Elvyn @ The Junction Arts Festival

We had a great time in Toronto at The Junction Arts Festival! Great vibe, great people and all-around fun!

Sara Collaton took some beautiful photos of our set, which you can check out at her website along with amazing shots of bands like Blue Rodeo, Gaslight Anthem, Zeus and loads more. Make sure you head over and see her work!

We want to say a huge thanks to all the folks who came out and saw us, to the wonderful organizers like Paul Reynolds, Aggie Luczkiewitcz (and Allan!), Ruth and the sound and stage crew and of course Sara Collaton for her awesome pictures!

Hope to see you again soon Junction!

Tour time!

Well friends, the time has come! Elvyn are hitting the road throughout Southern Ontario, with stops in Quebec and Ohio in support of our new album!

We'll be playing shows in London, Kitchener, Ottawa, and more along with two great festivals in Toronto. We're also really happy to be meeting up with some great bands along the way, as well playing a good portion of the tour with the fantastic Diableros from Toronto.

So check the tour listings to the right of our page, visit the Facebook fan page for more details and we'll see you all real soon!

Super-cool update!

The special guest at The Junction Arts Festival will be Six Shooter Records artist Justin Rutledge! Make sure you don't miss this great evening of music!

Tour Updates!

Hi everyone,

Hope you're all enjoying your summer! Elvyn are busy behind the scenes getting ready for a busy Fall of music and excitement! The tour van is getting overhauled, guitars set up and press and posters worked on...

Booking for our Ontario tour is underway. We'll be making a quick visit to Ohio to play a couple of shows with a great band, First In Space, who will also be joining us for a handful of Ontario shows. We'll be on the road with a fantastic Toronto band, The Diableros, as well as meeting up with The Woodrunners in Ottawa and more! Look out for tour dates to be posted in early September.

We're also looking forward very much to working with a great organization, Swim, Drink, Fish, Music. They are involved with great bands and artists such as The Great Lake Swimmers, Broken Social Scene, Gord Downie, The Sadies, Bill Frisell and Pete Seeger!


Here's some information from their website;

"The Swim Drink Fish Music Club is an online music and audio experience developed by Lake Ontario Waterkeeper in collaboration with other Waterkeeper organizations across Canada.

The Swim Drink Fish Music Club brings together artists, activists, and citizens just like you who care about clean water. By celebrating the Club's exclusive and rare music, you are contributing to the fight for swimmable, drinkable, fishable water in your community."

Elvyn will be releasing an exclusive track through the Swim, Drink, Fish, Music Club, so stay tuned for developments! You can visit their website by clicking the banner above.

Hazy days...

Hey there music fans,

Wow, it's been a great summer so far for Elvyn and we've had tons of fun! NxNE was a lot of fun, and the record is getting such a warm reception from all over, and we wanted to take a moment to send out a message;

First of all, we want to say thank you to our local supporters. Allan Booke, Aggie Lu, Matt Holtby, Jason Schneider & Exclaim! Magazine, Dan Burke, Dave Spencer, Bobby B., Jer & Kara Dresar, Joao Carvahlo, Chris Lear, Noah Mintz & Laquer Channel, Loren & Indie Pool, Ryan Kemp & The Red Dog. You guys have helped us so much, and continue to do so. But Elvyn have become a bit of an international concern lately, and some folks have to be mentioned from overseas; Angel & Powerpop Action, Pedro Fernandez and our Madrid supporters, Altcountry.nl and our Netherlands friends, Simon & Beat Surrender in the U.K., the Powerpopaholic crew, Bruce & Not Lame Recording Co., Ray & Kool Kat Musik and Absolute Powerpop in the United States and Vesa from Finland.

Thank you all for your support, and thanks a million to the fans who have bought a record and come out to the shows. We have a lot planned for you all in the coming months, with new music to be released really soon! We're readying a 7" single for release in the winter/spring, and we already have 5 tracks demo'ed and ready to take into the studio for Elvyn's next full length record!

As far as live shows go, we're going to be supporting our friends The Diableros at their special hometown show in Oshawa on July 17th at The Thirsty Monk. You can find details here. Then we're really looking forward to September, with The Junction Arts Festival coming up fast.

So stay tuned everyone, and we'll keep you updated as new stuff happens!

A high-profile review!

Esteemed Canadian author and music critic Jason Schneider has written a review of The Decline for the country-wide monthly Exclaim! Magazine...

"It's been quite some time — five years, to be precise, since their EP, The Big Bay, and eight since full-length debut Ten Car Stereo — since anyone's heard from Peterborough, ON quartet Elvyn. But on The Decline, they come back with a vengeance, offering 11 tracks that deftly blend Crazy Horse ragged glory with pure power pop craftsmanship..."

Wow! You can read the whole review here, and don't forget, you can pick up the new record at CDBaby, Amazon.com, iTunes and Kool Kat Musik!

NxNE Festival!

Hi everyone,

First of all, a big thanks to all involved in a great show in Peterborough at The Red Dog on Saturday! Tim, Tian, Brett and Nat, Melissa, Ryan Kemp, Werner, Paul Rellinger and Karl Lawson, we had a blast and thanks for your support.

