On December 20th Triple-X Productions presented a Holiday Blast Off featuring local artists and musicians coming together to raise awareness for the hungry and underprivileged in the city. This was a special benefit event for the Fort York Food Bank (www.fyfb.com).

The Cliks opened the evening with their highly charged grrrl-powered rock antics that appealed to many of their loyal fans who showed up for the show. These gals have only been together for a short period, but they are already on the right track to stardom with the catchy tunes and neo-political lyrics. Their self-titled first release is available Big Bug Music.

Code Name Laurentians provided a great mix of rock and roll, with a new wave flare and synth dance beats. This six-person indie outfit has just released their first full length CD, Tiger, which contains influences from Television and Joy Division to Willie Nelson and the Strokes. The band was tight with lead singer Royal strutting the rock star moves and intriguing the crowd. Pick up the CD as it contains some great lyrics reminiscent of Nick Drake or Leonard Cohen.

Local industrial electro-punk outfit, Hop Frogg, headlined for this one-off performance. Founding member, Froggy, has been creating quite a buzz lately with his remixes that include the recent hit by Jakalope, Pretty Life. Industrial pioneer, Dave Ogilvie (Skinny Puppy) cites Hop Frogg as “hard rocking scary industrial electro funk”. Re-mixer of the moment, Felix Da Housecat confirms, “Hop Frogg is a band to watch out for”. The set included the new hit single, Prty Prty Grl, available through Bug Eyed Records (www.bugeyedrecords.com). Newbie Jen added some great vocal backgrounds while Blaine handled the dubs and efx mixing.

Andrea Rettig and Ijose Benin opened the evening with some clever thought provoking DVD presentations. Other artists featured for the evening included Heart Lavender, Jessica Gorlicky, Alienor Guilhem, Penny Myles, David Scott, and Matthew Blades. There was also a unique naughty performance by Clement that left many in awe.

DJ Winnie kept things moving between sets with her unique blend of electro beats.
DJ Triple-X finished up the evening with an interesting mix of obscure and classic tunes including 80’s underground, current indie, and crazy-ass covers.

Overall, a very successful night for all involved, but most importantly for the Fort York Food Bank. Thanks to everyone for the donations. Stay tuned for future fundraising events in 2005.