The fifth annual Canadian BLAST CMJ Showcase is set to take place on October 19 at Arlene's Grocery. Here is the lineup: 8:00pm: Bikini: Bikini is an electronic collective originally from British Columbia, formed in Montreal, and now largely rooted in New York City. In the wake of their 2010 EP RIPJDS, band members converged from four points of the continent to write and direct their first music video, prep their live show and tour it in select cities. The year culminated with an unforgettable night at the Austin Museum of Art at SXSW, which ended a year of logistical pangs with an old fashioned band brawl. With a renewed focus, Bikini's Aaron Aujla and Kieran Magzul are in the midst of finalizing their next LP. The new album has been built between Aujla's New York City studio and the forests of northern British Columbia where Magzul summers as a tree planter. -http://biikiinii.com/
9:00pm: PAPERMAPS: Dean Marino is the principal and founding member of Toronto indie rock band, PAPERMAPS. He is a Toronto-based recording engineer who spent years behind the scenes, manning the console for artists as varied as Tokyo Police Club, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Born Ruffians, C'MON and the Black Keys.The current line-up includes Marino plus Bobby Lee (drums), Wendy Leung (keyboards/vocals) and newest member Betty Dimo (bass). The band just recently created their own "fan-made" music video for Reunion and have just shot a new video for a remixed version of the track "Complicate Things". They are signed to Sparks Music [Toronto]. - http://papermaps.net/
10:00pm: The Reason: Milwaukee Brewers pitcher John Axford calls The Reason, a 5 piece rock band from his native Canada, his favorite band, which isn't hard to understand with their radio jams ala the Kings of Leon and their signature 'playoff' beards. Formed by singer Adam White and guitarist James "Cubby" Nelan back in 2003 and two albums and an EP later, they are riding the wave of success with their third album release, FOOLS. Recorded at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, North Carolina with producer Steven Haigler (The Pixies, Brand New, Clutch), Haigler was responsible for honing their sound which has resulted in a massive radio hit "Longest Highway Home". After enjoying a summer of dates with The Arkells, Hollerado, Switchfoot and festivals including the mainstage at Edgefest, The Reason will be on a cross-Canada tour with The Tea Party this fall in support of their new single "Where Do We Go From Here" -www.thereasonmusic.com
11:00pm: Data Romance: Data Romance is Ajay Bhattacharyya and Amy Kirkpatrick. A happenstance meeting between the two, in their hometown of Victoria, BC, led them to discover each others' artistic talents which would eventually be incorporated into their music. While the music and vocals seemingly come from opposite ends of the artistic spectrum, it's this dichotomy that ultimately blends to create the band's uniquely personal sound. The band released their self-titled debut EP this summer. Shortly after, the band joined the acclaimed IDentity Festival hitting cities on the east coast and performing alongside bands like The Crystal Method, Rusko & Kaskade. They just released their newest track "Spark," which is available as a free download on their website www.data-romance.com
12am: Dinosaur Bones: While their moniker may elicit thoughts of a prehistoric past, Toronto indie-rock quintet Dinosaur Bones are nothing but forward-thinking, both with their musical ambition and continual growth as a band. Like their recently released Birthright EP, My Divider was recorded and mixed by Jon Drew (Tokyo Police Club, F**ked Up, Arkells). People can expect the sound that Fader proclaims as "sounding something like a younger Radiohead we wish existed
."
http://www.myspace.com/dinosaurbonesband