Photo of Smoosh by absolutwade. This week, Musicologist is a bit biased since we've been helping organize Ladyfest, taking place this weekend. Even if we weren't, we'd still recommend it. But this week we'd also suggest heading to the El Mocambo tonight to check out Donkey Punch, if you're not an indie rock snob and like classic rock/blues-influenced songs and catchy, catchy melodies. It's free, so you don't have anything to lose. Ulrich Schnauss......

According to Doug Flavelle, "there are a lot of women with guitars in their closets." His studio, Guitar Girl, aims to get them out. The studio, which opened its doors in a loft-like space at Queen and Greenwood in September 2006, offers guitar lessons solely for girls and women. The focus is on six-week group courses, though they do some private lessons and have held Rock 'n' Roll camps during March Break and summer......

Photo by Danmcp from the Miniatures Photoset. Discussion about the evolving intersection of web 2.0 and the music industry tends to gravitate towards the repetition of cliched mantras which (re)announce the death of the major label and champion the democracy of social networking. While these market trends appear to be in full swing, the manner in which they play out in specific musical economies and subcultures varies greatly. Since electronic music is so tied to......

Sunburned, gaunt and greviously underslept, the average Torontonian party-goer is in rough shape this week after the World Electronic Music Festival, or WEMF 2007 this past weekend. To nobody's surprise, WEMF isn't dead, international trance DJ Ryan "OS/2" Kruger isn't retiring and the image of thousands of ravers from the city camping in an Ontario field for three days is seemingly burned into Toronto's collective tube. It is estimated that over 5,500 people, mostly......

Fresh off their massive St. Patrick's Day celebration, Steam Whistle is throwing another bash tonight, but this time in support of a much nobler cause than getting smashed and pretending you're Irish for a day. Tonight the doors to the Roundhouse (255 Bremner Boulevard) open at 8 p.m. for sets by Woodhands, Modern Boys Modern Girls and These Electric Lives in the first installment of Steam Whistle's Unsigned music series. It's $5 at the......

When Steve Banks died last year at the age of 46, we lost the man dubbed "the coolest musician in Toronto" (an honour he shared with his bandmate and partner Kim Tallman) by Eye in 1996. Tonight, The Reverb (651 Queen St. W.) will host a tribute to Banks and his legacy. The musical aspect of the evening will feature performances by Windeyer, The Antimatter, Th3 Futz, Sadoceanspacebear and the remaining members of Banks'......

Award-winning Toronto author (and emergency physician) Vincent Lam will give his first public reading since winning the Scotiabank Giller Prize this Wednesday as Diaspora Dialogues teams up with the Harbourfront Centre’s International Reading series. Diaspora Dialogues, which is about to enter its third year, is joining forces with Harbourfront's International Readings series to host a slew of events in 2007, including a mini-festival in June right before Book Expo. While the chance to hear Vincent......

Halloween weekend in Toronto is always a long, long night. We mean it. With myriad options, many Torontonians choose several events, a bedtime sometime on Sunday or Monday, and make it to about 2/3 of what they intended. Not bad, Toronto! We don't know about you, readers, but we are heading to at least two quite wild, but quite different parties on Saturday. Knightflight's Halloween Party promises beats, beer, pole-dancing gymnasts and an unusually......

On Sunday, the twelfth installment of the World Electronic Music Festival drew to a close. Even so, I expect most of the 5,000 or so sleep-deprived Torontonians who trekked out to Tweed, Ontario for the outdoor festival are still recovering. This was an odd year, with Destiny Productions opting to include a rock stage for the first time ever, partnering with Edge 102 to bring names like Broken Social Scene, Pilate and Mobile. This year,......

Calling Beat, Breaks and Culture the Toronto Electronic Music Festival is a bit of a pickle. Supposing the ‘electronic’ refers to the "computer generated visual performance, film and video" and "live Canadian and international electronic artists," there’s still a real gap between the ‘electronic artist’ tag and the highlights Platinum Pied Pipers. Featuring Detroit’s finest rapper/producer Jay Dee, the PPPipers, along with Jean Grae, graffiti art and the film Freestyle, represent the festival’s strong......

Neil Haverty, The Boston Letter...

The Tall Poppy Interview - Matthew Nish-Lapidus, Musician...

The Tall Poppy Interview - Angus Robinson, Breaks DJ...