“I’ll listen to anything but rap and country.”
– me in Grade 9
“I’ll listen to anything but country.”
– me in Grade 12
“Johnny Cash is okay, but all other country still sucks.”
- me in second-year university
“Okay, Johnny Cash and Emmylou Harris are good. That’s IT though.”
– me last year
“Country music is the only music that makes sense to me anymore.”
- me last week after seeing Emmylou Harris and hearing Neko Case’s Canadian Amp EP
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So Ronatron comes up to me in a bar and says…oh wait. This isn’t a joke. It’s an EP review. Get serious man! Okay, Ron comes up to me at work the other week and says “Hey do you want to review this band who’s offering to send their EP out from Ontario? They’re called Leaving Sangster and they’re from Hamilton.”
“Steeltown?!” I says to Ron “You bet your ass I’ll review a band from Steeltown!” And that goes for any of you aspiring rockers from Hamilton. I will review your band because I’m from Southern Ontario and there’s a special place in my heart for you crazy kids and your wacky dreams. So for this review I’m going to do something I’ve never done before. I’m going to write it as I listen to it for the first time, headphones on head and fingers on keys. Ready? Let’s go!
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Well it’s been a while since I wrote a CD review. Mainly because most of the discs I get don’t blow me away and I really don’t want to discourage a band because they don’t sound good on record. It’s hard to sit down and listen to an entire record if you’re not motivated to do so. I’ve seen great acts live, but when I go and buy their CD and listen to it at home, I get disappointed. It’s a really tough challenge to display the raw energy and passion on stage into 12 tracks of a CD. But when I received Cancel Winter’s EP titled “Liestillnow,” I actually stayed and listened to the entire album without getting up and leaving halfway to get a coffee. Read more »
If some of you recall, I did a show review for “David Ward Loose Change Trio” a while ago when they played at the Backstage Lounge. From what I remember, they were all really talented musicians and genuinely good people. During our first encounter, I had the opportunity to meet and have a chat with David Ward, guitar and vocals, and Greg Bevis, percussion extraordinaire. We talked about each of their respective background in music, with David coming from the theatre program at The University of Victoria, and with Greg coming from the L.A. Music Academy, as well as Capilano College. At the time, I only heard the material they had on their myspace page, which I was thoroughly impressed with, but I wasn’t ready for their live performance. They blew me away with their strong vocals and overall passion for what they were doing and they seemed at ease on stage, which portrayed them as seasoned musicians. Since our last meeting, David Ward has had an amazing, life changing adventure that took him all the way to Africa, in which you can read about in his Blog. His passion for music drew him away from Vancouver and to a whole new Continent, but once he got back to Canada, the same passion for creativity remained. One thing that did change is their band name. Although it’s not drastic, they are no longer using David’s name at the front, and are now simply called “Loose Change Trio.” But this change doesn’t affect the band in anyway, as they still make stunning and breathtaking music. Read more »
The bubbly pop throughout the airwaves seems like a far cry from the angst days of the 90’s. That isn’t to say that the music coming out of our generation is bad, but rather, we seem to have fallen into a rut, where formulas are reused to produce the same song in different bands. “In Davey’s Grip” provides that necessary break from the norm, and brings back the grunge, with a new and modern twist. Read more »
Singer songwriters are becoming quite popular in this day and age and you can basically walk into any café to catch some local artist lay their heart out on the table, with just a guitar and a microphone. There are so many talented people out there, wanting to express their emotions through the art of music and Larissa Maestro has to be one of the best at providing that expressive edge, as her serene voice, accompanied by her melodic instrumentals make for a wonderful night of reminiscing.
Coming from the lovely state of New York, in a small town of Ithaca, which became popular in the movie “Road Trip,” (useless information! I know!) Larissa Maestro is a talented individual that is getting recognition for her music. At a young age, she took up the cello and piano, which undoubtedly led to her education of choice. Larissa attended Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music, which housed famous musical graduates such as Diana Krall, Aimee Mann and, most notably in our day and age, John Mayer. During her studies, Larissa was featured in the songwriting department’s showcase of Berklee performers, which has gained her much exposure. With that experience in hand, this superstar in the making set out to conquer the musical world. Playing in venues across Boston and New York, Larissa has gained fans with her contagious personality, which exudes on stage, and her catchy hooks. With influences such as Ryan Adams, Sheryl Crow, and John Lennon, Larissa Maestro has created soulful music in the new age of pop rock. Read more »
Punk has evolved into many facets over the past few years. It now ranges from the angst filled music of bands such as Bad Religion, to the bubbly pop sound of Blink 182. There can be a huge discussion, and essentially a huge debate, as to what real punk is. We won’t go into that at this moment, but in my opinion, writing the music that is true to the band is what makes them pure to their art, be it punk or whatever genre you categorize it. “No Other Way” is a perfect example of the modern punk that dwells in our society. Read more »
You probably haven’t heard or seen of this Elaine Ryan. Well neither did I until she contacted me and I took a listen to her music on myspace. Isn’t that the beauty of the internet? You can get in contact with pretty much anyone around the world, be it close friends or complete strangers. Now on to this Elaine character.
Born in Waterford, Ireland, Elaine immigrated over to Vancouver at the age of 5, where her musical journey, or sometimes lack thereof, began. She was a choir girl and a backup singer for various children’s music, but Elaine never really took all of this too seriously. Instead, like any good typical Canadian kid, she went to school. She got that coveted BA in International Relations, and sought to have an impact on the social conflicts around the world. She even had offers to go to law school, but a volunteer trip to Central America changed her world entirely. All throughout life, she had resisted the temptation known as music, and sought the conventional path of school and work. But this trip made her realize that she had to stay true to herself. As a result, Elaine picked up that guitar, which was lying on the ground since she was 17, and began to write songs. In just over year, she has accomplished what other artists take years to do. She has composed more than an album’s worth of music that can’t wait to be recorded and showcased, and she is set to take on the Vancouver music scene. Read more »
When listening to a band, you can’t help but make comparisons to other well known acts around the world. Savile Row is no exception. When listening to their music, you can’t help but think they are a displaced band living in Vancouver. Their Brit-Rock feel leaves me wondering if they’re in the right continent let alone right city. Read more »
Musicians these days tend to experiment and tend not to focus on a particular genre. This is usually done after the band has had acclaimed success, but for Marq DeSouza, I get the impression he really doesn’t care what others think, just as long as he gets his music out there.
You might be asking yourself, who is this Marq fellow? No it’s not a spelling mistake. It actually is spelt Marq and not Mark or Marc or whichever way you want to spell it. He is based from the talent filled city of Vancouver and is a singer/songwriter by nature. He has, however, been in various local indie bands, playing drums for Cinnamon, and fronting Solarbaby. But he has recently broken out and started writing on his own, with collaborations with local musicians, most notably Todd Kerns, the singer of a not so little band called “The Age of Electric” and the much acclaimed spin-off “Static in Stereo.” Marq has shared bills with such artists as Ben Kweller, Matthew Good, and even Nickelback. Marq has completed several solo discs, one had even been nominated for the best local debut in the Georgia Straight Music Awards. Read more »
