November 10, 2008
OmahaRisinG - Toronto Poet/Lyricist
To purchase OmahaRisinG's book of poetry, Eudysia visit the Kensington Market bookstore, This Ain't The Rosedale Library, Kensington Market, Toronto, ON, Canada. For more info, email: omaha@axxent.ca
Posted by i220 at 08:40 AM | Comments (2)
October 18, 2008
Lydia interviews: The Hometown Hecklers
Lydia:
The Hometown Hecklers are the definitive pret-a-port punk-rock band. They play live often. They jam often, and write songs nearly every week. Tonight they are preparing for a show with local band Bake Sale, and two imports from Manitoba; The Gorgon and The Angry Dragon. Although the band has a break in shows in the coming month, I decided to take time to interview them shortly after their release party. Coping with line-up change, and then the quick success of their album in the midst of non-stop gigs does not seem to faze them. This incarnation (the Hecklers name has been around a while) was formed mid-2007 and only recently enlisted a new drummer. With an album already fresh off the press, "The Heart and Downstroke Foundation", this is one band that works fast.
What did you all think of recording The Heart and Downstroke Foundation? Did you enjoy it?
Josh - Well, you are recording right now, and I enjoy it. The album was pretty much the same.
Matt (laughing) - I wasn't on the album. I was in just before the release party.
Ruggy Ride - I love recording! Paul played drums for the album. We had a friggin' Blast!
KeeKee - Totally love recording! Totally. Some songs were a little tense, a little much. But it was awesome.
Lydia - Of course, it went pretty fast though right?
KK - Yeah, probably the fastest album out of North Bay lately.
RR - No man, it was like...
KK - Four months?
RR - Five months? Yeah, that's fast I guess.
KK - Super fast.
Me - I understand you are already sold out of discs... is that true?
RR - We sold out at the release party!
KK - Yeah, we sold out pretty fast, got more printed.
Russell "Ruggy Ride" Collins and Kelly "Kee-Kee" Allan have been core members of The Hometown Hecklers since the 2007 revival which originally included Paul Rothwell, of Sobriety's Rejects fame. Josh "Lambo" Lambert was added as rhythm guitarist in January 2008 and the latest addition Matt Dent joined recently to replace Paul on drums.
The Hecklers have rotated drummers quite a bit since Paul. Have all my favorite drummers in town jammed with you?
RR - Nah, we have only had Chucky, Paul, Kevin, and now Matt.
Josh - I played for one show, we jammed a couple times with me on drums, but yeah, we jammed with alternates sometimes.
KK - Yeah, and Sterling and Scott filled in too.
RR - Just for jams though. Only four official drummers, I think. And now Matt!
Lydia - Yes, Matt, how many live shows have you been at now?
Matt - Rothfest, the CD Release Party, the Can Change Festival, October 3rd...
Josh - Matt's first show was Rothfest
RR - Yeah, our last show with Kevin was the Pig Roast.
Matt - Yeah, Rothfest was like, a week after the NPR Pig Roast.
Non Partisan Records is a loose artists co-operative formed by members of OMOS, 24 Sussex and Power-Stance Merchandise who regularly organize shows Lately, most shows are private affairs as there is trouble securing venues in North Bay. With luck, NPR is able to hold two shows a month with a full line at the merch booth with cd's, shirts and stickers for most of the bands they support.
Speaking geek for a minute, what make and model do you all play?
RR - I have an Ibanez SG style, it's like a Gibson knock off or whatever But Kel bought me it so I love it.
KK - Ernie Ball style Jay Turser and I love it and his name is Jimmy The Con!
RR - What did I name mine? I forget!
Matt - I play... um... drums!
Kel - Druggys rum kit!
Lydia - Yeah, the slut kit, eh?
Josh - It's a Taye, good Canadian company actually...
Matt - Yup, it's a Taye. Yes, it's a great kit really.
Josh - right now, I use the Tele, which is a great guitar, I like playing that. Not using my other guitar
Matt - oh, what kind is that?
Josh - I have no idea. B? It has a B on it, weirdest guitar ever.
I have seen Matt, Josh and Ruggy all play different instruments, so what does everyone play?
Josh - I started on drums but no one in the band I was in wanted to sing, so I figured I would just do it. The first tune I learned on drums was Rockin' in the Free World!
Matt - I play drums, bass and guitar
Lydia - Formal training on any, or all self taught?
Matt - Yup, all self taught.
Kel - I have been playing bass a year and a bit.
Lydia - You dabbled in guitar and have been singing forever...
Kel - Yeah, choral, country and gospel singing. Guitar... not so much.
Ruggy - Guitar, Bass, Drums... I taught myself. I had a few guitar lessons but...
Matt and Josh (laughing) - but what?
Ruggy - But it sucked! He was a nice guy though...
The Hometown Hecklers have a massive choice of material for set-lists. Each show sounds fresh when coupled with the bands love of playing off one another. There has been a shift in songwriting in the last few months, as Kelly and Lambert are beginning to flesh out songs they have written. There is a unique sound to the Hecklers as it is, so the new material fits into the current roster seamlessly - just as the personalities of the band members mesh particularly well.
RR - So what did you think of Shimmy Bop?
Lydia - I liked it, I didn't recall it being played at your last show - You have a lot of songs, don't you?
RR - At least enough for an EP probably enough for an album in a month.
KK (laughing) - Or tomorrow! We want an album out with Matt pretty bad!
