Jumping on the Obama bandwagon

In case you live under a rock and haven't heard, the U.S. economy is going down the shit drain.

Let's state the obvious:

*The Neo-Conservatives AKA Wolfowitz, Cheney, and the rest of the Bush camp knew all along yet decided to tell the rest of the world right as George W.'s term is ending (sneaky sneaky!)
*If Obama becomes the first black President he's going to spend his entire term cleaning up this Neo-Conservative mess

Interview with Chris Adeney of Wax Mannequin

*You’ve been quite busy this tour, are your creative juices still flowing? 
I’m usually ready to burst with juice. I actually just got a new guitar. I’ve been having fun with that… It’s hard for me to finish songs while on tour, but I get lots of ideas that I record into a little device. Then I finish things when I get home. 

*What has been your favourite city and/or concert so far? 
I just played a neat little gig in Ymir. We performed in an weird old school house. It was a pretty spooky building and half of the town came to the show. People got drunk and screamy by the end. 

*Have you played in Edmonton before? If so, what was it like? 
I play in Edmonton a few times each year. It’s usually pretty fun. I like smaller venues, but I’ve been playing at the New City lately. They’re really nice to me and the decor in there is fuckin crazy. I’ve heard good stuff about the Haven. It seems like the right size of room, and they treat people fairly there. I played at the Haven before it was the Haven—the Black Spot. That was a deluxe little activist commie place. It had the right kind of thing going on there. Hopefully the Haven has tapped into some of that craziness. 

*You mentioned you were touring with a lot of people on your website, how 
has this experience been so far in comparison to your other tours? 
Yea. I traveled east with Rich Laviolette and the Burning Hell. Two really deluxe acts. I really like the camaraderie that goes along with that sort of travel, but there are logistical issues with getting from place to place, sleeping, eating and whatnot. I like the fact that we all suffer together. Solo is more painful, but I make more money. I prefer the poor, rambling caravan tours that I’ve been doing lately. 

*Do you prefer a band backing you over performing solo? 
I used to like playing solo better, but now I like them both in completely different ways. My band is fucking incredible. Aidan and Mark are supremely talented fellows. 
When I play solo, I get intimate with my machines. That’s nice too. 

*Carl Wilson of the Globe and Mail called your performance “Un-Canadian,” 
what are your thoughts on this statement? Have you changed your performance style since then? 
I don’t know. I think that what I do is very Canadian. I’m not quite sure what Carl meant by that, but he’s a nice guy none the less. I think that I represent all of the things that this Country is afraid to admit about itself. They’re not bad things at all… just scary things. 

*How would YOU describe your performance style? 
Scary and funny. Dancy and sombre. 

*What was your goal after the success of your third album The Price? Have 
you succeeded at accomplishing this goal? 
I just keep making stuff. I really enjoy the things that I do. I think it’s more about the road than the destination. 

*What is the music scene like in Hamilton and/or Ontario in comparison to 
Edmonton and/or Alberta? British Columbia and/or Vancouver? 

Hamilton is gritty and explosive. Edmonton is attentive, drunk and dancy, Vancouver is awesome fights on the inside until you can’t afford the rent and you move someplace cheaper. 

*What is your connection to animals in relation to your music, song titles 
and lyrics? 
I wrote a few songs about the animals. I seem to have moved on from it, but it felt really right at the time. It turns out a lot of people are writing songs about the animals. I just try to do things that feel right. I like that animals are funny and scary at the same time. Right now I’m watching a cat scouring a kitchen counter for old bits of tuna. It’s cute and fairly gross. 

*Do you miss the days when it was just you and a computer recording your 
music? Or have you embraced the studio recording process? 
No. I used to record with a four track device. I did miss playing my classical guitar. An ex-girlfriend of mine smashed my last classical guitar when we broke up. I finally bought a new one on this tour. It’s bringing back all kinds of old juice. 

*Are you watching the Olympics? 
No, but I’m listening to people arguing about the Olympics on the radio. I think that the Olympics in themselves are fairly stupid, but I’m fascinated by all of the politics that surround them. 

*What’s YOUR favourite song on the radio right now?  
I hate the radio. I have satellite radio now and mostly listen to the news. Sometimes I listen to music stations. I heard the new Spiral Beach on there the other day. That was fun. 

*Any thoughts on the upcoming show at the Haven Social Club? 

It’s going to be nice. There are a lot of people in Edmonton that I’d like to re-connect with.

*****August 15th, 2008

Note: I haven't been posting a lot because I have two jobs and it's kicking my ass. I thought I would include something I'm working on right now for the Haven Social Club. It's a brand new live music venue in Edmonton, Alberta and I'm in charge of promotions and all that jazz. For more information go to www.thehavensocialclub.com or check us out on Myspace and Facebook! I am done my advertising for now, more posts to come when my ass is not getting kicked.

Day One of the musical orgasm

It was like a Jewish concentration camp...in reverse.
I entered the grounds of the Pemberton Festival via a bus, after a long drive from Edmonton to Pemberton through the Lillooet road. We had camped overnight in a parking lot near the entrance, and the next day after the tickets were dealt with, we were waiting for a shuttle bus to pick us up.
Three buses came fairly quickly within half an hour, but apparently the day before some people were waiting for over 8 hours for a bus and some gave up and started marching to the entrance in the dark.

After packing in our bags and packing into the stuffed bus, we all started cheering and singing "This is the song that doesn't end" for one round only. People were running along the road beside the bus frantically trying to throw their packs in. We were happier than pigs in shit: all we had left to do was set up our camp, which was a lot more difficult than it sounds.

We were dropped off at the entrance of the gate, but our campsite was a 10-minute walk away because all the closer campsites were already taken by people who arrived the day before. It was hell dragging all our crap to the site, some people simply wrapped up everything they had in a tarp and dragged it along the road.

Within minutes I knew that we had a serious case MERRITT MOUNTAIN FEST LEFTOVERS.

















After we set up our camp I headed straight to the main stage because mother fuckin' Metric was opening!!!!!! I was there two hours early, and one hour before the Festival was to officially start the guards opened up the gates and all die-hard Metric fans rushed to the stage hoping to get a front row spot.

