July 10, 2010: SOS Fest 2010
June 13, 2010: Ironwood Stage, Calgary AB
May 23, 2010: Spring gigs!
Been busy with a slew of live gigs in and around the Edmonton area during April and May. It all started with "The Alice Kos Band" at "The Empress" in Edmonton on April 24, immediately followed by the "Manraygun / Fugitives" double bill at "The Artery" on April 25. Up next was a three nighter by Manraygun in Leduc (May 6, 7 & 8 at Burnsy O'Flanagans), then "Alice Kos Band" played and additonal Edmonton show at The Black Dog on May 15. Finally, it was "Darrek Anderson and the Guaranteed" (along with "Bombchan" and "A Bunch of Marys") at The Black Dog on Sunday May 23. Good times!
Alice Kos Band live @ The Empress, April 24, 2010
photo by Renee LaRoi
April 20, 2010: Manraygun show with The Fugitives
Manraygun will be performing with "The Fugitives" for one night only at "The Artery" (9535 - Jasper Ave) in Edmonton, Alberta on Sunday, April 25. Doors 7pm, music 9pm $10 TIX AVAILABLE ONLINE: www.theartery.ca or at the door.
April 15, 2010: Eamon
My family and I would like to welcome to the world our new son Eamon, born on Easter Sunday!! The little man is healthy and mama is recovering well. We would like to extend our gratitude to our dear friends and family for your thoughtful words and acts of kindness over this past while. We won't forget it!
February 6 , 2010: MRG to lead up for Corb Lund!!
ManRayGun will be leading up for Corb Lund and The Hurtin' Albertans and Ridley Bent at the Edmonton Event Centre on Friday, February 26. Tickets are available from ticketmaster or at the door.
February 1 , 2010: upcoming shows in Alberta
ManRayGun is in rehearsal for our upcoming show in Edmonton at The Blue Chair. The best way to come to this show is make a reservation and come for dinner and then stick around to see the band after. The food is great and the band starts early (8pm). Reserve a table: reso@bluechair.ca
ManRayGun will also be playing in Calgary at the Palamino club on Friday March 12. This will be an afternoon "happy hour" show. More details to follow
Alice Kos will be playing at the Black Dog Freehouse in Edmonton, Alberta on Saturday, May 15. I play electric guitar in her band with Mike Silverman (drums), Tom Murray (electric and stand-up bass) and Scott Zubot (violin and mandolin).
January 26, 2010: recording sessions with Idyl Tea & Alice Kos
Just finished two weekends of recording sessions with two projects I am currently involved with: the first one was a 4 day recording session with Idyl Tea; the second one was last weekend with Edmonton-based songwriter Alice Kos.
Idyl Tea is now well into production of a brand new cd, the group's first new commercial release since 1995. The new full length cd, tentatively titled "Song That's Not Finished Yet", will be released later in 2010.
Meanwhile Alice Kos (the artist formerly know as Alice Worthington) is also working towarrds a full length cd recording to be completed later this year. Check out demo recordings at her myspace site.
January 6 , 2010: 2 MRG shows announced!
from: manraygun.comManRayGun has announced two upcoming shows in hometown Edmonton, Canada.
The first show will be a rough and tumble free event on Whyte Avenue at The BlackDog Freehouse (10425 – Whyte Avenue) on Wednesday night, January 20 .
The second show will be an intimate performance at Edmonton’s Blue Chair Cafe on Friday, February 19 (9624 – 76 ave. Reservations and tix: reso@bluechair.ca)
To hear songs from ManRayGun’s new cd “Everything is Temporary”, visit reverbnation.com/manraygun
December 10, 2009:
ManRayGun Vue Weekly video
December 9, 2009: ManRayGun cd release show this Friday!
The release party for Manraygun's new cd "Everything is Temporary" is this Friday, December 11 at "The Artery" (9535 - Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, Canada). The event will include music by Manraygun, Pale Moon Lights as well as mastrzofthayoonavrce. Tickets are $15 and are available at Blackbyrd Myoozik, Megatunes, Acoustic Music Shop or at the door ($15 includes the new cd!). The included cd can be collected at the door (if you have already purchased the new cd you may choose one of our previous discs).
