Signal Magazine

We're Baaack...

2009-01-13T00:32:00.001-05:00

Hey everybody,

Yes, we are alive. We apologize for taking an unannounced leave of absence, but we are back! We wanted to let everybody know that Signal Magazine is returning next month in full force. We will be redesigning, revamping and relaunching our website with a whole new layout and all new content.

To whet your appetites for this upcoming deliciousness, we have prepared a tasty new podcast for you to enjoy - you can stream it here at our MySpace or you can download it right now at SignalMag.com. Listen up for new tunes by Eagles Of Death Metal, The Bronx, Stephen Brodsky, and way more.

We're going to have a TON of stuff for you come February - boatloads of interviews, live photos, a new blog and a few very special features will be yours to peruse in the very near future. Stay tuned - big things coming soon!

Oh, and we missed you too.

- Shehzaad and Jeremy

update city, population: you

2008-10-22T15:37:00.004-04:00

hey everybody

so it's been a while, and i just thought i'd check in with a quick update. how's everyone been? everybody enjoying the early winter weather we're having? i certainly am not! i tell you, how is it that stores don't sell winter jackets at the end of october? it's canada, we should be selling them year-round. sheesh.

on the plus side, the chilly autumn season brings with it some fantastic shows! we recently got shots of BLACK MOUNTAIN, CHINESE STARS and YOUNG WIDOWS, who all played excellent sets in toronto this past month. we're also going to be snapping shots of MONOTONIX tomorrow night @ wrongbar, whenever they decide to keep still for the camera.

on the interview front, i spoke with the lovely Steve Snere of THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES last week about their new album as well as relationship issues and the upcoming presidential election. TAAS will be in Signal for the third time in a row! we must like them a bit too much. also featured will be our buds OH NO FOREST FIRES who just played their cd release at supermarket a couple weeks ago. be on the look out for fun features with those guys plus a few more come november!

there are a few more things i'm excited about but can't speak of just yet, but be sure that they kick all ass and will be worth the wait. also be on the lookout for a big year-end party hosted by jeremy and i on behalf of the zine. if you came out to our launch back in august, you know that it's going to be a raucous rock-n-roll event, so stay tuned for deets on that.

in other news, check out some cool stuff by friends of ours! if you're in toronto this weekend, make damn sure to be at THE BOAT on Saturday for the first HALLOWEEN FUNREAL EVENT! do the monster mash proper. also check out the recently launched arts and culture magazine Steel Bananas, for all your post-modern needs.

if you simply cannot wait to see some fun stuff, check out this interview i did last month with THE BRONX, who are featured in this month's podcast. those good ol' boys will be playing november 4th @ the opera house, and if you enjoy getting your face rocked off, you'll be there right along with us - just outside the pit, so as to not hurt ourselves.

that is all for now. eyes to the sky and ears to the ground, folks!

-shehzaad

OCTOBER 2008 ISSUE ONLINE NOW

2008-09-30T01:46:00.005-04:00

CHECK OUT THE SECOND ISSUE OF SIGNAL MAGAZINE, ONLINE NOW AT SIGNALMAG.COM!

Read interviews with Polaris Prize nominees BLACK MOUNTAIN, Kentucky noise-rockers YOUNG WIDOWS, local virtuoso guitarist MANELI JAMAL, and a special Q&A feature with NATE NEWTON of DOOMRIDERS and CONVERGE!!

Check out live shots of MUDHONEY, THE BRONX, HOLY FUCK, SHAD and BARONESS!!

Listen to our podcast for tunes from all the bands featured in our October issue, plus new songs by THE BRONX and THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES!! Download it @ SignalMag.com or stream it @ MySpace.com/SignalMag!!

Cruise through our brand new PHOTO ARCHIVE for additional photos of bands we've covered in previous issues as well as extra pics exclusive to the archive, including SEBASTIEN GRAINGER & THE MOUNTAINS and HEY OCEAN!!

If you're in the Toronto area, tune in to 89.5 FM @ 10PM tomorrow night for HOWL with Nik Beat. We'll be talking about Signal - how it started, where it's headed and all the rad stuff we just mentioned!

We worked extra hard at making this second issue jam-packed with awesome stuff for you to peruse, so get perusing! Let us know what you think!

SIGNALMAG.COM

-Shehzaad and Jeremy

it's coming...

