Artist History After rescuing little Katie from a neighborhood fire,

Group Members Jill O'Sullivan-violin/vocals Katie Muldoon-viola/keys Dana Mills-guitar/vocals Phil Maisel-vocals/guitar Justin Larose-percussion Dan Howlett-percussion/keys

Press Reviews http://www.mcgilldaily.com/view.php?aid=854 Guitar Strings and Pretty Things 12-Cent Weekly to play Le Swimming, puts Daily writer in trance By John Ortved, The McGill Daily “Um….” This is something you hear a lot of at Phil Maisel’s shows. It’s not an indecisive “um,” it’s a pregnant “um,” full of meaning and potential. Like a Brecht play. Or nothing like a Brecht play, but pregnant nonetheless. I saw Maisel’s band, 12-Cent Weekly perform at The Yellow Door last Friday. On November 12, they’re playing at Le Swimming. Maisel and his friends do a nice number on their audience; it is not the kind of show where you emerge emotionally wrenched, or drained. It’s more like you’ve just snuggled with a peppermint bear, or read a book where your friends are the central characters, and they know magic. I am so easily seduced by acoustic guitars that I feel almost a little dirty writing this review. I tend to love any musical act that involves an acoustic guitar and someone who can sing. I grew up listening to Dylan and folk singers, and that is the music I connect with most intimately. In high school, I was seduced by Belle and Sebastian, then discovered they were merely Nick Drake’s lovechild, my faith in the acoustic prevailing. On the plains of the Midwest, I went to sleep by the strings of cowboy musicians, their guitars so quiet, they would never wake the horses. I am so susceptible to the acoustic act, it is a wonder I don’t walk around with Dashboard Confessional on my shirt, or talk constantly about Ani Difranco, or something terrible. This weakness is something I am terribly aware of, and I try to keep it in mind when I review shows, coffee-house rock shows being no exception. Seeing bands at the Yellow Door is like reading articles in The Daily; there is a level of expectation, and a level of intimacy, that is very much appropriate for a college campus, our milieu. It will be interesting to see how 12-Cent Weekly holds up at Le Swimming. I’m about to suggest the possibility of inadequacies in indie rock, so if you sport buttons, and wear t-shirts with your favourite band you think no one else listens to, you might want to put this down and go cry your little heart out. Fact is, a lot of folk/indie bands are basically Nick Drake cover bands and very few of these musicians give credit where it is due. I find a lot of pretension in folk/indie rock and little true originality. Thankfully, 12-Cent Weekly doesn’t fall into this category: their music is unpretentious and unassuming, and the fluffiness of the lyrics is redeemed by this fact. Maisel used to play on his own, just him and his acoustic guitar, lots of nice songs about girls. Now he’s added a violinist (with a voice like an angel), a viola player, two percussionists, and an electric-guitar player. Together, they played about five songs. Do not worry, though, there is still plenty of Maisel. The man did another five or so on his own, while the band waited patiently, like cats that know they’re going to be fed. The arrangement is a product of obvious effort, but the combined sound is refreshing, as opposed to laboured. Where the band excels, and I think this a selling point for both 12-Cent Weekly and their genre, is in the intimate atmosphere they create. Maisel likes to introduce each song, which is nice, and gives each piece some relative value, and sincerity. This is where the “um…” is important, as in: “Um…this is a song about my mousepad.” Backrubs, the smell of pancakes, your bedroom at home, 12-Cent Weekly: good feelings for everyone involved.

Location Montreal, QC - Canada

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