And I did!!!! I nearly soiled myself, I wasn't expecting it to be sooo easy to get to the front row.
Waiting for the set to start it was obvious some in the crowd were already wasted. We started singing the national anthem and chanting "Metric" until some drunk-o yelled "FUCK CANADA" and each head turned in his direction.

Metric's set was more than amazing, and I was inches away from Emily Haines. She looked a lot different than I expected her to look, and was probably pushing 40, along with the other band members. For the last song Haines stated how much she enjoyed us singing the National Anthem, and then asked us to sing along to "Metric's national anthem" ("Live it Out"). They played an awesome slower version and I proudly belted out each word of the song. Emily then left the stage as the rest of the members sang the outro, and then surprised everyone in the front row by running along the front of the stage.

Although Metric's crowd was pretty big, Wolfmother drew most of the drunk hicks to the stage. I stuck in there in the front row and was completely blown away. Lead singer Andrew Stockdale was nothing what I thought he would look like, and I couldn't believe that amazing voice came out of such a tiny guy. I was told beforehand that Stockdale was an asshole who was known for throwing temper tantrums during concerts, but he seemed like a humble guy who was enjoying himself as much as we were. He was constantly looking over the sea of faces in the crowd and made eye contact with us several times. (yay!)

But the bassist was superbly lame and thought tilting the keyboard over while he played it was "cool."

Next was Serj Tankian, I'm not a huge fan but I was excited to see the lead singer of System of a Down so close in the flesh, so I decided to stick around in the front row. I was disappointed to say the least. Serj is creepy, not freaky like in his SOAD days. He chose possibly the worst song to open up with and merely moved his arms around and smiled this creepy smile. All his band mates were wearing black top hats, but not Serj of course, he was wearing white (how original). Honestly, I left after the first song, and was walking away while he started singing "Empty Walls" but I don't regret it.

I took a break from getting squished in the mosh pit and came back to watch half of Interpol's set. and this I regret. The energy was amazing and the crowd was started to grow past the main stage area and back near the concession stands. People were dancing and sitting far back from the stage and watching the big screen, and I had no choice but to stand amongst them because I couldn't push my way closer to the stage. I was truly blown away even though I have been told many times how awesome Interpol is. The lead singer would constantly look at the scenery of the mountains behind the crowd and you could tell he was impressed.

And then...Nine Inch Nails took the stage. It was FUCKING CRAZY. I tried to get up close, but I almost broke my wrist. I barely even remember those minutes of standing near the stage because it was such a blur, I was concentrating hard on trying to see Trent Reznor while getting shoved around like a rag doll. The lights and the sound were more than impressive, since they were the headlining act for Friday. Although it was a great show I was disappointed at how fat and sober Trent Reznor looked, and that he didn't play "Heresy." Shame on you, Reznor.

Coming soon...Day two of the musical orgasm

Coming soon - Pemberton Festival review

There's still love at the end of the world~

Here are a few pics for your enjoyment, more to come after I get back from Pemberton (with review and pics)

Just to let you know, Sam Roberts has decided to take our relationship to a new level. Tonight I saw him at Edmonton's Capital Ex, (even though I'm going to see him in two days at the Pemberton Music Festival - yes, I'm obsessed).

I brought along a homemade sign with "Taj Mahal" written in big, bold letters. I had been planning this for months, if not years, hoping he would remember me. (See post below)

And it worked! Which isn't too surprising, because throughout the whole concert I was waving it around like a maniac. At one point I was on the billboard so I knew Sammy must have gotten my hint by that point...

I knew it would be after encore, just as the band waits for the crowd to get riled up so they can discuss the closing mini-set. As soon as I made eye contact with the Egyptian pianist once they returned to the stage I knew my moment had come. (Later on a girl told me how the set list had "Oh Maria" instead of "Taj Mahal"). He pointed at me and my sign and nodded, and I got my camera ready. As soon as I heard the Egyptian pounding down on the keyboard, I jumped up onto a strong set of shoulders and waved my sign around like a maniac. The camera caught me screaming "I FUCKING LOVE YOU" and everyone around was looking at me...but I wasn't embarrased. Me and Sammy were having one-on-one action. He looked at me as he sang and I was singing the lyrics right back at him trying not to tear up. I managed to shove my camera into the hands of someone in front of me, so luckily I had the whole song taped, even at the end when Sammy blew a kiss. (Our first one!!) And I returned the love.

Afterwards I sneaked backstage and managed to talk to the Egyptian (Eric Fares) I gave him a huge hug and he asked me my name, and I told him how I was going to be at Pemberton and how much I liked "Detroit '67." The drummer walked up to us and I didn't recognize him at first because I was looking around for Sammy, and he just stared at us, wasted out of his mind. Eric promised he'd bring my beloved Sammy to me for a picture, but some Nazi whore told me to leave because I didn't have a pass. (She didn't even let me get halfway through my improv speech about how I have a media pass but I left it at home...damn the [wo]man) 

Yeah so Sam and I are pretty much boyfriend, girlfriend now, even though we didn't get any real alone time. But onto the concert...

All of the songs were a lot slower, probably thanks to the intoxicated drummer. Sammy started off with "Love at the End of the World" (good choice, Sam!) and then went into "No Sleep," "With a Bullet" (yay!), and "Bridge to Nowhere."For some reason "Higher Learning" was one of my favs of the night even though it has never been one of my favourite Sammy songs, but "Brother Down" was magical, as always, and Sammy and lead guitarist Dave Nugent play a wicked "Mind Flood." It was awesome to hear some of Sammy's new tracks as well, like "Fixed to Ruin" and "Detroit '67." I was pretty shocked he didn't play "Rarefied" because that was always a crowd favourite, or "Don't Walk Away Eileen," (another good choice, Sam).

