Friday, October 31, 2008

I want to suck your rock!!

Happy Halloween bitches and bitchettes. Mr. Saunderson, the man ever with an ace up his sleeve, has yet another clever pundit for you on this hallowed of mornings (soon to be eve?). I'm running a touch late, so I'll make this quick.

You remember Toronto's The Illuminati? If not, it's no big deal; I already didn't think much of you. This might refresh your memory (and make you rock out!) Well they broke up about a year ago. This was a sad day. The boys new how to rock, and they used that knowledge.

Yet up from the grave of Illuminati rose Drunkula; an absolute terror on stage fueled by alcohol and white drugs. Vibing along with bands like The Bronx, Drunkula quickly pushed out fast moving, hard hitting rock and roll. They called in the help of Sir Ian Blurton (the man with the midas touch) and layed down their first record titled, All New Moves.

Now they sit silently in the darkness, with guitars, and wait for their next victim.



-I think you have me mistaken for something else

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

5 Weeks & 2 Days

Get used to this. I utterly abhor being in this crippled state and have been marking the calendar, sharpening the knives, counting the days, and any other obsessive-compulsive saying which could be thrown into here.

Before I get to the tunes, a quick aside. I weaned myself off painkillers after only being at home for 2 days. They gave me mild and strong analgesics; tramadol and paracetamol (acetaminophen). I had surgery on Friday, came home Saturday, stopped the tramadol Sunday, and took my last dose of paracetamol on Monday. This was a grand total of 2 of the potential 28 days (plus an option for refills) I should have been on these drugs.

My side rant today is no fucking wonder our society has a drug problem. Since Monday, I've had only mild pain and even then, primarily when I hit the fucking wound or do something stupid. Granted, I'm a big tough and gruff Manitoban, but you have to be shitting me if you think anyone is going to still be suffering after more than a week. Personally, I think doctors should tell their patients to suck it the fuck up and get on with their lives.

Speaking of addictive drugs, my music is brought to you today by Tweaker and the letter Q. Tweaker is the musical project of Chris Vrenna. Don't know who Vrenna is? I beg to differ. Vrenna's resume spans more projects than most people could dream. He's played drums / programmed for Stabbing Westward, G&R, Smashing Pumkpins, NIN and KMFDM. However, his true genius comes through as a producer for Bowie, U2, Weezer, The Pumpkins, Marilyn Manson, Green Day.. the list goes on and on. In addition, you may have played one of the many video games which Vrenna has done the music for; Doom 3, Alice, Quake 4.

What I guess I'm trying to tell you is that this guy doesn't sleep. He started Tweaker in the late 90's as a creative outlet, initially doing remixes for a lot of bands he knew. Eventually, he started piecing together his own tracks and released the album, The Attraction to All Things Uncertain. This album was primarily industrial and instrumental.

After inviting Clint Walsh to permanently join the project, he released, what I feel is pure genius, 2a.m. Wakup Call. This time, Vrenna took his industrial concoctions and merged them with some of his favourite artists to create an album of all star performances. Instead of creating an album full of industrial angst and noise however, Vrenna found joy in dark and mysterious tracks which were enough to chill the bones. Think of them as lullabies for a child named Damien.




-Trophy wife in training

Monday, October 27, 2008

Holy fuck, this is awesome

So I think God decided to give me a consolation prize for spending the entirety of last week in the hospital. I can't think of any other justifiable reason why I might stumble across such an awesome band on a Sunday night; it is after all, the lord's day.

All the way from Israel, I give you Monotonix. They're a power trio (though 'Power' doesn't quite cut it) featuring vocals, drums and guitar. These guys kinda sound like Sabbath on speed, however their true power does not come from their recordings, but from their live show.

Formed in 2005, they eventually had to leave their home of Tel Aviv after being banned from almost every venue in town. In mid 2006, they started touring and didn't really stop. Eventually, they slowed down long enough to record their 2008 EP, Body Language.

Their live shows are characterized by lighting things on fire, moving their show around the venue (often into the pit), stealing people's drink, spitting back said drinks on the crowd, and general fucking insanity. I want you to do two things for me, go to their myspace and listen to the song Summers and Autumns and watch the video below in complete awe.

As a side note, I'm headed back to work today. Can I just say that morning prep is really bloody difficult as a cripple? Seriously, I don't know how the lifers do it.





