Marketing Magic to a Thumping Beat.

This band has exploded over the last year gaining attention in Paris, England, Australia and Germany but is still playing small clubs when it returns, as it must, to Winnipeg. Perhaps this will change with the release of “Still Life on Fire”. I admit that I have seen Mise en Scene 3 or 4 times in the last couple of years and came away underwhelmed by their live performance. But…this record has been a truly eye opening experience. Stefani Blondal Johnson’s vocals are passionate, with a real emotional depth and stunning, shimmering quality that was missing live. There is a savage energy here that is found in punk, spanked guitar, pinched organs and the pounding drums of Jodi Dunlop. But there is also a heavy dose of 1980’s pop with lots of harmonies and synth under currents. Think Bikini Kill, early Blondie or Garbage. The first single CLOSER blasts out of my speakers like a laser beam of angst and anguish. Johnson’s abused vocal screams tear into your skull while the flaming staccato dr...

Hailing from Brandon MB, The Middle Coast (formerly Until Red) are about to release their first major record “The Making of:” It’s an album that feels oddly familiar and comfortable with a sound firmly planted in the 1970’s that hints at the Eagles, America and Stevie Wonder. Recorded here and in Vancouver with a trio of producers, this recording perfectly matches their live sound. Roman Clarke (drums/vocals) has an outstanding voice which soars on the tune “House Lights”. Liam Duncan (keys/vocals) and Dylan MacDonald (vocals/guitar) can certainly sing too and together their harmonies are what bring on that nostalgic vibe. The first single “Paycheck” is a breezy, B3 organ dripping tune that I am sure you’ll hear wafting out of open car windows as you wait for the light to change this summer. The boys keep it pretty simple musically, with a familiar song structure that include sweet hooky choruses, and transparent lyrics. Guitar tones are slightly overdriven, layered over vapid org...

The English have always been obsessed with instrumental prog-rock like no one else on the planet. Weary trips with early Genesis or Pink Floyd when Syd Barrett controlled the drugs began this genre, with recent bands like the unfortunately named Alpha Male Tea Party picking up this mostly instrumental banner. The difference here is that Liverpool’s AMTP are loud, really loud, borrowing heavily from punk and metal to craft their sonic assault. They sub-divide each musical measure using advanced calculus to craft stop-and-go riffs that begin with a wall of juiced-up tele guitar run through a dozen pedals into colossal amps each set on stun. The result on their newest record “Health” is a surprisingly melodic at times. This trio has some interesting musical ideas that they explore, but the requirements of the instrumental prog-rock genre and their insistence on eventually incinerating their audience with every tune ultimately leaves me wishing for a little bit more restraint and my hea...

Ojiway Jazz trumpeter Chuck Copenace’s new release EP 1 showcases both his enthusiasm for jazz and the deep respect he has for his culture. His experience playing with a virtual who’s who of Winnipeg bands including funk/jazz innovators Moses Mayes, roots act Nathan, and rockers Indian City, to name but a few, has widened his musical vista and you can hear those influences across these four tracks. “ARVO" is driven by drummer Brendan Kinley and rooted in Ashley Au’s bass work Chuck is free to take flight guiding us through the melody handing solos off to guitarist Victor Lopez and Alto Sax player Eric Bachmann before his powerful, dynamic trumpet brings us back. “Appetite" opens with a shared funky dual-horn line leading into Chuck’s inspired brassy lead. A round and mellow alto sax follows. Chuck’s second departure is more introspective, as we are guided into an clever electric guitar bridge and finally back to the shared two-horn melody to bring us home. “Front” feels li...

Guitar players are always on a sonic quest looking to get the sounds they hear in their heads out and onto their pedal boards. Achieving this acoustic alchemy can be tricky and it is different for each player. One is looking for a warm, bluesy slide tone, another a shrieking, shredding metal attack and a third that crystal, glassy, clean tone.  But regardless of those sounds in your head, there are some guidelines…not rules because after all we are musicians and we break all the rules when looking for our tones…but guidelines that at least get our musical journey off on the right note.  So let’s consider which pedals might get us to our ideal sound and in what order we might place them in our quest for our sonic holy grail.   Stay in Tune Tuners usually come first as you want a perfectly tuned signal hitting your cool effects. You can get this job done cheaply and effectively with some of the clip on tuners that have become so essential in the last few years. Apex...

