The Vibrating Beds

Vibrating Beds are another in a long line of brilliant bands from Canada. They’re a dazzling rockabilly band who’ve recently released an EP which our man Chris Hearn reviews below.

Ooooooweee! This is good stuff. It makes me want to put on a poodle skirt and buy a rat rod, and then take an occasional break by sitting around in a smoky Mississippi Delta bar! This is good ol’ rockabilly blues; gutsy, greasy and raw, but also innocent and fun. It can bring the mind back to a time when kids rumbled instead of got into gun battles, and it was badass just to smoke, never mind doing crack. Sadly, I don’t remember those days, so this kind of music is the closest I guess I’ll get.

Okay, so here is the deal, this is a three piece band out of Winnipeg, Manitoba that have released two EP’s on Transistor 66 records; one self-titled from February 2011, and the latest “Sing the Blues”? from March of this year. Both have performed well on college radio and indie music charts in Canada. Lead singer and guitarist Jenna Dangerous sounds pretty deadly with her powerful, bluesy voice, and man can she play guitar! It sounds so, so good, with obvious comparisons to Brian Setzer or other more contemporary guitarists who have mastered this style. And, if she keeps going like this, it won’t be long until she becomes well recognized for what she can do with the instrument. Check out “Let Me Be”? and get ready to try and catch your breath!

Ryan Filteau is the drummer, and Leif Gobeil plays bass, and they, as well, are no slouches when it comes to playing. The three seem to work effortlessly together, with both Ryan and Leif giving Dangerous the room and the support to work her magic. Now, I don’t know who plays the organ on “Six Eight”? because I don’t have any liner notes to work with, but, wow, darn passionate and well done! Whoever you are, good work; you are part of what makes this a personal favorite on this EP. What I like about these guys is that they incorporate punk, blues, and predominantly rockabilly in a nice package, and actually manage to sound unique.

I find that some bands that go for a rockabilly sound tend to come off a little too campy and insincere. This stuff, however, sounds real. There is true sincerity in the singing and the playing: No gimmicks, just good music. I appreciate that and applaud them for it. I haven’t seen them live yet, though from everything I read and hear, they put on a good show, so I have added them to the list of bands I look forward to seeing. Apparently, July 29th they have a show. I hope to be there.

Get a great deal on their stuff on bandcamp, with a 7 inch vinyl for just 5 bucks and add a shirt designed by a guy named Darren “The King”? Merinuck, an excellent artist who does really cool gig posters, album covers, comics and, well, T-Shirts! Check out his blog. - Louder Than War

The title of this record is pretty spot-on in describing the slow and melancholy A-side. It’s a powerful blues number that really lets the vocalist show off her pipes. But for me, the songs when you flip the record over are really way more my speed (no pun intended). Two fast, no-frills garage rock stompers can be found on the B-side and really steal the show here. With a sound in the same ballpark as The Detroit Cobras or The Sunday Sinners, this will please anyone who enjoys female-vocalled garage rock with balls. Good shit. –Mark Twistworthy (Transistor 66, transistor66.com) - Razorcake

By Ian GormelyThe Vibrating Bed's debut seven-inch, "What You Do to Me," proved that the Winnipeg trio's songwriting chops were already heads and shoulders above their garage rock peers'. Sing the Blues further separates them from the pack by displaying their range. Opener "Six Eight" (a reference to the song's time signature) is a slow burning torch song showcasing singer Jenna Diubaldo's surprisingly powerful voice, which it turns out, is as capable of delivering pain and loss as it is barn-storming rock'n'roll. B-sides "Baby" and "Let Me Be" follow more in line with the group's debut, failing to disappoint. Sounding tough as nails, the Vibrating Beds have been on a slow and steady roll over the last year or so. Hopefully a full-length will emerge sometime soon to better announce their presence on the Canadian music scene. - Exclaim!