Jesse F. Keeler - a Pemberton Preview Profile

I am a day away from the Pemberton Music Festival and shaking with excitement. Just a few days ago the line-up schedule was posted, and I was disappointed that there will be a few sacrifices I will be forced to make: I will be missing Death Cab for Cutie for Wintersleep, and half of Tom Petty's act to see MSTRKRFT. Don't get me wrong, I love Petty and "You Don't Know How it Feels," but you know and I know that Petty is a dinosaur now, and I'm not expecting to be totally blown away by his set. I am willing to miss out on hearing "Last Dance with Mary Jane" live for the first time, because I have heard it 987 times.
Now before you die-hard Petty fans fall off your seat please understand my situation in 3 words: DEATH FROM ABOVE.
After the death of Death From Above 1979 Jesse F. Keeler, the band's bassist and mastermind, went off to form an electronica project. I am not a huge fan of MSTRKRFT, but I hold DFA 1979 close to my heart. PLUS he has performed and recorded with my rock hero Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. I MUST see Jesse F. Keeler in the flesh, because he is a genius. This is his story:

GENRE: Heavy alternative - DFA 1979 and electronica - MSTRKRFT (pronounced 'Master Craft')
FROM: Toronto, Canada
STATUS: Genius
BEST KNOWN HIT: "Little Girl" (DFA 1979) or the Justice remix "D.A.N.C.E." AKA "1-2-3-4-Fight" (MSTRKRFT)

• Keeler met his future DFA 1979 band mate Sebastien Granger when they were in prison and used to live in a funeral parlour together
• The front cover of DFA 1979's only album You're a Woman I'm a Machine symbolizes how Keeler wanted their sound to be "like an elephant in your living room"
• DFA's break-up was bitter, and the two still refuse to speak to each other
• In MSTRKRFT Keeler has remixed songs by Pemberton artist Metric ("Monster Hospital"), Bloc Party ("Luno," "Two More Years," and "Flux"), Justice ("D.A.N.C.E."), Pemberton artist Wolfmother ("Woman"), actress Juliette Lewis' band Juliette and the Licks ("Got Love to Kill"), Pemberton artist Buck 65 ("Kennedy Killed the Hat"), Usher ("Love in this Club"), Jesse McCartney ("Leavin"), Kylie Minogue ("Wow"), Pemberton artist The Crystal Method "Keep Hope Alive"), Pemberton artist Chromeo ("Tenderoni"), All Saints ("Rock Steady"), Pemberton artist Brazilian Girls ("Jique"), Gossip ("Listen Up!"), the Polysics ("Ceolakanth Is Android"), The Kills ("No Wow"), and various DFA tracks

Stay tuned for my Pemberton Festival review AND pictures!!!

Sam Roberts - Pemberton Preview Profile and CD review

(yes these are my own pictures...screw you copyright laws!)

The horny Canadian girl in me cannot help but love Sam Roberts. I am more of a fan of his live shows than his CDs, and his latest album Love At the End of the World is no different. It seems that fame has certainly taken a toll on poor Sammy. His lyrics reflect a darker, aging, bitter Sam lamenting about life's hardships with a slightly harsher tone than heard on his previous albums. (Sounds like Sam needs a little Lex lovin').

Most surprisingly to me besides the change in his lyrics, is the transformation in his songwriting, which has become more mellow and bland. His first two CDs We Were Born in a Flame (2003), and Chemical City (2006), are very similar, except that the latter had a more psychedelic feel to it. But on Love at the End of the World, Sam uses blues chords and riffs in many of his songs, which I wasn't prepared for.

But before I stamp Sam down, like always, there are a few tracks that certainly prove Sammy is a credited songwriter as much as he is a performer. "End of the Empire," "Fixed to Ruin," and most of all "Detroit '67" are phenomenal and addictive tracks. "Them Kids" has also been a popular hit on mainstream radio this summer, and was remixed by his friend Canadian hippity-hopper K-OS.

Overall I recommend this album to anyone who likes Sam Roberts, but if you're not a fan don't bother listening to "Lions of Kalahari" because it's just as bad as "Bridge to Nowhere." I suggest seeing him live instead, like at the Pemberton Music Festival! He plays on Saturday, July 26th. This is his story:

GENRE: Poppy rock

FROM: Point Claire, Quebec

BEST KNOWN HIT: "Don't Walk Away Eileen"

STATUS: My lover

• Sammy's parents are South African
• He started his musical career with a violin and took lessons for 16 years
• Sammy has been rightfully compared to Bruce Springsteen and Beck
• His first band Northstar received airplay on college radio stations as well as a feature on MuchMusic
• On the original recording of "Brother Down" as heard on the Inhuman Condition (2002), Sammy plays every instrument except the drums
• He married his high school sweetheart and they had a daughter in January 2007
• He can fluently speak English, French and Spanish
• His favourite sport is hockey and the first song he ever wrote was titled "Keep Your Stick on the Ice"
• He won three Juno Awards (Album of the Year, Rock album of the Year, and Artist of the Year) in 2003 for We Were Born in a Flame
• His hits "Brother Down," "Them Kids," and "The Gate" won video awards on Much Music, as well as several nominations for a variety of different awards

Quote:

"I love touring. It's not just the playing, it is the whole mindset you get in when you are on tour. Having to get up for a show every single night of the week, reinventing yourself every day." - Sammy

Here is a copy of my column I once wrote about Sam Roberts for our Valentine issue:

I have a lover. He’s sexy and a true sweetheart, the kind of man you wrap up and bring home to meet your mama. His name is Sam Roberts.
Don’t laugh. Sammy and I have had quite the serious relationship for the past two years.
I remember the night we met like it was yesterday. It was May 2006 when I saw him live for the second time in Kamloops. Before the concert started, my friend and I squirmed our way into the front row.
It was a dream come true. I stood there looking up at Sam singing above me with tears streaming down my face. The first time I saw him live I lost my glasses and couldn’t make out his face (just his cute little bum). This time, I could see his angelic features perfectly. His soft brown hair danced around his scruffy face as he sang. Sweat poured off his square jaw-line and slowly dripped down his broad, veiny neck. When he rocked out to his music his sweat would shake off him, showering me.
At one point he looked right at me and winked. I almost fainted. It was love at first sight.
I read his eyes. They screamed, “I will divorce my wife. I want you to be my lover.”
Then he began throwing guitar picks to audience members on the other side of the stage. I lost my mind. I started jumping up and down screaming his name. Did his wink mean nothing? Didn’t I deserve a token of our love? I suppose my ape noises and erratic body movements caught his attention. He coyly smiled at me as he walked across the stage and handed me a guitar pick. I brushed my hand with his and stared up into his crystal blue eyes, my eyes saying, “I’ll see you after the show, lover.”
As we exited the venue I searched for him in the dark while digging through my purse for some much needed nicotine. All of a sudden there was a quick, blue flash. It was Sam!
I ran after him waving a pen and a paper and asked him for his autograph.
“Great show, Sam!” I screamed in excitement.
“Next time you come to town play “Taj Mahal”, I’ll be there!” He smiled and then pulled me into his muscular arms, embraced me with a passionate kiss and made hot sweaty love to me on his tour bus.
OK, so that last part isn’t true.
But if you’ll excuse me, I need a private moment with my beloved Sammy.
Dear Sam, will you be mine, Valentine?

