New Music, New Province, New Beginnings: Music PEI Showcase 2011, September 27th/11

It has been a very long time since I've written, but it has also been a very long life journey.  Since posting, I have made a very large move from the city of Halifax to the town of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.  Being my place of birth, I have a lot of connection to this place and although its population is less than a third of Halifax's, I feel right at home and just as busy as ever.  Believe it or not, PEI houses some of Canada's (and I could argue the world's) biggest talents and this place is thriving with music; it's just about everywhere you look!  So with that, much networking has been and has yet to be done, and so many more acts have to be listened to.  One of the first places to go for both of those aspects had to be Music PEI's showcase events.

I was able to go to last night's show at the Guild.  The place was crowded with local, national, and international delegates as well as the public, it was a very pleasant atmosphere.  First to the stage was Teresa Doyle, who was absolutely a joy to listen to.  Her sound was a fusion of traditional Gaelic, to contemporary folk, to a bit of Caribbean flare that was thoroughly enjoyed.  I must also comment on her falsetto: her vocal abilities were beyond amazing, not to mention her control over her range.  It's very hard to come by these days.

Next up was Gordie MacKeeman and His Rhythm Boys.  All I have to say about this group is WOW!!  This set was definitely high energy and upbeat, full of fiddle and dancing.  You could tell these guys were up there having a blast.  The most memorable part about this had to have been when the cord for Gordie's fiddle flew off during his dancing and playing, so you could no longer hear him from the monitors.  He then proceeded to do a very high energy dance and finally he jumped up on his bandmate's upright bass and played through the microphone on stage.  Talk about improvisation and going with the flow; I was so beyond impressed with this man for pulling it out like he did!

The lovely Meaghan Blanchard was next on the list of performers and she was definitely a treat to hear play.  Her voice was simply divine and her whole vibe was just wholesome and fun.  She played some really good country songs, as well as engaged the audience to help her sing along with a couple of tunes.  The last song she sang called "The Bumblebee Song", a slow ballad, just gripped my heartstrings and made me fall in love with her music.  I look forward to seeing Meghan perform again in the near future.

The bands continued for the rest of the evening and I must say that the performances were hardly a disappointment at all.  I look forward to many more live music shows over the course of my time on PEI!

Evolve is on the Horizon!

In light of the festival that was voted the best music festival in Canada coming up in just about a week, I figured I would write about my first experience at Evolve last year.  I'm sure those of you who are veterans of Evolve Festival can relate and those who are not don't quite get it, but that weekend in July 2010 absolutely changed my life.

Upon arrival on the Friday afternoon, you saw so many cars and then all of the people walking up the hill with their gear.  Already I could tell the vibe was incredibly positive and loving.  The first thing that happened as we walked through the gates was that some girl I didn't know came right up to me and gave me a huge hug followed by a warm "Happy Evolve!".  This actually happened several times with people I didn't know, and it was probably the best feeling in the world to have so much love around.

I'll never forget going over to the main stage and seeing Jonas receive CBC's award for the best festival in Canada.  Rich Aucoin came up right after, and it was just so surreal watching him up on stage interacting so well with the crowd with props and other random objects.  The best had to have been when he decided to take a surf board and literally crowd surf in the audience.  Awesome!

So many more bands were so wonderful each and every day.  I barely slept and didn't feel like I needed to just because I was so happy and full of life that it just didn't seem necessary to me; I just wanted to take everything in.  Rain or shine, people were out dancing and loving life.

At the end of the festival, I was so sad to go.  I got back into the swing of things and immediately craved that vibe again in Antigonish.

Hopefully this year coming will be just as amazing if not better.  So many friends of mine will be going this time around, and I'm going to say that it will up my enjoyment exponentially.

8 more days.

Get ready to Evolve!

