CANADIAN MUSIC WEEK '09 PART TWO!

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June 9, 2009, 04:47 PM

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CANADIAN MUSIC WEEK 2009 PART TWO

So much to say but I can’t be writing a book with this second half so here it is! Friday night I decided to kick it at the Rivoli most of the time. I wanted to see this band that I missed the night before and was not feeling another over crowded situation. Whatever was flooding my ears prior to that band I had to tolerate if I wanted to check these larries. You have no idea how hard it was to stay at one venue, I was dying to migrate but instead I had forty smoke breaks (I seriously need to quit) and a few beers to keep me there. The first act I caught was ‘Ladies Of The Canyon’ reaching from Montreal; the band’s sound is more of a Country Folky feel. My ears have a very eclectic musical taste but Country is not a preference, only a select few Countryish tunes I will listen to. I was getting bored of the ‘Ladies’ there was no fire, a few of the ladies came off as timid and nervous.



There are four ladies and two larries that make the band ‘Ladies Of The Canyon’ are: Senja Sargeant - Vocals/Guitar, Maia Davis - Vocals/Keys, Jasmine Bleile - Vocals/Guitar and Anna Ruddick - Vocals/Bass. The two larries in the band are Eric Lawrance on the Guitar and Kevin Warren on the Drums. As I was checking the angles and lighting with my still camera, I overheard this dude jibbering to one of the band chicks, he was claiming to be press from YouTube, I think he lied! The creeper had this tiny little camera on this small handheld tripod and was all up in their grillz when they performed, very odd. At this venue you don’t need to be in their faces it’s small! Obviously creeperello didn’t have a zoom; they invented them for a reason! I even have a zoom on mine! Anyways, as the set progressed the energy level increased but not by much. Davis on Keys was struggling to sing and play at the same time; she looked very new and uncomfortable. Bassist could have been livelier she barely sang! Only one of the ladies jammed it out, the others were like mannequins. Overall the ladies were decent with solid harmonies’, some work is needed on the live performance but they do hold their own.




The next band to perform was ‘Incura’ five larries from Vancouver BC. They are Kyle Gruninger – Vocals, Gatlin Fitzgerald – Guitar, Jono Olson – Bass, Jim McLaren – Keys and Jeff Arnold on the drums. This is the band I wanted to check! Heard their tunes on myspace, I was praying they didn’t blow live. The band was pretty good, a few minor flaws but shit, these larries tore it up! From the minute front larry started singing he brought his charisma and enthusiasm to the stage, giving the crowd some serious entertainment.





At first some people were not even paying attention to the band but after a couple of tracks things turned around the whole place was vibing ‘Incura’. The sound is a little Billy Talent mixed with Hedley all due to the lead larries nasally vocals. Nasal I can’t stand but his was not as bad as some, his vocal range made up for it; he’s got some pretty powerful pipes! The only thing negative about this set was some of the lead larries ‘choreography’ looked like it was rehearsed, clearly visible was his counting. The authenticity was not one hundred percent but I would rather hear these larries on radio than Hedley ass! The whole band was getting into it, loving their tunes as they played; just as they should it is their own music! Bands: major advice right here! The songs you play are your babies; you better know the name of every track! When performing, engage the audience; convey the love of your tunes and the stage to those watching! Incura’s music is catchy, melodic and it has substance! Very radio friendly, I am kind of liking this band, definitely predicting a super bright future if they choose the right path.




Next day was Saturday and I was going to check an interview with a larrie from Naughty By Nature but that was cancelled, yet again I was unaware of this change, people need to tell me these things! I decided since it was so early why not go check a film! I wanted to see the Anvil film but scheduling conflicts made that impossible, so I decided to go check a film called “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Undead”. If I left at that moment I may be able to reach but probably would miss a bit of the beginning. I made it to the theater just in time for the film, the whole thing! Yeahyah for me!! I knew nothing about this film except the title, I sat all the way in the back of the theater a few seats away from the director of the film “Jordan Galland” but I didn’t know that until after the host introduced him and the film. This is Galland’s first feature film. He has a short film that he co-wrote with Sean Lennon titled “Smile For the Camera” won an award for best short at the New York International Film and Video Festival.



This feature film “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Undead” also ties in Lennon he did the soundtrack for the film, fitting like a glove. The cast is Jake Hoffman, Devon Aoki, John Ventimiglia, Kris Lemche, Geneva Carr, Joey Kern, Chip Zien, with Ralph Macchio as “Bobby Bianci”, Jeremy Sisto as “Detective Wimbly” and special guest appearance by Bijou Phillips. The film is about Julian Marsh (Hoffman) an out of work playa who gets a job directing a different version of Hamlet involving Vampires. Jake cast his best friend “Vince” (Lemche) and his ex-girlfriend “Anna” (Aoki) who he’s obsessed with in the play. Julian discovers he’s in the middle of a two thousand year old conspiracy explaining the connection between Shakespeare, the Holy Grail and Vampires. Galland did a fantastic job on the film; it is creative and has this unconventional uniqueness about it. Although it does have its moments, the comedy could have been better. Most of the actors were really good others not so much but overall an enjoyable experience. Going into this film not knowing if I was going to pass out half way resulted in a pretty damn good film! I highly recommend everyone to go check it out if you can.