Check out the Facebook Event Page
October 30 , 2009: 2 shows this weekend: get tickets before they sell out!
Tickets have officially sold out for the Dan Mangan / Manraygun show tonight at The Haven Social Club. Should be a great gig - hope to see ya there!
I'm also playing this weekend with The Guaranteed as part of the 3rd Annual Hallowe'en Event at The Starlite Room/The Brixx. In the spirit of hallowe'en the event features "bands as bands" and "djs as djs". The Guaranteed will be going as "Guided By Voices." This should be great fun - check out all the great bands playing! I have the feeling this show will also sell out - see advance ticket info below:
BANDS in STARLITE and BRIXX:
Slates as Black Sabbath
Down The Hatch as Nirvana
Hippychick and Unsound and Blindside as SNFU
The Maykings as R.E.M.
Desiderata & Fire Next Time as Queens of the Stone Age
The Blazing Violets as The Rolling Stones
Darrek Anderson & The Guaranteed as Guided By Voices
My Sister Ocean/Jezibelle as The White Stripes
Field & Stream as Dire Straits
Pale Moon Lights, Head Band & Kisses of Fire as The B-52s
...And He is Us as Queen
Preying Saints as Misfits
Temple- DJS
DJ Degree & Jake Roberts as Justice
Cools Beans as Bloody Beetroots
Battery & Cobra Commander as Toadally Krossed Out
Ten-0 as Chris Sheppard
DJ Tron & Optimixx Prime as Daft Punk
P-Rex as Frankie Wilde
Hotspur Pop as Fake Blood
$10 (For First 500 Tickets @ Blackbyrd, Through the Bands or Brixx), $15 After that and $20 @ door
October 23 , 2009: New ManRayGun cd to be released in November
The new Manraygun cd "Everything is Temporary" is finished and will be released in November 2009. The 16 track cd will be available at selected stores in Edmonton as well as by special order from retail outlets nationwide (check back for more details on when and where). "Everything is Temporary" will be available for download from itunes in January 2010.
October 1 , 2009: : New ManRayGun song on Youtube!
Check out Dennis Lenarduzzi's new video for the song "Lamento del Cortejo" from the upcoming new Manraygun cd "Everything is Temporary":
September 17, 2009: Eldorado, Joseph Blood & Shiloh Lindsay
September 6, 2009: MRG & Idyl Tea
Check out a review of the show from SEE Magazine
August 21, 2009: show with Alice Worthington
featuring
Mike Silverman (drums)
Tom Murray (bass)
Everett LaRoi (guitar)
at
"The Carrot"
9351 - 118 avenue
August 14, 2009: Show with The Swiftys!
Marc from "The City Streets" sat in on the drums for a recent gig with "Darrek Anderson & The Guaranteed" at the Pawn Shop. Quite a fun night I gotta say. Nice to see our friends in the The Swifty's as well as the Roger Marin Band. I play in Darrek's band (The Guaranteed) with Tom Murray (on bass guitar) and Darrek Anderson (on guitar and vocals). Typically we play with drummer Scott Davidchuck.
August 10, 2009: Free ManRayGun song download!
We have posted a free download of a song from the upcoming new Manraygun cd "Everything is Temporary" (slated for release in November 2009).
The song is the fully realized band version of the song "Sinner's Rain". Download it at our Reverbnation page.
June 17, 2009: North Country Fair this weekend!
Here is our schedule for the weekend:
Friday Night: Manraygun (1:00 AM - Firefly Stage)
Saturday Afternoon: Everett LaRoi in workshop with Eamon McGrath, Scott Cook, Darrek Anderson (4:30 pm)
Friday: Manraygun (2:00 PM - Shady Grove)
April 28, 2009: Manraygun shows this weekend!
