Here’s a timelapse of setting up the biggest drum kit of the world at Turock in Essen, Germany. Since the venue is closed for their regular business (concerts and club nights) due to the Corona pandemic, exhibitions are fine (with masks and keeping distance!)
What‘s there to do when concerts won’t take place and musicians aren’t allowed to play shows anymore due to the Coronavirus pandemic? Well, the guys from Gatetohell.net decided to build the biggest drumkit of the world and Jürgen ‘Ventor’ Reil from Kreator dropped by to see how it plays.
SiriusXM Canada, the country’s leading audio entertainment company, today announced Iceberg (ch. 758 online) has returned to the lineup to bring listeners Canada’s biggest rock hits from the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000’s.
Iceberg features the best in Canadian rock music from Neil Young and The Guess Who to Blue Rodeo and Alanis Morissette. Starting on October 1 at 12 am ET with replays throughout the week, the channel will countdown the 50 Quintessential Canadian Rock Songs, from classic to contemporary, including commentary from special guests. Speaking about their iconic music, as well as other influential artists on the countdown, Iceberg will feature guests including: Randy Bachman of The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Rob Baker of The Tragically Hip, Sass Jordan and Colin and John-Angus MacDonald of The Trews.
“We’re so happy to be bringing back Iceberg for all those loyal listeners who missed hearing Canada’s best rock music from across the decades,” said Jeff Leake, Director, Music Programming, SiriusXM Canada. “And to kick things off with an epic countdown featuring our biggest homegrown bands and artists through the years is the perfect way to celebrate the channel’s return.”
Iceberg and the 50 Quintessential Canadian Rock Songs countdown are available through the SiriusXM app on mobile phones, tablets and computers, as well as on a wide variety of connected devices in the home including smart TVs, devices with Amazon Alexa or the Google Assistant, Apple TV, PlayStation, Roku, Sonos speakers and more. The SiriusXM app also offers additional features such as SiriusXM video, Personalized Stations Powered by Pandora that listeners can curate themselves, and an On Demand library with more than 10,000 hours of archived shows, exclusive music performances, interviews and audio documentaries.
Foo Fighters are taking literally no time to bask in the ecstatic reception to their November 7 Saturday Night Live debut performance of “Shame Shame,” the first taste of the 10th FF album, Medicine at Midnight, due out February 5, 2021 on Roswell Records/RCA Records—well, maybe a few seconds, after all Entertainment Weekly did call it a “hypnotic earworm,” Stereogum lauded its “refreshing twist on their signature sound,” and Billboard noted “a groovy, sexy beat”… and that’s quite enough of that because…
On Saturday, November 14th at 5pm Pacific Time, Foo Fighters will be regrouping to mount a full on rock invasion of your living room, when they play a full set streamed live from the Roxy in Hollywood for any and all who buy a ticket for $15 here. If you can’t be in front of a TV, tablet, phone, laptop etc. at exactly that time, don’t worry: Ticket buyers will have access to replay the full stream for 48 hours from the start of the show.
Foo Fighters’ Roxy streaming concert event is brought to you in part by the good people at Coors Light, and will feature innovative new technology custom created for this one of a kind Foo Fighters show: Beer’s Eye View. For 25 years, Coors Light has been on stage – and in hand – with Foo Fighters. Now for the first time, Beer’s Eye View will take fans behind the scenes backstage, into the thick of the action onstage, and to the best seat in the house (the VIB a/k/a Very Important Beer section)—all from the unique perspective of a live “Can Cam” attached to Dave’s own Coors Light.
In other boundary breaking Foo Fighters visual news, the official video for “Shame Shame” is out. Directed by Paola Kudacki and co-starring Dave Grohl and Sofia Boutella, “Shame Shame” renders in stunning black and white an interpretation of a recurring dream that’s haunted Grohl since his childhood days.
A portion of proceeds from Foo Fighters’ Roxy streaming show will go to Sweet Relief. Founded in 1993 by Victoria Williams, Sweet Relief Musicians Fund provides financial assistance to all types of career musicians and music industry workers who are struggling to make ends meet while facing illness, disability, or age-related problems. Sweet Relief is providing immediate assistance to anyone in the music industry who has been financially impacted by COVID-19. Applications are being accepted now, please apply for help or DONATE if you can at SweetRelief.org.
RBC announced Round 2 of First Up with RBCxMusic, with a planned commitment into the new year. First Up will continue to spotlight emerging Canadian musicians and recording artists and help support homegrown talent through the challenging circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the second round, 27 emerging musicians and recording artists along with nine alumni from Round 1 will be selected to participate. Each artist will receive a $1,000 stipend to perform a 10-minute virtual set hosted on the artist’s personal Instagram channel, with media and promotional support from RBCxMusic, and networking and mentorship opportunities with industry experts. A schedule of each week’s musical performances will be shared on the RBCxMusic Instagram page every Wednesday, with performances taking place Friday through Saturday evenings, starting November 27.
