Festival, You Say? You Just Made My Day. LIVE at Squamish is COMING SOON!

Taking a break in the shade and cool grass on a hot fesvtival day

We Vancouverites “suffer” a lot of wet stuff falling from the skies during the winter months and far into the spring. Then, the occasional 15 or 20 degree day starts breaking up the weeks-on-end of rain, signaling summer is on its way and relief for us sufferers of seasonal affective disorder. To music lovers and concert goers, this signals something much more than just hot days lying on the beaches and swinging clubs out on the linx… it means outdoor concert season is almost here!

Buddies and beer gardens!

Being able to soak up some live while under the warm sun is an experience like no other. A cold one in your hand, a burger in the other, the sun on your face, the joyous (and often half-intoxicated) fans, and your favorite band (or maybe one you're just discovering) playing on stage… and just when you think it can’t get any better, you find out it can.




Let me introduce to you- the weekend-long outdoor music festival concept.

Oh this isn’t anything new you say? But it kind of is to BCers. For too long, BC has been relatively devoid of weekend music festivals. Sure we get the occasional one-day outdoor festival (Warp Tour, Arts County Fair, Virgin Fest, Burnaby Blues and Roots Fest)… but all of these are missing one important factor. MULTIPLE DAYS!

When a festival runs over multiple days, you create a feeling of community amongst your fellow music lovers. It morphs from a day out into a trip… an adventure. The proof that BCers crave this type of music experience is evident by the flocks of Canadians that pour across the border for festivals like Sasquatch. I’ve been many times and often meet more Canadians than Americans!

There are so many levels of awesomeness that contribute to the amazing experience of attending a festival. Even the drive to the festival site is often filled with shenanigans and exchanged honks from cars with “LIVE at Squamish or BUST” written across the back of their cars in florescent face paint.

I’m so happy that a great team of people have banded together to create a 2-day concert for us festival craving music junkies called LIVE at Squamish… the question is, how will we live up to our friends across the line who manage to throw some pretty amazing festivals.

Will LIVE at Squamish master the art of quick beer lines? Will they have enough portapotties so you won’t wet yourself while waiting in endless lines? These are the little details festival goers care about, but what they OBSESS over, is who is playing, and are they gonna kick ass. I’ll be reporting from LIVE at Squamish with my take as an experienced festival go-er. Sammi Morelli will also be reporting from LIVE at Squamish… only with a different take. Sammi has NEVER been to a festival! I know… I also let out a high-pitched “WHAT?!”

We’ll get Sammi’s take on her first festival experience, but first here’s what she expects to experience this year at LIVE at Squamish:


SAMMI

I have a bit of an embarrassing confession to make.

I’ve never been to a music festival.

At least not one where you’re completely immersed – Waking up to the thumping of a distant bass amp, the smell of amazing and greasy food wafting through the air, shoulder to shoulder with complete strangers, totally in the moment…


Sure you can catch your favorite band at Rogers arena – Go out for beers before the show, maybe even dinner… make a night of it.

You can catch a local act in a tiny club with a mediocre sound system, only mildly bearable opening acts, get tipsy with your friends and dance 3 feet from the stage.

OR you can experience something magical.

Stuff that legends are made of. The live music Mecca’s; Woodstock. Isle of Wight. Coachella. Sasquatch. All famous for the experience of being there. It’s something no amount of youtube video watching, 3D concert movies, or Concert DVD’s can mimic, or even hope to recreate.

Everyone around me has been to at LEAST one festival, and has some sort of story to tell from it. My sister went to Pick-a-thon down in Oregon last year (hey, that kind of rhymed!). The way she described how the tents were scattered throughout a forest, with canopies of colorful scarves hanging from the trees… how she took part in an hour long conversation with a legendary blues man... intimate concerts under the stars or in a barn… bands you’ve followed for years singing right to you…

 My boyfriend, Jeff, often refers to multiple trips he’s had to the Gorge for festivals...



Oh, the excitement of arrival



One time, they borrowed a friend’s extra tent… but the poles were missing. Their neighbors (“Camping” in a large motor-home nearby) graciously allowed He and his buddy to sleep in the back of the trailer where their motorcycles were kept. They made them steaks, became fast friends... He seemed to be really impressed with the steaks.

