Author Archive

SCENE AND HEARD showcases the independent music scene here in Vancouver. With 22,376 artists, boasting 99,212 tracks, the CBC Radio 3 web site is the absolute ultimate authority, and the home, of independent music in Canada. With that massive library along with tools for members (free to join!), we’re taking advantage of what they’ve set up by bringing you a fresh batch of music every week featuring local groups who have tracks (entire albums, even!) on the R3 site.

As a Peak Performance Project top 20 finalist, Kuba Oms has a busy few months ahead of him. On top of that he’s headlining a stage at Live At Squamish this Labour Day weekend and is currently up at “bootcamp” with the rest of the PPP. It’s likely you’ll hear his name often in the coming months, and right now you can hear Kuba’s playlist of Vancouver artists…so click the photos below!

SCENE AND HEARD showcases the independent music scene here in Vancouver. We interview some of our favourite local artists, and ‘Last Week in Music’ highlights some of the concerts happening around the city.

Summer is winding down and I have one more column to do before I hand the reins over to my trusty replacement for the month of September. This week was full of excitement and including my first Minotaure show and a road trip to Victoria with Brasstronaut. The photos tell the tale of the week and the video covers the 24 hours with the band…

This Week in Music: I don’t even know…this week is full of end-of-summer parties and fancy events, but I’ll squeeze in as much music as I can. I might check out the last of the CBC Musical Nooners, Hannah Epperson at Cafe Montmartre tonight (Tues) and if you’re looking for fun on Friday, come to THIS (put on by several VIA favourites).

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SCENE AND HEARD showcases the independent music scene here in Vancouver. With 22,376 artists, boasting 99,212 tracks, the CBC Radio 3 web site is the absolute ultimate authority, and the home, of independent music in Canada. With that massive library along with tools for members (free to join!), we’re taking advantage of what they’ve set up by bringing you a fresh batch of music every week featuring local groups who have tracks (entire albums, even!) on the R3 site.

Eric Solomon is a Vancouver-based recording artist and one of the stars of MTV’s new reality series Youth Electric. Eric has lived and performed all over the world from Montreal to the Congo to all over Asia, but now calls Vancouver home. If you’re out on Granville Street you might just run into him like I did, and find out some of his favourite songs by Vancouver artists…Click the photos below to hear Eric’s playlist!

Eric’s Radio 3 Page | Eric’s MySpace | Eric’s Twitter | Eric’s YouTube | Eric’s Facebook …and of course MTV’s YOUTH ELECTRIC (check out your city, on TV!)

SCENE AND HEARD showcases the independent music scene here in Vancouver. We interview some of our favourite local artists, and ‘Last Week in Music’ highlights some of the concerts happening around the city.

Last week in music was packed with choices, difficult ones. Generally I can hop from place to place and see more than one show in a night, but everything seemed to overlap this week. That said, I saw some amazing musicians do their thing and am happy to share the photos (and one very special video) below.

THIS WEEK IN MUSIC: It’s shaping up to be a good week, but again choices must be made. I have THREE shows to choose from on Thursday: Henry and the Nightcrawlers OR Cory Woodward & Bodhi Jones OR MINOTAURE w/ the Gordon Grdina Trio. Decisions, decisions. Wednesday will be bittersweet as I’ll be at the Team Winnick Fundraiser show at the Media Club. And Friday I am very much looking forward to seeing Maurice play the musical nooner at the CBC. There might be more decisions made later, but I also need to enjoy the beach as much as I can!

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SCENE AND HEARD showcases the independent music scene here in Vancouver. With 22,376 artists, boasting 99,212 tracks, the CBC Radio 3 web site is the absolute ultimate authority, and the home, of independent music in Canada. With that massive library along with tools for members (free to join!), we’re taking advantage of what they’ve set up by bringing you a fresh batch of music every week featuring local groups who have tracks (entire albums, even!) on the R3 site.

Vancouver’s Adrienne Pierce writes literate pop music and performs her material with soulful intensity. Her debut album, Small Fires, garnered rave reviews and it wasn’t long before the world recognized her talents. Songs from her second release, the EP Hors D’Oeuvres, found their way into shows such as Grey’s Anatomy and Veronica Mars. Her track “Lost and Found” was featured alongside Spoon and Tegan and Sara on the soundtrack album for the latter. Adrienne’s music has since been heard on dozens of popular television shows.

Adrienne’s 3rd album ‘Oh Deer’ is set to be released tomorrow and you can hear songs from it HERE.

In the meantime, Adrienne has selected a few of her favourite songs by Vancouver artists. Click below to take a listen:

Last week we shared a recording of Guest by the Zolas…this week we have their new music video for No Talking to present to you all…ENJOY!

SCENE AND HEARD showcases the independent music scene here in Vancouver. We interview some of our favourite local artists, and ‘Last Week in Music’ highlights some of the concerts happening around the city.

This week in music found me (as planned) at the Biltmore Cabaret many, many times. I threw back to my teenage years with the punk music of the Cancer Bats on Thursday and watched a hundred people dance their clothes off at Woodhands on Friday. Both evenings ended in sweaty musician hugs…the best kind and a sign that they worked their butts off.  I also managed to get to quieter for intimate venues: Guilt and Company on Friday (pre-Woodhands) and The Libra Room on Saturday for some amazing music by the Gord Grdina Trio…Enjoy the photos!

