Showing posts with label music in vancouver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music in vancouver. Show all posts

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Behind Sapphire: Free Concert!

Behind Sapphire has re-recorded their latest album Diamonds. To celebrate the EP's release on April 28th, 2012, they will be playing a free all ages show on the beach at White Rock!

The show will start at 7pm on April 28th, 2012 at the Semiahmoo First Nations Bandshell at White Rock Beach! The band will be joined by Their There and Dogwood and Dahlia.

For more information about the event, check out their Facebook Page!

*UPDATE* The show has been moved to Saturday, May 5th, 2012 at 6 pm!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

The Fray with Scars on 45

On February 26th, 2012, The Fray came to Vancouver with Scars on 45. It was nice to see fans of all ages at the Orpheum Theatre to see these two amazing and entertaining bands perform! 


Check out some photos from the show after the break!

Friday, March 2, 2012

Simple Plan with Marianas Trench, All Time Low and These Kids Wear Crowns!

On February 11th, 2012, Simple Plan came to Vancouver with special guests Marianas Trench, All Time Low and These Kids Wear Crowns. The concert at Pacific Coliseum was a big hit, with fans of all four bands lining up well before the doors opened at 7pm.


Photos and more info about the bands after the break!

Event Spotlight

Friday, March 9, 2012
The Bad Plus
with opening guests The Zubot / Brooks Duo
at the Rio Theatre






Doors 7:00pm - Show 8:00pm - 19+ Only ID Required (Licensed venue)
Tickets: $35.50 Advance / $40 Door



Available at: http://www.hightideconcerts.net/, Red Cat Records 4332 Main St. (604) 708-9422, Zulu Records 1972 W. 4th Ave. (604) 738-3232 & Highlife World Music 1317 Commercial Dr. (604) 251-6964

For more info on The Bad Plus visit their website.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Free Music Alert: Behind Sapphire!

One of our favourite local bands, Behind Sapphire, has released their Diamonds EP online as a free download! Make sure you share their music and keep an eye our for them in the coming year!


Saturday, December 3, 2011

An Evening With Jill Barber

MUSIC In Vancouver had the privilege to attend Jill Barber's performance at the Centennial Theatre on December 2nd!

I was expecting to sit in the theatre and listen to some jazz music. But Barber gave us so much more than that! I quickly came to realize that the night wasn't just about the music, but Jill's performance included laughter, heartfelt confessions, and fashion. From the audience and from Jill herself, we caught a glimpse of beautiful dresses and hairdos that served as instant reminders of earlier days of jazz. From the first moment Jill took the stage, the crowd's attention was captivated by the singer and her band, and we stayed enthralled until after she received her third standing ovation (yes, third!). And throughout the show Jill entertained us with personal stories, both compelling and, often, hilarious. As Jill once joked, she may be a "mix between Stuart McLean and Celine Dion", but her voice is absolutely amazing, and she seems so effortlessly comfortable in front of a crowd. She sang a collection of her songs that reflected her entire body of work, from frantic, toe-tapping tunes, to sweet and slow lullabies. Through her beautiful voice and music, we all followed Jill on an emotional journey.


More photos from the show after the break!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Jill Barber

This week MUSIC In Vancouver had the opportunity to talk with the stunning and talented Jill Barber!

Credit: Ivan Otis

With her newest release, Mischievous Moon, Canadian musician Jill Barber feels that she's "carved out a space for [her]self," and evolved into her "own unique sound." After releasing several albums and performing for fans all over North America, it's hard to imagine Jill as a young teenager writing songs alone in her bedroom. But even now, Jill tells us, she "need[s] to be alone," in a "relaxed, self-reflective mode" when writing a new song. Inspired by artists like Ella Fitzgerald and Leonard Cohen, her jazz music reflects a style rarely seen today. And behind every song shines a strong emotional message, which, according to Jill, is exactly what music should have. She tells us that a song should be able to "become [a] soundtrack to whatever [you're] feeling," even if it differs from the artist's own feelings behind the song. But Jill tries to share her perspective through her music videos. Videos such as  "Oh My My" illustrate this emotional connection, as well as her affinity for creativity, or as she puts it, her videos are a "true collaboration [where] I bring the music and the director brings the vision." But even with all of her success Jill feels a strong bond with her fans. Recently undertaking the project of learning French, Jill made "a vow to [her] audience" that she would do so to "honour [them]." And she held true to her word with her singles "Tell Me" and "Dis-Moi," which were released simultaneously and appear on her new album. She's hoping to write more French songs too. Her Mischievous Moon tour is ending this weekend here in B.C. and Jill says she's looking forward to "hunkering down and getting back to writing." Fans can look forward to another album within the next year or two.