 I’ve noticed from hearing these tales that, with festivals, the music is only about 50-60% of the overall experience. Part of it is the excitement that builds after you’ve bought your tickets and are waiting for that weekend to arrive. Another good portion is the journey to the festival grounds… the car ride with your friends… the pit stops for beers and picture taking.


And when you arrive… it’s going outside your normal life, it’s plunging into a crowd who’s equally as passionate about music and the bands as you are, it’s making new friends... It’s about sharing the experience and making the memories… together.

...At least that's what I gather.

The only shitty thing about music festivals is that they can be expensive.


A weekend in Coachella with the flights, car rental, camping/hotel expenses PLUS tickets to the show would probably run you up to a thousand bucks


That’s something people my age are totally not down with. We’d spend the dough on that stuff if we had it…. IF we had it.

But most of us are living paycheck to paycheck, buried in debt from school or just can’t find the right job, and aren’t able to justify spending money on a music filled weekend. Which is why when I heard about LIVE at Squamish, I was completely stoked. Here’s a festival that’s showcasing some of the most insane bands BC has to offer, AND two UNREAL headliners- Metric and Weezer.

From a music standpoint alone, there is going to be some incredible music played that weekend. (I almost screamed when I heard about Weezer headlining… I’ve always wanted to see them live)


It’s also in one of the most beautiful areas in the province AND close enough you won’t burn a ton of money on gas.

In my books… It’s a Win – Win.

LIVE at Squamish… I choose you to take my festival virginity.

Please don’t be gentle.








More updates to come as we get closer to LIVE at Squamish. For more information visit http://www.liveatsquamish.com/ and for line-up details visit http://www.liveatsquamish.com/artists

 

***WARNING*** Watching this video may be hazardous to your well-being

What do you get when you cross "28 Days Later" with freaky-costume night at your favorite club... LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem!

What a freaking awesome video!! Last month LMFAO released the video, which now has almost 24 million hits (at the time of posting) and is going up by about a million or so every day.

This may just be the HUGE break LMFAO needed. Check it out, and listen for it on Virgin.

****WARNING**** This song is potentially hazardous to ones well being, as 2-stepping and shuffling may be frequently irresistible... so much so it may compromise your personal life and career, unless of course you're a professional 2-stepper... then you're all good. Enjoy responsibly!

Gaga Expresses Herself with Born This Way

Think Gaga's new single Born This Way is a little similiar to Madonna's Express Yourself? Maybe a downright rip off? Well you be the judge... and while you're judging, let this mash-up help you decide. I present to you: Magaga

Adele - Rolling In The Deep

This song is not new by any stretch, but it is new to most of the mainstream music audience. Adele's "Rolling In the Deep" is currently on repeat... it's that good! What a fuckin' voice!!

Top 10 Albums of 2010... according to Jeff the Music Monkey

What a year 2010 has been for music. Working in the music biz, you notice that great music comes in waves... I mean, there's always great music being released, but there's drastic peaks and valleys. Sometimes it seems like there's an infinite supply of amazing stuff, and other times it's hard to find something fantastic. 2009 was definitely a peak in music and it's carried into 2010. There's so many amazing albums from this year that a Top 10 doesn't even come close to being able to acknowledge all the albums-worth-buying... and since I plan on enjoying my first-ever Christmas week off, I'm only going to list my Top 10 (with a few honourable mentions). Hate-mail and challenges from music snobs welcome and will be shared on this blog (if respectful). Here we go:

#10 Katy Perry - Teenage Dream
I may be a pop music director, but it's most-often not what I'm listening to at home... with a few exceptions. Katy Perry's Teenage Dream is an absolute pop smash! Many people don't know that Katy was actually quite punky in her early days and even performed on Warped Tour... and fact is, you can hear that edge come through with her live shows as well as her albums. This album's been out for several months now and I still get comments from some of my most anti-pop friends "hey, that Katy Perry album is actually really good!" Even if pop isn't really your thing, check out this album... you may be pleasantly surprised.

