Beware! The Leopard

Pre-Wedding Update

So for the first time in this blog's history (I believe), I'm writing this from my parent's computer room in Toronto.  It's been 6 months since I have been on Canadian soil, and it's been a bit of a whirlwind week.

I got laid-off from my job on Wednesday, although I get paid until June 13.   It is rather disappointing, but it was never a career, so I'm hoping that when I get back I can push myself to find something else that will pay the bills and give me the time to work on my projects. 

The flight home was a little less pleasant than normal, but it was bearable, and now it is just a matter of planning for the wedding.

Posts may be a bit sparse until the big event next Saturday, so I apologize, but I will try my best.

Ack. Problems

Apparently there is a problem with my domain host forwarder thing a majig.  The latest post most people can see is May 19th, but I swear there have been more.

I'm trying to fix it, I swear

Holy Fuck!

Holy Fuck! 

Myspace

This Toronto based electronic collective has been quietly sitting under the radar for a couple of years now.  I caught them opening for Metric a good 18 months ago, and then saw them again at Bluesfest last year.  Only lately have I been getting back into them, and I must say I'm surprised at how well they age.  Unlike some bands (Tokyo Police Club comes to mind) who tend to get boring upon repeated listening, Holy Fuck's lyricless beats place one into such a great trance-like state, and if you pay enough attention you catch all the subtle changes courtesy of the analog effects and casio keyboards.  This is electronica like it hasn't been done in a long time; two guys, a pile of analog effects (including a 35 mm something or other), and a rotating cast of drummers and bass players, and you get a live and recorded experience that is a joy to behold. 

Fried Egg update

Woah.  Weird.  For those of you that use TypePad blogs (and I know that for most of my readers this bit will be irrelevant -- so why do I write it? because it surprised me, and is therefore part of my week and part of my update -- my that was snarky...but I digress) I just noticed they changed the format of the 'compose' page.  Nicer layout in my opinion. 

On to the good stuff though.  This week was kind of ho-hum as far as things go.  Work has been on a steady decline for the last three weeks since the chain went into administration.  Most of the employees don't bother selling anything anymore, and spend their days watching Family Guy and movies streaming off the net, or they play cool web games (www.stickpage.com has some good ones).  I've been trying to keep up the dignity of the company I work for, but it gets tough when chaos begins to reign all around you, and I will confess to watching the occasional episode of Family Guy (Petarded is a classic!).

On the music front, some changes are afoot as a can of worms has been opened in the band, and now either the worms have to be eaten or shoved back in the can to fester until later.  Some members are frustrated by the pace of things, and some are frustrated by the push to accelerate the pace without having stronger songs (or lyrics).  There is potential for this to be the end of the band, or it could be that we figure out how to move on and create some kick ass songs.  Bands are weird in that they are a lot like intimate relationships, except that instead of just having to figure out your partner and work together, you have to figure out 3 partners.  So I guess it's like a polyamorous relationship, without the sex.

One thing that this has led to in my mind is that after the wedding, upon our return to London, I am going to make Beware! The Leopard my top priority.  So far I have allowed the Band and other things to take precedence, but no longer.  My music has to come first.  It's the only way I'll manage to get anywhere in this industry.

So that's it for this week.  I went to see MGMT on Wednesday, but that review will come in a couple of days.

Cheers,

The Leopard

Iron and winter

So last Friday M and I hiked the 5 minutes from our house to hit up the forum to see Iron and Wine.  Now we're both fans, although not huge fans, and were expecting a good show.  What I wasn't expecting, was for Bon Iver (pronounced Bonne Hiver - for the fracophones) to be the opener.  And what a support act they were.

But first the bad news.  Iron and Wine were not worth the money.  The albums are full of catchy Americana with a soulful voice, great lyrics, and some nice down home guitar playing.  However what makes for a great album can make for a very poor show if there isn't any charisma involved.  Iron and Wine is essentially a sessions band.  The lead singer, whose name escapes me now, writes all the music and then hires session musicians to accompany him on the road.  When done properly, a la Ben Lee, Eric Clapton, or numerous other 'solo' acts, it's great; but it requires that the 'solo' musician has charisma to carry the show.  Iron and Wine seriously lacked this charisma, which meant the show was the equivalent of putting on an album in a room with 2000 other people in it.  Not exactly the best performance. 

Thankfully though Bon Iver stole the show as the support act.  Along with Final Fantasy, which I saw at the same venue, this is one of the most beautiful performances I have ever seen.  Three men, sitting, making music that almost made me weep.  The harmonies, the shy remarks, the haunting falsetto, and the awesome guitar work, it really was truly incredible.  I know that I've already pointed them out as a band to watch, but please please please go grab the album.  It is so worth it.  And if you can see them in person, I promise you won't be disappointed.  You will feel that you are sitting on a porch in the middle of a Wisconsin forest with some of your best friends playing music that is just utter bliss. 

Now where did I put my coonskin cap?

Update time

So here I sit in an almost empty music shop with nothing but my thoughts and some squelching guitars. 

This week's update is a little bit more morose than previous ones.  I'm feeling a bit burnt out.  Spending 8 hours a day in a music store that is teetering on closure is not an amusing way to spend your working hours.  If I'm to be truly honest, it's getting to the point where remaining positive for customers is becoming difficult.  There isn't much here we can sell them, and I am worried about finances given that a third of my salary is commission from store sales, and the store isn't selling very much.  Hopefully within the next couple of weeks we'll know for sure what is happening with the store, but until then it is quite the slog.  After the wedding, it may be time to look for something else.  My company has made assurances that if this store closes they will try and fit me somewhere else, but I don't know if they have anything else in London and I am not prepared to move elsewhere.