-I can't be dead, I've never even lived

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Day 7: Freedom? Yeah right.

So, I'm officially out of the hospital. I was released yesterday around 4pm, caught a cab home and then some gracious friends came over for dinner and to hang out for a bit. Reflections on the week, I'd rather not do since I'm still a bit scarred by lying in that bed the whole time. At least now, I get to lie in my own bed.

In the end, they gave me a removable cast, which is kinda cool. I'm supposed to take it off during the day and do exercises to keep everything down there moving. In addition, I believe this means I can take off my cast for showers, which has the added benefit of combating 'stinky cast leg syndrome.' They sent me home with a couple types of painkillers and a couple types of laxatives, since apparently one of the painkillers can constipate you. I've always been a pretty regular guy, so I'm likely going to save the laxatives for a rainy, mischievous day (note to all of you: NEVER eat my baking).

This week was obviously a bit of an exception for the blog, since I had nothing better to do. Rest assured, next week, I'm back and work and should hopefully fall back into MWF posts of varying length and musical taste.

As a complete random aside, I received a note from my friend Taryn while in the hospital. In the duration of this email, she managed to mention a new google labs program being developed for Gmail that was too hilarious not to share. Check it out, and if you suffer from late night drunk-mailing, this might be for you.

Being that I'm out and all, I'm in a pretty damn good mood. As such, I've been listening to the kinda rock that makes you want to move around (no need to point out the irony... I got it). Shikasta is a powerful 3 piece from the T. I caught onto these guys a few years ago, around the time they released their second album, Weight of the Sun. They went back into the studio to record their third, Main Offender. Unfortunately, at the end of that session, their drummer decided to part ways with the band.

I'm not sure what's happened since then, but as you can see, their website is down, and the album, which was recorded over a year ago, has yet to come anywhere near my radar. Still, the boys rock, put on an amazing live show and seem like really nice guys (they sent me a free shirt when I bought the two cds). If you're itching, you can check out a couple tracks on myspace.



-Bend the shadow back so it casts upon its self

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Day 6: Oops

HAHAHA... hilarious. So, I just woke up at 6:30am for the doctor's rounds. He asked how I was doing and generally checked the pain in my leg. While doing this, he noticed something odd; I had feeling in my lower leg, but not in my thigh. He asked the nurse what type of nerve block I had and she repeated something which I'm sure I would need at least 2 years more in school to understand.

The take home point however, is that the anaesthesiologist did the wrong part of my leg. Currently, my thigh is numb as a fucking block of ice and my ankle is fully alert. Initially, when I came out of surgery, they thought I simply didn't have a very good response to the nerve block... no no, they just did it wrong.

On the bright side, apparently everyone is a little disturbed by my pain tolerance after spending post surgery and last night with nothing but paracetamol in my system. I'm doing the Canadian name proud.

You can always tell my mood by the type of music I throw up here for the day. As such, I'm sure you'll see it fitting that I'm going to toss you some death metal today. All the way from Mississauga, ON, it's the Endorphins. These guys had an actual homepage, but apparently they broke up this year and shit's obviously not been kept up.

I'll keep this short and sweet. I get my cast changed to something lighter, I meet with the physio to get crutches, I listen to this song, and then I walk out the front door with my ass still hanging out the back of my hospital gown.



-Fuck the drug guy, fuck you, fuck you, you're cool, fuck you, I'm out.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Day 5: Cut

So, the schedule has been passed onto me. I go in for another x-ray this morning and then in the afternoon, I'm wheeled into the theater and I go under for surgery. I sent an email to my buddy Jeff in Edinburgh who tore a tendon in his ankle this summer and had to have surgery. He said it was a little creepy being wheeled into the theater, but then the drugs kick in, so everything's cool. The only real drawback is that I'm not supposed to eat anything all day, and for those of you who know me at all, you know this means I'll be getting hangry.

This week marks a lot of firsts for me. I'd never broken a bone. I'd never had surgery. I'd never spent a night in a hospital (that I could remember... obviously I was born in one, unless things out in rural Manitoba used to be even worse than I was led to believe). I'd never had to pee in a bottle. All in all, this was a very educational week.

