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dustedmagazine · 1 year ago

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Dust Volume 10, Number 6, Part I

Infinite River

We’re halfway through the year and swamped with mid-year activities (look for our round-up next week), but the records continue to pile-up and we continue to make time for as many as possible. This month, the slush pile yielded a wide range of music, from Burkina-Faso-ian griot to microtonal composition to snarling black metal to improvisation and jazz.

Our reviews are split in two parts because of Tumblr's arbitrary limits on sound samples. See Part II here. Contributions included Jennifer Kelly, Bryon Hayes, Andrew Forell, Christian Carey, Jonathan Shaw, Bill Meyer, Jim Marks, Justin Cober-Lake and Alex Johnson. Happy summer!

Avalanche Kaito — Talitakum (Glitterbeat)

Another of those cross-cultural, Afro-European collaborations that are so often great—see recent works by Chouk Bwa & The Ångströmers, Ndox Electrique and Group Doueh/Cheveux—Avalanche Kaito sets Burkina Faso griot to a rattling, pummeling noise punk beat. I like “Lago” best, where a clatter of mixed percussion and serrated, distortion crusted guitar dart in and around a keening call and response. Near the end of a recent long-distance drive, I listened to it 14 times in a row without wearing it out. Still the title track is fantastic as well, its guitars stabbing in like Fugazi, its drums boxy and agitated, its spatter-painted words dicing the beat into eighths and sixteenths. The “Kaito” in the band name comes from grioteer Kaito Winse. The Avalanche comes from the falling-down-the-stairs-but-still-on-beat mix of strident punk and West African syncopation.

Jennifer Kelly

Ayal Senior — Ora (Medusa Editions)

Toronto’s 12-string warrior Ayal Senior workshopped the songs that became Ora at a monthly residency he has at the Tranzac Club, a haven for the city’s most adventurous musical minds. His comrades Kurt Newman (pedal steel, electric guitar) and Andrew Furlong (bass) joined him on the journey, and together they slowly worked the sonic skeletons into fleshy bodies of song. The trio brought scene veterans Blake Howard and Jay Anderson on board to add drums and percussion when they laid the sounds to tape. Their flourishing rhythms complete the image: five beams of light passing through the prism of Senior’s celestial vision. The guitarist bills Ora as the spiritual successor to 2022’s Az Yashir, yet while that record embraced a post-COVID sea change, Ora is bathed in the light of tranquility. Senior’s folk devotionals draw warmth from the presence of his pals, taking on raga and kosmische adornments as they languidly unfurl. These hymns are beauty incarnate, guitar-centric mantras in service of the cosmic mystery that surrounds us all.

Bryon Hayes

Beams — Requiem for a Planet (Be My Sibling)

Beams is an alt.country ensemble, playing rock and folk instruments in delicate, otherworldly ways. The voices especially — Anna Mērnieks-Duffield primarily but fleshed out in harmonies by Heather Mazhar and Keith Hamilton—float in translucent layers, mixing eerily with the meat-and-potatoes sonics of guitar, bass and drums. As the title suggests, Beams main subject is the earth itself, its fragility, its rising temperature, its trajectory towards unlivability. Yet though there are lessons here, in songs like “Heat Potential,” Beams steers clear of polemics. “It’s All Around You,” especially envelopes and enfolds. Its string-swooping, gorgeously harmonized arrangements lift you up and out of the mess we’re in. “Childlike Empress” with its well-spaced blots of keyboard sound, its ghostly, tremulous singing, is an eerie elegy for the world’s natural beauty. The album is its own thing, but it might remind you of certain twang-adjacent Feelies side projects, Speed the Plough and Wild Carnation especially.

Jennifer Kelly

DELTAphase — Synced (Falling Elevators)

Process. DELTAphase founder Wilhelm Stegmeier contacts a disparate group of musicians and provides them with a key, beat, tempo for seven pieces of music and allows them complete stylistic and compositional freedom. Each of 10 musicians contributed to one or more of the seven pieces, without knowing who else was involved. Stegmeier, seeking synchronicities and serendipity, collates and adds to the contributions and collages them within the given parameters. Result. The musicians, Merran Laginestra, Beate Bartel, Thomas Wydler, Brendan Dougherty, Lucia Martinez, Antonio Bravo, Andreas Voss, Eleni Ampelakiotou, Dominik Avenwedde, Kilian Feinäugle and Stegmeier come from classical, jazz, electronic and post rock backgrounds, and the music occupies liminal interstices between and across genres. There’s lots of layered percussion, electronic backgrounds and guitar interplay from the squalling electric duel on “Phase Lock” to Bravo’s jazzy riffing on “One by One” which also features Laginestra’s impressionistic piano. That combination is a standout on an album that can occasionally meander into cul-de-sacs. Remote collaboration has become a commonplace since the pandemic but the caliber of the musicians here and Stegmeier’s skill in pulling their contributions together make Synced a fascinating exploration of compositional process.

Andrew Forell

Taylor Deupree — Sti.ll (Greyfade)

A recent microtrend involves making acoustic realizations of electronic compositions, the latest being a new version of Taylor Deupree’s lauded 2002 electroacoustic recording Stil. Sti.ll follows suit, with a reworking for acoustic instruments by Deupree and Joseph Branciforte. The bespoke Greyfade book that accompanies Sti.ll is handsome and contains a QR code to download the digital recording. The acoustic versions can sometimes fool you into thinking that you are listening to the original synth sounds, which is part of the game. “Stil.” is nearly twenty-minutes long, for vibraphone and bass drum. The vibes play both textural passages and, simultaneously, repeating dyadic melodies. The bass drum errs on the side of gentle effects rather than thwacking. Another standout track is “Temper,” for multiple clarinets and a shaker. The composition moves through a series of repeated intervals, descending fourth, ascending minor third, et cetera, with harmonic underpinning from the other clarinets and constant pulsation contributed by the shakers. Hard for clubbing, but these pieces would work quite well in a concert.

Christian Carey

Emma dj — Lay2g (Danse Noire)

Paris based Finnish producer Emma dj has the tendency to get distracted by novelty which interrupts the flow of this set and disrupts individual tracks often enough to leave the listener frustrated. If that’s the point, all well and good, but I suspect it’s not, which makes you wonder if this is all in service of the producer rather than the audience. That’s fine if there’s challenge in the music, which here, there is not. He collides bits and pieces of dance punk, chiptunes, video game soundtrack and the detritus of underground sub-sub genres into a messy mélange — a potluck casserole thrown together for a class reunion no one’s attending. It’s particularly annoying for the moments when, by design or serendipity, Emma produces a dish worth eating like “RR.dnk” for instance that sprays warped synth stabs against cowbell hi-hat, thumping kick drum and a stumbling bass line without succumbing to the over seasoning of vocal samples, jokey blips and burps or overwrought exhortations to dance. With a little more focus and balance, he may well produce something pretty good but this is only halfway there.

Andrew Forell

Incipient Chaos — S/T (I, Voidhanger)

There are times when some listeners just want a record of snarling, muscular black metal — thematics and scannable cultural politics be damned. If that sounds good to you, this new self-titled LP from French band Incipient Chaos rages and rips with all the right sorts of aggressivity. It seems that one takes chances with one’s ethics (if not one’s immortal soul) doing this sort of impulse listening in black metal: Is this NSBM? Does anyone have the skinny on that? Do we need to dig into the various “Is this band sketch” subreddits and descend into that 9th Circle of gossip-mongering and reaction? Lucifer smiles; so does Advance Publications. Is that a distinction without a difference? Meanwhile, we can note that Incipient Chaos has released this record on a politically reliable label, and while it’s unusual not to get a lyric sheet from I, Voidhanger (uh oh…), that may just be typical black metal shtick: the words are obscured because they are sooooo evil. Whatevs. The riffs are strong, if not world-changing, and the compositions have drama, if not overwhelming tragedy. Check out the guitar-centric middle portion of “Ominous Acid,” which is hugely satisfying. The down-tempo opening minutes of “Dragged Back from the Abyss” will remind you of the best of Aosoth. It’s all a lot of…fun?

