NEWS




 

Sept 1, 2010

Thanks to everyone who came out to see us play on the 20th at the Cajun attic! If you weren't part of the extra rowdy crowd here's a hint of what we were up to. This is a clip of us digging into "Napoleon", the second last track on the new record and the last song of the night. Disclaimer: this song has absolutely nothing to do with the historical Napoleon... I think.

 

August 25, 2010

Robbed! This is a public service announcement from the Murder Plans: lock your windows and buy property insurance, especially if everything you own can be carted away in less than twenty minutes! I suppose some explanation is in order. Last week Connor's apartment was broken into and all of his equipment stolen. His beloved Duo Jet to his fine capo collection (a real shame because he was about to open the world's most extensive guitar capo museum) walked right out the friggin' door. On the day of a show no less. Thank goodness his wonderful special lady friend has been paying into insurance for the past six years so he'll be able to re-coup most of his stuff. Due to the MP's stick-to-it-ness and general thick-headed-ness the show at the Cajun Attic went off pretty darn well thanks to the support of the fine gentlemen of Slim and Popular. So if anyone sees a Gretch 6128 Duo Jet or a Jazzmaster Special wandering the streets of Centretown in the rain please send them home- I have some very special words for whoever let them out...

August 18, 2010

Why toot your own horn when somebody will do it for you? Megan Marshall of longstanding Ottawa monthly The Glebe Report has these very kind words to say about us and the new album: 

Murder’s Never Sounded Better

“Have you heard about The Murder Plans? I think they would have most Canadians jumping for joy, shimmying across kitchen floors everywhere, hollering in their Sedans with the windows up…Ottawa can’t keep these plans and hoard them any longer.” (Amanda Putz, CBC Radio)
The band was formed in 2005 in Connor McGuire’s apartment in Centretown. Like other musicians starting out, he’d been attending open mics and striving to meet people in the Ottawa music scene. He soon met Michael Simon, an Architecture student studying at Carleton, who played bass. It wasn’t long after that they found two “equally insane” musicians to fully round out the band: Joel Jacques (guitar, lap steel, keys & vocals), and Nicholas Descarie (percussion).
Before the band had even written a song together, the band’s name The Murder Plans was established. The name is derived from critically acclaimed Australian musician Nick Cave’s song ‘Deanna.’ As Connor points out, “some people love it, some hate it. We like it. It’s us”. Do not let the name fool you though - this is a group of enormously gifted, dedicated musicians.
The forthcoming album (“Good Omens”) was recorded by Dean Watson, at Gallery Studios on Fifth Ave., and will be released Sept.24th. The band walked into the studio as a straight-edge rock group, and emerged as a polished and powerful team wielding musical maturity beyond their own expectations two years later. The final product materialized into what Dean calls "patient rock" - music that utilizes space and silence to its advantage.
Prior to “Good Omens”, Connor was the principle songwriter; however during recording sessions several unforeseen transformations occurred. Michael, the bassist, revealed his inherent ability to write songs and ended up penning almost half of the material on the album. Another change was Joel moving from lead guitar to keys in the midst of recording. These alterations weren’t imminent yet they certainly guided the band towards their new sound, and melded the passions of the band mates into the divine final creation. Connor admits that Dean, recorder and producer, also helped shape the album with his keen ear and diligent perseverance.
Although The Murder Plans’ entire sound changed while “Good Omens” was devised, the goal behind recording the album did not. It was always, first and foremost, about creating something meaningful to the band - and hopefully to the listener as well. It was about making the best possible product as a whole. Mission accomplished gentlemen.
Connor reflects that “it takes a certain amount of insanity to become a musician, especially in these times. The industry is in an extreme state of flux - it almost feels like we're on the fringe of the fringe. Like the wild west of the music industry. It seems it's getting harder and harder for the listener to sift through the dross and get to the good stuff. On the other hand it’s more difficult for bands to be heard.”
The Murder Plans CD release of “Good Omens” is at the Elmdale Tavern, Friday Sept.24. If you cannot wait to hear the fresh, brilliant sounds of the band visit www.themurderplans.com OR stop by Compact Music (Glebe) for a free 3 song promo.

Thanks Megan, we're glad you like it!

August 8, 2010

With our album relese a little over a month away The Murder Plans have been meeting in Lowertown and doing a lot of scheming. Posters are being printed, CD's burned and Vinyl pressed. It's the latter we're most excited about though- for some reason it seems like the only format that can possibly represent the months we spent tracking, writing and re writing in Dean Watson's basement studio. You know, it's easy to see why "the industry" moved away from the LP format- it's expensive. On the other hand it's easy to see why artists and listeners have returned to it- it's awesome. A while ago Ottawa indie guru and amp doctor extraordinaire Slo Tom wrote an excellent article on the demise of the CD. His reasoning was that the CD has lost its value as a music format because it's used for so many other purposes. Unfortunately, that article has been lost in the digital sands of time. Nevertheless, vinyl is used exclusively for music (yes, and seat coverings and novelty S&M outfits but we'll save that discussion for another day). Now it's our job to get you as excited about this record as we are. Shouldn't be a tall order, should it? Naw, I didn't think so- you're cool.
 

July 18, 2010

Even with it being so bloody hot lately seeing this shot still brings a chill to my bones. This is from back in March during our photoshoot with Sarai. It was about 3º and you can't see it but just up the river there are still chunks of floating ice.
 

July 15, 2010

Thanks to the Cajun Attic for having us last night, nice room, sure to become popular haunt.  Shared the stage with some good people, go check out Hayley Stark and the Donna Litas, those guys can party. 
 

July 7, 2010

Murder Plans east coast tour in the works in support of the new album... stay tuned.

July 1, 2010

Well here it is folks... the Murder Plans' brand new website! Still has that new car smell.

Check back often as we will be posting a lot of new photos, videos and shows here over the next couple weeks!  Many thanks to Darryl at Royal Maple Creative.

ps. if you haven't yet, go click on the crow... and happy Canada day!