(below: the hand that Sam Roberts touched)

Serj Tankian - A Pemberton Preview profile

The lead singer of System of a Down will be performing some of his solo music at the Pemberton Music Festival on Friday, July 25th. This is his story:

GENRE: heavy alternative
FROM: Lebanon/U.S.A.
STATUS: Known best as lead vocalist of System of a Down
BEST KNOWN HIT: "Empty Walls" (single)

• Tankian's parents and his younger brother moved from Lebanon to Los Angeles when Serj was five years old
• System of a Down's bassist (Shavo Odadjian) and drummer (John Dolmayan) all share Armenian ancestry with Tankian
• Studied marketing
• Formed the band Soil and some the members later went on to form System of a Down
• Claims to be a social activist and is involved in many political organizations
• Formed his own record company Serjical Strike to help promote underground band
• Wrote a poetry book Cool Gardens which as published by MTV Books
• Formed a non-profit political activist organization "Axis of Justice" with Tom Morello (the god-like guitarist of Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine) in order to help motivate young people to become more involved in politics
• He is currently pushing Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide of 1915

A long yet interesting quote:

"Neoliberal globalism is failing due to its underlying imperial ambitions and the discoveries of those sinister ulterior motives. So the ambitions have reawakened for "democracy promotion," in the past few years. In real terms, that means promoting democracy if and only if it serves imperial ambitions. How about we create a real democracy right here and now! Let's allow the people to vote for or against a pre-emptive war, universal health care, expansion of social security, the Kyoto Protocol, the International Criminal and World Courts, and the role of the United Nations in interventions and reconstruction of devastated lands. Let's vote for how we want our taxes to be spent, directly. Major referendums discussed and debated thoroughly representing all sides of each issue on television. All empires represent the aristocracy in their imperial ambitions, not the general populace! Also in dire need is a true democracy of nations. The UN Security Council should be dissolved and the General Assembly should rule all international affairs, allowing all nations equal access to the international forum and law. Given the truth, all human beings will collectively choose the direction of this lost, possibly last civilization." - Serj Tankian

Metric - a Pemberton Preview Profile

One of my favourite bands, Metric, is set to play at the Pemberton Music Festival on Friday, July 25th. This is their story:

GENRE: new wave/indie/rock
FROM: New York/Montreal/Toronto
BAND MEMBERS:
Vocalist/synthesizer/songwriter - Emily Haines
Guitarist - James Shaw
Bassist - Josh Winstead
Drummer - Joules Scott-Key
TOGETHER SINCE: 1998
BEST KNOWN HIT: "Combat Baby"
STATUS: Awesome

• Metric's band members are in a close-knit Canadian musical clique and continually collaborate with the likes of the Stills, Broken Social Scene, the Stars, (all signed on the popular Canadian label Arts & Crafts) and many more


• Have a side project called Bang Lime and Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton


• Emily's father was a famous poet and avant-garde jazz musician named Paul Haines. He worked with Carla Bley, Robert Wyatt and Albert Ayler and is best known for his lyrics featured in Carla Bley's 1971 jazz opera Escalator Over the Hill


• Emily Haines and James Shaw met when Haines was attending a Toronto art college and Shaw was at the Julliard School studying classical trumpet


• Metric won a Juno award in 2006 for "Best Alternative Album of the Year" Live It Out, and were nominated for a 2006 Polaris Music Prize for "Canadian Album of the Year"


• Emily Haines and James Shaw met a nightclub and decided to form a band because they both hated the music being played there


• "Monster Hospital" and "Police and the Private" were featured on Grey's Anatomy


• Haines was raised in New Delhi, India


• Shaw and Haines used to live with the future members of The Yeah Yeah Yeah's when they lived in New York


• Warner Bros. Records were going to sign Metric onto their label but decided against it at the last minute

Emily Haines quote:

"It’s strange to think a lot of new music is modeled on the past already, and
then people are modeling themselves on people who model themselves on the past.
I do think we’re in a recycling era, everything’s so retro. People should
recycle more plastic and less culture.”

If you're not familiar with Metric then I highly recommend you check out some of their music videos...while high:

1. "Empty"
2. "Poster of a Girl"
3. "Dead Disco"

The Flaming Lips - A Pemberton Preview Profile

As a proud British Columbian, I bought my Pemberton Festival ticket within days of hearing about it. It's a musical orgasm.

The Flaming Lips are set to play on Saturday, July 26th. This is their story:

GENRE: "Acid bubble gum"/alternative/eclectic
FROM: Oklahoma City, USA
BAND MEMBERS: Guitarist/singer/songwriter - Wayne Coyne
Bass/keyboards/backing vocals - Michael Ivins
Drums/percussion - Steven Drozd
Drums/percussion (live) - Kliph Scurlock
TOGETHER SINCE: 1983/1984
BEST KNOWN HIT: "Do You Realize?" or "She Don't Like Jelly (Tangerine)" but the annoying "Yeah Yeah Yeah" is on some sort of salad dressing commercial.
STATUS: Cult-like following

• The Flaming Lips' biography is as wild as their sound. They named their band after either a porn film, drug reference, or a dream in which the Virgin Mary kissed Wayne Coyne with her flaming lips.
• Frontman Wayne Coyne was in his thirties by the time the Lips made it big.
• Apparently Coyne stole a bunch of instruments to help form the band, and their debut performance was at a transvestite club.
• Like Rage Against the Machine, the Lips are insistent on performing and recording with their own music rather than digitally creating their sound. Their music is a blend of different experimental sounds that may not seem appealing to the average rock or pop listener. There is no formula. It's just plain weird.
• The Lips have very unique song names, like: "A Spoonful Weighs a Ton," "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots," "Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon," "Jesus Shootin' Heroin," "The Train Runs Over the Camel But Is Derailed by the Gnat," "The March of the Rotten Vegetables," and much much more.
• I found one interesting quote by Coyne about his music online which typifies the Lips' sound:

"My older brothers would take a lot of drugs and we'd sit around and listen to records - the Beatles' White Album, John and Yoko's experimental stuff. We never knew it was freaky or weird; we thought that was music that everyone listened to."

