What a year!

Well, It has been roughly a year since I decided to walk into work....and tell them I was leaving to pursue my passion of Video and Audio production. It was a scary day, filled with self doubt, second guessing, and "if it doesn't work out i'll........"

My co-workers looking at me stunned.....but understanding completely that this is who I REALLY am.

Who would have thought a year later I would be on my 180th video project, and busy beyond any expectations. As my own boss......I make sure that I balance work and life, and that my work positively impacts my community.

Thank you to all of my wonderful clients! It has been an awesome year, and I have learned so much from you. I look forward to all of the fun and exciting projects on the horizon.

Most of all, thank you to my wife Ashley, and my scary supportive family and friends who were behind me from day one. I was never made to feel selfish or crazy when I chose this path, and I spend every day working to make you proud.

Sincerely,

Ben Srokosz
Spur of the Moment Media

For the Love of Live Music

Ever since I was 13 and saw my first live concert.....live music has been the source of my love affair with the music industry. To me, nothing compares to the urgency, the feeling of being in the present, the emotion that can be captured, and the experimentation that takes place on a live stage.

Even before that first show......Licorice Fix live at the CAW hall in Chatham, ON........I started watching live music through the lens of 90's Saturday Night Live. Week in and week out, another prominent band would take the stage and prove or disprove whether they had the chops to translate to the stage. Monday mornings at school were often talks of how they sounded compared to their albums....whether the singer could really sing, or whether the drummer hit as hard as Dave Grohl. (nobody ever did of course....). 

When I started to have friends over to jam in my Dad's garage....fondly entitled "the shed", band practice was always executed in the sense of performing for an audience. My bandmates and I would practice our best Thurston Moore impressions, slamming our howling guitars into the speakers and after hitting that final note, holding our hands in the air as if to receive praise from the pop cans and cobwebs that called "the shed" home.

When I got my drivers license, first order of business was to buy a minivan so that I could fill it with 6 of my best friends and head off to a live show. Sometimes they were all ages, other times we slipped in without getting our ID checked. "Act like you belong here" was my mantra. Between the ages of 17 and 21, most of the greatest moments of my life happened on the way to, during, or after a great live show.

For 5 years I drummed in a band called "Square Root of Margaret", a local Chatham band with enough reach that we could easily get gigs around Southwestern Ontario. I was able to play many of the stages that my idols performed on......and while you would think that would intensify my appetite for live music, I actually spent less time going to shows for sheer pleasure. Living through the ups and downs of my own band.....as well as talking to the bands we shared a bill with, put things into a different light. I was surprised how often bands were not enjoying that act.....but rather obsessing over whether they were in a desirable time slot......whether they "screwed up", or whether there were enough people in the audience. I was always grateful just to be playing music at all.....and trying to hit my drums so hard that I broke them. (I only ever broke one snare skin in those 5 years!)

Now that my band has called it quits, I go to shows hoping to see those magical moments when a band locks into the audience and the show becomes an event for all those involved. Most of the time it is a cover band going through their motions.....or an original band not sharing the experience with the crowd.....and the experience is far from magical. When a band gets it right......it is even that much more rewarding. In those times I look around at the sparsely filled venues and think, "I wish there were people here to see this!!". Maybe I am crazy, but there are times when a band is so good I feel as though anyone would be moved.....regardless of what they are into.

I recently sat at a table to mutual friends....so they didn't already know the band that I was there to see. I kept telling them how good the band was, so that they wouldn't leave during the opener and shove off to another bar. The band came on, and killed it. Every person at the table turned around in the booth to get a look and kept remarking how great the band was.....and how they couldn't believe they hadn't heard of them before. I wanted so badly to say...."how often do you come here to see bands? Its not their job to come to your house!". Of course I didn't say it, I was just happy that those 5 people caught the live music buzz that night.

Spur of the Moment Media has always been my way to keep bands connected with audiences, and keep original bands playing live. At times my role is simply cheerleader for a struggling local band, or a father figure keeping them working. Many sleepless nights mixing tunes for not enough monetary reward, but with the rewards of having that music exist forever. Archiving, sharing, and promoting. Pushing the band to get off their ass and believe in themselves enough to take it in front of an audience. Telling them not to give up. Trying to make sure that others will develop the love affair that I did.

What is your experience with live music? Do you only go to the big ticket shows? Do you wander into empty bars in search of that next undiscovered band for the bragging rights that "I knew them first!". I'll take a moment to dig up some videos that pay homage to some of the great live shows I have witnessed, and I'll post them below.

The Human Element?

My last post was about the film "Sound City", and this one kind of touches on the same themes, the phrase Dave Grohl uses several times of the 'human element' to music. Since then, either I am more aware of it, or something is happening out there.......but I hear this theory being discusses more and more.

I am a total gadget nut......I love playing with new technologies, learning how to use softwares, apps, etc. I've never really considered just how much technology can isolate us. I've found myself arguing for how technology connects us, but has technology reached a point that it has replaced human connection? Since the dominance of cellphones, that seems to be the case.

Ever find yourself texting when you could call? Could visit? Could meet someone for lunch to discuss something rather than sending them an email? Maybe I am just getting old.....but I feel myself more and more wanting to battle this tendency to isolate myself from others via technology. I want my son to experience things without googling everything first.

The film Sound City, and the spinoffs it has induced; articles, blogs, etc, has touched on how technology has changed the way music is made. As a former graduate of audio engineering school and a technology freak, I have been all for the Neato!-factor. The gadgets, the different gear, and techniques to 'improve' the sound of music. How that is often done, is by isolating musicians in ISO-booths......or soundproof rooms so that their parts can be re-recorded or 'fixed'. Or simply to stop the bleeding of one sound into the microphones on a different instrument. Or how about not using microphones at all? Direct lining instruments, and then re-amping them later. (The process of taking a direct signal and patching it through different amplifiers, etc, to later simulate sounds). Then the next step is, just laying down all the parts to a song separately.....no longer needing to have musicians in the same room at the same time! Or even being in the same city/country and just sending files over the internet. Or just doing everything yourself. That is the trap I most often fall into.

It doesn't stop there......at music. This 'upgrade' in the way we work invades everything. Teleconferencing, conference calls, living life live VIA satellite. When did it stop being about a way to be there when you couldn't be there......and turn into a reason to just not need to be there?

My fondest memories of being in a band come from band practice.....or being on stage. You feel like a musician when you can make music with a group of people......improvise, push the envelope, challenge yourself to nail a part on the fly. Needing those other musicians to add their part that you can't reproduce. Blending your feelings and passions with another person to create something you can't do alone or in isolation. Why do we throw that out the window when making a record? Retreat to our soundproof booths from behind triple paned glass and go for coffee while the drummer puts down the beat to a click track? Is variation weak? Is being human not good enough? Sure, sometimes the creative process requires some experimentation that can't be done on the fly.....but most of the time that is not the reason to digitize the process. It's the want to make things better than we can humanly do.

