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Toronto’s Alt-Folk Americana-Rockers LAMBLION Release New Single “Only The Brave”

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Toronto’s Alt-Folk Americana-Rockers LAMBLION Release New Single “Only The Brave”

Canadian duo LambLion step out in front with the release of their prophetic new single, “Only The Brave” — available now!

Circling the topics of life, death and redemption, “Only The Brave” comes alive with husband-and-wife duo — and esteemed musicians in their own right — Oliver and Danka Pigott and their signature enigmatic mix of alt-folk with Americana-rock undertones.

“We wrote this just before the pandemic hit,” Danka reflects on the track’s origins. “It turned out to be a call to action, especially in times like these.

“It was born almost effortlessly in the course of an hour in Marc’s studio,” she continues, speaking of Nashville-based producer Marc Copely (Bono, The Edge, Willie Nelson, Roseanne Cash, Joe Walsh). “Marc began to jam on the guitar and Oliver came in with a vocal melody. I then joined in with the harmony and soon the hook emerged.

“We all knew it was perfect.”

“What’s interesting is that, as we navigate these challenging times, the lyrics take on new and unexpected meaning daily,” Oliver shares. “It’s also a song we play our 16-month old twin boys frequently… It makes them smile and dance every time!”

LambLion’s visual for the track is two-fold, the first being a music video directed by Taras Lavren, featuring scenes of a desolate bike ride through Toronto under lockdown. The second is a mini-documentary about brave individuals from Toronto and New York City.

“There are courageous people everywhere,” Danka says. “Perhaps this global crisis has helped remind us of that.”

While as spouses the pair are well familiar, their creative iteration as LambLion first entered the scene in 2019. They draw from early lives spent in Portugal and Serbia, and soundscape songs that offer lyrical abstraction into otherworldly harmony and melody. “It’s extreme vocal highs and lows, often transcending traditional male-female dynamics,” says Oliver of their sound.

Their earlier 2020 release “War” was produced by Thomas McKay (Joydrop), and stands as an iconic anthem showcasing a gang vocal-driven chorus and marching drums courtesy of renowned percussionist Tony Rabalao. Its video — their debut — highlights the stunning talents of ballerina Sarah Murphy-Dyson performing on an abandoned Cherry Beach during the earlier stages of social distancing.

OLIVER PIGOTT is a musician, actor and songwriter. He’s written hundreds of songs in his career, toured and recorded worldwide and acted on both stage and screen. Beginning with a BMG Canada publishing deal in 2002, Oliver’s time in the entertainment business has seen him as frontman for projects of varying genres, from folk/pop to country, electronic, soul and hard rock. He’s worked with industry luminaries like Nick Tauber (Thin Lizzy, UFO), Doc McKinney (The Weeknd, Esthero) and Dean McTaggart (Wynonna Judd, Amanda Marshall) and recorded in premier studios, including Abbey Road in London, England and CBC Studios in Toronto, Canada. He also appeared as a finalist, alongside his brother Sebastian, on the closing season of Canadian Idol. The two went on to perform and record internationally as The Pigott Brothers, writing two songs for the CBC series Being Erica, in which Sebastian starred. Oliver’s voice was featured in the song “Elevator”, from the hit Family Channel series The Next Step. He starred in the feature film Lost Angels (which also featured his music), as well as the short film Hum. Oliver currently spends his time between Toronto and Nashville writing and collaborating with other artists, including his wife in LambLion.

DANKA PIGOTT graduated Summa Cum Laude with an Honours BFA in Theatre Arts from Drake University. She earned music diplomas in piano and voice from The Royal Conservatory of Music. The last decade has been spent performing, directing and producing theatrical productions in the US and Canada. Most recently, she served as the co-artistic director of Sterling Theatre Company in Toronto. During her 3 years in the company, Danka was involved in over 30 theatrical productions. If you happen to be a science fiction fan, you may recognize her as Carleen in season one of Syfy’s Killjoys. Danka also loves to get behind the camera. Her music video, “Double Meaning” was nominated for best music video at TIFA – Toronto Independent Film Awards. She has filmed music videos for Toronto indie Rock band The Celebration Army, and for Vancouver-based teen heartthrob Tristan Thompson. Danka spends her time working on music with her husband Oliver and raising their twins sons, Iggy and Phin.

“Only The Brave” is available now.

