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How Dan Mangan released me from 7 years of solitary confinement.
Years ago, while searching for a file on a backup hard drive, I stumbled upon some recordings that my partner John MacArthur Ellis had started to produce for Dan Mangan. I had heard Mangan’s songs all over the radio by then, so I knew enough to know there was likely something interesting at my fingertips. Upon listening though, I was quite stunned by the sparkling hidden treasure I had discovered. The tracks were raw and haunting, subdued yet powerful. Mangan’s honest and vulnerable vocals were even more refreshing against the intimate, spacey, and open backdrop that John had created for him. There was magic in these recordings. The kind of…
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Impromptu Mini Review of Quest Poetics
Consider me converted. I’ve never been down with R&B and Hip Hop but this guy drew me in while I was walking downtown last week. His soul, riding the sound waves emitting from his battery powered speaker, had a direct lock on my spirit. It pulled me through a no jay-walking zone, buffered me from a honking bus, and a cab driver sporting a single finger. Then it held me there, no longer hungry, no longer in search of a new hat. Just in pure existence in the company of this engaging, dynamic, freestylin’, full on entertainer. His confident and captivating melodic loops, funky mouth beats, wicked improv and inspiring…
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Speed Dating with L.A. Music Supervisor Andrea von Foerster
This week’s column is the first in a series of speed dating Q&A’s between Indie Artists and top music industry professionals. Last weekend I attended the WCMA/Breakout West Conference and Festival in Kelowna. The town was a sardine can of industry pros from around the globe and a whole lot of keeners, er, indie musicians. Wicked, intoxicating live music showcases aside, the major highlight of the festival was the mentoring sessions which gave artists invaluable opportunities to ask for advice and/or pitch their work to the big guns one on one. I took this rare opportunity to get some intriguing and valuable information for you, my faithful readers and fellow…
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Part 2 with Juno Winner Greg Sczebel
This week’s column is part 2 on Greg Sczebel. Last week we established that Greg Sczebel is a Juno Award winner, he’s won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest twice, he placed 4th in the 2010 Peak Performance Project, his CD’s are in HMV’s and retail stores across Canada through a major distributor, he has several endorsements including Yamaha, and he even managed to snag himself a bright shiny new Nissan just for being so ‘talented and unique’. To top it off, he’s accomplished all of this completely independently, no labels and no execs… unless you count his devoted family members, friends and fans. Oh and did I mention he’s only…
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Q&A with Christopher Arruda
So you’re in a live music venue and you see an artist up there doing their thing and you think, ‘Hey, they’re really, really great!’ and they are truly, really, really great. But then another night you walk into a venue and you see Christopher Arruda up there on stage with his soul pouring out of his sweat, and that’s when you think ‘Shit. This guy’s got what everyone else is missing.’ Christopher Arruda Q&A I’ve been listening to your lyrics and CDs and I’ve watched you live and I noticed that you really don’t hold back do you? Well when people come see me, they’re just gonna get me,…
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Q&A with Adaline
Incredible talent aside, she’s an artist with impeccable business instincts, a sweetness which transforms networking to easeful mingling, and a sound so addictive it converts fans to pushers . It’s no wonder to me that she’s on a cosmic fast track to international indie fame. The rising Vancouver star placed 4th in the first Peak Performance Project last year and has since attained management with 604 Records’ Jonathan Simkin, along with a sweet deal with his new alternative label Oregon Light Records. Last week I sat down with Adaline to talk about what it’s like for her and how she gets it all done. Q & A There’s a huge…
