TORONTO GROUP ROCK PLAZA CENTRAL SIGN TO PAPER BAG RECORDS FOR FORTHCOMING RELEASE
Toronto group Rock Plaza Central has found a new label home with Canadian indie pioneers Paper Bag Records, and are set to release their third album on June 16th in the US. At The Moment Of Our Most Needing, Or If Only They Could Turn Around, They Would Know They Weren’t Alone is the follow-up to 2006’s critically acclaimed Are We Not Horses?. Unlike its predecessor the album steers away from a concept but is heavily influenced by William Falkner’s Light In August.
In 2003, Chris Eaton, author of The Inactivist and The Grammar Architect (Insomniac Press), booked a show at Toronto’s fabled Sneaky Dee’s. Without anything but his guitar and some songs ideas, he asked members of the other bands on the bill to join him on stage with old friend Donald Murray and drummer Blake Howard. Without even knowing each other’s names, something clicked. Two weeks later, they were in the studio.
Rock Plaza Central’s profile grew quickly after a pair of glowing reviews from Pitchfork Media. Their independently released disc, Are We Not Horses?, made many top ten lists for the year, including #8 for CMJ Editor-in-Chief Kenny Herzog, Pitchfork staff writer Stephen Deusner (receiving an 8.4-rated album review on the site) and Americana-UK lead writer David Cowling. In early 2007, they received additional attention for their cover of the Justin Timberlake song “SexyBack”.
At The Moment Of Our Most Needing, Or If Only They Could Turn Around, They Would Know They Weren’t Alone, was produced by Dale Morningstar and recorded at The Gas Station on Toronto Island over the summer of 2008.
“We’re really excited to finally be working with our friends at Paper Bag,” says Chris Eaton. “It’s great to be on a label with a bunch of other bands you respect and could see sharing the stage with some day. That’s what a label should be: a community of artists working together towards some common goal of good music. I like it.”
Paper Bag Records is a Canadian-owned record label based out of Toronto that came out of the gates with a bang by developing and releasing the debut albums from Canadian Indie darlings Broken Social Scene and Stars. Additions to the roster are a true reflection of their interest in supporting a diverse roster of talent, and include The Acorn, Tokyo Police Club, Woodhands, Laura Barrett, You Say Party! We Say Die!, Slim Twig and Winter Gloves. The label has also had the pleasure of working with Scandinavian artists Under Byen and Sally Shapiro on their releases in North America.
Paper Bag Records was voted “Best Toronto Record Label” by NOW Magazine, Best of 2008 and #14 best indie label in XLR8R Magazine.