Manraygun will be playing in Edmonton this Thursday night, April 30 at The Haven Social Club. We are sharing the bill with "Treeline" (from Lethbridge) as well as Kris Glabush (from "Pale Moon Lights")
Friday night (May 1) we are in Calgary at The Palomino Club, then Saturday night (May 2) we'll be playing in Lethbridge at The Slice.
March 15, 2009: MRG to play North Country Fair
There are numerous new gigs coming up for Manraygun -- it would be great if you could come and be with us for a night. The big news is that we will be performing at this year's North Country Fair in June -- should be great fun, and we're all looking forward to it. Grab yer tents and camping gear and come join us for the weekend!
Manraygun has also confirmed bookings in Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge at the end of April/early May -- check the sidebar for details or visit the Manraygun website.
February 27, 2009: Idyl Tea Reunion
From 1984 until 1995 I played with a group named Idyl Tea with my dear friends Hank Engel and Craig Metcalfe. During the summer of 2008 we decided to hang out for a weekend and make some music again. Things went swimmingly -- we had a fantastic time -- so we decided to do it more often. We have since decided to release a cd later this year which has been taking shape over the past few months. The yet untitled disc will be a compilation of sorts, drawing on our vast catalogue of unreleased recordings from the past as well as some new songs we recorded earlier this month. Check back soon for more information -- we have talked also about doing some live performances this summer. Should be fun!
Idyl Tea recording some new songs - February 2009
January 19, 2009: new projects / new possibilities
Happy belated new year! The holidays have passed -- time to get back to the music!
I'm immersed in several creative projects at the moment -- it's all very exciting! Manraygun has officially started work on our 3rd commercial release (yet untitled -- to be released later this year). I'm also producing a burgeoning young songwriter by the name of Alice Worthington -- she's got a killer voice, some cool original tunes, and a great back-up band -- can't wait to hear the final result. The recording will feature Mike Silverman on drums, Tom Murray on bass, Scott Zubot on violin and mandolin and myself on guitar.
Looks like Manraygun may be doing a live show in Calgary in March -- check back soon for more details as they become available...
December 8, 2008: duo show / top of the charts!
Dennis and I will be doing a fairly low-key duo show in Edmonton at The Urban Lounge on Wednesday, December 10 at 9 pm. We're working up some new songs for some upcoming Manraygun recording sessions. Please come by and say hello - it's free!
You can check out a demo of one new song Dennis and I wrote recently on myspace. The title of the new song is "Sinner's Rain".
"Manraygun" leapt back into the CJSR charts a couple weeks back -- to #1! It seems "Misfortune Telling" has legs... anyway, we thought that was kinda cool. To those spinning our discs, thanks for taking an interest! Stay tuned for a new disc out sometime in the new year.
October 23, 2008: gigs past, present and future
A whirlwind of shows over the last few weeks -- wow. Tonight I will be playing lead guitar with Mike McDonald (as well as Mickey Vallee on accordion) down at The New City Likwid Lounge. We're leading up for ex-Edmontonian Big Joe Burke. Haven't seen Joe in decades -- should be fun.
"Manraygun" has confirmed a booking at The Black Dog Freehouse on Wednesday Night, November 19 -- don't miss it!! The 'dawg is always a really fun time. We've got some new tunes.
"The Guaranteed" has been keeping me busy with numerous shows around town. We played down at the New City Likwid Lounge with Edmonton's-own "City Streets" and "Ride 'Til Dawn" (from Saskatchewan). What a splendid vibe at this gig -- not a jaded musician or sad-sack in sight. The place was packed and everyone seemed ready to have fun and let it all hang out -- no one left early. The City Streets, who recently released their second full-length cd, were in terrific form. It was loud, chaotic, feedback-laden and fucking tight! At the request of producer Steve Loree, I sang some background vocals on these young dudes first CD "These Things Happen" a few years back. I've come to know the lads a bit since then - a great bunch of guys. After this gig, the Guaranteed played (are you ready for this?) Edmonton's "Oil City Roadhouse"!! They were stuck for an opener and offered us the spot -- why not eh? I'm up for a new experience. Mainstream country bars are a real trip -- haven't seen that much cleavage and biceps (not at the same time I assure you) in ages. The Crown Royal & Southern Comfort shots were fine that night (not so much the next morning). Finally, we played on a 5 band bill for the Western Canadian Music Awards Festival last weekend at Teddy's. I totally enjoyed Happy and Jeff Stuart -- I missed the rest as I skipped off down to Whyte Avenue to see Old Reliable. Good to see the boys again -- nice job -- almost all new tunes -- very impressive. Get a bass player though eh? (couldn't resist that one...)
