Texting MacKenzie is an Ontario band looking to broaden its horizons with a new tour west.
"We've played almost every decent and not-so-decent venue in Guelph," said band spokesperson Robin Jools Wright.
"Other memorable dates have been playing with Malajube, Young Rival, Jean-Paul de Roover and Forest City Lovers.
"Every major city in Canada has been played, with favourites including Neptoon Records in Vancouver, Arts Bank in Bruno, the Boathouse in Kitchener, and the Paragon (Marquee) in Halifax.
"This tour (which includes a stop at 5th Avenue Cup & Saucer in Yorkton Thursday, June 9) also has us playing at the Campbell River Festival in B.C.."
Texting MacKenzie includes guitarist Jools Wright, originally from Saskatoon, along with bassist Alex Ricci and drummer Christian Ingelevics both from Ontario.
The band has been one which has actually been developed over a number of years.
In 2006, Robin (on bass) and Christian played in a Toronto band Readable Ink, then started to jam on Robin's original songs with James Turner on bass and Kayte Toner on additional vocals.
The band took a hiatus until early 2009 and reformed in Guelph with Liam McKenna on drums, and Alex Ricci on bass. After Liam's departure in 2010 (shortly after the release of the debut album Quoi de Neuf?), original member Christian rejoined and they toured all of Canada and released a follow-up album Karateka.
"Karateka was definitely a group effort," said Jools Wright. "Alex and I wrote the skeleton for the songs, but the band and co-producer Robert Blank brought the layers needed to make a finished product.
"Due to financial and schedule restraints, sessions were sparsely laid out through time, starting with weekends in June 2010, and then the remaining bits in that early winter. Mixing and mastering, as well as getting the art together took about three-weeks."
The CD was recorded at Junkrat Productions, in a town an hour north of Guelph called Dornoch.
"The songs were laid down live off the floor without vocals, then everything else was added in the very same studio," said Jools Wright. "No digital edits or false alterations were added on the album.
Everything you hear, with the exception of a few guest musicians, were played and overdubbed by the band themselves.
"We try not to sound too different from the live experience, but still like to throw in some extra surprises for the home listener. Working as a team, the recording process was actually rather pleasant and painless -- at least the second time because we started practicing more."
Jools Wright said the newest disk is a solid effort.
"I can't speak on behalf of the band entirely, but if we weren't proud of it, we wouldn't bring it into the light of day," she said. "I am more proud of this due to the collaborative and experimental nature of the record. And as proud as I am of Quoi de Neuf?, it was more of a solo record with all the parts thought up in advance. On Karateka, we were open to fooling around."
