Elvyn - "The Decline" album update

Hey folks,

Well, things are progressing nicely here at Little Wagon Studios. One by one, the songs are getting their final mixes done. This record, tentatively titled "The Decline" will be a departure from Ten Car Stereo in that it has been written, recorded and mixed entirely by Elvyn at Little Wagon. The only stage that will be done outside of our studios will be the final mastering.

Needless to say, we're super happy with the results so far and it's well worth the extra time and effort to get just the sound we're after.

We'll also try to get new mixes up for you to hear as soon as they're ready. It'll give you all a chance to see how the songs evolve during the recording process, and hopefully when you see Elvyn live, the songs will be familiar to you.

Thanks to all of you for sticking with us for this new record.

Love,

Elvyn

New show added!

Hmmm... Let's see. Swirling Hammond organ? Clattering drums? Raw-throated Nashville garage blues?


Alright! Black Diamond Heavies from Nashville, Tennessee are coming to town and Elvyn will be supporting them at The Velvet Underground in T.O. If you're a fan of stripped down garage blues in the vein of Dan Auerbach/The Black Keys, The White Stripes and The Kills then make sure you catch the show.

http://www.myspace.com/blackdiamondheavies

Backwoods tomfoolery...

One of the side effects of getting a new record ready to put out is having to take promo pictures. Ansel Adams we are not!

Anyway, here's a couple of out-takes from half an hour in the woods with four dudes... ahem.

Elvyn @ The Jimmy Jazz

Here's a video made by our friends The Reverb Syndicate from a Jimmy Jazz show a couple of years ago. Elvyn come on at 2:30 into the video, featuring the imposing Dean O'Reilly on guitars. We love ya dean!

So take a look, and if you like our cover of Angelyne by The Jayhawks, come on out to The Jimmy Jazz this Friday night for a great free show w/ The Fleece Elves.

Big news from Little Wagon Studios!

Hello friends, Giles Toppingley-Smythe here all the way from Little Wagon Studios. I'm very pleased to announce that there are three brand new songs from Elvyn's forthcoming L.P. available to preview on our music player! They are;

"Don't Leave, Don't Go"
"The Decline"
"Be Mine Today"

We would very much appreciate your comments and feedback by means of the comment section of this post, our Myspace or our Facebook page, or simply at elvyn10@hotmail.com.

Thank you very much.

The Sadies, "The Horseshoe", from the Rat Fink movie

Total badass-ery in every way. These guys are probably the best band in Toronto, and host the best New Years Eve shindigger out there, coincidentally, at The Horseshoe.

Yes!

So stoked! Ticketmaster really suck though. 10am, sale begins. Two tickets please... Online? Nope. LiveNation? Nu-uh. Ticketmaster's automated phone line? No dice. At about 10:45 I got an actual live person at ticketmaster! Two tickets... yeah, no problem. WHAT?!

Anyway, enough of that. Joel and I will be there with some pals, and it'll be great! Photos will be forthcoming...

Jer.

Blog updates!

Hey everyone, Carl the web guy here. We're getting used to this interweb now! I've taken a break from my World of Warcraft marathon and added some new functions to the blog, including direct links to buy CD's or MP3's from a cool .99 cents on the right of the page as well as a music player, a list of our upcoming shows and a bunch of links to bands that we love.

Also, check back soon for a SNEAK PEEK at one of the tracks from the new Elvyn record that we hope to see about the same time as the snow flies!

Thanks a lot for stopping in.

MojoHand Copperhead Dual Boost - Review

Hey there folks. I doubt very much that product reviews will ever become a regular thing for two reasons; firstly, we don't change out effects or guitars that often, and secondly, this crap is expensive, and there ain't nobody flowing us free stuff!
That being said, I did buy a MojoHand Copperhead dual boost the other day. After several practices and using it live, I figured I'd throw up some info on it. According to the builder, this pedal is two of the same circuits on the same board. Each side of the pedal is a boost with volume and gain knobs, the main feature being the "cascaded" effect of using both sides together. Now, right off the bat there was no instructions in the box. No big deal, I hear you say. Well it kinda was. Powering this effect is quite finicky, and without guidance I bumbled along and was actually on the verge of sending it back!
The issue seems to be that the Copperhead munches power like a hungry T-Rex. I first stuck it at the top of my pedal chain powered by my Boss tuner/daisy chain thing. No dice. Anywhere south of cranked, the pedal sucked out volume and tone. Next I got my hands on a Godlyke Powerall, and used it in place of the boss. Now this baby pumps out 1.7 amps in comparison with the Boss' meager 500 milliamp supply. I got the same result!
Basically, you need to run a devoted power supply to this pedal. End of story. Now, the tone. On one side only, you can get a very transparent boost or turn up the gain for a fairly mild crunchy overdrive. Kick in the second side, however, and we're off to the races. Again you can dial in a very transparent drive/boost, or you can crank the gain knob for wailing Blackface-style overdrive. The pedal is built very well. I opened it up and the wiring is very tidy and economical. Overall, a solid and adaptable effect.


The "I did more research, and played at a bigger club" update...

O.k. turns out that this pedal is more af an amp pusher than an overdrive. At any volume it's way more boost than drive, and doesn't come into it glory until your amp is at 7 or 8. But when it is... Oh baby, she cries tears of tone. The best way to describe it is "your amp on 10, with just a bit more grit."
Jer.

Chance meeting...

I ran into this cat a few days ago in The Acoustic Drum Shop in Edmonton.


Joel was in town to play the Folk Festival. Had a little chat, and talked tenor guitars. A real class act, and apparently his slot was one of the festival highlights.

Nice to see you again Joel.

Les Paul, 1915-2009.

Paul pioneered overdubbing, delay effects, multi-track recording and phaser effects. Obviously, he put his name to one of Gibson's best-selling guitars, as well as having a signature model from Gretsch and recording 40 albums and selling millions of records.

Les Paul, R.I.P. and see ya later, alligator.

Justin Townes Earle - The Good Life

"The Good Life" Justin Townes Earle


Love this li'l ol' tune. Enjoy, friends.

Fell in love with a drummer...

A great friend to Elvyn, and mighty drummer; T. Craig Toutant.

All Is Lost music video

From our Big Bay E.P. Enjoy!

Duesenberg Multi-Bender lap steel

Wow. Pedal steel sounds from a lap steel. Want one!