THE CHAMPION HEARTACHE BLOG

Goodnight...

2010-05-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

Well, this is a somewhat somber message to post on such a beautiful spring afternoon, but I felt this was the right time to let you all in on the news. Sadly, it seems that The Champion Heartache will be saying goodbye. In the past three years or so, we’ve grown as a unit, and became best friends because of the shared message and passion for making music. It seems however, that over the past little while, other factors have overshadowed our original plan, and it’s time to move on. Some of us have solo records on the way, while others are simply maintaining a family, a career, and other musical endeavors. We’re all so thankful for the support and love from our families and friends, and we feel so fortunate to have graced the stages of some of our very favorite venues, with some of our favorite bands. We’ve met some really amazing people in the crowd too, and will never forget all of the amazing experiences we’ve shared with you all. You can still expect to hear a brand new album within the next few months, and we have a few shows left before packing it in. Once the album is done, we’ll celebrate together and announce a record release party, which will in turn be our final show. Dates are below.

Love, The Champion Heartache

Saturday May 29: This Ain’t Hollywood, Pitter Patter Festival, Hamilton

Thursday June 17: Comfort Zone, NXNE, Toronto

TBA: Indoor Voices Record Release Party

Indoor Voices Demos...

2010-04-22T13:29:00.000-07:00

www.soundcloud.com/thechampionheartache

The Champion Heartache Mixing New LP, Giving Away Debut Album

2010-01-26T13:50:00.000-08:00

It’s been over a year since Oshawa’s The Champion Heartache self released their debut disc. The band is now in the mixing stage of their sophomore album, titled Indoor Voices, and to celebrate, they’re giving away their first album for free. “This is simply an effort to get more people to hear the first one. The new disc is about a month or so away, and we’d really like to get some friends excited for the new one. We just hope people haven’t forgotten about us.” Matt Holtby is the lead singer of the band, but claims the new album is strictly a collaborative effort. “This time, we just did a lot of jamming, and feel the next release is a true pop rock record. Lots of fun four minute rockers.”

The band will have a new song from Indoor Voices available within weeks, but in the meantime, download their self titled debut for free below.

Expect to see a string of spring tour dates to coincide with their release.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/2vb4x9

Merry Christmas

2009-12-09T15:38:00.001-08:00

Hey there!

Mixing for the new album starts on Monday....very close!

Also, we're playing THURSDAY DEC 10th, once again at Lee's Palace...

Thursday December 10: Local Indie Alt Rock‘Champion Heartache’ @ 12:00p, ‘Cavelliers’ @ 11:00p, ‘Ooh Baby Gimme Mores’ @ 10:00p,‘Revolvers’ @ 9:00p $7.00 at the door

And once again, proof that we're just a bunch of asses.

Ho Ho Ho...

Autumn Updates...

2009-09-10T12:23:00.000-07:00

Yup, I know...it's been a while. I don't know if anyone ever reads this little blog, but I wanted to update it, if only for my benefit.

The summer sure did fly fast. I wish I could say that the band has been hard at work, or playing a lot of gigs, but then I'd be a liar, and that I am not. We've all had a lot of things going on. Firstly, I got hitched. My lovely wife Karlie and I got to take off to Jamaica for a week, which was amazing. Upon returning, we got a lot done around the house, and ended up adopted two cats, named Moose and Monkey. They are the funniest animals I've ever met. I get woken up each morning with a declawed paw to the face, and some conversational "mews" asking for breakfast. They rule. I've also had a new computer built for me by my dear friend Nathan Beaty, which now allows me to run Pro Tools, and record with some new gadgets I've aquired. This now means that we can attempt to mix the new album from my home studio. Speaking of which, the project has came to a screeching halt, but we're thinking the ball may get rolling again very soon.

Speaking for the band, our drummer Craig has opened a new music venue and bar here in town called The Green Bottle. He and his wife Jennifer have put their entire lives into this, hoping to have a platform for local music, and we all support and applaud him for it. Unfortunately it also means that Craig will be a very busy man for the next little while.

Trish has been working hard on her solo album, which I believe is in the final mixing stages. It's been a long time coming, but I assure you it's well worth the wait.

And Sean and his girlfriend Amanda have been working hard on their photography company, titled Lotus. You can see the amazing work they've done, and there's also shots from my wedding there. I'm really proud of them.

