In terms of influence and impact, previous few stand above Blake Schwarzenbach’s career arc in my books. The intelligent angst of Jawbreaker – seriously, each record delivered gritty punk melodies that framed poetry about loneliness and growing up – and “bring you to tears” beauty of the Jets to Brazil catalog are essential listening, even(…)
Music, for all its good, unfortunately offers most a unique opportunity for Gatsby like reinvention. The minute a singer / songwriter jumps from covering Jack Johnson to pick up girls to recording with a serious country record with weeping strings, picked banjo and mournful steel, he is what he determines society wants. It’s so easy(…)
Most of us have simple, uniform desires. To love unconditionally. To be a better person. Be in good health. Everything else seems like greed. I want all of those things – and am grateful to have found a few – but I can’t suppress the need for something more traditional. A workmanlike drive to build(…)
I’m one of those people that can never completely disconnect. I check my blackberry on vacation, at night. It annoys me and frustrates my wife, but I can never completely turn work off. I guess it’s not shocking that even when I wanted a week off from blogging, I couldn’t make a clean break. You(…)
It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of The Wooden Sky. Their last LP, Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon a Sun, is one of my favorite releases of 2012, and the live show is somehow even better. That’s why I’m thrilled to be a part of a great contest. The details are listed below,(…)
Friday night, I sat happily in the congregation of the Church of Plaskett. Obviously, Joel’s one of Canada’s most dedicated rock n’ rollers – both in honoring tradition and grinding like a door to door salesman in the ’50s – but as the structure of the Hamilton Place Theatre was stretched to the limits I(…)
For the first time in years, Canadian music feel important again. Obviously pop mavens like Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen move units and the figureheads of Montreal winning a Grammy give us stable footing in International eyes, but Canada (and music fans around the world) are rallying behind the most obscure and innovative bands we(…)
It seems my departure led to HPX booking some of my favorite bands for the 20th anniversary lineup. Mark Davis, Slam Dunk and countless other fantastic acts will bang on pots and yell in harmony as they march the streets in search of cured meats dressed in delicious sauce. For Matthew Swann and his band(…)
The other day, I found myself in a discussion about art and how it is made and received. Ultimately, there are artists – be them actors or painters or musicians – that treat their art like a job. They have schedules, deadlines and deliverables. Each time out they get better at what they do, but(…)
To communicate in today’s chosen method, instead of reviewing the new behemoth from Metz, I could have just linked to the amazing bio Bry Webb penned and screamed, “a million times yes!” Everything Webb wrote channels the visceral impact of these songs. The intensity, the volume, the sheer power of each impact, well Webb describes(…)