THIS WEEK IN MUSIC: This week might be fractured with real paying work, but I’m going to do my best to get to these shows: James Lamb is opening for Ottawa’s Lisa Poushinsky at Raw Canvas tonight at 7pm!… — James is also performing at the CBC for their Musical Nooners on Wednesday; later that night is our VIA Playlist guest artist Savannah Wellman in her project Redbird along with Treelines, Garrett Kato and Tom Fun Orchestra at the Media Club. — Thursday is also busy…there is “An Intimate Night Of Piano Tunes With Daniel Moxon & Edo Van Breemen” at Library Square, and/or Jody Glenham (Colleen Rennison and Pam Park) at Guilt and Company. Friday the 13th is a big show with Analog Bell Service and Brasstronaut playng at the China Cloud…if you can get in, it will be well worth it. And Saturday Ann Vriend is at the Cocoa Nymph (chocolate and live music? yes please!).

If NONE of that sounds good to you there is also THIS, THIS, THIS and THIS going on…and you should DEFINITELY try and get to the Little Mountain Gallery fundraiser at The Rickshaw on Friday!

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The Nominees for the Western Canadian Music Awards landed in my inbox this morning and it was full of Vancouver indie names including THREE nominations for Dan Mangan, and one for each of: Said The Whale, Maurice, Yukon Blonde, and You Say Party
(oh and there are noms for some for friends of the city, and now rivals in many categories: Library Voices, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, The Dudes etc)…

BC also has many nominations in the industry categories, like Agency of the Year, Engineer of the Year, and TWO in the Live Music Venue of the Year (The Commodore Ballroom and Biltmore Cabaret)…

Check out the full list below! Tell us whom you are cheering for and who you think they left off the list.

Breakout West runs from the 21st to the 24th and VIAindie will do it’s best to be there to cover it.

Aboriginal Recording of the Year

Eagle & Hawk – The Great Unknown – MB
Leela Gilday – Calling All Warriors – YT
Lost Priority – All That We Are – MB
Shane Yellowbird – It’s About Time – AB
Wayne Lavallee – Trail of Tears – B.C.

Blues Recording of the Year

Colin James – Rooftops and Satellites – B.C.
David Gogo – Different Views – B.C. Read more

SCENE AND HEARD showcases the independent music scene here in Vancouver. With 22,376 artists, boasting 99,212 tracks, the CBC Radio 3 web site is the absolute ultimate authority, and the home, of independent music in Canada. With that massive library along with tools for members (free to join!), we’re taking advantage of what they’ve set up by bringing you a fresh batch of music every week featuring local groups who have tracks (entire albums, even!) on the R3 site.

Savannah Wellman is a local musician who works for Music BC, plays in the Savannah Leigh Band and has a new project called Redbird, who coincidentally are playing a show with Treelines, Garrett Kato and Tom Fun Orchestra at the Media Club on August 11th!

Click below to hear Sav’s playlist!

We love our sisters over at Calgary Is Awesome, especially when they feature wonderful Vancouver talent.

This time it’s The Zolas and their song “Guest” on CIA’s feature Shot At The Dark. Click here to see the original post and watch the video below. I guarantee it will be stuck in your head for days…

SHOT AT THE DARK – The Zolas from Shot at The Dark on Vimeo.

SCENE AND HEARD showcases the independent music scene here in Vancouver. We interview some of our favourite local artists, and ‘Last Week in Music’ highlights some of the concerts happening around the city.

This week in music was overwhelmed by fireworks and bbq’s on decks and long-weekend trips…but the Celebration of Light/The Shore knew how to fix that by having Jon and Roy and then Dan Mangan play on Sunset Beach pre-explosions in the sky.

Jon and Roy provided a chill-beachy dance party, and Dan Mangan produced an overwhelming mass of people swaying, screaming and singing back to him.

If you were there (and near the stage) you’re probably in my panoramas…so make sure you click the photo(s) to see the bigger version and try to spot yourself. And thanks to everyone who yelled at me to take their photo from the stage or wrote me on twitter after spotting me!

(and now…as per YOUR comments/”mrrr”‘s request…)

THIS WEEK IN MUSIC: You will find me at the Biltmore…a LOT. Cancer Bats are playing on Thursday, Woodhands on Friday and I might be convinced to go to the Karaoke night on Wednesday, if for nothing else than the prospect of ice-cold Steamwhistle! (Speaking of which, when are you guys going to sponsor Last Week In Music?). On top of that I’ll be trying to catch as many CBC Musical Nooners as I can wake up for…and hopefully make it to Guilt and Company on Saturday to see Prairie Cat!

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SCENE AND HEARD showcases the independent music scene here in Vancouver. With 22,376 artists, boasting 99,212 tracks, the CBC Radio 3 web site is the absolute ultimate authority, and the home, of independent music in Canada. With that massive library along with tools for members (free to join!), we’re taking advantage of what they’ve set up by bringing you a fresh batch of music every week featuring local groups who have tracks (entire albums, even!) on the R3 site.

Cary Pratt is Prairie Cat.

What Cary has to say about himself?:
“I like talking to strangers in transit. I often where my headphones without music playing so I can listen to other peoples conversations on the skytrain. I am not always the best with peoples names or faces. Sometimes I will forget I have met people before and I get embarrassed when I can’t remember the previous conversations we shared or how long we dated for. I sometimes pretend not to see people I have met when they walk in hopes of avoiding the awkward reintroduction. “I don’t remember your name and who are you again?”. However, the truth is that I would rather be embarrassed for a moment and then pick up where we left off. ”

Cary is playing at Guilt and Company on August 7th (8PM and 10:30PM) and in between sets is performing at The Biltmore with the band PINEAPPLE.

CLICK BELOW TO HEAR CARY’s PLAYLIST!