Matt - Definitely!
Lydia - Is there anything you would like to add before we head for beer and wings? Future Plans?
RR - I hate that new Kid Rock song.
Josh - Timmins perhaps, I want to do a show in Timmins pretty bad... you see, 'cause it's close to home. But it's hard to play shows there 'cause there's a lack of interest. It's a hip-hop town...
RR - I thought it was an AC/DC town?
KK - No, North Bay is an AC/DC town. We proved that one night.
Matt - More shows, recording...
KK - I really want to hit Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec city. Recording.
RR - More shows. More songs.
Posted by i220 at 08:30 AM | Comments (0)
August 28, 2006
Jack Kerouac
Angel Introduces Us to an Original Beatnik and Inspiration to Hippies Everywhere
Angel: Jack Kerouac started the hip generation and the lost generation. He also helped create the Beat generation and the beatniks started the hippie generation. I love Jack Kerouac's books and messages. They never grow old and there is so much to learn from this man. I got my name "Angel" from Kerouac's book "Desolation Angel's"
Jack Kerouac(1922-1969)"Dean, don't drive so fast in the daytime."
"Don't worry, man, I know what I'm doing." I began to flinch. Dean came up on lines of cars like the Angel of Terror. He almost rammed them along as he looked for an opening. He teased their bumpers, he eased and pushed and craned around to see the curve, then the huge car leaped to his touch and passed, and always by a hair we made it back to our side as other lines filed by in the opposite direction and I shuddered. I couldn't take it anymore. It is only seldom that you find a long Nebraskan straightaway in Iowa, and when we finally hit one Dean made his usual 110 and I saw flashing by outside several scenes that I remembered from 1947--a long stretch where Eddie and I had been stranded two hours. All that old road of the past unreeling dizzily as if the cup of life had been overturned and everything gone mad. My eyes ached in nightmare day.
"Ah hell, Dean, I'm going in the back seat, I can't stand it any more, I can't look."
"Hee-hee-hee!" tittered Dean and he passed a car on a narrow bridge and swerved in the dust and roared on....
(John Kerouac) (kĕr´wãk´´) , 1922—69, American novelist, b. Lowell, Mass., studied at Columbia Univ. One of the leaders of the beat generation, he was the author of the novel "On the Road" (1957), widely considered the testament of the beat movement. Kerouac's writings reflect a frenetic, restless pursuit of new sensation and experience, and a disdain for the conventional measures of economic and social success. Among his other works are the novels "The Subterraneans" (1958), "The Dharma Bums" (1958), "Big Sur" (1962), and "Desolation Angels" (1965); a volume of poetry, "Mexico City Blues" (1959); and a volume describing his dreams, "Book of Dreams" (1961).
See A. Charters, ed., Jack Kerouac: Selected Letters, 1940—1956 (1995) and Jack Kerouac: Selected Letters, 1957—1969 (1999); D. Brinkley, ed., Windblown World: The Journals of Jack Kerouac, 1947—1954 (2004); biographies by A. Charters (1973), B. Gifford and L. Lee (1978, repr. 1994), D. McNally (1980), G. Nicosia (1988), and B. Miles (1998); studies by T. Hunt (1981) and R. Weinreich (1986).
Posted by i220 at 10:19 AM | Comments (8)
October 17, 2004
The "Fellow Revolutionaries" Category
Introduce us to people changing the face of music.
The revolution IS in motion. This is an exciting time 'cause catz are doing revolutionary shit all sortz. Computers and technology are helping us to create, record, promote and develop music in ways that we've never known. Revolution is happening with or without this site! We here at themusicalrevolution.com are just trying to get a gander; keep up ya kno.
So, if you know of anyone who is reeking havoc on the world of music - let us know: weblog@themusicalrevolution.com - That includes yourselves. This is NO time for modesty.
If you think these people are full of shit (or not) tell us, hit the "Comments" button at the bottom of each entry.
Keep czeching the "Fellow Revolutionaries" Category!
'Cause you never know when someone might truly fuck everything up and you wanna be there when tha bomb drops! Believe me.
Posted by i220 at 01:42 PM | Comments (1)
October 04, 2004
Ulhas Kashalkar
On October 2, 2004 the Medical Science's Auditorium, University of Toronto hosted vocal maestro Ulhas Kashalkar. Although, in our whirlwind of launch mania, we here at themusicalrevolution managed to miss this event, here is some information about Ulhas. A big thank you to Farahana for the enlightenment.
Clik below.
Ulhas Kashalkar is rapidly gaining recognition as one of the top-ranking classical vocalists in India. An able representative of both the Gwalior and Jaipur gharanas, he was initiated to music by his father Sri N.D.Kashalkar an able musicologist.
A gold medalist at his Post-graduation in music, he was later on trained by Pandit Ram Marathe and Pandit Gajananbua Joshi, stalwarts of Hindustani Classical Music.
He seems to have an old musical head thriving with innumerable current and rare ragas and compositions. His gaykee is especially noted for pure traditional rendering with his own aesthetic interpretation. He allows his voice to engage in complex rhythmic acrobatics in khayal and thumri styles. The supreme authenticity of Ulhasji's musical renditions creates and strengthens our faith in the future of Hindustani Classical Music. .
Currently a Guru at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy (ITC-SRA) a performance by Ulhasji is not to be missed.
For further information please visit http://www.sitarschool.com
Posted by i220 at 12:13 PM | Comments (0)