Pic of the Day #4

This is usually where I start and end every day...so...

Pic a Day #3

Dave Jackson is back speaking to me about his upcoming album. The interview is in the editing room so be ready to watch!!

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.