CURSED ARROWS

Watch: "Say Yes" "Not The End" "Earthlings" "White Rabbit" "Close To The Exit" (LIVE)

2012-01-28T20:05:00.003-05:00

Cursed Arrows Live in Toronto - Friday, February 3rd

2012-01-08T17:55:00.003-05:00

New Blood

2011-12-31T16:36:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year, everyone.

It has been a long time since I attempted to articulate anything of importance in any mass medium, but every time I do it fires back karmically so I might as well. There is nothing but truth and light in me most of the time. Expelling your demons through the written word, song, dance, film, conversation, insinuation or stimulation is always going to backfire somehow. You can't throw a hat at a horse without him bucking back out of the way and kicking dust up in your face.

Two years ago I was in the throes of self-realization. The labour pains of real artistic expression. My earliest outputs as a child were little songs, much like any other little child's songs; dark, melodic, innocent. Once my brother and I had a tape recorder the ditties multiplied, tiny Dylan and Ginsberg collaborations in children's voices. Born 10 days apart, we sang, the songs slipping like mercury into the abyss of stolen memories, tapes in the trash, inspiration brushed under the rug for the first time. Two years ago I was riding high on the ecstasy of mastering a physical feat and a mental one - performing on drums. I wanted to be a drummer since I first heard Keith Moon on my father's car tape deck when I was 8. I wanted to be a man but didn't know it yet. A woman doing a man's work is often called a man. The question is, what really is a man's work? There are genetic and cosmic answers to that one that I will not delve into at this time. I took two decades just to begin looking for those answers.

I heard this drumming and continued listening but never spoke of it again until high school. I had some nice creative friends who encouraged me and somehow I got derailed onto acoustic guitar, a drum for the fingers and the soul. During my finest summer of punk rock excess - maybe it was 10 years ago - as I coasted on separation anxiety and psychedelic candy and far too much beer, I spoke of it again. This time, it had an effect. I had friends in bands and I was an avid supporter of real artists, especially the ones I met personally; I could not turn my back on them. They were for me alone to bolster, as I saw their struggles as clearly as their gains. As clearly as my favourite drummers' sinewy movements translated into beautiful music, I saw my favourite songwriters' pain, deep and often successfully buried beneath years of empty promises. I knew that pain, all twisted up in my heart. It mirrored and mingled with my own. They gave me chances and encouragement, the likes of which I had never foreseen. I was used to working against the grain, pushing everybody's fur the wrong way and combing my hair upside-down. My hunger for art became so strong during that decade that I left everything and everyone I knew behind to search for what I knew I was missing - everything and everyone I knew and loved.

Throughout it all I have written, pen on paper, and have maintained and distilled every word I've ever expressed in ink. During school, I was 'the writer' in the 99th percentile. The alto who could always sing on pitch. My teachers never let me down - only vice versa - and I have nothing but deep gratitude for their insight, the look in their eyes when they told me I was special, and I believed them. In my youth it was their stimulation combined with my family life that made me who I am - a quiet, haunted person who loves, and loves to write and sing and play instruments. By the time my rock'n'roll lifestyle came into being I was awash in notebooks full of rhythmically perfect poetry without much worldly insight. I was on the cusp of something but hadn't matured enough yet to let it out in front of an audience. I had the opportunities and the friendships to support it, but I couldn't get up onstage - it was the ultimate anxiety. School was left behind in favour of a post-secondary study of faith in art. Not until I met and vowed to partner with the most artistically advanced and spiritually talented person I had met did I find my way into the conduit. Together we created, my words finding their homes in someone else's music, and my manual dexterity lending itself to something important, greater than me.

Two years ago I began to hear my own voice - literally and figuratively - for the first time. I would sit alone for weeks or months on end, singing, writing, playing guitar, and hearing every little bit of myself. Astonishing myself and feeling that child-like awe that is so elusive to adults, and so wondrous. Yes, I had begun to master the rhythm of performance in front of an audience, but this was different. Singular. My partnership became both stronger and intentionally less central to my universe. My connection to some great force of energy, unseen and given many names, intensified. I had become a songwriter. It was a mostly logical advancement, but by no means anti-climactic. It was huge. This was that energy I felt when I heard that music in the car as a child, that driving blues, that darkness masked in so much light, that light comprised of real pure truth. Just guttural sounds swirling about in a beauteous way, anchored by poetry of the heart. My life became a series of rhythms that - to this day - I still cannot fully predict or control. Some of them are universal, too powerful to argue with, and strong enough to sweep you up and carry you away if you open your mind wide.

Free Download: Love and Peace from Cursed Arrows

2011-12-20T20:57:00.000-05:00

Download Cursed Arrows' version of

Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

Skin Behind The Shroud EP Now Online- Free Download

2011-11-08T23:18:00.000-05:00

<a href="http://cursedarrows.bandcamp.com/album/skin-behind-the-shroud">Skin Behind The Shroud by Cursed Arrows</a>

One In The Blue - Free Download With Lyrics

2011-11-01T13:23:00.002-04:00

LOOK

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T21:48:00.001-04:00

One In The Blue in Exclaim!

2011-10-30T17:49:00.007-04:00

One In The Blue,

the single from the upcoming EP Skin Behind The Shroud,

is now available as a free download.

Read about it in Exclaim!

Astro

2011-10-12T08:59:00.001-04:00

Zodiac in degrees 0.00			Placidus Orb:0
Sun	Gemini	3.01	Ascendant	Gemini	14.43
Moon	Gemini	21.37	II	Cancer	3.42
Mercury	Gemini	14.44 R	III	Cancer	20.43
Venus	Aries	22.40	IV	Leo	10.04
Mars	Libra	1.22	V	Virgo	7.04
Jupiter	Scorpio	2.08 R	VI	Libra	20.54
Saturn	Libra	16.00 R	VII	Sagittarius	14.43
Uranus	Sagittarius	2.36 R	VIII	Capricorn	3.42
Neptune	Sagittarius	26.18 R	IX	Capricorn	20.43
Pluto	Libra	24.34 R	Midheaven	Aquarius	10.04
Lilith	Sagittarius	26.55	XI	Pisces	7.04
Asc node	Cancer	14.04	XII	Aries	20.54

