Archive for the ‘Music’ Category
The Lonely End of the Rink with Grant Lawrence – S09E11
Grant Lawrence was in Ottawa on Friday, November 29, 2013. He was there to promote his new book, The Lonely End of the Rink – Confessions of a Reluctant Goalie. The event was held at Pressed, which is a great place for sandwiches and other food.
I had the chance to interview with Lawrence and talked about the details on his second book, which is on the hockey side. You can listen to the interview below.
It was great to see the venerable radio host on CBC Radio 3 come to the Nation’s Capital and say positive things about Ottawa. His second book has connections to Ottawa, be sure to look for it at bookstores.
December 2nd Radio Show
Aside from the interview, there were new music from the like of The Balconies and MORI. MORI released a music video to this song, I Know It’s Over. If you watch the music video, a certain appearance from Cadence Weapon and Miracle Fortress are in it. Keep an eye on it.
The Balconies will be releasing their new album, Fast Motions in the new year, keep a look out on it.
As usual, Lauren joined me for the second half of the show and talked about HAIM as we approach the end of the year and have our yearly best of 2013 countdown coming up.
Performing this week in Ottawa is Kashka at Raw Sugar Cafe for December 6, 2013.
To check out the playlist from the radio show, click here. You can listen to the audio below.
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Finally! The Interview with Motel Raphael – S09E10
I have been holding it off for awhile but I finally aired the interview with the Montreal band, Motel Raphael on CKCU-FM. It was originally recorded in the Summer and my radio show doesn’t do new music interview segments around the Summer months. The reason for holding it off was to wait for their album but it’s been pushed back as I last checked. As 2013 is ending, it’s best to air it sooner and have it without music in the background. The nice part was that I didn’t have any music interviews to conduct and it was just convenient timing to air the Motel Raphael interview. There were recently on a reality show and it had to do with a kitchen makeover.
Overall, it was great to meet the lovely band as they had an awesome 2013 since they made it to the Top 16 of CBC Music’s Searchlight Contest, placed fourth for Best Musical Act according to Cult Montreal, their crowd funding for their album and finally getting to see them live in Montreal (missed out their performance in Ottawa). You can listen to the interview below.
The playlist for the radio show is over at this link.
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Celebrating Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary – S09E09
On this week’s radio show on CKCU-FM, I decided to pay tribute to Doctor Who as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. It couldn’t happen at a right time as I brought along the sonic screwdriver toys to the station and poke fun with a few hosts. It will be exciting when The Day of The Doctor airs on Saturday afternoon (Ottawa time) on Saturday, November 23rd. The day when Doctor Who first aired in 1963. I’ll be happy to see the Tenth Doctor return to the small screen. David Tennant was named the “nation’s” best Doctor and Matt Smith has been a great Doctor as well.
Aside from that and the sounds of the sonic screwdriver, I re-aired the interview with The Doctor Who Society of Canada as I had technical difficulties airing it back in June following Ottawa Comic Con. It was fitting to play the interview on the airwaves in Ottawa and go back in time. You can listen to the interview again from below.
Also on the show, I had Lauren joining me for the second half of the show and talked about the weekend as we went to a launch party but we didn’t bump into each other.
Played this week were three songs which came out as a music video. They were Forgive Me by Austra, Jasper by Louise Burns and Permanent Hesitation by Born Ruffians.
Then there’s the usual tracks from Basia Bulat, The Darcys and Rebekah Higgs.
You can check the playlist over at this link.
Have a great week!
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The Hannah Georgas Interview – S09E08
It’s November 11th and it’s the day where everyone observes and pay their respects to the soldiers and veterans who fought in wars. Wars are still continuing throughout parts of the continent and we still reflect the sacrifices that soldiers face in combat and defending peace. Remembrance Day this year marked the 95th anniversary of the end of WWI. Lest We Forget.
Radio Show
On the this week’s radio show, Lauren returned to the program after a month’s absence. It was a good timing as I aired the interview with Hannah Georgas. Georgas was in Ottawa last week for two shows at the NAC for NAC Presents. It’s the first time to finally interview her as she’s been busy touring and it was a nice opportunity to do so. It’s been awhile I have seen her live and in the interview, I got to ask about the emotional process that she brought in her 2012 self titled album. Played on the show was her cover rendition of Rihanna’s Stay. Myself and Lauren have found her version to be raw and powerful. It almost put me in tears when I listen to the song. Her song is available on iTunes. Played on the show this week are new tracks from Rebekah Higgs, Kashka and the usual artists and bands like Basia Bulat and Arcade Fire.
I got a message on my Facebook page and played Jess Hart.
You can listen to the interview and the radio show below.
The playlist for the radio show can be seen at this link.
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Using Instant Film Cameras – S09E06
Since June, I have been using instant film cameras and so far, it’s been a total shift to how I take photos. Even though it’s costly getting instant film sheets but the response to people seeing me use Polaroids have been quite a surprise because they haven’t seen the cameras in quite a long time and I get asked where I get the instant film sheets.
