Nardwuar is at it again generating phenomal interviews at SXSW. The most recent include Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Trinidad James and Joey Bada$$. I am sure there are a few other good ones on the way. Nothing is better than the reaction this dude generates from this guests. Watch for the confusion, fear, jaws on the floor as dude makes the most obscure connections. Two claps for the Canadian illustrating research at its finest.
Band: Wake! Owl Feature Track: Gold Hail: Vancouver, British Columbia Website: http://www.wakeowl.com/ Twitter: @wakeowl
Lots of good music coming out of Toronto these days. The most recent getting some shine is duo Times Neue Roman. They released ‘Late Night Toronto’ about 8 months ago but came out with some visuals this week. The track features some vocals from Toronto’s Rich Kidd. The video itself tours Toronto’s Mayor Rob Ford (rather a hand-made mask, portraying Mayor Rob Ford) through the infects of the city. “The mask becomes a vehicle to explore the dark and decadent geographies of Toronto after-hours”. However all that aside I think the part that had me hooked was the vocals by Colleen Rennison of No Sinner. No Sinner is a Vancouver-based rock and roll quartet comprised of Colleen Rennison (vocals), Eric Campbell (guitar) and Ian Browne (drums). I just recently came across their stuff (and by recently I mean because of this track). They have a really smooth and polished sound. If people are still on twitter you can check them out here. In conjunction with the song and video, they’ve also built a interactive Tumblr page to document Toronto’s after-hours happenings. Instagram users can tag #LateNightToronto on their nocturnal photos, and the images will automatically appear here: http://latenighttoronto.tumblr.com/ Follow @TimeNeueRoman
When it comes to quality and timeless product you don’t have to look much further than Canadian brand Herschel Supply Co. Founded in November of 2009 by brothers Lyndon and Jamie Cormack the brand quickly filled a void in the marketplace. Drawing inspiration from vintage mountaineering, American heritage, world travel, fashion and Canadian heritage the team put a fresh take on simple essentials – duffels and backpacks. The brand reinterpreted the classics with a focus on the details and transformed the mundane into great utilitarian design. The concept caught on, and quite quickly, expanding the line from an intimate offering of bags to an array of travel accessories. Today the brand has accounts in over 35 countries worldwide. The brand continues to grow and expand, offering up new options each season to store your essentials. I never leave for the lake without my Novel and Village in stow. Next purchase, the Desert Storm Outfitter. We caught up with one half of Herschel, Mr. Lyndon Cormack, for a little conversation about the brand, the rapid growth and a good spot to eat in Gastown. ________________________________________ Starting this off nonchalantly. What’s the most interesting thing that has happened to you in the last 24 hours? I’ve been on the road throughout Europe and Asia for the last four weeks. Many interesting things have happened to me and it is difficult to pinpoint a most interesting event in the past 24hrs. This being said, it’s always nice to see the appreciation that people have for our products is always interesting to me. So I scoured the Canadian map and arrived at 51.655 degrees N 108.423 degrees W where the 31 meets the 656, Herschel, Saskatchewan. Explain the role this town played in the formation of Herschel Supply Co. Herschel is not only the … Continue reading
Kelowna indie rockers, Yukon Blonde, have kept themselves busy over the course of the last few months. Picking up right where they left off with Fire//Water the quartet released their sophomore album, Tiger Talk, on Dine Alone Records in March. Between then and now the band has been prepping to go out on tour, which kicks off tonight in Sudbury. The band moves west making stops in Thunder Bay, Regina, Calgary, Nelson, Victoria and Vancouver before hitting the US, making stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland and then jet-setting to the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. I know, I’m rattled too that they decided to leap frog Winnipeg. That said I do hear that they have a pretty explosive show so you should definitely check them out if they are coming through your city. I did pick up their album this week on iTunes and ensure you that its good, real good. My only compliant would be that it was too short. Felt a little EP-ish and had me wanting more, but that’s probably a good thing right? If you are looking for some Monday night or Tuesday streaming head over to CBC Music and give Tiger Talk a listen. #CabinMusic #RoadTrip #HashtagBlogPosts @YukonBlonde
Every year some of the best features from SXSW are those with Vancouver based radio show personality Nardwuar the Human Serviette (John Ruskin). Narwuar began his media career on the University of British Columbia’s radio station CITR 101.9 FM in Vancouver. Since 1987 his show has frequented the 101.9 FM waves. Love him or hate him, he has put together some of the most entertaining interviews to show up on the internet. His unique style and uncandid research ensure the interviewee dishes out some unexpected responses. Head over to his site to check out some of the pieces from this years SXSW including A$AP Rocky, Big Krit, Kendrick Lamar, Danny Brown and Machine Gun Kelly.