September 27, 2008: Guaranteed/City Streets gig
This just in -- The Guaranteed will be playing a double bill with "The City Streets" next Friday, October 3 at The New City Likwid Lounge here in Edmonton. Should be a great show. The City Streets are about to embark on yet another cross Canadian escapade with the mind blowing rock and roll mayhem that is "Eamon McGrath and The Wild Dogs". Check 'em out!
September 22, 2008: Upcoming Shows
My band "Manraygun" will be playing in Edmonton at The Empress Ale House on Thursday, October 16 starting around 9:45 pm. We have several new songs we're working on which we may debut that night. Have you heard our latest cd "Misfortune Telling"? You can check out tunes from it at our myspace page.
Later that same weekend I will be playing with Darrek Anderson and the Guaranteed at The Western Canadian Music Awards. Our set is at 10 PM on Saturday, October 18 at Teddy's. Also on the bill: Happy, Jeff Stuart, Beija Floor & Paper Moon. The Guaranteed features Scott Davidchuck on drums, Tom Murray on electric bass, Darrek on guitar and vocals -- I play lead guitar.
The McDonald Broadband will be playing at the Kaleido Festival 2008 in Edmonton on Saturday, September 27. Our set starts at 4:30pm. The McDonald Broadband features Mike McDonald on vocals and guitar, Mickey Vallee on accordion and Duane Elias on electric bass guitar -- I play lead guitar.
here's the line-up at our stage (Venue 2):
Kaleido Festival 2008
Venue 2: Avenue Initiative Outdoor Stage
9210 118th Ave
10:00 - 11:15 am: Pancake Breakfast
10:00 - 11:15 am: Down To The Wood
11:30 - 12:30 pm: West of Winnipeg
12:45 - 1:45 pm: Tilo Piaz Latin Quartet
2:00 - 3:00 pm: The Swing Sisters
3:15 - 4:15 pm: The Ghetto Blasters
4:30 - 5:45 pm: Mike MacDonald Broadband
6:00 - 7:15 pm: Mobius
7:30 - 8:45 pm: The Wheat Pool
9:00 - 9:15 pm: A Parade Of Light
9:00 - 10:15 pm: Tim Hus
September 17 , 2008: Idyl Tea
From 1984 until 1995 I played with a group named Idyl Tea. This past summer we regrouped for a weekend and made some music. Click here to see Idyl Tea photos at Flickr.com
September 14 , 2008: Moving Music Concert
A beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon -- perfect for making some music.
August 13, 2008: summer gigs
I've had the opportunity and pleasure to play several shows over the past month or so. Most recently Sarah Wheeler spontaneously asked me to sit in with her for her second set at The Empress Ale House in Edmonton (along with Tom Murray on stand-up bass and Mike Silverman on drums). She was a lot of fun to play with -- we had a fine old time on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon on Whyte Avenue. I like these shows where I don't know the songs too well -- it keeps me on my toes.
Sarah Wheeler
Meanwhile, Manraygun did a last minute gig at the Black Dog and "The Guaranteed" (with whom I play lead guitar) played a quaint little festival just north of Hinton called "The Wild Mountain Music Festival". The festival was set at the beautiful Entrance Ranch -- unbelievably serene and pristine prairie landscape complete with mountain view and a cabin for the band. Loved it!
June 18, 2008: "Misfortune Telling" cd in stores now!
Manraygun's first full-length cd release is now available in Edmonton at Megatunes on Whyte Avenue as well as Blackbyrd Myoozik. To hear songs from the cd, please visit our myspace site.
