The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) announced today that due to a booking conflict, JUNO Songwriters’ Circle co-presented by SOCAN & Yamaha Canada Music in association with the Canadian Music Publishers Association (CMPA), will now take place in Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre. Originally booked for the NAC Theatre, the move now opens up more tickets to what was a sold out show. New block of tickets go on-sale this Friday March 24 at 10am. Tickets are available for $39.50, $49.50 and $59.50 (plus taxes and service fees), through www.ticketmaster.ca, the National Arts Centre Box Office or by phone at 1-888-991-2787.
The 2017 JUNO Award nominees set to perform at this year’s event include 2017 JUNO Award nominees Chantal Kreviazuk (Adult Contemporary Album of the Year), Colin Linden (Blues Album of the Year), Daniel Caesar (R&B/Soul Recording of the Year), Donovan Woods (Songwriter of the Year), Lisa LeBlanc (Contemporary Roots Album of the Year) and Wintersleep’s Paul Murphy (Adult Alternative Album of the Year). Previously announced, Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee and 12-time JUNO Award-winner Bruce Cockburn will perform and host the event.
This is your third album of standards in a row – Shadows in the Night was a big surprise and a really nice one. Fallen Angels was a sweet encore. Now you really upped the ante. Did you feel after the first two, you had unfinished business?
I did when I realized there was more to it than I thought, that both of those records together only were part of the picture, so we went ahead and did these.
Why did you decide to release three discs of music at once?
It’s better that they come out at the same time because thematically they are interconnected, one is the sequel to the other and each one resolves the previous one.
Each disc is 32 minutes long – you could have put it all on 2 CDs. Is there something about the 10 song, 32 minute length that appeals to you?
Sure, it’s the number of completion. It’s a lucky number, and it’s symbolic of light. As far as the 32 minutes, that’s about the limit to the number of minutes on a long playing record where the sound is most powerful, 15 minutes to a side. My records were always overloaded on both sides. Too many minutes to be recorded or mastered properly. My songs were too long and didn’t fit the audio format of an LP. The sound was thin and you would have to turn your record player up to nine or ten to hear it well. So these CDs to me represent the LPs that I should have been making.
This is your third album of standards in a row – Shadows in the Night was a big surprise and a really nice one. Fallen Angels was a sweet encore. Now you really upped the ante. Did you feel after the first two, you had unfinished business? I did when I realized there was more to it than I thought, that both of those records together only were part of the picture, so we went ahead and did these. Why did you decide to release three discs of music at once? It’s better that they come out at the same time because thematically they are interconnected, one is the sequel to the other and each one resolves the previous one. Each disc is 32 minutes long – you could have put it all on 2 CDs. Is there something about the 10 song, 32 minute length that appeals to you? Sure, it’s the number of completion. It’s a lucky number, and it’s symbolic of light. As far as the 32 minutes, that’s about the limit to the number of minutes on a long playing record where the sound is most powerful, 15 minutes to a side. My records were always overloaded on both sides. Too many minutes to be recorded or mastered properly. My songs were too long and didn’t fit the audio format of an LP. The sound was thin and you would have to turn your record player up to nine or ten to hear it well. So these CDs to me represent the LPs that I should have been making.”
Target brings together Carly Rae Jepsen, Lil Yachty, and producer, Mike WiLL Made-It in an epic remake of Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock’s ‘80s classic “It Takes Two.”
In a big event, which you can stream below, Warped Tour announced its 2017 lineup with a lot more metal than punk in years’ past with artists like Hatebreed, GWAR, Emmure, After The Burial and The Acacia Strain added to the bill.
