5 more days until my CMW show! I’m super excited. It’s also got featured in Now Magazine’s 10 Must-see shows. It’ll be a busy week but totally worth it.
Entertainment
Photos: Tough Age, Century Palm, Germaphobes, Long Branch @ Monarch Tavern
I shot Tough Age, Century Palm, Germaphobes and Long Branch with my Fuji X100T on Saturday. Here are a few of my favourite shots. You can catch the rest here: http://ridethetempo.com/2016/04/24/tough-age-century-palm-germaphobes-long-branch-monarch-tavern-4232016/.
5 Bands to See at CMW
Canadian Music Week is approaching and I partnered with Do416 to suggest 5 bands I think you should go see. I subconsciously chose all female acts but there were so many awesome things to choose from!
RIP Prince
I was shocked when I found out Prince died. News travels fast when you live your day through social media. It was surreal. First people were tweeting that someone at Prince’s studio had died. Then TMZ tweeted it was Prince. Everyone wished they were wrong, even though they were right in the past about other legends.
Then the Associated Press tweeted.
We couldn’t deny it was true any longer. I can’t believe 2016 has been a brutal year for music legends.
Nowhere With You
I recently finished Josh O’Kane’s Nowhere With You, a biography of Canadian singer Joel Plaskett. I read it swiftly as it was very easy to pick up. It beautiful romanticized the East Coast and I have a vast appreciation for the music and industry that has come from there.
It’s so hard to make a living making music without leaving home for the big city, something I don’t actually have much experience in as I am lucky enough to be from the city (kind of). I love how O’Kane told the stories of how certain songs were made, the events attached to them and the circumstances of Plaskett’s album. It made me appreciate the music even more than I already do.
Record Store Day Haul
Yesterday was Record Store Day and I went to support my local record store Dead Dog Records. I wasn’t interested in many Record Store Day exclusives but I did dig through and pick up a few cool records I didn’t already have.
I took home with me Braids Deep in the Iris with a 16 page photobook, the new Explosions in the Sky record with etchings on side D and Jimmy Eat World’s Futures in blue.
I love picking up records that have random extras. I love looking at vinyl (including the packaging and contents) as much as I do listening to them.
Vinyl Me Please- April 2016 Edition
This month’s Vinyl Me Please pressing celebrates the 20th anniversary of The Fugees’ The Score. It is printed on beautiful orange and black vinyl and includes a bonus gold 7″ with tracks that were never on vinyl. They used all the original masters which means there’s some crackling from the original recordings. There’s also a poster and art by Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle.
There were a few extras thrown in like a mysterious 7″ with no description, that was later revealed to be a new Tourist song. I think it’s awesome and kind of romantic to tease new tracks this way. I had no idea what to expect when I put it on the player. Also added was a $35 gift certificated to Hello Fresh, which I sadly cannot use because they haven’t launched in Canada yet.
This month was also the first time I ordered from Vinyl Me Please’s exclusive member store. They did a limited run of Suun’s upcoming Hold/Still (it isn’t released until tomorrow) in white.
I’m slowly outgrowing my little bachelor apartment as vinyl starts to take up more and more space.
The Rest Of Us Just Live Here
I liked the general themes of Patrick Ness’ The Rest of Us Just Live Here, more than the execution of the story.
In this book, as crazy events unfold in the background by Indie Kids (yes there are strange mystical hipsters), Mikey and his friends live somewhat ordinary lives as teenagers about to graduate high school. Mikey wants to find out what is going on, why the Indie Kids are dying, but realizes throughout that he isn’t, and doesn’t need to be the hero of this story.
My gripes with this book is that while I tried to sympathize with Mikey and his OCD, he eventually became super annoying. A lot of it read like someone constantly feeling sorry for himself for not having the girl of his dreams, or way too fixated on being jealous of Nathan, when it was obvious he didn’t need to be.
I also didn’t find the characters that relatable. Sure they suffered things like anorexia, OCD, and teen love but it read at times like it was written for someone without that much experience in the area. In the end it was a bit tedious to finish.
Mmmbop Turns 20
Omg! Can you believe Hanson’s Mmmbop turned 20 today? I remember as an 8 year old I would sit religiously in front of the TV on Friday’s to watch the music video on Hitlist. 20 years later the band is still a money-making business. They even have their own line of beer. I can’t believe it’s been 20 years.
We must all be getting old
Ride the Tempo Presents Partner @ CMW
I am proud my second Ride the Tempo show! This time in partnership with NeXT and The Silver Dollar at Canadian Music Week. The show will feature Sackville’s Partner as the headliner along with all female-fronted rock acts. It’s going to be a night of fun!
Join the Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1533164910320368/
Tiana Feng 