To read a review of the cd click on a link below:VUE WEEKLY review by Christa O'Keefe
The Edmonton Sun review by Fish Griwkowsky
June 2, 2008: Upcoming Shows and cd Release!!
Manraygun's cd release is upon us -- tickets are now available. $10 for an advance ticket and $20 for an advance ticket as well as a cd. If you want an advance ticket, send me an e-mail: info@everettlaroi.com
Tickets will of course be available at the door ($12). The new full length cd (Manraygun - Misfortune Telling) will also be available for $15 at the venue.
Also, this just in -- The Mike McDonald Broadband will be leading up for Summerlad this Thursday at New City Suburbs here in Edmonton! I play lead guitar in "the Broadband" along with Mickey Vallee on accordion, Duane Elias on bass guitar and of course, Mike McDonald on acoustic guitar and vocals.
Just came off a whirlwind of gigs with the 3 bands I currently play with. Saw many old friends and met many new people -- great fun!
The week started of on May 17 in Calgary at The Marquee Room with my primary musical project "Manraygun" . Deon Blyan was the warm-up act. I know Deon from way back when he frequented an open stage I used to host on Whyte Avenue at Mickey Finn's. He's never sounded better -- he has a new album out titled "Lessons (and other things I've learned)".
Sunday I was back in Edmonton playing with "The McDonald Broadband" at Sleeman's 20th Anniversary show at The Black Dog Freehouse. The 5 band bill included The City Streets, Eamon McGrath and the Wild Dogs, The Wheat Pool as well as another open stager, Daniel Buxton, along with violinist Sara Hart. Daniel has come a long way. He's always been an engaging performer, probably best known by Edmontonians for marathon busking stints on Whyte Avenue. Daniel's experimentation with polytonal throat singing techniques is interesting -- slightly on the spooky side, in a good way.
The next part of the week was devoted to gigs with Darrek Anderson and The Guaranteed, a group I've been playing with since late 2007. Tuesday we played The Pawn Shop on Whyte Ave leading up for Steven Kellog and The Sixers, Thursday we played the Canmore Hotel, and finally friday saw us leading up for The Swiftys to a packed house at The Palomino Club in Calgary. Fresh off the road, Swifty sounded confident and strident -- his vocals were great. I had the pleasure of hearing and meeting steel guitarist Roger Marin who was sitting in with Swifty. The former guitarist for Fred Eaglesmith was also the producer of Darrek Anderson's latest cd "Places We Used To Go".
According to !Earshot Manraygun's first cd release "Twilightspeak" has moved up to number 10 at Calgary's CJSW-FM!! That's kinda cool. We'll be playing Calgary on May 17 at The Marquee Room (see side bar for details).
We are just about ready to ship off the final mixes of our upcoming 12-song cd "Misfortune Telling" to California for mastering. The mastering will be performed by JJ Golden in Ventura, CA.
We have also confirmed the venue for our cd release party:"Manraygun's "Misfortune Telling CD Release Party"
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Upstairs at Teddy's
Edmonton, Alberta
stay tuned for more information!
Manraygun's first cd release "Twilightspeak" is now available for purchase from Apple's itunes music store as individual downloadable tracks or as a complete cd. You will need "itunes" installed on your computer to purchase the songs in this fashion.
Manraygun's first cd release "Twilightspeak" is now available for purchase online at cdbaby.com. You can purchase the cd safely online and have it mailed to you, or buy it song by song as a download.
The cd is also available in Edmonton at Megatunes and Blackbyrd Myoozik on Whyte Avenue.
Twilightspeak has been receiving airplay on CJSR-FM (Edmonton), the CKUA Radio Network (across Alberta) as well as CBC Radio ("The Signal"). To read a review of the cd from VUE Weekly, click here.
Everett LaRoi performing live in Edson with "The Guaranteed".Being a musician may be filled with a sense of foreboding about what your future may bring. It may marginalize you into a cultural stereotype in the minds of many. But at least it's not BORING -- that I assure you!!
