies. He is looking forward to touring with Mobina Galore.

“They are a two piece pop rock duo. I like to call them sugar rock, because they a have really loud grungy guitar sound and really soft voices. They get people moving, which is what we like to do too. It’s fast paced. We like to see people on the dance floor even if they don’t know the songs,” he said.

He got to know drummer Marcia Hanson and guitarist/ vocalist Jenna Priestner from Mobina Galore after a show and asked them if they wanted to tour together. While he wasn’t expecting them to join them for the whole tour, he is looking forward to it.
“I’ve played a lot solo out in Ontario, but this is the first time I’ve brought this band,” said Peterborough raised Menzies.
“I had a great music scene growing up there,” Menzies continued.

There are no dirty connotations associated with the name of  Winnipeg “roots” quintet The F-Holes. A F-hole is actually the sound hole of a semi-hollow-body electric guitar or mandolin.

They are looking forward to bringing their blend of rockabilly/ country/ Dixieland jazz and their quirky sense of humour to Lethbridge for the first time, June 8 when they play the Slice.

“We like playing a lot of different genres. I guess some people call us swing roots,” said Eric Lemoine, the F-Holes’ banjo player, pedal steel guitarist, resonator and electric bassist.

“We play a little bit of everything from a little bit of rockabilly to a little bit of Dixieland, so I guess we’re versatile,” he said. All of the band members play multiple instruments including several different horns.

Blaze Foley, was the type of crazy, spontaneous, exciting cat Beatniks like Jack Kerouac wrote books about and the type of guys minstrels write songs about — literally.
 Lucinda Willaims wrote a song about him  called “Drunken Angel,” as did Townes Van Zandt, who wrote Blaze’s Blues. Foley was murdered in 1989 at the age of 39, but his spirit lives on.

One way to keep the spirit of an old friend alive is to put together a musical tribute to him which is what Austin’s Gurf Morlix has done to celebrate the life of Blaze Foley.

“He was a real character. He was a homeless guy and an alcoholic and a songwriter,” said Morlix who will be bringing his tribute to Blaze Foley, Wednesday, June 8 at the Geomatic Attic.

 Numerous people have covered Foley’s songs including Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Lyle Lovett, and John Prine, just to name a few. Lucinda Williams wrote a song about him called “Drunken Angel.” Morlix also wrote a song about him.

 The evening will  begin with an hour long documentary by filmmaker Kevin Triplett, who never knew Foley, but spent 12 years interviewing people who knew him to make his debut film.

Triplett himself joins the tour and will be answering questions after the film. Morlix will then play a set of songs from his new Blaze Foley tribute Album, “Blaze Foley’s 113th Wet Dream.”

“It has all come together in the past year. Everyone who is involved with this is doing it for the right reasons,” said Morlix, who is pleased that Foley’s legend lives on more than 20 years after he was murdered for defending a friend of his who was being abused by his son.

Unfortunately I missed one fourth of the Secretaries, Amy Van Keeken, at the Owl Acoustic Lounge playing in “parlour folk” duo the Awesomhots.

Apparently they reconfigured a typewriter to make cool music.

I did catch a  pleasant surprise though — 100 Mile House.  The Edmonton folk rock group featuring Peter Stone on vocals and guitar and his wife Denise MacKay on vocals, guitar and snare drum and Scott Zubot on violin eased into their set with a solo acoustic song and  quickly picked up the tempo with some peppy violin and very pleasant vocal harmonies backed by stand up bass from Tom Murray and Ty Armstrong keeping the beat going on drums.