As the Columbia-Poland World Cup match blared in the background, two Columbian football fans sat face to face in a Bogota restaurant, but they didn’t speak. Instead, one of the men used his hands to communicate every kick of the ball to his friend, who is both deaf and blind.
On stage with Max Kerman & Arkells before #ArkellsRally
By: W. Andrew Powell, The GATE
Last week, before Arkells took over Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton for their gigantic #ArkellsRally–the largest concert they have ever put on–Air Miles invited me to meet with frontman Max Kerman, and go behind-the-scenes with some lucky contest winners.
Kerman and the band are honestly some of the nicest people you could hope to meet. They’re the definition of the great, Canadian band, and the show was a huge hit. Touring the stadium with Kerman and the winners, we got a chance to see the space where the Hamilton Tiger-Cats work out and train, and then we went on stage for photos, and some time to hang out and chat with the band.
It was a lot of fun, not only checking out the workings of the stage and setup, but seeing the fans get to meet with the band.
Speaking with Kerman before the fans arrived, I asked him how it felt planning a concert like this. “It’s really exciting to be able to take on a project this big,” he said. “It’s overwhelming–it really is. I’ve been here for football games, but to see a stage here and all the flooring, it’s kind of breathtaking.”
I also asked Kerman about their upcoming fifth album, and what it has taken so far to make it a reality.
“A lot of conversations,” Kerman said. “You know, we go song-by-song, and each song kind of has it’s own flavour. Putting together a record is just a lot of little things, adding up all together… there’s a lot of things that need TLC, and we like every step of it. There’s like a pulse to it, I’d say. It’s like ‘Peope’s Champ’ has a pulse to it, which has been fun to play, and I think there’s some of that on the record.”
Now, if you’re wondering how you can get back stage with one of your favorite bands, Air Miles has an opportunity for you. This summer, Air Miles launched a special contest in partnership with Live Nation. The “______” with the band contest, is a chance for Air Miles Collectors to win exclusive, “humblebrag-worthy experiences” with artists in concert across Canada. To show their lucky winners a good time, they’ve partnered with Vance Joy, Arkells, Goo Goo Dolls, and Midland, for special experiences that range from meet and greets, backstage access, and even a helicopter ride.
There’s also a grand prize of two VIP tickets to Rockin’ River Music Festival, with lots of extra goodies.
You can get all the details on how you can enter at airmiles.ca/WithTheBand. Plus, the Air Miles Stage Pass is your chance to get tickets and music rewards and experiences, with points, and special giveaways.
Watch my interview with Max Kerman, and scroll down for my tour on stage, and back stage, with Arkells:
All photos & videos by W. Andrew Powell/The GATE.
Watch Frames of Western Fire and Greed in New Barney Bentall Video
Storytelling through song has never been a weak point for JUNO Award-winning Barney Bentall and his roster of releases. This is proven once again in this, his new single, “Don’t Wait For Me Marie” and its cinematic, century-swapping video — is out, check it below.
Between frames of fire and wild horses comes the tale of languished lust and Western greed, woven in a way only Bentall can deliver.
The song, of note, is one of many on The Drifter & The Preacher that Bentall says “ultimately wrote itself.
“There are times I look back and think, ‘well, that’s not where I thought this one was going to go,’” says Bentall. “With ‘Don’t Wait For Me Marie’ I thought, ‘I’m going to write a song about a guy leaving the Fraser Valley near Vancouver in the 1800s to look for gold in the Cariboo.’ I wanted it to be an uptempo bluegrass song because we were starting The High Bar Gang… I was very immersed in that style of music.
“Ultimately, it didn’t quite feel right so I decided to try the song with minor chords and an edgier feel. The feeling, subtext and meaning of the song did a one-eighty and I thought, ‘this was what I was looking for!’
“A song takes you where it wants to take you, if you are open and you surrender to those moments. I love the way music can do that to words.”
Arguably his most personal record to date, and highly anticipated following a five year recording hiatus, The Drifter & The Preacher landed October 2017 via True North Records. Stacked within lays the great paradox that is Bentall: a nomadic homebody with a musicality so innate, a musician and songwriter who is also a friend, father, brother, husband, and son… A man with a life lived.
“This was written for my father-in-law,” Bentall shares on this, his tenth studio album. “Bar none, one of the most interesting and intelligent people I have met.
“He taught me many valuable things and gave me the best friend I have. He died with his boots on at the age of ninety-three. I wrote this at my ranch shortly after on a star-studded night.”
The Drifter & The Preacher is available now.
