Forest City Lovers
Encyclopedia
Forest City Lovers are a Canadian
folk indie pop
band. Based in Toronto
, the band is centered around the songwriting of singer and guitarist Kat Burns. She is backed by violinist Mika Posen, bassist Kyle Donnelly, keyboardist Timothy Burton and drummer Christian Ingelevics.
, Ontario, when she moved to Toronto to go to school in 2005 and began to play around the city. Soon after establishing herself as a talented young songwriter, Burns released her independent solo EP For the Birds in early 2005.
Collecting close friends and peers she assembled Forest City Lovers over the period of recording at the House of Miracles with Andy Magoffin
. Original band members included James Bunton and Andrew Kinoshita on drums and bass. She released The Sun and the Wind, independently in 2006 under the Forest City Lovers moniker. The single "Castles!" was playlisted on CBC Radio 3
and the album charted quite high nationally after its release. In 2007, Mika Posen joined the band on violin. The band contributed a track, "Don't Go, Please", to the charity compilation Friends in Bellwoods
. In late 2007 Bunton and Kinoshita were replaced by Paul Weadick and Kyle Donnelly on drums and bass.
The Sun and the Wind fared well on campus radio
stations across Canada and the United States, and garnered airplay on CBC Radio One
, CBC Radio 2 and CBC Radio 3
. The band toured extensively and secured fans far outside of their Toronto home. The band was called a "Band to look out for" in 2008 by eye weekly
, the "best band you've never heard of" by Spin
, and a "mess of cute girls and boys who sing about life in Toronto" by Nylon.
In 2008 the band released their debut full-length, Haunting Moon Sinking, on Out of This Spark
. The album did very well nationally and internationally, garnering press and airplay around the world. The entire album was played heavily on CBC's Radio One, Radio 2, and Radio 3, as well as North American campus radio and NPR
. Shortly after the release of the album drummer Paul Weadick left the band. He has since been replaced.
Since the release of The Sun and the Wind in 2006, Forest City Lovers have played numerous festivals, including the Hillside Festival in Guelph, Ontario
; the inaugural Sled Island Music Festival
in Calgary, Alberta
; Sappyfest
in Sackville, New Brunswick
; Keep It Cool in Lecce, Italy
; and Folk on the Rocks
in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The band were among the contributors to two compilation CDs, Friends in Bellwoods
, and Friends in Bellwoods II
, as a benefit for Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank
.
Forest City Lovers are nationally distributed through Arts & Crafts
after a partnership with their Toronto label Out of This Spark. Previously the disc was distributed by Sonic Unyon
. The band released a 7" single in November 2009 and recently completed Carriage, their second album for Out of this Spark, released on June 29, 2010. Carriage has been met with massive critical acclaim.
In January 2011, Forest City Lovers were nominated for The 10th Annual Independent Music Awards in the Indie/Alt./Hard Rock Album category.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
folk indie pop
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
band. Based in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, the band is centered around the songwriting of singer and guitarist Kat Burns. She is backed by violinist Mika Posen, bassist Kyle Donnelly, keyboardist Timothy Burton and drummer Christian Ingelevics.
Biography
Forest City Lovers began as the solo project of singer-songwriter Kat Burns, from WhitbyWhitby, Ontario
Whitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region...
, Ontario, when she moved to Toronto to go to school in 2005 and began to play around the city. Soon after establishing herself as a talented young songwriter, Burns released her independent solo EP For the Birds in early 2005.
Collecting close friends and peers she assembled Forest City Lovers over the period of recording at the House of Miracles with Andy Magoffin
Andy Magoffin
Joel Andrew Magoffin, best known as Andy Magoffin, is a Canadian musician and record producer. He is the songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist for the indie rock band Two-Minute Miracles and the bass guitarist for Raised by Swans....
. Original band members included James Bunton and Andrew Kinoshita on drums and bass. She released The Sun and the Wind, independently in 2006 under the Forest City Lovers moniker. The single "Castles!" was playlisted on CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3 is a radio station that consists of two parts devoted to Canadian arts and music: a radio service which is available on Sirius Satellite Radio and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website...
and the album charted quite high nationally after its release. In 2007, Mika Posen joined the band on violin. The band contributed a track, "Don't Go, Please", to the charity compilation Friends in Bellwoods
Friends in Bellwoods
Friends in Bellwoods is a compilation album, released in 2007. It was the first release on Out of This Spark, through a distribution deal with Sonic Unyon Records. The album is named for a house on Bellwoods Avenue in Toronto, shared by two members of the band Ohbijou, which NOW has written "might...
. In late 2007 Bunton and Kinoshita were replaced by Paul Weadick and Kyle Donnelly on drums and bass.
