Canada Day; Surrey Style!

Every year now, Surrey celebrates Canada Day with a large one day festival that has more then 100,000 people pass through each year. The day starts off with children musical acts, to a parade with the Mayor in which leads up to the Mayor and council giving out cup cakes which formed the Canadian Flag. From then, it goes on into acts that appeal to more older audiences as the day goes on, usually ending with a band that appeals to the 30+ crowd.

I was there to cover it this year, for my school and the City of Surrey. It was a long 12 hour day, but it was filled with fun. Around 3:45pm, the first of the two country bands came onto stage. First up was Ridley Bent. While I'm not a country person, I actually enjoyed this guy. He makes some good music. Next up was Jessie Farrell. She wasn't all that bad either, and covered one of my favourite songs too. Van Halen's Jump!

After that, around 5:30pm, Dragonette came on. Now I've heard of her, but never actually listened to her music. One she got on stage, and started to play her music I was stoked. It was some great stuff. Different to my usual listening pleasure. I highly recommend checking her out. Next up was the ever so popular Stereos. They made it HUGE after being on MuchMusic's show DISBAND. Before this band went on stage, the pit in front of the stage got crazy! So many people filled it who were special guests/VIP's that security had to intervene and push them all to one side. You can see almost all of them in the photo below.

Stereos put on a pretty good show, despite me not being a big fan of them. I give them props. I give the nine year old kid props who called out the lead singer of the band, telling him he had a bad voice. If only more people had the same guts as that kid! I think the crowd was the most lively during Stereos set, it was nuts out there!

After them, came the Odds. Now it was my kind of music. These dudes killed it on set. I never actually heard of them until I saw them perform. Then I knew I have heard their music. That seems to be a joke for them, as it happens a lot! If you've ever seen the show Corner Gas (it's a Canadian show), then you've heard their music. They were on a long hiatus before this as well. If you ever get a chance to see them perform on stage, I recommend it. Their set is filled with energy, and they make great music.

Now was for the headliner, Honeymoon Suite. One for the older people, hahah. This band has been around for a long time, and it shows as they are great on stage. Full of energy, and they make good music as well which is always a plus.

Surrey's Canada Day Celebration is one of the biggest in Canada, and is the biggest in Western Canada. They put a TON of work into this event, and I recommend going to it. It's a blast.
Next up, Surrey's Fusion Fest. July 17-18.

Now onto the photos. Click for bigger as always!



















































You can view all my photos on my flickr.

Thanks for reading,
Ryan.

Heinali and Matt Finney's EP (Free download!)

Heinali and Matt Finney have released an EP, titled Lemonade. It's pretty good, and I recommend you check it out. It's free, or you can donate money as they are doing this without the backing of any label or that and if you do donate, you get bonus material!




You can check it out, and download it here: http://heinaliandmattfinney.bandcamp.com/

Thanks,
Ryan

Youthink Best BC Teen Band Contest

Saturday, May 1st was the final of Youthink's Best BC Teen Band Contest. The Knots, Split the Silence and High Life Scenery all battled it out with a 4 song set composed of 1 Canadian cover songs, the song they submitted to the contest, and two new original songs. They battled it out for judges, who are in the music industry currently.

The day started out for these bands with them showing up early for a meet and greet with music industry people of all sorts from Production companies, to LiveNation, and getting in an before set interview with a Youthink Student Reporter. They got to learn a bit about the industry and what may be in the future for them from chatting with these industry professionals, and learning a thing or two what an interview may hold for them. Then as the day progressed from this, family members, friends and fans started to pour into the venue, which was Tom Lee's Music Hall on Granville Street in Vancouver.

The more people that came in, the closer the show arose for these bands, which they would be playing one of their most important sets of their life. The bands rushed backstage, into the worlds smallest dressing room that could barely hold one band in there. Then, the house lights dimmed, stage lights came on and the MC (Shaun from Wide Mouth Mason) came onto the stage to discuss what is happening and what the bands would be competing for. He left the stage, and Split the Silence took it in full force.

They performed their hearts out, and put on a killer set. They covered Arcade Fire's song, "Wake Up" but with their own added twist to it. Slayed that song. Their other songs where also great, and were about many things like the bass player's girlfriend from Grade 9. He wasn't all that happy with the mention about it, which made for a laugh! Their set ended and High Life Scenery took the stage.

These guys won the online part of this contest, which was fan voted. It showed in the audience as well, with how many fans that tagged along to show up for them! In their set, they covered K' naan's song " Wavin Flag" and although a few vocal notes got a bit mixed up, they fought through it and ended their set with the next song that got the crowed pumped up for the rest of the show and the last band, the Knots!