Barney Bentall Tour Dates
June 29 @ Laketown Rock – Lake Cowichan, BC
June 30 @ Canadian Roots Celebration at the Banff Centre Shaw Amphitheatre – Banff, AB
July 1 @ Golden Spike Days at Rocky Point Park – Port Moody, BC*
July 7 @ Winnipeg Folk Fest – Winnipeg, MB
July 13 @ Oxford Stomp – Calgary, AB
August 11 @ Rock the Lake – Kelowna, BC*
August 16 @ Bayfield Town Hall – Bayfield, ON
August 18 @ ArtsFest – Waterdown, ON
September 9 @ SKOOKUM Festival – Vancouver, BC
September 13 @ Festival of Small Halls – Chaffey’s Lock, ON
September 14 @ Festival of Small Halls – Tweed, ON
September 15 @ CityFolk Festival – Ottawa, ON
October 28 @ Broadway Theatre – Saskatoon, SK+
+w/ Jim Cuddy
*Barney Bentall and The Legendary Hearts
Skittles Invites Canadians to #GIVEaDAM for Canada’s 151st Birthday
Skittles is celebrating the extraordinar – EH with the launch of a NEW Skittles Red & White Mix for Canada’s 151st birthday. The iconic candy has created a special summer mix of flavours that includes watermelon, white grape, peach, strawberry and cherry a year AFTER the country’s landmark birthday. It’s never too late to celebrate Canada’s big day with Skittles and nature.
But that’s not all.
On July 1st, Skittles will pay tribute to one of Canada’s most endearing symbols: The Beaver. For the first time ever, Canadians can tune in to watch a video stream of a man, dressed as a beaver, building a dam. That’s right. On Canada Day, there will be a man dressed head-to-tail in a beaver costume, in the wilderness, building a dam for the viewing pleasure of all Canadians. Each online view will help contribute towards Skittles donation* to the David Suzuki foundation showing that Canadians #GIVEaDAM about our national environment and the prosperity of the majestic beaver.
Viewers can witness the Skittles magic and help beavers by visiting skittlesgiveadam.ca. For never before seen footage, Canadians can tune in on July 1st at 1:51 p.m. EST to see what our Canadian “wildlife” are up to.
Skittles Red & White Mix is now available in stores, while supplies last. Product can be purchased at all major grocery retailers nationally at a suggested retail price of $3.59 (191g).
Watch The Replacements Do A Soundcheck From 1986
Check out The Replacements’ soundcheck at Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ on February 4, 1986. Tim, their first major label release and also the last album made by the original line-up of the band: guitarist Bob Stinson was kicked out of the band towards the end of 1986, had just came out 4 months earlier.
This is what it takes to put on a Metallica show
Metallica’s production crew Rob Koenig, Gene McAuliffe and Michael Petite talk about the visual system of the band’s WorldWired Tour at Olympiahalle München.
Second City Toronto and YMCA Academy to provide high school credit improv classes for teens with autism
The Second City Toronto is proud to be teaming up with The YMCA Academy to create a set of customized improv classes for Toronto high school students on the autism spectrum. The program will provide students from the YMCA Academy — an alternative high school for teenagers with learning disabilities — with a structured, professionally-led series of classes to help meet their Ontario high school credit requirements and subsequent graduation.
Throughout the second half of 2018, the Second City Training Centre will host four seven-week classes during school hours, with ten students per class. The sessions will be taught by the Second City Training Centre’s Cassie Barradas, a certified teacher with experience delivering improv to people of all abilities. The innovative method used in these classes has been featured in The Canadian Press and on CBC Radio.
Information About the YMCA Academy
The curriculum will enable students on the autism spectrum to complete the following high school credits: Drama grade 9-11, Integrated Arts grade 9-10, and Creating in the Arts grades 11-12. Over seven weeks, it will create a safe place for students of varying ages to explore the following topics through improv:
• Making choices
• Accepting and building on others’ ideas
• Exploring emotions and creativity
• Developing a positive attitude in class toward peers, teachers and the art form/process
• Heightening listening and focussing skills
The Second City Training Centre: Part of the iconic Second CIty comedy empire, The Second City Training Centre is the foremost school of improvisation-based arts in the world, offering classes for kids through seniors at every experience level. Currently enrolling more than 11,000 students annually at its facilities in Chicago, Toronto, Los Angeles, and online, the faculty is composed of working professionals in their areas of expertise and alums of The Second City. Past students of The Second City Training Center include Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Keegan-Michael Key, and many more comedy giants.
Guitarist Performs Classical Guitar Cover Of ‘Jurassic Park’ Theme Song While Wearing The Best Costume
And now, here’s Jurassic Park on guitar.
Penn & Teller Give A Lesson In Misdirection In Magic
The Longest-running Las Vegas act in history, Penn & Teller, impresses Jimmy Fallon and the Tonight Show audience with a vanishing chicken and a lot of misdirection.
Video: The Time Michael Jackson’s Friend Closed Down The Entire Mall So He Could Go Shopping
Michael Jackson’s friend who owned a mall had a section of the mall closed for a entire day so he could experience shopping without being attacked by fans. The day was complete with people who would pretend as if Michael Jackson was just another shopper, bringing some normalcy to the pop singer’s life.