But now NxNE is right around the corner, and we're gonna be making the most of a great festival.


On the 17th we'll be heading down to The Hyatt for an interview with AUX t.v. before we mosey on over to Yonge & Dundas Square to take part in NxNE's Indie Music Market from 2pm - 4pm. We'll have all our merch there, along with a listening station where you can check out the new record.


Then at 8pm, Elvyn take part in what is probably one of the hidden gems of NxNE showcases with VIVIV, The Champion Heartache, Another Blue Door, The Diableros and The Stables for the 94.9 The Rock/NeXT at NxNE showcase at The Comfort Zone (480 Spadina). Elvyn take the stage at 9pm, when AUX t.v.'s roving camera crew are going to be shooting our set!

Then on Saturday, we'll be heading down to hang out at Joao Carvalho's 5th annual NxNE BBQ, and hear sets by Zeus, C'mon, Buck 65, By Divine Right, Hannah Georgas, Danny Michel and loads more!

So if you see us around T.O., come over and say hi and we'll hook you up with download of The Decline!

Another review!

There's more Elvyn slathering teh interwebs today courtesy of the fantastic British website Beat Surrender.

They've posted up a short review of The Decline and some MP3's, including an exclusive pre-release version of I'll Come Back. So head over and check it out HERE.

Peace!

Direct from Holland...

Here's a brilliant Google-translated version of Dutch music site Altcountry.nl's review of The Decline in all it's glory. You can visit the site, and practice your Dutch by clicking here.

No idea what "Bear Men" are though...

"A wonderful album this is from an unknown Canadian band that has been there since 1998. Elvyn was founded by brothers Joel and Ryan Beerman The Decline and this (Little Wagon Music) after a demo, EP and CD Car Stereo With the second album of pure powerpop with fine edges americana. Besides the two brothers, drummer and guitarist respectively, consists of Jeremy Knibbs (guitars) and Jason O'Reilly (bass). The Bear Men sing beautifully together, which she in a long line of classic rock bands join. And then of course the kind that knows that a good pop song does not have to take much longer than about three minutes. The Big Bay is reminiscent of Teenage Fanclub. It is not surprising that The Byrds here can be called very clearly that a song like "I'll Come Back. Because the songs of (mostly) Ryan Beerman so well here are no real epigonism. That a comparison could be made with the Dwight Twilley Band is no disgrace, as many do not. The fans of these timeless rock, which recently were already so spoiled by Elliot Randall, know enough. Available at CD Baby."

They awarded us 4 out of 5 stars, which stunningly is one more than the new Sadies album, Darker Circles! Hartelijk dank, guys!

Gettin' some newspaper love...

Hometown party Saturday night... Come on out to The Red Dog, and we'll play you some songs!

New review!

One of Virgin.com's top music blogs, Powerpopaholic has a great review of our new record The Decline up over at their site!


Here's some of what they had to say;

"Starting with the stellar "Those Were The Days" it's got a jangle similar to Teenage Fanclub and those rootsy folk harmonies like The Jayhawks... The consistent quality of the musicianship and songwriting is what puts this band over the top. It's not to be missed."

You can click the Powerpopaholic banner above to visit the site, check out their ratings and read the whole review, as well as loads of others.

Thanks Powerpopaholic!

CDBaby Podcast & more!

Hey guys,

CDBaby.com is featuring a song from our new record The Decline on their popular Music Discovery Podcast, along with four other songs hand-picked from their best artists. You check it out by clicking the image below;


They've also chosen The Decline as #4 in their Top Country-Rock Albums list! We're really happy with the reception the record has been receiving. Thanks a lot CDBaby folks!

Onwards and upwards!

Awesome Update: Onwards and upwards indeed. The Decline is now #2 on CDBaby's Top Country-Rock and California-Pop Album lists!!!

Poster for the Red Dog show...

Thanks to Miranda at Little Wagon Design for the hard work!

New show announced!

So, on a rainy day a few months ago we saw Tim Chaisson & Morning Fold from P.E.I. perform a CMW showcase in Toronto.


We were impressed, and made some introductions. These thoroughly nice guys make some fantastic music with that distinct "Maritime" feel, and have been really busy with their tour, appearances on Explore music with Alan Cross, making a music video and all sort of other fun stuff. Their record "Broken Hearted Beats" was produced by Big Sugar's Gordie Johnson, and has co-writes from Johnson and Joel Plaskett!

The result of all this is a great evening of music at The Historic Red Dog in Peterborough, where we'll be opening for Tim and the boys along with Melissa Payne, a local country/folk songwriter.

So free up Saturday, June 12th and head out to The Red Dog! We'll see ya there...

Full line-up for NxNE announced!

Oh boy, this is going to be great! Here's the full line-up for the 94.9 The Rock/NeXT @ NxNE Showcase... Click the band names for links to hear some songs.