And we should be proud that I didn't even have to snap and lose it out of sheer boredom. Alternatively, as Iain suggested, I could have just gone into seizures to liven things up now and then. If we look at the leader board of who loves me most:

Iain - 3
Mishoo - 2
Candice - 1
Laura - 1
Rhi - 1
Everyone else - Obviously does not love me

There's still around a day left where you could get some visits in, during what I like to call the 'lightning round'. As for those of you in North America, shame on you. It's only an ocean.

Now then, keeping with my pathetic play on words, my groovy beats to check out today come from San Francisco's Honeycut. They're an electro-organic soul/funk band who was formed in 2003. I've talked about them briefly before and mentioned that while so much modern indie music ends up being pretentious bullshit, when you bring a group of seriously talented musicians together, you can get amazing results. Honeycut embodies this ideal. They play stuff that's out there, but still manage to make it catchy, technical, and enjoyable to listen to. In my opinion this is one of the most difficult things to do in music; progress the sound while still making it accessible.

In 2006 they released the album The Day I Turned to Glass. It was the title track from this album which was used on CBC's short lived (but fucking genius) series J-Pod, created by Douglas Coupland (one of my favorite authors). I went on one of my obsessive missions to find the song and after hours (read: seconds) of scouring the interweebs, stumbled across Honeycut. I proceeded to gain access to as much media as was possible on the band, and loved every bit of it.

The video shown below is one of a plethora I could have drawn from. As such, I highly encourage you to hunt around for more, and also take a listen to the tracks on their myspace. It's catchy, it's unique, it's new, and I like it.



-My liquid soul and my windowless eyes know exactly what you'll say

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Day 4: That's just swell!

Actually, today is the day we really hope it fucking isn't swell. They take my temp cast off today and take a look at the ankle to see if the swelling has gone down enough to cut open. If it has, I go into the theater on Friday for surgery. I never thought I'd be so excited about the prospect of someone taking a large sharp object to my skin, cutting me open and fiddling with my bones, but I need to get the fuck out of here.

In the spirit of today, I'm realizing I need to move along and return to basics. While I've been here, I've recommended hip hop, pop, and electro. It's time to get back to the fucking rock, and not just any old rock (I want a SHINY one!).

We're taking things back to the prairies and drawing on the sheer awesomeness of Alberta's Whitey Houston. For those of you who don't known how awesome the west can be, allow me to enlighten. WH is a 2 piece from Edmonton, featuring vocals, bass and drums. While this could sound like just another DFA1979, I assure you, westerners are far cooler than that.

The two are also members of the electro-punk group, Shout Out Out Out Out (I always fuck up the number of outs). Unfortunately, due to SOOOO's success (Juno nominations, !earshot placings), Whitey hasn't been incredibly active in the past year. The boys have claimed that they still have the intention of getting back together for a second album. That's right... you can't stay away from the rock.

I recommend you both watch the video below AND listen to my favorite track, Heavy Metal Parking Lot, on their myspace.



-I can't be held responsible for every word I don't say

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Day 3: Thank God that's sorted

I know you were all in a great deal of suspense. Personally, I was getting quite anxious too. It had been around a full day and a half, and I had yet to broach the topic. I was worried. I was paranoid. I was prepared to swallow my pride. Then, like the first ray of sunlight breaking across the morning sky, my savior arrived; they have a portable toilet. Wheeling into my room like some ergonomic God, I could almost hear the angelic choirs on high as it was plopped directly beside my bed and I was told to simply ring when I was done.

All things considered, yesterday was one of the longest, dullest days of my life. Big thanks to Mish and Willsy for stopping by for a bit. Aside from that, I watched a movie, read half of The God Delusion by Dawkins and generally found amusing ways to waste away the day. I've also noticed that nurses in England are obsessed with giving you painkillers. I've been refusing them since I got here since I'm not in pain, but they keep trying to pressure me into it.

I was given some slightly more unfortunate news yesterday. Apparently, my best case scenario of having surgery on Friday would still involve anywhere from 1-3 days in the hospital to monitor my recovery and make sure I can get around on my own. Personally though, I’m not that worried because as Iain put it, “It’s not like they can keep you here.” If I’m feeling good enough to leave, then fuck that… peace I’m out.

Been listening to a lot of Hey Rosetta! this morning. The old album, not the new, as I find it more mysterious and powerful. You know, as though I need something to get me more riled up for the big day I have ahead of myself. If you want to learn a bit more about HR, look back here.

