Free Speech: themusicalrevolution.com

*Note: This newsletter is a reissue - all dates are null & void.

www.themusicalrevolution.com (on deck)
themusicalrevolution@yahoo.ca

May./2004.
Edition (h).

I)
dynasty bonsai
few have climbed the mountain
to the summit

J)
it was easier
when i formulated less
and felt more

Copyright: Zoë Zagg, 2004.

PROMO:

May 2, 2004. "Minque" - Round 3 of the Emergenza Festival (Toronto Faction) - @ The Opera House, Toronto, ON. Yes, the boyz prevailed again, with flying colours I might add - "First" in a landslide. Now, on to a bigger concert with the chance to stay alive. Best of luck!

www.boundether.com - "Bound Ether" - Metal with a female singer. Joe from werk scored me a coupla free discs - not bad... If you're into the "Evanascence" vibe you should check these cats out.

This month I've been trying to discover pubs in Toronto that offer live acoustic music. For the interested, here are a few sites that list such venues:

http://www.toronto.com/search?sort=rank-desc&cslink=cs_keyword_home&type=bridge&query=live+music&context=generic&cslink=cs_bars_nightlife_21_6

http://www.wguides.com/city/89/subsub_127.cfm

http://www.menupalace.com/menupalace/establishments/establishments/bars/toronto.asp

IN THIS ISSUE:

TO DOWNLOAD OR NOT TO DOWNLOAD: http://www.pulse24.com/Business/Top_Story/20040331-002/page.asp

EDITORIAL:

Being the egomaniac that I am, it is a credit to my boy Lucas G that I am stepping aside this month and offering him my "editorial". That being said - he plain kicked my ass with the following so I just had to concede. Enjoy someone who is not me! Lucas:

On Da Folk Tip

I love asking people what kind of music they listen to. Unfortunately, most people inevitably say "Oh, I listen to everything". Being the smart-alec-dickweed that I am, I always find myself asking them what Zydeco, Backpack, or Klezmer bands they are into to find a perplexed look all over their face. Ideally, "everything" should be a little less vague of a genre but, due to genres like "Top 40", "everything" bares different connotations now.

Zydeco, Backpack, and Klezmer are all very location based and culturally specific styles of folk music. Based on last months article on Zydeco, I would like to delve a little into the wonderful world of Klezmer folk music.

Klezmer music was created around a hundred years ago in Eastern Europe, predominatly Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Lithuania, and Germany by the Roma (or Gypsies, as they would prefer not to be called) and the Ashkenazi Jews. Much like the North American Blues, it is based on I, IV, V progressions, mainly out of minor keys with flat 5ths and even more sharp 7ths, and always has an immense amount of improvisation by all musicians. Lyrically, most songs are in Yiddish (if they are not instrumental) but more modern, North American Klezmer bands prefer to do a lot of songs in English in order for their audiences to identify with them. Thematic ideas revolve around either humour or hardships of the people; very emotional and will make you weep or dance the Hora or Bulgar.

Three of my favourite North American Klezmer bands have great websites available for you to Czech out their free downloads and Tour info.

http://www.flyingbulgars.com/
http://www.klezmatics.com/
http://www.beyondthepale.net/

Aswell, when I was in Krakow, Poland 2 summers ago, I was lucky enough to see The Cracow Klezmer Band performing traditional Klezmer music with less of a jazz influence than North American Klez has. Free MP3s can be downloaded here aswell:

http://www.ckb.cracow.pl/

Enjoy it 'cuz music and culture is all around you to be appreciated.

Lucas Goldman
piece out.

For more Lucas, check out link:
http://poetry.com/Publications/display.asp?ID=W2260087&BN=999&PN=1
Just search his name.

INSPIRATIONS:

I saw the following article on the evening news - no, I don't just watch C.S.I. and cartoons! I thought that it was worth the entire "inspirations" section for this month because without freedom it is difficult to realize inspiration. For now, our freedom is protected! What we will do with that freedom is yet to be seen.

pulse24.com - Thursday, April 29, 2004.

Canadian Kazaa users grab your mouse – the music industry won’t know who you are. A federal judge has ruled the Canadian Recording Industry Association can’t get access to the names of computer users who download and share music off the Internet.

The industry group was looking to sue 29 people who made over a thousand songs available online, using programs like Kazaa or Grokster. But the judge decided they simply didn’t prove that the actions violated copyright, and that the process of downloading and sharing MP3 files doesn’t constitute copyright infringement under Canadian law.

“No evidence was presented that the alleged infringers either distributed or authorized the reproduction of sound recordings,” Justice Konrad von Finckenstein wrote in his 28-page ruling. “They merely placed personal copies into their shared directories which were accessible by other computer users via a P2P [peer-to-peer] service.”

He compared the process to using a photocopier. “I cannot see a real difference between a library that places a photocopy machine in a room full of copyrighted material and a computer user that places a personal copy on a shared directory linked to a P2P service,” he concludes.

The industry is aghast. “What we're talking about goes far beyond photo copying,” counters Richard Pfohl of the Canadian Recording Industry Association. “We have people making thousands of songs available to millions of strangers. It's devastated our industry.”

It’s an industry that was hoping to duplicate the actions of its U.S. counterpart. Courts there have compelled Internet Service Providers to reveal the names of users found guilty of sharing massive numbers of files, so that they can take legal action against them.

Hundreds of people have already made out of court settlements with the Recording Industry Association of America, after it threatened to charge violators thousands of dollars for every song found on their computers.

Music officials here had planned the same strategy, hoping to stop what they contend is millions of dollars in sales lost to the piracy. They've called the decision "stunning", and will lobby to have the laws changed, while seriously considering an appeal.

http://www.pulse24.com/Business/Top_Story/20040331-002/page.asp

Excercise your freedom: Opinions, projects, gatherings, let us know.

Big Love,
i220

www.themusicalrevolution.com (on deck)
themusicalrevolution@yahoo.ca