apostle of hustle

Stop Die Resuscitate, Sta

Shouting Match

Went out for my brother’s birthday this past Saturday. Landed at the Drake hotel in the midst of an interesting mix of artists.

Stop Die Resuscitate - Bad Night 12?

Stop Die Resuscitate were opening with the launch of the video for their track Bad Night (check the tune out on their MySpace Page here). It sounds like Buck 65 mixed with TV on the Radio. Fun stuff, I do recommend. You can also check out some of their remixes here, check out the VitaminsForYou – Flesh Python and Apostle of Hustle – Haul Away remixes in particular.

StaSta might be an unknown to you, unless you read the article about him in Now magazine last week, or you keep up to date on Marine Parade’s newest artists… or you hang out on zShare downloading remixes randomly. He got his start by recording a remix of the Timbaland track Give It To Me, and has been catching the eye (and ear) of big names like Adam Freeland, the Chemical Brothers and Crystal Method. His latest release is a remix of the theme song to the show In Living Color. Hey if it can help make J-Lo famous, why not a skinny white kid from Ottawa?

Last up was Montreal’s Nu Ravers On The Block… I’ll save stuff on them for another time…

Kevin Drew

Had a good night out at Lees Palace on thursday. Went to see Kevin Drew‘s early show, as part of the Edge 102.1’s next big thing concerts in conjunction with Redpipe.ca. It was impressed with the show. From what I’d heard online of Spirit If.. (Drew‘s recent solo release on mini-major Arts& Crafts) it didn’t grab me right away. Again, I needed the live show to get me more interested in the record.

You might have seen this video a little while ago, Back Out On The … by Kevin Drew. And yes, that’s J Mascis playing drums and guitar. Solid track and definitely a girl mover live. My fave track live?? Lucky Ones, featuring Tom Cochrane. And yeah, he came out on stage to perform it live. It was a surprise for sure (I guess I assumed that when Drew tells the audience that he’s got a special guest, it would be someone along the lines of Feist, Emily Haines, or someone else from Stars, BSS, A&C extended family). Pretty star studded band as well, Justin and Brendan from BSS, Sam from Toronto’s Uncut, Andrew from American Analog Set and Bill Priddle formerly of Treble Charger. John Crossingham (Raising The Fawn), Andrew Whiteman (Apostle Of Hustle) and Bloc Party’s Gordon Moakes aslo graced the stage that night.

Head to Drew‘s myspace page to hear some of his songs, Tbtf (to beautiful to f&*k) is free to download and you can find Lucky Ones at the Leather Canary.

Kevin Drew

Something About Wolfe Island

I know it, this is going to be my favorite festival to go to ever summer….. its not just the bands (Wolf Parade, Holy FucK, Apostle Of Hustle, Born Ruffians, and more) and the low ticket price. Maybe the purple bandanna I was wearing that day was too tight, or the sun and booze combination. Something about that island, it held some indescribable vibe.
The pieces.

–the ferry ride over was windy. I had a perfect opportunity to dry all of my back sweat (from the drive in leather seats) by angling my right sleeve to the exact angle into the wind
–we found the perfect camping spot, right in the middle of a field of dandelions. as soon as the tents went up, we hit the smuggled-in booze right away
–i witnessed a horrible fight between two dogs, an angry medium-sized dog (who we later named Barbaric) clamped his teeth down on a Shitzu’s neck, tossing the dog wildly in the air. it was horrible. happy ending though, the fight was broken up and both dogs were fine.
—Basia Bulat was really great to see live, finally. Really talented singer.
–I balanced a unicycle on my chin (which I realized in hindsight was a horrible idea….)
—Born Ruffians made people get on their feet
–it was incredibly easy to bring mixed drinks into the concert area.
—Weeping Tile re-united for this show. Was great to hear those songs again.
—Apostle Of Hustle finally got me as a fan (it took three tries…)
–everyone was so relaxed and laid back
—Holy Fuck got everyone dancing
—Wolf Parade treated us to some new material (including a 12 min song….)

Head over to Chromewaves to hear his take.Wolf Parade

Wolfe Island Music Fest 07

It seems really early to be announcing this, but it might sell out pretty fast. Similar to what I blogged about last year, check out the Wolfe Island Music Festival, Aug. 10th-11th. Wolf Parade headline, with support from Holy Fuck, Chad VanGaalen, Apostle of Hustle, Young Rival (formerly The Ride Theory), and reunited?? Weeping Tile. I wore that disc out way back when….

Tickets at Maplemusic.

Check out Young Rivals new demos here.

Wolfe Island Music Fest