Today is another day where my sole task in life is to reduce swelling on my left ankle. While this might seem like a perfect segway into talking about the Swollen Members, that would be far too easy. Instead, I want to introduce you to another Canadian hip hop artist, Shad.

Shadrach Kabango is a London, ON based MC who has shot up in recent Canadian popularity after being nominated for the Polaris prize. If you’re curious, this year’s winner was Dan Snaith, otherwise known by his moniker, Caribou. Let’s all take a moment to thank Stephen Harper for cutting funding from this prize and putting it’s future in jeopardy after only 3 years of existence.

He financed his first album, When this is Over, with winnings from a radio artist search contest during his time as an undergrad at Wilfred Laurier. In true form of my hip hop appreciation, his lyrics cut apart the rap stereotype and instead focused on global issues such as the Rwandan genocide.

His second release, The Old Prince, was just released this year and was nominated at the Junos for best rap recording. While pushing forth this album, Shad is also still pursuing a Masters part time. So not only is he a bright guy but, as you can see below, he has an awesome sense of humor.



-Moonlit by day

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Day 2: Liver & onions for lunch

I’m around half-way through day 2 and I’m prepared to take a human life for shear amusement. You know how most people could never conceive me sitting still for 5 minutes? Imagine doing it for 5 fucking days.

I’ve taken it upon myself to get to know all of the staff by name; morning, evening and night. I think these people are so used to getting shit all over (at times, literally) that it’s a strange but welcome change to have someone ask them how they’re doing. That, and I’ll never get tired of making jokes about my bottles of pee; something which I feel you can really only do once you know someone by first name.

High point of my morning has been Stephanie emailing me a set of SAP procedures to review so that I can improve the efficiency of our stock take for next year. Conversely, today’s low has undoubtedly been the verification from the doctor that I’m here until best case, Friday, worst case, Monday.

I don’t know about you, but I could use some music. I won’t lie, I’ve been listening to Blind Melon and Super 400 for most of the morning, they’ve already been covered sometime ago, and even further ago. I will instead reveal one of my best kept musical secrets. Maybe it’s just the fact that I’m refusing painkillers, but I feel I’ve let this lay dormant for long enough.

The Verve Pipe is one of my favorite bands, Brian Vander Ark is one of my favorite songwriters, and their self-titled second release is in my top 10 desert island records. Yes, this is the same band who brought you the supposed ‘one hit wonder’, The Freshman (a song which I wish could be burned pure in the fire of a thousand suns). However, the remainder of Villains was an incredibly well thought out and balanced album. Truth be told, even Freshman was a good track… it just got so overplayed it made your mom look tight.

Their third and final release together was 2001’s Underneath. Proving that every band must peak, it was a very solid collection of songs, but was still hidden beneath the shadows of the band’s self-titled second release. Start to finish, Vander Ark created a perfect series of driving anthems, rock ballads, and fragile lullabies which are aligned to do what so few bands even attempt anymore (let alone succeed); create an album. Certain modes and harmonies are reused throughout the album, bringing a sense of familiarity to each song. Even the lyrical themes of each song stitch back to back, almost as though the album tells a story of looking, love, leaving and loss.

Believe me when I say that I have been listening to this album on a consistent basis since it’s release in 1996, so I know what I’m talking about. Enjoy the video below, however do the album justice and go pick it up so that you can appreciate the full genius, end to end.


-Can we get you any painkillers for your ankle?
-Will they help me get out of here sooner?
-They should help you feel more comfortable, but sadly won’t affect the timeline.
-Then no… the boredom is far worse than any physical sensation.

Day 1: I just peed in a bottle

And it wasn't that bad. Seriously though, they need to make those things slightly bigger. I was cutting it close.

I was playing rugby on Sunday and unfortunately, in the last 5 minutes of the game (our last game of the season), I had a couple of rather large gentlemen fall on me whilst plummeting to the ground with my ankle at an 'odd angle'. I was up and off the field pretty quick and was able to put weight on my leg, so most (including the physio in the shop after) figured it was just a sprain. (Note to self: trust doctors... not physios.)

I woke up Monday morning to a rather large purple looking ankle. It was at this time that my 'maybe just in case' mindset kicked in. I went to the clinic and had that sinking feeling when even the doctor was disgusted by my body. She decided it would be wise to send me down for an x-ray, but thought it might just be a bad sprain.