As for the rest of us, we've been really restless trying to remain a band. It's tough with so many things going on right now in our lives, but we've made the decision to tough it out for now. My thinking is that I'd rather not pull the plug on it, but just play whenever we can....which leads me to our next little piece of news: it's show time again! The Annual Shwaltz happens here in Oshawa next Saturday, and although we weren't invited to play, I'm excited to say we'll be rockin' the after party at The Green Bottle along side our friends The Stables, Lead Sled Rocket and more. Be sure to hit Memorial Park Sept 19th though. The lineup is fucking amazing!

Lastly, we've been invited to play at Lee's Palace for the first time. This is kind of a big deal to me, as I've seen so many amazing bands on that stage, and I feel it's a neat way to kick off the Fall season for us, which is by the way my favorite time of year. We'll be playing with Blacklist manifesto, Decade of Sleep, and our good friends Wildlife.

All for now. Hope to see you soon....here's some upcoming show info:

Sept 19th @ The Green Bottle

Sept 24th @ Lee's Palace

Oct 31st @ Woodlawn

Thank You...

2009-07-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

To all of our dear friends and family who came out to support us at the Bandshell, we thank you. These past few months have been amazing and this was a perfect send off for the summer. In the next couple of months, some of us are getting married, working on solo albums, opening night clubs, and doing other "grown up" things.

This being said, The Champion Heartache are taking a break for a while. We're now digging in deep with our upcoming album, and we'll be doing our best to have this thing done by the fall.

Please keep checking back as I've picked up an analog 4 track recorder, and I'll be posted some acoustic ideas, and some other solo stuff. Hell, maybe we'll get at least one new Heartache track up too. We're not sure what to choose for the first taste, but I have a feeling it'll be really upbeat and poppy, like most of the record.

Have a great summer. Next time we play, I'll be a husband, Craig will be the owner of his new bar, The Green Bottle, and Trish Robb will have this masterpiece of a solo album cranked on your stereo. Life is great.

Matt

A Night In The Park...

2009-06-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

Well, more like early evening...As I write this, I'm looking at the forecast for this upcoming thursday and I'm hoping it's wrong. We're set to take the stage around 7pm as part of the "Concerts In The Park" series. The last time I stood on the stage there, it was to sing a song for Glen Bensley last summer at his memorial. There's something really beautiful about looking out a familiar faces from up there, so I really pray the weather holds up and that we have some friends staring at us on the lawn. We're really excited because our friend Ken Kucharic will be joining us for a few songs on pedal steel. Hope to see you there.

Other fun items to discuss...Trish's album is nearing completion! It's probably the most anticipated album for me that I can think of. It's in the final mixing stages, so prepare for some huge news once it comes out. I can't wait. Check out her page here.

More news on our album soon to come. xo

NXNE is here!

2009-06-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

Last sunday, we were invited to play at Pearson Intl Airport for the NXNE kickoff at Terminal 1. It was so amazing to see families being reuinted at arrivals as we strummed out some songs for a group larger than I ever imagined. We were greeted warmly by applause after each song, and felt a sense of belonging. It was just an amazing gig and we're lucky to have been invited. A very nice lady asked to take out picture. Who's the dude on the far left? That's Mr. Johnny Owens, our dear friend who filled in while Toutant was rehearsing with Lame in London. We support him completely, but we're more than happy to have John play when Craig can't.

We gave out about 25 cd's, and we're now happy to announce that we're giving away our first album for free. Think of it as somewhat of a business card, I guess. If you see a member of the band and want a copy, just ask.

Tonight we rock HOLY JOES! 10pm. Mwah.

June Update...

2009-06-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a while since I wrote on here. Nothing earth shattering to write about, but I would like to say a sincere thank you for all of the support with the shows we played in the past month or so. The Pitter Patter Festival that our dear friend Keith Hamilton put on saw us at 3 different venues in and around the GTA, and we had a shitload of fun. We met some great people, and played with some really amazing bands. I think it's safe to say that the Great Bloomers are my new favourite band. Not only do they rock, but they're really nice dudes too, and we really appreciated the chance to play with them. We also got to see our friend Rob from This is Picture right here in our home town at The Atria. He's so great. Go see him!

So we were kind of bummed because we didn't get accepted into North By North East this year, but we received confirmation that we are in fact playing! Hurrah! After our shitty time slot last year playing to our girlfriends and boyfriends, we're really stoked about the slot and venue this year:

THURSDAY JUNE 18th @ HOLY JOES

9:00 - Beekeepers Society

10:00 -The Champion Heartache

12:00 - Stereo Goes Stellar

1:00 - Joel Lightman Band

Other than that, we're not booking many other shows lately with weddings, and other domesticated events happening in out lives. We are however playing The Memorial Park Bandshell in downtown Oshawa on Thursday, July 2. Showtime is 8pm.