Jonathan Shaw

Infinite River — Tabula Rasa (Birdman)

First came the space, now comes the rock. Infinite River’s first couple recordings had a definite COVID-era vibe to them. The Detroit-based ensemble started out as a trio, with Joey Mazzola and Gretchen Gonzales playing guitars and Warren Defever contributing tambura and a place to record. But a bliss-oriented drone might make less sense in a time when you can get out and play shows than it did when clubs were shut down and people didn’t want to go out than it does when stages are available and Steve Nistor, who drums for Sparks, is available to join in. Last year, Bryon Hayes invoked Windy & Carl and Mountains when describing Infinite Rivers’ Prequel; “Sky Diamon Raga,” the track that kicks off Infinite River, is more like an arena rock dream of Chris Forsyth’s “The Paranoid Cat.” Much of the time this record feels rather like the Raybeats negotiating production ideas of the 1990s and 2010s, which means that the guitar tones will have you scratching your head to remember what’s being reference and how it’s been changed, but that the snare drum takes up entirely too much sonic real estate. Tellingly, the best moments come when the production is dialed back and the melodies take over, as on a Ventures-does-Coltrane interpretation of “My Favorite Things.”

Bill Meyer

Will Laut — Will Laut (Wavetrap)

Producer Ivan Pavlov AKA COH has collaborated with John Balance and Cosey Fanni Tutti, and the sounds of Coil and Throbbing Gristle are clear influences on his new EP with singer William Laut. Shot through with the feeling of dancing towards doomsday, Laut’s haunted murmur wavers just on the right side of cynicism and sleaze as he sings of living through hate, looking for the redemption of love or at least an opportunity to forget even for a few moments. COH lays down a minimalist carpet of synths and drum machines that use TG’s “United” and Daniel Miller’s “Warm Leatherette” as templates. Most effective are the slow burn sarcasm of “Cryptoman” and the weary tango of “Wine of Love.” These are songs Brecht and Weill might have written if they had access to cheap keyboards and a primitive drum machine. Noirish, knowing and smart, the four songs on Will Laut are a speakeasy floorshow for the modern world. Highly recommended and hoping to hear more from this duo.

Andrew Forell

Niels Lyhne Løkkegaard and Quatuor Bozzini — Colliding Bubbles: Surface Tension and Release (Important)

Niels Lyhne Løkkegaard is a composer based in Copenhagen. On his latest EP he joins forces with the premiere Canadian string quartet for new music, Quatuor Bozzini, to create a piece that deals with the perception of bubbles replicating the human experience. In addition to the harmonics played by the strings, the players are required to play harmonicas at the same time. At first blush, this might sound like a gimmick, but the conception of the piece as instability and friction emerging from continuous sound, like bubbles colliding in space and, concurrently, the often tense unpredictability of the human experience, makes these choices instead seem organic and well-considered. As the piece unfolds, the register of the pitch material makes a slow decline from the stratosphere to the ground floor with a simultaneous long decrescendo. The quartet are masterful musicians, unfazed by the challenge of playing long bowings and long-breathed harmonica chords simultaneously. The resulting sound world is shimmering, liquescent, and, surprising in its occasional metaphoric bubbles popping.

Christian Carey

#dusted magazine #dust #avalanche kaito #jennifer kelly #ayal senior #bryon hayes #beams #deltaphase #andrew forell #Taylor Deupree #christian carey #emma dj #incipient chaos #jonathan shaw #infinite river #bill meyer #will laut #Niels Lyhne Løkkegaard

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rose15lalonde · 2 years ago

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Scott Pilgrim is a fictional character who is the protagonist of the "Scott Pilgrim" series, created by Bryan Lee O'Malley. The series includes six graphic novels: "Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life" (2004), "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" (2005), "Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness" (2006), "Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together" (2007), "Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe" (2009), and "Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour" (2010).

Scott Pilgrim is a 23-year-old slacker and bass guitarist in the band "Sex Bob-omb." He lives in Toronto, Canada, and his life takes a dramatic turn when he meets Ramona Flowers, an American delivery girl. Scott develops a crush on Ramona and starts dating her, but he soon discovers that in order to be with Ramona, he must defeat her seven evil exes in battles reminiscent of video games.

Throughout the series, Scott faces various challenges, both in his personal life and in his battles with Ramona's exes. He must confront his own flaws and insecurities while navigating relationships with his friends, including his ex-girlfriend, Envy Adams, and his high school girlfriend, Knives Chau. Scott also struggles with his own past mistakes and learns important lessons about maturity, responsibility, and self-respect.

The "Scott Pilgrim" series is known for its unique blend of humor, romance, and video game-inspired action. It incorporates elements of pop culture, indie music, and retro gaming references, creating a distinct and vibrant world. The series gained significant popularity and critical acclaim, attracting a dedicated fanbase.

In 2010, the "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" film adaptation was released, directed by Edgar Wright and starring Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim. The movie received positive reviews for its visual style and faithful adaptation of the source material.

Overall, Scott Pilgrim is a relatable character who undergoes personal growth and transformation while facing surreal and entertaining challenges. The series explores themes of love, self-discovery, and the struggles of young adulthood, resonating with many readers and viewers.

#scott pilgrim

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independentartistbuzz · 9 months ago

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Rock and Roll Innovator Owen Machildon Shares Dangling Towards Heavy Sunlight LP feat. Soaring Focus Track “Weather Gurl”

Owen Marchildon is a songwriter and guitarist who has been part of the Toronto music scene since 2002. His creative output has been prolific, producing volumes of his own music independently since 2005; 10 full length albums, one EP and several singles under four different monikers – Purple Hill, Rough Skeletons, Marchildon! and High Wasted. Owen also played bass for the critically lauded math rock quartet From Fiction and later with Julie Kendall’s surf-soul project 1977.

2024 sees Owen pulling back the veil of all his previous monikers and releasing new music under his own name. His debut album, Dangling Towards Heavy Sunlight, is a masterful fusion of rock ‘n’ roll nostalgia where power pop melodies meet witty, vivid storytelling. It’s an album that feels both familiar and fresh, a love letter to classic rock ‘n’ roll with enough personality to stand on its own. Longtime bandmates and collaborators, Jordan Bruce and Brent Hough, spread out the sound, complimenting the style, imagination and fabric of Owen’s songwriting.

Highlighted track, “Weather Gurl,” tells the story of someone harboring a secret crush on a weather anchor, capturing the ache of unrequited love with clever, vivid lyrics. The song is a delightful blend of classic rock influences brought together with a fresh twist.

