We've just been made aware of our first official album reviews for "OKgiraffe"

Here they are.....



Exclaim Magazine
By Rachel Sanders


The BC transplants in OKgiraffe must feel much more at home in their
adopted city of Montreal than they ever did on the west coast. With its
heavy blend of cultures and high sense of drama, Montreal is a fitting
backdrop for the band's unique brand of urban gypsy soul, a sound
that's far more martini-and-cigarettes than soy-latte-and-weed. On
their debut album, the hypnotic drone of the band's dual double basses
is counterbalanced by the catchy shuffle of Latin-jazz-inspired drums.
They combine equal measures of soul and funk, adding the occasional
kick of hip-hop-style vocals for extra flavour. The ominously murmuring
double bass of the opening track picks up speed and momentum as the
album progresses, making way for guitar and sassy accordion on several
tracks. Rosa Smedley's soulful vocals lift tracks like "Let Them Go"
and make them fly. (Independent)

http://www. exclaim. ca/musicreviews/latestsub. aspx?csid1=128&csid2=870&fid1=35788

______________________________________________________________
Vernon Morning Star
By Dean Gordon-Smith
Published: January 22, 2009

Trio meets tall order

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This one from CHOQ.FM "en francais"
By Simon Maltais Morand

OKgiraffe est difficilement définissable mais ne manque pas de nous charmer avec l'album OKgiraffe. La merveilleuse voix de Rosa Smedley
nous laisse pantois sur des compositions très originales puisant dans
le jazz et dans le funk tout en ayant un son tout à fait unique.
Passant de l'anglais au français à l'espagnol, OKgiraffe nous propose
un voyage dans leur univers qui n'est pas sans rappeler certaines
sonorités d'Europe de l'est. L'album a été lancé au divan orange le 22
octobre dernier et le groupe était de passage dans les studios de CHOQ.FM quelques jours avant dans le cadre de l'émission Univers Folk pour une performance mémorable. Un groupe à découvrir et à voir sur scène absolument!

_____________________________________________________________
Ear to the Sound Blog
Posted by
Michael Elves

One of the first things I do when receiving new albums at the station is mark up the cases and discs with a sharpie
to prevent them from being lifted from UMFM and sold (and believe it or
not I've heard of this happening at other stations - and I've
personally seen what I know are radio promo copies for sale at Cheapo in Minneapolis).
The
added benefit of marking up the discs is a chance to check out
something more than the cover art - sometimes if I were just relying on
my initial impression of an album's cover I'd pass over some decent
records that don't grab my attention off the hop. A classic example of
this is the Parlour Steps self-titled album, but for a more recent case-in-point I turn to this entry's subject, Montreal band OKgiraffe.

The
cover of OKgiraffe's new record (pictured above) is kind of cutesy, but
didn't really grab my attention. It was when I turned to the inlay and
found a picture of the band holding a curious assortment of instruments
that my interest was piqued. Standing in the middle of an ill-lit
street, Brandon Goodwin stands behind a lone snare drum, beside him
Rosa Smedley supports an upright bass and to her left Kevin Bertram
cradles an accordion. I had to give this album a listen.

Thankfully
OKgiraffe don't just have a fantastic photographer in their arsenal -
they've also got a clutch of great tunes that utilize their peculiar
instrumentation to full effect. Consider "Heaven Only Knows,"
where the accordion line introduces the melody and then takes a
backseat role with a rhythm-guitar-type line while Smedley RAPS IN
FRENCH!! What with living in Montreal it's not totally surprising that
they're bilingue but the way they back-and-forth within the song is
still impressive. And the song is damned funky for something so folky.

That
strange juxtaposition of funk and folk is what makes this record so
compelling - there's a tongue-in-cheek mention on the band's Sonicbids
EPK that says OKgiraffe "leads the Urban gypsy surprise movement." I
don't know if there is such a movement but after listening to OKgiraffe
I'm hoping one develops so I can hear more of this type of music.
Speaking of more, check out "Let Them Go" and then go check out the band's Myspace page.

______________________________________________________________

Hey Guys Thanks so much for everyone that came out.  It was a blast doing this show again.  We hope to do it again next year too!

I've also just been made aware of a review of the night in the McGill Tribune which is below.  And the link is here:

http://media.www.mcgilltribune.com/media/storage/paper234/news/2009/02/03/AE/Music.Okgiraffe.Hosts.A.Moustached.Masquerade-3609548.shtml

MUSIC: OKgiraffe hosts a moustached masquerade
Musicians take the stage in style at Sala Rossa's 2nd annual moustache party
Carolyn Gregoire

Facial hair was out in full force last Friday
at La Sala Rossa's second annual Moustache Party, a wonderfully absurd
celebration of the anachronistic upper lip accessory known as the
moustache. Both the musicians and members of the crowd proudly donned
nearly all-conceivable variations of the moustache, from the "walrus"
to the "handlebar" to the "Hitler." Needless to say, competition was
steep for the best real and best fake moustache prizes. Lead vocalist
of The Unsettlers Ben Brandes took the stage rocking a tightly-curled
and upturned Salvador Dali-style stache, complimenting the audience on
their "upper lip accoutrements" and turning Sala Rossa into a saloon
for a night of 19th century nostalgia.