Sun	in	XII
Moon	in	Ascendant
Mercury	in	Ascendant
Venus	in	XII
Mars	in	V
Jupiter	in	VI
Saturn	in	V
Uranus	in	VI
Neptune	in	VII
Pluto	in	VI
Lilith	in	VII
Asc node	in	II

Sun	Sagittarius	11.34	Ascendant	Aries	26.22
Moon	Pisces	1.09	II	Gemini	0.23
Mercury	Sagittarius	7.48	III	Gemini	23.16
Venus	Capricorn	26.18	IV	Cancer	13.36
Mars	Virgo	24.03	V	Leo	6.14
Jupiter	Scorpio	1.18	VI	Virgo	7.35
Saturn	Libra	19.25	VII	Libra	26.22
Uranus	Sagittarius	1.05	VIII	Sagittarius	0.23
Neptune	Sagittarius	24.07	IX	Sagittarius	23.16
Pluto	Libra	26.01	Midheaven	Capricorn	13.36
Lilith	Sagittarius	7.47	XI	Aquarius	6.14
Asc node	Cancer	23.10	XII	Pisces	7.35

Sun	in	VIII
Moon	in	XI
Mercury	in	VIII
Venus	in	Midheaven
Mars	in	VI
Jupiter	in	VII
Saturn	in	VI
Uranus	in	VIII
Neptune	in	IX
Pluto	in	VI
Lilith	in	VIII
Asc node	in	IV

New Track: Laundry Room (Free Download)

2011-09-06T01:42:00.004-04:00

<a href="http://cursedarrows.bandcamp.com/album/skin-behind-the-shroud">Skin Behind The Shroud by Cursed Arrows</a>

Watch: Chop You Up / Poisonbelly Live 2008

2011-08-29T16:19:00.001-04:00

Watch: "Not The End" Live Acoustic

2011-08-14T23:31:00.002-04:00

Watch: Heart Shaped Box (Nirvana cover)

2011-08-12T18:31:00.002-04:00

thank you noisography.com

King's Crossing (Elliott Smith cover)

2011-08-04T20:21:00.001-04:00

Download a live acoustic version of King's Crossing.

Performed in April 2011 at CKDU Halifax in the Bourbon Jungle.

Pissing In A River (Patti Smith cover)

2011-08-02T21:36:00.002-04:00

Download an acoustic version of Pissing In A River (Patti Smith), recorded live at CKDU Halifax in April, 2011.
(thanks to bourbon jungle)

Watch: Children Of The Grave (Black Sabbath cover)

2011-07-31T20:24:00.005-04:00

Live in Toronto, May 2010

Skin Behind The Shroud November Release + Track List

2011-07-15T09:54:00.022-04:00

Cursed Arrows are pleased to announce

the forthcoming 6-song EP entitled

Skin Behind The Shroud.

Available digitally in November. Also on cassette.

Track List:
Empty Memory Bank
Carefree Chemicals
Close To The Exit
One In The Blue
In For The Kill
Laundry Room

Let It Ride

2011-07-04T13:33:00.006-04:00

We were recently featured on a Canada Day compilation paying tribute to one of our country's finest folk songwriters, Gordon Lightfoot.

Download the entire compilation over at Herohill.
(USA Today mentioned the compilation here.)

Our song, "Let It Ride," a gentle folk cover and a departure from the heaviness of our last three albums, can be found on our website.

The Beat Goes On Interview

2011-06-21T10:30:00.002-04:00

The Beat Goes On was a pillar of our youth - a local hangout and treasure trove where we spent most of our formative years flipping through racks and perusing catalogues for used copies of the records we loved.

READ THE INTERVIEW HERE

Death Rattle Blues VIDEO PREMIERE

2011-06-14T16:56:00.002-04:00

Watch the Cursed Arrows-directed video for the song, "Death Rattle Blues," featured on cassette and on the full-length album, The Madness Of Crowds.

Today also marks our 8th anniversary as partners in crime.

Do enjoy.

Death Rattle Blues - Video Stills

2011-06-13T20:44:00.006-04:00

Watch the video here

Discount Madness & Death Rattle Blues Video

2011-05-31T09:49:00.002-04:00

LIKE DEALS?

Enter discount code "madness" & get 50% off a copy of The Madness Of Crowds album!

Featuring "Death Rattle Blues" and title track "The Madness Of Crowds."

Quantities are limited and disappearing fast, into the hands of campus radio stations and press outlets.

All other items in our store are being sold AT COST.

The Cursed Arrows directed "Death Rattle Blues" music video is coming soon.

Playing Catch (Up)

2011-05-27T14:08:00.007-04:00

Well, it has been a while.

The last few months have been pivotal, but aren't they all? We produced our third album, The Madness Of Crowds, and released it digitally for free. Sure, we made a few copies on disc - but who's going to buy them? The album is big, meaty, lyrical. A mere 8 songs. A bit less heavy, perhaps. Not what you might expect to hear from us, but hopefully just what you might expect to hear from us.

The spring brought us back to Ontario for a few shows, for a couple of spectacular tattoos from our friend Ben Ryan at Berlin Tattoo. Scrounged for a few great meals at Aux Vivres (Montreal), Rancho Relaxo (Toronto), Calactus (Moncton), and Cafe Pyrus (Kitchener), that drained our wallets but filled us up. Saw old friends and family, The Kills in Toronto (and nervously met Alison Mosshart), and were pleasantly blown away by old pals Whoop-Szo. Occupied a gorgeous thrift store, Lost & Found, with our friends air/fire who graciously down their sonic punk astrology. Played and enjoyed ourselves live on local radio and performed a rare acoustic set surrounded by vinyl on Record Store Day.

May as always boasts the most beautiful weather of all, and Bob Dylan's birthday, which also happens to be my own. The Atlantic infuses us with its vitality. We once again played Long Live The Queen festival, well-executed by a spirited team of talented people, caught up with Mayor McCa, one of our favourites, and finally watched him play again.

The rest of the spring will find us booking tours, making a lot more music videos, and mixing our follow-up to The Madness Of Crowds - coming sooner than you think.

Happy Day

2011-05-24T11:08:00.004-04:00

Happy Birthday

Put Your Face In It

2011-05-18T16:15:00.003-04:00

Put Your Face In It

Photography Collection

2011-05-16T23:10:00.001-04:00

View our ever-expanding photography collection here.