THE MIDWAY STATE

After the film it was time to head back to CMW Headquarters for the Independent Music Awards “Indies”. There were so many artists I wanted to jibber to but the time was limited, the only opportunity was to catch them in the media room. There was some quick little jibbers to everyone I wanted to speak with except Anvil and The Trews! The whole time I was in the media room Anvil was pretty much chilling at the table beside me, the blonde that I am didn’t notice until someone pointed them out! There were so many people in the media room, I was flying in and out and did not notice the Anvil larries! I tried getting an interview with them but it was right before they were about to perform so they shot me down but said after the awards. I couldn’t wait I had other bands to check! Tried to migrate into the pit between the stage and the audience but it was insane! There were media people everywhere I couldn’t do it, too many flashes and people, my claustrophobia was about to kick in. I migrated back to the media room which was connected by a door. Nobody was allowed to go in that way unless you had an indie in your hand, we all had to go around to the main doors even the artists. It was crazy when ‘Lights’ came into the media room with her first Indie. All of the media attacked like bees swarming around her, yelling her name. I just stood and watched the chaos took a few pictures of ‘Lights’ and her Indie and migrated around. Only a few shots of everyone for I had to limit the amount of pictures, the memory cards for my still camera were filling too fast.


LIGHTS

One of the bands I was looking forward to was ‘USS’ finally they were being recognized for their hard work winning an Indie for Best Duo/Group! They are the chillest larries, I wanted to interview them but only Human Kebab was present at the moment and he wanted to wait for Ashley Boo so the wait began! I was hoping Ashley would reach soontime; I needed to go check Empire Isis at the Poor Alex Theater! Eventually he reached and they created a one of a kind interview with dancing and singing and jibbering, only the larries of USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker). The Trews are one of my favorite bands; I did not see them at all! Not even their performance and they won two awards!! (Favorite Video & Favorite Live Artist/Group) where was I? That is a mystery! The Indies were such a blur, actually the whole festival was!


USS

I migrated around the media room and I saw Bif Naked (Beth Torbert) she was doing an interview. There was a whole line of others waiting to jibber with Bif. Pondering on asking for an interview but was not sure if I wanted to because she looked worn out. I didn’t want to harass her anymore than she already was. If I was her I would have said no but she agreed to all the interviews. She is such a strong amazing female I swear! I have loved her tunes from the minute I heard “Spaceman” as a teen, she has been a staple in the Canadian music scene since I can remember! Bif deserves major props; in January 2008 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and did chemotherapy and Lumpectomy to rid herself of the disease. It’s 2009 and she’s kicking cancers ass! With a new record “The Promise” available now and her single ‘Sick’ spinning, nothing can stop Bif Naked. Most of the award show I watched on the TV’s set up in the media room. I tried again and again to get footage and photos of the performances but it was just too crazy in the pit, every time I would go out there it was like the crowd was growing larger by the minute! I managed one photograph and that was of “The Midway State”. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees! Who needs to go to the Juno’s when you can check all the same nominees and performances at CMW, the Juno’s are just a CMW rerun in my eyes.


BIF NAKED


THE MIDWAY STATE

It was a great time at the Indies much better than the first year I attended!Wanted to catch more performances but there were others that needed some coverage like Montreal’s Gangstress Empire Isis! Empire Isis inked a deal with Monumental/DEP/Universal earlier this year, her tune “Fake Friend” has been played on MTV’s ‘The Hills” and “The City”. Miss Gangstress also has her own show on Much Music’s sister station in Montreal “Musique Plus” titled ‘The Gangstress Chronicles’. This was the first time I was checking her live. I missed a few tunes because of the mission to find the venue which I had never been to in my life! There was something wrong with the sound system the levels were so off, at one point in the middle of a track Isis called out the sound larry and told him to fix it. First time I have ever seen an artist stop the song and tell the sound dude to turn up the mic. Finally someone spoke out, most singers either give a thumb up or down, not Isis she will call you out! I would do the same, you always want to maximize every opportunity to put on a great show every time and if the mic levels are hindering the performance you as the singer need to do something about it!




A miracle in itself that Isis still had a voice to use, she was fresh off a South American tour. Empire Isis is: Isis – Vocals, Matt Maillet – Bass, Alex Grousset – Drums and Bassil Slim - Jones on the scratch pads (Turn tables). Different than what is out there today I can see why people are into Isis, she has a strong presence, great positive messages of female empowerment within her tunes. Performance wise she was just a little bit too extra, at times it seemed overdone but I honestly give her daps for rocking that joint, getting everyone in the venue poppin’! She needs work on the vocals most definitely and dance a little more, girl don’t be so shy!! Miss Miriam is anything but shy!! Still need to check her out when the sound system is better at another venue! Even the Tattoo Rock Parlour has a better sound system than the Poor Alex Theater or maybe it could just be the sound larries.




This year was by far my favorite year at CMW, it was too much fun!! People have no idea what they are missing!! If anyone gets the chance to hit up a festival in Toronto like CMW or NXNE do it, you will not be disappointed! Huge thanks to everyone who helped me out, looking forward to CMW 2010! Always keep it locked to Altsounds for the latest in music world wide and you can always watch the performances yourself on Fridae TV!! ©2009FRIDAE™


www.cmw.net
www.myspace.com/lotcmusic
www.myspace.com/incura
www.ubiquitoussynergyseeker.co m
www.bifnaked.com
www.empireisis.com
www.myspace.com/themidwaystate
www.myspace.com/lights
www.undeadflick.com
www.youtube.com/fridaetv

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