Montreal-based artistic
funk trio OKgiraffe, a group who describes themselves as "urban gypsy
soul," organized the evening and performed songs from their recently
released self-titled debut to an enthusiastic crowd. Donning
moustaches, of course, the group began with the catchy single "Heaven
Only Knows" and concluded with the enchanting melody of "Old Town,"
accompanied by Brandes on the baby piano. These incredible live
performers were hindered only by vocalist Rosa Smedley's large furry
moustache, which forced her to stop and turn up the mic because it was
infringing on her ability to project clearly. The trio featured an
instrumental rotation of vocals, upright bass, guitar, drums, trumpet,
and accordion. Reminiscent of Gogol Bordello, the group exhibits
eclectic musical influences, drawing on funk, folk, and hip-hop. Having
played with such acts as Mark Berube and the Patriotic Few, The Winks,
and Winter Gloves, OKgiraffe has been garnering quite a buzz across
Canada and is a definite band to look out for in 2009. In keeping with
the nonsensical mood of the night, someone in a giraffe suit and a girl
sporting a fedora and giant red moustache danced across the stage.

Following
OKgiraffe were The Unsettlers, a nine-piece cabaret folk band complete
with a horn section, accordion, clarinet, bass foot organ, keyboard,
trash can drums, guitar, and backup vocals. Their performance proved
that the attention they've been receiving in the Montreal music scene
is well deserved. Their outstanding performance displayed a uniquely
Klezmer-esque, antiquated sound that's unlike anything else out there
today. Within minutes of taking the stage with their fast-paced,
polka-influenced song "Jerome," the crowd was on their feet and
dancing. The Unsettlers have appeared at Pop Montreal, the Fringe
Festival, and myriad venues all over the city, proving to Montrealers
that these troubadours are best experienced live.

Opening acts
included talented local singer/songwriter Steve Broccoli-recognizable
by his handlebar moustache and safari hat-and Bad Uncle, who got the
crowd dancing with his up-tempo Beirut-influenced accordion jams. The
entire lineup had a Klezmer influence, which kept the audience's energy
level high and complemented the steampunk theme of the evening.

The
event owes its second year of success to both the strength of the
lineup and the amusement that comes from getting to wear such an
inherently silly form of facial hair. Judging from how much fun the
crowd was having, perhaps the old English proverb, "A man without a
moustache is like a cup of tea without sugar," still applies in 2009.
Moustached or otherwise, OKgiraffe and The Unsettlers are two
progressive Montreal bands to keep an ear out for.

Montreal’s celebration of the love for the Moustache is fast approaching.  OKgiraffe is about to unleash the second coming of this annual spectacle.  Itis an opportunity for one and all to harness or harvest your furryfriend and unleash his mastery to the awe of this honored world. Growone, shave one, craft one, build one out of yarn, pipe cleaners orwhatever you find hanging around and if all else fails, paint it on!Join OKgiraffe and The Unsettlers in a special collaborative moustachecircus, live at La Sala Rossa on Friday January 30th, for a soiree thatshall pay extraordinary homage to the noble friend that you may haveonce forgotten.   The Show will feature new and unseencollaborations between the two bands (and special guests) as they weaveand curl their favorite songs into a night of upper lip sauciness.  There will be special surprises, and a Moustache contest with one of a kind prizes.  Thenight will get going at 10pm, with two different cover charges; $8 forentry with moustache (real or fake), and $12 for entry without (we hopeno one goes for the latter).  Anyone that attended last years OKgiraffe Moustache extravaganza can attest, this will be a night of unforgettable hilarity.   

Here are some stores where our new CD, "OKgiraffe" is available....

Fred's Records - St John's, Newfoundland - 198 Duckworth St

Taz Records - Halifax, Nova Scotia - 1593 Market St

Phonopolis Records - Montreal, Quebec - 5403a Parc Ave

L'Oblique Records - Montreal, Quebec - 4333 Rivard

Crazy Lily Boutique - Montreal, Quebec - 6300 St Hubert

Blue Streak Records - Peterborough, Ontario - 444 George St N

We hope to have many more stores on this list very soon, as we will bring our cd's to the cities and towns we tour in!