Two Way Monologues Interview & Album Review

2011-05-06T12:03:00.008-04:00

It could be said that a lot of your records carry over-arching themes and concepts. How would you explain that element of The Madness of Crowds?

J – The Madness Of Crowds is the first half of a double album. It’s the more political half, the one that addresses war, but love is intertwined throughout. You can’t have war without love. It’s very dark, very bluesy. Just darkly honest.

Two Way Monologues

Cursed Arrows Live Set on CKDU's Bourbon Jungle

2011-04-21T16:55:00.006-04:00

Cursed Arrows live acoustic session April 21, 2011

Summer Came Sooner

2011-04-21T13:46:00.001-04:00

Summer came sooner
than we expected
here we stand
here are we judged
not by the air or by the sea
but by the world we cannot see

The Madness Of Crowds video

2011-04-12T18:27:00.003-04:00

Yuri Gagarin: First Human Space Flight in Pictures

Video Interview at CJLO Montreal

2011-04-07T08:44:00.006-04:00

Post-performance interview with CJLO's ebullient Omar Goodness.

The Madness Of Crowds Spring Tour

2011-04-04T09:01:00.002-04:00

The Madness Of Crowds: DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE ALBUM FOR FREE.

2011-03-22T13:48:00.005-04:00

Read a track-by-track breakdown of our new album.

THEN DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE ALBUM FOR FREE!
For a limited time.
Start clicking.

Cursed Arrows' offer their sincerest thanks
to those who have pre-ordered a physical copy
of The Madness Of Crowds.
Pre-orders will be shipped on or before April 5.

The Madness Of Crowds

2011-03-21T16:30:00.001-04:00

The Writing of The Madness Of Crowds

2011-03-09T12:16:00.003-05:00

The Madness of Crowds Track Listing and Cover Art

2011-03-02T14:37:00.002-05:00

Visit our store for The Madness of Crowds track listing and album art.

The Madness Of Crowds

2011-01-31T15:12:00.014-05:00

The expansive third album The Madness Of Crowds is now available for pre-order.

The Madness Of Crowds will be released digitally, and on CD April 5, 2011.
LP release date forthcoming (financial situation-dependent).

Decade Long Writer's Block

2011-01-26T12:13:00.019-05:00

We are determined to tour our next album The Madness Of Crowds, preferably all over this country and a few others. This is an album whose scope both musically and ideologically overwhelms us both.
This is not always the case.
This has grown exponentially.
This is not a local album.
We are not a local band.

So we want to tour and tour, yet we have to dig for funds in painful places to manufacture the albums themselves. We trust, of course, that they will be taken quickly off our hands - such a small run - but never in our history as a band have we profited one cent.

Things we have lost, and lost.
Money gone as creatively, we have won.

We don't all share the same ambition, and the same sole bank account.
We don't all rattle our brains day and night, incessantly searching for truth.

Do we?

We want to take off in our car, as always, but further than always. That part is easy. The difficult part is embarking on a profitable endeavour - that which we have never sought out as a band. We've always dug ourselves in deep. Deeper.

But now, the time has arrived. Time has run out, yet all we have is time. In order to play our music before an audience, we must recuperate our lost daily earnings. So crude to speak of it that way; the beauty of performance shrouded.

Isn't this what all bands want?
Why is it taking us so long?
How will we do this?

The music is there.
The music is here, always.
We must help it find its way.

Reach out for it, for us.

***

Without any more ado, we present the "Death Rattle Blues" cassette.

Those who 'ave ordered copies will receive them post-haste.
Those who 'aven't, buy a tape from us at cost.

Oh! Canada compilation

2011-01-25T14:52:00.004-05:00

The wonderful music site The Line Of Best Fit has featured our song "Death Rattle Blues" on their latest Oh! Canada compilation.

Download it here.

Winter Tribute

2011-01-24T16:15:00.003-05:00

Recent Love

2011-01-23T15:56:00.002-05:00

We love it when good writers take the time to ponder our music.
Read this, and be entertained.

Sound Design and Assembly

"Death Rattle Blues" Tape Available Now - Online!

2011-01-02T20:52:00.019-05:00

Two worlds collide:
digital and analogue

Reel and fake
they butt heads but secretly enjoy it

Witness with your ears and eyes five songs
all previously unreleased
complete with lyrics

Including "Death Rattle Blues"
the single from our upcoming LP

All songs were recorded live
by us

Actual tapes will also be available
and in fact, we'd prefer if you had one

But with everyone so detached
we hope that releasing these songs once and for all
might bring musical unity.

Watch the "Carefree Chemicals" video now.

Unity and the Age of Aquarius

2010-12-31T10:45:00.015-05:00

Happy New Year.
This is not the end.

Stay tuned for more live previews from our monstrous third album,
The Madness of Crowds.

"Death Rattle Blues" Promo II

2010-12-22T17:12:00.013-05:00

Dedicated to Tim McLean.

T.O.F.U. Magazine Interview

2010-12-21T16:33:00.006-05:00

The current issue of T.O.F.U. (the little magazine that should) features an extensive interview with us about our lives and our art.

You will not find an interview like this anywhere else.

Please take the time to download a copy.

It is a splendid 80-page magazine stuffed with recipes and insights from a vegan perspective.

It is one like no other.

"Death Rattle Blues" Cassette

2010-12-17T15:37:00.026-05:00

Human ears don't want to hear digitally perfect sound.

YOU WILL RECEIVE A FREE GOLD 1" BUTTON WITH EACH CASSETTE/ORDER.

"Death Rattle Blues" Promo

2010-11-26T14:08:00.004-05:00

A song about murder.

Digital Technology Un-entirely Embraced

2010-11-22T12:47:00.013-05:00

dearth-y view

//the trick with this song//is pushing the limits

of what one's ears can stand/in terms of vocals//
((methinks we sang it well/
so now we can do that//
>it will impact hard/
^english fails//

Single (to restore sanity) announcement coming soon!

Crafts For Kids

2010-11-17T12:24:00.006-05:00

We have several excellent local shows coming up, but we are most pleased to encourage you to attend a benefit show for the IWK Children's Hospital on December 4th.

Crafts for Kids, a yearly fundraiser for the IWK Children's Hospital last year we raised $4000. The fundraiser focuses on purchasing more crafts supplies for the younger children at the hospital also this year, the goal is to improve the art room dedicated to young adults dealing with mental illnesses by expanding their collection of art and music supplies.

