Archive for the ‘Guest Bloggers’ Category

Posted on December 30, 2010 - by Jon

Almost 2011!

Hey Everybody!

Hope you had a fantastic Christmas and I hope for a Happy New Year! We’ll be relaunching the site in the next few months and also the blog for the upcoming album. We’ve got some very exciting new things we’re going to be kicking off over the next few months including updates from the studio. I’ve been busy writing and applying for grants to be able to record the next album so let’s hope that we find some success with it and we can get the necessary funding!

Thanks for all the support!

Jonathan

Posted on March 7, 2009 - by MattSchichter

Life on the Air…

Hey my name is Matt Schichter and I’m a radio host and the Music Director at FUEL 90.3 in Calgary.  I’m on the air Monday, Tuesday and Friday nights from 8pm-1am as well as weekend afternoons from 2-8pm.  I also hosts 16th Ave a local/Canadian indie rock show Sunday nights at 8pm, Live Rock Thursdays at The Brickyard in downtown Calgary and RockStar our $350,000 local band competition.

I started in radio to get music out there to the masses.  I realized the bands I was playing in weren’t paying the bills and decided to switch things up.  I wanted to stay in music and figured radio was a good choice and it certainly has been.  I started at a college station in Kitchener, Ontario while attending a Broadcasting program.  I got my own show called The BackStage Pass and started interview bands.  I think I got really lucky because George Stromboulopoulos sat down with me and really gave me insight into interviewing and within the first year of the show Third Eye Blind, 3 Doors Down, Simple Plan, Sam Roberts & BB King all sat down with me for conversations.

A couple of years passed and I got the opportunity to intern in Los Angeles at Indie 103.1. Sadly the station is no longer around, but it was one hell of a learning experience. Steve Jones from the Sex Pistols did the afternoon show; Dave Navarro,  Matt Sorum, Danny Masterson (aka Hyde from That 70s Show), Henry Rollins and other celebrities all had their own shows on the station.  I only had a temporary work visa so the States booted me and I came back to Canada.

I got a job offer in Windsor/Detroit at 89X to do the overnight show on the weekends. So Friday afternoons I would make the 3 hour drive from my hometown of Waterloo to Windsor and record 18 hours of radio and drive back.  My salary barely paid for the gas it would take every week, but I knew it would lead to bigger and better things which it certainly did.

The Program Director at 89X was leaving and moving to Calgary to start up a brand new radio station from the ground up.  I guess he saw something in me cause he asked me to help him put the station together.  It was quite possibly the best learning experience for someone in the business fresh out of college.  To start a station from the ground up taught me everything that I know about radio. For one it didn’t take the 2 months I had expected to get everything ready.  I moved to Calgary in October 2006 and we didn’t launch until March 2007, a full 6 months later!

In the 2 years since FUEL launched I’ve accumulated over 250 interviews with some of your favorite bands, all of which can be streamed here.  I’ve engineered over 100 sessions from bands coming by the studio to record their songs for FREE DOWNLOADS.  I’ve hosted countless events, found love, and am currently working on a TV chat show similar to The Hour.  Not sure when the TV show will be ready for public consumption but it’s definitely in the works.

Here’s an interview with Hawksley Workman that I recently did:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Posted on February 23, 2009 - by KaleyKinjo

Kaley Kinjo in Japan!

Hello my name is Kaley Kinjo and I am a singer/songwriter from Calgary, Alberta. I also play bass for several different groups and in the past six years have performed or recorded professionally with nearly four dozen different artists. The main group that I play bass for is called the Plaid Tongued Devils. I play bass, guitar, keyboards, and I sing as well. I’ve even been known to play a little drums and percussion from time to time. I’ve just released my first album entitled “Run For Your Life”, which is a wide variety of styles, but usually I refer to it as ‘Acoustic Rock’. I’m currently in Okinawa, Japan visiting family and promoting my music.

Okinawa is the extreme south of Japan and quite tropical. It’s beautiful here and is between 20 and 25 degrees everyday. Yesterday I walked barefoot on a reef while the tide was out and onto a small island. It’s been awesome so far. I have reconnected with a few people that I met here last time and have met many more. I’ve been promoting my album and so far it has been very well received. I’ve gotten a few shows because of it too!

One man I met owns a live music cafe on a busy street and offered me a regular gig every Friday night before even meeting me! I have also got a few opening slots at venues that I was familiar with from my last trip! I’m hoping to do a radio spot in the next few weeks (an experience that I got to enjoy last time I was here as well) and also hoping to get rid of all of the cds I brought with me. So far both look promising!

Eating lots of sushi, drinking lots of green tea, bowing a lot and saying thank you, and generally being Japanese as best I can. That also involves taking lots of pictures and videos!!

If you’re interested in listening to my music please feel free to visit http://www.myspace.com/kaleykinjofor more information please visit www.kaleykinjo.com as well!

My album is currently up on iTunes, CDbaby, ad Kerfmusic as well so please find me there too!

That’s it for now, please feel free to write to me, send me msgs, or post hellos!! I will be back on March 3rd.

Sorry for the long winded message!

Take care everyone!!

KALEY

Posted on January 26, 2009 - by LindsayEll

My name is Lindsay Ell…

Hi!

My name is Lindsay Ell, and I am a nineteen year old guitarist/songwriter from Calgary, AB.  Over the past two years I have had many amazing experiences including, working with Randy Bachman and opening for Chicago’s Blues Pioneer Buddy Guy.  I want to let you know about my acoustic album that is coming out at the beginning of February 2009.  I’m very excited about it as compiling everything together has been a great learning experience.