New Music Tuesdays @ The Seahorse: April 5th/11

The weather wasn't exactly the greatest this particular Tuesday, but nonetheless I made my way out to the Seahorse to catch bands Minus World, Audrey and the Agents, and The Whiskey Kisses perform New Music Tuesdays, put on by Music Nova Scotia.  I got there a few minutes after Minus World began their set, and I was impressed with the amount of people who were already on the dance floor.  This band is only a two-piece band, but it definitely does not discount the sound that comes off of the stage.  Their set up involves a drummer and a keyboardist/vocalist, accompanied by a Nintendo DS that has been programmed with some really awesome beats to go along with them.  Needless to say, the entire set Minus World played brought a huge smile to my face, especially when Justin MacPherson Wiles threw a couple of tambourines into the crowd and proceeded to take his keyboard off of its stand and turn it into a keytar!  It was a great time filled with lots of dancing and good times.

Next up was Audrey and the Agents.  I hadn't heard of them before, but I did know that they came far in the Battle to Warped Tour II that had taken place at the Seahorse in the prior months.  Due to the nature of Warped Tour, I had assumed I was going to hear a more metal type band, but I was happily mistaken.  Audrey and the Agents had a great hard rock feel with a punk influence, and the singer Chantal Caissie blew me away with her vocal abilities!  Their sound was definitely danceable and at the same time you're able to rock out to it too.  I was incredibly impressed with the band, and I look forward to seeing them play the Seahorse again on April 29th when they open for Halifax band Gloryhound.

Finally, The Whiskey Kisses were next on the stage.  They were a country rock type of band, which personally is not a genre I overly enjoy.  Despite the obvious lack of interest in the musical styling, I must say that the band was incredibly talented at what they did.  The vocals were great for the genre, and the different types of guitars that were being played throughout really added dimension to the songs being played.

Overall, this was a fantastic set of musical acts to step up onto the New Music Tuesday stage!  Be sure to check out this Tuesday's acts at the Seahorse: Carson Downey, Wheeler, and Six River City.  Cover is free, drinks are affordable, and you'll get a chance to check out some very talented Nova Scotia emerging artists.  Can you think of a better way to spend your Tuesday?

For more information, go to http://musicnovascotia.ca/Events/NewMusicTuesdays/.

Cheers,
A

Update: April 4th, 2011

Today I submitted my final article into the SMU Journal, which is unreal considering that means it's the end of the semester already!  Now that I no longer have any material to submit to them, all of my articles will be appearing on this website, so make sure to keep an eye out!  Next up you will see an article on this week's New Music Tuesday followed by many many updates from this year's ECMA week in Charlottetown, PEI.  Stay tuned, folks!

xx,
A

Contribution to the SMU Journal, Jan 26th to Feb 1st Issue!

Hey all,

My apologies for being away for a while there.  I have recently began writing for the SMU Journal as a weekly contributor.  Last week's issue was on Halifax rock band Stone Mary, and this week would be on Ryan MacGrath (Halifax) and Ashley Condon (PEI).  If you're in the Halifax area, pick up a copy of the SMU Journal to see it in print, or if you can't get to one or don't live in the vacinity, you can check out my articles every week at http://www.smujournal.ca/.  Feel free to email me at amandah.turner@gmail.com if you want to pitch me a music-based article :)

Keep on checking in on this end, however, as I only have one article I can write a week there, which means plenty of others could make an appearance on the blog!

Cheers,
A

ECMA Media Release, Jan 5/11: ECMA Announces Artists Performing at Atlantic Brand Confabulation

Sending a big congratulations out to Alice Stops Time, Andy Brown, The Sidewalks, and Richard Wood for earning the opportunity to play in front of Kiss's Gene Simmons!  Underneath this is the media release that the East Coast Music Association put out on the 5th.  Check it out!

Atlantic Brand Confabulation Website: http://www.thebrandedtour.ca/
East Coast Music Association Website: http://www.ecma.com/

-A

"(Charlottetown) - The East Coast Music Association (ECMA), in conjunction with the Atlantic Brand Confabulation, announced today that Andy Brown, Alice Stops Time, The Sidewalks and Richard Wood will perform at the Atlantic Brand Confabulation at Casino New Brunswick in Moncton on January 14. Legendary Kiss band member Gene Simmons will be the keynote speaker.

“This is an incredible opportunity for artists to play in front of influential music industry and brand experts,” says Su Hutchinson, executive director of the ECMA. “Our goal is to really provide additional year-round opportunities for our artists and we are thrilled to be part of incredible event.”