#9 Chromeo - Business Casual
Wow, did pop-culture ever miss this one! Montreal duo Chromeo released "Business Casual" last year and is a stellar album of 80's-ish electro-pop. The closest comparison in contemporary music would probably be La Roux with male vocals. If you love the fun, quirky, dance tracks this album is for you.

#8 Justin Nozuka - You I Wind Land and Sea
It still amazes me that Justin Nozuka is relatively unknown to most Canadians. The texture and soul of his vocal, combined with his incredibly interesting and talented song writing gets Justin's second album into 2010's Top 10 Albums... according to me! Oh ya, and a little Nozuka always helps to "set the mood" for you and your partner ;)

#7 Eminem - Recovery
I was starting to get pretty confident we weren't going to get another smash-album from Eminem, and had come and gone from his peak. Well slap me silly and call me Susan 'cause he sure as hell proved me wrong on that one. Angry, passionate, and incredibly brilliant lyrics and flow. Eminem at his finest.

#6 Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
I can't stand this guy's arrogance and sense of superiority over every other artist, but the guy shits talent. End of story. Heartbreaks and whatever was garbage (as a whole album), but Kanye definitely turned things around for this one.

#5 Tara Holloway - Sins to Confess
Tara Holloway has been working the independent Canadian music scene for over a decade and had only released (un-officially) an assortment of demos, live recordings and other tasty musical goodies on discs you could only get at her shows... but we finally have an full-length album from her to sink our teeth into and sure enough, she landed far from disappointment. Tara paired up with the amazing Dave Way (who has a track record longer than the run-time for Gone With The Wind) to produce and co-write her awesome debut album. Definitely check this one out!

#4 Bruno Mars - Doo-Wops and Hooligans
Well this guy sure came out of no where! Bruno Mars sang on tracks with B.o.B. and Travie McCoy, and co-wrote hits Like Flo Rida's Right Round, K'Naan's Wavin' Flag, and Cee-Lo Green's Fuck You... and then came Doo-Wops and Hooligans. Bruno's album comes out on top as Motown-ish smash, which I'm sure we'll see more singles from early this year.

#3 Dirty Radio - Debut
Wow, wow, wow! The debut album from Dirty Radio, conveniently titled Debut, practically left me speechless and is my top Canadian pick for 2010. It's SO good, it was hard for me to decide what to write about it. I've described it as dirty electro/urban beats, clever and catchy lyrics, and vocals that almost sound like he's the love-child of Justin Timberlake and Prince... if such a thing were possible. And get this: Dirty Radio is from Vancouver... AND (at the time of writing this) he's not even signed... yet! Make sure you've got a rad stereo or a pair of headphones with great bass to get the full bang out of this delicious piece of music! Crank it up!

#2 Ray Lamontagne - God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise
Probably the complete sonic opposite from Dirty Radio, is the bluesy-folk singer/songwriter Ray Lamontagne and the Pariah Dogs. God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise has got to be one of my favorite albums of this genre ever! It kicks off with an upbeat bluesy number, but quickly shifts into an easy-listening folk album sure to impress most music lovers. Folk is not one of the top genres I listen to, but this album is sure to stay in my top "favorites".

#1 Nas and Damien Marley - Distant Relatives
What a surprise this was. I've always liked both Nas and Damien Marley, but never got too much into their stuff (got into a little more Damien than Nas though)... but wholy shiza is this album ever amazing! Instantly made my top Urban albums of all time. This album is so shockingly good, I'm not going to even try to describe it. If you like urban, reggae or a combination of the two, this is a must. If not, still check it out...




Honourable mentions:
B.o.B - The Adventures of Bobby Ray

Black Keys - Brothers

Usher - Raymond V Raymond

Canadian Music industry disconnect

There's a major disconnect (in my opinion) in regards to the Canadian music industry, the way it's regulated, and the way we recognize these artists for their successes. I would love to know why Justin Bieber can be nominated for a Canadian music award (Juno) when none of his music is legally Canadian. Because it's mostly Composed, Procduced, Written by Americans, it doesn't qualify as Canadian content (for more on that, visit here)... so if we as broadcasters can not play it as Canadian music, how can it qualify for a Canadian music award?