It doesn't seem to matter where we play, whenever I play with Darrek Anderson & The Guaranteed there seems to be many moments of hilarity and absurdity that keep me chuckling to myself for days. Our little road trip to Edson over the weekend was no exception. It began the moment we stepped on stage with a group of of young drunken ladies demanding: "take off your shirts!!" and carried on from there. The group has some shows coming up in Edmonton, Canmore and Calgary -- check the side bar for details and come join the mayhem!
Manraygun has confirmed an upcoming show in Calgary on May 17 at The Marquee Room. It will be a double bill with Edmonton's Trent Buhler. Stay tuned for more details.
Manraygun has been busy putting the finishing touches on 13 new songs for a full length cd tentatively slated for spring release. Stay tuned for more details. In an effort to raise funds for the manufacturing, we will be selling advance copies of the disc. If you're interested in helping us out in this way, please send me an e-mail.
I will be doing some additional shows with Darrek Anderson & The Guaranteed over the next month -- please check the sidebar for more details. The first shows will be in Stony Plain on February 8 & 9 at "The Early Stage Saloon". After that we will be playing in Edson Alberta at "Castaways" on February 29 and March 1.
Happy belated new year! I spent new years eve this year playing with The McDonald Broadband at Edmonton's City Hall. We were very pleased to be inside -- there were other bands performing at the outdoor stage in Churchill Square at -15C -- ouch!!
This past weekend's shows with Darrek Anderson & The Guaranteed and Mark Davis have come and gone, but I won't forget the road trip anytime soon. Darrek had asked me to join his group for shows in Lethbridge and Calgary, but then Mark Davis also asked me to accompany him and drummer Mike Silverman for their sets as well. It's challenging and interesting to play on songs you're unfamiliar with. Mark showcased many new songs, and despite our long standing acquaintance it was in fact our first time sharing the stage together. Things went well overall -- and then of course, as always, there were many ensuing misadventures and late night shenanigans.The first show was at "The Slice Bar & Grill" in Lethbridge. A fine spot for live music.
It was a cold night with only a few hearty souls in attendance, but our fine bartender Roxxi kept our spirits up with her sweet smile, clever wit and trays of exotic refreshments. Here's a picture of her from facebook (she said I could use it!).
The next night's show was in Calgary at an extremely funky outlaw country honky-tonk named "A Bar Named Sue":
Here's some pics: the first one is of me backing up Mark Davis (right) with Mike Silverman on drums.
Here's one of The Guaranteed. That's Scott Davidchuck on drums, Darrek Anderson on guitar and vocals and Tom Murray on the bass guitar (I'm out of this shot):
Darrek Anderson & The Guaranteed have asked me to join the group on lead guitar for a couple of shows on the road this coming weekend. The first show is this Friday night (December 7) in Lethbridge at "The Slice Bar & Grill" and the Calgary show is on Saturday night (December 8) at "A Bar Named Sue".Sharing the bill with "The Guaranteed" for both shows will be Edmonton's Mark Davis.
Friday December 7: "The Slice Bar & Grill", 314 8 Street South
Lethbridge, AB, Canada click here for directions
Saturday, December 8: "A Bar Named Sue", 1410 4 St SW
Calgary, AB click here for directions
Manraygun's first EP "twilightspeak" is out -- to listen to songs from the cd (for a limited time), please visit the manraygun myspace site. The cd will be available in Edmonton at Megatunes and Blackbyrd Myoozik on Whyte Avenue on Tuesday, November 6. Please check back soon for additional information on retail and internet availability.We were in Calgary over the weekend leading up for "The Raveonettes" and "Gliss" at Broken City. The Raveonettes were great -- very intentionally derivative in an almost formulaic way, but somehow totally engaging and satisfying, at least as far as I was concerned.
Last night's show at The Black Dog was like a house party -- so many folks I haven't seen in such a long while. Great to see so many old friends and familiar faces. We were rough, ragged and ready to celebrate the arrival of our new cd ep "Twilightspeak". We will be posting a song from the disc on our myspace site pronto and the cd will be available in select stores in Edmonton by next week -- check back soon for details.We're looking forward to our gig with the Raveonettes in Calgary this Friday.
