Marketing Magic to a Thumping Beat.

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...