The Year In Review

What a year. In 2013 we welcomed two incredible new brothers into our band, recorded and released a pair of snazzy live-off-the-floor tracks/videos, toured all the way to Halifax and back again (video blogging as we went!), and debuted some awesome new songs. Thank you all who shared in this year's journey and followed along. We have plenty more in store for 2014!

Blog Post From Keith

Keith put together a little summary of the past year on his personal blog: http://keithsinclairmusic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/one-year.html

Poster

www.facebook.com/events/181848982021576/

Andy in the News

Andy's heading up the Sunshine Coast next week for a show with the 70-member Powell River Chorus. Rumour has it he's the guest artist for their annual Christmas concert. Sure was nice of him to invite the rest of us...

Anyways, it looks like he was talking about us behind our backs too. (Jerk!) Click below to read the article in today's Powell River Peak newspaper and hear about some highlights and lowlights of our tour this past summer. Also, spoiler alert for a new album!

http://prpeak.com/articles/2013/11/26/community/arts/doc52953f6222c8b487777623.txt

Happy Halloween!

So... we learned today that the No Island logo doesn't fare too well when carved into a pumpkin. There goes our shameless promotional strategy for tonight...

Happy Halloween!

James Saxes Up Locomotive Ghost

No Island's James Wilfred Martin sits in with Calgary band Locomotive Ghost during an outdoor set at Rumors in Nanton, Alberta. Saturday August 17, 2013.

Radio Interview on Evolution 107.9 FM

We paid a visit to the BCIT campus radio station to talk about touring and songwriting, as well as to perform an acoustic rendition of one of our newer songs. Check out the full program below!

Tour Vlog Round-Up: Two Seconds Every Day

Here's a little gem we've been sitting on since getting home. We stitched together a single 2-second clip from each and every day we were on the road and made this bite-sized taste of what it was like to ride along on the entire tour with us. Enjoy!

Thank You!

Now that we've had a couple of days at home to rest up, we'd like to take a moment to give proper credit where credit is due:

We couldn't have done this tour on our own. We owe an immeasurably huge debt of gratitude to you; to every single person who helped us out along the way. To all the friends, family members, fans, venue owners/managers/staff, other musicians, and complete strangers who housed us, fed us, came to our shows, bought merch, tossed us a few extra bucks for gas, told friends about us, or even just wished us luck along the way: THANK YOU.

Your support (in every form that it came) is what made it possible for this major independent tour of ours to be successful. We'll see you again on the next one, and we'll return the favour the best way we know how: by continuing to make the best music we can and pouring the entirety of our hearts and souls into it for you every time we're on the stage.

- Andy / James / Jay / Keith / Max / No Island

Tour Round-Up!

Well folks, our seven weeks on the road came to a close this afternoon with our last stop in Fernie, BC. 

This photo shows our route across Canada and back. Seeing it on paper is pretty cool, but trust us, seeing it in person is even better.

As we start tonight's long drive towards home, we've decided to crunch some numbers. During this summer's tour, there were:

- Approximately 19,000 kilometres driven
- Over 200 hours spent inside a van
- 52 days spent away from home
- 38 shows played
- 3 "conversations" with law enforcement personnel
- 1 parking ticket received and begrudgingly paid for
- 32,640 ml of Arizona Ice Tea consumed

See you at the Media Club on September 1!

Reason: Live in Fredericton, NB

"Reason" performed live at The Capital in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Tour Vlog: The Winnipeg Incident

Tour Vlog: Garlic Fried Rice

The tastiest thing you'll ever eat off of a toilet seat in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario!

Tour Vlog - The Maritimes

Westward Bound

We after a fantastic week in the maritimes, we have turned around and are heading back west again. Throughout this second half of our tour, I'll try to supplement our video blogs with some shorter, more frequent text posts. 

The shows this weekend were incredibly fun. On Friday we drove into Fredericton, New Brunswick to share the stage at The Capital bar with a fantastic local band called She Roars. These guys know how to put on one heck of a show! They are also super cool people. Their drummer Kyle offered the us a place to crash after the gig, and we had a great time hanging out.

The next night in Halifax was just as great. We played at the beloved Seahorse Tavern with local rockers The Odd Bit, the newly-reformed Devil's Half-Acre, and She Roars who followed us back into Nova Scotia for the show. The venue has a super cool vibe and we were able to take advantage of that and enjoy the night with friends (both old and new) after our set. 

The next day was spent being tourists in Halifax, taking in a tour of the Alexander Keith's brewery and a proper east coast lobster dinner. 

Today is a long haul drive to Quebec City, after which we'll make our way to Toronto for a show at the legendary Horseshoe Tavern tomorrow. 

Stay poster for more video blogs soon!

 - James / No Island 

New Blog Post from Max

Our fabulous drummer Max has been keeping a blog of our tour from his perspective. Check out the last several days here: http://m4xorz.tumblr.com/post/57198452600/mahtay-evening-to-a-hip-handlebar-hamilton-exits

Montreal Vlog

Toronto Vlog

Tour Vlog: Minions, Mosquitos, and Midnight Driving

Tour Vlog (Instagram Style): Prairie Driving

The band has a few days off in Calgary.

Tour Blog: Through Different Eyes

A new twist on the tour blog, check out the first week or so of our tour through the eyes through two of our members:

Max: Drumming Across Canada - http://m4xorz.tumblr.com/ (be sure to go back and start at the first page!)

Keith: To Whom It May Concern - http://keithsinclairmusic.blogspot.ca/2013/07/6-shows-deep.html

Banff Video Blog

Tour Vlog - Attempt #1

Using only an iPhone, James attempts to assemble a video blog to document the first few days of tour. The timing of this attempt is not ideal.