Interested ECMA artists submitted a short video as part of the application process and final selections were made from an experienced jury of industry professionals from the ECMA and Brand Confabulation. These artists will play in front of Gene Simmons and the crowd of 850 at the event.

East Coast artist Dave Carroll of the widely- popular United Airlines video will also be sharing the stage with Gene Simmons. "Gene Simmons is an undisputed master of branding and self-promotion and so I'm really looking forward to meeting him and honoured to share his stage in Moncton,” says Dave. “My story is first and foremost a „music story‟, so the fact that I will be able to add some performance to my presentation is an added bonus."

The greatest marketers, branders, and leaders will be united at the first Atlantic Brand Confabulation at Casino New Brunswick, in Moncton on January 14th. The Confabulation is above all else an amazing learning and networking opportunity with people from across the country joining to celebrate and learn even more about the world of personal and business branding.

The event is presented by Moncton's The Momentum Group who feel the unrivalled line-up of speakers have walked the talk and shattered traditional marketing strategies to create their own super-brands. “From social media and visual marketing, to merchandising and self-branding, this one-night dinner event will be the most intense and educational three hours that Atlantic Canada‟s brand community will ever see."

The ECMA is a not-for-profit organization whose mandate is to foster, develop, promote and celebrate East Coast music locally and globally. East Coast Music Week is an annual event organized by the East Coast Music Association as a critical part of its mission statement. The 2011 event will take place in Charlottetown, PEI from April 13-17

Visit the Atlantic Brand Confabulation for more details.

Selected artists’ videos:

Alice Stops Time (NS) - http://www.youtube.com/alicestopstime

Andy Brown (NB) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-FGYBQi6ow

The Sidewalks (PE) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHzkxQSs3Q0

Richard Wood (PE) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vES7QjOF8ms

-30-

ECMA Media Contact:

Lori Lancaster
Manager, Marketing & Communications
(902) 860-4330
lori@ecma.com

Brand Confabulation Media Contact:

Brad LeBlanc
brad@gainmomentum.ca"

Book Review: "Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain" by Charles R. Cross

For Christmas, I was lucky enough to have received a copy of Kurt Cobain's biography, Heavier Than Heaven, and needless to say I was excited to read about this rock icon the second I unwrapped it.  I started reading the book, and I was quite honestly surprised by what I read.  It's been over 15 years since Cobain died, and it had been a huge game of telephone in regards to what had actually happened to him, what his life was like, and the like.  Having not researched Kurt Cobain on my own, I was under the impression that he was a drug addict from day one and was murdered by his widow, Courtney Love.  The book, however, told a different story.

The author of the book, Charles R. Cross, conducted over 400 interviews to write this biography.  I was utterly amazed at how thorough he was when it came to getting all of the information he could.  The way the book was written made the story flow well, and though there were many details and facts thrown in there, it didn't bog down the writing.  Cross told of a young boy afflicted with the trauma of a divorce, who desperately wanted the attention and affection of his parents.  The way his brain worked was dark, and unlike anything I've read before (the author made sure to put in excerpts from Cobain's journal).  I always assumed the dark and confusing writings were caused by drugs, but turns out they were present since before he became a hard drug user.  Cross continues to talk about the many faces of the band, the dysfunctionality of the group, the climb to the top, and the people involved on his way.  Then, comes the drug problems, the rehab, and ultimately his last day on Earth.

By reading this book, I have come to the conclusion that Kurt Cobain was a man with a dark past that loved his family and friends, but didn't love himself.  I give Cross kudos to really bringing his life to light in that sense, however, there are things I'd criticize about what he wrote, particularly the ending.  I really don't think that Cross should have written about the last day Cobain was alive, as nobody but Cobain himself actually knows what happened.  At that point in the book, the story went from a truth to a tale in my opinion.  Others criticized Courtney's accounts, but I've got to say that I do believe them, and that Cobain did kill himself.  Of course, that's my opinion on the then 27 year old's death, and there are tons of theories out there on the matter.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves music.  The journey through the story was unreal, and you learn a lot about Cobain and his family and friends.  Not to mention, there are details about his songs and his music videos/interviews that come to light in the book that really make you see them all in a different light.  Pick it up, check it out, you won't be disappointed.