The musicians I respect most can perform their music effortlessly live......without the veil of production. The act of playing music becomes pure expression because the want to 'get it right' is no longer there. Getting it right is a state of mind. The buzz they get from stretching music to new heights and never quite knowing what will happen next is the drug that they feed the audience. People miss that feeling or never have experienced it at all. Then they go to experience it and walk away from the concert hall raving about how much 'better it was than the album'. Then they tell their friends to watch the youtube video later to see what they missed, but the electricity isn't translated to the micro speaker on their friends' cellphones. They can't feel the floorboards thump with the feet of 500 fans stomping, hear the way the sound reverberates from the walls and watch the ways the crowd and musicians interact. They don't see the mistakes because they have all been scrubbed out for the video.

Being the guy who generally makes the videos and fixes stuff......I admit hypocrisy.

So.....I'm at the point of the post where I am supposed to start reeling it in. Making the point, giving the pinchline, or the 'what am I suggesting we do about it?'. I don't really know the answer......but several things come to mind. Stop trying to make everything perfect, stop being afraid to make mistakes or sound human! Realize that the 'mistakes' are often the best part because they remind us that we are listening to a group of people making music together rather than a computer. I hear the word 'authentic' tossed around a lot these days. As though authenticity is in short supply in today's digital world.

I'm getting closer to the point.....

Get together with people and make music......try something to see how it will turn out rather than planning everything out. Meet someone face to face to tell them some good/bad news rather than flipping them a heads up text. Go analog......in life. Easy for me to type, (I realize the irony here), but hence why I have all but ceased conventional studio recording and gone back to only recording bands live......or at least live off the floor in my studio. I want to feel that magic and capture a great performance rather than building one from the ground up. I want to make a band go home and practice until they are good enough to sound amazing live.

If you are still reading at this point.....you are either identifying with the musicians perspective or considering how it applies in every day life. And it does. Let's get back to using technology to remove barriers to us connecting......not letting technology connect for us. If you are watching something amazing and everyone is trying to film it on their phones......just watch. Experience it. Let your memory be the only record of that event, and then get together later with people and tell the story. Don't just write it in a blog and edit it till it sounds just right.   **wink**

 

Sound City

Anyone like myself who was coming of age when Nirvana's Nevermind was released in 1991 is probably a bit stunned at the heights Dave Grohl has reached in his career. I don't say that because he isn't deserving or hasn't worked harder than most. Think about it......how many stories are there of drummers stepping out from behind the kit to front a band......then going on to sell over 10 million records....and then going on to direct films? Oh....and collaborate with Sir Paul McCartney on live television? Yes....he deserves all the success he has earned.

I'm sure 19 year old Dave Grohl wouldn't even be able to process it, or even want it. That young kid drumming in Scream, a Virginia punk band would probably look at the success of Foo Fighters and accuse of "selling out".  Boy, have times changed. Grohl is fighting to keep a center in the current state of the music industry; which lives in the left, follows formulas to create hits, and insists that a drum beat must snap to a grid on a computer screen to sound "right". Heck, most bands now record their drum parts and then the engineer copies and pastes perfect drum hits over all the imperfect ones as though the differences in drum hits are some sort of flaw or weakness.

Hence, Grohl's newest project, "Sound City". A documentary film about the legendary music studio in the Los Angeles Valley that recently closed. As the film explains, studios popped up all over America in the late 60's, and through no rhyme or reason.....certain buildings became the environment where our greatest rock records were made. Sound City stayed the course with analog recording throughout the digital revolution, largely due to the legendary Neve recording console that it features. At the time, sticking with analog tape, tubes, and transistors seemed stubborn and limiting. In truth, the limitations of analog often force the musicians to focus on a great performance rather than laying down parts and "fixing it" later on a computer screen. I have been working towards a live recording culture at Spur of the Moment Media....although it ain't a cheap undertaking. Thankfully, I had the pleasure of using a Neve console and recording to 2" tape in college.... but now it is 15 years later and I have yet to do either again. Who has $50,000.00 to set up even the most basic of analog studios? What band can afford to pay a studio bill when their songs are being sold online for $0.0004 per play? I feel torn between these 2 worlds.

If you watched the 2012 Grammy's, you may remember Dave Grohl accepting an award for the Foo Fighters' album Wasting Light. In his speech he mentioned the human element in musical recording, and I wondered that night who was hearing this statement and understanding its meaning. What Grohl was trying to describe in a 33 second acceptance speech is now explored in detail with Sound City.

One point that is made in the film is that in todays world, many musicians would never make music if it wasn't for the ease and accessibility of recording to a computer. Bands can record themselves and release an album digitally at little to no cost. So what is more important......the human element of analog, or the ability for more musicians to make music? How many of today's bands would not exist if they needed a $10,000 budget to release a record?

Grohl is saying that there is a place for both....but again how relevant is this message outside of his world? After all, Grohl grew up in an era where a record label would cut a $60,000 cheque to a virtually unknown band and send them to a studio to craft an album.

In the end, this is a great documentary for any fan of Grohl's, or anyone who has an interest in what magic happens in the analog music studio. I'm not so sure about how the average music lover will appreciate or enjoy this film due to the extensive chat about the equipment and studio elements, but it is worth the effort either way.

Sound City is an important view into an era that is fading away, and I truly believe that analog recorded music must be preserved as an art form. 

Feist Wins the Polaris Prize

On September 24th....Feist Won the 2012 Polaris Prize for her 2011 Album "Metals". I have my own opinion on this which I am about to express. There have been some mixed reactions to Feist winning....and from what I have followed on Twitter, Facebook, and several internet news articles, I wonder if everyone truly understands what the Polaris Prize is all about when they are posting these comments.

The Polaris prize may or may not be something you are aware of each year.....I'm guessing it would be tied to how involved you are in the Canadian music scene. If your idea of keeping up on current music is tuning into corporate radio and listing to the the weekly top 5 at 5, chances are you aren't aware of what is going on. I'm not bashing corporate radio with this paragraph.......but I am acknowledging that corporate radio's idea of "new music" is generally the most recent bands that they are allowed to play by their sponsors. That could be an album release 5 years ago.....or one that isn't yet released.

Beginning in 2006, the Polaris Prize was meant to recognize the best Canadian Album released in the previous year. Remember what I just said....."Best Canadian Album", not artist. I'll reference this later in the post. The Polaris Group Board of Directors selects 200 "Jurors". These Jurors are Bloggers, Journalists, Broadcasters, etc, and no Juror is allowed to have any financial link to any artist. Each Juror picks what they believe to be the best 5 albums released in the previous year.....and based on a points system, (5 for top pick, 4 for second, etc), a list of 40 albums is selected and released to the public. Then the Jurors pick their top 5 from this list....points are awarded, and the list is narrowed to a "Long List" of 10. The top 10 bands perform at a Gala in Toronto in September for 11 of the Jury members, known as the "Grand jury".

There you have it..........a system to ensure impartial selection of the best Canada has to offer each year. Sounds great doesn't it? Well.....there are still many who wonder how an artist like Feist could have won.....as though she is too big of a star and that this Polaris thingy has become a popularity contest. One thing I will stress is that Polaris is not meant to be confined to "Underground", "Indie", or artists that "need the help". There isn't a maximum income requirement. The Prize is open to any Canadian musician. If those 200 Jurors somehow feel that Celine Dion belongs in the top 40, then her record would go into the pool. (God Help Us).

