You Say Sign On The Dotted Line!
Despite the fact that bassist Stephen O’Shea can’t enter the U.S. for the next five years (note to self: don’t give border guards fake recording contracts), Vancouver’s You Say Party! We Say Die! has just landed a deal with Toronto’s Paper Bag Records, home to fast-rising acts such as Tokyo Police Club, Magneta Lane, and Uncut. According to You Say Party! cofounder and keyboardist Krista Loewen, the band met with several Canadian companies but decided on the Toronto indie label.

“With the other bands that are on Paper Bag, it just seemed to make the most sense for us,” says Loewen by cellphone as she walks to a bona fide recording session in Vancouver. “Hopefully it will be the next step in getting a little more exposure.”

With the U.S. ban, Loewen says that the band is focusing on other markets such as Europe. “In England, they love the fact that we’re banned in the States,” she says. “So it has almost worked to our advantage.”

You Say Party! is also doing extraordinarily well in Japan, where its video for “The Gap” recently hit the top 50 on Space Shower—Japan’s MTV—ahead of heavy hitters such as Beyoncé, Boyz II Men, and Gnarls Barkley. “Yeah, we’re two ahead of Justin Timberlake or something,” says Loewen. “That just cracks me up.” The band’s next album, Lose All Time , will be released on Paper Bag in April.

> Jennifer Van Evra

Mother Mother
The label ink has also been flowing for the Vancouver band Mother Mother, which has just signed on with Montreal boutique label Last Gang, which represents Canadian favourites such as Metric, MSTKRFT, and Death From Above 1979. Mother Mother—previously named Mother—is known for its lush harmonies, its sharp lyrics, and its quirky mix of sounds that range from country to psychedelia to pure pop. Mother Mother’s first album on Last Gang, Touch Up , is being released in Canada on February 20.

> Jennifer Van Evra

The Fun Stops Here
While several Vancouver bands are inking new deals, the good times are over for fans of the party-rock band Fun 100. Ryan Dyck, who founded the group with his brother in 2000, cites several reasons for the band’s imminent breakup. One member is doing a master’s degree in science and won’t be able to tour; the band also incurred a devastating financial loss when a wheel fell off their van and caused them to miss 11 gigs last fall. But mostly, the musicians felt the group had run its course. “We just wanted to end it on a high note instead of hating each other,” says Dyck, who plans to finish his design degree and has already formed a new band with his brother and two former members of Fuck Me Dead. “This way, we’ll play a good show and still leave as friends.”

Fun 100 is performing its final show with the Doers, SIDS, and the Badamps at the Mount Pleasant Community Centre on Saturday (February 3).

> Jennifer Van Evra