Pissing In A River

2010-11-16T16:37:00.003-05:00

Here's a feedbacky clip of us playing Patti Smith's Pissing In A River at Gus' Pub.

Noisography.

Death Rattle

2010-11-15T10:46:00.016-05:00

We'll be headed into a studio-like setting this week to record our cassette.

We will record alone, under a full moon, as always.

Album Announcement

2010-11-03T09:50:00.016-04:00

Hello, Wide World of Webs.
Are you listening?

In spite of recent music sales trends, we have sold hundreds more copies of our 2009 album Telepathic High Five at shows than online.

In fact, nobody has purchased our album solely in its digital format in the last year.
Nobody. So it appears that we're on the right track, selling only tangible copies of our album in person, at shows, as we should be.

Our third album, The Madness of Crowds, will be released in mid-2011 in CD and LP format.

In all likelihood, it will be released independently, as with our first two full-lengths.
There are serious talks of releasing a single to precede the LP's release.
There are also talks of founding our own label for this, and future outputs.

In the meantime, we're still working day jobs and and scraping by in anticipation of yet another massive investment into our musical future. Another financial nose dive in service to our artistic freedom.

We want you to continue to hold our music in your arms.
This is what it's all about.

Full Moon Pop Explosion Coverage

2010-10-25T15:03:00.040-04:00

A pre-festival feature about us in The Coast.

Audio, and a couple of reviews of our all ages live-to-air show in the CKDU Lobby.
Audio is crude, but isn't it all these days? Unfortunately, our full set was not aired due to apparent time/programming constraints.
You had to be there.
The Broken Speaker
The Coast
The Line Of Best Fit
Exclaim!

Live clip of "Run Forever" at the Seahorse:

A *Noisography reviewer thinks that there are too many guitar and drum duos these days.
No shit. We've been doing this for many years, and have encountered dozens upon dozens of duos that have quickly come and gone. Apart from a solid core of seasoned musicians who find their groove in two instruments, being a two-piece band is a massive trend; one whose roots aren't entirely without merit. It's a tough world for bands right now, with very little money and attention to go around, and a lot of folks seem to think it's easier to function as a duo.

It is not.

We're a married couple and exclusive musical partners for life.
So our guitar-and-drums band, trendy or not, ain't going nowhere.

*Photos and review from Noisography.
Note: Scroll down, and read all the reviews from our show. It was a crazy night.

Photos of our Seahorse set from Richard Lann.

We also tired ourselves out and attended quite a few festival shows.
Highlights for us included Dog Day, Bad Vibrations, North Of America, Air/Fire, Cold Warps, and my favourite set of them all, Rockets Red Glare.
'Tis a shame that we missed C'mon, High On Fire, and Feuermusik.

Halifax Pop Explosion

2010-10-18T09:12:00.004-04:00

See us/See you:

Wednesday October 20th
in the CKDU Lobby
@ 4:00pm sharp

Saturday October 23rd
at the Seahorse
@ 9:00pm sharp

Music Everywhere

2010-09-24T15:07:00.007-04:00

You may listen to our entire album in band-sanctioned digital glory on these sorts of websites, for now.

Every song from our last album, Telepathic High Five, is represented, along with several covers, and exclusive live performances of new songs.

These are all available to stream in either mp3 or video format.
Look around, and listen.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

NOW Magazine Interview With Copy Editor-Spanked Headline

2010-09-16T14:17:00.017-04:00

Read Ryan's interview with NOW
The title and certain phraseology lend a confrontational tone, despite the characteristic diplomacy of his responses.

The piece also implies that we are moving to glorious Nova Scotia due specifically to Toronto's lack of interest in our music (we're not, although The Big City, of course, an artistic consideration).

There were quite a few more bodies than usual at our farewell Toronto show last night.
Thank you for seeing us off with unforseen warmth.
We'll be back.

Gate Crasher Video Premiere

2010-09-10T20:08:00.010-04:00

Lots of fun.
Lots of hard work.

Farewell to what has passed.
What we do now is what we will be.

Recovery Project

2010-09-09T09:38:00.008-04:00

We posted these a few months ago - back when nobody was paying attention.

A couple of cottage covers.

And a sloppy basement Pixies cover that made the neighbours write us a full-page complaint letter.

We are itching to record again.
Very soon.

Also, stay tuned for a brand new music video for our song
"Gate Crasher."

Southern Souls Live Acoustic Videos

2010-09-03T09:44:00.016-04:00

Watch us perform acoustic versions of two songs from our upcoming album.

"Close To The Exit"

"Not The End"

Thank you to Southern Souls.

Halifax Pop Explosion Announcement

2010-08-24T13:09:00.017-04:00

Our performance at this year's Pop Explosion will mark not only our inaugural show as Halifax residents, but also the 8th anniversary of Ryan's first appearance at the festival in 2002
with The Burdocks, Contrived, and Chore.

Such a good lineup this year, it made The Coast's head explode.

Here is the full lineup.

We'll be playing The Seahorse Saturday, October 23rd
with North Of America, Rockets Red Glare, Crosss, and Cousins.
Here is the schedule.

David Suzuki Foundation's Playlist for the Planet - Vote for Us!

2010-08-20T08:30:00.009-04:00

Vote for our song, Superspecies, as Canada's environmental anthem.

We specifically penned these lyrics with David Suzuki's writing in mind, so you know our hearts are in it.

Help us show the country that political-environmental anthems can be part of a healthy musical diet.

VOTE FOR US HERE, NOW!
You can vote once per day,
and must be logged in to do so.
Thank you for your support!

The earth needs you.

Do you want to get angry about something?

2010-08-19T10:49:00.005-04:00

hardcorevegan.blogspot.com
THINK.

David Suzuki's Playlist for the Planet

2010-08-04T11:37:00.006-04:00

We entered our song "Superspecies" into David Suzuki's CBC Radio 3 contest,
Playlist for the Planet.

Every revolution needs a soundtrack.

Please vote for our song, whose lyrics give melody
to the common-sense teachings of Mr. Suzuki and friends.

#63 - Superspecies

Close To Insane, Eating Fossils!

2010-07-29T18:14:00.006-04:00

Below you will find the official music video for "Superspecies."
This is a Toronto-centric affair featuring ample live footage.