Oh, and the record is almost done! I moved into my new home, and the studio is somewhat setup now, and we're working on finalizing the tracks, and moving forward with mixing starting this friday evening. I've also began working on a solo project too, and hope to have some songs online soon.

Matt

Five Shows in May....

2009-05-06T13:09:00.001-07:00

21 May 2009
20:00
The Horeshoe Tavern
Toronto, Ontario

26 May 2009
20:00
Johnny B Club
Whitby, Ontario

28 May 2009
20:00
Marcello’s
Mississauga, Ontario

29 May 2009
20:00
The Atria
Oshawa, Ontario

31 May 2009
20:00
The Boat
Toronto, Ontario

2 Jul 2009
20:00
Memorial Park Bandshell
Oshawa, Ontario

Spring Things...

2009-04-14T22:40:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone!It's been a while since we did an update, so I figured I'd check in with some recent happenings. As I write this, I'm listening to a disc of rough mixes of songs from our upcoming LP. We've been in the vocal booth working with our good friend Ian Lennox of Exclamation Kid!guiding us from behind the board. Mr. Billy Blasko, who's been tracking and producing us since day one, is returning home soon after touring with The Stables, so Ian has been a true gift to us. At this point we still have quite a lot to do, but I feel for first time in months that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. This album has such an upbeat vibe and if we continue in this fashion, it should see a release this summer. As I've stated in the past, we're also attempting to press it on vinyl, and that has us really excited as well.We've got a few shows lined up for spring playing with some of our favourite bands ever, plus Birthdays too, so come and celebrate with us. See dates below. The new t-shirts look great, and we're selling our older prints for $10.00. We also put up 10 tracks from our first disc here on Myspace, and we can expect to have a new song up very soon. I hope you're all sick of winter. Spring is here! Matt, TCH, xo.Upcoming Shows:April 30th - The Silver Dollar Room, with Dave Schoonderbeek, Wildlife and Deromantic.May 21st - The Birthday Bender at The Horseshoe Tavern, with Dirt' N Diamonds, and Rikers.May 26 - The Horseshoe Tavern whitby, with Wayne Petti of Cuff The Duke, and The Violet Archers.More to come...

December 1, 2008

2008-12-01T20:34:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. Not much to report other than a couple of shows in time for X-Mas. We have been hard at work tracking our new album and taking some time off of playing live.
However, December 23rd will be the best party of the year! Join us at Johnny B Club in Whitby for "Jingle Bell Rawk."

This show features:

Patrick Dorie
The Champion Heartache
The Stables
The D'urbervilles.

DO NOT MISS IT!

Matt

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

2008-10-07T15:00:00.001-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey Everyone,

With Turkeyday just around the corner, we felt it'd be a nice treat to give you the opportunity to download our first LP for free. It will expire, so hop on it, and spread it around.We've had an awesome year, and we're very thankful to have such amazing friends who support us. At the end of this month, we begin tracking our next LP, which should be ready in the spring. In the meantime, enjoy our self titled album for free, and enjoy some serious family time this weekend. We love you!

Download our first LP for free here:

1. Snake Skin
2. Figure Out Everything
3. Emergency
4. The Call
5. The Best Of Me
6. Enough
7. Something to Do
8. Porch Light
9. For A Little While
10. Snow Drift

11. Dirty Mind

Monday, October 6, 2008

2008-10-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

What an amazing weekend this was. With all of the bullshit we've all been through with the passing of a dear friend, people being sick, and just an all around feeling of "blech", this community has really come together. We were invited to play at Le Skratch this past friday, part of the final fundraiser to help the family of Glen Bensley. The show was moved to a bigger venue because there was a feeling that the Atria might have been too packed. Well what a good call that was. The new spot proved to be an ideal venue, and a lot of people came out to support this. The bill was fantastic. Dan Brooks, Ed Humm, Patrick Dorie, us, The Stables and Cuff The Duke. This was far and away my favorite show that I've ever been part of, and not just because we played well, but because all of our best friends were a part of this. The sound was lovely, the crowd was so positive and danced all night, and Glen was surely there with us every step of the way. I want to thank everyone for the support, and with this collective effort we raised over $2000.00 Durham rock fucking rules, and I'm happy to say I shall remain a part of this community for as long as I'm allowed.