So lets talk finally about Leslie Feist. I became a Feist fan through her involvement in Broken Social Scene, just as many Canadians did. I already knew who she was, I had seen her perform as part of the band "By Divine Right" at a music festival in Hamilton in 2000. Her involvement in Broken Social Scene years later, however, was what made me take notice. The delicate yet powerful voice jumped from my speakers and I couldn't help but notice the sexy silhouette jumping about in the "Almost Crimes" video. For those who only later knew of Feist as the girl from the iPod commercial, they may not realize the sacrifices she made leaving By Divine Right to focus on a solo career.......travelling all over the world attempting to carve her own identity, only to find greater success back in a collective band as a featured singer. When I finally purchased "Let it Die", the genius of her solo work became quite clear, and then looking back to "Monarch", and forward to "The Reminder" confirmed what I already suspected. This girl has the battle scars from the road, the chops both vocally and on the guitar.....and she can write one hell of a hook.

"Metals" feels like a bit of a departure for Feist, almost a back to basics, or the way you get to know yourself again after a break-up. There are no jump out radio singles on the record like "Mushaboom", "One Evening", "1234", or "Feel it All". Therefore, I found myself listening to the album in the background rather than blasting hits in the car as part of a playlist. This revealed to me the beauty of Metals as a complete work of art, front to back. The production is very transparent. Instruments are captured as though you are sitting in the room and feeling the pulse of the bass or the thud of the bass drum from the floor. The acoustic guitar on "The Bad in Each Other" has a tone and timbre that every engineer dreams about hearing through their studio monitors. Some of these elements may have been derived by the fact that Feist chose Big Sur, California as the place to lay down the record. Or the fact that rather than a slick studio, they brought gear to a cliffside home and lived and worked as one. The result is a record that is not trying to please you, but rather a record that invites you in to stay a while.

As you can see, I am in agreement with the choice of Metals for the Polaris Prize. I have not heard every album on the short list.....so I can understand why some may feel that a particular band was robbed or overlooked if they were as taken with one of those albums. Most of the reactions I have read however refer to the fact that Feist "doesn't need the money"..... "give it to someone who does". Again, I repeat..... the Polaris Prize is not based on the bank account or level of opportunity the artists enjoy. (although I am sure Feist would chuckle at the thought that people think she has a fat wallet). It is based on the people who live and work in the industry and their pick for what single album deserves to be known as the best of that given year.

I wouldn't single out any artist in the top 10 as not deserving a win unless I had thoroughly listened to the album and compared. I certainly hope that those who are criticizing the Feist win aren't basing this on whether or not they liked her in the iPod commercial. I hope that they gave Metals a solid listen and it didn't prove its worth. Bottom line.....there is no musical conspiracy with Polaris once you understand what it is all about. I'm glad we live in a country where one of our Musical Stars still has their feet firmly on the ground.


I'll leave you all with a track from Metals, performed live on Jools Holland.

Olenka and the Autumn Lovers

I'm very obsessive when I fall in love with a new band or record.....I'll just play that album over and over in the car to and from work. Then when I get super crazy about it I'll start pushing it on my friends. There have only been a handful of records that have qualified for this obsession in the past decade....but when I find one it is all that much more sweet. Although there are many great bands out there today writing many great songs.....lets face it, we live in a world of singles in 2012. 

Every once in a while a band crafts a GREAT album. What qualifies for a great album? There are so many factors.

Obviously pure musical ability is a factor.......maybe a great voice, great production.......but when an album is elevated to GREAT, for me it is because of how the album flows. How one song relates to the next, and the way the first song grips you and takes you through to the final note. 

A year or so ago I was in Grooves record store in London, ON. (the place to go to find GREAT music). As usual, I'm asking the dude behind the counter who the newest or best local band is at the time. That day the clerk told me to check out "Handsome Dan and his Gallimaufry". Pretty elaborate and interesting band name I must say. Is there a guy in the band named Handsome Dan? Is he in fact Handsome? Anyways.....when I asked "what do they sound like", he replied...."Well, the guy from Handsome Dan plays in Olenka....so.....they are pretty cool".

I ended up purchasing Handsome Dan, but when the guy tried to explain how good they were by referencing the other band that he plays in.....I couldn't help but wonder who this Olenka was. The store was sold out of all their Olenka albums, so I went home and bought "And Now We Sing" from iTunes. 

The first track "Odessa" showcases all aspects of lead singer Olenka Krakus and her group the Autumn Lovers. Deep, soulful singing........soaring harmonies, bouncing classical guitar that is kissed by rich violin and cello. Initially, I couldn't make it much past the first track. Just kept repeating it over and over and singing along. Once I started letting the album play through, that was when I realized the Gem I had discovered.

The next song that really gripped me was "Mama's Bag". I can't tell for sure if it is a romantic tale that Krakus is recounting from a novel she read....or whether it is a more personal story. Either way, the combination of the lyrical imagery, and the way the vocal and guitar melodies intertwine.....a very pretty tune.

The deeper you listen into the album, the more you understand Krakus' vocal mastery. Similar to the way Bjork tests the boundaries of the human voice.......Krakus busts out a vocal clinic. For anyone that remembers and loves the Velvet Underground and Nico album.....imagine if Nico could actually sing. (Thats right, I said it).

The other elements on "And Now We Sing" that should not be overlooked are both the warm, intimate production, and the blazing lead guitar work.....both electric and slide guitar. Recorded at the House of Miracles in London by Indie legend Andy Magoffin.....the album has an electricity that is captured with brilliance on each track.

And just like any great album..........there is an epic track. Louise of Littleville is that track that just nails the coffin. A singalong melody, and a slowly building momentum that pulls together the records' best moments and holds them up for all to hear. 

I realize I am pretty late to the rodeo with this post......many Londoners are probably reading this and wondering where I have been, considering Olenka has been a fixture of the local music scene for years.  Well, that doesn't make me any less of a fan.....and I'm hoping to spread Olenka's music to some new ears. I had the opportunity to speak with Olenka when she was in Chatham for Culture Factory's Indiefest this past August, and learned that she is putting the finishing touches on her third full length album. I'm not sure how she plans to top the greatness of "And Now We Sing"......but something tells me I might be writing a follow up post in the new year.

Sheepdogs

If you are a fan of indie rock and haven't read the August edition of Rolling Stone, shame on you. That article is the story of the Canadian Dream.....for every young musician who wants to try and have a life in music. In fact, reading it reminded me a bit of a Cameron Crowe movie. With the Pitfalls, and triumphs of a blue collar band looking for direction in a music industry full of roadblocks, monsoons and stolen vans.

So why am I writing this Blog post now? After 4 months of having the Rolling Stone in my magazine rack? Well.....because I had the chance to see the sheepdogs live at Call the Office in London, Ontario of course. Fitting......as I spent the majority of my young adult life seeing bands come through CTO; destination unknown. What a crazy sensation to see possibly Canada's biggest band on their upward trajectory.

I had heard that Sheepdogs were coming but it was sold out as fast as I could even think of booking it. I wasn't at all surprised. Turn on any rock station and you'll hear "I Don't Know" and "Who" played every couple of hours. About 2 days before the show, I get a text message from a friend that they have tickets and one of the holders backed out of the show. Its mine if I want it. I have to get up at 7am the next morning for work.....but in my mind there is only one right answer. There you go, I'm going to see Sheepdogs.