Doors - 8pm
ELVYN - 9pm
The Champion Heartache - 10pm
Another Blue Door - 11pm
The Diableros - 12pm
The Stables - 1am

Wow... That's pretty much the perfect night of music! We're so happy to be part of the showcase, and to play with our good friends in The Champion Heartache, A.B.D. and The Diableros.

It'll be like old times!

Update...

Things have been motoring along here at Little Wagon H.Q. with emails and phone calls buzzing through the air. We've been enjoying the great press from the music blogging community, and we've been surprised and pleased to see CD's and MP3's winging their way to Spain, the U.K., Holland, Finland and all over the States and Canada.

In fact it seems our new Finnish friend Vesa has got his copy of The Decline in the mail and has posted his review over at One Chord To Another, so head over and take a look.

On the home front, we've been really pleased and flattered to be invited to play three great festivals this year in Toronto. We'll be at The Comfort Zone for NxNE in June, The Junction Arts Festival in September where we're playing the main stage and then The International Pop Overthrow in November at The Rivoli on Queen Street.

It's been a great year so far for Elvyn, and it'll only get better from here! Look out for the full tour schedule for The Decline Fall '10 Tour coming soon, and we'll keep you updated as time goes by.

The first reviews roll in...

Hi everyone,

Well, the first reviews of the new album are in and we're liking the tone! First up we have a great blog out of Florida, U.S.A. called Absolute Powerpop. Here's what they had to say;

"Lotta Lies" takes their sound into indie pop territory, as the double-tracked harmonies recall The Pernice Brothers; "Don't Leave, Don't Go" is a bright, upbeat pop number with a touch of melancholy, and "The Big Bay" has a Posies-like sweep. "Nature of Your Game" is straight-up Americana, in the manner of Joe Pernice's solo masterpiece "Bum Leg", and "I Was There" brings us full circle to Teenage Fanclub's more pensive moments. Wonderfully melodic, there's nothing in "decline" about Elvyn's sound and they've got a definite top 10 of '10 contender on their hands." - Read the rest of the review.

And to follow that here's what the One Chord To Another music blog all the way from Finland(!!!!) thought;

"It’s 3 am here in Finland and I’ve been trying to go to bed for an hour now. But I’m finding it hard to stop listening to Elvyn. It’s a Canadian pop group that I found tonight. They have a new album out and you can listen to it on their website... I was just so excited about them that I had to get this out of my chest and make a quick entry. This is simply fantastic music and I’m already in love with Elvyn." - Read the rest of the review.

High praise indeed! Thanks a lot to our new American and Finnish friends, and we'll keep you updated as news comes in!

Elvyn @ NxNE!

Hey guys,
Big news! We're going to be playing NxNE this year as part of a showcase at The Comfort Zone organized by a couple of great friends of ours, Dan Burke and Matt Holtby (of Champion Heartache fame).

Stay tuned for details on the lineup as we get them...

New show dates in May

Hey there kids! We've got a couple of show dates for you in May. We're going to play an afternoon all-ages show with Hamilton folk-rock group The Ophelia Syndrome on May 1st at The Spill Coffee bar in Peterborough at 2:30pm.

Then we're heading out to a band favorite, The Jimmy Jazz in Guelph on May 15th. Doors at 9:30m, and we'll keep you posted with the rest of the lineup.


Things are moving along fast here at Little Wagon Music, with the disc winging it's way to magazines, websites and labels as far afield as California, Madrid, Holland, the U.K., New York and France! We're super happy with the response we've had so far from everyone from fans to publications and beyond, and we'll keep all of you up to date with reviews and features as they happen.

Dates for The Decline Tour in the fall will also be forthcoming, so keep an ear to the ground (and by "ground" we of course mean "teh interwebs!").

Thanks for all the support, and we'll see ya soon!

Elvyn on the Radio!

You'll be able to get your Elvyn fix over the FM airwaves in the Toronto and Bolton areas, and worldwide by the interwebs by tuning in to a couple of great shows. You can tune in or follow the links below to listen live;

Matt Diamond, between 2pm and 7pm weekdays on 94.9 The Rock

Songs from the Wood with Rick Jones on B105.5 Radio Caledon

Thanks to these great guys, and if you like hearing your boys on the big-time radio send an email and let them know at; rickjones@radiocaledon.com, matt@therock.fm, vanessa@therock.fm

Photos from the release party!

Hey everyone! We had a total blast at The Silver Dollar on Friday night. We can't thank all of you enough for your support, and we hope you enjoy the new record! Don't forget to stay in touch with us through our Myspace, Twitter, and Facebook fan page (this is where most of the action takes place...). In fact, you can head over to the fan page to check out some great photos from the night by Jer Dresar by clicking the pic below;


A massive thank you also goes out to Dan Burke, Justin, Fab & Josh (our own biker gang who worked the door), Dave Spencer, Miranda, Sarah, Dave & Michelle (our best sales girl!), Chantel, Dean, Jer & Kara Dresar, The Champion Heartache, Michael Milosh, Bangladesh and every one of you awesome people who help make this all possible...

We love you all!