GARAGE ROCK FURY HAS A NEW CONTENDER

There are a handful of rock and roll queens scattered across Canada that are not only out-playing and upstaging grungy boys and their overly-done testosterone aggression, but are continuously rewriting the book on hot guitars and overdriven sounds. Starting in Vancouver, No Sinner, a blues rock powerhouse, is fronted by the indomitable Colleen Rennison, a force unto herself with pipes to match. Travel half a day east on our beloved Trans-Canada Highway and our very own Miesha Louie, of Miesha & the Spanks, vies for garage grit contention. In the heart of the nation, Toronto, bands like Little Foot Long Foot and the Sphinxes each feature women at the front of the stage that are not only kicking boys out of their (ostensibly) own rock and roll club, but firmly locking the door and sneering from within.

At the centre of Canada, in the isolated and blisteringly cold city of Winnipeg — a city that, in the past couple of years, is re-emerging as a fertile breeding ground for rock and roll — the Vibrating Beds, a power-trio fronted by Jenna Dangerous, have stepped into the ring and are looking to make a name for themselves.

In their short three years together, the Vibrating Beds have fit in well with the rock and roll scene in Winnipeg, largely clustered around the venerable Transistor 66 label, which puts the bleeding heart and soul of rock and roll centre stage. Blending the timeless sounds of ’50s Motown and doo-wop with the overdriven, anxious energy of modern blues guitar legends and snarling Motor City punk gusto, Dangerous and company, including Ryan Filteau on drums and Leif Gobeil on bass, have been criss-crossing Canada to growing audiences everywhere. Their strength lies not only in Dangerous’ red-hot guitar playing — which propels the band like it’s still 1979 — but their impeccable songwriting, too.

“Definitely, I take more of a rock and roll approach to our music. A lot of our influences have really hot guitars, really overdriven, really grungy-sounding stuff,” says Dangerous from her home in Winnipeg. “We’re all really into the Oblivions and pretty much anything Greg Cartwright does. We used to listen to a lot of Mean Jeans and Ryan loves Motörhead. Our sound tends to be more high energy. That being said, we do like doing ballads. I like playing the guitar, so may as well make it the focal point. We want to have a really exciting live show.”

Dangerous has been playing music since she was a child, starting with the piano when she was eight or nine. A year later, she decided that she wanted to be in a band, though the guitar was not her instrument of choice at first.

“I first picked up the drums, she says, “and didn’t really like it as much, so I saved up my money and bought my first guitar. I started playing when I was 10 and learning chords… my dad was really into Stevie Ray Vaughan and I remember he used to make me watch videos in the basement with him. So, though that, I got into the blues: I used to listen to Stevie, Jimi Hendrix and Peter Frampton,” she laughs. “I learned to solo just by playing along with their records.” On her own records, she is not timid, liberally unleashing a flurry of bluesy, soulful solos throughout.

The blues ended up leading her back in time to the soul and R&B scenes, from which she also draws inspiration. “Etta James, I would say, is one of my biggest influences,” she confirms. Onstage, her voice is deep and expressive, belting out garage ragers alongside heartfelt ballads. “It’s that great, clean instrument playing with powerful, raw vocals. She was an amazing vocalist. We really enjoy the sort of old-school, Motown sound. Ryan is really into Northern Soul and we all love the Dap Kings and stuff. It sort of naturally went that way — I’m really into the Detroit Cobras. My songwriting went that way and I found that my voice sort of fit.”

With two 7?s on their resume, one in 2011 and one this year, the Vibrating Beds show no signs of slowing down. Already, they are preparing material for a winter recording session, though if it ends up being a 7? or a proper full-length has not yet been decided. For now, they’re playing continuously, getting out of town as much as possible and shredding up stages across Canada to growing fanfare. One thing is for certain: rock and roll was meant to be played this way.