This song addresses humankind's exploitation of the natural world,
and the fact that we humans TRULY don't have any friends.

Cursed Arrows Are Moving To Halifax

2010-07-28T09:36:00.012-04:00

ANNOUNCEMENT

Cursed Arrows are relocating
to Nova Scotia
in the coming Autumn months.

We've been mulling this over for years.
We wanted to give the full extent of ourselves
to our home province
before we left,
and that,
we have done.

A couple hundred live shows,
and two self-produced albums.

Now is the right time for us to move.
(There is never a right time.)
To keep moving.
To tour more than we stay in place.

We can't afford this move monetarily,
but ideologically,
it is the most reasonable option.

To be poor by the ocean,
instead of these lakes.

We've got a massive third full-length album
ready to record.

Demons already unleashed.
Goodbyes already said.
We've sung and screamed.
We've learned and been burned.

Nothing
left
unsaid.

***

The Coast was kind enough to pick up on our news,
and write about it.

The Kinetic Band Shuffle

From Naked Ape To Superspecies

2010-07-27T08:48:00.005-04:00

We've been talking about this book for at least 5 years.

We won't stop until everybody listens.

David Suzuki and Holly Dressel
provide a heavily researched
and supremely enjoyable primer
on humankind's exploitative position
as gutless consumers
of the earth's natural systems.

From Naked Ape To Superspecies

You Should Have Been There

2010-07-20T11:21:00.007-04:00

Thanks to the lovely Terri Coles.

The Nurse Should Not Be The One Who Puts Salt In Your Wounds

2010-07-17T16:34:00.019-04:00

You can't stop where music takes you.

Thank you to those who support what we do.

Tu n'es rien d'autre que ta vie

Night Run Of The Living Forever Dead

2010-07-15T09:30:00.011-04:00

Music video for our song "Run Forever" from the album Telepathic High Five. Comprised exclusively using footage from one of our favourite radical 60's independent films, Night of the Living Dead.

The guerrilla-style direction and improvisational performances provide a unique visual take on a socio-political protest song about the decimation of Lake Victoria cichlids by the Nile Perch.
The loss of half of these fish has been termed "the greatest vertebrate mass extinction in recorded history."

Featured in Exclaim!

(Log into Vimeo to download, keep, and re-watch this film.
We recommend viewing it at home, in a comfortable chair, with the volume cranked, preferably not while eating.)

For Worse Or Better/In It Forever

2010-07-09T16:36:00.005-04:00

(2003)

Cowards Run Forever/Start Listening

2010-06-30T09:53:00.008-04:00

i don't want to be a part

i don't want to play along
spin your own sticky web
turn the wheels for yourself
build your own private hell
then you'll know how they live

there will be nothing left
you collapse all the nets
that have kept us safe

they'll always tell you what's right
comes down to will and to might
or you can run forever
would you rather catch all their stares
and know you're right
or hide in plain sight?

run forever.

sell your countries
leave the poor
to eat the fish frames
blood of lambs
guns for grapes
smell the factory
from the highway

the stronger own the world.

~Run Forever
From 2009's Telepathic High Five

***

we're always protesting.
just listen.

Monkey Warfare/Not So Happy Friday

2010-06-25T16:00:00.001-04:00

bye tracy.

Convicta Et Combusta

2010-06-24T15:03:00.012-04:00

The last month has been a flurry of shows, videos, photos, lyrics, reviews, a giant oil spill, a nearby financial summit, and a local earthquake.

The recent heat (spawning storms and lung-thwarting smog), combined with our umpteenth move of domicile, and our ongoing hunt for practice spaces, have contributed to a sense of impermanence in our surroundings...

But we are permanent.

We're accustomed to playing every day.
We have been doing so for at least three years.
The transition from daily to biweekly practices has been traumatic; we get out of shape.
One can always play guitar; we're approaching writing songs in different ways.

We find solutions, but they are temporary.

We're writing songs for our next album, and can safely say we're more than halfway.

These songs are closer to our hearts than ever before.

Love Note About Face (Part 2)

2010-06-09T14:36:00.004-04:00

Insanity has its merits/
As do physical restraints/
So many songs, so many pains/
So few dark places to play/
Walking about in the rain/
Just isn't the same/
Without a healthy dose of shame/
Play the blame game/
You'll see that you feel just the same.

Revolution In Their Minds: Live "Children of the Grave."

2010-06-08T11:28:00.003-04:00

Photos from the show courtesy of the Untold City.

"Deep Wound" Official Video

2010-06-03T22:37:00.008-04:00

Official video for 'Deep Wound' from the 2009 album "Telepathic High Five." Featuring lots of cameos, tour footage, and demons.
A film by Jackie Stanley.

May 2010 TOUR DIARY

2010-05-25T18:54:00.025-04:00

DAY ONE

"What day is today?"
Saw two hawks mating atop a 7-11 on our way out of town - a good omen?

Picked up a limited run of shiny gold tour buttons in Toronto before driving directly to CJLO in Montreal to do a live performance and interview session (which should be archived online shortly here).

Ate a good ol' vegan cafeteria dinner in town, then crashed in a Quebec motel.

DAY TWO
"The Grunge"
The shower in our motel room boasted intense, near-painful water pressure, and neither of us could get a particular Quasi song out of our heads when we awoke. Didn't sleep enough as usual, then drove eight hours to Fredericton...

Tried not to notice the dead deer, fox, rabbit, and skunk on the side of the highway. But alas, a live lady moose drinking from a stream makes me feel a little better. Ryan explains the "world's largest beaver dam" located in Northern Ontario, nearly 1km long and the only animal structure that is visible from space. See, animals do crazy shit, too. I want to see that dam thing.

What time you guys playing? Where you going next? What comes first - the music or the words?

Our respiratory systems cleared, and we felt unusually healthy somewhere past Cabano. We stopped at as many of our beloved PQ rest stops as possible - these places are effectively beautifully maintained parks along the highway.

Played a quiet Thursday night set at The Capital with Bad Vibrations - an ass-whooping trio from Halifax. Found out we knew Evan from his Ontario days in Free Maracas. Also, I realized we first met KC when his band Made In The World played in my apartment back in 2003. I hadn't met Meg before this tour, but I am a huge fan of her relentless drumming.