If only it were that simple.

The x-ray went through and the tech told me I had a fractured ankle. I almost didn't believe her. She was amazed I was able to stand/walk on it and made passing comments about Canadians and pain threshold.

But wait... it gets worse.

The doctor showed me the x-ray and I was initially quite positive. To me, it seemed as though there were just a couple of fractures along the base of my tibia.... not like a big break in the middle. (Note to self; trust doctors... not self) Apparently, the 'chunks' off the end of my tibia are actually much more annoying, because they will not self set and need to be put back in place with surgery.

Yes... here is the cherry on the cake.

They don't like to just stay there themselves, and I get metal pins down there too. Now I get to be everyone's favourite person in the world to clear airport security with.

Somehow... it still gets worse.

Because my ankle was so swollen, I was not able to enter surgery immediately. No, I need to spend ~4 days in the hospital to let the swelling go down enough so that they can actually operate.

Amazingly... still not quite there.

To help the swelling come down, my leg needs to be elevated for the entirety of my time at the hospital. I can't go for walks, hobbles, or even wheelchair races (which I was REALLY pissed about).

And finally... the haymaker.

I'm not even supposed to get up to pee... they gave me bottles. I'm man enough to accept that humility, but I draw the limit at bedpans. The day to come which I have to defecate in a bed, I'd best be either very senile, or very intoxicated.

-Pour on the love... it flows smooth

Monday, October 20, 2008

Things to do while broke

There are a couple things you can do when your body is all busted up. Like me, you could choose to blog about music, or like yourselves (well, broken or not) you could listen to RJD2. I suppose before we get to the music, I should explain myself. I'll make a long story short; brand new bike, just moved all the gear into a new jam space, sprained the ankle playing rugby yesterday, very pissed off about said combination, currently sitting at home following RICE.

But I digress. RJD2 (Ramble John "RJ" Krohn) is a Philly based DJ. He's been spinning since the mid-nineties and is the father behind some of your favorite beats, without you even knowing it. His first two albums (Dead Ringer, Since Last We Spoke) were effectively instrumental hip hop albums. His third, The Third Hand, was a massive departure from his original work, involving vast instrumentation and vocals on nearly every track.

His tracks are infectiosly catchy, and have provided him an opportunity to work with some big names in the hip hop world. My personal favorite is a track called Ghostwriter. However, in the spirit of my injury, I'm going to show a video which inspires me towards a quick and full recovery (aren't I witty?).



-Back to the ice... ice baby

Friday, October 17, 2008

Smegma?

With an opening like that, how can I not entice you into reading the rest of this post, eh?

I'll cut to the chase, because while I know this mystery is likely what's keeping you reading, I'm becoming a little disgusted with myself. Today's obscure play on words is referring to Richard Cheese (and of course his backup band, Lounge Against the Machine).

What happens when you hold a gun to Frank Sinatra's head and force him to sing 90's pop, metal, and rap? Aside from ruining my childhood, and making me laugh so hard I pee myself, you get Mr. Cheese. The premise is simple; take famous top 40 tracks, and loungify!!

I first stumbled across this song when watching Dawn of the Dead. As the end credits roll, you hear the smooth crooning of RC&LATM playing Disturbed's, Down with the Sickness. I could drone on all day with some of the groups he's covered (NIN, Sir-Mixalot, Nirvana... the list goes on). My recommendation is go listen to it... a lot of it. Your childhood shitty music will be dug up out of the grave, and subsequently rolled around until dizzy.

He's like a Weird Al-Yankovic that doesn't suck.



-Bury me standing, I'm afraid of depths.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

We can cage him, can we hold him?

First, let's just get it out of the way; I know you're disappointed, but are you really surprised?

I promise that's all I'll ever say about politics. (LIES!)

I was lucky enough to be in London this weekend and get me some turkey. In addition to that fantastic bird, I also met some fantastic people. One of said people bonded quite well with me over music. He even mentioned that there is a band he was coming to see in Oxford and that I should join. Unfortunately, the concert was sold out. At this rate, the first live show I see in Ox could be my own.