Catch the Vibrating Beds at the Palomino on October 19. - Beatroute

GARAGE ROCK FURY HAS A NEW CONTENDER

There are a handful of rock and roll queens scattered across Canada that are not only out-playing and upstaging grungy boys and their overly-done testosterone aggression, but are continuously rewriting the book on hot guitars and overdriven sounds. Starting in Vancouver, No Sinner, a blues rock powerhouse, is fronted by the indomitable Colleen Rennison, a force unto herself with pipes to match. Travel half a day east on our beloved Trans-Canada Highway and our very own Miesha Louie, of Miesha & the Spanks, vies for garage grit contention. In the heart of the nation, Toronto, bands like Little Foot Long Foot and the Sphinxes each feature women at the front of the stage that are not only kicking boys out of their (ostensibly) own rock and roll club, but firmly locking the door and sneering from within.

At the centre of Canada, in the isolated and blisteringly cold city of Winnipeg — a city that, in the past couple of years, is re-emerging as a fertile breeding ground for rock and roll — the Vibrating Beds, a power-trio fronted by Jenna Dangerous, have stepped into the ring and are looking to make a name for themselves.

In their short three years together, the Vibrating Beds have fit in well with the rock and roll scene in Winnipeg, largely clustered around the venerable Transistor 66 label, which puts the bleeding heart and soul of rock and roll centre stage. Blending the timeless sounds of ’50s Motown and doo-wop with the overdriven, anxious energy of modern blues guitar legends and snarling Motor City punk gusto, Dangerous and company, including Ryan Filteau on drums and Leif Gobeil on bass, have been criss-crossing Canada to growing audiences everywhere. Their strength lies not only in Dangerous’ red-hot guitar playing — which propels the band like it’s still 1979 — but their impeccable songwriting, too.

“Definitely, I take more of a rock and roll approach to our music. A lot of our influences have really hot guitars, really overdriven, really grungy-sounding stuff,” says Dangerous from her home in Winnipeg. “We’re all really into the Oblivions and pretty much anything Greg Cartwright does. We used to listen to a lot of Mean Jeans and Ryan loves Motörhead. Our sound tends to be more high energy. That being said, we do like doing ballads. I like playing the guitar, so may as well make it the focal point. We want to have a really exciting live show.”

Dangerous has been playing music since she was a child, starting with the piano when she was eight or nine. A year later, she decided that she wanted to be in a band, though the guitar was not her instrument of choice at first.

“I first picked up the drums, she says, “and didn’t really like it as much, so I saved up my money and bought my first guitar. I started playing when I was 10 and learning chords… my dad was really into Stevie Ray Vaughan and I remember he used to make me watch videos in the basement with him. So, though that, I got into the blues: I used to listen to Stevie, Jimi Hendrix and Peter Frampton,” she laughs. “I learned to solo just by playing along with their records.” On her own records, she is not timid, liberally unleashing a flurry of bluesy, soulful solos throughout.

The blues ended up leading her back in time to the soul and R&B scenes, from which she also draws inspiration. “Etta James, I would say, is one of my biggest influences,” she confirms. Onstage, her voice is deep and expressive, belting out garage ragers alongside heartfelt ballads. “It’s that great, clean instrument playing with powerful, raw vocals. She was an amazing vocalist. We really enjoy the sort of old-school, Motown sound. Ryan is really into Northern Soul and we all love the Dap Kings and stuff. It sort of naturally went that way — I’m really into the Detroit Cobras. My songwriting went that way and I found that my voice sort of fit.”

With two 7?s on their resume, one in 2011 and one this year, the Vibrating Beds show no signs of slowing down. Already, they are preparing material for a winter recording session, though if it ends up being a 7? or a proper full-length has not yet been decided. For now, they’re playing continuously, getting out of town as much as possible and shredding up stages across Canada to growing fanfare. One thing is for certain: rock and roll was meant to be played this way.

Catch the Vibrating Beds at the Palomino on October 19. - Beatroute

The Vibrating Beds
The Rochester
Friday, June 15th @ 10:00 p.m.