Thursday we played at Rancho Relaxo, headlining the night, only to play for apporx. 20 people. It was a great warm up show, and we really had a blast. Although I didn't "own it", I still had fun being on stage with the best of friends, and that's what counts. After friday's show at Le Skratch, I spent Saturday at the dog park running around and enjoying the smells and colours of autumn, which is by far my favorite time of year. Sunday, Karlie and I took our friends' daughters to the zoo, and then to pick out pumpkins. It was great until a 3 car pile up left us with sore backs and a crakced rear fender. Thank you young drivers of canada. Keep up the good work. We're all ok, but my neck hurts a lot, as does my shakey spine.

Up next, October 17th at the Hideout with our dear friend Joe Roncetti.

This was also a nice treat ...I too heart music!

September 28, 2008

2008-09-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

Just a few things to mention. It looks like we're playing at Rancho Relaxo this Thursday night. I don't know who we're playing with, but this is a last minute deal, and this is a fun spot to play. Great mexican food, and a decent stage. Also, we're now on the friday bill at the Atria fundraiser for Glen Bensley. That is going to be absolutley insane. The bill consists of us, The Stables and Cuff The Duke. Get there early and prepare to sweat. This is a pay what you can event to help raise money for his boys, so please come and support this night.

Thursday October 2: Rancho Relaxo, Toronto

Friday October 3: The Atria, Oshawa

Friday October 17: The Hideout, Toronto

Monday September 22, 2008

2008-09-22T22:23:00.000-07:00

The Tribute Show on 94.9 The Rock: http://www.sendspace.com/file/6w9u11

Friday, September 19, 2008

2008-09-19T11:40:00.001-07:00

As I write this post, my heart is breaking. Not just for me, but for so many people who have had their lives touched by this wonderful man who we must say goodbye to. It's with sadness and regret that we have to say goodbye to Glen Bensley. Details as to what exactly happened are sketchy, but the only certain thing I know is how much he will be missed. So many of us are in utter shock and disbelief that we won't get to see Glen's smiling face the next time that we play his open mic. It really is and will forever be his open stage, because he was the first one to put on these events at the local pub, or bar. The Hare and The Hound was the first place I ever strummed a chord in public, and it was because Glen beleived in me, and made me go up. From there, I moved onto the Velvet Elvis, and each and everytime I got up to play, I'd tear myself down afterwards, only to have Glen's little hand on my shoulder telling me how great it was. It didn't matter if he meant it or not because he just made you feel better no matter what. I can truly say that Glen is the absolute reason that I play music today, and I just can't get my head around the fact that I won't get to tell him how much I love him. This community is going through a very dark time but the world is a better place because of the love we share for him. I'm so sorry I didn't get to see you play last week as the Shwaltz . I have your cd in my truck today, and as I drive around I listen to your words more carefully, and I understand what they mean just a little better. It's so hard to watch everyone hurt the way they do right now because everyone knows how special you are Glen. You're one of the most beautiful people I've ever known, and I will never forget the gift that you've given us. I love you very much my friend, but it's time we say goodbye and let you get home now. We'll all be together one day soon, and when we see eachother, we're going to sing that Guy Clarke song that you introduced me to, okay? This Stoli's for you. Love you Glen.

Tuesday September 16, 2008

2008-09-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

It sounds like this past weekend's Shwaltz event was a huge hit. I was really happy to be gone ip north, but sad to miss so many amazing bands. Next year, I think it's safe to say we will be there with a new set, and some other fun treats. Sean and Brendan played a stripped down set at Isabella's which went great, plus Sean's GF Amanda got up and sang too, which is just lovely. Trish is still gone on her road trip to Portland, and she's been to some amazing spots, and concerts up there too. Apparently she caught M.Ward, and Fleet Foxes. Lucky girl. We miss her and hope she gets back to us soon.

Nothing major to report on the Heartache camp, other than a show that we're part of tomorrow night at Chicago's Diner. This was a last minute gig, and we're doing a stripped down acoustic set, minus T.R which sucks, but we were going to try to jam anyhow, so why not? We've got a new tune we're working on, and although it won't be ready for tomorrow, I think it'll end up on the new album. Speaking of which, our sessions start at the end of October, and I'm praying it all goes swimmingly so we can get this one out right away. Rumour has it that we're doing Vinyl this time around, so that's exciting.

Hope to see you tomorrow, Wednesday Sept 17th at Chicago's Diner on Simcoe St. in Oshawa.

We'll be playing with our dear friends Patrick Dorie, and The Idlers.