We all take a Van from Chatham to London, 5 of us, all caught up in the cinderella story. Sure we have heard the hits and we bought the album.....but part of the draw is still the legend of the rolling stone cover. I couldn't help but think of what it must have been like back in the heyday of 70's rock, going to see a band like Led Zeppelin in their raw state. Not yet one of the greatest rock bands of all time.....just a damn good band burning up the airwaves.

We arrive in London, and out front of Call the Office is a massive tour bus pulling a trailer. Hmmmmm we thought, is there a rock show tonight? The funny part is......I have been going to call the office for 15 years and I've never seen that. But could it be any other way?

My favourite exempt from the Rolling Stone article:
- The Sheepdogs' nightmare touring stories are epic. "Basically anything and everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong for us," says Gullen. They can't agree on the most dispiriting moment, but the time their van's transmission blew on the way to Calgary is near the top of the list. For the last 4 hours of the drive, they had to stop every 10 minutes and pump in gallons of transmission fluid. They finally ditched the van 15 minutes from town, had friends drive them to the gig, and returned the next day to discover a pile of broken glass in the van's place. Or when they drove 34 hours to Toronto for a big-city club gig and arrived to find that the club was closed that night. (they all peed on the door.) Or the tour when their van was broken into 4 times. Or the multiple times they've booked shows in Halifax, only to have nobody show up, making the 50-hour drive back to Saskatoon even more depressing."

So I ask you....is there any better symbol of success in Canadian indie rock than the "Tour Bus"? I have seen countless artists roll up to Call the Office in minivans or cargo vans. The Dears, Hawksley Workman, Thrush Hermit, Eric's Trip, Sebadoh, Hayden, Wintersleep.....you name it. I think once you have the tour bus you can safely say you are doing something right.

It was also the first sold out show I have been to at CTO for years. It brought back a rush of memories.....having to stake out a spot and send runners to the bar, puffing out my arms and shoulders to keep a pocket open large enough for my friend to return. Drinking Labatt 50, the forgotten ale. Legs sore, back sore......secretly hoping for the night to end before I collapse yet unable to take my eyes off of the stage. Ahhhh those were the days.

The Sheepdogs were fantastic. Absolutely nailed every note of every song, vocal harmonies dead on as well. They played with the urgency you would expect from a young band with their dreams coming true.And they are YOUNG. Could I be any more jealous? I've played that stage before, but never to a crowd like that.

I only hope that somehow the success of Sheepdogs can spark some sort of action in the Canadian Music Industry. There are countless amazing bands out there that you'll never hear. Maybe with this rags to riches story the label execs will look a little further down their noses and give some more young indie bands a chance.

I thought I'd troll youtube for some posts of the show from Dec 8th....and I was able to find one. A nice Jam called "Down By The River". Below that is a nice live clip of "Who" from CBC.

Eric Welton

Back when I started Spur of the Moment Media, I was the first signed artist (baddum cha). I didn't intend to be a solo artist as much as I just loved recording music and the only person I could count on to always show up at the sessions was myself. I recorded 5 albums in the span of 8 years and although my closest friends and family showered me with praise, I never expected the recordings reach too far.

Soon after recording my first cassette I met Eric Welton. We swapped music and had a few good chats about local bands. We both shared the love for recording our songs (for mostly our own enjoyment), so we traded our most recent recordings. Shortly after I moved to London, Ontario and didn't run into him again for several years.

Eric contacted me one day to ask for a copy of my 2005 album, "all the broken hearts". He had heard some tracks on my myspace and was really digging the direction I had gone in. After I got him a disc, I kept hearing from others that he had really been pushing the songs. Playing the cd at parties on repeat, playing it at the bar he worked at, lending it to friends......little did I know he had been doing that with my music ever since we swapped our first albums 7 years earlier.

But this post isn't supposed to be about me.......I'm saying all this because Eric Welton is just that kind of guy.......the champion of his local music scene. Always attending the gigs, always sharing news about local bands. Always bringing people together to support local music and foster the scene that we all want to be a part of. He helped to give me the confidence I needed to re-start Spur of the Moment Media after my day job had taken over the better part of my life. I suspect he has done the same for countless other Chatham-Kent and Windsor artists.

That is why it makes me very proud to return the favour on October 28th by releasing Eric's newest album......"Kill Them With Kindness" on Spur of the Moment Media as our 26th album release.

Kill Them With Kindness is a collection of noise pop gems ranging from the melancholy ballad "The Evil In Your Violence" to the very Pavement-esque "Gone", to the all out dance jam "LC/DC". All the Welton fans out there are in for a serious treat, this one is a must have.

So friends, I'll finish this post by saying....now's the time for me to share Eric Welton with the world. For those who are already familiar with Eric's work, get ready for "Kill Them With Kindness"......coming October 28th on Spur of the Moment Media.

(heres a video to leave you with, as always. the title track)

Band of Horses

I remember the day I discovered Band of Horses..This was around spring '06 I think. I was sitting at home in my last house in London, Ontario and i was listening to some good old itunes radio. I decided I would flip around to some indie stations and try to find some new bands to get into. I went upstairs for a beverage and when I came back down I heard a GREAT song and ran around the corner to see who it was. All I could make out in the song title was "horses". So I did a google search "horses music band" and the name "Band of Horses" came up. I played a couple of their tunes and it wasn't the same band I had just heard.......but actually even better! As soon as I saw that they were on Sub Pop, that was it. I had a new favourite band. Ok, call me indie snob but the Sub Pop sticker usually indicates quality.

I ended up locating the album through the Sub Pop site and giving it a listen....it was like nothing I had ever heard. The vocals were soaked in reverb and in some weird southern accent. The songwriting was incredibly simple but layered in fuzzy guitars and thumping drums. The song that grabbed me the most was "Our Swords"......I just couldn't get enough of the transitions and delayed bass.

I remember playing that CD for everybody who came to my house.....it was almost like cost of admission. It gave me that feeling I haven't had since highschool.....when there was a such thing as underground music in my life. It seemed like every band that came out were gems that I could show friends and feel like the "founder". NOBODY had heard of Band of Horses and EVERYBODY loved it. That was a great summer. I'm pretty certain that BOH dominated my car cd player for 6 months or more.

After searching for shows and only seeing mid western - west coast shows, suddenly DETROIT! Perfect, called up some friends and we made the run for the border on June 15 06 to the Magic Stick.

As we walked up to the venue, there were 4 very scruffy looking fellows with sunglasses on having some food. My friend Eric turned to me and said "I'm pretty sure thats them....I'm going to go ask". Turns out it WAS them.......and they were absolutely astounded that we knew who they were. They were expecting to play Detroit to a crowd of unfamiliars. We explained how huge of fans we were and that we were Canadian.......again they were bamboozled. "You drove all the way from Canada!!!!!" exclaimed Ben Bridwell in his awesome South Carolina twang. We let him believe that was a big deal for a few minutes and then finally admitted that it was only a 1 hr drive for us.

I'd love to say that they knocked our socks off at that show....but unfortunately the sound guy at the Magic Stick was off in LaLa Land. There were many technical issues and not many people attending so the show didn't quite have the energy to leave us buzzing. After the show we met up with the band again out front and before sharing good-byes, Eric took the Canada Pin off of his jacket and handed it over to Ben. Ben acted like we had just given him a bar of gold, and offered that if we wanted to come to the Toronto show in a couple of days.....that they would put us on the guest list.

