CTV presents the latest in hard-hitting, behind-the-scenes music journalism with LIVE AT RIVER & SKY! Watch as Shotgun Jimmie, Julie Doiron, Daniel Romano’s Outfit, Status/Non-Status and Julianna Riolino descend/ascend at River & Sky Festival (in Field, ON) to new states of musical excellence, friendship, summer-fun, and practical magic: How to pitch a tent, soundcheck, those aren’t hotdogs those are sausages, just a few dabs of relish, flutes, foghorns, and snare drums. And get exclusive info on YC’s newest signing! Be the first to know. Be the last to leave. Clean up after yourself. Lend a hand.
As witnessed by Colin “The Eye” Medley in the heart of the summer.
Warmongers run the newspapers, the daily podcasts, the social media feeds. Capital creates and harvests our despair. Cultural heroes are as money-mad as bankers, standing on corpses, wearing diamonds. The songs of this age are hopeless. In this world of lies, Spider Bite celebrate truth: raw, ragged, and full of brave energy, bravely dreaming of possible futures in the immediate and active now, in this exact and ever active present: after the flood, in the ruins of love.
Spider Bite is the sound of Daniel Romano (The Outfit, Ancient Shapes, Attack In Black), Ian Romano (Daniel Romano’s Outfit, Career Suicide) and Steven Lambke (Constantines) returning to their roots in the thriving pit of DIY punk with a perspective, skill, and energy that can only be gained from long experience in music, art, and stubborn cultural creation. Spider Bite began in the depths of the first COVID-19 lockdown, a world poised between protests and rebellions, when a fearful silence held its breath, twitching the curtains, and strange imaginations ran unleashed through dark streets. Long-time collaborators Daniel Romano and Steven Lambke, who together established the artist run record label You’ve Changed Records in 2009, and monster drummer Ian Romano chose this moment to indulge their shared love of energetic street punk, releasing the self-titled debut as a Bandcamp-only release in May 2020. The album was enthusiastically embraced and even cracked the best of lists on some of the more adventurous independent music blogs.
But still. Time passes. More wars. More storms. More ruin caused by greed. Spider Bite reconvened in the spring of 2022, recording The Rainbow and The Dove, an album that assembles the wisdom teachings of punk elders into a passionate rejection of settler-colonialism, environmental racism, and the general exploitation of the world by monarchs and resource extraction companies. Every moment is historical. Spider Bite celebrate a continuity of protest and refusal, and the communal joy of loud energy. Animated by a surprising humor and immense instrumental power, Spider Bite create a vibrant portrait of living in violent times.
YCTV PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE ROCK MUSIC SHORT DOCUMENTARY FILM: “THE OUTFIT: DO SXSW”. Streaming now at the end of the red-carpet link below, the film is a tell-all, show-all, well-tuned celebration of honour and friendship, tacos, gumbo, autograph signing, hotel conditioner, and not super talkative donkeys.
This is the real scene. The truth the industry scorns. The summation of goodness in music. Featuring Daniel Romano, Julianna Riolino, Julie Doiron, Carson McHone, Roddy Rossetti, Ian Romano, and Kenneth Roy Meehan. Shot and edited by Colin “THE EYE” Medley. Tune your browsers to reality.
Come poet, contemplate the moon, in this timeless moment be timely, awaken the spirit, and sing….
Outfit photo by Colin Medley
Consisting of a single massive song in 12 individual parts, plus pulse quickening overture and truly grand finale, La Luna is an unprecedented artistic achievement by one of contemporary music’s most ambitious and consistently surprising practitioners. Daniel Romano sets his visionary poetry to exuberant tune – it is epic, immaculately and extravagantly arranged, and truly cinematic.
Through close observation the observed is drawn near. Identification becomes possible. A sympathy indistinguishable from grace. Are we not like the moon? the poet might ask. Yes, does ask. In the long song. La Luna is a hymnal or scroll for modern seekers, brought to life by the impeccably skilled Outfit, (Julianna Riolino, Roddy Rosetti, David Nardi, Carson McHone, Ian Romano) with swagger and joy. Transcendently melodic, undeniably classic and shockingly contemporary, La Luna synthesizes teachings from the sacred texts of rock and roll and psychedelic-folk (Beatles, Fairport Convention, even the Stones, Queen…) into a new testament for a new time. It was recorded in a blast of radiant activity at the band’s own Camera Varda studios.
Announcing the launch of a brand new catalog of archive releases! The You’ve Changed Records Archive Series will present limited edition vinyl pressings of albums that had previously received digital-only releases, with a new catalog numbering beginning at YCA-001. The Archive Series launches with the first two releases from Daniel Romano’s unprecedented run of albums released in 2020 at the onset of the Covid-19 global pandemic: “Visions of The Higher Dream” and “Content To Point The Way”. Both titles will be released on May 20, 2022.
In 2020, Daniel Romano and his increasingly exalted band “The Outfit” were forced home, faced with the cancellation of tours and all live engagements due to public health necessities. Almost immediately, Daniel instigated a near legendary run of new albums, releasing 10 full-length albums in the span of nearly the same number of weeks. Genre-spanning, astoundingly distinct artist achievements of an unprecedented order, these albums were originally released exclusively in digital only formats on Bandcamp. They were direct and immediate missives from one of the most talented, prolific, ambitious, and exciting artists of his generation. We are thrilled to begin releasing these albums now in very special limited-edition vinyl pressings.
YC-001
“Visions Of The Higher Dream” is an expression of rich, visionary psychaedelia, powerfully arranged and immaculately performed, and thoroughly beautiful in its scope and in its details. It is as complete a statement, and as fully executed a vision as this famously restless artist has offered: a timeless and timely evocation of the higher dream.
YC-002
“Content To Point The Way” offers fans the long-awaited return of the traditional timeless country that Daniel Romano became known for on albums such as Sleep Beneath The Willow, Come Cry With Me, and If I’ve Only One Time Asking, but here elevated by his current group The Outfit, world’s finest purveyors of musical skill and vibe. Stunning wordplay, timeless songwriting, and musical brilliance combine on one of Daniel Romano’s most popular releases.
