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zee

Zee is a South Korean producer based out of Seoul. Travelled back in time to 2011 to dust off this Foster The People modern rock radio staple.

Searching for a Whitney Houston remix of “How Will I Know” for a wedding I am DJing. This wasn’t what the bride wanted…but I dug it. We Win Gracie remix.

The bride was looking for “How Will I Know” (Pursuit of Happiness remix)…my google-fu must be weak, I can’t find it. Do you know what she is talking about? Leave me a comment below please and thank you.

Happy Victoria Day to all you Canadian blog readers!

Go with yourself.

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megan

My friend Megan is the biggest U2 fan I know…when I read on her Facebook that she was up at 5:40AM to hit the first ferry from Victoria to line up for a U2 concert; I had to wander down to Rogers Arena to see what was up. I discovered a delightful and wonderful tailgate carnival of international U2 fans!

and a song? How about a couple covers?

Going to the show tonight? Save me a high five.

Go with yourself.

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caesars

National Caesar Day…is TODAY! I can get behind that. The savory, boozy cocktail was invented in Calgary (as the legend goes) in 1969.

I chatted with Trevor Kaillies. He is the Bar & Beverage Director for the Donnelly Group in Vancouver and President of the BC Chapter of the Canadian Professional Bartenders Association. He hopped on CFOX to offer up some fun and simple ways to make your home Caesar sparkle.

And a tune to sip your Caesar with? A bright remix of The Caesars, on a bright patio May day in Vancouver!

Go with yourself.

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beach babies

Spring time on the west coast is magical. Though I guess so is summer and fall? Winter ain’t terrible either. It’s a good place to live.

We did Fake Mothers’ Day last weekend because that is when I could get a reservation into the Oak Bay Marina Restaurant. Their Sunday buffet is a marvel. Then we went exploring for some obsidian. My daughter did not find any, but she did find TWO rocks that looked like hearts, a chunk of cement? and some quartz. All in all, it was a good haul by her standards. Yet she must continue to seek the elusive obsidian.

Came home to lots of emails from bands. I’ll try to hammer out a few songs that caught my ear for you.

It must begin with British duo Aquilo because I love them.

Pleasure Beach are from Belfast, Northern Ireland (what is Northern Ireland, a country or Province? or like a region?).

I did learn that Pleasure Beach is the UK’s number one theme park! So that’s neat. But it is located in the ominous sounding town of Blackpool. Scary…sounds like that type of place where you’d set your horror story or a boring BBC period drama that gets popular in Canada a few years later and people who pretend to be sophisticated force themselves to watch it like fictional kale for your mind.

From Smashville, Tennessee, Myyra.

Not from Labrador City, I present Bern, Switzerland’s Labrador City.

Did you ever read the book The Chrysalids? Fringers man… fringers.

The party ends with Australia’s king of commercial radio, Mr. Vance Joy. The dude is poised for complete and total world domination when he hops on the Taylor Swift Tour.He released a cover of her 1989 (I do like that record shhhhhhh) song “I know Places.”

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tour

Kelowna’s Yukon Blonde are busy getting the world hyped on their new disc, On Blonde, which comes out, June 16th on Dine Alone Records.

The BC band is also part of the Dine Alone 10th Anniversary tour, but they’re playing the Alberta date? C’est dommage. We get James Vincent McMorrow.

Here is the video for their first single “Saturday Night” then I’ll post the new single “Como” and we’ll check out a cut from JVMM.

Go with yourself.

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dead model shoot
I was weirdly thinking about an old song I used to play all the time on The Morning After Show when we first launched the show on CiTR back in 1998.

There was this ep from a band called Dead Model Shoot. The record channeled 70s and 80s alternative or pop-punk.

There was a cut on the record called “My Right Wing Mates.” The song tells the story of a guy wrestling with his sexuality and the challenges of coming out to a group of guys who might not accept him. The song is set to a fairly bouncing pop tune.

I was thinking about the song as it still gets stuck in my head to this day, so I reached out to Cameron Hartl, one of the members of the now defunct group and I asked him if it was based on a true story.

“Not fully literally but more like a tongue in cheek thing about my growing up in Surrey with “tough” dudes. Sure I messed around in my sexuality and thought it interesting that I was in this tough guy macho sort of crowd,” said Hartl on Facebook. “One of my best friends at the time came up to me at the bar drunk after we released the EP and he was like, ” wait, so am I like your Right Wing Mate?Like wtf?” Obviously it is also an homage to Morrissey but being more direct as well.”

Go with yourself.

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jose_gonzalez_leaf_off_the_cave_packshot

Small world. I got an email from a guy named Justin the other day. Justin used to work at the college radio station in Victoria, CFUV, and is now in Toronto working records to blogs (like mine!), college radio, satellite and specialty radio. He sent me a bunch of stuff he is working including this beauty.