...and let me clarify: My point is not "let's pull Bieber from the Junos", it's simply that we need to take a good look at the way our government decides what qualifies as being "Canadian" and what doesn't. These two irregularities are a bit of a laughing stock... in my humble opinion.

Not much of a Diddy fan, but....

Diddy, P-diddy, Puff Daddy... whatever you call him, he's got a new album with a group he's formed called Dirty Money, or Diddy-Dirty Money. I'm not about to say the album is fantastic, 'cause it isn't, but there's definitely a few wicked tracks. Call me a sucker for anything Biggie Smalls... they've dug up another piece of his featured in this track "Angels". Beside the song, the video is REALLY well done. Some beautiful cinematography in this one. Check it!

Michael Jackson with Akon

Very soon, they will be releasing a full album of MJ tunes and Hold My Hand (as heard on Virgin Radio) is the first single from that album. Check the vid... I think it's really well done!

Dr. Dre is back with Kush...

Ya baby!! If you're a hip hop fan like I am, you probably LOVE the old Dre and Snoop albums... well Dre is back with this killer track "Kush" featuring Snoop and Akon.

Dirty Radio's "Head Go Wild" music video!

Dirty Radio and team SEX-ED have released their first music video, and the jury is in. SWEET! I love these one-take vids like J. Cole's Who Dat video. If you know anything about film-making, you'll know it's quite the challenge to coordinate and time out. Well done guys!

Gettin' Dirty... Radio

 

I get a TON of music landing on my desk in the Virgin Radio music department, and one thing we pride ourselves on is that we listen to EVERYTHING. In the world of Top 40 radio, it doesn't always happen that way. The fact is, if it isn't already mainstream, indie submissions often have little relevance to a Top 40 programmer. We like to support local talent with features like Virgin Radio's Best of BC so it's part of what we do every day.

 

It's very much like the film industry when you submit music to a radio station- don't call us, we'll call you. There's pretty good reason for this too. It would take an army of people to respond to every submission.

 

But let me tell you- when the new album "Debut" by Dirty Radio was dropped on my desk, they got the call! The album was produced by local production team SEX-ED, and became an instant favorite here at Virgin Radio. You'll hear "My Heart" featuring Sherry St. Germain on Virgin! Check it out below.

 

(Click the here to hear and buy the rest of the album. I can't get enough of it... it's AWESOME!)

 

 

Cee-Lo Green of Gnarls Barkley, Goodie Mob goes VIRAL

I'm sure you remember the song "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley? Well if you're like the masses and thought Gnarls Barkley is the guys name, it's not... it's a group.

Cee-Lo Green is the heavy set guy who fronted Gnarls Barkley... and if you're a hip hop fan, you may know that Cee-Lo's fame comes from another previous group - Goodie Mob!

Well Cee-Lo released a video on the web about 2 weeks ago, and since then it's had over 2 million views. The "safe" version you'll hear on the radio and TV is called "Forget You"... not necessarily as much impact as the uncensored version - "Fuck You".

***WARNING - IF YOUR BOSS/CO-WORKERS/FAMILY/FRIENDS etc DON'T APPRECIATE SONGS THAT SAY FUCK YOU SEVERAL TIMES, DON'T WATCH THIS VIDEO IN THEIR PRESENCE.***

Pop music sucks... or does it?

I know I've been bad with blogging this summer, but I promise I'll be back in full force this September. Not that I'm making excuses again, but between time off and filling in for others taking their time off, the summer is NUTTY busy!

Anyway, this is a bit of a stray from the usual "sharing music" blog... and more of a rant.

It stems from on-going complaints I hear about pop-music and Top-40 radio. Let's start with pop-music. I want to start by pointing out that there's VERY little pop I turn on at home- I listen to a lot of blues, metal/hard-rock, hip-hop, and some electronica. I was also one of these Pop-music haters for many years before I decided to try and shed my self-righteous music snobbery and try to be more open minded.