Here’s The Trailer for Arkansas Starring Vince Vaughn, Liam Hemsworth, Clark Duke, John Malkovich and Vivica A. Fox

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Here’s The Trailer for Arkansas Starring Vince Vaughn, Liam Hemsworth, Clark Duke, John Malkovich and Vivica A. Fox

In Clark Duke’s directorial debut, Kyle (Liam Hemsworth) and Swin (Clark Duke) live by the orders of an Arkansas-based drug kingpin named Frog (Vince Vaughn), whom they’ve never met. Posing as junior park rangers by day, they operate as low-level drug couriers by night under the watchful eye of Frog’s proxies (John Malkovich and Vivica A. Fox). Swin then settles into his day job by taking up a relationship with Johnna (Eden Brolin) against orders to blend in while Kyle continues to question his night job by trying to figure out who Frog really is. Their world is then upended after one too many inept decisions, and Kyle, Swin, and Johnna find themselves directly in Frog’s crosshairs, who mistakenly sees them as a threat to his empire. Based on John Brandon’s best-selling book of the same name, ARKANSAS weaves together three decades of Deep South drug trafficking to explore the cycle of violence that turns young men into criminals, and old men into legends.

Directed by and starring Clark Duke with Liam Hemsworth, John Malkovich, Vivica A. Fox, and Vince Vaughn, Arkansas will have a limited theater release and begin streaming on May 1, 2020.

Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” On Slide Guitar

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Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” On Slide Guitar

Here’s Dan Dubuque cleverly covering Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” on a Weissenborn Slide Guitar, with the growl intact.

This Guitarist’s Performs Eminem’s ‘Real Slim Shady’ In Fingerstyle Technique

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This Guitarist’s Performs Eminem’s ‘Real Slim Shady’ In Fingerstyle Technique

Alexandr Misko’s transformation of Eminem’s Real Slim Shady is a case of patience and perseverance to give this song an awesome updated version.

1-minute tip for artists : Radio

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1-minute tip for artists : Radio

Canada’s radio age began May 20, 1920, when members of the Royal Society of Canada gathered in a ballroom at Ottawa’s Château Laurier hotel to hear a singer performing live, 200 km away in Montréal. Within two decades, millions were listening and radio was reshaping this country.

A few decades later, it blew my mind, too.

5 Essentials of an Artist Resume

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There is a difference between an artist and artiste. An artiste is a performer. One who can showcase their abilities to a targeted audience. Putting the shoes on as an artiste while making your resume can dramatically enhance its value. 

Often the idea for a masterpiece comes from within, the same goes for making an artist resume. Consider it a masterpiece and include the following essential elements in your resume to help you along the way. 

Professional Experience 

A compilation of your professional work goes in this section. A well-crafted artist resume contains a professional experience section that can illustrate your contributions & accomplishments to the recruiter. To do that, include the following tweaks in your professional experience section and see how it changes the outlook of your resume. 

    • Bucketing: Try to club 3-4 points under relevant sub-headings in the form of functions. For example, ‘Designing & Animation Development’, etc. 
    • Bolding: Incorporate the habit of bolding important figures and keywords throughout your resume.
    • STAR Format: It stands for star-task-action-result. Using this format will help you bring forward your contribution/achievement in each bullet point.

 

  • Power Verbs: Power/action verbs help you showcase the action you perform. For example, to build a better impact, you can replace “responsible for” with “overseeing”. 
  • Verbs Form: Make sure the verb form is correct with respect to the dates. Use the present participle of a verb for points in your current profile & projects and past form everywhere else. 

 

Exhibition 

Exhibition records are one of the most important aspects to an artist’s resume. Be it a solo/group exhibition, exhibition records are more important than your awards and other achievements. 

Here’s how you can reflect them in a resume: 

Solo Exhibition | The plight of the proletariat | Tom Cook Exhibition Gallery | Mar ‘14  

Group Exhibition | To dream in capitalism | Theresa Maybelline Art Faculty |  Oct ‘14

 

Summary 

The time that goes into deciding the fate of a resume is about 7 seconds. Crafting your summary right can amazingly increase the chances of you getting shortlisted. In the summary section, you should list the factors on which you can provide value to an organization. 

The following tips will help you construct an eye-catching summary: 

  • Write it in a paragraph form that is restricted to just 3-4 lines.
  • Do not just list out your skills, mention how you can use those skills to help the organization.
  • Include the number of years of experience you possess when starting the summary. For example, +5 years experienced Graphic Design Artist… 
  • Write an objective statement if you do not carry any working experience. 

 

Education

Perhaps possessing the creative component is not the only thing that is essential for an artist. Artists have a dire regime of modules to go through that makes them perfect. Here’s how you can correctly display your education section in your resume: 

  • Write all your degrees in the reverse chronological order, i.e., the most recent degree on top then go backward. 
  • Do not write “Present”, or “Expected soon”, as the date of graduation. Just write the expected month, year of your graduation. 
  • Mention the location of your university at the end and do not use abbreviations for your university’s name. 

