AND WHY ISN’T THIS HUGE NEWS?
Viet Cong Are Changing Their Name: “Our band name is not our cause”
Calgary post-punk quartet Viet Cong have decided to change their name, something they say they’ve been planning on changing it for months. They’ve issued a new statement via the band’s official Facebook page. Here’s what they wrote:
Our band lives to play music. We don’t particularly like doing press, most of us are fairly private people and we have social media for the band only reluctantly. Most of us generally don’t follow online criticism. Over the last year we have essentially lived our lives in a tour van and in music venues, playing over 130 shows. In that time we’ve met many amazing people and had many great conversations with people in person.
Over this time we’ve been listening, talking and having lots of valuable conversations with the members of the Vietnamese community about the name. Through this dialogue and hearing about what the name means to so many people, we have decided we will be changing the name of our band.
Art and music are about creative expression. However, our band name is not our cause, and we are not going to fight for it. This is not what our band is about.
There are many individuals more eloquent than us who have recently had a lot to say about the topic of the name and our appropriation of the name Viet Cong. For more insights into the arguments we encourage you to read some of these. We are a band who want to make music and play our music for our fans. We are not here to cause pain or remind people of atrocities of the past.
The truth is, we’ve been planning to change the band name for the next record for months; it has not been an easy decision by any means. We are a band of four people with four individual voices; this debate has been long and difficult for us and it took time for everyone to settle on a plan of action.
We don’t know what the new name of our band will be, and we owe it to our fans to honour the concerts we have booked. We rushed into our last band name decision, we don’t plan to rush into this one, but know that will be rolling out a new name as soon as we agree upon one.
We realize this won’t satisfy everyone, but that’s certainly not the goal of this band. We never expected this kind of attention in the first place and just want to return to playing music, which is the only thing we (kinda) know how to do.
We’ve had an incredible amount of support from fans, and we have to thank everyone who has said supportive words to us as we struggle with this. As always, we welcome people talking to us in person.
– Matt, Mike, Monty & Danny.
Watch Ex-Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour’s First Major U.S. Television Interview
Legendary guitarist David Gilmour, formerly of Pink Floyd, is out with his first solo album in nearly 10 years. Gilmour had never done an in-depth interview for U.S. television until now, and but CBS Morning’s Anthony Mason traveled to England and spoke to him about his career and latest album, “Rattle That Lock.”
This is the greatest crowdfunding project in the history of the planet, ever
Middle Island Maremma Project has operated as a community partnership between Warrnambool Coastcare Landcare, Warrnambool City Council, Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village and Deakin University. Middle Island is located just off the Warrnambool Breakwater. Middle Island went from an approx penguin breeding population of 800 penguins in 1999, to less than 10 identified birds in the 2005 breeding season. This decline was primarily through fox attacks – the largest attack resulted in 380 birds (penguins and Shearwaters).
Something had to change – and it did.
In 2006, maremma dogs were trialled to protect the penguins by living on the island through the summer breeding season. Since this time, after a lot of hard work by all the partners, no penguins have been lost to fox encroachment since. The population is now estimated to be 150 Little penguin. Take a look at this clip that details the history of the project.
This has turned into the best crowdfunding campaign in the history of the planet.
Peter Abbott’s current dogs ( Eudy and Tula ) are now 8 years old and its time to start planning their retirement. This funding campaign will allow us to purchase two maremma pups and then train them over two summer breeding seasons. Eudy and Tula will become ambassador dogs to the project, which likely would be looking awesome and generating media attention like this blog.If they raise more than $25,000 they can further train the dogs, create new housing for them both on and off island and also provide funding for Warrnambool Coastcare Landcare to coordinate the volunteers that monitor penguin breeding and evening arrivals.
This project is so unique that it has been turned into a new Australian Movie – Oddball.
So go here and give a few dollars and let’s do something great for that community.
Jimmy Fallon Sings “Hello” with Lionel Richie’s Head
In a nod to the classic ’80s music video, Jimmy Fallon performs a haunting rendition of the song “Hello” with Lionel Richie. Or does he?