And for more information about Jill Barber visit her website or follow her on Twitter.

Written by: Elysia Stutt

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Jill Barber Interview

MUSIC In Vancouver's Elysia had the opportunity to ask Jill Barber a few questions! Here's the complete interview:

Q: What inspired you to start writing music?
A: It was when I was a teenager and before that i'd been, of course, writing poetry, as many teenagers do. I had a lot to say as a young teenager. I was writing this poetry and my older brother started playing guitar, and I totally worshipped my older brother. So I followed in his footsteps. He taught me a couple of chords on the guitar and as soon as I could string a couple of chords together I was writing songs. Like song, after song, after song. And it was really empowering. Like suddenly I wasn't just in my bedroom putting on sad songs and listening to them and brooding over them, I was actually writing my own songs. And I found that really empowering and a way to express myself. And I was doing what my idols were doing. I was totally into music and into, especially, local Canadian indie bands. So I would go to see bands play on the weekends and I felt like I was part of that musical community by writing my own songs. So I started then and I haven't stopped.

Q: Can you describe the process you go through when writing a song?
A: It's changed over the years. I suppose I've changed and that's kind of effected my process. I need to, unless i'm co-writing, I need to be alone. I just need to be by myself, and I need to allow myself to slip into a super relaxed, self-reflective mode, where I'm not afraid to say anything out loud or just sing anything out loud. And these days I write most of my songs just by closing my eyes and opening my mouth and starting to sing. Like stream of consciousness lyrics and melodies, and just whatever comes out. It's kind of like when little kids make up songs. They're totally unselfconscious and they're just making up little [songs]. That's basically how it is for me. And I feel like it has to be that way. I'm not set about writing to any formula. I just try to allow my mind to shut off and just let the song flow out of me. It's not easy to talk about the process because it's this funny, mysterious thing, but that's roughly how it goes.

Q: How would you describe the development of your songs from album to album?
A: I think there has definitely been an evolution in sound and style. I feel like in my earlier days, with my earlier couple of records, it was more experimental, like I wasn't exactly sure what kind of an artist I wanted to be. So I was trying on different musical hats and experimenting more. I feel like with my first records I'd say "Oh this has the vibe of this kind of artist," and now I actually really feel like I'm making songs that sound like me. I feel like i've carved out a space for myself and I'm happy to live in that space and keep exploring [it] now. And of course I still take influences from other artists, but I just feel more confident and secure in my own unique sound.

Q: Is there one message or feeling you'd like people to take away from listening to your music?
A: I think what my hope is, is that my music will do for other people what music does for me. It transports me and it sets off my imagination. It allows me to get carried away, swept away in the song. I find that that's a wonderful feeling. Whenever I'm feeling blue or romantic or whatever, I put on a record and I allow that song to guide my emotions and be a soundtrack to whatever I'm feeling. And the beauty of that music is that whatever I'm feeling might be totally different from what the artist, like Ella Fitzgerald, was thinking or feeling when she was singing the song. But the song becomes mine, becomes my soundtrack. And I think my hope is that my music becomes other peoples' soundtracks to whatever is in their minds and in their hearts, whatever they're feeling.