Take Care

OKgiraffe

It has been a busy week in Montreal for OKgiraffe.  They began a series of Radio and Podcast interviews with the Indyish Tete a Tete online video series at Grumpy's Bar in Montreal.  The show's host, Risa Dickens talked to each member about their beginings as a group and about their New Album.
You can watch the videos here:

http://video.indyish.com/video/Tete-a-Tete-with-Rosa
http://video.indyish.com/video/Tete-a-Tete-with-Kevin-from-OkG

A few days later, OKgiraffe was welcomed into the studio of CHOQ.FM for a live performance and interview for the Univers Folk podcast.  After a couple months away from Montreal, the band was a bit rusty with their French, but managed to converse in a bi-lingual conversation with Univers Folk host Josie Anne Huard.
You listen to the show here:

http://www.choq.fm/universfolk.html
(2008-10-17)

Yesterday, October 22nd, was an epic day for the trio, who began their day with an early morning radio interview on the Wednesday Morning After Show with Sami Make at McGill's CKUT 90.3 FM.  They played four songs live and did a interview while trying to stay awake.

You can hear the show here:

http://secure.ckut.ca/cgi-bin/ckut-grid.pl?action=showaudio&show=wednesday,07:00

That same day, another podcast, The Midnight Poutine, broadcast Heaven Only Knows, a song from OKgiraffe's new album, and left a funny comment about the vocal similarities between Kevin and Jermaine from Flight of the Conchords!

You can hear the show here:

http://midnightpoutine.ca/weekend_playlist_podcast/2008/10/the_midnight_poutine_podcast_oct_2228_2008/

That monumental night of October 22nd, OKgiraffe released their first full length, self titled album to a warm crowd at the bands favorite venue, Montreal's own Le Divan Orange.  The night began with a fantastic performance by Cecil Doo-Kingue, host of Chicks Pickin' Monday's at Grumpy's Bar, and finished with a rolicking set by polkabilly duo, Bad Uncle. 
Video footage was taken of OKgiraffe's performance, including all eleven songs off of the album, as well as a couple new ones.  The videos will be available in the near future.

After many requests for the lyrics....
Here are a few to chew on...
More to come later...
All lyrics written by Rosa Smedley

Yosimite Sam    

I am afraid of Yosimite Sam
The costume you made with your very own hands
You grew out of threads
Then you fell to the ground
I am afraid
Of Yosimite Sam

We scoured the town
In search of the Clown
Asking the characters that were around
“Have you seen
A staggering man
With a mustache this big
And a gun in each hand?”

But you were not found
No you were not found
You had fallen asleep
With your face on the ground

Why must you take
Such a surly stand?
Your outfit in pieces your whiskies in hand
You’re playing with evil
To prove you’re a man
Pointing your guns
At each face in the crowd

I cannot love such a careless man
Promise you’ll never
Return to this town
Promise to leave us
In peace for our lives
We both know you’re better off
Dead than alive


You’re better down
You’re better down
For falling asleep
With your face on the ground


I am afraid of Yosimite Sam
The costume you made
With your very own hands
You grew out of threads
Then you fell to the ground
I am afraid
Of Yosimite Sam

I’ll never love such a careless man
Promise you’ll never
Return to this town
Promise to leave us
In peace for our lives
We both know you’re better off
Dead than alive


 BC Premier

How long have we been
Standing in
Water up to our chins?
(repeat)

There is no end in sight
To the
Dollar signs in our eyes
(repeat)

I wrote a letter to the BC Premier
Tellin him that I think he knows better
(repeat)

Than that which he’s shellin out
Makin me feel like he’s sellin out
To the USA
Not to mention Mr. Steven Harper
Takin tips on National Security
Well now I know where my taxes are goin
Keepin their corporate wallets flowin

I pay interest on my student loans
Lookin for a decent home
But nothin’s for sale
Under two hundred grand
How am I supposed to make
That kind of money when I’m
Workin in coffee shops and
Playin in this band?

So, I wrote a letter to the BC Premier
Tellin him that I think he knows better
(repeat)



How did you get to be
The one and
Only tree left standing?
(repeat)


I wrote a letter to the BC Premier
Tellin him that I think he knows better
(repeat)

So now you’ve got your secretary
Writin me a letter for you
Now all that did was make me more mad
He says your spending the millions
On housing for children
With mothers that are stugglin to pay the banks back
But I see no proof of you buildin a roof
Over any body’s head without a
Big fat pocket full of dough

Dough’s what you know
And that’s why you’ll go
Privatize and sell us lies
For all that we already own
What we all already own!
What we own
What we all already own
What we own
What we all already own

I’ve got one last thing that I’d like to know
Mr. Gordon Campbell……

What ch’you gonna do when my wisdom tooth
That MSP wouldn’t pull comes at you?
(repeat)

I wrote a letter to the BC Premier
Tellin him that I think he knows better
(repeat)


Old Town

I knew the town you mentioned
When you signaled with your eye
I closed mine then we funneled down
Into that older time
I was sitting with my bags
Waiting for the train
Going to see a man I thought could
Help me with my pain

