Double post today as I'll be away from the desk tomorrow. I thought we'd get a bit political for our last installment. Check out Protest The Hero playing "These Colours Don't Run" at seven spots across Toronto (one of our glorious cities), rallying against the American military presence in war-torn countries. The band hates this song now, but I've still got a soft spot for it considering the first time I saw them, Kezia wasn't even a twinkle in the eye. Thanks for tuning in!
Stan Rogers' "Barrett's Privateers" is one of my favourite pub anthems, probably in large part due to my dad's love of the man and his catalogue. Coincidentally (or is it?), the Stan Rogers Music Festival is happening in NS this very weekend. This one fills me with pride, and also makes me want to cling mugs with my good friends. How fitting it's Friday...
Hope everyone enjoyed the fireworks/music/beer/sunburns yesterday. Today's installment comes in the shape of the regionalism of Buck 65, performing "Roses and Bluejays" at the ECMAs back in 2003. Such a talented artist - and 100 per cent Canadian.
Happy birthday to our home and native land. What better way to celebrate than a live version of The Guess Who's "Share The Land"... performed at the Gery Cup... when it appears to have been sub-zero... with Burton Cummings looking like he enjoyed a few too many bottles of Moosehead the night before? This one is 100% Canadian - for your listening pleasure.
We had to go down the country road at least once for our friends out west, and Paul Brandt's Canada Day performance on Parliament Hill dedicated to Terry Fox seemed like a good fit.
Michael Jackson isn’t who he is because of Thriller. Thriller is what it is because of who Michael Jackson is. It was always the man who made the music that changed modern entertainment and reenergized the music industry.
So I think it was a given that Stompin' Tom would show up in my seven-part Canadiana series in celebration of Canada Day on Wednesday. I'll bet most would have assumed "The Hockey Song" would be the obvious choice, but being out here on PEI, this one hits a little closer to home - and is every bit as Canadian.
I figure with July 1st slicing this week in half, we should celebrate with some live performances from bands that leak Canadiana. The first installment goes to the Weakerthans' lovingly-ironic "One Great City!" For the record, Mr. Samson doesn't really hate Winnipeg.
While not Canadian, and not always a public doll, Michael Jackson's impact on the global music industry is undeniable, and so today, the King of Pop gets honourary Canadian citizenship from CM.
Michael passed away yesterday at the relatively young age of 50. I don't think I've seen news spread this quickly in my lifetime, perhaps with the exception of Princess Diana's passing. I take this as telling of the importance of Michael Jackson to the public. Larry King said it best: "It was hard to love him, and hard not to love him." I think a spin of Thriller is in order. Cheers, Michael.
Okay, first off, there’s a bit of a gaping hole in the Thursday party schedule without the customary EMI Publishing rooftop BBQ. On the bright side, this year’s State of the Industry Panel at Second City made for a more entertaining diversion than usual…
The pre-panel skits offered up by the Second City Players were a bit of a surprise, but when the surprise wore off they turned out to be truly entertaining. Better still, the wealth of experience gathered for the panel; host Jake Gold, CIRPA Chairman and Canadian Music Industry legend Bernie Finkelstein, CBC Radio Executive Director Denise Donlon, Warner Music President Steve Kane, Senior Agency VP Jack Ross, among others. Inevitably, although Gold threatened to shut down anyone who tried to pass off blatant self-promotion as a serious question for the panel, a couple people managed to slip around him, but that didn’t detract from a discussion that was became entertainingly heated once or twice.
Also satisfying, the NXPO – small, but mighty – featuring two booths dedicated to gear that I love; the Tenori On, and Moog Audio.
My pick for Thursday, hands down, the 9 pm slot at Lee’s featuring Jim Cuddy, Royal Wood and Oh Susanna performing together. Whether you’re a fan of roots and country and folk or not, seeing people so clearly in love with playing music together, coupled with the off the cuff vibe on stage, made it by far the most memorable show of the night. Also notable; Pirate Love at the Elmo, Carpenter at Kathedral, and The United Steelworker’s of Montreal at the Horseshoe.
The glut of industry shindigs scheduled in the same time slot – 4-8 pm – makes it hard to really make the rounds fully. They also provide a potent and potentially dangerous mix of booze and schmooze. Nevertheless, the increase in venues on West Queen West allowed for some running around before the night got terribly old.