2008-09-27T11:46:00.003-04:00

do you people understand what we go through to make this magazine happen, so you can get the goods on some of the raddest bands around right now? DO you? because i'm not sure that you do. seeing as this is a blog and i did promise rants at some point, i think this would be a great time to tell you about the last few days.

so wednesday might have been one of the most ridiculous days of my life. it was a hilarious comedy of errors, or at least it would have been if it wasn't happening to me. first thing in the morning, i tried to take my bike on the bus, but the guy wouldn't let me. apparently we're not allowed to bring bikes on the bus at rush hour, but it was like 9:45 and there was NO ONE on the bus. when i asked what exactly i'm paying $100 a month for, the driver's response was, "why don't you bike?" to which i replied with an expletive and exited the bus. the next bus? no problem. he even waited for me to unlock said bike and bring it on the bus.

after class, biked from st george and bloor to soundscapes at college and bathurst to buy baroness tickets for jer and i. since we're not the biggest zine on the block (yet), we weren't listed, and thus had to purchase $40 tickets to take pictures FOR YOU! that's one. biked to richmond and spadina to get $25 tickets for holy fuck, same reason. then i decided to bike all the way to carlaw to pick up jer's camera, as i needed to take pics of the bronx that same day. right as i got there, i noticed my tire was low on air. no problem, just a little low, right?

so after i get the camera and make my way to the docks - which is without a doubt the most inaccessible venue in toronto, bar none - the front tire starts coming off the wheel of my bike. uh, great! this wouldn't be a problem if i was anywhere near anything, but i was at king and sumach, which is essentially a no man's land on the southeast end of the city. not fun. i had to leave my bike there and WALK to the docks (!) which is a) not fun and b) not close by. TO ANYTHING.

half an hour later, i get to the venue, and i'm greeted by greg from distort records, who might be the sweetest guy ever. i was doing an interview with the bronx for chart, so i was at the venue a bit early to talk to them. i spoke with joby and matt, who are super rad guys, and we chatted for about 45 minutes about whatever. i've been a fan of that band since the beginning and i've always wanted to talk to them, so that was definitely the highlight of my day.

i was told the guys would be on at 7pm, but they were actually on at 8:30. the problem with the docks is that it's in the middle of god damn nowhere, so even if you do have time to kill, you can't really do much of anything. except maybe hit golf balls. i decided to rescue my bike and drop it off at my work, but i had to take a van cab. my store was CLOSED, so i dropped it off at the one next to mine and then headed back to the venue in the same cab. so that's $30 right there.

got to the venue, shot the show, had a blast rocking out to one of my favourite bands, then grabbed a taxi again ($10) to meet up with jeremy at the studio where arietta is recording. hung out for a bit, then made our way to lee's palace to cover baroness. they rocked SO hard, it's not even funny. got home way late, woke up for work the next day, dead tired.

i didn't know that we were listed for holy fuck until the day of the show, so there was $25 down the drain. that day wasn't so bad, only i had to fix my bike ($12) and then the subway broke down, so we didn't get home until 1am when we wanted to be home by like 11:30 to catch up on all the sleep we'd lost over the last week. oh, and i lost $5.

as kind of a footer, instead of ducking out and staying home friday night, i decided to party with some friends at the boat to watch dinosaur bones with still life still and born ruffians. coming home at 5am after a long, sleepless, work-filled week is not the best.

especially when you have to wake up the next morning to prepare for two days of sitting in front of a laptop, making your magazine happen! so yes, we will be here ALL WEEKEND finishing up the second issue of signal, JUST FOR YOU. $120 later and i'm not bitter at all, but super stoked to bring you this AMAZING second issue! no bitterness whatsoever. my wallet is somewhat sore, but that's okay!

how could we ever complain about this stuff when it's something we love so much? exactly, we can't. stay tuned, because in 48 hours, our kick-ass second issue is going to kick YOUR ass. in a nice way. GET STOKED.

-shehzaad

Second Issue - October 2008

2008-09-19T00:44:00.004-04:00

hey folks!

as previously stated (and as we'll state for as long as we can get sympathy out of it), we've been working diligently to hit the ground running for our second issue, and i have to say it's turning out to be well worth the effort. we've got a GREAT collection of bands for you in our october issue, and we're sure you'll get as stoked as we are when you hear what we have in store! on the menu for the second edition of signal...