Musically, the record was influenced by my love for artists like Big Star, Tom Petty and Lou Reed. As far as the storytelling and lyrics go, I tried to convey a more John Prine meets Micheal Hurley approach with a twist of myself for good measure. But one of the biggest influences for the record was my guitar teacher at the time, Neil Clark. This was the first time I'd ever taken a guitar lesson and it really floored me. I only took about a handful of lessons from Neil but the impressions he left with me are enough to last a lifetime. So I was really able to execute what I was hearing in my head instead of trying to convey those ideas to others. – Owen Marchildon

#Spotify

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elitemusicacademy · 4 years ago

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Common Solutions Taught In Bass Lessons Toronto for the Mistakes of Beginner Players

Most people use a trial-and-error approach when learning how to play the bass guitar. Though this might seem easy when coupled with the many YouTube videos teaching people how to play the instrument, some common mistakes will not be addressed. The mistakes impact your entire musical journey and might be challenging to fix once you hone your playing skills. Thankfully, these are the mistakes addressed in bass lessons Toronto for beginners. Below are tidbits on the solutions for these common mistakes.

Fret buzz

This is an irritating rattling sound that at times resonates after you play a second note on a bass guitar. The common solution for this in bass lessons Toronto is playing near the fret. This means shifting a fretting finger close to your bass guitar’s body instead of the headstock or fret’s midpoint. You should also pay attention to the pressure amount you use to fret your notes to eliminate a fret buzz.

Excess left-hand movements

Most bass players will tuck their pinkies behind the guitar’s neck, believing that they are weak links to the middle and index fingers. This means heavily relying on your index and middle fingers. Experts will recommend assigning a fret to each of your fingers so that you do not limit your hand and can play more gracefully.

Hovering plucking hand

Most bass players feel like their plucking hands are out of place. They tend to hover the plucking hand over the instrument’s strings without touching its body. This affects the precision of their tunes. Resting the thumb of your plucking hand on the string overlying those you are playing can solve this.

With the above issues solved in professional bass lessons Toronto, you are sure of success. This is because you will improve your finger dexterity, clean your sound, and increase playing speed. In the end, professional lessons will be worth their cost.

#Bass Lessons Toronto

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travelerblogs · 4 years ago

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Hire Our Professional Music Teacher for Guitar lessons

Do you know the first world guitar adopted in England after they heard about Spanish instrument named as “Guitarra” from that time till now guitar took many changes in its appearance our noble scientist to renovate its a lot? Now, the guitar comes in the form of Electric, Acoustic, Classical, Electro-acoustic, Twelve-string, Archtop, Flamenco, Resonator guitars and so on. After coming that many changes in the instrument the users of Guitar getting difficulties while using it.

As a well-known Musician, we can understand your feelings and passion about learning guitar properly. Here you are going to read a piece of amazing news about Rockstar Music Central and Guitar lessons. We are here is to provide you excellent Guitar Instructor who will give you proper guidelines about guitar music lessons and how to operate the guitar system easily they also enhance your confidence level while talking with strangers. Don’t worry there is no issue with the fee and extra classes we will teach you till you learn. Fee structure and other information you will gather from our website or give us a call according to your convenience.https://www.rockstarmusic.ca/lessons/guitar or (647) 526-7625

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voloacademy · 2 years ago

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#clarinet lessons #piano lessons #music lessons #piano lessons victoria bc #saxophone lessons #piano lessons vancouver #piano lessons spruce grove #guitar lessons in toronto #bass lessons online #voice lessons edmonton #african drum lessons online

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rockmusicblog · 4 years ago

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Vocal Lessons Toronto

Do you want to take private, one-on-one, online, or in-home Vocal Lessons in Toronto to develop your musical voice? Rockstar Music Central can assist you.

Address :- 9600 Bathurst St. Vaughan, ON L6A 3Z8, Canada

Email Id :- [email protected]

Phone :- (647) 526-7625

Website :- https://www.rockstarmusic.ca/toronto/lessons/voice

#Music Lessons Mississauga #Piano Lessons Oakville #Bass Lessons #Piano Lessons Mississauga #Rockstar Toronto #Violin Lessons

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deebeeus · 2 years ago

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Another absolute gem spotted on my and @marshalllespaulfan's visit to the @traynor_amps museum at Yorkville Sound last week: 1968 #Traynor #TR1 Reverb unit! And you thought only Fender (and Premier, and Supro, et al.) made these stand alone reverbs, huh? Ha, I say! Pete Traynor, working in a wooden shack by the lake, up in Toronto, was pumping these out too! 😉 Oh man I'd LOVE to find one of these to go with my 1965 Bass Mate. There was one up for sale a few months ago not too far from where I live, and at a fairly reasonable price. The overall condition was was excellent, but it was missing the back panel (onto which the metal plate containing the model name and serial number is affixed), and as a collector of these things I really want a "complete" unit. In fact, I'd prefer to have a complete, all-original one in rough-ish condition over one in mint condition that has changed (or in this case, missing...) parts. I know myself, and I *need* it to have that back plate with the serial number. If I had bought it I just wouldn't have felt good about myself, and not having that back panel would have slowly (but surely) driven me insane! 😂 Plus...if there is one thing I have learned from buying vintage gear over the last 10 years, it's not to settle for less that exactly what you want. Unless you are talking about something uber rare and expensive like a 1958 Flying V or a Dumble, it's pretty much certain that another one (and a better one, complete and in perfect condition) will nearly always come up for sale eventually. You just have to have a little patience and control the urge to buy impulsively. In fact, in my experience, the "perfect" one nearly always comes up for sale within one week of buying the "imperfect" one! I have learned this lesson the hard way on numerous occasions... 😉 #guitar #guitars #amp #amps #amplifiers #vintageguitars #vintageamps #traynoramp #vintagetraynor #tubeamp #tone #guitargear #guitarsdaily #guitarsofinstagram #geartalk #guitarsdaily #tryanorsofinstagram #guitarphotography #ampphotography

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justmochi · 4 years ago

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ROSIE TRIVIA

She was born and raised in Toronto, Canada.

Her family was already planning to move to South Korea by the time she auditioned for Pledis.

Pledis originally planned for her to debut in Pristin.

She didn’t make her debut in the group until Love & Letter but was teased a lot in previous MVs.

She made appearances in the ‘Adore U’ and ‘Mansae’ MVs.

She is closest to Dino.

Even though she is allergic to cat’s, she is a cat person.

Rosie was originally supposed to be in vocal team.

She used to take ballet lessons when she was younger.

Her favorite dessert is apple pie.

She chopped her hair off for HIT.

She cannot do math and cannot do the simplest equations, partly because she’s lazy.

She sprained her ankle during HIT promotions. She missed out on most schedules and didn’t return until a week after Fear released.

Rosie is still technically the maknae, but the members don’t treat her like it. They usually tease Dino the most.

She has her own room on the same floor as Jun, DK, Vernon, and Dino.

She began teaching herself Japanese when they made their debut in Japan.

The first time the members saw her cry was during their first win.

Her father wanted her to become a doctor just like him.

She loves Tim Burton films.

She’s obsessed with Apeach from Kakao Friends.

She doesn’t know how to produce music, but if Woozi gives her resources such as bass, drums, synths, keys, etc., she is able to make something cool out of it.

Rosie opened her own official Instagram on October 24, 2021.

On her days off, she sleeps all day.

The members say she is a very bad liar. She can’t keep a straight face and will laugh

Mingyu always buys her screens protectors because they always have a crack in them after one week.

She took part in writing Moonwalker and Wave.

She takes Chinese classes with Vernon.

There was one day on WeVerse where she was jamming to THE8′s Side By Side and got on the wrong train. She got lost and documented her journey on the app.

Her favorite color is Mauve.

On February 4, 2021, Rosie and model-turned-actor Nam Yoon Su have been confirmed as the new MCs for MCountdown. The new MCs first broadcast takes place on February 18.