Unfortunately, for some reason I always manage to strand myself somewhere midway through the night on Friday. This year was no different. After the Manitoba Music party at the Drake – which was, as usual, a great way to spend a sunny afternoon – I tottered around Parkdale hitting a few venues before making the error of heading north to the Whippersnapper Gallery on College. Getting to the venue meant having to work my way through the street festival – it’s an interesting venue, edgy, but the band I saw was overshadowed by the fact the relatively empty room + volume = ear splitting din.
The resulting screaming headache, and an early morning call for a previously scheduled gig of my own ended my night a little earlier than is customary. I did manage a couple shows on the way home, but having missed the gigs I’d planned on I was choosing bands and venues in the always dubious, hunt and peck fashion. I’d comment on a couple, but, as they say, if you can’t say anything nice…
So the 2009 edition of NXNE wrapped up this past weekend - the first I've not attended in some capacity in the last few years. While I would've loved to have partaken in the event, catching up with old friends and taking in new music, I'll have to leave this year's culminating wrap-up to other contributors.
Anyone here partake in any of the events? Would love to read some mini-reviews of who was worth the time and who wasn't. Also, anything useful presented during the panels this year? Info on next year's edition (hopefully we'll see you there) will appear at www.nxne.com over the next few months. Stay tuned.
Alexisonfire's latest is streaming across the Internet, so check it out if you're curious. If the album strikes your fancy - or if it doesn't, for that matter - check out our July/August issue where we have a sit-down with the boys.
To launch the record, the band and their US label, Vagrant Records, have launched a ridiculously hard online game where you turn - wait for it - crows into cardinals.
I only had about 25 seconds to spend with it today, so I can't even tell you if it's any good or not. I can, though, tell you that the album has some great new stuff on it. I've always been impressed with how Alexis has grown from album to album, and this could be the biggest leap we've seen yet. www.theonlybandever.com.
I've had the pleasure of sitting on a pair of juries for FACTOR and Music PEI, and was in both cases actually astounded by some of the music I was hearing by folks about whom I knew absolutely nothing.
Of course it's naive to think there's not a vast amount of talent from coast to coast; however, with the amount of technology and resources available for low-cost, pro-sounding recording, and what you get is a swell of recording artists with beautifully-presented products that could very conceivably be commercial.
I'd like to think I've got a pretty good hold on artists that have the goods. Still, I'm constantly reminded that Canada produces some of the most creative and dedicated musicians around, many of whom haven't even had a chance to show us what they can do. No shortage up here, folks.
So one of my favourite events of the last few years (and one I'll regretfully be missing this year) is St. Catharines' S.C.E.N.E. Music Festival. This year's date is welcoming over 176 bands to various venues within the city, all comfortable within walking distance. While the majority of the acts come from the uber-hip rock/punk/post-punk/metal etc. realm, there are quite a few emcees, singer-songwriters, and funkadels peppered into the mix.
One of the coolest things about the festival's website is the opportunity to design your own schedule. Check it out at: www.scenemusicfestival.com/scheduler.php. The downfall that comes with it is that you'll undoubtedly have conflicting set times for acts you want to check out. My picks:
So Timba from Protest (see three stories down) placed 4th in his category at the World Beard and Moustache Championships. Congrats! I think the fiasco will be part of the extra features to be included on Protest's upcoming DVD, Gallop Meets The Earth.
I apologize for the lack of updates the last few days. Last week, I was promoted to the Editor position of the magazine and have since been busy taking over the helm.
Expect some new ideas coming to CM in the very near future. I'm pretty stoked on the opportunity and look forward to making the mag better for our readers. Any ideas are welcome: aking@nor.com.
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While not Canadian, and not always a public doll, Michael Jackson's impact on the global music industry is undeniable, and so today, the King of Pop gets honourary Canadian citizenship from CM.
So the 2009 edition of NXNE wrapped up this past weekend - the first I've not attended in some capacity in the last few years. While I would've loved to have partaken in the event, catching up with old friends and taking in new music, I'll have to leave this year's culminating wrap-up to other contributors.
Alexisonfire's latest is streaming across the Internet, so check it out if you're curious. If the album strikes your fancy - or if it doesn't, for that matter - check out our July/August issue where we have a sit-down with the boys.
I apologize for the lack of updates the last few days. Last week, I was promoted to the Editor position of the magazine and have since been busy taking over the helm.