Q: What prompted you to do a French version of your song "Tell Me"?
A: I took French Immersion as a kid but I left it behind and never practiced, so I lost a lot of my French. And as an adult I've come to regret that. I love a lot of French singers and French songs, and as a language I think French is beautiful, very sensual and romantic. About a couple of years ago I started playing more and more in Quebec, and I was playing a show at the Montreal Jazz Festival and feeling self-conscious about my French. I was so embarrassed I couldn't speak French and a friend of mine translated one of my songs for me and I sang a song in French that night and there was this lightbulb that went off. It was a turning point for me because the audience was so encouraging, and I felt so happy that I delivered a song in French. So I made a promise to myself, and a vow to my audience, that I would learn French. So for the last year or so I've been intensively studying it and I spent a month in France studying it. And I wanted, when this record came out, to make the declaration that I'm serious about learning and singing in French. So that was the song we chose to release as a single, and I deliberately wanted to release it simultaneously in French and English, to honour both my French and English fans. And it's really fun. So now whenever I'm touring in Quebec, or if I'm touring for a francophone audience, I sing in French. It's nice to have the flexibility to do both languages.

Q: So you think you'll write more songs in French?
A: Yeah, definitely. That's my goal.

Q: Do you enjoy the process involved in creating music videos?
A: Yeah, I really like making videos. A lot of the music that I make, I work on with my producer, in terms of visual imagery, so I feel like there's a lot of content there to work with from the point of veiw of our video director. It's also nice because I get to hand over the reigns to a director. It's a true collaboration of multi-media; I bring the music and the director brings the vision. And I've always worked really hands on and collaboratively with the video directors that I've worked with, but I've let them explore their art. I've worked with a few different video directors. One guy I worked with, three videos we've made together, Jonathan Bensimon, so I have a good working relationship with him. And I hope to make more videos. They're really fun to make.

Q: If you could collaborate with any artist, who would you want to work with?
A: I would love to work with Leonard Cohen. All my life I've loved him. His music has always spoken to me and he's always been a great influence on me. He's a great Canadian artist. I think to get a chance to collaborate with him would be incredible. And another guy I'd love to sing a duet with is Michael Buble. I sent him a letter actually. So I'm hoping that maybe someday we'll be singing together.

Q: What can we expect from you in the future? What are your goals?
A: With all of this touring that I've been doing this fall, I'm really getting the itch to go back and write another album. I feel like I'm collecting lots of ideas on the road and I'm looking forward to hunkering down and getting back to writing. This spring I plan to write a new record that we would probably record in the summer and release next year. So I'm just going to make another record and continue to explore my own abilities as a songwriter. [I'll] continue down the path I've set out for myself and hopefully continue to evolve and mature. And I can't say exactly where that will take me but i'm looking forward to [it].

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at the Grey Cup Festival

A few hours before the 99th Grey Cup Championship between the B.C. Lions and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes played a free concert in Vancouver for the Grey Cup Festival! Earlier this year, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes made it to the top 3 of of FOX Vancouver Seeds! To find out more about them and to see more photos, check out our past post on the FOX Vancouver Seeds.

Kyle Otsuji playing the bass
More photos from the show after the break!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Jill Barber Interview Announcement

Hey all!!

We are happy to announce that this weekend Music In Vancouver will be interviewing Jill Barber! We wanted to give you guys a chance to submit your fan questions for her. Leave us a comment if there's anything you'd like us to ask.

And don't forget to check back next week for the interview posted here!

Make sure to catch Jill's show in North Vancouver on December 2nd.

NOTE: The interview has been rescheduled for Tuesday, November 29th. Please check back the following              weekend for the posted interview! Thanks!

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Free Music Alert: David Vertesi!

So I was just cycling though the websites of some of my favourite artists and realized that you can download a free MP3 of "Learn To Run" "Gentlemen Say" and "Mountainside" from David Vertesi's website davidvertesi.com!

Just scroll to the bottom, right click the links and click "Download Linked File."

Honestly though, you should also consider buying a physical copy of his album to support this amazing local artists! Besides, you need something for him to sign when you see him live :)

Thursday, September 1, 2011

BLINK 182 & MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE with Rancid and Against Me!

On August 31st, 2011, Blink 182 and My Chemical Romance co-headlined a show at Rogers Arena with opening bands Rancid and Against Me! Technically, this show isn't part of the Honda Civic Tour, but it doesn't really matter because all the bands played anyway :)

Against Me!:

Against Me! is a punk rock band from Florida, made up of Tom Gabel (lead vocals, guitar), James Bowman (vocals, guitar), Andrew Seward (vocals, bass) and Jay Weinberg (drums).