“Music has the unique power to bring people together. By extending First Up with RBCxMusic, we are proud to provide emerging Canadian talent with a platform to share their music and create connections with their audience during the pandemic,” said Matt McGlynn, Vice-President, Brand Marketing, RBC. “Working alongside likeminded partners such as Live Nation Canada and The Remix Project makes our program stronger and ultimately more meaningful to the lives of the emerging talent we support.”
For Round 2, First Up is excited to partner with notable Canadian artist ambassadors who will help build awareness of the program and share their own experiences in the music industry. Artist ambassadors include singer-songwriter Ali Gatie, who has exceeded a billion streams in total across platforms, including his Music Canada Certified 3x Platinum single “It’s You”, and R&B duo DVSN, who released an album earlier this year featuring Jessie Reyez. Tenille Arts, who was an insightful mentor for Round 1 artists, will be returning as an artist ambassador, bringing her country songwriting expertise to the program. Her single “Everybody Knows Everybody” is approaching the Top 10 on the Canadian Country charts.
“Giving back and investing in what’s next has always been our thing!” said DVSN. “First Up with RBCxMusic is helping upcoming artists during these crazy times and we’re excited to support them!”
Exciting new program offerings have been added to the second round of the series, including a partnership with The Remix Project – an organization created to foster the artistic talents and endeavours of youth from marginalized and underserved communities. The partnership will bring to life virtual community workshops that will provide access to notable industry leaders, with special guest speakers to be announced. These workshops will include a series of moderated discussions for both Remix students, the First Up with RBCxMusic roster and its alumni.
First Up with RBCxMusic is open to Canadian recording artists and musicians between the ages 18 and 35, who are in the early stages of their career and seek primary income from their music. Along with receiving funding and promotional support, recipients will have access to mentorship and networking opportunities with renowned Canadian artists through RBC’s partnership with Live Nation Canada. Applications will open on November 10 at 10AM EST and close on November 22, 2020 at 5PM EST.
First Up with RBCxMusic is part of RBC’s ongoing commitment to supporting emerging creative artists through the RBC Emerging Artists Project. Since 2015, over 25,000 alumni have been supported by the RBC Emerging Artists Project, with support from the RBC Foundation totaling over $8 million each year to hundreds of arts organizations across Canada.
Saint John, NB folk artist Austin Eatman delivers a new video for his breakthrough single “Walking Paranoia,” the latest from his debut album Broken Radio — all available now.
The video is a live pull from Eatman’s EP release party at Peppers Pub and quickly confirms why the Saint John, New Brunswick-based artist has been a fast-rising fixture on the local scene; his distinct alt folk style rich with melody and charm draw from the likes of his inspiration from John Prine to Jack White, while remaining decidedly all his own.
“‘Walking Paranoia’ is one of my personal favourites from the album,” Eatman shares of the introductory six-track EP. “This album started out as a wedding… Well, that is to say it started as a wedding invitation.
“I had toured as an opener with The Adam Washburn Band and, after a set in St Andrews, the bass player — Keith Whipple — mentioned he had really enjoyed my style of songs,” he continues. “He mentioned he was getting married soon and asked if I would play my songs for the reception.
“I had assumed it was a drunken promise and he had no intention of following up, which was one of many false assumptions I would make throughout this process… Fast forward a few months, I’ve played the wedding, and Keith reached out to tell me he’s building a studio with his friend Derek Hilchie and would love to have me as their first recording artist.
“The next few months proved far more strenuous and transformative than I had assumed,” Eatman recalls of the recording process. “From the start, I knew who I wanted to play on the recording — throughout my years of playing in bars and meeting fellow musicians, I had found kindred spirits that would add the necessary meat to the bones of songs I had written.”
The lineup would come to include Joel Arsenault on drums, Jarrett Gautreau on guitar, Chloe Squance on violin and viola, and Whipple, as it would turn out, on bass; Hilchie is the release’s lead sound engineer. “The end result was an EP that encompassed my need for an album that had an ‘in your living room’ sound that was combined with a blend of musical perspectives from insanely talented individuals.”
Kitchener, ON’s alt country-rock artist Matthew Burkhart is basking in the warmth of Slow Burn, his artist’s debut album, available now.
“I’m the only one in my family with a musical bone,” Burkhart offers. “I had to be making noise at all times. Music has always helped me channel my streams of consciousness and tell stories.”
Having taken his turn playing in bands and performing live, the choice to embark on a solo offering was both a creative necessity and fitting step for the multi-talented singer/songwriter. It came together quickly, too — the seeds and sparks of each song aligning just right.