Playing to a near empty crowd, this Winnipeg-based trio stepped onto the stage with little flair nor the commandeering confidence that is required of great rock n’ rollers. With little to no foreplay, they jumped into their first song with amps cranked and cymbals smashing. Their playing was precise, upbeat, and loud. It wasn’t until they broke into their hit song, “Six Eight,” that lead vocalist Jenna Dangerous really started to sing. But when she did, she released a voice so powerful and mesmerizing that it wouldn’t be a stretch to liken her to the past greats like Etta James or Janis Joplin. Her growling vocals and bluesy guitar riffs started to shine and the band ended the set like the true rock ‘n‘ rollers they really are. (Kaely Cormack) - Beatroute

The Vibrating Beds
The Rochester
Friday, June 15th @ 10:00 p.m.

Playing to a near empty crowd, this Winnipeg-based trio stepped onto the stage with little flair nor the commandeering confidence that is required of great rock n’ rollers. With little to no foreplay, they jumped into their first song with amps cranked and cymbals smashing. Their playing was precise, upbeat, and loud. It wasn’t until they broke into their hit song, “Six Eight,” that lead vocalist Jenna Dangerous really started to sing. But when she did, she released a voice so powerful and mesmerizing that it wouldn’t be a stretch to liken her to the past greats like Etta James or Janis Joplin. Her growling vocals and bluesy guitar riffs started to shine and the band ended the set like the true rock ‘n‘ rollers they really are. (Kaely Cormack) - Beatroute

The Vibrating Beds @ the Rochester, Friday
The Vibrating Beds played a stellar set on Friday that nonetheless highlighted one of the worst aspects of Toronto’s biggest music festival: an out of town band playing to a sparse crowd in a venue nobody knew about because everyone else was busy lining up for whatever “it” band was gearing up across town (see below). But you’d never know that the Rochester was half-empty by the energy put out there by this Winnepeg 3-piece, whose soulful brand of garage rock was amplified live with an undeniable punk energy and vocalist Jenna Dangerous’ hook-heavy vocal prowess. (TM) - AUX Toronto

The Vibrating Beds @ the Rochester, Friday
The Vibrating Beds played a stellar set on Friday that nonetheless highlighted one of the worst aspects of Toronto’s biggest music festival: an out of town band playing to a sparse crowd in a venue nobody knew about because everyone else was busy lining up for whatever “it” band was gearing up across town (see below). But you’d never know that the Rochester was half-empty by the energy put out there by this Winnepeg 3-piece, whose soulful brand of garage rock was amplified live with an undeniable punk energy and vocalist Jenna Dangerous’ hook-heavy vocal prowess. (TM) - AUX Toronto

The Vibrating Beds

The Rochester - Friday, June 15. 10 p.m.

The name Transistor 66 Records is synonymous with quality, and everything the Winnipeg-based label releases (Scott Nolan, Hot Live Guys) is worth checking out. The Vibrating Beds are one of the newer bands on the label’s roster and they’ve released two 7-inches so far, including this year’s Sing the Blues. Featuring the powerful, soulful vocals of singer-guitarist Jenna Dangerous and the tight rhythm section of bassist Leif Gobeil and drummer Ryan Filteau, The Vibrating Beds play scrappy garage rock that really wails. Inspired by the Sonics, the Stooges, New York Dolls, “Freddie Mercury’s sequined cape and Lemmy’s facial warts,” The Vibrating Beds are the perfect band to listen to while you’re two-fisting beers at the bar. - Toronto Standard

The Vibrating Beds

The Rochester - Friday, June 15. 10 p.m.

The name Transistor 66 Records is synonymous with quality, and everything the Winnipeg-based label releases (Scott Nolan, Hot Live Guys) is worth checking out. The Vibrating Beds are one of the newer bands on the label’s roster and they’ve released two 7-inches so far, including this year’s Sing the Blues. Featuring the powerful, soulful vocals of singer-guitarist Jenna Dangerous and the tight rhythm section of bassist Leif Gobeil and drummer Ryan Filteau, The Vibrating Beds play scrappy garage rock that really wails. Inspired by the Sonics, the Stooges, New York Dolls, “Freddie Mercury’s sequined cape and Lemmy’s facial warts,” The Vibrating Beds are the perfect band to listen to while you’re two-fisting beers at the bar. - Toronto Standard

Buzz band. After much thought and many options, Winnipeg rockers The Vibrating Beds went with a name that reverberates, in every sense of the word.