#mochiocnet #aesocnet #deluxeocnet #justmochi: rosie #14th member of seventeen #seventeen 14th member #fake seventeen member #fake seventeen oc #fake kpop idol #fake kpop addition #fake kpop soloist #idol!oc #oc!kpop #oc!idol #oc!soloist

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shawnmendeslatinamerica · 4 years ago

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THE BASELINE

There is something very strange about this experience of being human or always here in the present. Me sitting here in a recording studio, you sliding down a waterslide or wherever you are. But we can spend a lot of our time lost in our thoughts. Slipping through memories of the past and worries about the future with nothing to anchor us to the present. But I am learning that there is a way to reconnect, it is always right here, it is always with you. This is Shawn and today we are going to learn how to “come home” and I will start with a little story.

- The year was 2015, it was a cold autumn night, and I was about to take the stage. This was my first stadium show, a much larger audience than I was used to and it was at the "Rogers center" in my hometown, Toronto. So all my friends and take my family would be there. I was 17 years old and I was about to take the step to one of the greatest moments of my life. When I got on stage I found myself standing in front of what must have been 50,000 people.

- It wasn't just the audience, it was a source of energy, I was completely overwhelmed, it just looked like a dream. After a couple of songs on set, I began to feel anxious, my heart was beating very fast, and I could barely control the notes that were coming out of me. I'm pushing my voice too hard, it's cracking, I'm just holding on. I'm thinking, "Shawn you're messing it up, you're going to be messed up by the fifth song." And all this internal talk is making everything worse. But I sit down for the next song, I close my eyes and hear the bass line appear, I am a loser for a bass line and for a moment I listen again.

- And I feel like "Wow, I really love this part of the set" and suddenly my voice and my body start to open up, it was like my feet had landed on the stage. I remember looking up to the sky and saying "Thank you", because I knew that from then on I would be fine. The bass line brought me back, back to the moment I was sharing with millions of people, back to my love for what I do. So I had a tool to calm my anxiety in my performances, but the struggle continued, it even got worse, because it was no longer just on stage, but anxiety began to appear in my life.

- I would be in a vocal coaching lesson, practicing my song and my voice would close completely, at one point, I remember imagining myself singing that song, and just thinking about it in my mind, my voice was already closing. The months passed, while my career grew, my anxiety accompanied the way. But I knew there was a better way to live, so I started exploring. I started reading books on spirituality, philosophy and personal development and everyone was talking about this powerful practice, meditation.

- I had the feeling that meditation was something to do. She had tried it a couple of times but I never really started. A while ago, she was about to go to the Grammys with my girlfriend, Camila, I didn't show up that year, but she did, and I was there to support her. She was doing this “Calm” app meditation program called “How to Meditate” with Jeff Warren. She had encouraged me to try it and that day she was on the seventh day of the program. Playing at the Grammys is a stressful experience, the entire music industry is watching and the stakes feel gigantic. I'm watching Camila go through all of this and I'm in complete adoration.

- She is so present, so centered and gracious. I realized in that moment that it was time to revisit this meditation thing. And that prompted my trip, I took Camila's advice and started the “How to meditate” program in Calm, every day for 30 days, first morning, that led me to other teachers, programs and books.

- And today meditation is a big part of my life, it's like a new kind of technology. Once it enters your life, you forget what life was like before, you don't want to go back to what life was before in fact. I realized that meditation is not something once in a while, it is something you do every day for the rest of your life. One of the key ideas for mindfulness is that you always return to that anchor of attention, Jeff Warren calls this your "HomeBase."

- Many meditators use the breath, but it can be a sensation, or a sound, or many other things. Meditating is the act of sitting in silence, it is being aware of your experience in the present without judging. When your mind drifts to those thoughts or actions, you return to your anchor.

- It works in the following way: Thinking about what to eat for lunch, returned to the breath. I remember an awkward conversation yesterday, back to breath. Image of your dog dressed as a detective ... back to breath. Nerves for a big date tomorrow, back to breath.

- It is not about judging these thoughts, there is nothing wrong with them. We are just acknowledging, accepting and letting go. And you do these over and over and over again, it's one of those simple but powerful ideas. And the hope is that, you do it while you meditate and then you bring it into the real world, into your life. So you can be more focused and present wherever you go.

- Thinking is part of being human and the mind is a fascinating place but you can definitely get lost in there. I am learning that there is always something that can bring you back, back to the moment you are living. Like, how that ray of sunlight is shining on that cloud of dust in your room. The feeling of the headphones in your ears. the sensation of your next inhalation entering your lungs or the sound of a “baseline” (bass line). This is Shawn, hoping you can connect to your own baseline. I send you love.

#shawn mendes #mendes army #shawn peter raul mendes #sm #shawnmendes #calm

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luvneedsnosyt · 5 years ago

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My Favorite Albums of April 2020

Here’s my monthly list of albums released in April I was feeling, and some other discoveries made during the month.

I’ve been real slow getting these out but looks like May I can catch up

Previous Month’s Lists: January, February, March

You can find my list of my favorite albums of 2019 here And my list of my favorite EPs of 2019 here

Best:

Active Child - In Another Life Genre: Indie Pop

Proof: All Eyes On You / Weightless

Alina Baraz - It Was Divine Genre: R&B / Soul

Proof: Off The Grid (Feat. Khalid) / More Than Enough

Allan Rayman - Christian Genre: Indie Rock / Alternative

Proof: Blush / Eye to Eye

AWOLNATION - Angel Miners & The Lightning Riders Genre: Alternative / Rock

Proof: The Best / Mayday!!! Fiesta Forever // Bonus: Drive (The Cars Cover)

BOSCO - Some Day This Will All Make Sense EP Genre: R&B / Neo-Soul

Proof: Attention / Take Off

DaBaby - BLAME IT ON BABY Genre: Hip Hop

Proof: LIGHTSKIN SHIT (Feat. Future & jetsonmade) / BLAME IT ON BABY

Diana Gordon - Wasted Youth EP Genre: alt-R&B / Hip Hop

Proof: Rollin / Wasted Youth

Duke Dumont - Duality Genre: Electronic / House / Dance

Proof: Overdrive / Together (Feat. How To Dress Well) // Bonus: Therapy (Will Easton Remix) / The Power (Leftwing:Kody Remix) Feat. Zak Abel

dvsn - A Muse In Her Feelings Genre: R&B / Neo-Soul

Proof: Dangerous City (Feat. Ty Dolla $ign & Buju Banton) / A Muse

Elah Hale - Room 206 EP Genre: R&B / Soul

Proof: My House / Impatient

Empress Of - I’m Your Empress Of Genre: R&B / Pop

Proof: Bit of Rain / Love Is A Drug

Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters Genre: Alternative / Indie Rock

Proof: Shameika / Heavy Balloon

Jeremy Zuccker - love is not dying Genre: Indie Pop

Proof: somebody loves you / not ur friend

JOYRYDE - Brave Genre: Electronic / Dance / Dubstep

Proof: ON FIRE / 4AM

K CAMP - Kiss 5 Genre: Hip Hop / R&B

Proof: Tatted Up (Feat. Fabo) / Trill Love (Feat. Wale & Joe Trufant)

Kali Uchis - TO FEEL ALIVE EP Genre: R&B / Soul

Proof: i want war (BUT I NEED PEACE) / TO FEEL ALIVE

Kaskade - Redux 004 EP Genre: Electronic / House / Dance

Proof: Love Like That (Feat. Dani Poppitt) / Find Love // Love Like That (BYNON Remix) Feat. Dani Poppitt / Chains (w/ Project 46)

