Pic-a-Day #2

I'm not exactly sure what this is and if I had to guess I'd say it's a little oven.
The beautiful thing about this item is that it doesn't matter what it is, but what matters is how it came to be.
A friend of ours named Steven has put his whole self into a welding course over the past few months and recently passed his exam!!! We even celebrated with a potluck dinner at the Kelly-Campbell House down the road.
He worked his butt off and it was great hearing the enthusiasm in his voice when he explained the technique involved in making this little bitty oven.
So again, sometimes the how overshadows the what.


Congrats Steve!

Zach C.

A Pic a Day? I think I can.

Ever walk up to group of kids sitting in the street and ask to take their picture? Well, I did. It took some convincing that I wasn't "pedo" but I was able to get them to chill and keep doing what they were doing...which was literally sitting in the street.

It was a good shot of the day and it got me warmed up to getting out of the car when I see something worth shooting.

Congrats GYC!!

So last week I went to a little school in downtown Guelph to take a class picture and get a shot of this year’s grad student. The school is called Give Yourself Credit and it is a program that helps youth considered at risk for various reasons, get their high school diploma.

I had an awesome time with the grad student, Brittany, as we got some great lighting from the sun as it peaked out from the clouds now and then. She looked awesome with her gown and her flowers.

It was tons of fun just hanging out to see how the students interacted with one another and it was great to see a facility run by genuinely caring individuals who want to see these students succeed.

Thanks for having me GYC. Keep up the good work everyone. And Congrats Brittany on your graduation and good luck with the next step of your journey!

Zach C.

Up and Comer David Jackson at The Red Brick Cafe

So it's finally here! My first video interview! Today I spoke with David Jackson and harpist Gwyneth Hodgsen.
I was excited to try out my new Canon 7D and these guys were a wonderful pair to try it on. All I can say is that it was a pleasure.

Before you watch the video posted below, I'll just let you know there was an "issue" with the camera in that I didn't realize it automatically shuts itself off after 4 gigs or 25 minutes of video have been recorded. The last couple minutes of the interview have been lost forever and will only be known by the three who were immediately present. I apologize because now you're life won't be complete until you find out what was said!
Another issue slash lesson I learned was not to sit next to an air conditioning unit...so...

Follow the link and we'll see you back here soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RSQ3bNCBnw&feature=plcp

So there you have it folks; David Jackson, Gwyneth Hodgson, Condoms: The Musical. Watch out for the June 23rd drop of Seas, Shores, and Directions while keeping an ear out for the big CD release party.

Fly Kicks and Hot Tunes

So here’s a little riddle to get us started.


What is sometimes great and sometimes not.
What is full of junk and also full of treasure?
What has everything from new CDs to old underwear?

A thrift store, that’s what!

Thrift stores have always been one of my favorite things for a few different reasons. So I thought I would dedicate a little bit of blog space to them every once in a while.

My home town, Guelph, has quite a few. Some are hit and others are miss. Last night I got together with Carson Connolly – you may know him as The Crook, or Andru the Crook from Trapper’s on Saturdays – and we got hungry for some fresh vinyl. So we wrote a letter to Boney M (more on that later) and we headed to Goodwill on Woodlawn Rd.

I like Goodwill because they are an actual charitable organization, unlike other thrift stores who accept free donations and then jack their prices and keep most of the profit *ehem*.

When we arrived we found we perused the crates of vinyl and found a few interesting pieces, but nothing that really made me want to take it home. Among the records were crates of LaserDiscs which were a total mindblower! If you have never seen LaserDiscs, Google an image of it! They’re like giant DVDs!

Anyways! We left Goodwill empty handed and proceeded to Value Village over on Silvercreek. Now, I don’t particularly feel good about going to Value Village because personally I feel like their prices are a bit up there. It seems like years ago they sold things real cheap and didn’t really worry about name brands which got people donating lots. Now they have more donations than a lot of other thrift stores which gives them a bigger selection which draws a bigger customer base which allows for higher prices. It’s a frustrating circle, people!

Regardless, we walked through the falsely advertised “automatic doors” (they did close automatically) and headed for the music. They had a few records, I found a John Lennon record that they wanted $10 for even though the sleeve was gross and faded and the vinyl was in okay condition. Frustration.

The records didn’t yield a fantastic selection so I started perusing the CDs to see what I could see. After the CDs we basically checked out the rest of the store and left with a few things. 

It's all about the books and music for me and I almost always find something to leave with from those two categories. So this time I left with some stuff I knew and some I didn't. 
From back to front in the above image - Those shoes are definitely made of gimp (plastic bracelet rope from summer camp days) and they're white. They are my new Get The Funk Out shoes for the Albion even though though kill my feet. 
That first album is something called Omni by a group called Minus the Bear. I gave it a listen and I was kind of into it. It didn't make me say 'Whoa!' or anything but it was not a waste of $3. 
I also got Wayne Williams Presents Strictly House Classics Volume II. Now, I was with Carson who is a DJ and who definitely appreciates some good house and we were both surprised to find that this album, though filled with songs produced between 1986 and 1994, could still get our heads bobbing on the ride home.  Memorable tracks include Circle Children by Indonesia, Yo Yo Get Funky by Fast Eddie, and L.F.O by LFO. 
My last and favourite purchase from the Village was a little 'best of' album by a funky little brother called Jamiroquai! You may recognize Canned Heat, a song prominently featured in the movie Napoleon Dynamite. Jamiroquai is an awesome artist. He's funky and he creates tunes that get me moving anytime of day. 


So we'll see, hopefully the rest of my thrift store purchases will yield decent fodder for a little bloggy-blog. At least that's how I'll justify a little more thrift store shopping...


xoxo


Zach C.

