EP Island is a side project with one mantra. Write and record as much as you can in one weekend.
FINALLY! Yes, it is true. We have released our second session. It is titled Rad’ish, because that is just naturally better than Good’ish (which was the name of our first ep). Right now Rad’ish is available for a limited time on Bandcamp. And with every album purchase, you get a free bonus track. How rad is that?
This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving. I am cooking a turkey and stuffing (haha) my face with a few friends. Should be good times. I have also been reminiscent of past Thanksgivings and I can’t say that they have been fun or easy. Mainly because of the inevitable drama that happens in every family. I don’t think there is a family out there that doesn’t know what I mean. Anyways - it dawned me that if we all learned to forgive and forget more often, these family gatherings and relationships may be easier to deal with. Hence, the new song. And since we are on the topic of giving, I thought I would just give you mp3 for you to share with friends and family!
Hope your weekend is great and that you stuff your face too!
Hey folks - just a little heads up that I am revamping the blog and it will take a bit of time since I’m not a paid professional when it comes to graphic design. Bare with me as I make some changes.
Summer is here. Yep. I have been riding my bike, playing tennis, swimming in lakes, drinking beers, sweating and putting on lots of sun screen. Vancouver is finally playing by season rules. I remember thinking about the past summers that have stuck in my memory and laughing. But no memory is as bright as the memory of song from those days. Everytime I hear 10:15 Saturday Night by The Cure, I think of sitting on the edge of a bank, camping with my ex-best friend, blarring that song as it echoed across the river. Or washing my friend’s car in her drive way as we blare New Order’s True Faith. Or driving around Bowness Park with the wailing of Jimmy Paige’s guitar in Dazed and Confused. I will always have fond memories, but when music is attached to them, it seems as though I relive the moments again and again.
I’m not sure if summer is here. We Vancouverites get confused every year. Super hot then super not. Going to the beach in our bikini’s then breaking out the galoshes to go to the grocery store. What gives? Sometimes I feel like living in a city that isn’t bi-polar.
But I can’t really complain. I don’t live somewhere that makes me sweat like crazy, which I hate! I like it mild. Not “freezing of my ass off” or “sweating my balls off”. Where did those sayings come from anyways? Have any butts or private parts fallen off because of extreme temperature changes? I hope not. I think it would suck to never be able to sit or go to the bathroom again.
I got sidetracked.
Ahhh summer! I used to hate summer. Mainly because I was feeling sorry for myself and didn’t want to go outside and felt left out of the fun - lake swimming, picnics, beach activities - blah, blah, blah. But now, since I’m not a self destructive 20 something anymore, I welcome summer activities with open arms! Like going to my neighborhood outdoor pool. This pool rocks! It’s big, right on the water and full of working class folks, punk rock dad’s and the occasional aspiring marathon swimmer. And, weirdo’s like me are not frowned upon!
And also, yard sprinklers tend to do the trick for a quick cool. I think I need to find one to run through now.
Here are a couple descriptions to the first two tracks:
Alone on a Thursday
basic rock song structures
electronica influences
folk influences
a subtle use of vocal harmony
major key tonality
a vocal-centric aesthetic
a good dose of acoustic guitar pickin’
acoustic rhythm guitars
narrative lyrics
Talk Is Not Cheap
electric rock instrumentation
electronica influences
mild rhythmic syncopation
extensive vamping
major key tonality
a vocal-centric aesthetic
subtle use of acoustic piano
vocal harmonies
I attached the cover of the issue as well, don’t know why. They never asked me anything about Katy Perry - although I would of had a lot to say about it!!
A little while back, a friend told me that she cancelled a hang out session with a buddy to go to a Broken Social Scene show that she got last minute tickets for. Understandable, but it got me thinking about situations that have no doubt arisen in support of your favorite band. Like cancelling dates, buying cd’s for yourself instead of birthday presents for your friends or knowing your friends are standing in line outside at a show, waiting to get in, while you stand in the middle of the crowd relishing in the music. That happened to me.
I was on the bus this morning, listening to my ipod on shuffle, and one of my favorite bands came up - LOW. Which is one the bands that have made me disappoint my friends at one point. It was at a show in Vancouver and I was looking forward to it for a very long time. I got there early, stood right in the middle and waited. Soon enough they graced the stage, but the rest of my friends had not. I knew they were probably standing outside in line, but I couldn’t bring myself to see if I could go and try to get them in. Not that I could of really done anything, but the thought counts! I was just swaying back and forth, enjoying every minute. My friends eventually got in, but missed some of the show.
I actually wrote a song about it when I was in New Years Resolution. It’s called World of Time, take a listen:
Here is a little highlight reel of the performances from the cd release party for The Guest Room. It took place on Nov 13/08 at Hoko’s and featured Something Pretty, Lise Monique (Wintermitts), The Rain & The Sidewalk, Chris-a-riffic (They Shoot Horses Don’t They?), Joel Tong (Black Rice, What’s Wrong Tohei?) , Lyn Heinemann (Portico) and Down the Lees.
A friend told me, in one of those Facebook questionnaires, that she sometimes feels like she is in a music video when listening to tracks on her iPod as she is walking down the street. I too feel the same way, but it got me thinking about air bands. It’s a lost art. Of course there is the well known Air Guitar Championships, but I don’t see people in everyday life ripping into an awesome solo while they are standing in line at the bank or in the elevator. It’s a shame really.
I remember when I was in grade school and it was THE thing to look forward to all year. Fortunately I got to perform in two air bands in my tenure as an elementary student. In grade 5 I was Michael Jackson doing a kick ass rendition of Thriller. And in grade 6 I busted out a makeshift guitar that I made with my dad, and did Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U”. Air guitaring at it’s finest. I remember standing in front of the mirror in my room with the fake guitar slung over my shoulder, practising the riffs on the fret board, making sure that it looked as real as possible.
Sure I had the costume and the lip sync down, but it was the air guitaring that won the crowd I think. A few fans to say the least. Kids in grade 2 where treating me like a real rockstar. It was pretty sweet.
And it’s not all about air guitaring though. There are so many instruments that that can be aired. Bass, keys, trumpet, harmonica, violin and of course, drums.
Sometimes when I’m on the bus, and I’m listening to Drive LIke Jehu or Queens of the Stoneage or Pinback, I find myself air drumming with my fingers on my coffee mug, and incorporating the foot movements on the kick drum and high hat. A girl once told me that she picked up because she saw me doing that once on the bus and she thought it was cute. So - you never know where you will pick up fans.
You too can be a rock star. All it takes is a little love of music, a portable audio player and a bus pass. The air is free - use it! Rip into solos, get into the groove of the drum line or blow that trumpet!