If you were to pose the question “Who is your favourite Canadian artist or band right now?” you probably wouldn’t be shocked to hear us give a nod to hip-hop: Drake, The Weeknd or The Airplane Boys. But if you were to open up the iTunes, you might find yourself a bit surprised to see Vancouver’s Young Liars topping the Play Count. We had initially planned a Fall/Winter release and had based the whole lookbook video around their track ‘Newton, Forgive Me”. The video turned out phenomenal and hopefully one day we will leak it on here, but we under went a few delays and decided to shelf the collection and move on to Spring/Summer in search of perfection. Sometimes that’s the way it goes. Anyways back to the Postal Codes feature. Young Liars is comprised of Jordan Raine, Tyler Badali, Andrew Beck, Angelo Ismirnioglou and Wesley Nickel. Their story begins as most, nothing out of the ordinary. No big break or industry connection, just hard work and talent. The group wanted to create music that they wanted to hear and decided to build a band that wouldn’t compromise or settle for mediocrity. And like a lot of aspiring musicians, they spend the majority of their time working jobs that they hate, so they do what they love. Ty works manual labor at a warehouse, Wesley is an electrician. Angelo works demolition and Jordan is a web developer. Andrew sells mobile phones at the mall. And somehow after full days of manual labour they still had the steam to put together some of my favourite tracks to date. I highly suggest taking your hard a bit of your earned pay cheque and grabbing a digital copy of their Homesick Future EP now available on iTunes. This is the first track … Continue reading
This summer the NHL lost a very talented and hard working 27 year old. Rick Rypien got his professional start here in Manitoba during the 2004-2005 after his career with the Regina Pats came to conclusion. Jets assistant GM Craig Heisinger saw the potential in the young man and signed the 5-foot-11, 194-pounder, forward to a contract with the Moose. Over the course of his career, Rick made appearances in 119 games in the show with the Vancouver Canucks tallying nine goals, seven assists and 226 penalty minutes. This summer Rypien became a free agent and it was only fitting that he was snatched up on July 1 by the Winnipeg Jets, set to return to the same rink he spent 116 games with the Moose. Over the course of his career Rypien would over come adversity and personal challenges. Rypien went undrafted in the WHL Bantam draft but carved out a spot on the Regina Pats roster where he would spend 3 seasons racking up 114 points, dawn the ‘C’ and be the reciepiant of the Bill Hicke Award as the most popular player. Rick would go undrafted out of junior but make the most of an Amateur tryout contract with the Moose which in turn led to a contract with the Vancouver Canucks. Rick would score his first National League goal on December 21, 2005 on his first shot in the first period. Over the course of his career Rypien would also battle severe depression. In August Rypien would take his own life at the hands of the disorder. The Jets organization and Canucks orginization honored the centremen at the start of this season with the above tribute. You will be missed Rick.
What better way to kick off the weekend then to highlight a local Winnipeg band. The Liptonians have been causing a buzz here in the city for a couple years now and thanks to one of my daily reads I came across their new video for “Destroy, Destroy, Destroy”. The guys are heading west this week with Vancouver piano rock band, The Zolas, making stops in the following Canadian cities. If you are able to make it out to any of these dates I highly recommed it. Saskatoon, October 14 at Amigo’s Cantina Edmonton, October 15 at Wunderbar Lethbridge, October 16 at The Slice Calgary, October 18 at The Gateway @ SAIT Kamloops, October 19 at Heroes Pub @ TRU Vancouver, October 20 at Electric Owl Whitehorse, October 21 Western Canadian Music Awards Showcase as a part of the Breakout West Festival at The Roadhouse Whitehorse, October 22 Western Canadian Music Awards as a part of the Breakout West Festival at The Fire Hall Vancouver, October 24 at St. James Hall @TheLiptonians @thezolas
This week I stumbled across Vancouver’s SonReal and his most recent mixtape ‘Where’s Waldo’. I know, a little late, but better late than never. ‘Where’s Waldo’ surfaced back in February and ever since the young dynamic artist’s music has been spreading East like wild fire. “I went into Where’s Waldo knowing that I needed to confront something in my life. I can’t write my music for everyone, and not everyone is going to love me. I’ve always made my music using an outside eye making sure I wasn’t saying anything my listeners wouldn’t like, or look down upon. Therefore, I haven’t been completely honest. With Where’s Waldo I dug deeper then I ever have before, exposed myself, and said the words I felt in my heart. Whether it was something deep conceptually or just a song having fun, if it was on my mind, I said it. I swear sometimes, I’m not perfect, I don’t always sing on key. These are the things that make this record unique. I am extremely grateful that the artists and producers involved with this provided me a platform to say the things I did, and further our success as a whole. With that being said, come find me. Where’s Waldo?” – SonReal After listening to the mixtape start to finish, twice, I was very pleasantly surprised. And when I venture out and say I was surprised, its not because he’s Canadian and good. We all know Canada boosts an arsenal of talent. I say I was surprised at the fact that it took me this long to stumble across SonReal. ’Where’s Waldo’ features production by the likes of Classified, Vokab & Big Pops of Northern Profit, 2oolman and Cafe Society. That, mixed with some support from Toronto’s Rich Kidd and Saukrates, Ottawa’s Eternia and Scarborough’s Tona … Continue reading