Kiana Ledé - KIKI Genre: R&B / Neo-Soul

Proof: Chocolate. (Feat. Ari Lennox) / Labels. (Feat. Moneybagg Yo & BIA)

Krewella - zer0 (The Remixes, Pt. 2) EP Genre: Electronic / Dance

Proof: Anxiety (Prince Fox Remix) Feat. Arrested Youth / Like We (BEAUZ Remix) Feat. Yung Baby & Alaya

LOONY - JOYRiDE Genre: R&B

Proof: iN CODE / WHiTE LiE

Loote - heart eyes EP Genre: Indie Pop

Proof: This is How U Feel / All The Fucking Time // Bonus: teamwork., Loote & John K - Wasted Summer

Manatee Commune - Crescent Lake EP Genre: Electronic / Chillwave

Proof: Majestic Diver / Pools

mxmtoon - dawn Genre: Indie Pop

Proof: fever dream / lessons

Purity Ring - WOMB Genre: Synth Pop

Proof: pink lightening / i like the devil

rum.gold - aiMless EP Genre: alt-R&B / Soul

Proof: Waiting For (Feat. Jamila Woods) / Call It What You Want It

STRFKR - Future Past Life Genre: Synth Pop

Proof: Second Hand / Pink Noise

The Strokes - The New Abnormal Genre: Alternative / Rock

Proof: Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus / Not The Same Anymore

Subtronics - Scream Saver EP Genre: Electronic / Dubstep

Proof: Lullaby (Feat. Virus Syndicate) / Blow Stuff Up // Bonus: NGHTMRE & Subtronic - Nuclear Bass Face (Feat. Boogie T)

Thundercat - It Is What It Is Genre: Soul / R&B / Jazz

Proof: Black Qualls (Feat. Steve Lacy, Steve Arrington & Childish Gambino) / Funny Thing

Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes - What Kinda Music Genre: Indie Pop / Soul / Jazz

Proof: Nightrider (Feat. Freddie Gibbs) / Last 100

TOPS - I Feel Alive Genre: Indie Pop

Proof: I Feel Alive / Colder & Closer

Trivecta - Everyday EP Genre: Electronic / Dance

Proof: Leave It All Behind (Fat. Fagin) / Wasteland

The Weeknd - After Hours (Remixes) EP Genre: alt-R&B

Proof: Blinding lights (Chromatics Remix) Feat. Johnny Jewel / After Hours (The Blaze Remix)

Yaeji - WHAT WE DREW 우리가 그려왔던 Genre: Synth-Pop

Proof: SPELL 주문 (Feat. YonYon & G.L.A.M.) / WAKING UP DOWN

Bonus:

Krewella - zer0 (The Remixes, Pt. 1) EP Genre: Electronic / Dance Released March 2020

Proof: Good On You (MOTi Remix) Feat. Nucleya / Greenlights (MADGRRL Remix)

Others:

Aesop Rock - Freedom Finger [Music from the Game], Allan Kingdom - Iddtfm EP, Anna Burch - If You’re Dreaming, Ant Saunders - BUBBLE EP, Buddy & Kent Jamz - Janktape Vol. 1, Calvin Harris & Eli Brown - Moving EP, Day Wave - Crush EP, Everything Is Recorded - FRIDAY FOREVER, Incubus - Trust Falls (Side B) EP, Jaunt - All In One, Jody Wisteernoff - Story of Light EP, Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter, Lonr. - Land of Nothing Real, Midwife - Forever, NNAMDÏ - BRAT, Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA, RJD2 - The Fun Ones, Shabazz Palaces - The Don of Diamond Dreams, Smino - She Already Decided [Mixtape], Steve Aoki - Neon Future IV, Tory Lanez - The New Toronto 3, Tech N9ne - Enterfear, The-Dream - SXTPA, Wiz Khalifa - The Saga of Wiz Khalifa, Yves Tumor - Heaven To a Tortured Mind, Zsela - Ache of Victory EP

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antoniopasolini · 5 years ago

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WeAnimals Media

I started working for We Animals Media, an amazing photographic initiative by Toronto-based Jo-Anne McArthur. This was my first post, re: the culling of minks in Spain because of COVID-19

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The killing of mink on fur farms due to #COVID19 outbreaks is set to continue after an outbreak was discovered at a mink farm in Aragón province, Spain. . The mink were isolated and monitored closely after a number of workers became infected, but tests show that 87% of the animals have the virus. Health authorities have ordered 92,700 individuals to be killed, or 'culled', as the industry and media euphemistically name the process of ending innocent lives exploited for profit. . The coronavirus pandemic is a direct consequence of the unnatural and violent ways we interact with and treat animals. It should be a wake-up call for humanity to improve its relationship with other species and the natural world. As stated by Claire Bass (executive director of @hsiukorg) via @bbcnews: "One of the lessons we must learn from Covid-19 is that we cannot carry on pushing animals to the limit of their endurance without serious consequences for both animal and human health." . Prior to this recent order, the Netherlands carried out a culling program that terminated the lives of tens of thousands of mink. As we noted in a previous post, press photographer Olivier Middendorp lost his court case to be allowed to photograph the cull. Via @dutchnewsnl: "Judges sided with the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, who argued the presence of the photographer would present ‘too great a danger to public health’. Middendorp had argued photographing the mass cull had ‘social significance’ given that it is likely to happen again." . Lack of transparency is one of the many strategies this industry employs to keep the general public in the dark about the violence that is inherent to these operations. . Visit the We Animals Archive for more mink farming images to help you tell this story: www.weanimalsarchive.org (link in our bio ➡️ @weanimals) . . 📷: Mink on a fur farm. Sweden, 2009. Jo-Anne McArthur/@djurrattsalliansen

Uma publicação compartilhada por We Animals Media (@weanimals) em 24 de Jul, 2020 às 7:24 PDT

#weanimals #photojournalism #veganism #vegans #covidー19

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notesonnotes · 5 years ago

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Rosedale. Herkimer 2009. Some friends and I had followed Honor Bright; The Doppler Effect and Lacerda to a show in Herkimer, NY. We'd never seen Rosedale, or heard of them. We didn't know what to expect when we saw them setting up. I was in awe of the sheer height of their front-man, Mike. (I am a over a foot shorter than he is, and at that point he was the tallest person I'd ever met.)When they started playing, I was in awe of their drummer, Emerson Tavares (he played faster than most drummer I'd seen). After the show, we saw a big purple bus, and we had the chance to hang out with Mike and Emmo. A week later, we'd get to meet Mitch and Zan in Watertown, NY. We were hooked. Soon after, we got them to our college in Northern New York.Since then, I've watched Mike progress from the 4 man band to the last solo act in Toronto in 2018. He is multi-talented, and probably one of the most down to earth people I've met. He takes time before, during, and after shows to talk with as many people/fans as he can, and has been an inspiration to many that have followed his journey.Today, we're going to take a look at where he came from, and where he plans to go. Take a few and read through. It's the anniversary feature for Notes on Notes! What better way to celebrate that with the one who inspired it all?!

NON: Rosedale was an early project of yours as a teenager in Brampton, ON. What brought you and your then band mates together?