The "Pop music sucks" statement gets tossed around so much, and frankly, while you certainly have a right to your opinion; know that it only demonstrates that you have very narrow taste in music. Just because you don’t like it, doesn’t mean it isn’t good music or lacking in talent. Pop is short for POPULAR, and in case you haven't figured it out yet, it's THE MOST POPULAR genre of music. Exponentially more people listen to it than your rock and hip-hop audiences. Simply put, while you might not like pop music, the rest of the world does.

The attack on the actual songwriting is something I find almost comical. A quick story on that: The artist Lights was visiting the Virgin Radio Factory to do a couple songs acoustically, and we have a rule here- the artist must play a cover-tune, preferably from a genre outside their comfort zone. Lights said something that I've quoted many times... that you know a song is really amazing when you strip it down to a singer and a guitar (or piano) and it's still an amazing song. Then she played Backstreet Boys "I Want It That Way". I suddenly had instant respect and appreciation for this song and could envision it being done by Billie Joel, Elton John, or even Johnny Cash! It truly is a well written song. My point is that it's often in the arrangement and production that causes the negative reaction, or because it's recorded by a pop-star whose image you don't relate to... NOT because it's actually a bad song.

Also, there's often the "no talent" attack I hear out of Pop-haters mouths. Regardless of your opinion, you don't need to sing like Robert Plant or play like Eddie Van Halen to be considered talented... and if you think that even the most laughed-about pop singers don't have talent, then wake up and get your head out of your ass. Open your mind, because there's a reason they've gained the opportunities they have, and there's a reason they've sold thousands, if not millions of records. Although some may not be "as talented", they all have something unique about them that gives them appeal.

Back to the radio game, another statement that gives me a kick is the "pop stations just force-feed you this music". Not true... and maybe you should do some investigating before making a statement that just outs you for knowing absolutely nothing about how a pop station works. In case you're one of those people (or maybe just curious), here's the basics on how music comes to pop radio. A label representative from each of the 4 major labels (as well as some smaller labels and indies) come to us every week with a list of songs they're working. For the most part, labels are fantastic at picking the best song to go to radio. We make changes on our playlist, which are made- 1) on the programmers gut feelings, and 2) based on information like charts and weekly research... and guess where that research data comes from. Yup, YOU, the listener. Just as all radio stations do, we invite our listeners to join our music survey club. Every week an email goes out to those who have signed up and so we can get their feedback on the tunes. It's this data that allows us to know what to stop playing ('cause YOU don't like the song), or what to play more of. Lady Gaga isn't getting played 10 times a day because we want to. It's because YOU want us to.

...and then we come to the "pop stations play the same thing over and over again". Ask yourself how much time you spend listening to the radio. Most people are going to tell you it's for 10-20 minutes in the car on the way to/from work. Why are you tuning in? So you can hear a bunch of music you've never heard before? Nope, if you wanted that you'd go to a Triple-A station (ie The Peak or the Shore in Vancouver). People punch into pop stations to hear their favorite tune from Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas, Katy Perry etc. If we don't play the biggest records every 3 hours (which is approximately how often the biggest songs play), then you will have to listen all day just to hear it once. Get it? Pop radio (and a most modern rock stations) can't be successful if they're playing everything off the latest album from X artist. It just doesn't work.

I often get emails like "could you guys please play something else from Adam Lambert's album other than If I Had You, like song X, or song Y... they're SO good". Well right off the bat I know this person is an Adam Lambert fan. Second, we reflect what's popular. If Adam is performing If I Had You on late night TV shows and it's the number 1 song on iTunes download, why on earth am I going to play song X that NOBODY KNOWS OR CARES ABOUT. Pop radio stations are a reflection of pop culture, and what is "pop"? It's what's POPULAR.

Do you like The Beatles? Guess what guys... yup, POP music!

I guess what I'm saying with all this is just open your mind. If you like any kind of music, you should be open to all types of music. I don't like everything, but I like some music from all genres. Lose the music-genre snobbery and embrace what's out there.


