Inside the Music with StereoRuss

Rexford Drive (February 1, 2024)

Rexford Drive is an indie rock band from Hamilton, Ontario. Formed in elementary school by TG, George, and Pat as they all grew up on, or just off of Rexford drive. Rocco joined late in high school and the out of school gigging began. Playing frequently in Hamilton and a few shows out of town such as Kingston, Ottawa, Brantford, and Toronto.
Rex’s first two singles, Get Back (to you on that), and Wait Up! were recorded and mixed 100% by the band in George's bedroom in his student house right by McMaster. Hotel Rex, their debut EP was released July of 2023 and was partially recorded at, and mixed by Mike Keire of Threshold Studios.
Songs edited from episode:
People are Talking - Rexford Drive
Cards are Down - Rexford Drive
 
Follow and Listen to Rexford Drive:
https://www.instagram.com/rexforddrivemusic/
https://linktr.ee/RexfordDrive
 
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Silvertone Hills (January 25, 2024)

Silvertone Hills do indie-rock the way you wish it still was—earnest, tenacious, and unpretentious. From Hamilton, Ontario, the five-piece fuses memorable melodies with jangling guitars and energetic grooves. In the Hills, late ‘60s pop influence meets the sonic textures of modern rock, harmonizing into something innovative yet familiar, like meeting a new friend with an old soul.
On October 20th, Silvertone Hills unleashed their debut full-length, “Limits.” The LP showcases the band’s influences proudly, from snarling ‘90s British melodies to ‘60s wall-of-sound ballads, stopping along the way for psychedelic detours. The tunes are compact and crisply-produced. Everything from distorted guitars to string sections and synthesizers drive home memorable melodies that are the focal point of each track. The lyricism ebbs and flows with the album’s sonics, proclaiming authoritative defiance on the rockers, fighting for love on the pop side, and questioning faith and morality on the moody ballads.
Songs edited from episode:
Big Empty Sky - Silvertone Hills
Heart of the Sun - Silvertone Hills
Space and Time - Silvertone Hills
 
Follow and Listen to Silvertone Hills:
https://www.instagram.com/silvertonehills/
https://linktr.ee/silvertonehills
 
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Ktriggs (January 18, 2024)

Ktriggs is a rapper and community event coordinator from Hamilton, Ontario. His latest record "Community Over Competition" was recorded and produced by Nomai Music throughout 2021 and 2022, and was released in July of 2023. He is also the creator and organizer of 905Fest in Hamilton, Ontario.
Songs edited from episode:
Mistakes - Ktriggs
Tested - Ktriggs
Mo Money Mo Problems - Notorious B.I.G.
 
Follow and Listen to Ktriggs:
https://www.instagram.com/ktriggs905/
https://open.spotify.com/album/1Dfw6L6wtz5MPqjEPBVnFb?si=6vrPEjCDScqDNirwQwWgTw&nd=1&dlsi=da43d1c01a1e429f
 
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Steve Deeps (January 4, 2024)

Trouble rumbled out there, he could hear it over the sound of the street. Steve Deeps took to his feet, then walked out on the bandstand at age 16. Taking the back seat on bass, his father’s band brought him to Woodstock 99. The band was his father’s story onstage. After working through over one hundred and thirty gigs a year in the formative years as a young musician, a yearning developed and Steve Deeps opened his mouth to sing his own songs. He also found himself playing piano, organ, acoustic and electric guitar, drums, and the accordion.
Songs edited from episode:
Breakdown - Rumble Wagon
Come On Up to the House - Tom Waits
 
Follow and Listen to Steve Deeps:
https://www.instagram.com/stevedeepsmusic/
 
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Bernadette Connors NEW YEAR'S SPECIAL (December 28, 2023)

Growing up in a musical family in Georgina, Ontario, Bernadette worked in the family owned music store and taught voice lessons since she was 13. She moved too Hamilton around the same time of releasing "Monarch" (Nov 2021) and has been performing for most of her life.
Songs edited from episode:
Georgina - Bernadette Connors
All The Way To Nashville - Bernadette Connors
Run Wild - Bernadette Connors
Why Should I Be Sorry? - Bernadette Connors
 
Follow and Listen to Bernadette:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0amdwmduZDnkuGlGb9bQIp
https://www.instagram.com/bernadetteconnors/
https://www.tiktok.com/@bernadetteconnors_
 
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Boxcar Ben and Leo Dragtoe RETURN (December 21, 2023)

