CRAIG'S PICKS: Blitzen Trapper, The Mae Shi, Qui, Still Flyin'
DEREK'S PICKS: Broken West, No Age, The Freewheeling Yo La Tengo, Locals!
DREW'S PICKS: Chad VanGaalen, The Dodos, Grizzly Bear
RICHARD'S PICKS: Beans, Crookers, RZA
SHAWN'S PICKS: BBQ, Drive-By Truckers, The Royal Canadian Legion #1 Shows!, The Cripple Creek Fairies, The Ostrich
TWYLA'S PICKS: Chixdiggit, The Paperbacks, Bike Riding From Venue to Venue (With Soundtrack Suggestions!)
ZAK'S PICKS: Curtis Santiago, The Pat & Pete Show, Tegan and Sara

CRAIG'S PICKS 

BLITZEN TRAPPER
MP3: Wild Mountain Nation 
MP3: Country Caravan 

For this song alone:  

BROKEN WEST
MP3: Down in the Valley
MP3: Perfect Games (from their forthcoming album)

One of my favourite bands of the past decade and they only have one album (so far) was a soundtrack to one of my favourite road trips ever. Raleigh-Durham, NC, Athens, Ga and Washington DC in late summer, their debut "I Can't Go On, I'll Go On" was in constant rotation. And now, a few years later, I still play it once a week, and it effortlessly evokes lazy afternoons among magnolia trees, the smell of rosemary in the evening air and the great people that make a trip more than just a vacation. Sentimental? Sure - but isn't that one of the marks of brilliant pop?  

MP3: Teen Creeps

YO LA TENGO
MP3: Cherry Chapstick

I can't help myself - I love this band beyond words. One of my greatest triumphs in life was not turning into a blubbering idiot the fist time Ira Kaplan walked into my office at an all too brief job in New York. I felt like I was having an out of body experience, that kind of thing. And trust me - that doesn't happen very often. A few of the reasons I love Yo La Tengo: they can record the same song as bookends on the same record in two different ways (one loud, one quiet) and both versions are note perfect; they get on a radio station called WFMU every year for their annual funding drive and play covers in exchange for donations to the station with no idea going of what they're going to play, as the songs are picked by the callers and yet, somehow, they pull it off (including the infamous call in by fellow sled Island performer Jonathan Richman where they played Speeding Motorcycle with Richman providing vocals over the phone); they do things like the Freewheelin' Acoustic Career Retrospective with a Q&A and are charming as hell in doing so (see the YouTube clip below); they can play 20 minutes of subtle quiet throbbing pop or 20 minutes of noisy, free jazz inspired genius or cover Afrikka Bambaata and never lose your interest once; they named a song after an obscure Simpsons reference AND they occasionally choreograph dance routines for their songs. An absolute, cannot miss, must see at this year's festival. 

 

CHAD VANGAALEN @ THE SCIENCE CENTRE
MP3: The Gun
MP3: Graveyard

Chad is simply put rad, he creates music that will bend the shapes in your mind and alter your conscience state. This year's Sled Island performance at the Planetarium is sure to warp the galaxies around us and may even cause a Black Hole opening for a rare Black Mold set. Don't miss this incredibly creative artist perform a variety of staff favorites and unheard of gems, all the while projecting his latest animations onto the dark sky above.

THE DODOS
MP3: Jodi
MP3: Walking

I just met the Dodos, but I love them already. Their songs are full of energy and life that will resonate across your brain. In a time where modern pop songs are all so temporary, these guys do an incredible job of creating new music with a lasting appeal. You can't deny a wonderful song, and you shouldn't miss this here band at Sled Island.

GRIZZLY BEAR
MP3: While You Wait For The Others
MP3: On a Neck, On a Spit

Wow, where to begin with this here band, they fucking rule in my world, thats for sure. With an all-encompassing blend of folk-electro-ambience, there's no doubt these guys are from a different planet, some might call Brooklyn. Last I heard these guys has just finished up some big whig tribute to Paul Simon, and are about to open up for the next major world-wide 'it' band.  

BEANS
MP3: Thundermouth 
MP3: Freestyle 

Don't be a mutescreamer! Dig the Abstract raps, bouncing electro beats and mad lyrical wit of this innovative artist.