For once I was able to take some new songs and play them simply ‘me and my guitar’.  It sure is a special feeling when you are part of every process in the project.  After doing the writing, arranging, producing, recording, designing, pressing, and everything else (with lots of help), there’s a whole new meaning to finishing a record.  The album is called ”Alone” and is built on the concept of avoiding over-producing a song, which there sometimes is a place for, but can overtake a track.  ”Alone” exposes my voice and guitar playing with only the songs themselves.  I wanted to make a record like this because I felt it was important for me to learn how crucial having a great song truly is. When everything is taken away, the song is left by itself… and only then can you tell if it’s something special.

Have a listen to one of my favorite tracks off the album, the title track, Alone.  I’ll be having a CD Release Party in Calgary on February 6th, but it will also be available on iTunes, or on  https://killthe8.com/Lindsay_Ell.htm

Hope you all enjoy!

Linds

Listen to “Alone”:

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For more information please visit www.lindsayell.com or www.myspace.com/lindsayell

Posted on December 16, 2008 - by JoelKlettke

It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

The author of this post Joel Klettke has been involved in a number of Calgary music projects including playing guitar for You Are A Weapon. He is currently finishing his business degree at the University of Calgary.

Every year it arrives but once, thrust forward by Jack Frost’s icy fingers. Mothers of all ages will participate in the winter ritual of learning to body-check other shoppers mercilessly in their quest for toys to appease snot-nosed little tyrants. Dads will risk hernia and frostbite shoveling their driveways clean to avoid negligence lawsuits. Winter fires will be fueled for hours using nothing but Wal-Mart flyers, which seem to arrive with disturbingly high frequency. Cars will slide around as though on a skating rink.

Now before you call me a scrooge, let me say plainly that I truly love the Christmas season. It’s a time for family, baked goods, stuffed dead birds, the smell of pine in your living room and so much more. I like nothing better than to throw on some slippers, lay back in an easy chair and sip an eggnog in front of a Wal-Mart donated fire.

But there is one part of Christmas I truly, absolutely, unequivocally despise.
Christmas music.

A full month before the holiday is upon us, your radio will sandblast your eardrums with an endless tidal wave of “Fa La La La La’s”. It becomes impossible to enter a mall without hearing some poor sucker crooning “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” over the top-notch Zeller’s sound system, interrupted by the occasional “Body bag to aisle three, body bag to aisle three – we’ve got a stage 4 body-check victim. Body bag, aisle three.”.
Elvis rolls in his grave.

Sure, there’s the classics. If you start up a round of “Oh Tannenbaum”, also known as the original, german, beefier and manlier version of “Oh Christmas Tree”, you best believe I’ll chime right in and finish the whole thing in my mother tongue. Anything sung in German sounds like a war song fit for the trenches. Singing in German probably puts hair on your chest. And there’s the real, true, hardcore traditional Christmas tunes. Oh Holy Night, Joy To The World. Old school. Legit. I can dig it. But it becomes really difficult to appreciate such melodious sonnets in honor of the birth of Christ when they’re delivered from the lips of Mariah Carey three octaves higher than dogs can hear. All I want for Christmas is you to never hear that song again. Or see that mind-numbingly awful video on my television. It’s tough to find reverence or appreciate the comforting words of Away in a Manger as delivered by the achey-breaky vocals of Randy Travis. Even Twisted Sister put out a Christmas album.

* Shudder *.

At this point in history, Christmas music has nothing to do with Christmas and everything to do with squeezing another crap album out of the buttcheeks of already awful artists. I need go no further than the ear-searing rendition of “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” by Hanna Montanna (complete with choreographed Ginger Bread Dancers, a nice touch). Excellent lip synching, Miley Cyrus. Knock ‘em dead. Clay Aiken shot a Christmas album at light speed from his colon in 2004, simultaneously annoying everyone in the known universe.

But my hatred for Christmas music is unparalleled when I begin to describe the rage that wells up inside of me when I hear “The 12 Days of Christmas”. What douche bag wrote that song? 12 horrible repetitions of the SAME LINES. Some people are ballsy enough to try and play the entire thing in my presence. They promptly receive the unmentioned gift number 13 in the song: windmill kicks to the face until they cease breathing.

If the writer of this song were honest, the song’s lyrics would go: “On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Divorce Papers, for subjecting her to the cruel and unusual torture of sitting through no less than six minutes and thirty seconds of a melody that wasn’t good the first time.” Hell is a place where Miley Cyrus sings you the 12 days of Christmas…forever.

But lest you think me a scrooge yet again, let me point out the single most awesome Christmas album ever recorded. Years ago in what can only be described as a divinely appointed time, the musical gods of Boney M released “Boney M Christmas”. The soaring vocal harmonies of these shimmering Adonis’s cascades over your ears like a warm hug from your creepy Uncle you see once a year – only in a way that you welcome. The electronic drumbeats pulsating, the kettle drums, the cheap piano effects… it’s pure magic. My parents used to toss this on every Christmas, and it burrowed itself into my skull like an angelic worm. I have unbridled love for this album in my heart.

So if you, like myself, am tired of hearing Christmas Carols-Gone-Advertising-Jingles on your radio, hole up in your basement, buy a copy of Boney M Christmas, lay back, sip your eggnog, and enjoy the Season. But mark my words – if you venture out shopping, bring earplugs. You may get the urge to impale yourself on the 50% off sales racks if you don’t.

Here, dear reader, is my gift to you this season. I triple dare you to get that synth line out of your head. Enjoy:

Posted on November 22, 2008 - by Jon

Coming Soon!

We’ll soon be featuring Guest Bloggers from the Calgary’s local music & entertainment scene!

They may be funny, informative or really anything!

Stay Tuned!