So Lee's Palace in Toronto was our next stop and I will say, this time they did blow us away. That show was incredible. We hung out with them, shared some beers, and chatted about the craziness they were starting to feel surrounding the album. In only a couple of days they had already begun to feel the mayhem and had been offered to make a video as well as appear on David Letterman. They were so humble and down to earth, it kind of imprinted on us what is pure and good about indie rock shows.....the ability to see bands that are in the exciting stage of their careers. The stage that is full of wonder and hope for where it all may lead. The ability to buy your new favourite Rockstar a beer and not have 100 hipsters lined up for autographs, all pretending they were the first to Discover the Band.

To finish off the post, I'll put up a couple of clips I took with my Dig Cam at that show. Lets just say I went back to Lee's Palace a year later to see them again and it was like U2 came to town. There would be no beers with Mr Bridwell in 2007.

Helium

I love blasts from the past. I was doing some cleaning in my studio and decided to throw on some vinyl so I could whistle while I worked. Digging through my milk crate full of records, I flipped right past my Helium record, and then stopped. I decided to throw it on, since I haven't given it a spin in a couple years. After the first couple of notes.....I remembered just how much I loved Helium in the day.

Helium was in no way a big name in the 90's indie scene. My recollections are that they were marketed as a slacker band with a cute and pouty female lead singer, and I don't believe they ever had radio rotation in Canada, or even a hit. Most of their acclaim came from "The Dirt of Luck", their second major release. The album was lifted by the singles "superball" and "honeycomb", and was full of ambient, feedback laden guitars with dreamy tempos. They came and went for me....I didn't pay a whole lot of attention at the time but thought they were cool.

Several years later I was at the record store and saw "The Magic City" on vinyl. I didn't even realize Helium was still around, (I found out they weren't) but I was starting a modest vinyl collection and thought..."what the heck". Got home, put it on......and wow. Such a huge leap forward musically, stylistically, much deeper songwriting. Also, much stronger guitar work. That record spun several times that summer and fall and I played it for many of my friends. I also respected its true album feel. There are no weak points from start to finish. The album ebbs and flows and tells a story from start to finish. Definitely the type of album you can listen to on repeat throughout a day.

Just a few years back I went to The Phoenix in Toronto to see Spoon with opener Mary Timony......who I didn't realize at the time was the cute and pouty but also kick ass guitarist of Helium. She put on an amazing display that night and really rocked the crowd. Between her set and Spoon taking the stage.....I saw her sitting at the merch table and went over to say hi and pick up a copy of her solo album. She seemed a but surprised when I brought up Helium and specifically my love for The Magic City. She remarked that although The Magic City was a labour of love, it was also their dying gasp.

Often times bands can peak too early and receive acclaim for the weaker album.....only for their landmark album to be overlooked and passed by. I suspect that they were marketed for the stereotype that Timony filled during the era of Courtney Love and Babes in Toyland, but the talent was never truly recognized. Victims of being lumped into a genre that is on the way out.

A similar and more recent band that comes to mind is Montreal's "Land of Talk"......and many parallels can be drawn to Helium. 3 piece band, strong female guitar player, killer rhythm section. I though for this blog post I would simply post videos for each band and let you see for yourselves. 2 great bands from 2 decades apart....both underrated IMHO. Enjoy

The Pixies

I referred in an earlier post to my cousin Steve who has great taste in music. Well, theres another Steve with whom I shared much of my discovery of great music with.

That Steve was a friend I met in high school, he was a friend of a guy named Carl who sat in my science class and wore a Nirvana T-Shirt, so naturally we became pals. The three of us, Steve, Carl and I were pretty much unstoppable after that point. We hung out together, played in a band together, and I think just about every band I got into was a result of sitting at Carl's house and either watching hours of much music or dubbing cassettes from each other.

I don't exactly remember when I first heard of the Pixies.....I want to believe it was the "Here Comes Your Man" video and sadly all I remember is we thought Kim Deal was hot. Carl was really into them.....and Steve would flip through magazines and reference things like "did you know Kurt Cobain says Surfer Rosa is his favourite album of all time?"

In those days I got into bands largely because I fed off of those two guys' excitement. So for me, the Pixies were reasonably good, but the fact that Carl and Steve were so into it made me want to get into it too.

Years later, once my ipod became my best friend....I REALLY started to listen to those albums. Now I started to understand the genius. The songs were incredibly raw...gritty. Frank sung in spanish on many of the songs which I'm sure wasn't going to rocket those songs onto the radio. He sung about rape, murder, incest, sex....not exactly top 40 material. But it was unique.....something I was craving. I got particularly hooked on the tune "Dig For Fire"from Bossanova......which I played on repeat in the car until I could memorize it.

One day I was at the record store and there was a Live Pixies DVD sitting on the shelf, so I bought it. Took it home and watched it.....and that was the next obsession, to be watched over and over until my roomates were banging their heads off the wall.

Before I knew it the Pixies had announced the reunion tour and I had tickets for Voodoo Fest in New Orleans. Pixies, Sonic Youth, Beastie Boys, who could turn that down? Going to that show and seeing the massive crowds absolutely adoring them was in many ways surreal. Who were all these people? Where do they all come from? Nobody at my work has even heard of them....yet there are literally 50,000 people here screaming their lungs out and singing every word. Did Fight Club do this? I guess it was half people like me......."rediscoverers", and the other half people who were aware of the band in their heyday...."True Fans".

Just a month ago Steve sent me a Facebook message that The Pixies are playing Massey Hall in TO and he was picking up tickets. This will now be the 5th time I'll be seeing them live, and reunion tours are all too common these days. (Hell, Pavement reunited)

I read somewhere though that there are now legitimate talks that they want to get back into the studio. I had been hoping for some new material when they reunited 7 years ago....or had I? Are the Pixies nostalgia, or relevant? Should they be bringing out new material and potentially tarnish their legacy? It seems reasonable that they've done reunion shows for the past 7 years because the payload has been huge and the fans are hungry for it. But is writing new material crossing a line?

I think it is their past that raises that question. The famous stories of the feuding and fighting......the disagreements between Frank and Kim over who should write the songs.

At the end of the day.....its their legacy to lose or to maintain. Who am I or who is anyone to tell them making new material is a smart or stupid move? To me it is based on how long since their last release. 1991. They aren't even the same people anymore. How can a band that hasn't released new material since 1991 and has spent 7 years touring their "Hits" come out with new material that even stands a chance against their classic albums? And lets face it.....if that record isn't Damn good and resemble themselves 20 years younger, the backlash will be ugly.

The pressure must be unbearable and its why I don't think it will ever happen. I'm calling it now.......don't expect to see a new Pixies album any time soon. For now I guess we'll just have to reminisce in this video clip. Enjoy.

The Grammys!!??

Yeah....so I may be just another in a looooong line to post about this, but there is no avoiding this topic.
I was on the way to work today, listening as usual to the 89x radio morning show. Ya know.....I'm not a huge supporter
of mainstream radio, but I am a supporter of laughing my butt off on the way to work. Anyhow......they start talking about the Grammys and my Jaded, Cynical self starts thinking......"hooray! Time to find out whether Lady Gaga won 8 or 9 Grammys for ripping off Madonna!"

