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Listening to the pretty folk of The Wooden Sky and HIKING!

Posted in life or something like it, music, tagged , , , , on November 5, 2012| 1 Comment »


Toronto indie band The Wooden Sky play a soft, melodic brand of folk or alternative country.  Very pretty and lush…but also sad.  The music is sounding good on a rare bright November day in the Forest Kingdom with a cup of coffee as I get ready for my radio show.  I’m going to post a few songs that I enjoy from their third album Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun.  The Wooden Sky are back form a tour of the UK where Uncut magazine said, gentle melancholy & warm, minor key rapture on the opening track from the third album from Gavin Gardiner and his TO based bucolic rockers fast turning into one of Canada’s most impressive exports.”   Impressive.  The Wooden Sky are now back in North America (New York right now I think).  They’ll rotate the tires, hit the duty free and start west.  They visit Victoria on November 19th for a show at Club 9one9.  Now the chewnes….

That song “Take Me Out” reminds me of the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance in Back to the Future.  And I thought that…. then read the comments on the song and sure enough another bro thought that too.  Rad.

***


I got up to hiking adventures on the weekend in the rain.  Saturday I hit Gowlland Tod and my wanderings took me to a spectacular waterfall.  The walk was vigorous but doable for Madelyn… and with all those government ads saying, “kids need 60 minutes of play everyday,” I thought… Sunday Funday repeat with the family.  It definitely pushed my four-year-old but she managed and walked the whole thing.  We started the trek with a brief dry period, the rain fell half way along… then stopped again.  We were all huffing and puffing by the time we hit the parking lot.

Started at the parking lot for the McKenzie Bight.  Followed the road to the start of the Timberman Trail.  Cut off at the Cascade Trail. (there are signs… you’ll hit a fork that is obvious.  Take the trail that says “To McKenzie Bight”).  You’ll start heading down and it’ll get steep.  You’ll see a waterfall… then you’ll be at the beach.  Take the McKenzie Bight Trail back up the other side of the creek.  Its pretty much just an UP… and you’re back at your car.

Total adventure time (or TAT), with lots of breaks and a stop for lunch at the McKenzie Bight was about one hour and 30 minutes.  You’ll get your stairs and vertical in with this little hike.

Go with yourself.

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Libations & Oscillations cover Lykki Li

Posted in music, tagged , , , , , , on November 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »

 


Libations & Oscillations are some steam-punk looking gentlemen that have put forth a loungy dark cover of Lykke Li‘s “I Follow Rivers.”

A very dark, sinister jam.  They were unable to find an acapella from Lykki Li…so they layered some unknown vocal they found on the net… works.

Go with yourself.

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Rainy day chillwave with @WaterGraves

Posted in music, tagged , , , , , on November 3, 2012| Leave a Comment »


My hiking pants are tumbling in the dryer…though I don’t really see the point as it looks like my hike at Gowlland Tod will be in the rain.  Sipping a coffee and checking some emails while I wait for adventure and I punched up a song that came from Perth, Western Australia. Probably less rain there.

The group is called Water Graves and they describe their music as “lo-fi textures combined with watery synth and dreamy harmonies.”  Sounds like my kind of chillwave for a rainy weekend in the forest kingdom of Victoria.  Debut ep is out later this year.  Until then…

I think my pants are getting pretty close to dry.  Time to hit Red Barn for a sandwich to pack and then a muddy trail.  See you tonight at Veneto (I am DJing a Saturday for a change).

Go with yourself.

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Listen and download GRMLN + a Teen Daze Remix

Posted in music, tagged , on November 1, 2012| Leave a Comment »


I will admit that I am new to the Southern California patio party that is GRMLN.  There is considerable hype for the 19-year old guitar player making hazy retro sounding jangles, but it wasn’t till I saw a song called “Coral” that I took notice.  Barf, I know.

Now, the song isn’t about a girl named Coral.  Its about a place, but pretty none the less.  Talking to Spinner:

“‘Coral’ was actual written and recorded on the same day, which was the final day before I left for my freshman year of college in Santa Cruz. The weird feeling I had of moving away might have influenced the feel of the song, but the song was originally about a place that I visited almost every day during that summer before moving. Even though it sounds cheesy, I guess the song’s about how even though people constantly move throughout their whole lives, they have that one place that they always come back to and feel comfortable, no matter when they go back.” – GRMLN

Cool cover art right?  I wanna drive on that road. AND What?  A Teen Daze Remix? Shut the front patio door!

***

Halloween was a great time. My daughter Madelyn was dressed as a princess (or occasionally she referred to herself as a baroness).

We went out to Cordova Bay to meet with some other kids form the preschool.  The rain held off, Todd had some firecrackers, Michael had some old roman candles and the candy was had.

Sadly, maybe too much candy was had as Mads woke up in the night and barfed and barfed.  but bless her little soul, she ran to the bathroom and got it in the sink.  Still, so gross.

OK, November… here we go.

Go with yourself.

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Listening to Chvches (yes with a V)…single AND remix

Posted in music, tagged , on October 31, 2012| 1 Comment »

 

Coral got me interested in Scottish indie popsters Chvrches.  The song “The Mother We Share” is so pretty.  Electro beat, production doo-dads, and fairy vocals.  It might be a little too sugary sweet for some ears but I find myself constantly hitting play on this song.

Lead singer Lauren Mayberry is also a bit of a writer…. she wrote an article about Piercing Health back in 2010 that won an award?  Huh.