• One of their albums, Zaireeka, is a box set of four Cd's which are meant to be played at the same time. It's supposed to make the listener feel like they're "not just hearing the music but standing inside it."
• Apparently during one of their latest tours, Jack White of The White Stripes approached Coyne and gave him a miniature toy Jesus. Coyne later wrote the song "Thank You Jack White (For the Fiber Optic Jesus That You Gave Me) about it. (Click here for the lyrics).
• In 2002 Q Magazine included the band on their "50 Bands to See Before You Die" list
• The Lips have had more hit singles in Europe than in their native country.
• They were nominated for three different Grammys for "Best Alternative Album" (in both 2004 and 2007), "Best Surround Sound Album" (2008), and won three Grammys for "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" (2003 - "Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon"), "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" (2007 - "The Wizard Turns Me On"), and "Best Engineered Album" (2007). They were also nominated for "Best International Act" at the BRIT Awards in 2007.

If I had the legal rights to include pictures on my blog, I would. But I'm an amateur blogger with no purpose at all, so click on the links for coolio pictures.

Any 7th Heaven fans?

Then you must remember little Ruthie...well this is her now.

MY EYES ARE BURNING!!!!

Celebrity obsessed

I know, this blogger is celebrity obsessed. I blame the Lohan family.
Their mental maturity doesn't exceed past twelve. When Lindsay Lohan first entered the Hollywood scene she claimed that she would never use drugs because of her father. (*ahem* and her mother, who pays everybody to keep their mouth shut about her coke problem).
Now Ali is saying the same thing.

Someone get this family out of the spotlight. Actually, don't. They keep me entertained with their stupidity. I can only hope that they entertain you too.

And now moving on to "real" celebrity news:

• Yoko Ono is trying to stop the release of a controversial John Lennon video.
• Perez Hilton calls Adam Sandler's daughter ugly (again).
• Brokeback Mountain's Michelle Williams' first red carpet appearance after the death of Heath Ledger.
• The Brave One's Jodie Foster cheated on her lesbian partner Cydney with Cindy.
• Hulk Hogan's son started his eight month sentence in jail for paralyzing his friend in a car accident. Apparently he complained to his mom in a phone call that there is "nothing to think about."
• David Cook won American Idol and I really don't care.
• Aerosmith's Steven Tyler enters rehab for the fifth time. He is sixty.
• A Starbucks barista secretly put fattening milk in the Olsen twins' coffees because he thought they were too skinny.
• Shania Twain's soon-to-be-ex-husband "Mutt" Lange is a dog.
• A fan offered musician John Mayer $10 for an autograph...and he took it.
• Spider Man actress Kirsten Dunst got beat up.
• A funny video of Paris Hilton getting asked about why her rich grandfather left her out of his inheritance.
• The man behind the boy band boom (and Nick Carter's molester) gets 25 years in prison.

FACT OF THE DAY: Ali Lohan has had major work done.
THEORY OF THE DAY: What's Eating Gilbert Grape? actress and "musician" Juliette Lewis is a crackhead. (Blame Scientology!)

UPCOMING: Profiles on artists performing at the Pemberton Music Festival.

Female celebrities are stupid

I know there is overabundance of reporting on stupid female celebrities. But I can't escape from stupid people, so you'll have to suffer with me. Plus I'm not going to report on "Brangelina" or Paris Hilton. Lately she's been uncharaceristically boring and shutting her trap...because it's getting stuffed by a Good Charlotte twin. As usual, Spears, Simpson, and Lohan are gracing the press with their dramatic lives. They have nothing better to do because their careers are failing.

• Jessica Simpson just got dumped by Tony Romo and is in denial. Apparently she's still not over her previous lovebird John Mayer who is now dating Jennifer Aniston. I never understood what anyone saw in grease ball Mayer...his dick must be bigger than her ex-husband's.
  
• Brit Brit is gaining weight. Hardcore. I know, it's not her fault she's cooped up in her house because she's too crazy to be let out into society.


• Lindsay Lohan thinks she's fooling everyone that she's sober. I don't mean sober from drinking, the alcohol is just the tip of the iceberg. (Check out a before & after of Lindsay sober & not).
  
• Lohan is also telling the press that her lesbian lover (Sorry, I mean "best friend") is living with her to monitor her drug use. His and/or her name is Samantha Ronson, and wherever Ronson is, coked-up lesbian sex is involved. (Click here to check out her myspace page. You may know her as producer Mark Ronson's sister, or the lesbian DJ who is causing a buzz in the Hollywood night club scene). She was also in Lohan's car last year when she crashed it into a curb. Lohan was busted last week when she started screaming at Ashley Olson in a coked-up jealous haze. Meanwhile, Lohan's mother and sister deny the lesbian relationship while doing promo for their reality show.


• Everyone is talking about Fantasia's performance on American Idol last night. Thoughts?
  

SHOCK OF THE DAY: Shania Twain and her producer/husband Robert "Mutt" Lange have split up.

FACT OF THE DAY: American Idol sucks.

Interview with Trevor Hurst of Econoline Crush

The lead singer of Econoline Crush discusses drugs, Nirvana, that shitty Nickelback song, and the Canadian music industry.

O: So you have your own label?

T: Yeah it's Fatt Farmer

O: What's the inspiration behind that name?

T: That was a long time ago for publishing and stuff for a company I set up. I grew up on a farm.

O: What do you think the biggest difference being being independently signed and being signed on your own label?

