DIE MANNEQUIN AND DEARLY BELOVED’S CROSS CANADA TOUR

Chaos, tempered by love and delivered with great fury. That’s Dearly Beloved. And when they collide with their friends in Die Mannequin what you have is a pairing of daring, gargantuan rock bands, stomping all over North America on tours, leaving past record labels round the bend, and finally – coming together for what could already be the Canadian Rock Tour of the Year.

Newly signed to eOne Music Canada, Dearly Beloved’s new album Hawk vs Pigeon was recorded in Joshua Tree, California at Rancho De La Luna and the band’s Phoebe Street Studios. Coming out on May 22nd, the album is dominated by band member Rob Higgins’ rebirth of sorts and a disappearance to the desert for a recharge and a rethink on mortality. Partner in music and life-long friend Niva Chow and new drummer Gavin Maguire extend the spirit of barrier-trashing rock innovation, coming together for what is most certainly their most fully-formed album of their career. Hawk vs. Pigeon features guest appearances by Dave Catching of Eagles Of Death Metal /Earthlings?, Brendan Canning of Broken Social Scene and Patrick Pentland of Sloan.

Cutting his teeth in seminal indie rock bands like Change of Heart and Tristan Psionic while Niva was wowing crowds in the punk band, Sticky Rice, their chops were put to good use on Dearly Beloved’s first LP, You Are The Jaguar”, where the band played 40 shows in 60 days across Canada in 2007, and a slew of shows in the US with Juliette Lewis and Sloan to promote their They Will Take Up Serpents album in 2011.

At the centerpiece of Hawk vs. Pigeon is a genuine heart-stopper – “To Better Days” an intensely personal song of inspiration and future building in more ways than one. Care and Tony from Die Mannequin perform on the song, and it’s a call to arms that resonates with both bands.

Die Mannequin is a group not without their own dramas. They started in the spring of 2006 when Failure recorded her first EP, How to Kill. Death from Above 1979’s Jesse F. Keeler took care of the drum duties as well as production. Die Mannequin opened for Guns N’ Roses on the Canadian dates of their 2006 North American Tour, and supported Sum 41 on their Strength in Numbers tour during the fall of 2007.

2009’s Fino + Bleed marked Die Mannequin’s first true studio album, and things get a little bit eventful after that. The record was produced by Matt Hyde (Slayer, Children Of Bodom, No Doubt) and mixed by Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne) and features Jack Irons (Pearl Jam, RHCP, The Wallflowers) on drums. Two massive tours followed, one headlining, and one supporting Marilyn Manson. In 2010 director Bruce McDonald started to work on his acclaimed film Hard Core Logo sequel – Die Mannequin was his first choice in carrying the torch of the original films’ group which featured Hugh Dillon as Joe Dick.

In this follow-up film Bruce McDonald (reprising his role as himself), sets out to follow Care Failure (who claims to be channeling the spirit of Joe Dick) and her band Die Mannequin out to Manitou Beach, Saskatchewan in the dead of winter to document their new recording at the famous Danceland ballroom. While filming Hard Core Logo 2, Bruce set up the production so that the band was actually recording new tracks live off the studio floor with legendary Canadian producer Peter Moore (Neil Young, Diana Krall, Cowboy Junkies). HCLII wrapped up production 2011 and is now set to hit theaters across Canada this week and will launch Die Mannequin onto a whole new fanbase.

On June 12^th, The Danceland EP entitled features new songs along with tracks recorded during the filming of Hard Core Logo 2. The music is raw and stunning, and represents a group that is starting to enter the zenith of their career.