“I wrote Slow Burn during my two-week quarantine in mid-March,” Burkhart recalls of the album’s initial process. “I had taken a trip with my family down to Scottsdale, Arizona over March Break which was right as the pandemic really started raging; it was strange seeing that happen in real-time in a foreign country.
“The day after we arrived back in Toronto, the borders closed,” he continues. “I received word about having to quarantine and, all of a sudden, had two weeks of solitude to write about everything.”
The result is a seamless synergy of music and words sheathed within a six-track EP.
Lyrically, Slow Burn journeys a variety of aspects — from finding new love in “Good Place to Start,” to pushing through life with your inner voice in “Back Down the Road,” to “Wind Song,” rife with social commentary touching on economic oppression and the current societal and political status quo.
From there, Burkhart’s rock-driven track “A Place in My Mind” touches on acknowledging and removing a toxic state of mind, while the subtle and more melancholy “No Better Time Than Now” perfectly punctuates his expansive sonic range. “Volcano” is a metaphoric exploration into the powerful feeling of allowing yourself to love again.
“These songs are about finding the truth about how I feel right now,” Burkhart says. “It’s never been easier to get dragged down by simply observing the world around us; the longer this goes on, the heavier the weight is on everyone.
“I had a lot on my mind after witnessing the pandemic’s breakout the way that I had,” he continues. “I had also found a new love in my life, and it was a connection that was tough to be away from for that many weeks.
“All of these things came out and it was nice to allow myself the creative freedom to put pen to paper. That time gave me a chance to filter my thoughts and ideas into melodies and words, and was incredibly liberating.”
If the album was inspired by events that transpired around COVID-19, it’s fitting it was recorded within the parameters of it as well. “Last December I had approached Brandon Fehderau about recording my first single, ’Unaware,’” Burkhart explains of connecting with the Kitchener-based producer in 2019. “I loved his spontaneous approach to recording without sacrificing the integrity of the song, so I reached out again about recording Slow Burn.
“We had pre-production meetings over Zoom and it was definitely different, but ended up being more efficient than spending an afternoon or day in the studio. The whole EP was recorded in three days, with Brandon taking up the rhythm section duties, leaving me with the guitar and vocals.
“It was incredible how smooth the whole process was, and I credit that to both Brandon and I being super prepared and working with intention.
“This album is a labour of love, and something I knew I needed to get out to people.”
Topping more than 2+ Million plays across platforms, award-winning Toronto’s electro chill-pop artist Mauve delivers a rush of synth-pop grooves in her newest single, “Right” — available now.
“I wanted this song to bring out the feeling like you’re under the glimmering lights at a party,” she muses. “Even if it’s a self-isolation party…
“There’s a lot of uncertainty going on in the world this year, but the message from this song is all about that person who is a much-needed balm to those stresses,” she continues. “‘Right’ reflects the freedom and fun of not having to go about the serious stuff alone because this person is by your side, and gleeful intoxication in connecting with that special someone as they help you see the better things in life.”
With continued support from Medium, CBC Music, Virgin Radio, Sirius XM, MediaPro Music, Spotify’s hottest playlists, and more, the disco-influenced and retro-pop revival complements Mauve’s growing body of work brimming with the Toronto-area singer, songwriter and producer’s signature smooth vocals and uplifting, melodic bops.
Celebrating the release of her most recent EP, 2019’s Palette, a series of follow-up singles — including this year’s “Must Be” and “Out of Nowhere” — she also took top prize, winning the 2019 InterContinental Music Award for ‘Best of North America.’
Her releases have been featured in and on, but not limited to, NBC-2, FOX40 News, ABC7 News, CBC Music, 107.3 Virgin Radio, Buzz Music LA, Talk About Pop Music, WFMZ-TV 69, Best Kept Montreal, Tinnitist, KOTV-TV CBS-6, IndieCan Radio on SiriusXM, MediaPro Music, Beat Lounge, Canadian Beats, Cashbox Canada, The Girls at the Rock Show, Daily Herald, 100FM, CHUO FM, and more. A frequent live performer, she has taken the stage at events such as YOUTH DAY Global at Yonge-Dundas Square, and the 2020 Toronto Music Expo.
One of Canada’s most prolific guitarists Steve Hill is taking audiences along on his Desert Trip with the release of his latest album, and single “Rain” — available now.
A multi-talented instrumentalist with a JUNO, eight Maple Blues Awards and well over 2,500 live concerts notched on his axe, it was a previous solo sojourn into the dusty, dusky wide open that would inspire and transpire into most of this year’s release.
“In the fall of 2016, I went to California with some friends to attend the Desert Trip Festival in Coachella,” Hill recalls. “I had an amazing time while I was there and decided to hang around LA a little longer.
“After a couple of days in the city, I felt an urge to move and a need to explore,” he continues. “I rented a camper van and criss-crossed the state for about three weeks.