T: I don't know how to describe it, it's huge. There's always decisions on labels by committee. There's board meetings about what the single will be, choosing producers, It's so slow and tedious, yet a label has money to kind of provide a safety net for when things go sideways. Being independent you've got to watch because if you go sideways there is no safety net. But the other thing is,this record we went to record in our studio, we picked our producer, we picked our songs, we wrote them, we did everything ourselves. There was no interference, so it was really a positive experience because the four guys could get in there with Sylvia Massy.

O: She worked with Prince and Red Hot Chili Peppers right?

T: She produced The Devil You Know, she did Tool, she won a Grammy for the last Johnny Cash record, she's very very talented. See back on the day on a major label, and probably still today, you send in daily progress reports and songs and then they criticize them. And the thing is, a song from the start to the finish...sometimes you have to go down a lot of different roads before you get to this point. You may end up putting a lot of bongo crap on it or something because you think that's what you want, and then you realize that at this point in the road that's not going to work so we're going to try another loop thing and then you get to here in the end. The label sometimes reacts and says "stop working on that song it's too weird."

O: What is your opinion on the Canadian music industry with independent bands. Especially since you've been around for awhile now, do you notice a lot of developments?

T: I think there's been a lot of developments. You see bands like, um...I don't want to name names...but I think you see bands that are making progress that probably would never have been signed back in the day, or would never have had any kind of support. And they've somehow managed to drum up using the Internet, using all these different means of to get fans. And when they do this, then they get the attention of a distribution company or a record company and they kind of write their own ticket. I was talking about this with someone the other day, and the music business up until just recently...it's really unfortunate because the only person that kind of stood up in the nineties and early 2000s for musicians are...and she wasn't chosen as a spokesperson but she was the only one that was kind of willing to say something, and that was Courtney Love. Which is a lousy person to pick as your spokesperson but she's right in the fact that in the old studio days of movies, somebody like Eva Gardner, or whatever, they get signed to Paramount. She gets paid $250 a week and when Paramount wanted her to do a car sale thing she was obliged, it was in her contract. It's almost exactly the same thing with record labels. They loan you some money to make a record which you don't own yet you have to pay back the money you get paid to make it. It's the equivalent of a pimp buying a dress for a hooker and telling her to go walk around the track and then taking the dress away at the end of the night. So this way we own our own master, we have control of our intellectual property. So we can decide if we want to sell it to a Labatt's for a beer commercial, or if we want to decide not to or whatever.

O: Did you decide your first single was going to be "Dirty?"

T: We did as a collective, I wish people could meet Sylvia Massy because they would know how she talks. But she's got this crazy voice, she's like [in annoying old lady voice] "Trevor! 'Dirty' would make the best single for Christmas parties!" And we were like, 'hey, you know what, you could be right.' Because this is another thing too, everybody that is in the music business that I know, and I know a lot of people, said if you release a single in November it's career suicide. You might as well stop recording now, because people go on vacation for Christmas. If you work in radio they basically take December 10th to January 10th off and they lock the play lists down. So we just decided 'look, we're going to do this our way and release the single in late November.' And it got added and it's doing really got for us. It's amazing, we got stations that we never got on when we were on BMI. That's the negative is that we were working on a distribution deal and what happened was we fought and battled to try and get x amount of records in the market place, and they just didn't believe that we have the fame. So now all of a sudden they're scrambling to catch up and we told them from the get-go, 'look down underestimated us we can really do this.'

O: You guys are huge, some people can't believe you're playing in Kamloops at the Blue Grotto, it's crazy!

T: It's important if you're reintroducing a band. And this is a basically a new band to a lot of people. You have to do this, you take the steps, you can't skip a run on the ladder when you're trying to build a fan base for the future. Because if you look at somebody like Fall Out Boy or Good Charlotte, they go from here to here and now they put out a record and nobody gives a shit. Sum 41 kind of blasted onto the scene really quickly and you saw their Canadian tour got canceled, nothing against those guys but it's just that they grew so fast that they didn't really have a lot of the "grassroot" fans in place. If you put those fans in place you always will have those fans, and you can at least come back to rooms this big or bigger and always play. This is my life, music is the craft that I love. Same with the guys in the band, we want to play forever. It's not about the fame or the other crap, it's about being able to make good music and being smart about, and building the fan base so you can always play.

O: Would you say fame is one of the inspirations to your songwriting on your latest album?

T: I've had so many experiences in between when we stopped and now it's basically covering a whole gammon of the life experience. I spent a lot of time in America where I'm not really known at all so that was comfortable. I'm from Verdin, Manitoba, Fritz is from St. James, we're a Canadian band. I lived in Seattle for a tiny bit of time, there were a lot of different things going on at that time but I answered a newspaper ad and went back to Vancouver.

O:What year was this?

T: 1992

O: So pre-Nirvana

T: Nirvana had just got got big. I literally remember hearing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and going "Holy Shit." That was the greatest thing that ever happened to music up until now, we're starting to see another revolution I believe. But that one is just like..all these dudes are like 'what?'You could just see the record company executives going 'Oh my God, no more hookers, blow and limousines? Fuck! What is this going to do for the Hairspray industry?'

O: What was your experience with your solo work with the band "Hurst" and did it influence your decision to return to Econoline Crush?

T: It definitely did. I didn't really want to call it Hurst, it was actually called something else. I worked with this guy Ross Childress from Collective Soul and we wrote all these songs together in Atlanta. He went out and did some touring with me, but it was four guys in a van with a trailer. We loaded all our gear, we had no crew or nothing. And he just couldn't deal, he said "I haven't plugged a fucking pedal in since 1993 I can't do this anymore," and I was like "well I can." See that's the difference, I think if you look at my contemporaries, if you look at people that have had success, they think it's humiliating to have to lift a piece of gear. By getting in a van to try and do it again, they think they won't look super famous or mysterious. But my thinking is if I'm not one of the people then how I can I write for the people? You have to keep your head, you know? I think the things musicians miss when they become well known is we provide whether it's on the disc, a show like this for an hour or 45 minutes of reprieve from the day to day grind. I was in Toronto doing a show with Three Days Grace and Seether and two guys came up to me from the U.S. Army. They both looked like they were about 17 years old, I swear. They both had purple hearts, already had life threatening injuries, and they were going back in three days. The kid was almost in tears telling me how they drive around Baghdad listening to Econoline and was his platoons favourite band. They were so grateful that I was signing shit, it just shows you you never know the power of your music. But you have to make the music that connects to the people. That's why I'm shocked "Rock Star" was a success for Nickelback.

