What could have lured the band away from Canadian cottage country and into confined city spaces on that hot summer week? An invitation from legendary rock ‘n’ roll svengali Andrew Loog Oldham to enlist in his international orchestral army and reinvent a classic yet oft-overlooked tune by the Rolling Stones from “Between the Buttons.”

Mr Oldham is best known as the discoverer and mastermind of the Stones, producing their string of early monster hits including “Satisfaction”, “Last Time” and “Ruby Tuesday” while guiding them to superstardom. He’s also the maestro behind the epic arrangement sampled by the Verve in “Bittersweet Symphony”.

The High Dials and Andrew have been mutual admirers since way back in 2005 when he appeared unannounced at one of their shows in Vancouver. Years of vague plans to do something creative together finally took shape as the band put their reworking of “She Smiled Sweetly” to tape.

In addition to managing the Stones and other legends like the Small Faces and Marianne Faithful at the height of the 20th century pop explosion, Mr Oldham dabbled in instrumental music, which he released as “The Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra” on his ultra-hip and sadly defunct label Immediate.

The High Dials are in good company, joining the likes of Gryff Rhys (Super Furry Animals), Johnny Marr (the Smiths), Al Kooper, Elliot Easton (The Cars), Vashti and Gary Lucas in participating in the project.

A video for The High Dials collaboration is in production. The album is slated for a Spring release. Expect a sneak preview of the song on this site in the coming weeks. According to Trevor, “our take is a pretty big departure from the original, with electronic and orchestral touches, plenty of High Dials swirl, and a downbeat church vibe.”

After the great reception to their unplugged set at the Osheaga War Child benefit during the summer, the band decided to do an encore acoustic performance.

Expect some surprise song choices from the High Dials back catalogue and a very reinvented Christmas carol.

The boys send season’s greetings to their friends and fans around the world. May 2012 be a good one!

Hey High Dials fans, do some good this holiday season and vote “Teenage Love Made Me Insane” Coolest Song of the Year on Little Steven’s Underground Garage!

The lead track from the Dials’ latest LP has been nominated as best song of the year (!) and now the band needs your help to make it the winner.

All nominated songs are posted HERE. Voting begins today and ends on December 23rd. You can vote multiple times (once every 24 hours), so be sure to vote often!

With each vote, you can enter the draw to win a trip to The Hard Rock Café in San Diego, California. The contest winner will receive: airfare for two to San Diego, a 4-day/3-night stay at The Hard Rock, and 500 resort dollars. Just follow the contest banner after voting.

The winner will be announced on January 2nd during Kid Leo’s show on Sirius XM-21 (4-7pm).

Teenage Love Made Me Insane by The High Dials

“Inside Lara Roxx” tells the story of 21-year-old girl who left her hometown of Montreal and headed to L.A to try and make a ton of cash in the adult entertainment industry. Within two months she contracted the most virulent form of HIV while performing sex in front of the camera. Miss Roxx’s story created a media sensation, but it’s when the media hype dies that “Inside Lara Roxx begins” – in a psychiatric ward in Montreal.

The film opens on Friday, November 25 and screens everyday at 3:10 PM and 7:15 PM (except Monday) @ CINEMA PARALLELE (Ex-Centris: 3536 Boulevard St-Laurent).

Some samples from the score:

Lara Roxx Theme by The High Dials

Streets of Montreal by The High Dials

Lara on the Beach by The High Dials

This means they will be rocking and rolling stateside over the next few weeks, including two appearances in New York City. Some Canadian gigs have even been thrown into the mix so no one feels left out.

Catch the band live at the following places and times:

October 21, 2011 – New York, NY CMJ showcase @ The Local 269 (269 Houston St)

October 22, 2011 – Greenfield, MA The Arts Block (289 Main St.)

November 8, 2011 – Montreal, QC La Sala Rosa (EARLY SET w/ Wooden Shjips)

November 12, 2011 – New York, NY Fontana’s (105 Eldridge St.)

November 19, 2011 – Sherbrooke, QC La Petite Boite Noire (85 Albert)

Celebrated Montreal photographer Susan Moss got some great photos of the High Dials live at their recent performance at the Osheaga Music Festival in Montreal.

You can check out the gallery HERE. Her website is strongly recommended to music lovers for all the other great moments she captured over the weekend.

The band has also uploaded some cool footage on YouTube. Have a peek at the home videos of “Uruguay” and “Invisible Choirs”.

Hometown fans who missed the band perform at Osheaga this summer will get another chance to catch the band live at Le Divan Orange next week. (Thursday, August 25th)

Very special guest Kim Bingham (ex Me, Mom & Morgentaler/Mudgirl) kicks off the show. Doors are at 8pm.

For updates and details, be sure to check in at the Facebook event.

This is the band’s last live performance before they take the stage at CMJ in New York City in the fall.

More details on that and other news to come soon.

The High Dials want to thank all the fans who came out to catch them live at the Osheaga Festival in Montreal yesterday afternoon.

The band received an enthusiastic hometown welcome and performed a memorable 30-minute set of fan favorites, featuring special guest and frequent studio addition Josh Fuhrman on saxophone in “A River Haunting”, “Uruguay” and “Invisible Choirs”.

After a special acoustic set to help raise money for War Child Canada, the boys capped off their eventful day hanging out with the very cool and generous Mr. Elvis Costello- yeah!

(Photo by Marieve Petit, left to right: Josh Fuhrman, George Donoso, Elvis Costello, Trevor Anderson).

If you won’t be at the Osheaga Festival you can still help the band reach their modest goal by donating ONLINE here. Money collected through online donations and on site will support an award-winning charity that provides humanitarian assistance to over 250,000 children and families affected by war each year. War Child works with children in some of the most devastated regions of the world to reduce poverty, provide education and to defend and fight for their rights.

The band is about to come out of their creative cocoon for some select dates in July, culminating in a not-to-be-missed appearance at the OSHEAGA FESTIVAL in Montreal July 30. Catch them live on the following dates:

July 10th, 2011 – Sorel-Tracy, QC (Festival de la Gibelotte)

July 16th, 2011 – Toronto, ON (The Silver Dollar)

July 27th, 2011 – Ottawa, ON (Zaphod Beeblebrox w/ guests TBA)

July 30th, 2011 – Montreal, QC OSHEAGA MUSIC FEST (w/ Eminem, Flaming Lips, Elvis Costello and more!)