The sound lady treated us to some old Vermicious Knid, Sourkeys, Burdocks and other nostalgic tracks before we played. All of those warm fuzzies mostly made up for the lack of attendance and the barfing guy outside.

Keep hope alive.

DAY THREE
"They Don't Look Like They're From Ontario"

'Twas a no-shower, pseudo-breakfast kind of morning at the Prospect Inn in Fredericton - an affordable and hospitable resting place. We overslept, then ate breakfast with Bad Vibes and accidentally ordered toast with butter on it, then had to have the kitchen staff remake us some dry toast.

Next stop was Moncton, first for a feast at Zen Gardens, then a house show - a crowded, sloppy early-evening affair where we made sure to play "Happens All The Time." Petted a presumably deaf punk doggy all night long, and met some kind people.

Funniest of all, we overheard an attendee say, "They don't look like they're from Ontario," as we were setting up.

Compliment or criticism?

We finished just in time to see Bad Vibrations at the Paramount, then crashed for another evening.

DAY FOUR
"Drunken Butterfly"

Wandered around Moncton's impressive Farmer's Market and indulged in some Egyptian samosas. It was pouring, so we headed out of town, but not before getting pulled over for a minor traffic violation by a smiling cop who simply said,
"I guess you might not be from Moncton, eh?"

Sackville, home of a lovely cafe and ample healthy food choices, was a rainy experience but the sun kept poking out, beckoning us to stay

We rolled onward, stopping briefly to shoot an empty bus (while a self-appointed guard dog barked at us non-stop) and a recently burnt out trailer (complete with smoke damaged clothing and personal effects).

We all get to be gum in graves, anyway.

In Truro (where DD/MM/YYYY references abound), I painted my bass drum head, and then we played for an attentive and hard-nosed audience with whose composure I can surely identify. Thanks to Evan, the sweetest promoter in the whole world, for having us back.

Stayed with Chad Peck of Noyes Records and had some intense nerd-outs about everything music-related, particularly gear and recording. It was nice to finally hang out with our label master, and his lady friend.

DAY FIVE
"I'm Not Playing With You"

Played the Youth Centre in Trenton and encountered yet another prodigious promoter named Andy, whose insights and ambitions were welcomed like a breath of fresh, salty air.

Felt a little homesick for our cats, whom I knew were in good hands.

A week in Nova Scotia awaits.

DAY SIX
"For Worse or Better"

We'd been having lots of musical and personal epiphanies on this tour - the ideal outcome of traveling and playing music with and for so many people. We had talks with KC, Evan, and Meg of Bad Vibrations about "bringing back" certain sonic vibes; however, I know we're just as hell-bent on propelling ourselves forward.
Balls out, so to speak.

(The ipod finally died, six days into our tour, 30 seconds into the last song on Sea of Cowards - "Old Mary.")

At one point, I smelled the residual smoke from my burnt trailer shirt and had unwanted visions of death by smoke inhalation. The last tenant who lived in our current dwelling, we recently learned, died IN OUR APARTMENT weeks before we moved in, so we are prone to thoughts of the worst lately. We heard a sad story about a suicide, which hit hard, but otherwise our ramblings with people have proved fruitful. We're very much in our own heads, but lately it seems as if we're on a subconscious quest to feel like we're connecting (some very large dots).

My latent caffeine addiction took a hit at Just Us, a superior fair trade coffee co-operative based in Halifax. This place is extremely affordable and broad in scope, especially next to its Ontario counterparts.

"People and the planet before profits" says it all.

We tracked down our hosts (and longtime favourite musicians/people) Nancy and Seth of Dog Day, whose enchanted homestead awaited us.
For the record: Nancy is an impeccable cook.

DAY SEVEN
"Breaking Bad"

After one night at Seth and Nancy's oceanside paradise I was delirious from being in good company, breathing real air, playing guitars, staring at the water, and especially, playing with Woofy.

Rarely have either of us felt this relaxed - a near catatonic state that we relished.
We were happy to have days off, for once.
Every tour should be this therapeutic.

DAY EIGHT
"Concentration"

Ryan desperately needed to re-string his Gretsch before our Seahorse show in Halifax with The Raccoon Wedding, and I needed to put sunglasses on Woofy.

In the meantime, we listened to Dog Day's last album a couple of times, and discovered our astrological birth charts, like the nerds that we are.

Rain, drumfusion, inaccurate posters, and a mediocre yet expensive meal (I could have sworn that I read that The Wooden Monkey was a vegetarian restaurant; it's not) started off the night on a tedious note.

Then, The Racoon Wedding played far too well, and crawling sweatily offstage after our set to find Seth and Nancy's cute faces in the room made it all worthwhile.

DAY NINE
"Earthlings"

The inevitable happened: a show that we'd booked months in advance was canceled the day before by the chap who we trusted to put it together. Oh, well. Fortunately, this was the only show that fell through. I am still cranky, though.

...Now what?

I shouldn't have fretted, because Seth suggested an impromptu video shoot in their backyard. In the dark. With lots of found props, and a gracious hen. This was one of the highlights of our tour. I recall laughing uncontrollably, and feeling gratefully smitten to have spent time with a couple whose creative energy knows no end.

We miss them already.

DAY TEN
"Children of the Grave"

Woke up hung over from our escapades the night before; Ryan, especially, was feeling a bit worn down. We wandered around town, walked off the crazies, ate a therapeutic meal at Satifaction Feast (best veg restaurant we've encountered in Halifax). We also had lots of circular conversations, which were eventually thwarted by our positive revelations.

Later that night, Gus' Pub was home to Long Live The Queen Festival and our last East coast show. (As we've noticed in the past, the bar owners keep VERY close tabs on bands and sound engineers, literally hanging over everybody's shoulders barking orders and nitpicking about instrument and merch placement until the second the noise starts.)

We sound checked an Eric's Trip song, played a short set, and struck up parking lot conversations with PJ from Moncton (whose band Iron Giant was playing that night), along with many of Halifax's musical finest who were in attendance. Though I was cranky as hell, I looked out and saw an extremely happy audience. Imagine - smiling and rocking out at a rock show!
What a great crowd.

Anyway, it seemed like a stellar first year for the festival, and we are thankful to have been a part of it.

Thanks to Noisography for the photos and video!