O: I hate that song.

T: It's insincere.

O: It is, it really is. So let's talk about the latest tour, what's it like doing a show without Three Days Grace and Seether?

T: We did a few shows in between, we did in Ottawa play, Toronto, Montreal, St. Catharine's, On all days off we almost have somewhere to play. When we play with them we have a 30 minute set and you have to try and condense your work, with 30 minutes it's like what songs do you play or what songs don't you play. Tonight we're playing for about an hour, and it's a lot more fun because you can cover the span of your career from start to finish.

O: Are you choosing any older songs or are you sticking with the latest album?

T: The set has to fit, so we're trying to get songs with the new stuff and the old stuff that sits well. And also, we as a group kind of choose what songs do we really want to play, what songs we like, and what songs we have to leave behind. We don't really play anything off Brand New History. We did it with this guy John Travis, as a producer and stuff I had hoped because he had done this Kid Rock record...I wanted to kind of bring a bit of that "American Bad Ass"funkyness to the band. I wanted to kind of loosen up a little bit, a lot like the single "Dirty."I realize now that it was Kid Rock that produced that record more than Travis. And when we were in the studio we thought, "Oh God, what is going to happen?" You get freaked out, there was nothing I could do, I couldn't stop the process, I just had to go with it. There's really nothing off that record we want to play. We play "You Don't Know What It's Like," but we're not playing "Make it Right" which is a single. That's the only stuff I would play if we were going to. Don't get me wrong I don't dislike the record, I have such a bad taste in my mouth the way Ian Mi treated us and the way that he treated us, I just don't really feel like going there. And the guys are happy to play the songs that they dig.

O: Well a lot of people remember you from ten years ago, everyone excited to hear new music.

T: It's cool, I'm stoked that people are still interested.

O: It's creating a big buzz around town. So I looked you guys up on Wikipedia, cause you know Wikipedia is big for college students...

T: Oh God, the misinformation

O: It mentioned that you're industrial, what are your thoughts on how you categorize yourself?T: If I was to define industrial music...Industrial music was based on the idea that it was machine like in its sequencing and that it's sounds you would hear in an industrial factory used to make music. Maybe KraftWerk, De Crooks, Front Line Assembly, Skinny Puppy...These bands I would define as industrial. We have hints of industrial in our music because we have a lot of songs that are machine-like in their programming, but I really don't know how to describe Econoline Crush other than we're a rock band that uses industrial, electronic and even some Hip Hop elements to infuse into this rock thing and to augment the dynamics of the songs. When you want to set up a chorus or something, you throw in a bar and a half of a little Hip Hop loop, and then you [drum noises] and you're into the chorus. So you throw this little loop in...We've always been about that I've always been conscious of the fact that when you go to a show and see a rock band, and they're meat and potatoes rock...You have bass, guitar, drums and vocals. After a few minutes it's like "can I hear a new sound?" That's why we do a lot of programming with keyboards because then things break down, like with different sounds or a piano, and it just takes the listener away. When you're listening to it on headphones, like a lot of people do, things swirl around and it's like a trip. That's what gets me off I like making music as trippy as possible.

O: On that note, I read somewhere that your band name comes from a book by Euxebe Auxtry titled "Jeu de Fountaine" and references a drug-like feeling...

T: This is to right all the wrongs here...Restless Records signed us when we did The Devil You Know and it was owned by Regency Pictures, I guess it's no longer there. They did movies like Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, all kind of stuff.

O: Classic

T: So the owner, I think Rupert Murdoch might have had had a smidge of money in there...He's the evil empire...anyways so they hired a crackhead junkie to write our bio and he comes up with this. The book doesn't exist, the drug doesn't exist, none of it is true. And I say to the label, "what the fuck?" And they said, "shut up kid just go with it, this is America it's a different fucking thing." The reality is when I was in high school my Dad had an Econoline van, it's a model of a Ford van, and we would drive around, 16 years old, getting drunk and listen to AC/DC. And that's why it's called Econoline Crush.There's a list of people they say played in Econoline Crush on Wikipedia, 50% of them were never in the band. There's so much misinformation on there. I really think that web site is wack. The other thing that is interesting too is that they got the CIA, the DEA and the Pentagon rewriting things. You should follow that one up, there's a website infowars.com.[Photo editor Chantal vigorously writes the URL down]

O: I know you don't like to throw out names, but what would be your favourite underground Canadian band right now?

T: I'm sort of guiltily out of touch a bit because we spent three months in the studio in the States. And I don't know how people describe independent, what is independent? Hold on a second I have to let the bass player in.[Bassist enters the Blue Grotto while Photo and Entertainment Editor discuss infowars.com]

T: There is a band in Winnipeg called Inward Eye who just got signed a year ago, and I thought it was the best greatest independent band I've ever seen play. It was stellar, that was at least year's Juno's...For me personally, lately just surfing...because our boss has this American satellite system, I like Shiny Toy Guns...and I kinda dig that's probably a guilty pleasure but I kind of dig Paramore with "Crush Crush Crush." It's a girl-fronted band that sounds kind of Econoline-y in a way. They've got this thing, I don't know how you describe it, it's not Power Pop it's cool, it's really rockin'. It's weird because I go through spells where I listen to a lot of new music and a lot of old music. During the record I was listening to a lot of old music, I wanted a comfort zone. I'm a huge Massive Attack fan for example, so I put on some Massive Attack just for the comfort zone. Or old Prodigy or something. Being out on this tour with Three Days Grace and Seether, it's kind of mainstream. So when we do these kind of gigs, and some of the gigs we're going to be doing in the future across Canada, we have bands from each area opening up. They do that in the States all the time, I swear I saw bands in America when we were touring down there, in Lincoln, Nebraskra, you'd be sitting outside, or on the tour bus and in the dressing room and go "who the hell is that?" You'd go in and you'd just be blown away. Sometimes when Canadian bands get a big head and think they're all that, it's like 'you know what, there's a band in every small city of America that will floor you.' And for whatever reason the stars don't align and they don't get signed. And it's heartbreaking because I have seen bands in the smallest towns that are amazing. That's another interesting thing about Myspace, MSN or Facebook, All these interactions and people, young, young kids I don't know if they're dads would turn them onto Thin Lizzy or something. But when they're listening to this stuff, it's stuff like when I was a kid it was like 'fuck off I don't want to hear that.' And they're dating it, and I think there are going to be harmony guitar solos in the future, [makes rockish guitar sounds and air guitar] it's all going to be coming back.

