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FYI

Dilly Dally: I Feel Free

The hard-edged and highly-touted Toronto rock band has bounced back from a near split to record a second album. This opening track showcases the powerhouse vocals of frontwoman Katie Monks and reaffirms the group as real contenders.

Dilly Dally: I Feel Free

By Kerry Doole

Dilly Dally  - "I Feel Free" (Dine Alone):  In a label bio, Katie Monks, frontwoman of the highly-touted Toronto rockers, calls their upcoming album Heaven one that "feels like the album we’d make if the band died and went to heaven."  She candidly admits that inner turmoil nearly broke up the band before the recording of the album, due out on their new label, Dine Alone, on Sept. 14. The group's internationally-acclaimed debut album, Sore, came out on Buzz Records.


Monks adds "we wanted this new album to be something that could help heal old wounds and rejuvenate us while on the road, something that could give us a clean slate and a fresh start. Making this record helped us fall in love with each other all over again.”

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Their demise would have been regrettable, as this opening track on the record confirms Dilly Dally as a band to be reckoned with. Its crucial weapon is the powerhouse voice of Monks, one capable of emotional subtlety as well as raw power. Reference points for the hard-edged DD sound could include Hole, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, or the Kim Gordon-led Sonic Youth. The guitars are heavy yet clean, and the production work of Rob Schnapf (Elliott Smith, Beck) effectively harnesses the group's energy. Lyrically, "I Feel Free" seems to refer to the group's rebirth (sample lyric: "We’ll start it again / In a moment of silence”)

Interesting factoid: Monks is the sister of Dave Monks, of popular T.O. rockers Tokyo Police Club. A North American tour runs Sept. 7-23, including a show at The Phoenix in Toronto on Sept. 12. Dates are here. A recent set at Universal's NXNE Rooftop Party was fiery and compelling.

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Booking (Canada / World): Ben Buchanan - CAA ben.buchanan@caa.com

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Management: Jaime Nabrynski - C3 Management jnabrynski@c3mgmt.com

Publicity: Ken Beattie - Killbeat Music kb@killbeatmusic.com

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Not By Choice on MuchOnDemand on MuchMusic in 2002.
Courtesy Photo

Not By Choice on MuchOnDemand on MuchMusic in 2002.

FYI

Obituary: Mike Bilcox of Ajax, Ontario Pop-Punk Band Not By Choice

Former drummer and now head of Round One Sports & Entertainment Liam Killeen pens this tribute to his former bandmate, with words from The Feldman Agency's Jeff Craib, Sum 41's Dave Baksh, Simple Plan's Chuck Comeau and more.

Mike Bilcox, lead singer and guitarist of Ajax, Ontario’s second most famous pop-punk band, Not By Choice, passed away on June 21, at age 48.

Mike started Not By Choice with his Ajax High School friend Glenn ‘Chico’ Dunning back in 1997. They had initially played a few shows under different names that may or may not be suitable for print, but our moniker came from Mike bothering his younger sister Chrissy at the dinner table. When she couldn’t take any more of his taunting, she promptly told her Mom, Pat, that he was annoying her – Pat yelled ‘Well, he’s your brother!’ to which Chrissy quickly replied ‘Yeah, not by choice!’. With that, a real band was born.

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