THE SMUGGLERS TO CELEBRATE 30TH ANNIVERSARY AT AMIGOS IN SASKATOON

THE SMUGGLERS CELEBRATE 30TH ANNIVERSARY ALONGSIDE AMIGOS 30TH ANNIVERSARY ON NOVEMBER 24 - ONE NIGHT ONLY SHOW WITH CHIXDIGGIT AND THE GARRYS

TICKETS ON SALE JUNE 28 AT 10AM MT HERE

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Call it 30/30 hindsight.

Legendary Canadian garage band the Smugglers have announced their 30th anniversary show, a one-night-only event that will take place at Amigos Cantina in Saskatoon, which is also celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2018. The double-anniversary party is set for Saturday November 24, 2018.

"It's amazing how it worked out", says Smugglers lead singer Grant Lawrence, now a CBC broadcaster and bestselling author. "Amigos was the venue that gave us a chance to play in the early years when no other venue would touch us. When we heard that Amigos' 30th anniversary lined up with our band's 30th, we knew right away where we'd be holding the party."

Last year, the Smugglers reunited for the first time in 13 years to celebrate Lawrence's award-winning latest book, Dirty Windshields: The Best And The Worst Of The Smugglers Tour Diaries, which features a chapter about Amigos. The joint 30th anniversary celebration in Saskatoon will be the Smugglers only gig in 2018, their only show in the foreseeable future, and their first time performing at Amigos in over 16 years.

"It's always been our favourite place to play, from the earliest days when no one would show up to those heady times in the 1990s when there would be a line up around the block. Amigos has been really good to us, as they have been to countless other touring and local bands over three decades. We consider Amigos the CBGB of the prairies. With skylights. And hanging plants. And Mexican food."

Joining the Smugglers on the bill will be their good friends Chixdiggit from Calgary, and the Garrys from Saskatoon.

The Smugglers are a garage rock 'n' roll band from Vancouver, primarily active between 1988 - 2004. They have eight albums to their credit on labels like Mint and Lookout Records, and toured across Canada, the USA, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

Amigos was one of the first clubs in Western Canada to book, support, and nurture original, alternative music on a regular basis. Long considered a rock 'n' roll oasis on the prairies, Amigos has been a sought-after destination for bands, music fans, and Mexican food connoisseurs for thirty years.

Tickets for the Smugglers / Amigos 30th anniversary on sale Thursday June 28 at 10am Mountain Time. Tickets are available HERE.  More info can be found HERE.

THE SMUGGLERS ONLINE
www.thesmugglers.com

GRANT LAWRENCE WINS PRESTIGIOUS INTERNATIONAL ‘IPPY’ AWARD

AUTHOR, BROADCASTER, AND MUSICIAN GRANT LAWRENCE RECEIVES INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER (“IPPY”) BOOK AWARD IN NEW YORK FOR DIRTY WINDSHIELDS : THE BEST AND THE WORST OF THE SMUGGLERS TOUR DIARIES

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(Grant Lawrence Accepting ‘IPPY’ Award - May 29, 2018) // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

In a ceremony last night, May 29, 2018, at the legendary Copacabana in Times Square, Canadian author and CBC personality Grant Lawrence won a medal for his latest book, Dirty Windshields: The Best And The Worst Of The Smugglers Tour Diaries (Douglas and McIntyre, 2017).

Dirty Windshields has been awarded the 2018 Independent Publisher Book Awards medal (“IPPY Award”) in the category of Performing Arts (Music/Dance/Cinema/Theatre).

Dirty Windshields is Lawrence’s outrageous non-fiction chronicle of his 14 years of touring the world in the infamous Vancouver garage rock band the Smugglers, for which he was the lead vocalist, frontman, and raconteur.

“Over the years, the Smugglers played plenty of shows in New York, from CBGB to the Roxy to Coney Island High”, remembers Lawrence. “But I have to say, receiving a medal for those sordid stories all these years later, at the Copacabana in Times Square, is something I won’t forget.”

The Copacabana has served as a set for such films as Goodfellas, Raging Bull, and Carlito’s Way, and was the nightclub of choice for the Supremes’ 1965 live album Live At The Copa.

“It was amazing to be in that room full of authors and publishers from all over the world, and to receive an award for a bunch of tour diaries that I scribbled down in Hilroy notebooks twenty years ago”, noted Lawrence.

“The Smugglers tour diaries were originally a deal I made with my dad. The only way he would allow me to be in a touring band was if I promised him I’d write the misery down. So… thanks Dad!”

Lawrence’s previous two books, Adventures in Solitude (Harbour Publishing, 2010) and The Lonely End of the Rink (Douglas and McIntyre, 2013), were both award-winning bestsellers. The 2018 IPPY medal is Lawrence’s first international award for writing.

The “IPPY” Awards launched in 1996 and are designed to recognize excellence in independent publishing, and to bring increased recognition to deserving but often unsung titles published by independent authors and publishers. Established as the first awards program exclusively for independent publishers, thousands of “IPPYs” have been awarded to authors and publishers around the world. Read more about the IPPY Awards here.