SHAWN'S PICKS

BBQ
MP3: Waddlin Around (King Khan & BBQ Show)
MP3: Justify
 

Montreal's Mark Sultan (Les Sexareenos, The Spaceshits, King Khan & BBQ Show, Mind Controls, etc.) has the best rock 'n' roll voice you've never heard.  With an in-the-red howl that'd make Roky Erickson and Gerry Roslie take notice, he's proof that they do indeed make 'em like they used to.  With his voice soaring over the top of ass-shakin' and hip twistin' doowop garage punk (!!), his one-man-guitar and bass drum band has recorded some honest-to-goodness perfect songs ("Waddlin Around," "Shake Real Low," "Beautiful Girl," "Justify" to name a few).  The best part, though, is that he's even better live, often changing tempos mid-song, not so much to fuck with front-row dancers, but to have them be at the mercy of his every strum and bass drum kick in sonic intercourse as if to remind them that the rock 'n' roll singer, not some ipod, is the leader of a party.  That said, BBQ should be on every ipod in the world. Don't believe me?  I dare you to listen to the MP3s above and not rush off to wherever people buy music these days... 

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS
MP3: Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife
MP3: Puttin' People on the Moon
  
The Drive-By Truckers are, bar none, my favourite band in the world right now -- and a jaw dropping live one at that.  Though often praised for their intelligent and passionate take on the duality of Southern living using historical and fictional character sketches, emotionally devastating snapshots and laugh-out-loud funny turns of phrases (see: "Self Destructive Zones"), for me, it's their ability to sings songs about rock 'n' roll that simultaneously convey the vital importance of the form while entering themselves favourably into the same canon that they draw from that wows me consistently.  Case in point, they have written probably the best rock 'n' roll song of the last twenty years with "Let There Be Rock," a song that namedrops Skynyrd, Thin Lizzy, .38 Special, Ozzy Osbourne and Molly Hatchet before climaxing with the repeated line "...with Bon Scott singin', Let There Be Rock tour," and a Thin Lizzy-style harmonized (three-)guitar attack.  And for me, that's just heaven.  Catch a taste of the singalong goodness below...

SECRET SHOWS @ THE ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION #1, THE PUMPHOUSE THEATRES
MP3: ??

So we've only announced one of our special secret guests thus far (keep checking sledisland.com for the other announcments!), but it's a biggie: Human Milk, a special Sled Island collaboration between Broken Social Scene & Spiral Stairs (Pavement, Preston School of Industry).  And yes, that is an indication of the quality of our other secret acts (I'm especially excited for Friday @ The Royal Canadian Legion #1!).  Let's just say that, if you take a chance on these shows, you'll be seeing some of the world's best current indie acts and most influential rockers playing some pretty darn intimate venues.  If you haven't made it down to the Legion, do yourself a favour and check it out.  There's no room in Canada with even close to as much charm.  All of your nights should end at the Legion!
VIDEO: ??

...and finally, I like to take festival time to reinforce my opinion that Calgary's finest easily rise to the challenge of standing up to the world's finest.  More specifically, I'll be making sure to check out sets by THE OSTRICH and THE CRIPPLE CREEK FAIRIES, two of my absolute favourite live bands! 

TWYLA'S PICKS

CHIXDIGGIT

In my opinion, the only thing better than a Chixdiggit show is a plate of my baba's perogies and a shot of her homebrew.

(Wow - Sub Pop is malicious about keeping these mp3s off the web)

BIKE RIDING FROM VENUE TO VENUE! 

Leave the car keys on the hall table and just ride and ride and ride.  Important tip - riding your bike while under the influence of a great rock show is sometimes not such a good idea.  When in doubt, walk it home.
List of Calgary Bike Paths!  

CURTIS SANTIAGO
MP3s: Please visit Curtis' Myspace


I think Curtis came from space to make everyone funky.  He's the greatest human being I know. 

PAT AND PETE SHOW


Good Morning World is one of my favorite TV shows and I'm looking forward to seeing these two thespians ply their trade.  

TEGAN AND SARA
MP3: Back In Your Head
MP3: Nineteen


I'm pretty sure Sara is my favorite, but then- no, I think it's Tegan.  It's almost stressful how much I love them both.