THREE-SONG LIVE PERFORMANCE VIDEO!
April 5, 2022
The last time I performed in front of people was November 30, 2019. It was a private gig at the Rehearsal Factory on Richmond Street right here in Toronto. I played a set with Boxcar Sh’onn accompanying me on ukulele, Chris MacDonald also played a set, as did our good friend David Lee Burdon who was in town visiting. JDM set up a couple of cameras to document the night. We all played a few sets, as well as collaborated on some tracks as the night went on. Here’s a three-song video from my set. What makes this even more special is that the building where this was filmed is no longer a rehearsal space.
RANCID TRIBUTE + BACKSTAGE WITH K3NN3DY & PLANET LIZZDOM INTERVIEWS!
November 24, 2021
Hey hey! Last week I officially release LET ME GO: AN ACOUSTIC-PUNK TRIBUTE TO RANCID. Featuring 20 Canadian bands and artists all doing acoustic covers of Rancid songs. The line up features The Matchup, Chuck Coles, Emily Bones, Cactus Vella, Ty Trumbull, Andrew Yeo, Stacey & Phil, Mudie, Cindy Caron, Calhoun, Hackles, Jon Creeden, Dragon City Radio, John Di Marco, Valerie Knox, Cud Eastbound, The Little Deaths, Boxcar Sh’onn, Mikey And His Uke, and Chris Veinot. The comp is a free download available on bandcamp at this link. The good people at That’s Good Enough For Me recently did a track-by-track review of the comp. It;s a long, but fun read, and can be found right here.
I was recently a guest on the Backstage with K3NN3DY show for a second time. Check it out here. As well, I was also a guest on Planet Lizzdom. We talked for an hour about all sorts of stuff. You can watch it at this link.
“YONGE” EP AVAILABLE NOW + MUSIC VIDEO, INTERVIEW
September 4, 2020
Hey everyone. I am stoked to let you all know that my new 2-song EP “Yonge” was released last week by Little Rocket Records. We had a great first week! Thank you to everyone who’s checked it out. It’s available on all of your streaming platforms like Spotify, and YouTube. It’s also available to download on iTunes and Bandcamp.
Equally exciting is the release of my new music video for the track “Ship Wreck”. The video was directed by Dominique Girouard (who also directed my video for “Touch The Ground”), and was shot in my tool shed. We shot during the peak of COVID-19 and locations weren’t an option. Neither was having a crew. Dom handled all of the production duties himself. The video was a lot of fun to film and I think it shows in the final edit. Our friends at Punknews.org premiered the video last Friday on their site.
I was recently interviewed on the Apologue Podcast hosted by my old friend Simon Head. It was a great interview as Simon and I have some history together. I was one of the first artists to record in Simon’s studio back in 1997. We talk about that and many other things. The podcast is available everywhere you would fins all of your favorites at. Or click here to check it out.
Posted by Dyingscene.com on Friday, July 25, 2014 at 10:48 AM (PST)
In good news, the guys in Toronto punk act The Class Assassins have released a music video for their song “Start Again.” In not so good news, they have also announced the departure of longtime guitarist Cactus Vella, who is leaving the band to focus on his solo work.
The music video and a statement from Vella can be found below.
“Start Again” appears on The Class Assassins’ Treason 7-inch, which was released back in 2011 through Rebel Time Records. The band’s latest release, a 9-minute ‘concept single’ entitled The Addiction & The Solution came out last March.
DOGS “NIGHTRIDER” MUSIC VIDEO
April 19, 2014
Back in 2006 the Dogs recorded what was supposed to be our debut album at Rumenal Records. The sessions were lost and we were left with the raw unmixed recordings. We never released them. Recently JDM put together this music video for the track “Nightrider”from that very session. The song and video are a tribute to the 1979 movie Mad Max. Click here to check out the video.
Last month we returned to the recording studio, this time choosing to work with Dave Baksh at the Gentlemens Den. We recorded three songs and plan on releasing them as our debut 7inch this summer on Rubber Factory Records.
EXCLAIM TV PERFORMANCE
June 5, 2013
Posted by http://exclaim.ca Tue June 4, 2013
Over the past two decades, Toronto rocker Cactus Vella has been spreading his passionate brand of punk, but has recently shifted his focus to acoustic music. He has merged this newfound passion with his old one, and accordingly, labeled it “acoustic punk.”
The term fits his new music perfectly, as we learned when he came by our back patio to record a session. The song, “Ship Wreck,” has yet to appear on an album, but its full of Vella’s trademarks, including a strong nautical theme, gruff vocals, and a simple-yet-effective chord pattern. Watch the video below. Read the rest of this entry »
BLOG: Exclaim shoot & Whiskey Hearts music video
April 29, 2013
This past weekend I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Exclaim headquarters to film a few songs. The shoot took place on the back patio in the same spot where Chuck Ragan was filmed a year earlier. I performed “Summer Nights” and my newest song “Ship Wreck”. It was pretty cool playing back there, and the neighbors seemed to enjoy it. The two-man crew were great to work with, and I’m very thankful for the experience. Exclaim will post one of these videos on their website in the near future.
Whiskey Hearts recently filmed our debut music video with director Brendan Coutts. Brendan was the guitarist in the Ontario based punk band The Heatskores. But more than that he is an exceptionally talented director.
The video was shot at The Press Club during a Whiskey Hearts event. The crowd was unaware of the video shoot for the most part. The end result is a very honest music video. The video also features our good friend and part-time Whiskey Heart Lionel Stanley on the Mandolin.
The good folk at Exclaim were kind enough to premier our debut music video for us!
Check it out the article here. Or go straight to the video here.
Cactus Vella Music 