That's all I got. Send your hate mail to jeffwinskell@gmail.com

One sweet music video! J. Cole

A buddy of mine posted this last week. It's from rapper J. Cole called "Who Dat", and was directed by film-duo "BBGun". I LOVE these long one-shot takes. It requires a ton of skill and planning to hit all the marks, and pull off such a tight piece of work. Two thumbs way up on this one! Oh, and the song itself is pretty frickin' awesome too!!

Nas and Damian Marley - Distant Relatives

Alright, so I haven't been good over the last month at regular updates... but it's been a crazy month. Covering an air-shift-and-a-half daily, plus the regular music gig gets a little crazy. But enough of the excuses and on with the fricking music, eh?!


If you like urban and reggae and you haven't already picked up the new Nas and Damian Marley album Distant Relatives, what the F are you waiting for? It's simply RAD!

Front to back, it's a sweet blend of Jamaican Reggae and American Rap that mixed perfectly to create this awesome album. The mix of hip-hop beats and reggae grooves are a total sonic success.

The packaging is also quite nice... another reason to still buy hard copies of your favorite albums rather than buying it online or (please no!) downloading it for "free".
Sample below

 

F-ing impressive!!!

So this guy named Paul Dateh is a classically trained violinist from the age of 4, and later switched to Jazz on his first day of University. Well this guys musical talent knows no bounds. Check out this video of Paul as he multi-layers a violin/top 40 montage including music from Lady Gaga and Rihanna. AWESOME!

After a few weeks hiatus, the music monkey is BACK baby!

After a few weeks hiatus, the music monkey is BACK baby! (insert monkey sound effect here)

Today is all CanCon... "Canadian Content" for you non-industry folk  ;)

The first track was released last year by Toronto-rapper Classified and features Maestro Fresh-Wes, Choclair, and Moka Only. We don't get a ton of great Canadian Hip Hop... but this is an exception!



This next one's the second single from Toronto-singer Aleesia. Although she's not signed to a big label or anything, she definitely had the budget to produce a great music video to support the song. If you've seen Kesha's "Your Love Is My Drug" (video FAIL!), you'll probably agree after watching: Aleesia 1, Kesha 0



K'Naan first broke on the mainstream scene with the single Bang Bang (featuring Adam Lavigne from Maroon 5) off his second album... but it was his second single called Wavin' Flag that really broke K'Naan, first being selected as the Fifa 2010 anthem, followed by a remake of the song with an arsenal of Canadian talent to support the relief effort in Haiti. Here's his next single called Take a Minute



Also check out K'Naan's interview with George Stomboulopoulous on CBCs The Hour.

Holy hotness batman!!!

Ciara's just released a new video with rap super-star Ludacris, called "Ride"... and no, she's not talking going for a drive. Let's just say I had to remain seated after watching Ciara get low in this new vid!

Check it out






La Roux played the Commodore in Vancouver last Sunday night, and what a frickin' awesome show! It's the second time I've seen her, and get's another 10/10 for this show. While the audio isn't great, here's a vid of her encore where she did her first North American smash "Bulletproof".

Did I mention I ran into Elly Jackson after the show??   :) :) :)

Hot new artist V V Brown,

New UK artist V V Brown was named artist to watch in 2009 by both the LA Times and UK newspaper The Independent... and while '09 wasn't much of a year for V V, 2010 just may be. Here's a live acoustic version of Shark in The Water (also now playing on Virgin Radio Vancouver) You can also check out the official music video here!

Aguilera is back, Mayer shreds Vancouver

The ever-so-sexy Christina Aguilera released a new single last week titled Not Myself Tonight from her upcoming album Bionic. It's been 4 years since a full album release from Christina... and to fans, the Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits (which featured one new track - Keeps Gettin' Better) was just a tease in a long gap between albums... but hey, she's back with this track, which is produced by Polow Dan Don - the same guy who produced for the likes of Fergie and Usher.




John Mayer played GM Place in Vancouver last Thrusday... and WOW! What a guitar player this guy is.

Too often, he gets pigeon-holed as a pop artist who writes sappy love songs that only appeal to women. Nothing wrong with that... I was in the minority at the show :)

That night he covered Bill Withers Ain't No Sunshine. If you have any appreciation for a guy who can shred on the 6-string, have a listen!