All the same, I do thank Jeremy a great deal for introducing me to Cage the Elephant, live show or not. I hate dumbing things down like this, but if you like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, you'll probably dig this. Cage is a wonderful blend of rock, blues, funk, and soul. They've got a laid back musical style which one can't help to sway to.

All the way from Kentucky, these guys have only been playing together for a couple of years. They just released their self-titled first full length in June, and while they haven't made much impact back home, are turning some heads in the UK. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that eventually, North America will wake up and smell that of it's own producing. I just made them sound like BO.

Awesome.


-It's not the end, it's the beginning of the end.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Night and Day

As I try to shake off the turkey-induced letharga (thank you Mr. Swanson and Ms.Kubacki), I remind myself that Monday morning, means blog time. I've already woken up at 6:30 and gone for a run after eating enough turkey to take down a bull moose last night. However, my job is not complete until I have delivered music to your digital doorstep.

In yet another horribly cheesy play on words with today's title, I'm going to introduce you to Mr. Jon Day. I met Jon back in 2000 when I started getting involved in the a cappella community at McGill (which, I've already begrudgingly admitted to, ad nauseam). Jon wore this bright red toque and was (and still is) a musical genius. His arrangements were always soulful and intricate, unexpected and moving.

Jon went on to start arranging for a group. Around 2 years ago, he brought together a handful of singers and a backup band and made a project called exhibit A. Along with one of the most incredible and energetic live performances (which I missed... but heard was great), he released a 5 track EP with the same name.

Now, two years later, Mr. Day has brought his body of work together for round 2: exhibit B. As of today, the CD and mp3s go on sale, and on Oct. 22, he will be performing live at Espace Dell'Arte in Montreal. If you are in the city of joy, I highly recommend you check it out.

Sadly, there will be no catchy videos today. You can check out a couple of clips of Jon's tracks on his website. If you swing on over to Oxford and ask me nice, I might be able to show you some of his old stuff from exhibit A as well.

-Rumors and slander is all she said.

Friday, October 10, 2008

I want to do nasty things to Nikka Costa

What?!?? Have you SEEN this woman?

Alright, me getting excited aside, I had an urge to pull an old gem of mine out of the tickle-trunk yesterday. This ended up coinciding almost perfectly with the fact that Ms. Nikka Costa has a new album being released next week titled, Pebble to a Pearl.

Nikka was one of those strange child music stars who had some one-hit-wonder when she was around 10 years old and then disappeared from the scene completely. She came back in the late 90's as a god damned soul goddess. Since her first album, Everybody Got their Something, back in 2001, she has been reviving soul music into modern times and giving me something to move my ass to. Far ahead of the likes of Amy Winehouse, Nikka was also able to avoid the severe drug problems and drama-queen behavior.

How she never went huge, I'll never know. Her music is catchy and danceable, her lyrics are witty and soulful, she's worked her ass off in the music industry, and I'd give up my left arm to spend a night with her. She's obviously turned some heads as she had Lenny Kravitz play bass on her last album and has recieved kudos from Aretha Franklin.

But what really matters is that it's Friday, it's the weekend, and I'm ready to move.



-It's never been too hard to follow; never too tough to swallow

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

A Match Made in Fuck Knows Where

What do you get when you cross Bam Margera’s brother and the lead singer of Clutch? Fucked if I know, but apparently they’re called the Company Band. Originally, this group was formed of members of Fireball Ministry and Puny Human, who eventually approached Jess Margera (of CKY) to play drums with them. Neil Fallon of Clutch was brought on as a guest vocalist, and eventually became a full member.

They released an EP earlier this year titled Sign Here, Here and Here, with only 4 tracks that I haven’t been able to get enough of. As their name goes, this is truly blue collared rock. I feel however, any project which Fallon is a part of is always going to sound like grass roots, ‘good ‘ol boys’, kind of stuff, simply due to his unmistakable growl.

They’ve been in the studio all summer putting down a full length titled, The Vacation of Tomorrow, Today! Personally, I am tickled pink at the mere thought of what these boys will do. Primarily, this stems from the fact that I have a little man-boy crush on Fallon’s voice, but I’m also to see what he can do without his mainstay Clutch, whom he has been with for almost 20 years.

Since they’ve been around such a short while, I wasn’t able to find any videos of them, produced or live. Instead, you’re just going to get to sit through one of my favourite Clutch songs. Just listen to that riff!