The dust was blowin fierce
Through my hankerchief that day
Nothing left for me to do
But sit there and wait
The sun’d been killing up a land
Sickened by the drought
When folks went by the General Store
That’s all they’d talk about

Harvey had it bad his cows were dead
His wife, she’d left him too
Elvin drown himself in the river
Without a crop what more could he do
Amy and nine children
Eating boiled onions everyday
One story after the next
Make you wonder why we all ain’t dead yet

I rode five thousand miles
On a coal burning train
Got off in that town with the
Long sorry name
I walked up to your porch
From a sweet country lane
Then I rapped upon your door
With the weakened fingers of a dame


But you opened up to me
With a smile that froze my strain
Then it melted all over
Your hard wood floor again
I walked over to your rocking chair
And sat down without a word
Then the slap of rain down
On your tin roof was all I heard

I cried, honey I cried
To see you again

I knew the town you mentioned
When you signaled with your eye
I closed mine then we funneled down
Into that older time
I was sitting with my bags
Waiting for the train
Going to see a man I thought could
Help me with my pain


Solo Espera

Si no hace lo que quiere        (If life’s direction is void of love)
El quereno ve mourir            (Love will perish)
Va a nojar se con el mundo        (Anger at the world comes)
En una vida abourrida            (In a life that is deflated)

Va a buscar malos lados        (You may seek hard roads)
Por un momento de feliz        (For a moment of satisfaction)
No tormente su miente        (Don’t trouble your mind)
Con todo que no tiene            (With all that you cannot have)

Quando viene la tristesa        (When sadness comes)
No come la cocina            (Don’t eat the kitchen clean)
No corre a la tienda            (Don’t run off to the store)
Para comprar nada usa        (To buy useless things)

No depende tener el amour        (Try not to depend on the love)
En las otras personas            (Of other people)
Busque a dentro            (Look inside yourself)
Para encontrar l’esperanza        (In order to discover peace)

Solo Espera                 (Just have patience/ Wait alone)
Por la mejor solution            (For the true answer)


           Thoughts On History
Written by Rosa Smedley

Who are we that have come
To this land that we stole shamelessly?
Bringing diseases of all kinds
To fight the battles that we won nobly

I am ashamed of my
Ancestry

Where will we go when there’s
No New World to run to?
All we’re gonna have to breathe
Is exhaust
We’re gonna have to drink what the fishes
Are dying of
We’re gonna have to eat what Monsanto
Feeds us
That’s a scary thought

I am afraid of this
Stupidity

But I don’t want to lose
Hope over this
There are still many things we can do
To help each other
Keep this world

Why don’t we turn off our TVs
And go outside?
Don’t buy the things we don’t need
They just complicate life
We all know what it means to be
Healthy
It’s more a matter of not
Being Lazy

OKgiraffe debut album launch party!!

With Cécile Doo-Kingue and Bad Uncle

It's all going down on October 22, 2008

At Le Divan Orange - 4232 boul. St-Laurent

9:00 PM, 7$

Bring your tambourines, crazy hats and hand puppets! OKgiraffe, the trio of Urban Gypsy-Funk makers that brought Montreal to life in the dead of winter last year with their first annual Moustache Party, are now ready to release of their first full length, self titled album.The launch is set to be a raucous night of double bass fiending hip-hoppin' and accordion-boppin' grooves, that will have you mopping the dance floor with your socks and shoes. The event will feature live surprises from not only OKgiraffe and their many collaborators, but two key artists from Montreal’s original down-and-dirty scene: Cécile Doo-Kingue (Dibondoko; host of Chick Pickin' Mondays at Grumpy's Bar), the wickedest blues guitar player and wailer in the city, and dirty polkabilly duo Bad Uncle (Santosh Lalonde & D'Arcy Nichol of The Unsettlers). This will be a night not to be missed!!!

National Tour to Follow!

Le Divan Orange celebration of the love for the Mustache is fast approaching. It shall be a night of glory such that Montreal has not yet witnessed. It is an opportunity for one and all to harness or harvest your furry friend and unleash his mastery to the awe of this honored world. Grow one, shave one, craft one, build one out of yarn, pipe cleaners or whatever you find hanging around and if all else fails, paint it on! Join OKgiraffe, The Unsettlers and The Winks, live at Le Divan Orange on Saturday Jan 19, for a soiree that shall pay extraordinary homage to the noble friend that you may have once forgotten.

Hey everyone,
if you'd like to check out a funny little interview and some songs on a Podcast, go to www.radiofreemontreal.com and check out our podcast "rFm variety hour 84". It's our first interview of this sort, although tonight, we did another "real" radio interview en Francais! wow!
OK
Take care
Hope to see you out at a show or a feast!

Kevin and Rosa