The Sun and the Wind fared well on campus radio
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
stations across Canada and the United States, and garnered airplay on CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
, CBC Radio 2 and CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3 is a radio station that consists of two parts devoted to Canadian arts and music: a radio service which is available on Sirius Satellite Radio and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website...
. The band toured extensively and secured fans far outside of their Toronto home. The band was called a "Band to look out for" in 2008 by eye weekly
Eye Weekly
Eye Weekly was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the Toronto Star, and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The following week, Torstar launched a successor publication, The Grid.-...
, the "best band you've never heard of" by Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
, and a "mess of cute girls and boys who sing about life in Toronto" by Nylon.
In 2008 the band released their debut full-length, Haunting Moon Sinking, on Out of This Spark
Out of this Spark
Out of this Spark is an independent record label founded in the fall of 2006 by Stuart Duncan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The label is an artist-focused label that works to release fun, exciting and innovative music, with a focus a facilitating the distribution of music to the masses for musicians...
. The album did very well nationally and internationally, garnering press and airplay around the world. The entire album was played heavily on CBC's Radio One, Radio 2, and Radio 3, as well as North American campus radio and NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
. Shortly after the release of the album drummer Paul Weadick left the band. He has since been replaced.
Since the release of The Sun and the Wind in 2006, Forest City Lovers have played numerous festivals, including the Hillside Festival in Guelph, Ontario
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
; the inaugural Sled Island Music Festival
Sled Island
Founded by Zak Pashak in 2007, The Sled Island Music and Arts Festival is an annual independent festival held in over thirty venues in downtown Calgary, Alberta. Sled Island allows many generations of festival goers to gather for four days each year to celebrate the wealth of creative talent that...
in Calgary, Alberta
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
; Sappyfest
Sappyfest
SappyFest is an annual independent arts & music festival held in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada. It was first held in 2006.The Festival is produced by Sappy Records in partnership with OK.Quoi?! Contemporary Arts Festival, Struts Gallery and the Faucet Media Arts Centre. Sappyfest is headlined...
in Sackville, New Brunswick
Sackville, New Brunswick
Sackville is a Canadian town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick.Mount Allison University is located in the town...
; Keep It Cool in Lecce, Italy
Lecce
Lecce is a historic city of 95,200 inhabitants in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Lecce, the second province in the region by population, as well as one of the most important cities of Puglia...
; and Folk on the Rocks
Folk on the Rocks
Folk on the Rocks is an outdoor music festival held on the third weekend in July every year on the shores of Long Lake in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada every summer. The non-profit festival was founded in 1980....
in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The band were among the contributors to two compilation CDs, Friends in Bellwoods
Friends in Bellwoods
Friends in Bellwoods is a compilation album, released in 2007. It was the first release on Out of This Spark, through a distribution deal with Sonic Unyon Records. The album is named for a house on Bellwoods Avenue in Toronto, shared by two members of the band Ohbijou, which NOW has written "might...
, and Friends in Bellwoods II
Friends in Bellwoods II
Friends in Bellwoods is a compilation album, released in 2009 by Out of This Spark as a benefit for Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank. The album is a sequel to the 2007 compilation Friends in Bellwoods....
, as a benefit for Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank
Daily Bread Food Bank
The Daily Bread Food Bank is a non-denominational Canadian charity organisation that strives to end hunger in urban communities. The organisation is based in Toronto, Ontario, and feeds thousands of low income people a year. They also provide valuable resources to the same demographic in order to...
.
Forest City Lovers are nationally distributed through Arts & Crafts
Arts & Crafts (record label)
Arts & Crafts Productions is a Toronto-based independent artist services company, offering expertise as an independent record label, management firm, merchandiser and music publisher both in Canada and internationally...
after a partnership with their Toronto label Out of This Spark. Previously the disc was distributed by Sonic Unyon
Sonic Unyon
Sonic Unyon Recording Company is an independent record label based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The retail store is located on Wilson Street near James Street North)...
. The band released a 7" single in November 2009 and recently completed Carriage, their second album for Out of this Spark, released on June 29, 2010. Carriage has been met with massive critical acclaim.
In January 2011, Forest City Lovers were nominated for The 10th Annual Independent Music Awards in the Indie/Alt./Hard Rock Album category.
Members
- Kat Burns – vocals, guitar, piano, banjo, glockenspiel
- Mika Posen – violin, viola, piano, bg vocals
- Kyle Donnelly – bass, guitar, glockenspiel, bg vocals
- Christian Ingelevics - drums
- Timothy Bruton - keyboards, guitar, vocals
Discography
- For the Birds (Kat Burns solo) - 2005 - Independent / Play the Triangle
- The Sun and the Wind - 2006 - Independent / Play the Triangle
- Haunting Moon Sinking - 2008 - Out of This Spark / Arts & Crafts
- Carriage - 2010 - Out of This Spark / Arts & Crafts