Journey’s Left Foot Stage:
Attila (06/16 – 07/02, 07/06 – 08/06)
CKY
Bowling For Soup (06/27 – 07/02, 07/26 – 07/27, 07/29, 07/30)
Futuristic (06/16 – 06/23, 06/25 – 08/06)
Hawthorne Heights
I Prevail
Julie Vera
New Years Day
Never Shout Never (throwback set) (06/27 – 07/07)
Sammy Adams (06/16 – 07/28, 08/01 – 08/06)
Watsky (06/17 – 07/14, 07/16-07/18, 07/20, 07/21, 07/23 – 08/06)
Hard Rock Stage:
The Adolescents
The Alarm (07/07 – 07/16, 08/04 – 08/06)
Anti-Flag (06/27 – 07/24)
The Ataris (06/16 – 08/01)
Bad Cop / Bad Cop (06/16 – 08/06)
The Dickies (06/16 – 06/22, 06/24, 06/25)
Dollskin (06/16 – 06/25)
Fire From The Gods
Municipal Waste (06/16 – 07/02, 07/06 – 08/06)
Sick Of It All (06/21 – 08/06)
Strung Out (06/16 – 07/11, 08/04 – 08/06)
The Suicide Machines (07/18 – 07/21)
T.S.O.L. (07/22 – 08/06)
Valient Thorr
Skullcandy Stage:
Alestorm (06/21 – 08/06)
Bad Seed Rising (06/16 – 07/04)
Barb Wire Dolls
Big D And The Kids Table (07/06 -07/16)
Microwave
Riverboat Gamblers (07/29 – 07/30)
Sonic Boom Six
Stacked Like Pancakes (07/16 – 08/06)
Street Dogs (07/06 – 07/16)
Twilight Creeps (08/04 – 08/06)
War On Women
The White Noise
William Control
Full Sail Stage:
Bad Omens (07/04 – 07/24)
Boston Manor
Carousel Kings (06/16 – 07/04)
Courage My Love
Creeper
The Dukes (06/27 – 07/02)
Eternal Boy (07/14)
The Fantastic Plastics (06/16 – 07/02)
Farewell Winters
Feeki
The Gospel Youth
Knocked Loose
Montage (07/18)
Movements
Naked Walrus (06/23 – 06/24)
One Last Shot (07/07 – 07/10)
Playboy Manbaby (06/22 & 08/06)
Sarah and The Safe Word (06/29)
Separations (07/06 – 07/24)
Shattered Sun (07/26 – 08/06)
tiLLie (07/26 – 08/06)
Trophy Eyes
The Waves (07/18)
Monster Mutant North Stage:
The Acacia Strain
Being As An Ocean
Candiria (06/21 – 08/06)
Counterparts
Fit For A King
Hatebreed (06/21 – 08/06)
Silent Planet
Stick To Your Guns (06/16 – 07/02, 07/06 – 08/06)
Sylar
Monster Mutant South Stage:
After The Burial
Blessthefall
Carnifex
Emmure
Gwar
Hundredth
Silverstein
Sworn In
Too Close To Touch
Journey’s Right Foot Stage:
American Authors (06/16 – 07/19, 07/21 – 08/06)
Andy Black
Beartooth (06/28 – 08/06)
Dance Gavin Dance
Goldfinger (06/16 – 06/17. 08/04 – 08/06)
Hands Like Houses
Memphis May Fire
Neck Deep
Our Last Night
Save Ferris (06/22 – 08/01,08/05)
Streelight Manifesto (06/24)
The confirmed routing for the tour is:
06/16 Seattle, WA – CenturyLink Field
06/17 Salem, OR – Oregon State Fairgrounds
06/21 Albuquerque, NM – Balloon Fiesta Park
06/22 Phoenix, AZ – Fear Farm Festival Grounds
06/23 Las Vegas, NV – Hard Rock Hotel And Casino
06/24 Salt Lake City, UT – Utah State Fair
06/25 Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
06/27 Nashville, TN – Tennessee State Fair
06/28 New Orleans, LA – Shrine On Airline
06/29 Atlanta, GA – Lakewood Amphitheatre
06/30 Orlando, FL – Tinker Field
07/01 St. Petersburg, FL – Vinoy Waterfront Park
07/02 West Palm Beach, FL – Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre
07/04 Wilmington, NC – Legion Stadium
07/06 Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
07/07 Camden, NJ – BB&T Pavilion
07/08 Long Island, NY – Nikon Theater at Jones Beach
07/09 Hartford, CT – XFINITY Theatre
07/10 Scranton, PA – The Pavilion At Montage Mountain
07/11 Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
07/12 Mansfield, MA – XFINITY Center
07/13 Darien Center, NY – Darien Lakes Amphitheater
07/14 Burgettstown, PA – KeyBank Pavilion
07/15 Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
07/16 Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
07/18 Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
07/19 Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
07/20 Indianapolis, IN – Klipsch Music Center
07/21 Auburn Hills, MI – The Palace Of Auburn Hills
07/22 Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
07/23 Shakopee, MN – Canterbury Park
07/24 Milwaukee, WI – Marcus Amphitheater
07/26 Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
07/27 Bonner Springs, KS – Providence Amphitheater
07/28 Dallas, TX – Gexa Energy Pavilion
07/29 San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center
07/30 Houston, TX – NRG Park
08/01 Las Cruces, NM – New Mexico State University
08/04 San Francisco, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
08/05 San Diego, CA – Qualcomm Stadium
08/06 Pomona, CA – Pomona Fairplex
There are still a few surprises being promised. Tickets are on sale now at WarpedTour.com
You have some extremely devoted fans. What’s it like for you to be at the center of this feeling that people have for your music?
Crag Finn: I think, in my life, I’ve found solace in music a lot. I remember in eighth grade having a really tough time, just because that’s a time when you do [Laughs], and hearing the Replacements’ “Sixteen Blue” and feeling like it’s going to be okay. There’s this idea that someone else is out there who understands or that the world is maybe bigger than wherever you are at the time. It feels good because I’ve been on the other side of that.
You alluded to something earlier about how in the current climate, even the act of being kind to other people is political.
Crag Finn: I think one of the most beautiful things you see all the time in New York is when a woman is in the subway and needs to get her stroller up the stairs, and some guy comes up, and they won’t even really talk, and they just grab it, and in this small act of cooperation, you can find a lot of hope and a lot of goodness.