As a side note, Willsy and I are going into the studio today for the first rehearsal of the Noble Rogues. I’ve already written around 15 songs, and I’m so excited that I think someone peed in my pants. I give it around 23 minutes before Iain gouges a drumstick through my cornea.

-You don’t say the right things, and I don’t hear the right way

Monday, October 6, 2008

Metal Mondays

Good morning everyone, and welcome to yet another work week. If you're anything like me, it takes a 'mental army' to get you out of bed at the start of the week, and a veritable force of nature to keep you going during the day (read: my new creation, teaffee). Hence, why on Monday, I usually listen to something pretty heavy.

Today, we're talking about Doomriders. I found these guys when poking around the history of one of my favorite prog bands, Cave In. Cave was the sort of group who loved playing together, but was also very understanding of side projects. Playing with members of Converge, Piebald and others, Cave In was a band who traveled the Boston scene quite well.

A few years back, Cave In went on permanent hiatus, which allowed the already exploratory group to branch out into many new sideprojects. One of these was the Doomriders, formed of an old Cave In guitarist turned bassist, and an old Converge bassist turned guitarist.

I know... I'm confused too. That's why it's Monday. That's why I'm just going to shut up and let you watch this video. The quality's not great, so I urge you to check out this track (Black Thunder) on their myspace.



-I'll pour out my soul to anyone who'll listen, but always seem to turn to you.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Sweatshop afterthoughts

In writing the last blog about Sweatshop Union, I was reminded of a video I saw years ago. Kyprios, one of the MCs of the Sweatshop crew used to be a slam poet. The first time I saw his video, it hit close to home, since I came from a small town, which didn't always have the most open mind. It was the type of thing that I wish could be shown to every single kid growing up in the middle of nowhere. Maybe, just maybe, it'd shock then hell out of some kids into realizing that racism just isn't cool.

This video is heavy. Be sure to watch the whole thing before you pass judgement.



-Now, onto something a bit lighter... like my Fri afternoon Guinness

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Get back to work!

If you've been living in Canada and haven't had your head up your ass for the past 8 years, you're undoubtedly aware of Vancouver's Sweatshop Union. What I'll be slightly more forgiving of is if you simply weren't aware that they have a new album out entitled, Water Street. This is not necessarily to conclude that your head is indeed safe from your colon... you may wish to consult a doctor to be safe; I just write about music.

There's been something I've always noticed about Canadian hip hop. Granted, to every rule, there will be exceptions, however, as a whole I've noticed that rappers on the north side of the border have a lot more to say. Personally, I just find there's only so much to be said about bitches, guns and whatever the fuck riding dirty means (Yes, I'm very obviously white). Again, the US has still garnered a lot of my respect with the likes of Tribe, Hieroglyphics, Atmosphere, and of course The Roots.

In Canada though, it seems the majority of MCs have a message to deliver. In my opinion, no group embodies this better than Sweatshop. My cousin turned me onto them back in 2002 with their first release Local 604. Since then, they've put out 3 more LPs, each one being more catchy, thought provoking and enjoyable than the last.

I've only had a chance to hear tidbits of Water St., but so far it seems this huge crew has put forth another body of work worthy of their ranks. Check the video below, and also take a minute to listen to the track Gold Rush on their myspace.



-You wanna marry a music man? Please understand; I ain't no music man

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Be vewy vewy quiet.

Nothing to do with Rabbits, but seriously STFU; my head is killing me.

It'll be a brief post today kids; daddy's nursing one of the biggest 3-day-oktoberfest-induced hangovers of his entire life and is currently having trouble with the sound of keystrokes. I'm going to cheat a bit as well and talk about an artist who I blogged about back in April, but has recently made another inroad into my life.

Back when I used to run an open mic at Hurley's in Montreal, I met this amazing guitarist named Eric who put me onto Don Ross. Ross is a Canadian fingerstyle guitarist originally born in Montreal, but currently living in Toronto (which we'll try not to hold against him).

Just last week, Allison and I bought Iain a drumkit for his birthday. The guy who I bought the kit off was a great musician, and we had a good chat together. During this chat, we bonded over Don Ross, and I found out that Edward (the man selling the kit) had actually done a week long course under Ross just last summer.

I thought that was cool. I also think this video is cool.



-What I don't find cool anymore is litre steins... or loud noises.