Paper Lions (formerly the Chucky Danger Band) is a Canadian indie rock band, formed in Belfast, Prince Edward Island in 2004 by singer and guitarist John MacPhee, drummer David Cyrus MacDonald, guitarist Colin Buchanan and bass guitarist Rob MacPhee. John and Rob MacPhee are brothers, and Buchanan grew up next door to them. They met MacDonald in high school.[1] The band is now based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Their debut full-length album is Colour, released in 2006.
They won the 2006 East Coast Music Award for Pop Recording of the Year for their EP 6-pack.
They received three nominations at the 2007 East Coast Music Awards: Group Recording of the Year, Single of the Year ("Marching Machine"), and Rock Recording of the Year.
Their third release, Chucky Danger, was released August 29, 2007.
They were nominated for four awards at the 2008 East Coast Music Awards.[2]
On February 21, 2008, the band announced on their Myspace blog that they were changing their name to Paper Lions.
Since changing their name to Paper Lions, the band has completed several tours including a 7-show tour with idiosyncratic American band, Cake, and have released their new album Trophies, which has garnered a lot of attention from media and the music industry. Their song "Stay Here for a While" made them finalists in the 2010 John Lennon Songwriting Competition.[3]
Paper Lions have also been featured on CBC Radio, having their video for their single "Lost the War" nominated for a 2010 CBC Radio 3 Bucky Award.[4]
Their radio interest has paved the way for television interest including performing on September 29, 2010 on MTV Live[5] and having "Lost the War" featured in several episodes of the hit ABC show, Greek.[6]
In 2010 Paper Lions were selected to perform at the 2010 World Expo in China,[7] as well as at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, BC, and at the 2010 Paralympics in Whistler, BC.
Since signing to a label in September 2010 for the official release of their album Trophies, the band has seen none of the proceeds from record sales. In February 2012, the band announced on their website that they have now independently released their album and are giving it away for free via digital download. As yet the band has not divulged the name of the label to which they had signed or whether they were still associated with them.
However, this story has a happy ending, since Paper Lions revealed that the MuseBox has now contacted them and that the band will get any money that they're owed. The confusion reportedly stemmed from staff changeover and the closure of the label's Canadian offices. [9]
Paper Lions have shared the stage with The Golden Dogs, Cake, No Joy, Hot Hot Heat, Electric Six, Collective Soul, CCR, The Watchmen, Pennywise, Coheed and Cambria, Bad Religion, Kim Mitchell, Loverboy, The Rheostatics and many more.
Discography
* Two Brothers, A Major, and a Minor (2003) * 6-pack EP (2004) * Colour (2006) * Chucky Danger (2007) * Trophies (2010) * At Long Creek (2012)
.......................
Paper Lions Give Away Record for Free After Not Getting Paid by Label March 01, 2010
"TROPHIES" 2010, offered free by the band...
By Alex Hudson
These are tough times for bands and record labels alike, and you don't need some industry expert to tell you that album sales aren't nearly as profitable as they once were. Despite the decline, Prince Edward Island pop rockers Paper Lions are evidently a little baffled that they haven't received any money from their label for their 2010 EP Trophies.
The album was released through MB3 Records (the record label division of the management/publicity company the MuseBox) and distributed through EMI.
In a post on Paper Lions'official website, they write, "We have yet to see a paycheque for a single record sold by them. If you bought our record on Amazon or iTunes, or even at a record store, we didn't get that money. We don't know why. We don't know if it's being held somewhere, or if it's been spent.
"We asked ourselves, what do we do now? Hire a lawyer? That would cost a lot of money and take a lot of time. Ultimately, we just want people to hear the music. And in reality, this experience has given us an excuse to do something we've wanted to do for a long time."
"So we've decided to give Trophies away in exchange for your email address. And we feel pretty good about it."
So yes, the band have opted to give the record away for free, since they own the masters. You can download it from the widget embedded below.
Confusingly, the Paper Lions' original post didn't single out the label by name, and our original review of the album listed the label as Common Law Records. In a post on Reddit, the band clarified that Common Law Records was simply a bank account created for tax purposes (to keep performance income and record sales separate), and that that the label was indeed MB3.
However, this story has a happy ending, since Paper Lions revealed that the MuseBox has now contacted them and that the band will get any money that they're owed. The confusion reportedly stemmed from staff changeover and the closure of the label's Canadian offices.