To get ready for Field Trip 2015, the legendary Sharon & Bram perform their classic “Peanut Butter” song, with help from Kevin Drew, Max Kerman, and Raina, host from Indie 88 in Toronto.
“Jazz Hot”: The Rare ly-Seen1938 Film With Jazz Legend Django Reinhardt
Here’s a remarkable short film of the great gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, violinist Stéphane Grappelli and their band the Quintette du Hot Club de France performing on a movie set in 1938. It was produced for the British media as a way to create some buzz before their first UK tour. As Michael Dregni writes in Gypsy Jazz: In Search of Django Reinhardt and the Soul of Gypsy Swing:
The Quintette was unknown to the British public, and there was no telling how their new music would resonate. So, Grade sought to educate his audience. He hired a movie crew to film a six-minute-plus promotional short entitled Jazz “Hot” to be shown in British theaters providing a lesson in jazz appreciation to warm up the crowds.
John Oliver Takes On The IRS, With Help From Michael Bolton
Nobody likes the IRS. But recent budget and staff cuts have made it increasingly difficult for the department to do its very important job. Don’t take John Oliver’s word for it. Ask Michael Bolton.
Take a Tour of Tom Waits’ LA in May
If you’re in Los Angels, looking for something fun to do on Saturday, May 16th, look no further. 33 1/3 authors Kim Cooper and David Smay are hosting a fascinating bus tour of Tom Waits’ infamous downtown Los Angeles. The knowledgeable pair will show you the derelict haunts and seedy hotels that helped shape one the finest and most unique songwriters to date.
The locations discussed on the tour will range from famous rock ‘n’ roll hangouts like Canter’s Deli (which still exists and is amazing) and the Tropicana, to lesser known dives, clubs, and shadowy back streets.
Find more information on the tour here, and be sure to pick up a copy of Kim Cooper’s Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and David Smay’s Tom Waits’ Swordfishtrombones!
33⅓ (Thirty-Three and a Third) is a series of books written about music albums, featuring one author per album. Published by Bloomsbury Publishing, the series was founded by David Barker, and is edited by Ally Jane Grossan.
What Happens When You Remove The Music From The Verve’s Bitter Sweet Symphony Video? This.
The lead track on their third studio album, Urban Hymns, The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony is based on an Andrew Loog Oldham orchestral version of The Rolling Stones’ song, The Last Time from which it samples a main theme, and involved some legal controversy surrounding a plagiarism charge as a result.
But you won’t hear any of that, thanks to Mario Wienerroither’s Musicless Musicvideo.
You HAVE to check out David Usher’s Let the Elephants Run book
At David Usher’s company, CloudID Creativity Labs, there is a sign on the wall that reads: “Dream big, let the elephants run!” You know David from fronting the massively successful band, Moist, and his own solo career. Now, he’s written a best-selling book.
Based on his wildly popular speaking engagements, David Usher’s book on creativity and the creative process, Let the Elephants Run shows us how to reignite creativity whether in the head office, the home office or the artist’s studio.
David believes creativity is in our DNA; it’s in everyone, not just the creative class. We all start our lives as creative beings but for many that spark becomes lost over time. How do we jump-start our creative process as adults? What does it means to be a creative person? How do we follow through with our ideas and turn them into tangible outcomes?
David empowers readers to achieve more “aha” moments through two cornerstone principles of creativity: freedom and structure. Using a mix of personal anecdotes and professional examples from the worlds of industry, technology, science, music and art, he shows us that creativity is not magic; it is a learnable skill that any person or business can master. The dynamic full-colour design includes photographs, artwork and illustrations, as well as action pages to help readers start cultivating the habit of documenting their ideas for future execution.
Let the Elephants Run is an essential guidebook to reconnecting with our imaginations and nurturing our creativity in accessible and productive ways. Let the Elephants Run: Unlock Your Creativity and Change Everything explores a framework to help others –whether in the head office, the home office or the artist’s studio–through the creative process while also challenging the idea that creativity is intrinsic to the lucky few, that ideas are ever wholly original or that life as a working artist allows for hours spent at cafes discussing art (instead of writing grants).
As father to young children, David wakes at 5:00 am just to have time to think. While it may be easier to believe in inherit talent then endless grind, creativity isn’t elitist, it is a skill—like driving a car or learning a new language—that can be taught, and requires practice.
Indigo Girls: Behind The Scenes For ‘Happy in the Sorrow Key’ Single
Here’s the first behind-the-scenes look at Indigo Girls’ new single “Happy In The Sorrow Key,” written by Amy Ray. It’s the first of several webisodes the duo are planning to release for their new album One Lost Day, out June 2, 2015.