“I bought a guitar, too, and wrote some tunes at night while camping in Death Valley, Big Sur, Yosemite, San Rafael, and many other wild places.
“The world has become a very different place since then,” Hill considers. “Somehow, though, these songs make more sense to me lately. They’re a journey through my state of mind at the time, and maybe a foretelling of the way I feel now.
“There’s a few vamped-up oldies on there as well,” he reveals. “It’s as if they had been written on the same trip… I hope they bring others a little joy and comfort, too, in these troubled times.”
Now 27 years and millions of streams into his storied career, Hill has performed alongside the likes of Ray Charles, B.B. King, and ZZ Top, has taken the stage with Kent Nagano and the Montreal Symphonic Orchestra, performed at some of the country’s biggest music festivals, and dabbled in every genre from rock, to country, to folk, and back — all while fusing it with his first and foremost love, the blues.
A multi-nominee across his previous releases, The One Man Blues Rock Band (2018), Solo Recordings, Vol.’s 1 (2012), 2 (2014), 3 (2016), The Damage Done (2009), Devil at My Heels (2007), and Domino (2007), Steve Hill has won a JUNO Award for Blues Album of the Year, the Memphis International Blues Challenge for Best Self-Produced CD, and eight Maple Blues Awards — including three Electric Act of the Year Awards, two Entertainer of the Year Awards, two Guitarist of the Year Awards, and an Album of the Year Award.
Long known for his extensive breadth of sonic skill, earlier this year his outfit Steve Hill & The Devil Horns released “All About The Love” — a rollicking musical mashup of 70s rock mixed with 60s gospel and soul.
Do You Feel Like I Do? is the incredible story of Peter Frampton’s positively resilient life and career told in his own words for the first time. His monumental album Frampton Comes Alive! spawned three top-twenty singles and sold eight million copies the year it was released (more than seventeen million to date), and it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in January 2020.
Frampton was on a path to stardom from an early age, first as the lead singer and guitarist of the Herd and then as cofounder — along with Steve Marriott — of one of the first supergroups, Humble Pie. Frampton was part of a tight-knit collective of British ’60s musicians with close ties to the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and the Who. This led to Frampton playing on George Harrison’s solo debut, All Things Must Pass, as well as to Ringo Starr and Billy Preston appearing on Frampton’s own solo debut. By age twenty-two, Frampton was touring incessantly and finding new sounds with the talk box, which would become his signature guitar effect.
Frampton remembers his enduring friendship with David Bowie. Growing up as schoolmates, crossing paths throughout their careers, and playing together on the Glass Spider Tour, the two developed an unshakable bond. Frampton also shares fascinating stories of his collaborative work with Harry Nilsson, Stevie Wonder, B. B. King, and members of Pearl Jam. He reveals both the blessing and curse of Frampton Comes Alive!, opening up about becoming the cover boy he never wanted to be, his overcoming sub-stance abuse, and how he has continued to play and pour his heart into his music despite an inflammatory muscle disease and his retirement from the road.
Peppered throughout his narrative is the story of his favorite guitar, the Phenix, which he thought he’d lost in a fiery plane crash in 1980. But in 2011, it mysteriously showed up again — saved from the wreckage. Frampton tells of that unlikely reunion here in full for the first time, and why the miraculous reappearance is emblematic of his life and career as a quintessential artist.
International award-winning multimedia artist, culture producer, and social entrepreneur Zahed Sultan has reimagined a 70s disco classic with a personal connection in this, his new release — “Layl” is available now.
Originally “Do You Love Me,” a famous Lebanese song from the 70s by the Bendaly Family, the track has been reframed as a cinematic piece and placed in a more melancholic and somber space.
Featuring spirally vocals, deep synths, and rich textures from the violin, Sultan’s spin lends the gem greater meaning through its haunting music video. “I expanded on its themes of love and loss,” he shares. “It felt particularly fitting in light of the tragic explosion in Beirut, and the crippling of its creative community.”
In addition to the song sparking his creative inspiration amidst the COVID-19 lockdown, Sultan hosts a personal connection in “Layl” through the original version’s music video. “It was shot in Kuwait on the Waterfront,” he explains. “That location was a project designed by my late father, Ghazi Sultan.”
The release of “Layl” marks a new path for Zahed Sultan as he dedicates himself to rethinking Arab culture through music and multimedia performance; his work frequently recaptures nostalgia to craft a sound all his own.
Currently based in London, the award-winning multimedia artist of Kuwaiti-Indian heritage has had his music licensed for television and film syncs, Sultan’s entire ethos orbits the concept of community through social impact programs and collaborative arts projects — including 2018’s project exploring the cultural bridge between Jamaica and Kuwait via Bob Marley’s Tuff Gong Studio, Vibrations — EP.