John Mayer's Born and Raised

The thing I love about John Mayer is that he knows how to make an actual concept album.
On Tuesday Mayer released Born and Raised. It his fifth album and it is already one of my favorites.
I really like the meekness of this album. I saw Jay-May perform in Toronto a couple years ago, and I know first-hand that the guitar is truly an extension of his body. He can make a guitar do anything he wants with ease. That being said, John seems to pull back a lot with his guitar playing on this album. It’s not as “heavy” as Battle Studies. Where there is space left that could be filled with a guitar solo, it’s often filled with harmonica (played by Mayer) and this gives the album a blues-ier feel. Everything on this album just seems softer. It reminds me of someone realizing they have done wrong and they come back to apologize; they’re quieter, less abrupt, softer. I appreciated the guitar picking and the all-around easy listening feel of this album.
Even lyrically, John is not his *ehem*, proud self. Mayer shows his reflective side and brings a more mature vibe to this album. John has been the object of criticism and has embarrassed himself in recent years with some off comments and this album seems to say “I’m sorry and I’ve changed” while still asking for respect.
Bottom line – I love this album. I’ve listened to it end to end 8 times in two days. It is relaxing and it speaks to where I am and where I want to be. This album further establishes John as a musician among pop-stars. I would highly recommend it for lovers of folk, soft rock, blues, and maybe even country.

Track listing:
Queen of California
The Age of Worry
Shadow Days
Speak for Me
Something Like Olivia
Born and Raised
If I Ever Get Around to Living
Love is a Verb
Walt Grace’s Submarine Test, January 1967
Whiskey, Whiskey, Whiskey
A Face to Call Home
Born and Raised (Reprise)

Favorites: The Age of Worry, Shadow Days, Born and Raised, Love is a Verb, Walt Grace’s Submarine Test, January 1967

Where to listen: Next to a beach fire, in a room with lots of wood/antiques, driving through the Canadian prairies

What to drink: Whiskey, Whiskey, Whiskey

8 Questions With Shred Kelly

So previously I posted a little posty-post regarding a favorite band of mine; Shred Kelly. I had the chance to email these friends and ask a few questions. I know I was itching to read the responses and they are here for all to enjoy.
Big shout out to Sage McBride for taking the time to answer all these questions! Can't wait to see you guys.

Here you go. The bold is from Sage.

Hey Zach,
So sorry we didn't get back to you sooner. Recording ended up being a really long time consuming process, and only now do we have some time to reply to emails.
This may be too late in which case I'm super duper sorry, but here's the questions answered for you!

1         Shred Kelly, How did you come up with the name?

We came up with the name Shred Kelly because of the Aussie Steve in our band. He had an air band called Shred Kelly based on historical Australian figure Ned Kelly. Another time he dressed up for halloween as SHred Kelly which was Ned Kelly in snowboard gear going to "shred".

How did the band come to be? Where and when did you meet?

Tim, Steve and Shiner were all roommates and they started hosting a jam night in our town Fernie BC at a place called the Underground. Through their jam night they met me (Sage) and Jordan because we came out to jam with friends, and realized there may be a spot for bass, keys and some harmonies in the band.

      The banjo is not really a common instrument in music these days. Tim, what or who inspired you to pick up the banjo

Tim's not here right now, and I'm not sure exactly his inspiration to learn the banjo, but once he aquired one he became a banjo ninja, practiced for 5-10 hours a day and mastered his craft over a summer. A lot of the songs from our first album Goodbye July were developed around the banjo riffs he taught himself that summer. He even learned to clawhammer a ukulele.

1        Ian, you have some phenomenal ability on the drums. When you started playing, did you start with bluegrass style drumming or has that developed over time?

Shit. Ian's not here either. I think he began with a punk/hard rock style of drumming which seemed to go really well with the clawhammer style of banjo...  but I could be making that up.

1        Can you give us any hints for the future of Shred Kelly? Anything coming down the pipeline?

We have a new album coming out this summer. It's called In The Hills, and we just finished recording it a few days ago. Can't wait to get it mixed and mastered and out into the world.

We'll also be playing some really great music festivals this summer including NXNE, Ottawa Blues Fest, River and Sky Camping and Music Festival and The Peak to Shore Festival in Southern Ontario, and a variety of other festivals in Manitoba, Alberta and BC which we're really pumped about. We also won the Tracks on Tracks competition so we'll be doing an epic train ride across the country with a group of other amazing BC artists, which we think we'll be an experience like no other!

1        You’re going to be hopping on the Tracks on Tracks train really soon with a bunch of other talented musicians. Who would you say are you most excited to be on the train with?

All of the artists on the train look phenomenal. We're pretty excited to play some shows with The Matinee cause we played the same music festival last summer, but had to miss their show because of another event we were playing. But we heard so many amazing things about them from the people at the festival, so we're excited to finally catch their show a year later.

1        Finally, any more foreseeable Ontario shows?

Aside from the festivals I mentioned we'll be playing a show in Peterborough on July 12th at The Moho, July 18th at the Phog Lounge in Windsor, and hopefully we'll be adding another Guelph show while we're in the area too!

One little bonus question. It's pretty clear you guys hate work. What have been your worst jobs?

I'm not with the rest of the guys, so I'm not sure their worst jobs ever. Mine was working at a hotel daycare where the bathrooms were on the outside of the center, so when I took kids to the bathroom they'd run ahead of me and lock me out of the daycare. Tim has had a lot of bad jobs, but I think picking fruit in Australia was his worst. The other guys... well I'll have to get back to you. Maybe there will be a song sequel.

Hope to see you this summer Zach, and we can get together for a photoshoot this time!

Hope you're doing awesome!

Talk to you soon,

Sage