The Dead Weather release technique and instrument-based videos
The Dead Weather have started to release technique and instrument-based videos, pulling off this creative idea with real elegance and authority. This first episode features drummer Jack White demonstrating the details of his drum kit within the context of the band’s 2009 debut single, “Hang You From The Heavens.” Jack White designed the kit himself and the incredible team at Ludwig Drums attacked the build with vigor, creating a very unique trap kit. The White-directed video concludes with a live drumming performance of “Hang You From The Heavens,” with an alternate drum beat to highlight the techniques discussed and showcase the band’s inner workings during live performances. The band and Third Man Records will release three more videos, each highlighting the member’s specific instruments and a different song from the band’s career, including tracks from their forthcoming album Dodge and Burn.
Here’s the second of four technique and instrument-based videos. In this second episode, bass deconstructionist, Jack Lawrence, reveals the secrets of how he achieves his distinct bottom end sound for The Dead Weather. Lawrence demonstrates some of his most head nodding bass lines and leaves no question that without the bass, there would be no Dead Weather. The video concludes with an incendiary live performance of “Mile Markers” from the new album Dodge And Burn. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for the remaining two videos of the series from The Dead Weather and Third Man Records.
Jill Scott on how the Philadelphia music scene influenced her
“They call me “Jilly from Philly.” So much of who I am is because of the music of Philadelphia. My mother introduced me to a great radio station WDAS-FM and they played all kinds of powerful, retro music. She took me to Ortlieb’s, which is a jazz spot in Philly and I wasn’t supposed to be there, but she put me behind a chair and kinda hid me. I watched great musicians be great musicians. I saw Patti LaBelle, I saw Teddy Pendergrass, Gladys Knight & The Pips, so many live performances.
Philly is definitely a place to enhance the live performance, and Philadelphian audiences: they are tough. They are tough. If they don’t like it, they’ll let you know, and it’s more than a boo. You might have to duck in Philly.”
Via NPR
Mazda’s Soul Of Motion Driving Experience Was Exhilarating
A car isn’t simply a mass of metal. It isn’t simply an option to get you to point A to B. There’s a growing consensus that traffic is beginning to get unbearable in the major cities across Canada, so if you spend a lot of time in your car, you should be able to some fun in it. Creating an emotional bond between a driver and their car is the ultimate goal of Mazda’s “Soul of Motion” design. Conventional wisdom has it that cars built for safety are unrewarding to drive. Having just tested various brand new Mazda cars in their Soul Of Motion event, it’s no wonder Mazda cars are astounding to drive. They’re back for another shot at the greatest cars of the year, and they’re favourite of mine.
Mazda’s design is taken from the muscular beauty you see when an animal pounces, or when a human leaps into action. Everywhere you look on the Mazda lot, this dynamic poise is enhanced by elegant detail. The five-point grille, defining body lines and powerful stance all show their design philosophy in action.
The ‘KODO – Soul of Motion’ design direction has shaped the dynamic style and premium presence of all-new Mazda2, Mazda3, Mazda6, CX-5, CX-9 and their first small SUV, Mazda CX-3. Their 2016 designs aims to breathe life and art into vehicle design, transferring the heart and soul of the artist into the machine. Yet these automobiles are more than a driving experience.
The 2016 Mazda6 GX has a SKYACTIV-G 2.5L DOHC 4-cylinder Engine, gets 8.8/6.1L (CTY/HWY), and comes with an optional Sport Automatic Transmission. Because you can’t use your handheld phone anymore, it’s perfect timing for their Bluetooth hands-free phone capability. my fave, the Mazda6 won the Canadian Car of the Year Award chosen by The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada.The car with the awards to beat has now gotten even better.
“There’s more to creating a car with soul than simply sculpting its physical form,” explains the automaker’s website. “Mazda imbues its cars with soul through its quest to capture the dynamic beauty of life beyond the confines of conventional design.” Driving these cars are like putting on your favorite pair of slippers after a long walk.