ML: Pretty much skateboarding sparked it all. The skate scene was really booming in Brampton (and everywhere) as I was becoming an adolescent. Tony Hawk Pro Skater was huge, all the skate magazines were doing well, all the local skate parks were packed and hosting contests, pro skaters were celebrities- it was wild! I've always been pretty awkward on a skateboard and could never really improve past the basics, but I was definitely making progress on the piano so my parents finally granted my wishes to switch to classical guitar, as I'd been begging for years and the skate culture was surrounded by a lot of guitar music. After about a year of struggling to figure out how to play "cool guitar" I started convincing my friends to learn drums and bass and would try to jam with them. That led me to connecting with a friend I hadn't really seen since kindergarten; Nick, who was a pretty solid drummer. So I started showing him songs I'd written and we'd jam at his place on weekends. I think it started lighting a fire for a few of my school and skater friends as they started getting more serious about learning instruments and starting bands. We'd eventually teamed up with Mitch and Jon's band, as their drummer, Emerson, was still figuring out how to drum. Fun fact, there was about a month or two where I was kicked out of the band because my squeaky voice, cheesy lyrics, shrill guitar tone, awkward stage presence, and thick wavy blond mushroom cut were all just too unbearable. (They were very blunt and honest with me on that phone call...) So Jon started singing and they eventually called me back into the new band to play guitar, piano, and sing super high emo backup vocals. From there; we replaced Nick with Sam, named the band Rosedale (because when our gear was stuck at Nick's house we'd walk up Rosedale ave to the local music store to practice and write). Then we eventually replaced Sam with Emerson. Me and Jon started taking vocal lessons from our friend Steve, who was a drummer and backup singer in one of our favourite local bands, By Permit Only. Eventually we just asked him to be our lead singer and after recording our first EP with him, he quit the band and I took over lead vocals again. I met Zan in our high school, Mayfield. He was a bassist in the music program so I'd jam with him from time to time during lunch in our school's practice rooms. He eventually replaced Jon... I guess I could have just summed it up with "Skateboarding and school" but we all have a little more time these days so why not take a trip down nostalgia lane!

NON: You've had 5 EP's and albums over the years; could you describe the progression of your creative process through the years?

ML: It's pretty crazy for me to look back on. We recorded Past Times With Old Friends in Sean Andrew's little bedroom on a Line 6 bean-shaped Pod with Cue-base on his laptop. We'd tried to record about 3 demos with 3 different producers prior to that EP but nothing ever got finished. Each time we'd record I'd learn a few more things about how to engineer. Back when we had Sam in the band, one of his dad's friends "Stereo Mario" (one of the 3 producers that we'd demo with) would teach me the basics of Pro Tools and I was very eager to learn more. Before ever using any real recording equipment/DAW I'd multi-track covers of my favorite songs onto three-and-a-half inch floppy discs with my Yamaha Clavinova (a multi-patch midi amplified keyboard from the mid 90s), drums and all! So I kinda came full circle back to being a solo, multi tracker, multi-instrumentalist after having several different band mates and methods. The big turning point in my progression as an artist and producer, though, came when I started an internship at Drive Studios in my senior year of high school. I believe everyone needs a roll model and mentor to really progress and the owner of that studio, Steve Rizun, took me under his wing and pulled me in the right direction. Not only did he train me to be a sound engineer and let me work with some world class punk/prog/metal/emo bands, but he also would show me how to make additional production for Rosedale's sound and how to bring it to our live show. I became obsessed with songwriting and production and as soon as I graduated I worked to save up for a Macbook and an audio interface...and a lot of other gear! Had it not been for Steve, I probably would have wasted a lot of money going to a college to learn a fraction of what he was teaching me for free; hands on in the most punk rock environment! Since that internship he's mixed and mastered all the Rosedale records, mixed a handful of my live shows, he even showed me the ropes of being a live sound engineer, and continues to be a great ear to for mixing and advice! I've had a lot of other great friends show me how to edit video, hold a drumstick, where to book shows, gear advice etc. Even though I'm kind of a "Lone Wolf" I guess my process has always been to keep creating and ask for help and advice along the way from those who are more experienced (and YouTube tutorials, of course). Now that I'm in a new market playing with a new band (Mainsail in San Diego) I feel like I'm teaching and working more often than I'm learning. And that's been really healthy too!

NON: How has the journey from "Past Times" to your most recent projects helped you grow/learn as a musician/artist?

ML: What a journey it has been! As I'm sure any artist or even entrepreneur could relate, The Faces sang it best; "I wish that I knew what I know now when I was younger!" I think the biggest difference is the decision making ability. I used to take so damn long to make such bad decisions! Debating who, what, where why- it's important to think things through but sometimes you gotta just leap and learn from it. If you keep questioning things you'll never know. Also, the more I learn the more I realize how much more I still don't know! And that's part of the climb. Even now, being in the beginning stages of getting my 10,000 hours on the drums, I look back to how I used to play, say, 100 hours ago- and shake my head. That can sometimes be humiliating and demotivating while knowing you're still at the bottom of the mountain- or even just dealing with the ongoing yin and yang of confidence/hope vs. doubt. But what usually gets me to keep on going is to remind myself to just be better than I was yesterday. For a long time I was holding myself to the standards of my heroes which usually just creates inauthenticity, bad technique, bad decisions, clutter, and setbacks. Sometimes I'm worse than I was yesterday so I need a little push and that's okay, too! The journey from Past Times to Again was a big balancing lesson of letting things go while learning you can always do more to improve. And it's no surprise; but the newer the album, the more proud and less embarrassed of it I am!

NON: You've played bass in Mainsail for roughly a year, maybe a bit more; how did you meet up with them? What spurred you joining?

ML: Yeah since February 2019 I've been in Mainsail. I've been friends with them since 2017 and they really helped me get my show in front of a lot of people in San Diego. When I finally moved out there Nick was really cool about bringing me out to shows and jamming together. They needed a new bass player so I figured I'd offer and it just all escalated really fast. Since finally accepting that it was time to move on from the name Rosedale I've had a lot of luck with being a sort of "yes man". I'm usually very strict with staying on the path to my vision, as it requires a lot of time, but since moving and letting go of the past I've been finding that sometimes letting the wind take you where you're needed can be really beneficial. And a lot of great things are starting to happen for Mainsail so it has been fun. It has also kind of kept a stream of new listeners seeing what Rosedale is all about too so that is a nice bonus.

NON: You've performed at the House of Blues in San Diego; how was the experience for you?

ML: It was one of the best moments of my life playing that stage in front of so many great SoCal people, some who have been supporting Rosedale over the years. That has always been one of my favorite venues and since moving to San Diego I've seen a lot of amazing shows there. House of Blues is always great in Boston and Anaheim too. I'm really grateful that they give independent acts like myself not only a chance to play there, but they really give you the same professionalism and respect as they do to the giant national acts, it's pretty remarkable. I really hope they're doing okay during this pandemic and I hope all venues find a way to pull through this. I can't imagine how tough it's getting for some.

NON: You've toured the U.S. and parts of Canada multiple times; played on a stage at Warped Tour, and toured Europe: What would you say is your most memorable moment?