Every band I know uses social media to some extent, but few seem to know how to use it to it’s full potential. Social media takes time to build a following and you need to be grabbing your audiences attention with interesting little vignettes of your musical lives. Facebook is the perfect platform for bands because it is all about telling stories. Twitter is about news and information Instagram - the story is told in beautiful photos Snapchat - the story appears and seconds later it is gone forever. Most of your fans do not live a musicians life and what you see as normal - to them is exceptional. The average fan works a typical 8-hour job everyday, sees mostly the same people everyday, travels a few times each year and has never been on stage, backstage at a festival, or in a recording studio. They view your life as glamorous, creative, exciting and something they can only dream of. You have the power to give them a glimpse into your world, to lift the curtain on a life they can only ...

We’ve all heard this old chestnut. Which of these is news? “Dog bites Man” or “Man Bites Dog” Knowing that a “Man Biting a Dog” is much rarer and therefore a more news worthy event is the first step in understanding the often misunderstood and under-appreciated field of Public Relations. Public Relations is loosely defined as the relationship between a corporation and the public. But in reality it has a series of sub-categories that include media relations, Government interaction, consumer relations, crisis management, industry participation, investor communications, labour relations, sponsorship/donation and internal communications. Large multi-national companies have entire departments dedicated to this discipline and some have individuals looking directly after each of theses sub-categories. But regardless of your corporate size, public relations or the more commonly referred to “PR” is a gold mine that you need to make a pillar of your marketing efforts. Common business the...

How does a drummer decide on which kit has his unique sound just waiting to be released?  We know it is a magical concoction of bearing edges, drum sizes, head selection, hoop types, tuning, wood types and shell construction that determines the overall growl of the perfect kit.  So what role does wood play in your drums sound, let’s dive in and find out. Back in the 1940/50’s most manufacturers used a 3-ply shell of mahogany and poplar.  Poplar is a fast growing white wood that features soft high and mid frequencies with pleasing warm lows. It is not a really hard wood and thus absorbed some of the offending harmonics. Mahogany is a dark reddish wood that was prized for both it’s cosmetic look and strong warm lows with punchy mids. Back in the day, it was inexpensive and relatively easy to get. It is a slow growing wood and has been over-cut and become endangered. The mahogany found in today’s drums is usually an Asian mahogany that is lighter in colour and le...

It frankly amazes me the number of drummers who have trouble tuning and the amount who have just given up! Go talk to your local club sound guy, he will confirm this universal problem. Many sound engineers don't even ask drummers to tune their kits any more. They just begin their drum mix by working the mixers EQ section looking to kill the ridiculous overtones and tighten up those drum sounds. If that doesn’t work, I have seem them replace the sound with one on their laptop, use the microphone to trigger the replacement sound and use only that.  Drummers who do this enough times find they have been replaced by a keyboard player, his laptop and a cheap keypad. Don't let this happen to you! Guys tuning is easy…now carefully come down off the ledge of that tall building… and let me help you find your righteous tone. Tuning, a Guide to Sonic Bliss Start with your smallest tom. It will have the fewest lugs and tuning rods and thus simplifies the process. First re...

The history of drum stick sizing is surprisingly interesting.  Do you wonder who came up with the odd 2B, 5A, 5B and 7A stick size designation and why they needed to be to add the extra A and B sizes to confuse us even more? Where did the 7B and 2A sizes go?  Back in the 1930’s, there were many stick sizes from size 2 to size 9 and the number represented the diameter or thickness of the stick. The letters designated the musical application the stick was to be used for. A thin “Acoustic” stick or “A” size, was meant for playing with small groups of un-amplified musicians, a medium sized “Band” or “B” sized stick was for playing with Big Band Jazz bands and a large “Street” or “S” size for playing with marching street bands full of brass. Back in the day, every small town had a local marching band that would march in local parades or play the open air band shell at the town park on a sunny Sunday afternoon. So, a 7, 8 or 9 diameter stick was too small to be used with a Big...

Shopping for a new kit can be exciting.  Choosing a brand, the colour, the number of drums, your hardware, pedals, cymbals... the selection and options seem endless. I have helped hundreds of drummers with their purchase over the years, but not one has ever asked me about bearing edges. I find this interesting because the type of bearing edge on your new kit has a huge impact on the sound of the drums.  Pearl and Yamaha in the last few years have begun to cut different bearing edges onto drums of different sizes. A rack tom under 14 inches will have sharp 45 degree bearing edges, while floor toms and kicks receive 30 degree bearing edges that have been well rounded. Other makers stay with the tried and true like Gretsch who have cut 30 degree bearing edges into all their lines for decades.  What impact do these different styles of bearing edges have on the sound of your drums? There are four basic types of bearing edges.  1. 45 degree angle - cut into ...