For more information about Against Me! check out their website: againstme.net.






Rancid:

Rancid is a punk rock band from California made up of members Tim Armstrong (lead vocals, guitar), Matt Freeman (vocals, bass), Lars Frederiksen (vocals, guitar) and Branden Steineckert (drums).

For more information about Rancid check out their website: rancidrancid.com






My Chemical Romance:

My Chemical Romance is an alternative rock band from New Jersey made up of members Gerard Way (lead vocals), Ray Toro (vocals, guitar), Frank Iero (vocals, guitar), Mikey Way (bass) and Michael Pedicone (drums). 

We've seen My Chemical Romance live before on their World Contamination Tour and photos are available here.

For more information about My Chemical Romance visit their website: mychemicalromance.com











Blink 182:

Blink 182 is a pop punk band from California made up of members Mark Hoppus (vocals, bass), Tom DeLonge (vocals, guitar) and Travis Barker (drums). 

For more information about Blink 182 check out their website: blink182.com













I just thought I'd add, for the sake of a possible love connection, the link for an "I Saw You" from the Georgia Straight. I'm the romantic, meant-to-be type, so if this guy happens to visit this blog instead of the Georgia Straight website maybe it's worth a shot because someone wants to find him. So here goes.. Someone saw you!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

FOX Vancouver Seeds 2011 and State of Shock

Every year, 99.3 The Fox holds a contest for local bands to promote new music and local artists. The winners receive a Fox Platinum Award and perform along with the top two bands and a special headlining guest. This year, the Fox organized a free concert with the top three bands, as well as past seeds winner, State of Shock, on Granville and Robson in downtown Vancouver. This year's top three are Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Head of the Herd and Louder Than Love.

Head of the Herd:
Head of the Herd is a blues rock band created by Neu (guitar/lead vocals) and Clay (guitar, harmonica, vocals). Their debut album On the House was released in 2011 and the track "Knock Me Down" was used in the highlights reel for the Rip Curl Stew 2011.

For more information about Head of the Herd, visit headoftheherdmusic.com and make sure you download a copy of their new album On the House for free!













Gentlemen Prefer Blondes:
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a metal rock band made up of Jared Hayes (vocals), Chris Champagne (guitar), Shan Robertson (guitar), Kyle Otsuji (bass) and Drew McKay (drums). Their debut self-titled EP was released in 2007 and since then they have produced their first full length album The Masquerade. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes also won first place in the Airwalk Unsigned Hero Competition in 2010 which gave them a two page spread in Alternative Press as well as a spot on the Fall 2010 Alternative Press Tour in the United States. 

For more information about Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, visit their MySpace Page!
























Louder Than Love:
Louder Than Love is an experimental rock band made up of Paul Lambert (lead vocals/guitar), Tyler Thompson (drums), Dano Okano (keys/vocals), Nate Parsons (guitar/vocals) and Tony Lambert (bass). Since releasing their debut album Dark Days in 2010, Louder Than Love has completed two Western/Canadian/U.S. mini-tours and released their new EP Coming Around

For more information about Louder Than Love, visit their website louderthanlovemusic.com and make sure you download their new single "Long Road" as well as three tracks from Dark Days available for free!

















State of Shock
Seeds winners from 2004, with their album Guilty By Association, State of Shock are proof that winning this title can catapult you into the spotlight. The band includes Cameron Melnyk (lead vocals), Alison Toews (bass), Jesse Wainwright (guitar), Simon Clow (guitar), and John Philippon (drums). In 2007 they released the popular "Money Honey" off Life, Love & Lies, and their new album Rock N' Roll Romance is set to be released September 20th of this year.

For more information about State of Shock, visit their new website!






















Thanks for checking out our photos! Make sure to get your tickets to 99.3 The Fox Vancouver Seeds 2011 Launch Party at the Commodore Ballroom on August 24th featuring the Vancouver Seeds 2011 winners and the Trews!