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• Painting The Roses
  
  CD - $11.99
• Four Days Awake
  
  CD - $11.99
• Invocation
  
  CD - $11.99

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No other merchandise for sale from Canvas.

Hometown: Austin, Texas, United States

Influences: Janes Addiction, Mazzy Star, Morphine

Website: http://www.canvas-online.com

Our Story:

Canvas began in fledgling form some 7 years ago in San Francisco as the brainchild of singer-songwriter Joseph King. After a couple of years of touring the West Coast Joseph and friends chose to break out of the West Coast circuit and move to the vibrant bohemian music scene in Austin, Texas. Shortly after moving to Austin in 1999, King augmented his line-up with established Austin musicians: Scott Thomas on drums (who at the time was the drummer for Dexter Freebish), Julian Mandrake on guitar, and Brad Byram on bass and backing vocals. Close to a year after their inception the band wrote and recorded their first album, “Invocation”, which they recorded in the band’s garage. With a rigorous touring schedule throughout the Texas region they earned a rabid cult following and sold over 2,000 copies of their first endeavor. In 2002 they entered the studio to record their second album, “Four Days Awake”, with veteran producer Stuart Sullivan (Sublime, the Butthole Surfers, Meat Puppets). Upon completion of the record they toured Texas as well as the Midwest and South, expanding their audiences almost exponentially. Throughout this time of playing to packed houses regionally, Canvas received regular radio play in several markets and nurtured fruitful relationships with radio stations, venues, and other successful touring bands, earning the collective respect of the music scene while cultivating a diverse and committed audience. While touring in support of “Four Days Awake” Joseph spent much of his off time playing solo acoustic shows and honing his songwriting skills. He surrounded himself with highly respected veteran Austin artists such as David Garza, Johnny Goudie and Justin Furstenfeld (Blue October). Through the encouragement and challenge brought on by his new cohorts he started focusing on a direction for a new record. By the summer of 2004, King and his band mates found themselves with an album’s worth of the strongest songs they had created to date. By the end of 2004 they entered the studio with a new vision and confidence to make their third album, “Painting The Roses”, this time enlisting fellow songwriter/musician and close friend Johnny Goudie to help mold the sound of the new record. "Painting The Roses", is a departure from previous sounds and promises to invite a new sphere of music fans into their already vibrant scene. The sound of “Roses” seems to be more focused and mature, demonstrating a deep continuity in songwriting, instrumentation and vibe. The textural content of the album, influenced strongly by Goudie’s involvement, features an array of warm sounds, ranging from Rhodes piano to omnichord, slide guitar to ultra dry, in–your-ear vocal performances. The musicianship of Thomas, Byram and Mandrake is superbly creative on this album, providing a rich rock and roll palate for King’s diverse lyrical indulgences. “She says the writing’s on the wall/ She makes a space for you to crawl/ Hotel room she’s on the floor/ She waits for you to lock the door” is the opening line of the first track on the album, “Pretty Please”, written over a moody drum loop and simple slide guitar melody that gives way to an unabashed rock song. This is followed by a break beat remix of old Canvas favorite “Come Down”, and then the tragically reflective “Priscilla Is Sleeping” which is set to a rock anthem tune reminiscent of late U2. A gritty cover of the Morphine song “Thursday” marks the middle of the album, while the haunting “Lullaby” personifies the darker, groovier mood of the later part of “Roses”. Songs such as the Britpop anthem "Daylight Resolution", the Beatles-meets-spaghetti western "Melancholy Lover", and the catholic confessional, “And What’s For Sure”, are glimpses into the direction and breadth of the new record, set to be released in mid-May of 2005 .

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