But then.....they said it. Thats right. THE ARCADE FIRE WON. I turned up the volume......did I get that right? Or are they talking about the Junos?

Nope.....they said it again and this time I heard it loud and clear. A Canadian band was recognized on the world stage for album of the year...and an independent Canadian band at that. I almost ran my car off the road out of sheer pride. And listen up folks.....winning the Grammy for album of the year is ACTUALLY A BIG DEAL.

As a Canadian....I am used to the stark realization that we have amazing music that never gets any recognition. I mean.....I think everybody has known for years that The Arcade Fire are one of the best bands on the planet......or that Broken Social Scene is one of the most astonishing bands to see live. In fact, no one writes a hook like By Divine Right, or has a voice like Feist. Nowhere will you hear a duet sung like Stars, or feel sorrow and longing like a Dears song. Yes....Thrush Hermit broke up too soon, but Joel Plaskett is awesome solo. Try to put on a Metric album and sit still....you can't. We have Sloan who broke up just to get off a major (how cool is that!). We have Eric's Trip...the only band I've ever heard who captures real heartache on 4 tracks.....and the list goes on. Wintersleep, Hawksley Workman, Land of Talk, The Stills, Sam Roberts, Cuff the Duke, Hayden, Two Hours Traffic, Apostle of Hustle, The Arkells.....

Despite my utter certainty that Canada is the promised land for great music, I also expect at best a 20% chance anyone I talk to outside of my circle of friends has even heard of any of the above bands. And that is because we all listen to US radio and watch US television. So we hear the same 25 - 30 songs over and over and over again. Somehow we can be duped into believing that selling quantity signifies quality.

But something funny happened a few years back. Canadian indie bands started getting exposure on car commercials.....ipod commercials.....and in movie soundtracks. We became the land of "I love that song but I have NO idea who it is!". Unfortunately that isn't enough for Canadian artists to put food on the table.

That is why this Arcade Fire thing is significant. Somehow, the committee or panel could not avoid the genius of that album. Or maybe our generation just grew up and got into a position of influence. Or maybe it was just seen as "Cool" to pick the underdog. Either way, I'm excited to think of where this thing might lead. Sure, there will be a backlash in the mainstream media.....people will say Justin Bieber was robbed. (Hey, at least he is Canadian)...but I have to believe that somebody watched that silly award show last night and thought "maybe I should check out this Arcade Fire".

If there is one thing Canadians can learn from this experience......support our bands! Buy a cd. Better yet, go see them live! Buy the t-shirt and wear it proudly. If you are strapped for cash, there is one thing you can do that is free. Email your local station and request a song. Whatever you do, just take the time to appreciate that you live in a country where honest music is being made for the listener.....not for the paycheck.

And now.....here are a few examples; new and old.

By Divine Right

I think all music nuts like me have the band that we introduce others to, because we just can't believe that more people don't get into them.

For me, that band is By Divine Right

Back in 1999, I went to Hamilton with a few friends to a show at the Sonic Unyon record store.....at the time Sonic Unyon was our Sub Pop or Motown. Anything coming out of there was instantly in our CD players. We would drive to Hamilton (about 2 1/2 hour drive one way) just to go to the store and hang out or catch some bands. By Divine Right was touring their new album, "Bless This Mess". I remember being mesmerized by the raw guitar sound coming from Jose Contreras. This was especially unique because I usually just fixated on the drums.

I bought Bless This Mess that day, as well as All Hail Dischordia, their previous album.

My band at the time would jam a couple BDR tunes and we always got compliments.....then had to admit it was just a cover. I even had some friends who went to see the Tragically Hips next tour and saw BDR open for them. They all bought the BDR album and fell in love with the band.

But in true Canadian Rock fashion, after the Hip tour......those people stopped following the band, and Bless This Mess collected dust in their CD collections.

I moved to London, Ontario in 2001 hoping to find work and hoping to see some great bands. Little did I know that the London scene had just fallen apart and most of the bands we used to drive to London to see were either broken up or stopped coming around. I joined a band called Westminster Park who had recorded their first album prior to my arrival....at House of Miracles Studio in London. They always raved about "working with Andy". I was a bit jealous because I had set up a studio in my apartment.....but it was the healthy kind of jealousy that drove me to work harder.

In 2004, I was at Dr Disc and saw the new BDR album "Good Morning Beautiful". I was just excited they were still together, as I hadn't heard from them in years. I put in that album and was instantly blown away by the new sound they had created. I flipped into the liner notes to see where it was recorded. WHAT!? House of Miracles Studio in London, Ontario!!!!

Not only did I play that album for every person I knew because it was an awesome album....but also because it was recorded locally. This was the point where "Good Morning Beautiful" didn't leave my cd player for nearly a year.

Every person I played the new BDR record for LOVED it. I can't count how many friends had to own it after I spun it at a party. But again, when the next couple releases came out, "Sweet Confusion", "Hybrid TV Genie", and I scooped them up.....those same friends said "Oh Yeah, I still have that old CD you showed me.......no I didn't know they were still together!"

This was maybe the first time I realized how detached the Toronto scene is from the rest of the country. If bands weren't coming through London......we really didn't have any other way to hear of them. They weren't on the radio.......they weren't in the local rags. Over the next couple of years I never saw any BDR shows advertised and just assumed they were a recording band only.

Again....fast forward to 2009 and facebook. Thats right......I am on facebook. How can you be a musician and NOT use facebook? Anyways, I searched By Divine Right one day.....and there popped up "Mutant Message", the new album!!!!!

This time I wasn't going to wait and hope they'd play in London....(in fact they didn't). Instead I contacted them myself and asked them if they'd like to play in Windsor with my band. To my surprise I got a message back the next day from Jose himself! Jose is not your typical ego heavy band frontman.....he is one of the most genuine, kind people I've met and he just plain loves to make music. Pure and simple.

I suppose this post has to end eventually......but the moral of the story is, for whatever reason, BDR hasn't been able to break out into the mainstream like Metric or Feist or Broken Social Scene......they are not on iPod commercials or plastered all over every local music magazine. But they deserve the same recognition. The albums are truly important pieces in Canadian Indie/Rock history and you should check them out. And even more rarely......I won't tell you to "listen to the old stuff first" like I would introducing someone to Sloan. (Sorry Sloan.....I still love you). Feel free to listen to the new album and work your way backwards, because its all good. You really can't go wrong. Heres a taste to get you started.

The Arkells

The Arkells are one of those bands that snuck up on me a bit.

I kept hearing the name everywhere......friends were asking me the million dollar question,
"Have You Heard the Arkells?"
To which I reply every time they ask me that type of question....."I've heard OF them......don't know em".

Then one day my band was asked to play Phogfest, a celebration of the Phog Lounge in Windsor being named
"Canada's Best Live Venue" by CBC Radio 3. As we eagerly awaited to see the list of bands added to the bill,

Holy Fuck
The Pack A.D.
Yellow Wood
The Peace Leeches
Michou
.....The Arkells!

I was at work the next day and one of my co-workers asked me if I'd heard of the Arkells... Here we go again!
Turns out my co-worker went to Mcmaster with Max, the lead singer/guitarist of the Arkells. He said he could put me in touch
with Max via facebook so that we could chat at Phogfest. I had no idea what to expect.