DAY ELEVEN
"Casa del Burrito"

Arrived in Montreal and saw Crosss (featuring Christian of Play Guitar, The Hold, The Burdocks, etc on drums) play their first show then mounted Casa's wee stage for a psychotic, erratic set of our own.

We'd left Nova Scotia that morning, and driven at least 11 hours earlier in the day so it was all we could do to keep our motor skills functioning. Montreal boasted the greatest physical distance between the stage and audience of virtually anywhere we have played: approximately 5 metres of sad gaping floor space sat between us, and a small, partly seated audience.

Nevertheless, we let "Children of the Grave" and "Junk Bond Trader" rip, and tested out a couple of embryonic new songs. Thanks to Blue Skies Turn Black for the show.

A couple of vegan burritos later, we passed out in our motel room dreaming of Ozzy and Elliott and Woofy and ocean beaches.

Seth Smith's solo album, "New Problems," is highly recommended.
By us.

DAY TWELVE
"Got Took"

We realized on our way home that we never wanted to leave...

CURSED ARROWS MAY 2010 EAST COAST TOUR

2010-05-06T15:24:00.009-04:00

Cursed Arrows are pleased to be embarking on a late-Spring tour in support of our second album, 2009’s
Telepathic High Five.

We will also be premiering a multitude of new songs from our as-yet-untitled upcoming LP. We are going to experiment all over the place.

We’re touring alone in a tiny black car, because we don’t have any friends.
One of us doesn’t drive.
One of us doesn’t stop talking.

Fortunately, we’ll be meeting up with former band-mates (The Racoon Wedding), Noyes Records label-mates (Play Guitar) and old pals (Bad Vibrations) on this trip.

Our albums - released in archaic compact disc format - along with various handcrafted merchandise will be available for purchase on a sliding scale.

May 13 – Fredericton, NB @ The Capital with Bad Vibrations
May 14 – Moncton, NB @ House venue
May 15 – Truro, NS @ TAAC Grounds
May 16 – Trenton, NS @ Trenton Youth Centre
May 19 – Halifax, NS @ Seahorse Tavern with The Racoon Wedding
May 20 – Sydney, NS @ Surprise venue
May 21 – Halifax, NS @ Gus’ Pub – Long Live The Queen Festival with Myles Deck and the Fuzz, Union of the Snake
May 22 – Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo with Play Guitar
May 27 – Toronto, ON @ Silver Dollar - Pitter Patter Festival with The Easy Targets, Adverteyes
May 28 – Oshawa, ON @ Atria – Pitter Patter Festival with Cousins, Anagram

Take Off Your Dress And Send It To Me

2010-05-03T11:47:00.010-04:00

Here are some lovely recent live photos:

And from the same evening, some stills from a Minilogues video shoot:

Thank you sincerely to Dan, Terri and Dan at TWM.

Cursed Arrows @ The Rancho Relaxo

2010-04-23T13:52:00.001-04:00

Live "Poisonbelly" and "Blueprint"

2010-04-20T14:31:00.010-04:00

Blueprint (Fugazi cover) 04/17/10

Poisonbelly 04/17/10
Thank you, Two Way Monologues.

The Sound and The Smell of Record Store Day

2010-04-17T13:13:00.001-04:00

http://www.recordstoreday.com/CustomPage/381

People Love To Want To Hate Us

2010-04-06T11:30:00.004-04:00

"I really, really wanted to find a fault." (!earshot review)

Love Note About Town

2010-03-17T14:06:00.013-04:00

Riddle me this,
Riddle me that
Tell me why people who sit on their hats
Twiddle their thumbs
When posed with a choice
Between doing what's right, and just making noise?
Sounds that you make
When nobody listens
Expire like lonely, moist bread in your kitchen
Preserve what you have
Lest you dare take a risk
On the potency of a pair of fighting fish
Vivid gills and such strong, veiny tails
Occur preternaturally
As they swim beside whales
Who awake to the thunder of tanker waves
And will only rest once they've filled up their graves
With the voices of gulls
And the breath of the fish
Whose ripples nearby always prompt them to wish
Upon a derivative star at night
For the strength to be true
And to do
What is right.

Little Fury

2010-03-02T12:45:00.012-05:00

So, we've got another album's worth or more of songlings that we've written in the last six months, which you will be hearing at upcoming shows along with Telepathic High Five songs.
Watch for mixups and switchups, hear the songs evolve.
New sounds, new sights, but always just the two of us.

(Also, new musical projects underway, involving each of us, but not necessarily only us, or even us.)

Our BIG MAY TOUR is booked and dates will be announced shortly! We'll be hitting four or five provinces but most shows will be in our beloved Nova Scotia. Back just in time for my birthday. Somebody had better bake me a giant vegan cake. How old am I? Oftentimes, even I forget. Chocolate, please.
+++
"(Telepathic High Five) carries forward their sound, which condenses nearly every important ’90s alt-rock touchstone into sharp blasts of post-grunge fury."
Local Record article, for your reading pleasure.

Blog The Fuck Up!

2010-02-20T22:38:00.004-05:00

"It's like that old school Detroit rock where everybody got jazz, blues, and R&B tutelage and then went and joined garage bands (thus fostering the punk and metal yet to come)."
Sound Design and Assembly review of our album here.

Secret Society of Vegans bit here.

She's In A Bad Mood - NEW Covers for your ears!

2010-01-19T11:51:00.006-05:00

Hi everybody,

It's been awhile, hasn't it?
Don't worry, we've been here all along.
Playing shows, writing lots of new songs, plotting and scheming.

Not surprisingly, very few people like to pay for music.
That's okay - our album is floating around the internet in its pirated glory for all eternity.
But if you'd like to help us finance our life's work, come to a show sometime and buy a copy or a shirt from us.
They'll be time capsule-worthy keepsakes someday.

Anyway, here are two Telepathic High Five-era covers
of beautiful songs
by musicians who are long gone.

Listen to them.
(This will cost you nothing but time.)
***
Christian Brothers (Elliott Smith Cover)
Mother (John Lennon Cover)

Music Video: "Chop You Up"

2009-12-17T21:48:00.010-05:00

Named after (and inspired lyrically by) an eerie children's song in a Fritz Lang film.

Here is our video for "Chop You Up."
...
...
...
...
But
...
...
...

You didn't see it.

New Album TELEPATHIC HIGH FIVE Now Available!