Boxcar Ben and Leo Dragtoe are a rock and folk duo hailing from Hamilton, Ontario with dynamic elements of classic rock, heavy blues, and soulful folk influences.
Songs edited from episode:
Open Heart Surgery - Leo Dragtoe ft. Boxcar Ben
It Aint Hard - The Tisdale
 
Follow and Listen to Boxcar Ben:
https://www.instagram.com/boxcar_ben/
https://linktr.ee/Boxcarben
 
Follow and Listen to Leo Dragtoe:
https://www.instagram.com/leodragtoe/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/76H2QFkax3SeBJSEjW56Y9?si=TuvaEwiDQa6EO6Ics2gfEw&nd=1&dlsi=5048f115f57e40cf
 
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Lost Faculty (December 14, 2023)

Lost Faculty is: Matt (Vocals/Guitar), Brendan (Guitar), Justin (Bass), Nigel (Drums)
Formed in January/March 2023 (inception date up for debate), Lost Faculty came to be after Matt booked a gig at the Horseshoe after recording our lead singles and had to throw a group together to perform. All Hamilton based, recorded all of our tracks so far here with Mike Keire at Threshold Studios. The band has seen incredible growth and excitement in their first year and are looking forward to sustaining it through to next year.
 
Songs edited from episode:
Any Other Name - Lost Faculty
Bucket List - Lost Faculty
Demo 5 - Lost Faculty
My Mistakes Were Made For You - Last Shadow Puppets
Moonage Daydream - David Bowie
 
Follow and Listen to Lost Faculty:
https://www.instagram.com/lostfaculty/
https://bio.site/lostfaculty
 
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Mattie Leon (December 7, 2023)

Mattie Leon is a singer/songwriter hailing from Hamilton. A craftsman on guitar and piano, Mattie refuses to leave the past behind. His sensibilities are informed by the songwriting of the sixties and seventies. His voice, whether soaring or soulful, is his own. The result is a fresh take on a classic form; familiar but unmistakably new.
Songs edited from episode:
Acoustic Guitars - Mattie Leon
Father's Wedding Speech - Mattie Leon
Christmas Isn't Christmas Without You - Mattie Leon
Feels Like We Only Go Backwards - Tame Impala
 
Follow and Listen to Mattie Leon:
https://www.instagram.com/mattieleonmusic/
https://www.mattieleon.com/
 
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Daniel Walton (November 30, 2023)

Daniel Walton is a guitarist / songwriter from Hamilton Ontario with roots in progressive rock, jazz, and folk music. These influences have inspired a genre bending repertoire of original music that Walton performs with his group The Dreamland Band.
Songs edited from episode:
Garden Head - Daniel Walton
Through the Glass - Daniel Walton
Coming Back to Life - Pink Floyd
Subdivisions - Rush
 
Follow and Listen to Daniel Walton:
https://www.instagram.com/danielwalton.music/
https://open.spotify.com/track/2ETZ4l2VsCmoPaNEyeppmY
 
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Fake Shape (November 23, 2023)

Fake Shape is an eclectic, experimental, indie band from Hamilton, Ontario. They consist of Chester Edington (guitar and vocals), David Baldry (keyboard, synthesizer and flugelhorn), Olivia Brown (bass and vocals), and Mackenzie Read (drums). They settle in between a melange of eclectic influences—a little indie rock, some solid jazz flow, and even the odd twang in the vocals. Edington prioritizes that working together is key, saying that “through actively practicing collaboration we are able to write better music.” Edington describes the process with a delightful frankness: “I write a decent chunk of a song, then slowly lose interest and am unable to finish it. David comes in, mixes up the batter and gets me excited about the song again. Sometimes David writes an entirely new section, and we put that in the song”. Together Chester and David hone in on the ideas and fill it out more with some editing and arranging. This arranging and editing leaves space open for Brown and Reid, who add their own ideas, and their own skills to the work in question. The editing here is key to the process, with the expansive, organic building up refocused into taut pop songs. The resulting music works together as a whole, not one voice or instrument on the surface, but in juicy layers of well mixed and deeply felt meaningful music.
 
Songs edited from episode:
Black Bear - Fake Shape
Downhill - Fake Shape
Jigsaws Falling Into Place - Radiohead
August 10 - Khruangbin
 
Follow and Listen to Fake Shape:
https://www.instagram.com/fakeshapemusic/
https://linktr.ee/fakeshapemusic
 
Follow Inside the Music:
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