The first production vehicle to incorporate the redesign was the 2010 CX-5. At Mazda, they simply cannot help but do things differently, and yet, still keep their vehicles highly personal. More than a few of the driving instructors today are race car drivers, technicians and trainers for the dealers – and you get the sense they love working for the company. When you have people working for your company who love what they do, they create extraordinary, powerful and compelling vehicles staying true to the origins of Mazda. Their designers studied everything from the movement in animals in their natural habitat to the energetic moment an archer releases an arrow to create the tense, muscular yet flowing lines in the Mazda6, Mazda3 and CX-5. Because they firmly believe that looking in unexpected places leads to truly unconventional design. These cars are some of the most powerful, dynamic and explosive cars in automobile history. And it’s a testament to their designers personalities that genuinely touch their buyer’s concerns, and pulls it off time and time again.
As a guy who loves gadgets and technologies, the Mazda6 contains CONNECT, giving me access to internet radio, my social network, navigation and more through a 7″ colour touchscreen with voice command or steering-mounted controls. The i-ELOOP Regenerative Braking saves on fuel and dedicate 100% of power to the engine by powering electrical systems when I brake. By making seat perforations moderately large and the distances between them small, their engineers created leather-trimmed upholstery that absorbs road noise for an enhanced audio listening environment. And more music heard is always a good thing. Cutting-edge technology, head-turning design and outstanding fuel economy prove that more than ever before, passion and performance are in MAZDA3’s blood. The car is a true testament to obsessive engineering and exhilarating driving.
With its spacious, functional interior, impressive fuel economy and top safety scores, the 2016 Mazda CX-5 is a top pick among small crossovers. The CX-5’s fun-to-drive demeanor is just a welcome bonus. It’s soft, vivid, and deeply, seductively clever.
Next up for the drive was the 2016 CX-3. Designed for those who think functionality is a must, yet long for something a little more, the CX-3 is adaptable and comfortable, with enough personality to deliver the excitement I’ve truly longed for in an automobile. Idealized and celebrated, the CX-3 will be frequently mentioned in the next batch of car guides for their excellence in spirit of inspiration and confidence. Starting off with a keyless entry and 6-way adjustable seats (perfect for a small guy like me), I was ready to go. I simply fire up the engine with the push of a button. Wow. Driving straight up the lane felt like a bullet while being in the clouds. Their superior fuel economy, low emissions and outstanding performance remains high when compared to the other car companies. With engineering that seamlessly co-ordinates how each part works together, thrifty fuel economy and nimble road manners unite under one very beautiful hood.
These aren’t just cars. These are machines with a heart, a life force, a profound batch of safety and technologies melding into a vital way to get from point A to point B, and have fun, even if you’re sitting in that traffic. Mazda ranks among the very best of automobile companies, and this Soul Of Motion event happening across Canada just proves it.
Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own with information of technical stuff provided by Mazda.
Janis Joplin’s legendary 1965 Porsche up for auction
By the end of the summer of 1968, Janis Joplin had decided to sever ties with her band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, in favor of going solo. Perhaps the most important singer of her generation, she had become a full-fledged rock and roll phenomenon and a beacon of counter-cultural style. It was only fitting then that the Queen of Rock would have an automobile that did some justice to her title: a 1965 Porsche 356C 1600 Cabriolet. You can now take a shot at owning the car for, oh, at least half a million, as the car is up for auction at Sothebys.
PHOTOGRAPH BY YORAM KAHANA
In many serious car-collecting circles, a custom paint job on such a vehicle would be considered sacrilege. But then, this was Janis Joplin’s car. She engaged her friend and Big Brother and the Holding Company roadie Dave Richards to customise it with a kaleidoscopic mural. Richards described the paint job as representing the history of the universe. And Joplin was regularly seen cruising the streets of San Francisco behind the wheel.
“Janis drove everywhere, all around San Francisco and down to Los Angeles when she was recording there,” recalled Joplin’s sister and biographer Laura Joplin. “Wherever Janis went in the car, her fans recognised it. When she parked it and returned, there was always at least one note under the wipers.”
Following Joplin’s untimely death in 1970, her manager, music legend Albert Grossman drove the psychedelic Porsche for several years. In the early 1990s, the car was meticulously restored to its 1960s lustre and in 1995 it went on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. This December, the legendary car will be on view at Sotheby’s New York headquarters along with other classic automobiles from RM Sotheby’s Driven by Disruption sale.