Dave Bidini knows his Canadian trivia.

As he prepares for his band's 11-night "Marathon Of Songs" at the Horseshoe, running next Wednesday through Nov. 7, it's also clear The Rheostatics singer-guitarist, author, and sports fanatic likes a challenge.

The Rheostatics' residency will just fall short of a previous record set by Stompin' Tom Connors in the '70s.

"Ours is a modern record!" Bidini contests with a laugh. "See, it's like in baseball: Tom set his record in the dead-ball era. No, it's wholly unofficial, but maybe it sets a bit of a mark for the Johnny-come-lately to want to beat in a few years.

"We did think about doing 20 nights, but we didn't want to come across as these excessive hogs."

Keepers of the Canadian art-rock flame for two decades -- having

started when principal members Bidini, singer-guitarist Martin Tielli, and singer-guitarist Tim Vesely had yet to finish puberty -- The Rheos have in the past put in week-long stretches at the 'Shoe and defunct clubs Ted's Wrecking Yard and Ultrasound, turning them into events for a small-ish but dedicated legion of followers, known as "Green Sprouts."

A 10-day pass will be made available for fans, particularly those who Bidini says trek from all over Canada and the U.S.

The shows also mark the launch of The Rheos' new album, Night Of The Shooting Stars.

Composed of angular rock and rootsy, acoustic melodies, it's a comparatively conventional record from a band whose earlier musical escapades have included a musical children's story (1999's inspired The Story Of Harmelodia) and a mid-'90s project inspired by Group Of Seven paintings.

Night Of The Shooting Stars is almost novel in its straightforwardness.

"(The Story Of Harmelodia) was taxing," says Bidini. "Almost like mounting a musical, trying to get all the different players to show up at the right times, to layer the string section and edit the narration. It was a two-year project and we realized we didn't want to go through the exhaustive nature of that again. "

For Night Of The Shooting Stars, by contrast, Bidini says, jokingly, "This is just a bunch of songs thrown together. No concept! Just a bunch of shallow words put to stupid music!"

Bidini, who admits that The Rheostatics have always maintained "lives outside the rock 'n' roll," recently published On A Cold Road, a non-fictional reflection of life for Canadian touring bands, and Tropic Of Hockey, a study of that sport's emergence around the world.

Next summer he'll move with his wife and child to Italy for a few months to coach baseball and research a book in a small town called Nettuno, near Rome.

"The Allies brought the game there in World War II," says the singer, himself of Tuscan descent. "The town is known to the whole of Italy as the place where the crazy baseball people live. Kids, old men, everyone plays. The game has really taken hold. They go into Rome, Parma, and Bologne they kick ass." (More on: The Rheostatics).