2009-11-17T10:13:00.011-05:00

Pre-Order our album "Telepathic High Five"
from Noyes Records NOW
and receive two bonus songs in MP3 format!

(CDs will ship in the next couple of weeks.)

We greatly appreciate any and all of your support, and are ready for you to hear the last few years of what happened in our heads.

We know you will like this.

***

We effectively formed in 2006 as R's previous post-punk band was winding down, and his solo albums were piling up. Our telepathic connection and combined artistic frustrations lead us to start writing loud songs in our basement apartment, armed simply with a tiny amp and an awful drum kit.

Our first release, "Knives Are Falling From The Sky," was a guttural stab in the dark. We had no idea what we sounded like, but we couldn't stop writing and stayed holed up for months. The songs ended up being compared to Nirvana, The Melvins, Sonic Youth, and The Pixies - proving to us that our musical leanings did, indeed, make themselves apparent through the simple chemistry of an album we considered our first attempt as a band.

Several equipment upgrades, a band name expansion, and many live shows later, we are ready to release our second album, "Telepathic High Five." The ten songs on this record reveal our mutual infatuation with the murderous symbolism of Fritz Lang's 'M,' David Suzuki's poignant environmental literature, and the horrors that unfold when humankind exploits every living resource in its quest for power – a Darwinian nightmare.

From the sparse humanity of the films of Gus Van Sant, to the domestic surrealism of Roman Polanski, to the mystical and subtly political paintings of Norval Morrisseau, we are constantly inspired. We've learned over the years that music is the language we use to express our love and our hatred for ourselves, each other, and everything that surrounds us.

We hope that the sounds we make conjure potent imagery, stimulate basic emotions, and conversely, trigger rational analysis of our status as people. Humans are lonesome rulers of the world, trapped in a self-imposed horror show with our thoughts and our images; our music and words.

-J

Human Swine Influenza

2009-11-13T07:38:00.004-05:00

Our CD Release shows and service jobs took a toll on our bodies this past week...our healthy immune systems couldn't fight off the devil flu when it attacked and we've been virtually bedridden for days.

While we're down:

Read Herohill's review of "Telepathic High Five."

Southern Souls Video: "Chop You Up"

2009-09-20T22:50:00.012-04:00

Watch a live performance of "Chop You Up,"

part of a unique local music documentary project
called Southern Souls
by photographer Mitch Fillion.

Basement times, basement vibes.
Even with all that mess outside...
We hope you're listening.

*But you didn't see this one, either. The filmmaker was unsatisfied and took it down, and destroyed it.*

Caribou: Live From A Basement

2009-09-15T20:00:00.007-04:00

FREE FOR THE TAKING!

A Precursor To Our Album,

'Telepathic High Five'

Since we have been been meticulously labouring
over the (finished) album -
end result,
&not playing enough show$
We recently committed to digital tape a few ditties
(many of them covers).

Download Live Pixies Cover
(RIGHT-CLICK SAVE AS)

Soon, you will be able
to pre-order Telepathic High Five
from our friends
at
Noyes Records.

Telepathic High Five Album Cover

2009-09-07T17:26:00.004-04:00

Just in case you was wonderin'.

October 2009

***

Norval Morrisseau blog entry:
"Morrisseau's Art As Insipiration"

Cursed Arrows now on Noyes Records

2009-08-20T10:02:00.004-04:00

We are pleased to announce that we are now a part of the Noyes Records family, which is based in Halifax and houses such other awesome bands as Play Guitar and The Memories Attack (and many more).

Watch for lots of promotional goodies leading up to the release of our new album, TELEPATHIC HIGH FIVE, in October, followed by an Eastern Canadian tour in November.

xo

Cursed Arrows

Red Medicine

2009-08-12T11:02:00.004-04:00

Come see us play in a punk house basement on Sunday, August 16th in Waterloo.
A vegan potluck will precede the show.

Telepathic High Five

2009-07-28T16:52:00.006-04:00

Our second full-length album, "Telepathic High Five," is finally mixed, nearly mastered, and we are working on album art in the next little while...

We are aiming for an October 2009 release date and will be touring later in the fall. In the meantime, watch for streaming album previews in the usual places.

Find Your Spirit

2009-06-08T09:27:00.011-04:00

Friday night found us playing an outdoor festival in Brantford's downtown. Harmony Square housed musicians, performance and visual artists, and vendors all weekend long, drawing people into the city's core and promoting artistic awareness and appreciation. Thanks to our formidable Arts Block/Ford Plant friends for asking us to participate!

Photos by Brantford's own Kyle Rose.

Territorial Pissings

2009-05-11T09:03:00.018-04:00

We recently played a nearby tavern and were subjected to a predictable series of technical outages and sound person neglect. Not to be thwarted by such obstacles, we played hard (and slung many beers). During a discernibly quieter song, a glassy-eyed fool meandered up to Ryan's microphone and started trying to yell into it.

"You guys are too LOUD," he kept whining. "We can't TALK."

He was smoothly butted out of the way with a guitar neck; however, intoxicants and loud music had stirred up some ire in this guy. He literally kept poking his way into our song and was determined to interrupt us until he was coaxed away.

Outside the bar as we left for the evening, a different reckless drunk climbed a brick wall and fell at least 10 feet - landing flat on his back with a CRACK.

"I think it's serious," said his friend.

Spring Tidbits

2009-03-31T09:02:00.008-04:00

"A duo that releases pounding drumming and ragged breakneck riffs, in the most raw and primal way, bristling with Pixies-led punch infused with bluesy-garage-rock fire. A razor-sharp distillation of rock and roll."
~ Lonely Vagabond

&

"...fuzzed-to-hell rock with a retro-indie sensibility"
~Two Way Monologues

Full-length LP forthcoming in late-2009. Wait for it...

Partnership of Species

2009-02-28T19:08:00.011-05:00

This film has not been getting the attention it deserves, despite having been originally released years ago. Joaquin Phoenix narrated this terrifyingly comprehensive documentary positing that humankind continually behaves in a manner that degrades, enslaves, and ultimately destroys the lives of our fellow earthlings. This film is graphic and disturbing, and can only be viewed with a solid desire to fully comprehend the images of murder within, and to change oneself. Watch it here.

"What began as a series of Public Service Announcements on spaying and neutering pets, evolved into a feature-length film on every major animal-related issue." ~ Earthlings.com