So then I got the idea.....why don't I call up my friend, Drew Skitt host of "London Calling" (London TV Show), to come down and do a special show on Phogfest! When I told Drew the list of bands, he heard the Arkells......"Hey! They're amazing....lets interview them!"

And so we did. I held the camera, Drew asked the questions. Max was nowhere to be found but Mike and Dan caught my band's set and we snagged them. They were very friendly funny guys.....and I got the impression quick that they had been on quite a whirlwind ride that summer. They talked about playing shows down in the US, big shows it sounded like.

Here is the interview that eventually made it to London Calling.



After the interview they took the stage and Rocked........The..........Place
How had I never heard of these guys? They played some Motown covers and that really hit home. I've always been a sucker for Motown. I rushed over to buy their CD, but their manager caught me in my Bee-Line and handed me one for free. "Thanks for the Press"

So there you have it. The Arkells. Just when you think the only good stuff is the quirky and underground....... they come along and bash you over the head with loud proud anthemic good old Canadian Rock.

After that show I heard their name a lot more........and saw them play the Vancouver Olympics on TV. And I'm secretly hoping they become the biggest band in Canada. Maybe you are reading this blog right now and will click below and check them out too. They are playing tomorrow night in London, ON and I'm going to see them. They just might be worth a follow up post in a few days.......yeah

Enjoy

Grooves Record Store, London, ON

Did you hang out in record stores?
Are you a part of that generation?

I was watching a documentary called "I Need That Record!" Which talks about the death of record stores, and it made me realize very quickly.....that is one of the biggest losses of the new generation of music lovers. That enjoyment that came from digging through bins and discovering new music with your hands and ears.....not through TV Commercials or Facebook Groups.

And I'm guilty of owning an ipod and buying music from itunes.....and selling my bands record on itunes....but the other day I was in London, Ontario with an hour to kill. I dropped by my favourite place in the whole city; Grooves Record Store.

Grooves is the classic record store. Built with the natural flow in mind where you walk in the front door and the first thing you see is the new releases rack....full of great new indie releases. As you walk to the right, there are racks of local music and used gems. Then you can walk around the whole store in a loop, CDs alphabetically on the left, Records alphabetically on the right.

Troy, the owner, is your typical audiophile nice guy and advocate for local artists. He even opened Grooves in a punk rock way; by leaving the record store he worked at for years and years....and opening his own. And the workers are local musicians, audiophiles, and music fans so if you take your items to the checkout, theres a good chance you will be cashed out by a local indie musician and you can find out what is going on....where the show is that night, or who needs a drummer or they are going to break up.

So that day I needed to slow down the pace a little. I had driven to London to get a bunch of work done and I was on a very tight schedule. But I stopped in and just went up to the checkout and asked what was new and local. They fixed me up with 3 CDs just off the top of their heads....


1. Shawn Clarke - like birds too tired to fly
11 tracks of light poppy melodies. Reminds me a bit of the Fruit Bats


2. Handsome Dan and his Gallimaufry - Provincial Parks & Breaking Hearts
6 neu-country / folk tunes.


3. Say Domino - who's we?
rockin, fast moving, tight drumming indie goodness

The guy behind the counter is in "Olenka and the Autumn Lovers" who are in my opinion the brightest light in the London scene. Troy walked up to me while I was checking out and handed me a zine called "Eye Spy" by Chad VanGaalen. He said that Chad told him to only give the zine to "not jerks". (Chad told him to? He knows Chad?)

I contemplated releasing my bands last record digital only...but then I woke up and realized that I wanted to still have a physical CD to hold and share. I guess I just narrowly missed being a "Jerk"

I drove away from Grooves that day remembering what I love about record stores...and music in general. It isn't about just going in and buying a cd. Its about the community and the friendships that the stores create. It is about talking to your friends about new bands and meeting people at rock shows. I've lost a little bit of that since starting my career and watching friends move away. I think I'm going to make a point of it to drop by Grooves whenever I'm in town.

If you want to be a part of a great community and learn about what is going on locally....not just on television, If you want to remind yourself what Vinyl smells like or feels like, then stop in at Grooves on Clarence st. You won't be disappointed.


Heres a link to an in store performance by a friend named Henry Svec, performing a song from the CFL Sessions.
The song was written just after being cut from the Argos.

Apostle of Hustle

My cousin Steve has awesome taste in music....and he really should be the person I call whenever I want to know what is new and good. He still manages to stay on top of things.....whereas I am generally stuck about 10 years back.

I remember when he introduced me to Apostle of Hustle. "Its the dude from Broken Social Scene"....thats what you might think he said. Actually he just played me The opening track to "National Anthem of Nowhere" (2007). I remember hearing it and loving the pop-indie hooked-ness. So we went to Call the Office (legendary London, Ontario haunt) and checked out their show. To my amazement, I didn't really hear the pop-indie hookedness coming from the stage. Instead I heard this strange latin influenced almost flamenco sound emanating from the well-worn speakers.

I was really blown away by that show. There was an electric vibe......one that If you told me "hey man, goin to see this latin influenced indie band".......I would have said. "no thanks".

But thank goodness I went to that show under false pre-tenses because I opened my mind up and loved what I took in.

Fast forward a bit.....to 2009 and Apostle released "Eats Darkness". Again, my cousin Steve called me up to see if I was going to the show. By this point I was helping out a buddy at "London Calling", a local cable show. I got adventurous and called up Arts & Crafts (apostle's record label) to see if I could get an interview in addition to catching the show. To my surprise they were super nice and encouraging.

Not only was Andrew Whiteman the rock star persona I'd hoped he would be......quirky, mysterious, funny, and carrying a load of experience from the road......but he was very engaging as an interviewee. He didn't just lay down and answer our questions. He challenged us, made us feel a bit uneasy, but also gave us some insight that surprised me......told us things I thought he might hold a bit more private. We bought him a nice bottle of scotch to show that we did some homework. (he is known as a scotch man), and he enjoyed the bottle with us. He told us stories about how a trip to Cuba influenced his music, and how he had met William S Burroughs as a personal life accomplishment.

The best part of that day was that I also accomplished something cool.....I interviewed someone that I really respected as a player in the Canadian Indie music scene. Not everyone could say that I guess.

He then went on to play a scorching set in the London Music Club. Super intimate, SUPER powerful thanks to the mind blowing drumming of Dean. (I'm a drummer so thats what I tend to use as a guage of a great show).

The result is....at least 1 in 3 times that I get in the car and turn on my ipod.....apostle is the first place I click. and Eats darkness is the definite choice. So to everyone reading this....if ANYONE is reading this, check out Apostle of Hustle. In my opinion one of the most unique and vibrant artists in the Canadian Music Scene......pushing the limits of what is "indie rock".

Here is the piece I did on Apostle for London Calling. I'm especially proud of how the live music segments turned out....I hope you enjoy it too.

Sonic Youth

Its safe to say that everyone who knows me......knows that SY are my all time favourite band. Not because I listen to them all the time, or know every post-washing machine song word for word, but because of the way they affected me in a pretty impressionable time in my life.