Martin Doherty was in The Twilight Sad… hey, I’ve heard of those guys.

The song, let’s go.

Chvrches – “The Mother We Share”

There is also a remix bouncing around today….

Chvrches – “The Mother We Share” (Miaoux Miaoux Remix)

Happy Halloween friends…. I’ll be bundling up (though I think the rain is calming down) for some door-to-door action with Madelyn.  She’ll be dressed as a Baroness!

Go with yourself.

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Franz Ferdinand covers Vancouver punkers Pointed Sticks

Posted in music, tagged , , , , , on October 25, 2012| Leave a Comment »


Nardwuar the Human Serviette and The Evaporators have a new compilation album called Busy Doing Nothing.  The record features some new original songs, some cooperative tracks and a few covers.  Some being other bands covering the Evaporators and some being random bands covering other random bands but showing up on the record.  An interesting song I heard was Scottish modern rock giants Franz Ferdinand covering 1970s Vancouver punkers Pointed Sticks. The new compilation comes with a calendar and the calendar has a story… this is the part where Nardwuar talked about Franz Ferdinand covering the Pointed Sticks.

If you
look closely at the back
of the record you will
see Alex from Franz
Ferdinand wearing a
headdress while wolfing
down a Skookum
Chief Hamburger at
The Tomahawk BBQ
in North Vancouver,
BC, Canada. Alex
was in town producing
The Cribs at the
Warehouse Studios, which
interestingly enough is
owned by Bryan Adams,
who once worked at the
Tomahawk doing the
dishes!
Not too far from the
Warehouse in Gastown, lies
JC/DC Studios where with David
Carswell and John Collins, Franz Ferdinand
recorded a version of The Pointed Sticks’
Real Thing. JC/DC Studios is in the same space
as Studio J, where Cub had their New Years Eve
1993 gig with Dimwit of the Pointed Sticks on
drums! Furthermore, Kate Nash has eaten at the
Tomahawk, so perhaps you can see where this is
going?

Not really… but I am glad Nardwuar is here to draw all the lines together.  I think this cover is pretty cool.  It sounds modern and Franz Ferdinand-y but also classic.  The song apparently features guest vocals Nardwuar….but I have a hard time picking it out.

Franz Ferdinand – “Real Thing” (Pointed Sticks Cover)

Dig it.

Interview with Nardwuar on The Zone @ 91-3 Victoria

Go with yourself.

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Listen to New Balconies Song “Do It In The Dark”

Posted in music, tagged on October 24, 2012| 1 Comment »


The Balconies have been to Victoria a couple times in the past week.  recently they performed at Club 9one9 opening for Big Sugar!  The above picture is Jacquie rocking hard. By all accounts, the Toronto band slayed.  Interesting Victoria connection, mega babe Jacquie worked at same bar as the boys in Vic band Theset.  Neat.  I was wondering what was up with those guys since moving to Toronto.  Turns out, they’re still making music and maybe one day it will come out.

We know and love The Balconies jam “Kill Count” on the radio.  last Thursday Jacquie shared the new single, “Do It In The Dark.” Wails! The band told me it was produced by some Toronto mucky-mucks that have worked with some big-time bands.  And it does sound crisp.

The Balconies – “Do It In The Dark”

***

I was catching up on Sons of Anarchy last night… during a chase scene they rocked the new Soundgarden.  Sounded good.

Go with yourself.

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Getting into Wild Nothing and Muse

Posted in music, tagged , , , , on October 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »

 


OK, so I blogged about this song before, but darn… its just so pretty.  Then today, the NEW music video starring babe Michelle Williams.  We need another listen.

Wild Nothing – “Paradise”

Download MP3 >> Pitchfork

***


New Muse jam hits hard.  From the record The 2nd Law, lets have a listen to “Panic Station.”

Muse – “Panic Station”

I am not always a fan of big polished RAWK… but  the odd Muse song does sneak into my brain and I like it. I am jiving on “Madness” and I am liking “Panic Station.”  Great simple beat.

Go with yourself.

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Listening to Matt Mays and Victoria’s Dougal Bain McLean

Posted in music, tagged , on October 22, 2012| Leave a Comment »

 

 


Friday night, Jon Williams stopped by for a pint on his walk home from the radio factory. As what usually happens when a couple DJs share space, we get to talking music and Jon was saying how much he loves the new Matt Mays record, Coyote.

Its funny that Jon brought it up, because a little while earlier, talking to Dave Sawchuk, and he was raving about the disc.  Went on to say that when he met Brian Fallon of Gaslight Anthem in Edmonton, HE was all over the record.

Well, well, well… we better go back and have a listen.

Matt Mays – “Take It On Faith”

Very groovy…. classic rock-ish sounding.

Matt Mays is in Victoria on Tuesday at Club 9one9.  Info!

***


Well this is pretty.  Victoria man-about-town Dougal Bain McLean has just completed his first solo ep.  After years of playing in other people’s bands (notably 5 years with Jon & Roy) and teaching the children of Victoria music, he is doing it for himself.

His music reminds me of Jon & Roy, Current Swell or maybe even Dan Mangan.  Hit play on “Hellbound Intention” or “Kds in Love.”

The music was produced by JP Maurice, recorded at Adam Sutherland’s studio and mixed by Stephen Franke.  Lots of Victoria folks involved.

Dougal plays a CD release party on November 3rd at the Wood Hall.

Dougal Bain McLean – “Hellbound Intention”

Dougal Bain McLean – “Kids in Love”

Happy Monday!

Go with yourself.

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