For example: 

Bachelor of Fine Arts | Berkeley University | Pasadena, CA | Mar ‘09 – Apr ‘13

Key Essentials 

In the current climate, the intricacies of including valuable information in resumes are very important for artists:

 

  • Include the grants and awards you have received in your educational and professional journey. 
  • A published review of your artwork can speed up your chances of getting shortlisted. 
  • Make a stunning portfolio or an Instagram account of your artwork. 

 

  • Mention all the residencies you have been on and scholarships, commissions, etc.
  • List out all the workshops you have attended and organized. 
  • Mention your collaborative projects to bring forth your abilities to work in a team environment. 
  • Avoid including full-stops as points in a resume are not complete English sentences.

Hamilton, ON’s Alt Rockers Bryce Clifford & Brother Superior Take In Some “Second Hand Smoke”

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Hamilton, ON’s Alt Rockers Bryce Clifford & Brother Superior Take In Some “Second Hand Smoke”

Bryce Clifford & Brother Superior may perform their unique brand of alt rock Americana with a ‘wheels may come off’ passion and intensity… But they have a bonafide, veritable ‘love song’ album on their hands with forthcoming release, Rebounder — and its premiere single “Second Hand Smoke.”

Just don’t say that within ear’s reach of them.

With added influences of bluegrass, honky tonk, post-punk and old school soul woven in, the album sews in a bow the Hamilton, Ontario-based frontman’s storied 10-year sojourn to Austin, Texas and back — complete with love gained, lost, and reconciled.

“The song reflects the better times you had with somebody you possibly shouldn’t miss,” Clifford details of the new track. “Maybe it didn’t turn out right, and maybe it was bad for you, even, but you went in eyes open and willing to accept the risk.

“It’s about throwing caution to the wind and trading your better angels for the experience.”

The single is the first to land ahead of Bryce Clifford & Brother Superior’s third album release, Rebounder, set for Summer 2020. “The story behind this album is a difficult one to talk about,” Clifford laments. “Not because of the hard feelings behind the breakup, but for the regrettably trite scenario…

“I seethe at the idea of being lumped in with lame ‘singer/songwriter seclusion’ stories,” he continues, half-groaning, half-laughing. “In all seriousness, though, I hope it isn’t filed under ‘pain makes art,’ but something more like ‘art as survival.’”

Noted.

That said, some themes write themselves…

“The songs were written in a quick blast over the two weeks following a breakup,” he confides. “It was a classic case of a ‘cheatin’ heart’ causing me to irrationally drop everything I had going for me in Austin — a good job, a good apartment, good friends — and get out of town the following day.

“Feeling as though the bottom had dropped out, I drove north to Canada with no plan except to mine the circumstances for a collection of songs.”

It had been ten years since Bryce Clifford & Brother Superior’s debut LP, Hail Tapes (2010), and another four since the sophomore EP, Whatever Coach (2016). The band has toured, performed and been featured extensively, including at or on NXNE, MTV, CBS, The Syfy Channel, Bravo Canada, The CW, and in the award-winning film, Here We Are.

Armed with experience, the 2,500-odd kilometre drive back to Canada confirmed to Clifford two things: he had a record and he couldn’t let it get away.

“I was afraid the adrenaline would wear off, so I worked on those songs nonstop for the first several weeks. Like a common cold, I knew I’d get better so I had to chase the ideas while I was still on the bad side of symptoms.

“I set up recording gear in an unused RV my family had been storing on some empty farmland near London, Ontario. It was cold; I was completely surrounded by snow-covered cornfields, but it was perfect for silence and experimentation.

“Based on the overwhelming feelings I had, and my racing mind, the goal was to antidote a heart in free fall,” he continues. “This was neuron-firing creativity that had a way of absorbing the letdown, almost like a built-in defence mechanism.

“I relied on that.”

The result is a 12-track tome to a relationship that was, wasn’t and could be again. “I think the songs do a good job of reflecting the mood swings in a person when the bottom drops out,” Clifford says of the release. “It documents a sort of manic confusion, and tangents from disbelief, to loss, to a ‘rock and roll’ defiance.

“The songs don’t wallow too deep for too long, either,” he adds. “They reach back in time for the bright moments, all with a narrator struggling to get the words right.

The album’s early pre-release success includes features at Austin’s DIY Conference, Toronto’s Indie Week and filming at YouTube’s headquarters; Bryce Clifford & Brother Superior are set to be CD Baby Canada’s Artist of the Month this August.

“It worked,” Clifford adds, revealing another early marker for Rebounder. “The tunes were slowly shared with the woman in question and I’m pretty sure they played a part in our reconciliation.

“Heartbreak is universal, and everyone gets their turn. I just feel lucky to have had a place to put it.”

“Second Hand Smoke” is available now.