More information on Grant Lawrence can be found on his website : www.grantlawrence.ca

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Dirty Windshields Book Cover // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

UPCOMING LIVE EVENTS
Jul 14 - Vancouver, BC - Vancouver Folk Music Festival
Aug 18 - Quadra Island, BC - Heriot Bay Inn
Aug 19 - Gabriola Island, BC - Gabriola Island Arts Festival
Oct 11 - Oct 14 - Whistler, BC - Whistler Writers Festival

THE SMUGGLERS REUNITE IN TORONTO TO LAUNCH GRANT LAWRENCE’S NEW BOOK

THE SMUGGLERS REUNITE FOR A TORONTO SHOW TO LAUNCH LEAD-SINGER, AUTHOR, AND BROADCASTER GRANT LAWRENCE’S NEW MEMOIR, DIRTY WINDSHIELDS : THE BEST AND THE WORST OF THE SMUGGLERS TOUR DIARIES

THE SMUGGLERS LIVE AT THE HORSESHOE TAVERN, JUNE 16, WITH DUOTANG, NEEDLES // PINS, AND THE NEW ENCHANTERS. TICKETS ON SALE NOW

WATCH AND SHARE THE SMUGGLERS “ESPECIALLY YOU” HERE

DIRTY WINDSHIELDS SET FOR RELEASE IN MAY VIA DOUGLAS & MCINTYRE

EARLY PRAISE FOR DIRTY WINDSHIELDS:

“Told with equal parts pride and shame, this uproarious chronicle is the perfect companion to the band’s mega-fun music.” - Ira Robbins, NYC Rock Writer (Rolling Stone, Village Voice, Creem, Trouser Press)

“Dirty Windshields should come with a disclaimer: ‘WARNING: may induce feelings of wanderlust and the itching desire to throw a guitar case into a van and hit the road.” - Will Ferguson, Giller Prize Winner

“I can’t imagine a more perfect rock ‘n’ roll book.” – Tyler Bancroft (Said The Whale)

“An epic tale told by one of rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest storytellers.” – Lisa Marr (Cub)

“Fucking hilarious and a joy to read.” – Allison Robertson (The Donnas)

“Pure teenage rawk angst!” – Nardwuar

PHOTO CREDIT : Aaron Rubin // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

One of Canada's all-time legendary live bands is reuniting to play one of Canada's all-time legendary live venues - June 16 at the Horseshoe Tavern. One night only. Tickets are available to purchase here today.

The Smugglers will play their first Toronto show in over 13 years. The reason for the reunion gig is simple: lead singer, author, and broadcaster Grant Lawrence is finally releasing his memoirs of his hard-charging, international touring years, entitled Dirty Windshields: The Best And The Worst Of The Smugglers Tour Diaries, due out in May from Douglas and McIntyre.

“I’ve been working on this book on and off for over ten years. It’s been a huge labour of love. Reading through and shaping my old tour diaries into a book has been both rewarding and embarrassing, much like my career with the Smugglers,” Lawrence jokes.

“I hoped we’d do a Toronto gig to launch the book, and the Horseshoe Tavern was the natural choice. It’s not only one of our favourite places and a historic musical landmark, but a club that holds a special place in our hearts for supporting us very early on. We did a string of New Year's Eve gigs at the 'Shoe that we'll never forget."

Joining the Smugglers at the Horseshoe will be Mint Records label mates past and present, including Needles//Pins from Vancouver and old friends Duotang from Winnipeg. “The first time we ever performed at the Horseshoe, Duotang played with us, so it's pretty cool to have them on the show more than 20 years later." Also on the bill is the New Enchanters, featuring Classy Craig Daniels of the Leather Uppers.

 

MORE ABOUT GRANT LAWRENCE
Grant Lawrence is an award-winning author, CBC personality, singer, and columnist. His new book, Dirty Windshields, is his third. His previous books are Adventures In Solitude (Harbour Publishing, 2010) and The Lonely End of the Rink (Douglas & McIntyre, 2013). At the CBC, Grant is known mostly for his work with the groundbreaking Radio 3 and their championing of Canadian independent music. Previously, he worked as an indie label publicist and as a concert promoter. At age 19, he co-promoted one of the Commodore Ballroom’s most legendary shows: the Screaming Trees, Nirvana, the Doughboys and the Wongs in 1991. Grant is the lead singer of the Smugglers and the goalie for the Flying Vees beer league hockey team. He is married to musician Jill Barber and they live in Vancouver, BC, with their two children.

MORE ABOUT THE SMUGGLERS
Formed when most of the members were still in high school in West Vancouver, The Smugglers came of age during the grunge explosion, and came into their own in the pop-punk heyday of the mid-1990s while on Mint Records in Canada Lookout Records in the USA. Releasing eight albums over the years of 1988-2004, the band's booze-fuelled, sweaty, and famously energetic live shows (complete with dancing and kissing contests) took them across Canada, the USA, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Along the way, the "Canadian Ambassadors of Rock 'n' Roll" collided with the Hives, Mudhoney, the Queers, Supersnazz, Fugazi, the Dwarves, thee Headcoats, the Mr. T Experience, the Mummies and many more.