The Knots, whom are an indie-alternative band, are from Burnaby. They opened their set with an Arkells cover song, which was "Deadlines" and then went on to play their most valuable set as a band for them currently. They also made it clear that their set was all about the music, and not the contest, which is what it would be all about. The music! They finished their set, and left the stage as then everyone had to wait with anticipation for who would be the first winner of Youthink's Best BC Teen Band.

The winner was:
The Knots!

In second place was:

Split the Silence

and in third:

High Life Scenery

All these bands absolutely played great, and I think will have great success in the future with their music! Congrats to the Knots on the win.

You can read more about the day and what they won here.

Thanks,
Ryan Rose

Now photos! Click for bigger.

Balconies Interview

Lets get this started by asking, how are you?

Great! We’ve been enjoying our time in Vancouver. We went bowling last night with some friends. Today, we worked on some new songs! Yay!

Who are some of your musical influences?
Growing up Steve and I listened to what our parents were listening to – Tom Waits, Alice Cooper, Dr. Hook, The Beatles, Supertramp, Beach Boys, ABBA, Jackson 5... Our grandparents also encouraged us to listen to a lot of classical music since we were studying classical instruments – they were always buying us new records they thought we’d appreciate (which we did). Both Liam and I ventured into punk music when we were teenagers: Sex Pistols, Dead Kennedys, Buzzcocks, The Clash, The Specials etc…

What are some current bands you are into?
Zeus, The Golden Dogs, Bahamas, Beach House, Dirty Projectors, Leif Vollebekk, Parlovr, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Fleet Foxes, Owen Pallet, Yukon Blonde, Dinosaur Bones, Sandman Viper Command…but we’re still listening to a lot of classic music…as listed above…

What about Canadian ones?
see above…most of them are!

Since you played at Canadian Music Week, what was that experience like?
Exciting! It was really cool sharing the stage with so many other amazing musicians especially at the Horseshoe tavern. We felt really fortunate to be on such a great bill.

What got you into music?
When I was four years old I saw a girl playing violin on Sesame Street and I was in complete awe of the instrument. I bugged my parents for years to get me a violin. They couldn’t afford to get me one at the time so I would strut around the house with a coat hanger and a stick pretending I was playing violin. Finally, when I was six my parents found a second hand violin and enrolled me in lessons and I haven’t looked back! Growing up, my dad was always writing and listening to music - he’d play piano, guitar and sing a lot at home so he is definitely my primary musical inspiration. When I was 13 my family moved out to the country, about 30 minutes outside of Ottawa. Because there wasn’t much else to do, I picked up the guitar and started teaching myself. Once I learned a couple of chords, I started songwriting, which really helped me find my voice, and made being a teenager much easier to deal with.

What inspires you to make music?

Listening to a good record or watching a good movie inspires me to create more music. For me, writing music is like therapy and it’s a release for built up energy, thoughts and emotions. Working with Liam and Steve definitely encourages me to continue improving as a guitarist and songwriter. I also feed off people’s energy and since I love people watching – I often create scenarios up in my head about them and then write about it…

What is the best thing about touring? The worst?
I never really have to feel homesick because I have my brother and boyfriend on the road with me. I miss my bed, friends and parents.

In the next 5-10 years, where do you see the Balconies?
Hopefully, no more day jobs! Busy touring the world with at least four albums under our belt.

What are some challenges you face as a band?
Trying to balance between having day jobs and still having time to be creative and tour. It’s a definite challenge to be funding all the bands expenses including our personal ones. Dealing with unexpected expenses such as van repairs can also make it hard to keep up. But somehow, we always find a way because we know it’s all worth it.

Outside of music, what are you into?
I love learning new languages I speak French, German and Italian. Crafts, reading, art galleries, photography, movies, eating good food. We all love biking and skiing/snowboarding. We are also into meeting new people.

How would you describe your bands sound?
High-energy, up-beat rock music that combines classic guitar tones with solid driving danceable beats and hooky bass lines. We put a strong emphasis on powerful delivery and three part vocal harmonies.

How do you think social media sites (Myspace, Twitter, Facebook, etc), and the rest of the internet help new artists with getting more known?
Everything is so much more accessible now and music/information is at our fingertips. It’s definitely much easier to promote yourself since you can reach so many people so quickly.

