Thursday, June 7. 2007
Well, I have successfully made it to my hotel room. This is only after doing what some might think is impossible; finding a parking spot midday in downtown Toronto. Whoo!!! High five!!!????? Ok, I'm not a big city boy, and Toronto generally scares the hell out of me. The fact that I kept my faculties until I found a spot and didn't just shut the car off in the middle of Spadina and start crying are a big step for me.
I got registered for NXNE and picked up my press badge at the Holiday Inn on King. My next stop was Henry's to exchange my new camera body for one that actually worked. I'd forked over $10.00 for my parking spot so I'm damned if I'll give it up yet. It's the TTC for me, so I bought day passes to last me the weekend and hopped on the Queen St. streetcar.
John at the Henry's outlet store was ready for me and the exchange was painless and pleasant. He's into concert photography too. Maybe we'll see some of his shots on the site soon.
Now, back to my car and off to find my hotel. Don't even ask me how the traffic was! Even at the special show rate the Holiday Inn on King was $200+ a night. Ouch!! I found a Days Inn further west on Queen for under $100. Yeah, the room is tiny and I have to park underground 2 blocks away (I have no plans of going there after dark), but there's a McDonald's next door, a Coffee Time Donuts across the road, and a Thai restaurant in the hotel. Things are lookin' up.
Starting tonight 400+ bands will converge on the city to showcase their talents. I'll be heading out to see as many bands as I can, and bring you the highlights.
Just don't make me drive anymore.
Zach Frank of Cities In Dust - more photos... photo by clint gilders - staff photographer |
Cities In Dust
Genre: Punk / Indie / New Wave
Hometown: Hamilton, Ontario Canada
http://www.myspace.com/citiesindust
Thursday, June 7 1:00 a.m.
The Silver Dollar Room ( 486 Spadina Ave.)
(subject to change)
With a frantic lean stripped-raw sound, Hamilton Ontario's Cities In Dust will be rocking Toronto's NXNE festival tonight at The Silver Dollar. With guitar work that scuttles across your brain pan, more than reminiscent of early Gang of Four, and vocal tracks that hearken back to the growling tone of the Sex Pistols and Shriekback, Zach Frank and the band will be buzzing through cuts from their first album as well as some new material. They're signed to Paper Bag Records (Tokyo Police Club, You Say Party! We Say Die!) their first album, Night Creatures, was released last year to great reviews, and our own Canadian correspondent, Clint Gilders, saw them once already and says they have an excellent live show. We talked with Zach Frank yesterday about the band's NXNE appearance. You can listen to the podcast below or download the club kingsnake podcast at iTunes.
The interview is after the jump
Continue reading "Podcast: NXNE Artist Spotlight Interview - Cities In Dust"
Wednesday, June 6. 2007
Nashville Pussy - Celebrity Judge - photo by Gary Miller
First Place Winner - photo by Gabe
Second Place Winner - photo by Jay West
Third Place Winner - photo by Parker Palmer
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This month, our celebrity rock star judge is Karen Cuda of the band Nashville Pussy
Here's what Karen had to say about this month's contest winners..
#1 - the first shot of No Use For a Name on the link. I like the round cropping with the lens they used (or however they did that). Nice framing - and always a fan of good b&w shots.
#2 - Morrissey pic. Good use of shadow. I dig people who can pull off good still pics with personality, especially when it's true to the subject.
#3 - the shot of John Moyer spitting water. Nice action shot.
There ya go! Thanks for asking me to be a part of this - flattered that you considered me a "celeb judge."
~ Karen
club kingsnake is now accepting submissions for its 2007 concert photo contest. Last year's contest attracted over 500 photo entries. This year we timed the announcement to occur during Austin's SXSW festival and handed out about 1000 flyers to music photojournalists from around the world.
The 2007 contest will be handled a bit differently, with monthly winners instead of weekly, and with larger prize incentives to the winners. This year's contest prizes are as follows:
Monthly Prizes: (selected at the first of each month)
1st Place - $100 B & H Photo Gift Card
2nd Place - $50 B & H Photo Gift Card
3rd Place - club kingsnake T-Shirt
Year End Prizes: (selected at the beginning of 2008)
1st Place - $2000 Camera Shopping Spree at B & H Photo
2nd Place - Fuji F31 Point N Shoot Camera
3rd Place - $100 B & H Photo Gift Card
So how does it work? Simple - just upload a concert photograph that you have taken yourself (with a camera, not off someone else's web site!) to our photo contest gallery. Make sure to include the artist's name and any other pertinent details such as the camera and lense used in the description. Every month 3 winners will be chosen, and at the end of the year the 3 best will be selected from all the photos submitted throughout the year. This is kind of like American Idol for pictures except our contest judges have been told to keep their rude snickering to themselves.
The 2007 club kingsnake concert photo contest is now live! Post your images at http://clubpix.kingsnake.com/index.php?cat=521
Contest Rules
- You may enter as many concert photos as you like AS LONG AS THEY ARE PHOTOS YOU HAVE TAKEN!