Interviews with:
Black Mountain - Vancouver riff-rockers recently nominated for the third Polaris Prize

Young Widows - Bombastic noisemakers speak on their new album, the Kurt Ballou-produced Old Wounds

Maneli Jamal - Local virtuoso guitarist who's recently recorded his debut album

PLUS a special feature with Nate Newton of Doomriders/Converge!

on the photography tip, jeremy's got some tasty shots of Shad, Baroness, Mudhoney and a bunch more for you. if that isn't enough, keep an eye out for our upcoming photo archive, where we'll be adding even more shots in addition to the pics we have in each issue for you to peruse at your leisure.

if that doesn't get you excited for the next issue, then you must know of some other magazine that gives you the sweetest bands. oh, right, there isn't one. i forgot. so GET STOKED and be on the look out for the second issue of SIGNAL coming soon to screens and internets everywhere!

-shehzaad

carrying on

2008-09-12T00:18:00.003-04:00

we hope you liked the first issue, because it's about to get its ass kicked by the second one! jer and i have been hard at work on the october issue of the magazine, and i'm here to get you all excited about what you can expect from the second edish!

now, i can't dish out all the details just yet, but i CAN tell you that we will have a story on a little band called Young Widows, plus a Q&A feature with Nate Newton of Converge and Doomriders fame. on the visual tip, we are going to have photos of riff-wizards Baroness and grunge godfathers Mudhoney. get stoked for that, and be on the look out for more deets to come closer to the end of the month.

it's hard work doing all this yourself, let me tell you. we've been figuring out how to make this whole thing work while working full time, going to school, playing in bands, etc. but the great thing is, it's working. we're very excited to be continuing on with the magazine, and the second issue looks to be even better than the first!

if you are fans of college radio, be sure to tune in to 89.5 FM on Tuesday, September 30th at 10pm for HOWL with Nik Beat. Nik will be interviewing us and talking a bit about Signal on his show, so check that out and support us! i'm not sure if he has callers on his show but if you can, call him up and tell us how awesome we are. (don't actually do that.)

that's all for now! check out the podcast if you haven't already, and sneak a peek at jeremy's photos from the launch party below. talk soon, folks!

-shehzaad

launch party photos!

2008-09-04T00:22:00.021-04:00

some highlights from the night:

rockets!:

greys:

cancel winter:

-jeremy

podcast

2008-09-03T15:29:00.003-04:00

hey guys

so some of you may have noticed that our podcast wasn't up yet. well, now it is! you can download the podcast @ signalmag.com, or you can stream it online at our myspace. either way, check it out!

it's got new tunes by the bands in the first issue, so listen up for tunes by harvey milk, narrows, and cancel winter. there's also new tracks by these arms are snakes, sea and cake, and young widows for your listening pleasure! go listen!

if you can't get enough of my sexy voice and you're in the toronto area, tune in to HOWL at 89.5 on september 30th to listen to me speak with Nik Beat on his radio show. i'd also like to let everyone know to check out nik's band @ clinton's THIS FRIDAY september 5th for a benefit with amnesty international. it's going to be a blast, so go out and support a great cause!

more updates to come, folks. stay tuned.

-shehzaad

finally

2008-09-01T03:04:00.004-04:00

so after months of planning, weeks of stress and a day that will not soon be forgotten, Signal Magazine is finally here. if any of you have been talking to myself or jeremy in the past few weeks, you probably know what stress cases we were leading up to this friday, but it's all over.

friday was our launch party and i have to say it turned out about 100x better than i ever could have expected. much love goes out to every single person that came out, all the bands, and everyone that helped out. it was such a great night and everyone seemed to have a great time, so thanks so much for that. for those who weren't there, it was also the first show that my other band GREYS had played, and we had only practiced once - the DAY before the show - so it was special for that reason as well.

after a long stretch of being incessantly busy, it's both relieving and somewhat disheartening to be free. the day after the show i was actually sort of sad that it was all over, surprisingly. it was a great end to the summer, either way.

we set up a MySpace, for all of you that still use it. you can add us here. it'll probably have more or less the same info as up here, but everyone uses a different avenue to get their news updates these days, so we may as well cover all our bases. i'm trying to set up some digg/del.ici.ous accounts as well, so we'll get that set up in the near future.

my lovely friend alex has started his own music blog called No Noise, which i've placed a link to on the sidebar there. i'm going to be contributing to it along with some folks from the MusicMadeMe boys club. it's real pretty and has some sweet tunes posted on a regular basis. check that out if you have time.

we're already getting to work on the second issue, so be on the look out for some really interesting stuff, plus the unveiling of the first issue's podcast in the coming week. that will feature some new tunes from these arms are snakes and young widows, plus more goodies that you'll have to wait to find out about. jeremy will probably be uploading some pics from the launch party soon, so be on the look out for those, too.

in the mean time, check out the first issue of the magazine! let us know what you think.