Recently, I loaded the sheets to the Polaroid SX 70 camera (photo shown on top row) and the results have been not perfect as the film runs on 125 ISO speed and there’s no flash on the camera itself. I’ll most likely have to shoot outdoors with the camera.
The photos are posted below. The results to using The Impossible Project have been mixed as I have messing around the dark/bright slider on the two Polaroid cameras. It’s been a work in progress to shooting Polaroid/instant film cameras and it’s challenging and fun. I have success on using the Fujifilm Instax Wide 210 (photo shown on bottom right) and the Polaroid Land Camera 600 (Autofocus 660) as the film speeds are not as volatile compared to the PX 70 film by The Impossible Project.
I have made a rule of sorts that taking instant film photos is like making three wishes from a Genie bottle as I have to carefully shoot carefully and be sure it’s fun and creative. Analog photography has rapidly decline since the convenient use of digital photos from smartphones and cameras. It’s still good to cherish instant photos in a very artistic way. Recent photos are posted below, check them out.
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New Web Address and Apology on the Delay – S09E05
Sorry for the lack of posts for the month of October as I experienced a nasty cold, then there was Thanksgiving, and a co-host bailing out on the radio show several times. For the past few weeks, I didn’t have much to post up due to a lack of music interviews.
The exciting news is that wildworks.wordpress.com is no more as it’s wildworks.ca. It’s the new address for this site and quite lucky to get the domain name. It was tough whether to go for a dot com or dot ca name. It was best to stay Canadian for a domain name. The WordPress name gets redirected to the new web address.
What a good way to return with a post along with the new address. I will decide if the blog needs to get a new look, if needed.
The Radio Show
On the October 28th edition of the radio show on CKCU-FM, I started off with the tribute to Lou Reed as social media exploded throughout Sunday on his passing. In kicking off the show, I decided to play Walk On The Wildside as I remembered hearing that song from a Levi’s commercial back in the 1980s. It was also a nice shoutout to David Yazbeck of the Thursday Special Blend because his posts on Facebook caught my attention. He’s a big fan of Reed’s music. Reed was the driving force of the indie rock genre back in the 1960s as he formed the venerable band, The Velvet Underground.
Also on the show was playing songs for Halloween, which is on Thursday. A nice warm up for anyone going trick or treating with friends or go to Halloween themed parties.
Lastly, there was the tribute to the late Hong Kong singer/actress, Anita Mui. 2013 is the tenth anniversary of her death.
You listen to the audio from below. There was a new Arcade Fire, new Kandle and an unexpected announcement of Two Hours Traffic breaking up on the show.
To check out the playlist for the October 28th show, it is over at this link.
Also back this week is the Wild 10 Countdown. You can check it out at this link.
The Pop Montreal 2013 Wrapup and Basia Bulat Interview – S09E04
It was a wonderful weekend with to end September as I was in Montreal for Pop Montreal and my expectations exceed for this year because I checked out several bands and went to several venues. It was all in thanks to using Airbnb as the gracious host was accommodating and I was able to use the Bixi bike to get around to places.
The first live music to check out was at Divan Orange and it was Michael Feuerstack. It was unexpected because the place I was staying at was close by. Afterwards was getting to Pop Quarters to get media pass and later going for two discussion panels. The first was a panel called “Some of the Smartest People We Know Discuss: Musicians, What Are your Intellectual Property Rights Now, and What Do We Want That to Really Mean?” That’s such a long title. It was formative discussion as the panellist consisting of Patrick Watson, Justin West (Secret City President), Susan Abramovitch (entertainment lawyer) and moderator, Reuven Ashtar (new media lawyer). It was quite informative as musicians like Watson need to get money to feed his family and how companies are using music for use as a property.
The second panel I went was definitely the one I wanted to check as it was The Polaris Music Prize Salon. Finally got to meet Polaris founder, Steve Jordan. The funny thing was that he thought I would be at the Ottawa salon as I was away to Toronto. The Montreal salon was one of the surprises to appear and it was a way to make up to missing out the Ottawa salon. Jordan was joined by Montreal jury members, Pierre Landy (CBC), Christine Fortier (CISM) and Erik Leijon (freelance/Montreal Gazette)
It was days after Godspeed You! Black Emperor! won best album for the 2013 edition. All were in support of GYBE winning and still being a good album. The band’s statement on their win and criticizing Polaris still left a lot of debate and discussion.
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Continuing to Shoot Polaroids and New Music – S09E02
As you noticed that I’ve been shooting and showing instant film photos from Polaroid and Instax cameras. This week’s photo has another silly picture of me and it was taken by Lauren. Towards the end of the show, Lauren and I talked about analog photo looking nicer than on digital photos. As we all know that film is getting less and less used as digital cameras and smartphones have become more convenient. The thing I brought up was that I hope I’m not being a trendsetter with shooting instant film photos. I did not think of a hipster way.