On the music front, I have been upping my game a bit, practicing more of my solo material, and getting mentally prepared to do more. 

There is also a bit of homesickness involved in my mood.  Not that I long for my cubicle walls on Laurier Ave., but I do miss the company of my friends and family, summers on the patios of Ottawa and Toronto.  Only a few weeks until we head back to see everyone and get married.  It's going to be a great time, and a nice break from the hustle and bustle of London town.

Sorry for being a downer, but next week it will perk up.  Tonight I'm going to see Iron and Wine with Bon Iver, should be a fantastic show, I can't wait.

Cheers,

Alex

Improv Wednesdays

Michelle, my wonderful partner, has been following something called "the artists' way" for the last couple of months in an attempt to get in touch with her creative side.  It's been working wonders, and she's been creating some excellent pieces of useful art, primarily in the form of cards.

Despite the cheesiness of the book, one the exercises is quite interesting.  It involves getting up and writing 3 pages of something every morning.  While my brain isn't functioning quite that early in the morning, I've decided to adapt the idea to my music.  Instead of doing some stream of consciousness writing, I'm going to do some stream of consciousness playing. 

The link below is my first attempt recorded this morning.  It is complete with mistakes and all.  I will be honest and say that I truncated the beginning because it was not in anyway pleasing to my ears.  I also added a bit of reverb and compression, but otherwise the performance is untouched, with no overdubs, no fixing of glaring timing errors, etc.

In other words, this is what came out when I sat in front of the piano this morning.

Download improv.mp3

Gotcha! Got Ye?

Gotye -  myspace

Question - What happens when a Dutchman grows up in Australia?

Answer - he mispells a childhood nickname and turns it into pop splendour.

It has been a little over 24 hours since I was introduced to Gotye, but I keep coming back to his myspace and youtube links just to check out these really awesome grooves.  There's an element of Peter Gabriel and even a little Dead Can Dance in his creations, but lurking in the background like Uluru at dusk is this unbelievably large rhythm which can only be described as utterly Australian.  Fans of Xavier Rudd will know what I mean.  Even though there isn't a didgeridoo anywhere on his publicly available material, the tracks live and breathe Australia. 

Coupled with the incredible music though is an incredible visual experience.  I'm not sure if it is something that he comes up with by himself, but the videos that have been made to accompany his tracks are mesmerizing.  Whether it is hand puppets, ink blotches in water, or weird Tim Burton meets Pink Floyd style animations,  your eyes and ears will be glued to the screen in front of you. 

Let it not be said that buying a 17" screen laptop was a waste!   

Go check him out.

 

Technical Difficulties

I should really come up with another category called "apologies" where I keep all my posts about how bad I've been at updating on the days when I say I'm going to.  This week/weekend's delay had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I went out and got slobbery drunk on both Friday and Saturday nights this week, making Sunday absolutely useless for doing anything except watch the football match (props to Man U.), and clean up before M returned from Paris.

Yes, it was a rough weekend.  Friday was spent with co-workers who it seems enjoy drinking only when it is in large quantities, preferably outside, and preferably beer.  I arrived home early (shortly after 9pm), ordered myself a big pizza, ate it all, and went to bed.  So much for that diet I was on.  Saturday I met up with a good friend and we drank the night away in Camden, it was a lot of fun, but we have both agreed that it was our one big bash for the summer.  Which may prove difficult as the summer technically hasn't arrived yet, but I'll deal with it when it comes.

Not to worry though, there will be a "band to watch" post by tomorrow, and I'll give a proper update shortly.

Between the Beautifuls

Hawksley Workman - official site

Ok, he's not really new, and I'm a day late, but does it really matter when we're talking about Ryan Corrigan? 

Ryan, aka Hawksley Workman, has been on the Canadian and international music scene for almost a decade.  He had some mainstream success in the early naughties with "Striptease" and "Jealous of your cigarette", but then faded back into the underground realm which I think he probably prefers.  This is also great for his supporters because it means we get to see him in intimate venues which give us the full Hawksley experience.  I had the pleasure of seeing him perform on Saturday evening, and I picked up his latest album "Between the Beautifuls" at the show.  Both are wonderful experiences.

First the album.  "Between the Beautifuls" is a fantastic continuation of Workman's last effort, "Treeful of Starling".  The driving guitar rock that he eschewed on "Starling" is subtly joined with the more mellow ballads and cabaret pop that many of us have come to love.  This album shows Hawksley stepping into his prime.  There is no more wishy-washy "I'm a cabaret singer, no wait I'm a rockstar, no wait I'm weird", this is Hawksley saying "I'll be whatever the fuck I want to be and you can enjoy it".  It is definitely an album to pick up.

The show on Saturday was an equal to the album in every way shape and form.  He played a number of his older hits (sometimes done up completely differently from the album which is super cool).  He was backed on stage by a baritone clarinet, a violinist, a great backup singer, and of course Mr. Lonely on piano.  The first 3/4 of the show was great versions of the mellow stuff, including an opener played entirely on toy instruments (and if you haven't seen two grown men sitting behind a toy piano and drum kit, you haven't lived).  The last 1/4 of the show they switched up the tempo, stuck Hawksley behind a proper drum kit, and let loose.  It was great to hear them bash out "Addicted" as their encore, as it is a song I tend to relate to.  Imogen Heap and Sarah Jane Morris also made great guest appearances on one song each, which added to the  spectacle.

Hawksley has a stage presence all his own, and one thing that makes his performances and his albums special is that whenever you hear them, you think he's singing just for you.  Go check him out, live and on disc, he is more than worth it.