Yukon Cigar
Toronto, Ontario, Canada | SELF
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Posted by Craig Norris
May 30, 2007
New Music Canada Track of the Day for May 30th, 2007: Yukon Cigar “Hello Soul”
I think that I've expounded before about how I always start listening to the NMC weekly adds based on their name. Intrigued by the name Yukon Cigar (and assuming that it just has to be a euphemism) I promptly hit the link to give it a listen.
The first line in the bio hit me: "My name is Craig". Whoa. Trippy. Obviously, I was meant to find and present this song to you.
"Hello Soul" will get your summer started right. Called "dock music" by some, and Craig Konyu thinks that "presumably, these tunes are best enjoyed with beer." Yukon Cigar's 5 song EP Spooning Noise From A Moose In A Jar (hopefully another euphemism) was recorded and mixed in about 40 hours. The result is an organic, immediate collection of songs. If you don't have a dock, your front stoop will do (not a euphemism).
For official sound bite: http://bit.ly/whTkuJ.
_____ - CBC Radio 3
Posted by mp3this.blogspot.com
Sunday, May 27, 2007
From the Basement
Here comes Yukon Cigar. I doubt they make cigars in the Yukon but I know their gold is nice, and these guys sound like gold. The band assembled in early 2007 to record at a Toronto studio. The songs are more like stories; take "Hello Soul" for example, where centre man Craig Konyu pleads to "sip New Orleans of its soul" through his soup. I hope it's potato soup, because that's what I had last night. The EP, titled Spooning Noises is out now, and maybe upon reading this, CJAM 91.5 fm will get a copy in it's mailbox for us to play!
_____ - mp3this.blogspot.com
Posted by guardian.co.uk
June 16, 2008; 4:15 PM
Three nights at NXNE. That's right. It's in Canada...
Is the mark of a good festival the feeling at the end that you wished you'd caught more bands? In the instance of North By Northeast, that meant Permanent Bastards, Whiteboy Slim, Calm Down It's Monday, Yukon Cigar and Shit La Merde, that last a nod to Canada's multilingualism. Not that there seemed to be a particular buzz about any of these at NXNE, but an intriguing name is as good as any come-on when faced with over 400 acts in the course of three nights.
Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2008/jun/16/isthemarkofa - guardian.co.uk
Posted by Robin Sharp
June 19, 2009
I'm checking out Yukon Cigar tonight at Mitzi's Sister (an NXNE show)... because I like their name.
I downloaded a Yukon Cigar song named 'Hello Soul' on CBC Radio 3 in 2007 not because I knew the bassist, not because I'd ever heard of them before (they were brand new), and it wasn't because I trusted the ceeb implicitly either. I listened to Yukon Cigar because I like the Yukon, and I like Cigars (on occasion), so I should probably like this band. And I do.
Founded in 2007 as a side project by Craig Konyu, Yukon Cigar has developed a cult following despite their limited output. They've played NXNE a few times, they've performed a series of popular 'all cover songs' nights at Quigley's Pub & Bistro (which sound a lot of fun actually), but they haven't recorded anything since their five song E.P. in the spring of 07.
An alternative pop-rock band, they sound like... sitting on the edge of cottage dock on a Sunday evening, where you can smell mashed potatoes and refried bacon being cooked behind you. They sound like a bonfire dying out at 4am on a Friday, when half of your friends have already fallen asleep.
They're playing tonight at midnight at Mitzi's Sister (1554 Queen St. West), a bar that has signed up for a late night liquor license. If you can't make it to a bonfire this evening do the next best thing; come to Mitzi's Sister, see Yukon Cigar, and then hang out there till 4am. - blog TO
Posted by Chemical Sound
February 2007
YUKON CIGAR: Craig Konyu of Yukon Cigar is one of the nicest people we know -- and his music is great too. We're proud to document his unique style of psych-folk. - chemicalsound.com
Discography
(May 2007) Spooning Noise From A Moose In A Jar
Notes: "Hello Soul" was featured as CBC Radio 3's "Track of the Day" (May 30, 2007). "Hello Soul" and "Burnt Island Lake" were requested by Windsor/Detroit's CJAM 91.5 FM (www.cjam.ca).
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(May 2011) Apostrophe Catastrophe
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Photos
Bio
Maximum campfire music.
Yukon Cigar was lit in 2005—the idea being to take an earthy, hushed songwriting style and set it on fire. Selected musical friends said yes. A few rehearsals were had. And a recording session, at Toronto’s Chemical Sound Studio, ensued. The digital-only demo Spooning Noise From A Moose In A Jar was released in May 2007.
With rugged, flickering melodies and thinking lyrics, the band has a decidedly “northern” feel. And, described by some as “dock music,” it forms a fine soundtrack to a drive through cottage country, an epic canoe trip, or being lost in the woods for days on end.
Here’s what Craig Norris from CBC Radio 3 had to say: http://bit.ly/whTkuJ.
Since forming, Yukon Cigar has played top Toronto clubs—including Cameron House, C'est What, El Mocambo (upstairs and down), Mitzi's Sister, Rancho Relaxo—and the awesome NXNE festival (twice).
A follow-up, Apostrophe Catastrophe, was released in May 2011. With a new lineup and countless songs in the fire, the band looks to re-ignite its live groove. Here lies the promise of sweet sounds (and sing-alongs) to come.
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