Manraygun's first cd "Twilightspeak" arrived today -- we're all very excited!! If you're in Edmonton, we are playing a free show at "The Black Dog Freehouse" (10425 - 82 Ave) this coming Wednesday night (October 24) where we will be making the cd available for the first time. If you want to come out and celebrate with us, we'd love to see ya!
Manraygun was featured last week in an article in VUE Weekly. To read the article, click here!
Just wanted to thank those of you who came out to my "solo" gig at Cafe Select in Edmonton this past week. It was great fun for bassist Tom Murray and myself to put it all together -- many new songs to learn, new arrangements to work out and so on. There's nothing like the sound of a stand-up bass. It's almost like playing with a big drum - very deep, percussive and rhythmic.
There's more shows coming up right around the corner - stay tuned! I will be playing with Mike McDonald's "Broadband" at the Black Dog Freehouse in Edmonton on October 20 (Saturday afternoon show -- always a fun crowd) and then Manraygun will be at the same venue the following Wednesday evening. Check the sidebar for details. > > >
Manraygun will be leading up for The Raveonettes in Calgary on Friday, October 26 at "Broken City". We were supposed to do this show earlier this year but The Raveonettes had to cancel at the last minute. We're very pleased to be included on this bill once again -- this should be a great show! Stay tuned for more information.
I have just confirmed an upcoming solo show in Edmonton. I will be playing at the southside "Cafe Select" on Thursday, September 20. More details to follow!!
Manraygun was the lead up act for Winnipeggers "Nathan" at the Velvet Underground in Edmonton last night -- a hot day and a sweltering gig. They are a charming group -- great vocal harmonies. And check out dem homemade clothes!
"Nathan"
Manraygun began recording our upcoming CD EP this past weekend. Check out some photos from the session by Christy Dean: Manraygun recording session photos
Here's a video clip of Manraygun performing the song "Subway Minuet" live at "Broken City" in Calgary, Alberta on April 27, 2007:
Fort Edmonton Park has asked me to do some more historic song interpretation on Monday, May 21. This isn't a show, I just walk around with my guitar down at the train platform and at the new 20s Midway playing songs from the time period. Very casual -- a good family event. I'll be playing frontier songs, cowboy ballads as well as vaudeville songs.
With the Raveonettes unable to cross the Canadian border and all Canadian Raveonettes tour dates delayed until September, the folks down at "Broken City" in Calgary have asked Manraygun to step up to the plate tomorrow night and be the headliner for the gig.
Manraygun
Friday, April 27
Broken City
613 - 11th Ave. S.W. Calgary, Alberta
doors 8pm show 9pm
Unfortunately, the Edmonton and Calgary shows with the Raveonettes have been postponed until September. Sune lost his passport and has been trying desparetely to get across the "world's longest unguarded border" but to no avail. He's tried the embassy route and everything. It's that messy rock star hair thing… makes him a terrorist or something.
Sorry folks. We were really looking forward to these shows and to seeing you all. We now turn our attention back to recording, etc. We'll keep you all posted on upcoming gigs. Cheers.
Posted by: Dennis on behalf of Manraygun
Manraygun: cabin fever. campfire poetry. dog-eared. old guitars. amplifier tubes like warm chestnuts in your pockets. doghouse, double-bass heartstrings. quiet drumbs. loud drumbs. shaky things. folkways dust. the reverb of horsethief canyon. tremolo.
The McDonald Broadband returned to the recording studio over this past weekend - great fun! Mike McDonald's latest project includes Mickey Vallee on accordian, Duane Elias on bass, and myself on electric gee-tar. We recorded 4 songs over at producer Steve Loree's recording studio.
If you're in Edmonton, I'm playing an acoustic solo gig at Cafe Select (the southside one: 8404 - 109 street) this coming Thursday night. It would be great to see you there. I saw Ben Spencer play at this venue about a month ago and it was a really fun -- very low key. It's nice to see a "new" singer-songwriter venue in Edmonton. (support live music!)The first set starts at around 8:00 pm -- there's no cover!