On May 21, Twin Peaks will return after a several-decade period and, now, this officially sanctioned playlist from star Kyle MacLachlan called “Coffeetime” has surfaced. David Lynch has notoriously kept any information about the “Twin Peaks” revival a secret, so much so that even Showtime has had to go to great lengths to come up with creative ways to promote the series. This is one of them.
It has long been rumoured that Pink Floyd set ‘Echoes‘ to the final sequence of Stanley Kubrick’s, ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. Two years before producing their album ‘Meddle‘, featuring the 23 minute piece ‘Echoes’, Pink Floyd worked on the ‘More’ French film soundtrack, where they worked with film synchronisation equipment. From there the rumours blossomed, with Roger Waters being misquoted as saying the band were originally offered to do the soundtrack (they in fact turned down an offer to feature the ‘Atom Heart Mother’ suite in ‘A Clockwork Orange’). Whether or not the rumours have any basis in fact, there is an undeniable beauty when watching the combination of Kubrick’s intricate stop-motion universe, coupled with the psychedelic wonders of Pink Floyd.
The Cat Piano is a short film by The People’s Republic of Animation, directed by Eddie White and Ari Gibson. It details a city of singing cats is preyed upon by a shadowy figure intent on performing a twisted feline symphony, and was shortlisted for an Oscar for Best Short Animated Film in 2010. The Cat Piano features the voice of iconic Australian artist Nick Cave narrating the poem while in Melbourne in 2007 and on tour with his band, The Grinderman.
Apple today announced iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition in a vibrant red aluminum finish, in recognition of more than 10 years of partnership between Apple and (RED). This gives customers an unprecedented way to contribute to the Global Fund and bring the world a step closer to an AIDS-free generation. The special edition (PRODUCT)RED iPhone will be available to order online worldwide and in stores beginning Friday, March 24.
“Since we began working with (RED) 10 years ago, our customers have made a significant impact in fighting the spread of AIDS through the purchase of our products, from the original iPod nano (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition all the way to today’s lineup of Beats products and accessories for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The introduction of this special edition iPhone in a gorgeous red finish is our biggest (PRODUCT)RED offering to date in celebration of our partnership with (RED), and we can’t wait to get it into customers’ hands.”
“Apple is the world’s largest corporate donor to the Global Fund, contributing more than $130 million as part of its partnership with (RED),” said Deborah Dugan, (RED)’s CEO. “Combining the global reach of the world’s most loved smartphone with our efforts to provide access to life-saving ARV medication in sub-Saharan Africa, customers now have a remarkable opportunity to make a difference and contribute to the Global Fund through the purchase of this new beautiful (PRODUCT)RED iPhone.”
iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are the best, most advanced iPhones ever, packed with unique innovations that improve all the ways iPhone is used every day. Both phones feature the most popular camera in the world with advanced camera systems that shoot incredible photos and videos day or night, more power and performance with the best battery life ever in an iPhone, immersive stereo speakers and a wide color system from camera to display, all in a water and dust resistant design. iPhone comes with iOS 10, which brings more expressive and animated ways to communicate in Messages, new ways to use Siri with your favorite apps, beautifully redesigned Maps, Photos, Apple Music and News, and the Home app, which lets you simply and securely set up, manage and control your home all in one place.
(RED)’s critical work provides access to life-saving HIV/AIDS programs in sub-Saharan Africa, which is home to more than two thirds of the world’s HIV-positive population. One hundred percent of all money raised by (RED) goes directly to Global Fund HIV/AIDS grants that provide testing, counseling, treatment and prevention programs with a specific focus on eliminating transmission of the virus from moms to their babies. Since it was founded in 2006, (RED) has generated more than $465 million for the Global Fund, with more than $130 million from Apple alone.
“I’m more experienced sexually than I was as an 18 year old. So maybe it’s time for that to start reflecting in the music.” – George Michael on November 10, 1986, as told to Joe Smith
George Michael was 23 when he sat for this interview, which has never been broadcast before. He had just embarked on his solo career after leaving Wham!. During the conversation, George Michael talks about his sexuality and shedding his pop-ballad persona ala Careless Whisper. He sounds confident in striking out on his own and sees a clear path to super stardom, but he openly talks about the fear that lurks within that fame might be his demise. He reflects on the power of his fame, as he recalls the historice trip Wham! took to play in communist-China in 1985.
Oh, I suppose what I really want is to be able to do what I want creatively, succeed publicly, and be able to progress without screwing the rest of my life up. That’s the way I see it really. In 10 years time I think I could be a very, very big star as opposed to just a star. Although there is that half of me that wants it, there’s another half of me that’s very frightened of it, as well, because I don’t think it has a good effect on people’s lives. I don’t want to be dragged into the kind of downsides of this business that are so easy to fall into. I’m very excited about the future but at the same time it worries me.