Rebounder is available Summer 2020.

 

Tortured Soul & Toronto’s Lisa Shaw Release 🔥 NEW Track “I Wish You Were Here”

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Tortured Soul & Toronto’s Lisa Shaw Release 🔥 NEW Track “I Wish You Were Here”

Tortured Soul have broken free from the DJ booth once again to bring their 100% live modern, deep, soulful house music collective’s signature sound to a new track, “I Wish You Were Here” featuring top Toronto-talent and scene mainstay Lisa Shaw — available now!

Likened to “The Roots of house music,” the electrifyingly dynamic co-op of international musicians unite in groove-centred rhythms helmed by frontman John-Christian Urich.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=PAUiFb4WgDc&list=RDAMVMPAUiFb4WgDc

For its part, “I Wish You Were Here” serves up a deep house love duet that sees Shaw and Urich sweetly serenading each other with a promise of blissfully reuniting soon. Behind the scenes, the collaboration is especially notable in that, while the pair have orbited the same scene for years, this is their first time their paths have crossed on a track.

Better late than never; the chemistry is undeniable.

“I’ve been friends with Lisa for years,” Urich says. “We came up playing the same clubs around New York City, and then the U.S., and then around the world. We have lots of mutual friends and we’ve even co-billed on some events, hung out backstage for drinks and late night hangs after gigs. The works!

“We’ve always had a great rapport, and I’ve always loved her voice and records. I guess we’ve always just been busy doing our own things and — for no good reason — we never collaborated on any music together.

“One day about a year ago, I started writing this song,” he continues. “It had a classic ‘Tortured Soul’ vibe but I was like, ‘this song is a duet and Lisa Shaw is the right person to sing it with me.’

“It was a moment of pure clarity.”

The rest, as they say, is history; Shaw visited LA to record in Urich’s studio and the results left them both wondering why it hadn’t happened sooner. “It was so fun, and I’m really happy and grateful with the way it turned out.

“Lisa lays down an incredible, unique vibe that lifts the song to the next level.”

Tortured Soul is available from the TSTC Records imprint on the Canadian based Slammin Media label distributed worldwide by Believe Distribution.

Canadian Alt-Folk Rocker Oliver James Brooks Gets Intimate, Personal on NEW Acoustic Album, I Don’t But I Will

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Canadian Alt-Folk Rocker Oliver James Brooks Gets Intimate, Personal on NEW Acoustic Album, I Don’t But I Will

Toronto alt-folk rocker Oliver James Brooks lays bare his personal state of mind this past winter in his new acoustic, live off the floor album, I Don’t But I Will — available now.

“It’s an intimate, acoustic-only album that was… Born out of necessity,” Brooks offers. “There’s something very personal and powerful — and a little scary — when you go into the studio, let everything out from inside, and leave with something that ultimately timestamps your feelings at that exact moment.

“When it came to the recording process, I wanted to ensure everything captured was completely honest and genuine. I didn’t want what I was feeling to hide behind any special effects, or anything like that.

“It’s the reason why I recorded the album live off the floor,” he continues, noting the February 2nd, 2020 recording date at Toronto’s Berkeley Sound with Jack Emblem (engineering, mixing) and Joāo Carvalho (mastering) on deck. “No over-dubbing, just two microphones, one guitar, and one harmonica.”

I Don’t But I Will follows this year’s single release, “Set Free” — including its message for the masses that continues to be ever-present. “That song was written in response to the current state of our planet. The turmoil in which we live has reached an unfathomable level… Some days it becomes unbearable to even exist.

“It was on one of those very days that ‘Set Free’ was written.”

Oliver James Brooks first set the scene with his 2019 take-notice debut, A Turn in the Bend. Written and mostly recorded while living in Brooklyn, New York, the eight-track LP quickly cemented the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s ability to capture and creatively express nuance in an intuitive, layered and carefully considered way.

“A Turn in the Bend was inspired by the prevalent contrast between two landscapes: Brooklyn and the small town in Ontario where I grew up,” he recalls. “When it comes to the recording process — including I Don’t But I Will — capturing sounds that are unrehearsed and unexpected is just as important as the words themselves.

“It’s what I feel gives music impulse and emotion.

“A song or album can easily lose its meaning if the sound becomes too clinical or robotic, so everything is recorded with great care in order to maintain its originality and realness.”

I Don’t But I Will is available now.

Three-Year-Old Girl Performs a GREAT Cover of Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name”

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Three-Year-Old Girl Performs a GREAT Cover of Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name”

Audrey, who is just three-years-old, lives in Labuan, Malaysia with her family, filmed a video with her jUjang Ijon in a great acoustic cover of Rage Against the Machine’s Killing In the Name.

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That Eric Alper

Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.

Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com

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