"Jenna (Diubaldo, vocalist/guitarist) did an improvised focus group, seeing what names stuck with people and it came down to the The Vibrating Beds and The Oom Mow Mows," says drummer Ryan Filteau, 35, referring to the 1962 novelty song Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow. "No one could pronounce Oom Mow Mow, we weren’t sure how to spell it and we aren’t a surf rock band, so The Vibrating Beds won.
It’s silly, sleazy, stupid and not very serious, so it fits."

The coin-operated trio — which also includes bassist Leif Gobeil — formed in 2009 after the demise of Diubaldo and Filteau’s former band The Sweet Nothings. In February, the band released its debut: a seven-inch record on local rawk label Transistor 66.

"Art (McIntrye, T66 owner) was interested in doing something with us when were The Sweet Nothings but that fizzled before we had the chance," says Diubaldo, 24, whose stage name is Jenna Dangerous. "When we put The Vibrating Beds together we brought him some stuff and he thought it was cool. It was natural for him to put it out."

Yes, The Vibrating Beds ‘50s/’60s shake, rattle and roll sound fits perfectly with the retro punk, rock and roots found on T66. Still, despite being a signed band with readily available recorded music (and another seven-inch on the way), The VBs don’t take things too seriously.

"I think the goal is to not be too serious because it’s more fun when we just hang out and play and have a good time, rather than thinking about promotion and merchandise," Filteau says. "How about we just throw a party and have fun? We have more fun doing it that way."

"I think we value just hanging out," adds Gobeil, 27. "Lately practices have consisted of us hanging out in my living room for an hour and a half, having some drinks and stuff. At some point one of us will have to head downstairs and start practice."

No practice makes perfect. The VB’s most recent hang-out session resulted in a Halloween-themed song, which the band will unleash at The Park Theatre on Oct. 28, a show that also includes scary sets by The Thrashers, This Hisses and Les Sexy.

"We had a long conversation about how the zombie apocalypse might turn out, so we wrote a zombie orientated song for the occasion," Filteau says. "The working title is Zombie Rock."

"It’s going to replace Monster Mash," Diubaldo adds. "Everyone will do the Zombie Rock."

The Vibrating Beds also open for local rockers The Ripperz tonight at the West End Cultural Centre. For music and more info visit www.thevibratingbeds.com. - Uptown Magazine

VIBRATING BEDS, THE:
Self-titled: 7”
If you’re having a dance party, you need this record! Three amazing songs in the Motown meets Phil Spector meets regular rock and roll meets a general Detroit Cobras genre! The singer has a really awesome voice, too. Gender Fact: she’s a girl. Geographical Fact: The internet says they’re from Winnipeg. As far as I can tell, this is their first record. More please! If this were a cereal, it’d be Apple Jacks. Good stuff, but I think this band could easily get even better and enter into Froot Loops territory! –Maddy (Transistor 66, transistor66.com) - Razorcake

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THE VIBRATING BEDS
The Vibrating Beds
(Transistor 66 )

This three song seven-inch single delivers all the dirt and grit that you’d expect from a Transistor 66 release, balanced with the spot- on recording and mixing you get when you record with Lloyd Peterson. What You Do To Me is happy go lucky punk rock, the way Ronnie Spector delivered it with Daniel Rey and Joey Ramone on the She Talks To Rainbows EP. Baby Tell Me is in the same vein, and Jenna Diubaldo’s vocals are so sweetly cigarette soaked that you won’t be able to stop smiling. Some Kind of Fool is a cautionary tale for the boys out there, solidifying this release as an instant classic.
— Nicholas Friesen
- Uptown Magazine