-shehzaad

SIGNAL MAGAZINE IS NOW ONLINE!

2008-08-30T13:23:00.001-04:00

SIGNAL MAGAZINE'S FIRST ISSUE IS NOW ONLINE @ SIGNALMAG.COM!

CHECK OUT THE INAUGURAL EDITION OF OUR MONTHLY MUSIC MAGAZINE RIGHT NOW! INTERVIEWS WITH HARVEY MILK, NARROWS, CANCEL WINTER AND A SPECIAL Q&A WITH THE RZA!

PHOTOS OF THE FAINT, JAGUAR LOVE, KING KHAN & THE SHRINES, DOOMRIDERS AND ACID TIGER!

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

Thank you to everyone who came out to our launch party last night at The Boat. We all had a wonderful time and were glad we could celebrate our first issue with some of our best friends. We've worked really hard on getting this thing off the ground, so we hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it.

CHECK IT OUT!

the sharpest mofo in the whole clan

2008-08-17T01:30:00.005-04:00

things are heating up in signal land! first off, we are almost done putting together our very first issue. jeremy recently did a photoshoot with cancel winter for the story we did on them, and i conducted an interview with ryan frederiksen of narrows/these arms are snakes fame where he dished out some deets on both his current bands.

big news some of you may have heard already is that we have a special feature in store for you fine folks in our inaugural issue. in addition to stories on harvey milk, narrows, and cancel winter, we also have a Q & A with none other than THE RZA. that's right, i spoke with prince rakeem about a number of things including his new album, his beef with ghostface and raekwon, and his upcoming movie which he'll be making with quentin tarantino and eli roth (!!!).

keep an eye out for that in our first issue which will be coming to your monitors VERY soon! don't forget - if you're in the toronto area, be sure to get a spot on the dance floor at THE BOAT in kensington market for our launch party on Friday August 29th. doors are at 8pm and all you have to pay is the low low price of $5.

stay tuned, people! be on the look out for preview photos, interview clips and a snippet or two of our very first PODCAST! things are about to get real.

-shehzaad j.

launch party

2008-08-04T02:46:00.008-04:00

the signal magazine launch party is coming up very soon! we've solidified details for the show, and it's scheduled to be an absolute banger. thanks to nate from cancel winter for the rad poster above! details are as follows:

DOORS @ 8PM $5

Featuring:

Cancel Winter (myspace.com/cancelwinter)

GREYS (members of arietta, sweet riffs!)

Rockets! (myspace.com/rocketsband)

& DJ Earl Grey

the first few people through the door get specially packed loot bags full of free swag! what kind of swag? you'll have to show up early to find out, of course! come for the bands and stay for dj earl grey's dancetastic mix of electro, hip-hop, soul, funk, reggae and anything else that will get booties shaking til the morning light.

what better way to end off the summer than a dance party of epic proportions? come help us celebrate the very first issue of signal magazine in style!

-shehzaad j.

ahoy!

2008-08-04T02:30:00.007-04:00

welcome to the signal magazine blog! jeremy and i figured that, in addition to our monthly issues of the magazine, starting a blog would be a great way to keep you - our readers - up to date with upcoming issues of signal. stay tuned to this space for previews of interviews, live photos, rants and all other bits of info regarding the magazine.

if you don't know by now, signal magazine is a monthly online publication that was created by writer shehzaad jiwani (chart, now, arietta) and photographer jeremy north-lewis (puregrain). it was started with the intention of showcasing bands and artists who we felt weren't getting the attention they deserved. this goes for underground veterans like harvey milk, upcoming upstarts narrows, or local heroes cancel winter - all of whom will be featured in the very first issue of signal magazine, coming soon to your monitor!

we're getting very close to the mag's launch date, so keep an eye on this page for news on our launch party, snippets of interviews and a bevy of concert shots - all coming soon!

-shehzaad j.