Tour Update: Days 1-3

Short update here from the road.

So far so good.



Newly-fixed AC broke again as soon as we left Vancouver. Ugh. Windows rolled down.


Did some serious mountain driving to make it to our first gig in Creston on Friday July 5. Freak hail storms and herds of "big horny sheep" on the road.

Creston was wonderful, as was our breakfast the next morning at Renee's Diner. Thanks to Paul and Shelli at the Snoring Sasquatch for the incredible hospitality.


Keith and Max have a bet going. Max says he's going to fit in at least 10 half-hour runs before we reach Halifax, Keith doesn't believe him. There is a lobster dinner on the line.

The show in Fernie yesterday on Saturday July 6 was very fun. Post-gig beers from the local brewery were also enjoyable. Photos from the Creston and Fernie shows can be found here and here.

Max and Andy went for a run today. 9 more to go. Driving to Alberta to camp for the night. Currently writing this in the van somewhere north of Calgary.

Tour Dates

More info at www.no-island.com/shows

Powell River Photos, Tour Kickoff Show

Photos are up on Facebook here from our show in Powell River last weekend.

It was an incredible night, and we were so grateful to be able to share it with such a receptive and  enthusiastic audience.

We've been a bit quiet recently because we've been very busy wrapping up the details for our massive cross-country tour this July & August. The road dates will be announced in the very near future, but in the meantime be sure to mark your calendar for our tour kickoff show June 26 at The Media Club in Vancouver.

Another Live Studio Video

City of Strangers.

Powell River Show Announced! Fri, May 31.

Andy here!

I'm super happy to announce that we have a very exciting show lined up this May at the 400-seat Max Cameron Theatre in beautiful Powell River, British Columbia. That's the town I grew up in, and where I received an education in music throughout my childhood that undoubtedly shaped my life. The people there are amazingly supportive of the arts, and many of them have been asking me for years when No Island was going to finally make an appearance. Well, I'm happy to say that for our fans and supporters on the Sunshine Coast, the wait is over! Save the date for An Evening with No Island: Friday, May 31 at 7 pm. I should add that while it's an all ages show, alcoholic beverages will be available as well.

We're planning out an evening that we hope will really showcase all of the music we've created since forming in 2009, even some of the songs we seldom or never get to play in the typical bar/club setting. The set is getting a lot of our attention in the coming weeks and we're really working hard to create a special night. I also have a 7-foot Yamaha C7 grand piano at my disposal (Fun fact: it's the same piano I took lessons as a kid) so I'm rather looking forward to that as well!

Ticket info can be found here on our website: http://www.no-island.com/shows/2013-05-31/

While it's our first time playing in Powell River, we have been there before. Prior to a huge outdoor performance the 2011 Pacific Jamboree in Roberts Creek, we spent a couple of days rehearsing, sightseeing, and cleaning out my parents' refrigerator. The rest of the band was pretty awestruck by the amazing scenery and natural beauty of the place. It's something I grew up with and often take for granted but to see it differently through their eyes that weekend was pretty cool. Two years have passed and while that little seaside city is as beautiful as ever, we have a brewery now (the amazing Townsite Brewing) so there's even more to see this time around! Or even more to do. (I promise I won't tell the band it exists until the day after the show...)

New Live Recording Video!

We went into the studio recently to do some live-off-the-floor recording of some new material  Here's "Bad For Business", the first song we recorded that night.



And here's some fun bonus content from the night.

360-degree view of the studio http://spincam.net/s/14gr
Vine video: Getting Levels https://vine.co/v/bUHPBUBFjwu
Vine video: Go Time https://vine.co/v/bUHQ3DVXFlh
A blurry Instagram photo that is mostly a sax mouthpiece http://instagram.com/p/YT-YYNsFSn/

Enjoy!

Interview with The Outsider Argentina

James, Max, Andy and Keith did a little interview recently for The Outsider, a music and culture blog in Argentina.

They talked about songwriting, influences and current projects.

Check it out here!

http://theoutsiderarg.wordpress.com/2013/
03/23/the-identity-of-no-island/

A live review!

Jess from the Vancouver Music Review came to check out last Friday's show, our first with the new lineup. She called the re-brand "a total success!"

Read her full review here: http://vancouvermusicreview.com/?p=5949
(Photo credits: Jessica Brodeur for the VMR)

The "Rock Like There's Snow Tomorrow" Winter/Spring Tour Thing

We're hitting up some après-ski parties with a couple of little road trips:

• Friday March 15th: The Club at Sun Peaks, BC
• Saturday March 16th: The Flying Steamshovel in Rossland, BC
• Tuesday April 9th: The Savage Beagle in Whistler, BC

As always, show details can be found at www.no-island.com/shows

2 Weeks from Today: Victoria

It's been a year since the last time No Island was on the island, and we're glad to finally be heading back on Saturday March 9th. Facebook event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/157723024375591

New Line-Up Debuts March 8th

The poster says it all. Facebook event page here.

The New Face of No Island

We are sad to announce that No Island has parted ways with Mike Ferguson and Sara Lauridsen, our drummer and bass player of 3 years. We will miss both of these amazing people, and wish them all the best in the future.

On happier note, we are excited to officially welcome Max Ley (drums) and Jay Esplana (bass) into the No Island family. Both are incredible musicians and we are thrilled to have them on board.

We've got some big plans in the works for 2013 and beyond. Save the date for the new lineup's debut performance Friday March 8th at The Railway Club!