ML: That is a great but very tough question. Playing in Vienna Austria in 2016 to a bunch of kids that knew my songs is definitely up there. But 2012 Warped Tour was probably the most fun and rewarding summer of my life. It was a grind and very uncomfortable at times, but there were so many epic moments packed into that summer that I look back on in disbelief. The biggest turning point was about two weeks into the tour in Minnesota (I think it was Minnesota...) I got called into the Warped production office and was told to check in with Kevin every morning for any open stage time, given a wristband, and some tasks to help out with in production. I played my DIY one-man-show in the parking lot that same night as kids were leaving the festival (as I would every night) and while I was standing at my merch table selling stuff and taking photos, I noticed that Ryan Dawson (from All Time Low) and Anthony Raneri (from Bayside) were hanging out watching. Once things slowed down they came over and bought 10 CDs each! It was so cool of them to even give me the time of day, let alone buy CDs to (probably) give out to people on the tour. I had a similar experience with Caleb Shomo (from Attack Attack/Beartooth) the year before outside of Cuyahoga Falls Warped tour. I had a drummer and bass player with me at the time and Caleb stood front & center to watch our whole set while kids kept coming up to him for autographs and I could see him pointing at us saying good things to all the kids. After our set he handed me all the cash he had in his pocked and apologized for not having more, I gave him some merch and we chatted for a good 15 minutes about how being an artist is a roller coaster and good things come and go, encouraging me to hang in there. He kept emphasizing how he just considered himself and everyone on the main stages lucky. All of those memories are enough motivation to last a lifetime and they're also reminders to pay it forward.

NON: Touring as much as you have, there must have been some odd things that have happened. What has been the strangest thing to happen to you while you were on the road?

ML: Lots of strange tour stories for sure. The little ghost girl I caught on camera in the former German concentration camp was pretty crazy. (You can find it in the RosedaleMike Europe Tour Blogs via Tumblr if you don't believe!) It always freaks people out when I show them. And I remember everyone's reaction in the van right after I caught the footage. But the craziest thing that happened to me...there's been so many hard luck slaps in the face, as so many touring bands have also experienced, I'm sure. One time I had this great opportunity to be the opener/direct support for Everlast in Colorado Springs. I had just released self-titled, the tour was going well, and this Everlast show was sold out at Black Sheep (a great venue!) I had a day off so I got to town a day early to be extra prepared. While at the gym I received an email from the venue that Everlast had to postpone due to weather conditions. So now the show was cancelled and I offered to find local bands to fill the night for the venue so that I can still play for my small crowd. I went straight to a library for wi-fi and started plugging away on my laptop, emailing bands asking if they wanna do me a solid and play a last minute show at Black Sheep tomorrow night. I had two confirmed, told the venue, and they announced on the Facebook event page that there will still be a show but Everlast will be rescheduled, and they made me a host so I could update the event as I confirmed new acts. Some kids in Montana saw this and started saying that Rosedale cancelled the Everlast show! It turns out that they just randomly decided to troll me. They were even sending pictures of these little ridiculous hand written notes they made that read something like "I am cancelling the show - Rosedale". They were leaving random comments claiming that they were Everlast and bashing my fans as they tried to help clear the confusion. People were messaging me asking "Why'd you cancel the show?!" I had to explain to them and the venue what was really going on. The venue was in shock watching it all happen too and they said they have never seen anything like that, ever. I went to a local show that same night and convinced a couple of the bands to play Black Sheep tomorrow. All four locals were really awesome and the show ended up turning out to be pretty well attended. Even some people that had Everlast tickets came out and had a great time. The venue was really impressed that I pulled an event together so last minute and I was stoked to have built another great venue relationship. I got in my van and started to drive to my next show in Flagstaff, AZ. As I was climbing a rocky mountain pass, some slick snow started coming down. I was pulling my trailer and sliding pretty bad until eventually I couldn't move anymore and was stuck on the side of the road. As the sun was coming up an emergency truck pulled up and started laying sand down in front of my van so I followed him until my wheels started spinning again and one wheel gripped to the sand while the other spun and blew my transmission and rear differential. I didn't make it to Flagstaff or the next five shows. $4600 repair bill. And the next show back in Encinitas was an afternoon show at a biker bar where I was told after my first set (of three) to pack up and only received one sixth of my guarantee as my fans started showing up for the second set. There ended up being some good intertwined in all of all of that but it was just such a frustrating and confusing week. Sometimes I swear I'm in a movie like The Truman Show.

NON: You draw a lot of inspiration from The Used; Blink-182 and Angels and Airwaves: Who else has inspired you along the way?

ML: I definitely have a lot of heroes. Death Cab For Cutie and The Postal Service, The Ataris, The Starting Line, Metro Station, Dashboard Confessional, Boys Like Girls, The Matches, Underoath, The Almost, Motion City Soundtrack, Red Hot Chili Peppers, All Time Low, The Band Camino, Owl City, Radiohead, John Mayer, Coldplay, Paramore, Yellowcard, Moneen, Boxcar Racer...That's probably 10% of them. I've been to a lot of great concerts and being six foot nine gives me a good view and very memorable experiences.

NON: Do you see yourself continuing making music or helping others in music in the future?

ML :Both!

NON: What song that you've written do you connect with the most?

ML: That's always changing to be honest. Depending on where I'm at, what I'm doing/going through. It's usually the most recent song or idea I've written which doesn't get released for sometimes a year or two after. Of the songs I've release, that would be Sustain. That is the most recent Rosedale song I've written. I wrote it right before we started tracking Self Titled and Again and its kind of about being in both shoes of that Warped Tour situation I just mentioned. People sometimes ask if I'm referring to myself as the Star or the Kid in that song and the answer is both! I'm still that star struck kid who can't wait to ask my favorite artists a thousand questions but I also get a lot of questions from fans who are trying to start their own thing or make their passion their career.

SHOUT OUTS

Mainsail, Palapalooza Podcast, Time & Distance, I Set My Friends on Fire, Alex Baker, Plans, The Home Team, OCML, FXav, Adam Sisco, my parents and family, everyone at Gnarlywood, Abby Lyn Records, Jonny Cooper, my old band mates and everyone who's ever come on tour with me- Thank you all. And all the bands, artists, venues, studios, street performers, restaurants that are trying to make it through this lock down. Hopefully all this is over soon and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Believe things will get better eventually and use this alone time to improve yourself. Keep supporting live music even if you're stuck at home. And if you need help reach out and ask. Let's all stay safe and help one another

LINKS

Facebook

YouTube

Instgram

Twitter

Spotify

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itscoldoutsidefilmsthings · 6 years ago

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A 3rd year film festival retrospective.

Scumdance (Reno’s premiere underground film festival) has just completed its third year. As such, this would probably be a good time for a little retrospective and as the festival’s sole proprietor/curator I would be glad to let a little light shine into the inner workings of what it takes to start a film festival, what it takes to keep it running, why I do this in the first place, and the lessons learned along the way.

How did we get here? In late 2016 I was having conversations with friends, co-workers, bandmates and fellow film nerds about how there was real lack of local film festivals geared towards horror, exploitation, underground, B-movie, etc. types of films. At the time our band’s practice space was in a warehouse on the edge of town where a loose artist’s community of sorts had taken shape. Pottery studios, sculpture gardens, graffiti murals, custom hot-rod builders, welding shops, theaters, antique dealers and so much more was all happening in this row of warehouses. One particular spot became hugely inspirational. Next door to our practice space was an event location (for lack of a better term) called the Black Rock Drive-In. A novelties collector had taken several old cars cut them down, installed benches within and parked them in front of a movie screen like an old-time drive-in movie theater, complete with a western setting sun mural painted on the warehouse’s interior. Combine this with his collection of Airstream trailers, mid-century furniture and appliances, and WWII memorabilia and you had the makings of a great film set.

Standing outside that warehouse on a chilly evening, post band practice, and musing with our bass player Perry Disgrace, the thought was born… “We should totally put on a mondo-bizzaro film day with crazy movies and bands and just throw a party.” In the true DIY spirit of punk rock, the idea was born and efforts were put in place to manifest this reality. When mentioning the idea to co-worker and fellow film nerd Gilbert Leiker, he responded “You should call it Scumdance and have the skanking guy from the Circle Jerks albums carrying a camera.” Boom. Done. Within 20 minutes I had the logo and artwork in place. I have a habit of taking ideas and running with them, even if they are not my own. As Pablo Picasso is reported to have said “good artists borrow, great artists steal”… most likely he “borrowed” this from T.S. Eliot.