You can read an exclusive interview with The Wall Street Journal here.
Video: The Patti Smith Group live in New Jersey, 1979
Here’s some fine video even the best Patti Smith fans might not have seen: The Patti Smith Group performing live at the Capitol Theater in New Jersey on May 11, 1979.
Setlist:
0:00:00 – Privilege (Set Me Free)
0:04:01 – Stage Banter
0:04:43 – So You Want To Be A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star
0:12:51 – Stage Banter
0:13:52 – Dancing Barefoot
0:18:39 – I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
0:19:24 – Redondo Beach
0:23:57 – Stage Banter
0:25:07 – Revenge (aborted)
0:28:46 – Stage Banter
0:30:06 – 5-4-3-2-1
0:32:55 – Stage Banter
0:33:45 – Citizen Ship
0:39:06 – Ask The Angels
0:42:25 – Crowd Ambience
0:43:19 – Poppies
0:53:31 – Lenny Kaye Intro
0:55:44 – Secret Agent Man
0:58:16 – Wave (incomplete)
1:00:22 – Revenge (take 2)
1:05:53 – Stage Banter
1:06:54 – Pumping (My Heart)
1:10:55 – Mr. Tambourine Man
1:14:34 – Broken Flag
1:19:45 – Stage Banter
1:20:59 – Till Victory
1:24:25 – Ain’t It Strange
1:34:42 – Cold Turkey
1:38:56 – Because The Night
1:42:40 – Stage Banter
1:43:15 – Frederick
1:49:12 – Seven Ways Of Going
1:56:55 – Stage Banter
1:57:36 – Gloria
2:03:39 – Encore Applause
2:07:14 – Pledge of Allegiance / Star Spangled Banner / My Generation
Canadian Music Week Announces Keynote Interview with Ben Turner, Director of Bestival
Ben Turner is one of the leading global figures in the fast-growing EDM sector. He is co-founder of the Association of Independent Festivals, co-owner of the Ibiza International Music Summit with Pete Tong, co-founder of the IMS Engage convention, and the owner of UK based management and branding firm Graphite. Turner is also the Director of Bestival and Camp Bestival – an award-winning creative experience from the UK, which is widely heralded as one of the most unique and strongest festival brands worldwide. Additionally, Turner has managed Bestival creator Rob da Bank for nearly 15 years. Most recently Turner brokered a partnership with SFX Entertainment and Embrace in Canada, which will bring the experience to Toronto for its first international event in June 2015. Turner also co-founded AIF (Association for Independent Festivals) with Rob da Bank, in addition to founding AFEM (Association for Electronic Music) – two trade bodies which help address major industry issues for festivals around the world – and is a shareholder in The Physical Network – a visionary global peer-to-peer marketing platform, as well as the manager of highly-regarded Canadian artist Richie Hawtin aka Plastikman.
In this revealing interview during Canadian Music Week, Turner will share his thoughts and insights on the challenges of launching a new independent festival brand internationally, and uncover just what it takes to go up against the well financed giants of the industry.
The World’s Favourite Astronaut – Colonel Chris Hadfield – Is Releasing An Album
As you can tell by that graphic above, Warner Music Canada has announced the debut release by their next superstar…but you know him already, and have likely seen him from space. Famed Canadian astronaut, Colonel Chris Hadfield will be releases an album in Fall of 2015. The guitar and vocal tracks were recorded in space — a human first. The launch underscores the importance that music has always had to Col. Hadfield wherever he is, whether in space or at home on Earth.
“The serenity and grace I felt while orbiting our Earth, weightless by the window, gave a whole new place to write and perform music. I’m delighted to be able to share these completed works as a new way to help tell the stories of early space exploration,” says Col. Hadfield
In 2013, Col. Hadfield spent five months aboard the International Space Station. In the evenings, following days full of scientific experiments, Col. Hadfield would pull out his acoustic guitar and power up his computer to record music and vocals for songs he’d written alone, as well as with his brother and his son. Once back on Earth, Juno Award winning producer Robbie Lackritz and a host of special guests added further instrumentation to the recordings.
“This is a very special opportunity for us to work with one of Canada’s most inspirational figures,” says Warner Music Canada President Steve Kane. “It takes an extraordinary individual to become an accomplished songwriter and astronaut. Colonel Hadfield is proof that music makes you smarter.”
More details of Col. Hadfield’s album release will be announced over the coming months.