We've posted another new song penned by Dennis Lenarduzzi and myself, on the Manraygun myspace site. The title of the new tune is "Navy Blue". This is just a demo, but the group has been working up a full band version of this song at recent rehearsals.
Here's a photo Fish Griwkowsky took of manraygun playing at The Powerplant last month.That's Silas on the left, Tom on the right, and yours truly in da middle. Fish is a multi-talented fellow; part photographer, part journalist, part artist. Fish took this one with a little pocket camera in between tall pints of draught....
I have just confirmed an upcoming solo show in Edmonton. I will be playing at the southside "Cafe Select" on Thursday, April 5. This will be low key event with just acoustic guitar and vocals. I am excited about playing several new compositions that I co-wrote with Dennis Lenarduzzi. We've been on a bit of a roll this past year.You can listen to a demo of the latest song Dennis and I wrote called "Sunday Hymn" on the Manraygun myspace site . It's just a sketch recording, so don't expect Daniel Lanois or anything...
Dennis and I are both members of the band Manraygun which also features Silas Grenis on drums, Steve Lenarduzzi on guitars & vocals, and Tom Murray on stand-up bass.
Manraygun will be the warm up band for The Raveonettes canadian tour dates in both Calgary and Edmonton at the end of April. The Edmonton show is on Thursday, April 26th at "The New City Likwid Lounge" and the Calgary show will be on Friday, April 27 at "Broken City" in Calgary.
Manraygun's second gig was a show at" The Powerplant" on the University of Alberta campus, here in Edmonton. We shared the bill with Vancouver's whiskey soaked folk sensation Geoff Berner, and Edmonton's own AA Soundsystem. It was a pretty packed house, which is always a nice thing for any musician. Any musician who's been around has played his fair share of empty venues -- you have to expect that sometimes if you take on this job. Anyway, it was packed, we were stoked and things went swimmingly. Thanks to all of the folks who came by to say hello and wish us well. Thanks also to Mickey Vallee who joined us for a couple tunes on accordian.
Actually Mick and I had already played another gig earlier that day with "The McDonald Broadband" over at "The Black Dog Freehouse" on Whyte Avenue. What can I say? Another beer-soaked afternoon at "the dawg" surrounded by friends -- great fun!
Check out The McDonald Broadband myspace site.
Check the sidebar for 2 new upcoming gigs by 2 bands that I currently play with: Manraygun, and The McDonald Broadband. It's a double header!
Well, we finally had our first official gig! Manraygun performed this past Saturday afternoon at The Black Dog Freehouse here in Edmonton. Gotta thank everyone who came out -- holy crow! We were overwhelmed with the turn out and all of the encouragement from everyone. Here's a picture from the show:
To see more pictures of Manraygun performing at The Black Dog, click here.
Upcoming Events
July 14
ManRayGun
with
Calum Graham
at
Festival Place
Sherwood Park
100 Festival Way
Sherwood Park, AB T8A-5T2
Introducing the new cd from
ManRayGun:
"Everything is Temporary"
Available now in Edmonton at
Blackbyrd Myoozik
Manraygun's first full-length cd release "Misfortune Telling" was released in 2008.
"Misfortune Telling" is also available in Edmonton at Megatunes on Whyte Avenue as well as Blackbyrd Myoozik. To hear songs from the cd, please visit our myspace site.
To read a review of the cd
click on a link below:VUE WEEKLY review by Christa O'Keefe
The Edmonton Sun review by Fish Griwkowsky
available online from CD Baby (click below)
or as a download from the Apple itunes music store:
Available in Edmonton at
Megatunes and Blackbyrd Myoozik
to read a review of "Twilightspeak"
from VUE WEEKLY, click here.
I made a "solo album"
in the year 2000...
click below to
download a song from it:
"Where Was I Tonight"
CLICK HERE
(mp3 file / 4.4 MB)
Previous to my solo CD in 2000, I played guitar and sang with a band called Idyl Tea from 1984 until 1995.