Thursday, September 11

2008-09-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

So nothing special to post today, other than the fact that each member of this band will be in very different locations this weekend. We played "The Shwaltz" last year, and it was indeed a shitshow for us. I (Matt) played as though my hands didn't know one chord, and although we may have attempted to look dapper, I was indeed a nervous mess as 2 drunken hobos heckled us before being taken away in handcuffs. This year however, Trish is in Portland, Sean and Brendan are playing a set Saturday night at Isabellas, and I will be gone on my annual golf trip to act like drunken high school students once again. I do wish we could play, but after last night's rehearsal, it's very evident that I have some serious work to do in the vocal department. Regardless, Brendan will be DJing too, so check that website up there and enjoy yourself. It should be grand! Miss you already.

Monday, September 8

2008-09-08T12:04:00.000-07:00

Hey all, hope you're enjoying the remainder of the summer. Thought we'd drop a line to let you know what we've been up to. We're getting ourselves prepared to go back into the studio to start the next record. There's a lot of excitement in our little camp on how the final product is going to sound. Expect something a little different (but still us) on the next one. Our fellow band member, Sean Maclean, has a fan page up and running on facebook. We've always been fans of his, and we think you'll like what you hear also. http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Sean-MacLean/33158241411He'll be playing at Issabellas in downtown Oshawa this Saturday night (September 13th) at 8pm with fellow band member Brendan Lawless, as part of The Shwaltz. More info on that event here:http://www.shwaltz.com/Brendan will also be dj'ing in between acts for the first portion of the Shwaltz in Memorial Park.That's about it from here. Hope you're well,Cheers,TCH p.s. We've also got a show coming up in Toronto in October, we'll send info when we get it.

Monday Sept. 1, 2008

2008-09-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

This is indeed the best picture ever. This is Craig our drummer singing his heart out on stage at his own wedding. I'm not quite sure what song it was, but it was really great. I thought that I'd add a few cool shots from that night up here, because it truly was amazing to be at a wedding with everyone in the band, let alone FOR someone in the band, ya know? That was last week, and I don't think we've even spoken to Craig since, so I hope he didn't leave on tour to start singing for the Mojo's...they're great and all, but we kinda need you for our drummer dude!?

In other fun news, I think this week is our first rehearsal in well over a month, maybe two. I'm really stoked just to be in the same room with everyone to try out some new stuff. Our first tracking session for the new album is a month or so away, so I'm praying I get my shit together and write something new soon. I haven't written a new tune in a long time. Not very happy about that, but time will tell.

That's all for now.

Monday August 25, 2008

2008-08-25T12:25:00.000-07:00

Hi there. My name is Matt and I play guitar and sing in The Champion Heartache. Today is the first day of starting this blog, and I thought it might be fun to write from time to time about things happening with the band. In the past year or so, we finally put out our first LP, played some really nice shows including North By Northeast, met some amazing people, and found out what it's like to make music with your best friends.

Now that we've done all we could to support the first effort, we've taken some time off within the past month or so. Some of us got married, some have gone on trips to Nashville and Portland, while others have stayed put attempting to enjoy the last of the summer months. Autumn is my favorite time of the year, so it's rather fitting that we're going to start tracking the new album at the end of October. We've got 10 tracks at the very least that will make the cut, and possibly some new stuff as we haven't even jammed in over a month. I'm excited to try something new this time around. There's been talk of swapping instruments, and letting other members of the band take on lead vocal duties for some tracks too, which would be awesome. In the meantime, we've all got other things happening. My fiancee Karlie and I have been on the market for a new home, so that's been very consuming. Ideally, our next rehearsal space will be in my own basement! Our bass player Trish Robb has been hard at work on her solo album which will hopefully see the light of day before the new year, and Craig our drummer is on his honeymoon right now. Things have been all over the place this summer, but all in all it's been a great one.

I know I won't be updating this everyday, but if there's something significant to talk about, it'll be here. I hope to get some MP3's posted, and I've even toyed with putting up our first album in it's entirety here. In the meantime, here's a link to our 3 song EP.

We don't have much planned other than the following:

August 28th @ Johnny B Club, Whitby

Matt Holtby & Derek Giberson, Evening Hymns and Human Kind

Sept 11th @ Johnny B Club, Whitby

Sean Maclean, The Side Project

Oct 17 @ The Hideout, Toronto

The Champion Heartache, Joe Roncetti

We'll be back with some updates hopefully, plus a day to day recording blog once we get started. xo.