Swedish singer-songwriter José González was in Vancouver last Saturday for a show.

He is touring behind his record Vestiges & Claws.

Justin ended his email with, “Sorry about the Canucks. (Not really!)”

Ha, dink.

Go with yourself.

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photos by Christopher Wilson

photos by Christopher Wilson

S is singer/guitarist Jenn Ghetto.

When I used to DJ at Veneto Lounge in Victoria, one of the bartenders, Katie, loved this group called Carissa’s Wierd. So much so, she made me download a record so i could play a song or two for her during the evening.

Carissa’s Wierd played their final show in Seattle at the Crocodile back in 2003. Two of the guys would leave to form Band of Horses. Then one of those guys would leave BOH to form Grand Archives. (their 2008 s/t is still a an all-time favourite of mine)

OK, rewind, back to Ms. Ghetto. Jenn Ghetto would also continue making music under the banner S. She is now putting out tunes on the Hardly Art label (a sub label of Sub Pop, Carissa’s Wierd’s old label).

Her forth record is called Cool Choices. A couple spins off this disc are great. “Vampires” is good, but “Brunch” is perfect.

S is on tour with The Thermals. No shows in Vancouver but a bunch in Seattle.

05.01.15 – Seattle, WA – Neumos %
05.13.15 – San Francisco, CA – Brick & Mortar Music Hall # * +
05.14.15 – San Jose, CA – Cafe Stritch # * +
05.15.15 – Los Angeles, CA – Echo # * +
05.16.15 – Costa Mesa, CA – The Wayfarer # *
05.17.15 – San Diego, CA – Soda Bar # *
05.22.15 – Seattle, WA – Barboza # *
05.23.15 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios # *
05.25.15 – George, WA – Sasquatch
06.27.15 – Seattle, WA – Repair Revolution
06.28.15 – Seattle, WA – Cha Cha
07.11.15 – Seattle, WA – West Seattle Music Fest

% – w/ Sera Cahoone, The Horde and the Harem
# – w/ Hutch & Kathy
* – S will be performing as a duo for these shows
+ – all-ages show

And let’s explore some Carissa’s Wierd.

Grand Archives

What the fuck, A-sides win right…. you know this one.

Go with yourself.

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Layout 1
One of the UK’s biggest arena modern rock bands, Kaiser Chiefs, are in Vancouver tonight for a show at The Commodore Ballroom.

The London-by-way-of-Leeds band is touring Canada. In the UK, the Kaiser Chiefs play 11,000 seat arenas. Last night in Victoria, it was the 600 person Distrikt, and tonight, it’ll be for about 1,000 on Granville. I think we’re in for a big production in a tight space.

The band’s fifth album is called Education, Education, Education & War. The record was a number 1 in England. Part of that could have been that the lead singer guy is a judge on the BBC The Voice.

The reviews aren’t stellar on the record. NME pointing out that founding member and drummer Nick Hodgson was a big part of writing the tunes and he left the group. They did circle the single “Coming Home” as a standout.

“I’m right into the Blur reunion, ’cause it’ll finish off the Kaiser Chiefs and put them to bed. There’s nothing worse than a shit Blur. And at least the original shit Blur are back to finish off all these other shit Blurs. I’m bang into the Blur reunion.” — Noel Gallagher, aka Nostradamus, 2009

Go with yourself.

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Mystic Beach

Perfect Monday morning to hop a ferry over to Vancouver from the Island. Had an adventure filled time with Coral and the kids. We took a drive on Saturday out to Mystic Beach. April gives us perfect hiking weather in the Pacific North-West. Sunny, warm, but not hot.

Riding the bus to the skytrain I put up an old playlist. I used to make these mixes last summer called “Alternative to What?” Generally a mix of modern rocking, on the margins of mainstream, fun lists.

As the weather turns, I better get back into the habit of restocking the sonic cupboard with brighter tunes (and come to think of it…the Honda CRV’s infotainment thing is glitching and not reading our phones. I’ll have to fix that if we plan on road tripping).

Here is an older song, but a track that is getting some love on commercial modern rock in the US right now.

The LA based duo is called In The Valley Below. Echo Park, that’s LA right?

Folky, chill, but with a beat and pretty female vocals ping-ponging off a lazy southern Gentleman drawl.  The band is currently hustling. Playing radio festivals with other radio chart heatseekers. Like Waters? Nice. I like those guys too.

***

Finally…let’s talk about this bratty pop-punker… Unwed Teenage Mothers. From the Southern US. What is MS?  Mississippi? Maybe they’re from North Carolina?

Go with yourself.

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