The Polaroid camera currently being used is having some problems because it takes so long to get the photo because as a young kid, I was fooling around with the camera and it’s missing a piece from the shutter button. All in all, it still works but there’s a delay in getting the photo as you see from the picture posted above.
Another issue with instant film is the price. The ones done by The Impossible Project costs over $25 for 8 sheets while Fuji’s Instax costs $25 for 20 sheets. It’s tough choice because you have to shoot wisely.
Radio Show
On the radio show, there were new music as bands are coming out with new albums this week. The Naked and Famous, The Darcys and Said The Whale are releasing new albums. It’s an exciting time to hear a lot of great music.
There was a new song by Ottawa rapper, The Joynt. It’s called “What I Do” and it has an important and inspiring message as it deals with bullying and stuttering that the rapper experienced when being at schools.
Also on the show was a theme of Summer officially ending and Fall arriving next week. There were moon songs as a way to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. I finally had Lauren listen to the classic Sailor Moon theme as the cartoon is soon to be returning in Winter. We talked fondly about the Anime and and a funny part where I told her which character she dressed up as, which was Sailor Jupiter. It’s funny to still have the knowledge of Sailor Moon.
You can check the playlist over at this link.
The Wild 10 Countdown is back and you can check it over at this link.
Have a great week and I’m off to Toronto for a couple of days.
You can listen to the show (link below).
Season Nine – Interview with Leif Vollebekk, The Return of Lauren and Shooting Polaroids (S09E01)
It’s a brand new season of WildWorks. Nine seasons, I can’t believe it’s going on for pretty long. The radio show is now onto its fifth season. I know it’s confusing to track what season is what for the blog and radio show.
To start off the ninth season, I had the opportunity to check out the 2013 edition of Ottawa Folk Festival. It was a privilege to see some of the musicians and bands again. Just great to see The Belle Game and Leif Vollebekk.
In kicking off the new season of WildWorks on CKCU-FM, I aired the interview with Vollebekk as he came out with a new album in early 2013. It’s been awhile I have seen him in Ottawa as he’s mostly residing in Montreal and touring around. You can listen to the interview below the entry.
Also returning was Lauren as she was away for over nine months and due to a change in the co-hosting positioning earlier this year and the change in the scheduling for this season.
It was awesome to have her back as the new Arcade Fire song was unexpectedly leaked prior to the 9/9/9pm release date. All I have to say that the new song, Reflektor is a catchy and funky track. I mentioned on-air that it feels like “Sprawl II” all over again.
It was a good show as new music from The Darcys, Stars, Basia Bulat and Jenn Grant were played. There are new albums being released next week (September 17th) and onto October. It’s an exciting time for any music fans around.
You can check the September 9th show’s playlist over at this link. The audio is posted below.
Programming note, as with the schedule change, The Wild 10 Countdown will now be separate. Expect a split on the audio. The expected return for the Wild 10 will be around next week.
Since the Summer, I have been shooting photos through instant film. It’s becoming a fun way to shoot photos and in a way, I feel like it’s becoming a bucket list on who to take photos with. You’ve been seeing the photos over the Facebook Page, Instagram, Flickr and the blog. You’ll be seeing more photos from the Instax and Polaroids. I can’t say that I’m being a trendsetter with shooting instant film photos. Although, people are astounded seeing the cameras as everyone is used to shooting on digital camera. Instant films and Polaroids have been making a slow comeback because of its quality and feel of the photo.
Lastly, I had a great time on Sunday night as an old friend was in Ottawa for a wedding. We met over at El Camino as it’s a popular spot for good tacos in the Nation’s Caption. It was a privilege to meet his wife and baby son. I already posted the photos on Instagram. All in all, what a great way to start the new season.
Summer Special #5: Wrapping Up The Summer Edition
It’s September and its time for a new season for the blog and the radio show to start soon. Summer has unofficially ended and people are returning to school and work as the Summer specials on the blog concludes with this entry.
On Monday and Tuesday, I was doing back to back radio shows, at different times. One was wrapping up the Summer edition of WildWorks and the other was filling in for a show. The show happened to be Debaser on CKCU-FM. On that show, it’s considered a pre-season five show as I was playing some unique music and play acts who are performing at Ottawa Folk Festival.
In starting off the fill-in show, I played Ohbijou as the band will be taking an indefinite hiatus.
As mentioned on the show, I had the opportunity to chat with the band and watch them live at concerts. The band is moving on but each of the members will be doing other things. At least they will be still around but not together as a band.
Thanks goes out to the regular host of Debaser for letting me fill in.
The audio from the fill in show is unavailable at CKCU’s On-Demand but you will be able to listen on here.
The playlist for September 2nd can be viewed here.
The playlist for September 3rd can be viewed here.
If you notice on the playlist that there’s been images been posted up. It’s been created on an iOS app called VinylizeMe.
Have a great week and get ready for the new season. If you listen to the two radio show, there’s a hint of cartoon soundbites as it’s part of the opening theme. You will have a laugh when you find out where it’s from.