- Entries must be posted before the end of the day on the last day of the month, according to the clocks on our systems.
- You must include a valid email address on your post for it to qualify.
- Staff and volunteers of OnlineHobbyist.com, Inc. and its associated sites are ineligible to participate in the contest although they may certainly post their photos as well.
- Anyone may enter, regardless of age, although for persons under 18 a parent or guardian must claim the prize.
- No purchase is required to participate.
- You must have a physical address somewhere on the planet earth that can receive parcels sent through the U.S. postal service.
Tuesday, June 5. 2007
Cris Kirkwood of The Meat Puppets - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer |
The Meat Puppets
Hometown: Austin, Texas
http://www.themeatpuppets.com
Meat Puppets Concert Photos
Friday , June 1st, 2007
Republic of Texas Bike Rally(Austin, Texas)
Also: Podunk, Butcherwhite
With a stiff wind blowing from the east and channeled down 6th Street like a great air conditioner sweeping the heat of the day away, I arrived at the main stage for the downtown portion of the Republic of Texas Bike Rally. It was a 10 block walk from where I had parked, and I was hot and tired after lugging 70 pounds of camera gear and wheedling through the thousands of motorcycles parked between my truck and the stage, hoping desperately not to clip one and send a stack of bikes over like some nightmarish domino set.
On arriving, it became obvious that there was no green room, no real backstage, and no way for me to do a video interview with Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets with the roar of motorcycles competing aggressively with the sounds of the bands playing. I would have to be satisfied with just filming the concert instead. I had already cleared filming the show with Curt earlier and was able to get the assistance of some helpful audience members to get a good, bump free, spot to set up our video camera.
Continue reading "Concert Review: Meat Puppets at Republic of Texas Biker Rally, Austin TX"
Monday, June 4. 2007
Kiss And Tells
Genre: R&B / Indie / Rock
Hometown: Peterborough, Ontario Canada
http://www.myspace.com/kissandtells
Thursday, June 7 9:00 p.m.
Black Bull ( 298 Queen W, )
(subject to change)
Bawdy, brassy, bluesy, Peterborough Ontario's Kiss and Tells will be rocking the Black Bull Hotel & Tavern during this years NXNE. Hot on the heels of their Debut CD release "Love School" we had a chance to talk with Kait Dueck, aka Kait "Do-it", the diminutive lead singer. Soft spoken in conversation, she is a firecracker at the microphone, and backed by Wyatt 'Red Squirrel' Burton, Jenny G-Spot, Genghis Kom and Charnobyl, their sound is a rich melange of textures, from the ragtime of Scott Joplin, the campy Elvisness of Vegas and the raw tones of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground. Their sound is unique and definitely worth a listen.
The interview is after the jump
Continue reading "Podcast: NXNE Artist Spotlight Interview - The Kiss And Tells"
Sunday, June 3. 2007
Christopher Rees
Genre: Blues / Soul / Country
Hometown: Cardiff, Wales
http://christopherrees.co.uk
Wednesday, June 9 8:00 p.m.
The Supermarket ( 268 Augusta Ave. )
(subject to change)
Singer/songwriter Christopher Rees, who we met at Austin's SXSW this year, will be heading back to North America to perform at this week's NXNE in Toronto, Canada. Having released his debut album to rave reviews from NME, and then followed up with a solo offering, Chris is getting ready to release his third album with a little help from a few friends like Victoria Williams. If you're going to NXNE, Christopher's gig is a must-see.
We got a chance to talk to Christopher about his NXNE and SXSW appearances as well as his forthcoming album.
The interview is after the jump.
Continue reading "Podcast: NXNE Artist Spotlight Interview - Christopher Rees"
Friday, June 1. 2007
It is without question a haven of the intellectual liberal elite, but regardless of whether that fits you a tee or gives you fits, it's one of the best places to get free legal music downloads.
I'm talking about Salon's Audiofile. And you're going free? Free? You have to subscribe to Salon! Not true!
Well, yes, you do, but you can also get a free day pass. So sign up for it, go in, download to your little heart's content, and thank me later.
Today's "Song of the Day" is "This Boy Can Wait" by the Wedding Present:
The other night I dreamed that I'd gone back in time to 1988 and moved to London. I dyed my hair jet black, teased it half-a-mile high, bought myself a baggy trench coat and spent most of my time reading Byron and pogo-dancing in dark, dank nightclubs. A raccoon-eyed girl named Perfidia gave me a mix tape with a version of the Wedding Present's great "This Boy Can Wait" on it. If I remember correctly, Perfidia taped it off the radio, but those of you unable to access my dreams or travel back in time can find the song on a newly released compilation of material that this underappreciated and very Smiths-like band recorded for the BBC.
Download it free, here. Or sign up to get the "Song of the Day" from Audiofile on iTunes or via RSS feed directly to your browser, in the upper right hand corner of the Audiofile home page -- also featuring music news and podcast and written interviews, most recently with Rufus Wainwright.
Did I mention it's all free?
Then browse every single song of the day going back to the beginning of time here.
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