O: You talk about drugs in your songs, I read somewhere you're now sober?

T: Yes.

O: So what's your opinion on songwriters using drugs as an influence?

T: I have used a lot of drugs in my lifetime, that's for sure. I would I say that they're good? Sometimes, but on the whole I would say no. I lost a very dear friend this year, one of my best friend's in the world under mysterious circumstances that could only be connected to drugs. He was a great musician and a great friend, you have one or two of those experiences and you realize it isn't something to mess with. It's a weird thing, because I spent some time in Los Angeles spending time recording with [name omitted per Hurst request] from Nine Inch Nails and we kind of partied pretty hard. It's part of our industry, and I think part of it is to separate yourself from normalcy and to put your brain in a different space. But if you're not careful it eats you up. I've left it behind and hopefully I will never do it again. You go day by day and you hope and pray that you just don't go there again. I see some other people struggle with it occasionally, and it's a bummer because drugs are fun you get high it's good, you know what I mean? But at the same time, at some point you have to be careful because we're kind of a rolling carnival. So for a normal group of people maybe the odd weekend, or once a month you might get out of your mind and take some mushrooms, E, whatever. But every day of the week, with the exception of the day off, we're in a party atmosphere. If you like to party with drugs you can get them everyday, and before you know it you're putting the drugs in front of the music, the drugs in front of every day life, the drugs in front of everything. Have you seen the movie Spun?

O: Yeah, that's a really good movie that depicts the scary side of drugs. Or Requiem for a Dream.

T: That's Seattle in the 1990s. That's the kind of things that happened to a lot of people. That was the one place I got a lot of problems was in Seattle because a lot of people used a lot of different drugs. It was kind of like the thing to do as a musician to get right out of your mind.

O: Do you think Kurt Cobain influenced that?

T: Most definetly, but more-so the whole underbelly. Seattle wasn't just Nirvana, there was a hold load of bands, Skin Yard, Andrew Wood's band in Seattle...what were they called, before they got famous?[Drummer steps in and provides the answer Mother Love Bone]

T: Thank you. like Andrew Wood's favourite band in the whole entire world was KISS. And the day before Mother Love Bone was supposed to open for KISS he OD'd on heroin. The whole band was at the party and they left him in the bathroom turning blue. And they went on to become Pearl Jam. So you know, you have to realize it takes it's toll. That girl in 7 Year Bitch died when I was in Seattle. A lot of people were dying from heroin in Seattle. You can't mix heroin and alcohol but try telling that to some musicians. There was a rehearsal space there were bands that played there, like Alice in Chains, Soundgarden...It was run by a guy who was a heavy dealer. He more than anyone influenced a lot of people. He would score them meth, coke, heroin, pills...You're in a secret club, and you think that nobody knows. Well, actually everyone knows and you're fucking up. I think in the end I don't want to tell anybody what to do or not to do with their their lives.

O: Comments on the show tonight?

T: Well it's sold out, so that I think is cool. I love the intimate room, I think we'll have a really good time turning it up in here.

O: Where are you going to next?

T: Two nights in Vancouver.

O: And then you're coming back to Kelowna?

T: Yes, I got a tour book that tells you all your dates, and I went to the front of the book and go 'OK we start here.' And then I flip to the back [shwooshing sound effects] and we end here...I have to survive these many days, OK! Sometimes you get a little confused, When we were opening up for KISS one time, they used to always put their set up before our set and write the city in big bold letters and put it up at the front, just in case. Because every arena looks the same when you're inside. So one night I looked down at the sign said "Cincinatti," and I thought "Cincinatti...I'm pretty fucking sure we're in Cleveland." And I look at 'Cincinatti' on the thing, I look over at the bass player and I'm like [mouths] "Cincinatti? And he's like "NO!" And I kind of swing over to the guitarist and ask him, and ask "What city?" And he yells "Cleveland!"

The lamest blog ever

I have been without Internet and now I feel slightly ashamed of this blog. Here's a bunch of crap that I've been missing while disconnected from the world:

Break-ups:

• Amy Winehouse & Blaaaake - She divorced his ass, had an affair with the Babyshambles guitarist (NOT Pete Doherty), and her ex-husband (who is in jail) is asking for $6 million. Update pending.
  Star Jones & Big Gay Al – OK so he’s probably not gay, but he’s been crying like a bitch since the break-up. Plus he married her when she was 200 pounds heavier, what does he expect.
• Liv Tyler & her that musician dude.
• Kanye West & his fiancee.
• Mario Lopez & Karina Smirnoff. (I smell an Eva affair!)
• Gary Coleman & some dumb chick who married a midget who is 20 years older than her.
• Lindsay Lohan & Sobriety – Wherever Samantha Ronson is, coked-up lesbian sex is involved. Lohan drinking is just the tip of the iceberg. Not like her mother is trying to set a good example or anything.
  

And in hook-ups...

Mariah Carey & some dude. (Married)

Scarlett Johanssen & Ryan Reynolds. (Engaged, Enter: whiny Alanis song, divorce in five years)

Kirsten Dunst & Ryan Gosling. (Boinking)

Eva Mendes & her ex-boyfriend.

Jay-Z & Beyoncee. (Married, surprise surprise, and a pregnancy rumour)

Chris Brown & Rihanna. (Finally the couple confirms what everyone already knew. Hopefully their future careers are as successful as their PR team).

David Hasselhoff & a 29 year old. (Boinking)

Jennifer Aniston & John Mayer. (Boinking)

BITCH OF THE DAY: The latest Rolling Stone cover which features Jack White on the cover with the Rolling Stones' guitarist and frontman Keith Richards and Mick Jagger. Has everyone just forgotten about Brian Jones??

FACT OF THE DAY: Paula Abdul is not sober.