As for the details of what it takes to put on a film festival, it’s honestly not all that hard. All you need is a laptop, a projector, a screen, a sound system of some sort, some chairs, a venue, a Film Freeway account and a website. Having submitted a good number of my short films to a variety of film festivals and having received all manner of rejection (more on that later), the drive to experience critical evaluation of films from the other side was also a strong motivator in bringing this festival about. I already had a website devoted to my filmmaking endeavors. Adding a page listing the event details and linking it to a Film Freeway account was straight forward. Acquiring the necessary hardware and physical assets was just a matter of pooling resources and gathering items that I already had. The matter of finding a venue has at times proved challenging. The aforementioned Black Rock Drive-In closed. Our favorite dive-bar, in which we hosted the event’s first year, has closed. Finding the right venue that has a bar, allows outside food to be brought in, while having the right mix of size, space, seating and availability hasn’t been easy; but we have been fortunate enough to work with some fantastic bar owners who have been very accommodating.

The festival itself, wouldn’t be what it is without the amazing filmmakers who have submitted some truly incredible films and the ever enthusiastic judges. The panel of judges was built from a pool of friends some of whom I’ve worked with on previous film projects, some just having shown an overwhelming interest in film and some asked to join the panel after having submitted to previous year’s festivals. It is this last group with whom I am most excited to work.

So why would anyone do this? It’s a question I ask myself every year. Does it pay off when you consider: The countless hours spent watching, rating, and reviewing the films; scheduling a date, finding and coordinating with the venue ,updating FF and the website, attending local meetings to be included in Reno’s Arttown, writing press releases to be distributed on horror sites, selecting the films, sending out acceptance and rejection letters, scheduling a run of show, setting up all the equipment, running the festival, bringing food and snacks? By the time I finish up the event I find myself exhausted. It wouldn’t seem that sitting in dark room watching movies all day would be that taxing, but mentally, and emotionally it takes a toll… hoping nothing goes wrong technically, hoping that everyone (or at least most attendees) find something enjoyable in the films, hoping that the venue owner and bar staff are not completely annoyed with the films and are making a decent amount of tips, and hoping that there is enough attendance to make it all worthwhile. While it might be “easy” to put on a festival, putting on a quality festival takes effort. That’s effort I’m willing to put in. I want to make it the kind of thing I would be delighted to attend.

Of the benefits that come from running a festival, the number one has to be the relationships established. This is the reason we make films in the first place. It’s all about human connection. As I was saying above it has become our practice to ask previous year’s submitters to become next year’s judges. George Sukara, a producer from a film submitted in the first year (HELL! The musical), has become an instrumental part of the festival. His critical insights in judging and undying support have been phenomenal. It was great to have him at the festival, hosting one of the Q&A sessions, and bringing with him a crew of folks from San Francisco. One of the other connections made that first year was a gentleman by the name of Michael Joy who brought us a film (Red Christmas) with Dee Wallace of Kujo fame. I’ve been working with Michael on spreading the word about Scumdance through his connections with Artsploitation Films and Horrornews.net. The second year brought us some great filmmakers from Canada and Indiana, in Grace Mathisen and Adam Laughlin respectively. Their films were superb, and it was great to have them there in person. They too have gone on to become valued Scumdance judges. This last year, brought us filmmakers from Toronto, Houston, and Los Angeles. The Audience favorite, Llamageddon (it’s exactly as it sounds) was written and directed by a young woman who was going by the name “Howie Dewin.” Her astonishment at winning overrode even her astonishment at being entered in the festival at all (apparently someone on her production team entered the film without telling her as a fun prank). Even after having a breakfast coffee and a decently long discussion with her, I never did find out her real name. We’ll be stoked to have her as part of the judging staff next year, that is if she responds to her “howiedewin” email.

One of the other great benefits of running a festival (or being a judge) is the experience gained by viewing so may films, of all quality levels. You learn all the things not to do when making a film. You see time and again, the overused tropes, the stock and often pointless dialogue, the desire to shock without attention to narrative, and films that are far, far longer than they need to be. After all this one quickly gains an appreciation for audible dialogue, well thought out story lines, character development, motivated camera movement, inspired score/soundtrack, and tightly edited scenes.

Another wonderful discovery has been the insight into cultures and communities throughout the world that one would not have accessed otherwise. It has been amazing to see films submitted from the US, Canada, The Netherlands, India, the UK, Austria, Iran, Italy, Mexico, and even Belgium. In particular the films we receive from Iran have been nothing short of mind blowing. There is something so special about those films. They tend to be intensely creative, original, inspiring, and chock full of touching humanity in a way that almost makes me reluctant to place them amidst our other less wholesome faire. Also of note, are the LGBT films we receive. This year we had a film dedicated to trans-persons from Nepal, that was a rare insight into portions of the world not ordinarily seen.

As previously promised, I think it’s worth mentioning the feedback process. One common thing that I noticed from festivals I was submitting to, was a lack of quality feedback. For way too many festivals, it doesn’t seem they could even be bothered to change the judging status on Film Freeway… or if they did, it wouldn’t be changed until well after the event date. For other festivals, they would change the status and send out the standard generic rejection emails. While they were intended to soften to the blow of rejection, they would do little to inform or provide one with any sense as to what could have been improved on the film…. no information on what exactly about the film caused it to fall short of the mark. It was with this experience in mind that I personally made the decision to include judge’s commentary in both the acceptance and rejection letters. I feel it’s the least we can do to provide the filmmaker with meaningful feedback.

This decision has mostly been met with appreciation, but in some cases the feedback was viewed as “arrogant, presumptuous, and dismissive.” I can certainly understand how after spending the enormous amount of time, energy and effort that it takes to make a film how one would be incredibly protective of the work. One exchange with an initially upset but later apologetic filmmaker, gave me clear cause to stop and think about my intentions and motivations. Was I intentionally levelling overly harsh criticism against those who submitted to my film festival, as a way of feeling superior for the failings of my own films? It’s certainly something I need to be cognizant of going forward. In the future, I hope to continue providing the judges commentary, but will most likely do so after an explicit opt-in scenario.

In regard to my own films, I’ve come to realize with much more clarity than ever that my films were being rejected for completely valid reasons. I’ve seen what it takes to make a good film and the number one rule is to be entertaining. In the age of short attention spans and a bajillion choices, it’s difficult (but more important) than ever to gain and hold someone’s attention.

So what’s next for Scumdance? One exciting possibility discussed with the San Francisco crew is the idea of taking Scumdance on the road. Perhaps we select the best films from the past 3 years and do a screening in SF or LA. At some point it would be nice to get Scumdance into a proper movie theater as well, a but the lack of any historical or art house theater in Reno limits our options. Another exciting possibility is the idea of bringing in a real host… someone with real entertainment value... someone like the subject of this year’s winning documentary, the Phantom Troublemaker.

Of course, I couldn’t do this without the love and support of my wonderful wife Amelia. In all it’s been a great experience that has promoted growth in me as a filmmaker and as a person. It’s been the impetus to build meaningful relationships that I otherwise would not have done and has given me cause to provide much needed exposure to small films. This is something I want to keep doing, while growing the festival in organic and manageable ways.

Viva Le Scumdance!

Travis Calvert

#film #film festival #indie Film #diy projects

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