When world-renowned author Salman Rushdie came to our studios to talk about his new book, Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights, CBC wanted to offer him a sample of Canada’s greatest literary offerings in return. No, not Kim Thúy or Margaret Atwood, but October’s (and Canada’s) very own rapper-in-residence, Drake.
Via CBC
Paste: Is that openness to instinct something that’s always been there for you guys, or has it been more along the lines of a learning process to get there?
Emily Haines: Well, I haven’t ever been good at doing something that I don’t want to do. There’s not necessarily a set list of rules, or a technique rather, in the band. If I can’t sing the vocals for example, it means that it’s something that I don’t feel. It has nothing to do with the notes. So it’s nice to have this built-in sort of threshold. It’s an odd thing to navigate. You push yourself to do something that hasn’t been done, which I definitely did on this record, feeling more as though it was about what does the song want than what’s the predetermined identity of who I’m supposed to be in this project. But, I don’t know, like I said, I don’t really know what I’m doing, except that I know when it feels right, and when I’m excited about it. It’s the same for Jimmy and the guys, and it’s a pretty abstract measure, but it’s the only way that we’ve ever done anything and it hasn’t ever failed us—yet.
Via Paste Magazine
“I don’t know what the ‘big time’ is” – Tom Waits in 1988
“He’s a natural raconteur. A great one. You just get out of the way and let him do his thing, perform. If you can nudge the jokes along, so much the better.” – Chris Roberts on interviewing Tom Waits.
From this glorious interview (recorded on cassette tape) we decided to just dip inside the mind of Tom Waits. So he takes us to church, Stonehenge, the streets of New York and inside a Hawaiian nightmare. The interview was recorded in a London recording studio and you can hear muffled music throughout the conversation.
The Government of Ontario, through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, is seeking public input as it works to develop its first cultural strategy for the province. This culture strategy will also serve as a guide for future government support for the cultural sector, through the principles and priorities identified through the public consultation.
The cultural strategy will focus on the following 5 guiding principles:
A Cultural Strategy Advisory Group has being created to provide advice to the government during the creation of the culture strategy. You can view the individual members of the Cultural Strategy Advisory Group by clicking here.
This process is expected to produce a final strategy by Summer 2016. The province is collecting input in three ways:
Via CIMA
The Canadian Independent Music Association held its Annual General Meeting at Toronto’s Burdock last week, with some of their members, colleagues, friends, and general music industry in attendance.
CIMA’s 2015-2016 Board of Directors was elected – featuring some new faces and some old faces.
Please join us in welcoming our new Board of Directors: Chris Moncada (Last Gang Entertainment), Gord Dimitrieff (Aporia Records), Jake Gold (The Management Trust), Jim West (Justin Time Records), Justin West (Secret City Records), Kieran Roy (Arts & Crafts), Lisa Logutenkow (Dine Alone Records), Mathieu Drouin (Crystal Math Music Group), Mike Denney (MDM Recordings), Nick Blasko (Amelia Artists), Pegi Cecconi (SRO-Anthem), Ric Arboit (Nettwerk Productions), Rob Lanni (Coalition Music), Ron Kitchener (RGK Entertainment Group), Sandy Pandya (Pandyamonium Artist Management), Shauna de Cartier (Six Shooter Records), Tim Potocic (Sonic Unyon Records) and Tony Tarleton (MapleMusic Recordings)
Congratulations to them all!
“You have to fuck up in front of a million people till you get it right,” Kurt Vile says of playing new songs live. “Then all those people who saw you say on the Internet that they saw you once and you stinked. And I’m like, ‘No! I’m good now!'”
Via Rolling Stone
HBO has acquired the rights to the latest U2 concert film, iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Live in Paris.
The network will premier the concert on November 14. Filmed at Bercy Arena in Paris, the show features music from their latest album along with classics from throughout the band’s career. The special also showcases the innovative set that allows the band move throughout the venue via multiple stages and includes a one-of-a-kind floor-to-ceiling arena-length LED screen.
U2 are scheduled to play the Bercy Arena on November 10, 11, 14 and 15.
The concert will be produced by Done And Dusted with executive producers Hamish Hamilton, Simon Pizey, Davis Guggenheim and Guy Oseary. It will be directed by Hamish Hamilton, who has worked with the band since 2001, including such collaborations as Elevation: Live from Boston, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, the Beautiful Day documentary, and Vertigo in 2005: Live from Chicago.
https://youtu.be/B7u69gC7VVU
Mike Portnoy is primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and a co-founder of the progressive metal/rock band Dream Theater. Known for his technical skill as a drummer, Portnoy has won 30 awards from the Modern Drummer magazine. He also has no problem getting behind a Hello Kitty drum kit.
“The Good Dinosaur” asks the question: What if the asteroid that forever changed life on Earth missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? Pixar Animation Studios takes you on an epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend. While traveling through a harsh and mysterious landscape, Arlo learns the power of confronting his fears and discovers what he is truly capable of.
And here’s the first trailer, just in case you haven’t cried yet.
Canadian Music Week is pleased to announce Michael Wekerle as our 2016 opening keynote on Thursday May 5 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel. Michael is a rock star in the world of Canadian finance, known for his shrewd value spotting in the fields of tech, biotech and media. As the founder and Chairman of the merchant bank Difference Capital Financial Inc., he oversees a fund that includes such successful growth companies as Hootsuite, Vision Critical, BuildDirect and Blue Ant Media. He also holds significant real estate assets, including an impressive portfolio of high-tech commercial properties in Waterloo, Ontario, as well as the historic Toronto entertainment venue the El Mocambo. And he is a partner in the Canadian franchise of Wahlburgers -Paul, Donnie and Mark Wahlberg’s Boston-based burger chain.
Michael lives in Toronto and is a doting father to six children. He donates millions of dollars to a wide variety of philanthropic interests, including UHN, CAMH, SickKids and Holland Bloorview, as well as the youth outreach organization Seeds of Hope and the acclaimed Baroque opera company Opera Atelier. Michael is currently featured on CBC’s Dragons’ Den, highlighting his entrepreneurial spirit.
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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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