When you played your first ever show, were you nervous and what kind of fears came with playing your first show and how did you overcome them?
Our first show together was really exciting. We weren’t necessarily nervous, since we all had several years of performance experience with other bands. We all felt comfortable on stage and the first show really made us feel that this was the beginning of something special.

What do you hope people will take away with them when they hear your music or see your live show?
We want people to feel good – to have fun and feel involved in our music. We strive to make our live shows as action packed as possible.

If you were to give advice to bands that are just starting to play shows and open for other acts and that, what advice would you give?
Be prepared to work hard.

Any last words?

Thanks so much for taking the time to check out the band! J

Thanks,
Ryan Rose

You can check out the Balconies here.

Jonsi April 2nd- Vancouver

Jonsi (of Sigur Ros) started off his tour for his new album 'Go' (which is wicked), with two dates in Vancouver.

The show was magical. The only downfall I had was that I had to wait in the rain for a good 40 minutes due to my ticket not being at will call when I showed up. At 8:00pm, the opening act went on. He was not that great, but he wasn't super bad either. Right at 9:00pm though, Jonsi took the stage. It was just him and his guitar during the first song, which was 'Stars in Still Water.' After that, the rest of his band took the stage along side with him.

Jonsi sung his heart out with his beautiful vocals, which awed the crowd. Mixed in with the beautiful voice and words of Jonsi, was an amazing backdrop that mixed with the most incredible visuals for a show I have seen. It was a story, that followed very closely along with the story Jonsi was singing through out his set. 59 Productions did an incredible job at creating this.

My review is horrible, so I'm going to go onto my photos...

You can read better reviews here:
http://backstagerider.com/2010/04/07/sigur-ros-jonsi-debuts-solo-show-tour-vancouver/
http://jonsi.com/concerts/2010-04-07-vogue-theatre-vancouver

Now to photos!

Click for bigger.











Go to my flickr for more: www.flickr.com/dotca

-Ryan

Paper Routes/Lights/Owl City Vancouver Show!

Friday was a wicked night. It was the night of the Lights/Owl City concert. A show that sold out so fast, I couldn't actually buy a ticket. Thanks to Paper Route's rad management though, I managed to secure a ticket and a photo pass and watch the epicness get put down! I also made some rad new friends this night as well. Lights fans are some of the raddest people ever!

Thanks to them, they secured me a spot right at the front of the longggggggg line up as well so I would be guaranteed a wicked seat in the GA area (thanks Mike!). Once the time reached 6pm, the line up went nuts as the doors opened and people rushed in to get through security so they can get a good seat, ha. Thankfully I did not get crushed, nor my camera gear get hurt. I finally got in, and managed to secure a spot right at the front. Front, right to be exact.

Once 7pm hit, and the lights dimmed, the crowd went wild (okay not super wild, but they were real excited)! Paper Route hit the stage. This band was so, so good live. I'm going to be honest that I never really heard much of their music, but after their set, I wanted to go and buy their CD. I realized I had no money, so I couldn't (Bestbuy/HMV/Future Shop, here I come)! Seriously, everyone needs to check out Paper Route as they are so good. I just wish the lighting for their set was slightly better for my photos. Oh well.

After the set break, it was Lights time to shine and she shone bright! Even though Owl City was the headliner of the show, I think that the majority of the crowd was there for Lights. As soon as she stepped on stage, the crowd went nuts. Way louder then for Owl City. Right before she played Pretend (Reprise), she asked the crowd to name her piano/keyboard which is one that she rarely gets to use and was the one that helped her start it all! The crowd named it, Vancouver! She also covered Phil Collin's song "In the Air Tonight" and did it beautifully. When she 'finished' her site, the crowd went nuts for an encore. She did, and played Drive My Soul. Her keytar had a malfunction during mid set, and they replaced it with another one, but that one didn't work either cause of no batteries! Hahah. They fixed it for the encore though. Her set was wonderful, and I can't wait for her to come through Vancouver again and have another rad time.

Now, it was time for Owl City. I'm going to be honest here, and say I'm not that big of a fan of him. Well, I came in expecting him to not be all that great. He proved me wrong, very wrong. His set was full of energy, and it sounded great! He had some cool lighting go on in the background as well. When he played Fireflies, the crowd went nuts and started to sing along to every word. It was awesome. I'm not all that familiar with his songs so I can't really say which ones he played when, but for the encore he played "Hello Seattle", but changed up the words, so he sang "Hello Vancouver." Though he made that change midway through the song.

Now enough of this writing, photos! Haha

Click for bigger.



























Visit my flickr: www.flickr.com/dotca, for more!

Thanks for reading,
Ryan