When I was getting into high school, everything was Nirvana for me. I was at this party for grade 8 graduation and one of my pals handed me a cd with a baby floating in a swimming pool, and what ensued was total obsession.....an obsession shared my many many kids at my school. Sometime during grade 9, another pal handed me a video called 1991: The Year Punk Broke, and although I'd heard of Sonic Youth and thought they were OK......I was blown away by the fact that Sonic Youth was clearly the 'reason' for the video. Nirvana was just a tag along act on their tour, and I wanted to know why that was.

So that got me curious. After Kurt committed suicide, Spin magazine put him on the cover. Me and all my friends rushed out to get it.

Somewhere in the middle of that mag, there was an advertisement from Geffen that talked about Sonic Youth re-issuing their back catalog. I remember staring at the page in disbelief that they had THAT many albums! How did I not know about this band sooner?

I tore out the page and stuck it to the wall by my bed. I decided at that moment I needed to own all of those records. In those days, it wasn't so easy to collect albums. The record store in Chatham didn't carry anything cool. My friends and I had to hop on a train to Toronto in search of these elusive re-issues. $80 bucks later, we arrived at HMV and pooled all of our dough, buying Daydream Nation, Sister, Evol, Goo, and Dirty. We taped them for each other in true best buds style. I remember I got to keep Daydream and Evol as my own.

Then I joined Columbia House, solely for the purpose of trying to track down the other albums. I found Confusion is Sex, The Whitey Album, Bad Moon Rising, and Experimental all at the same time. This all happened in a 3 - 4 week period so I was truly in SY overdose mode, listening to them every day all day. I remember countless times just laying back on my bed with my eyes closed and imagining the most amazing landscapes and images to try to put the music into perspective. I suppose I could try and sound cool by saying I got stoned to them and heard messages in the music......but I was pretty straight laced at the time. I think one time I was even moved to tears by the beauty of the full on chaos that closes out 'Expressway to Yr Skull', so who needs psychotropic enhancement when guitar tones could alter my perception.

Think about that....how amazing that is, to have people listen to your music and just want time to stand still.......to feel like you put them in a perfect moment. Would I ever make music that had that effect? I suppose thats nothing anyone should consciously try to do. I wonder if SY even realized what was happening behind closed doors with their albums.

Among my group of friends....SY were mine. Nobody truly loved them like I did. So it was something I could be proud of and grab on to. That statement may sound silly to kids growing up in NYC, where I'm sure SY fans are a dime a dozen. But in Blenheim District High School......being a SY fan was an identity. And I felt fearless when they were in my walkman or blasting out of my stereo at home.

I finally scored some tickets during the Thousand Leaves tour......and went with a car-load of friends. I remember hoping I could get close to the stage, and I remember hoping they would sound as good live. I had come to grips with the fact that they probably couldn't re-produce those insane sounds on stage....but I was ok with that. Nobody's perfect.

They ended up playing the whole Thousand Leaves album with Death Valley 69 as an encore.....and if you'd told me that was what I was going to see, I would have been disappointed; wanting to hear 'the classics' probably.

But they were un-be-lievable. They re-created all of the impossible feedback and guitar textures live, to my amazement. They sounded so much bigger and better live than I could have imagined. I don't even remember how it happened, but I pushed my way to the very front. All that stood between me and my idols was a huge mean looking bouncer and a guard rail.

I saw them many times after that, and they were just as amazing every time. They deliver live consistently what many bands can only aspire to deliver once.

I'm sure many people have stories like this about many bands, and they all hold a band near and dear to their hearts like I hold Sonic Youth. Looking back on my devotion to SY and where it has calmed to since Rather Ripped was released......I have no regrets. I suppose my obsession could only last so long....through so many albums. Who knows......maybe I'll dig out some Sy and throw it in Monday morning for the drive to work.

Maybe you should too. Here is a taste to get you in the mood.

WAX

On Saturday Night I was at the Phog Lounge and saw this sticker on the wall:

....and it reminded me to go home and listen to Wax Mannequin the next day.

So I guess it did its job; it wasn't stuck in vein. If you've never listened to Wax before, then the picture really says it all. He is creative, he is different, he makes art from the unlikely.

First time I saw him live he was playing solo with a drum machine at the London Music Club....and he had roses stuffed down the collar of his shirt.....coming out like a ruffle. To those who had seen pictures or previous performances, this might have been a familiar sight. To me, it was new and captivating. After every couple songs he took out a rose and tossed it on the ground in front of him. No explanation what for....just part of the show.

Not that its always about me.....but that couldn't help but remind me that I used to come up with odd art, I used to be more of an artist every day. I don't see Wax in his day to day life but I get the feeling he lives his art.....sees everything in slightly a different angle than the rest of us.

I tried playing some Wax for some friends when I was in Toronto one night, and they didn't get it. I play it in the car for my wife and she hates it. But something about the wreckless abandon of his song structures and powerful yet controlled vocals just makes sense to me. He sings as though no one else is in the room.....like some sing in the car or shower when they don't have to hold back. And the lyrics are clever and well thought out......vocals used as an instrument more than just a means to an end.

Anyways, I'll let YOU be the judge. I think Wax Mannequin is one of the true Gems that has come out of SW Ontario......and deserves more attention than he necessarily gets.

#1 best song of the 90's? Pavement? What?

Today I got a real blast from the past.....Stumbled upon pitchforks staff "the top 200 tracks of the 90's". My friend had said something about it on facebook.

And number one was Pavement: Gold Soundz?!

My first feeling was......god I love that song. That was the song that I listened to over and over.....and while my friends argued whether Wowee Zowee was better than Slanted and Enchanted, I was thinking "what about Crooked Rain?". Then it transported me back to when I first listened to Crooked Rain. Those opening chords of Silence Kid, the lovely twang of Range Life, the warm tones of Elevate Me Later, or the hopelessness of Stop Breathin.

For me though it was always still about Gold Soundz. But how could that song possibly be #1. What other songs were on this list?

Mazzy Star - Fade into You

Belle and Sebastian - The State I Am In

Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

Bjork - Hyperballad

Radiohead - Paranoid Android

Pulp - Common People

and more....

Pretty darn good list.....maybe I should be working at Pitchfork, chatting at the watercooler with people whose hearts stop when Bjork comes on the radio, or they flip the channel and hear Pulp screaming out of their little TV speakers..rather than the usual garbage played on the elevator station at my job.

I turn to my wife with this big grin, about how cool it would be if Pavement was really worthy of the number one spot. What is wrong with that anyways? What IS wrong with Pavement being #1 on that list? Is Gold Soundz a good enough song? Why have I turned my back on this band that I used to obsess over?

Anyways, I'm not sure why this was such a big deal to me.....I guess maybe because of how little praise Pavement Gets. Half the people I know now in my life never heard of them. They were always mentioned in the same breath as Sonic Youth, but never before them.

So maybe a few more people will read my buddy's facebook post and click the list and think..."who the hell is Pavement and why are THEY #1?" and then seek them out and download Crooked Rain. Maybe a few of the people that went to the Toronto Island this past June and wondered why Broken Social Scene would open for this unheard of band will try to learn more about them.

So to the staff of Pitchfork......thanks for the reminder. You've just put one of my favorite bands of all time back on my playlist. To everyone reading this, click below and enjoy.