TIMAs @ CMW 2010!
April 22.2010
By BD Marie Hughes
Canadian Music Week 2010 was held in Toronto during the week of March 8. The TIMAs were out to represent! We caught up with some of the artists playing The Great Hall (Queen St. W., Toronto) on Friday, March 12.
A Friend in London – Copenhagen, Denmark
BD: What did playing CMW mean to you?
A Friend in London Tim: Well, first of all, it was a great experience! It was a really good opportunity for us to talk to other bands about their experiences in the Canadian music industry. Second, it’s a golden chance to talk to industry guys, labels and so on and really separates the bottom feeders from the ones who means business.
AFIL Sebastian: It really expanded our network and it meant that we have an even more solid fan base in Toronto than we had before.
AFIL Esben: It was the best opportunity we’ve had so far to network and make new friends. We’ve met so many great people already including musicians and industry people. It was fantastic to be on the stage at The Great Hall!
BD: AFIL performed the most amazing acoustic set. It was passionate. It was beautiful. Yet, most compelling, it was intimate. Not too many bands are able to draw people in that closely and feel as though they were transformed by listening to you. I would describe it as more an experience than a performance. As you may know from Mitch at Track Avenue, I don’t blow no sunshine! (everyone laughs) How did you prepare for this acoustic set?
AFIL Tim: That’s great feedback so we thank you! We, basically, just sat down one night with our guitars at the place that we’re staying and went through the songs. It made perfect sense how the songs should be performed as we went through them.
BD: How did your main performance later in the evening turn out? The stage was blazing hot with the performances before yours! (everyone laughs) Julie C, Crush Luther, Isle of Thieves... You were gonna have to really lay it down or be boo’d out of the place! You figure out yet that Toronto really rocks??
AFIL Sebastian: For sure it was a great night! Despite that it was late in the evening, the turnout was good and we were really happy with our performance. I think the crowd was really up for giving us a good experience and the funny thing is – right after our show? The place emptied and people were gone. So they must’ve stayed for some reason (everyone laughs) It’s a very satisfying feeling.
BD: Where else did you play other than The Great Hall during CMW? Hopefully Mitch really hooked you up well!
AFIL Sebastian: We played at the “Out There with Melissa DiMarco VIP Lounge” where Indie Love Radio also was situated. We had the opportunity as we’d been in contact with Melissa for some time before we came to Canada.
BD: What were your first impressions of Toronto? Any surprises? (laughing) Hopefully a lot of good and not too much bad! Hopefully you’ll come back to grace our fine city!
AFIL Esben: You know, we’ve been here before as we played North by Northeast (“NXNE”) in June 2009. We love Toronto and the Canadian people! We’re actually in the middle of planning to move here in June and stay for the rest of the year.
BD: Would you come back to play CMW again?
AFIL Esben: Yes! We definitely would! We are planning to play at NXNE in June again this year! So, as a band, we’re really excited about that!
Julie C – Montreal, Quebec
BD: What did playing CMW mean to you?
Julie C: CMW was a way for us to introduce our new album Steady Ground that I’ve been working on with Ron Lopata. It’s been a year in the studio recording this album. It was great for me to get out and have people listen to songs we’ve been recording. We’re going to be launching a single this summer. And a preview of our full record for the summer. It will be available at live shows only. Then the album will be coming out in the fall. It’s kind of like a new interpretation of Julie C. It’s all about new things, not taking life so seriously, and having fun with it.
BD: Sounds like music for music’s sake!
Julie C: Yes! Life is so short. The next thing you know you’re in a rocking chair telling your best stories. I want to be telling the stories while I’m still in them. I don’t want to look back on my life like when I was 18 and wonder why I was complaining! (we both laugh) CMW was a great thing for us, too, because, to promote our Showcase, we did extravagant things. (laughing) We dressed up as bees and ran through the Royal York Hotel where the industry people were! (both of us are laughing)
BD: No! (gasping theatrically & laughing) Literally – buzzing! No way! You. Did. Not! (both laughing) Awesome! Love it! So when are you coming back to Toronto? I’m really looking forward to your next show!
Julie C: Definitely, that’s great! We are in the process of lining up our performance dates and we can let you know once we have them confirmed!
BD: Hey Julie, that’s so great! Really loved your show. And love love LOVE the sparkly jacket you wore that night on stage! I may have to borrow that sometime!
Isle of Thieves – Toronto, ONBD: What did playing CMW mean to you?
IoT Japeth: Playing CMW means celebrating Canadian music as well as independent music. We feel honoured to be a part of it for the second year in a row. It’s a great event that gives passionate and hardworking musicians the recognition and appreciation they deserve for just doing their thing for the rest of the year. This CMW was like Christmas for us. We played 2 showcases and did about 5 interviews, met lots of great people, made lots of new friends and fans. Can’t wait for next year!
BD: When did you re-mix/re-master “Hollywood”, “Best Mistake”, “Rockstar”, “Clinger”, “Six Good Friends”, & “Love Artificial”, where did you do it, and what fantastic genuis did it? (everyone laughs) Sounds awesome!
IoT Japeth: We actually remixed and remastered all the tracks and even added a brand new track. It was done in December ‘09 and early January of this year. We had it remixed at The Pawn Shop, a recording studio in downtown Toronto in Kensington Market by Mike Langford. Mike is the original producer / mixer / engineer of the original “Only Human” album. It was mastered by Peter Letros. As for updates, please let your readers know about our upcoming FREE Show at the Mod Club Theatre on Saturday, May 8. Doors open at 10 pm and we hope to see you there, of course! If your readers would like to check out our upcoming dates, they can view them at our myspace!
www.myspace.com/afriendinlondon
www.myspace.com/juliecmusic
www.myspace.com/isleofthieves
April 22.2010
By BD Marie Hughes
Canadian Music Week 2010 was held in Toronto during the week of March 8. The TIMAs were out to represent! We caught up with some of the artists playing The Great Hall (Queen St. W., Toronto) on Friday, March 12.
A Friend in London – Copenhagen, Denmark
BD: What did playing CMW mean to you?
A Friend in London Tim: Well, first of all, it was a great experience! It was a really good opportunity for us to talk to other bands about their experiences in the Canadian music industry. Second, it’s a golden chance to talk to industry guys, labels and so on and really separates the bottom feeders from the ones who means business.
AFIL Sebastian: It really expanded our network and it meant that we have an even more solid fan base in Toronto than we had before.
AFIL Esben: It was the best opportunity we’ve had so far to network and make new friends. We’ve met so many great people already including musicians and industry people. It was fantastic to be on the stage at The Great Hall!
BD: AFIL performed the most amazing acoustic set. It was passionate. It was beautiful. Yet, most compelling, it was intimate. Not too many bands are able to draw people in that closely and feel as though they were transformed by listening to you. I would describe it as more an experience than a performance. As you may know from Mitch at Track Avenue, I don’t blow no sunshine! (everyone laughs) How did you prepare for this acoustic set?
AFIL Tim: That’s great feedback so we thank you! We, basically, just sat down one night with our guitars at the place that we’re staying and went through the songs. It made perfect sense how the songs should be performed as we went through them.
BD: How did your main performance later in the evening turn out? The stage was blazing hot with the performances before yours! (everyone laughs) Julie C, Crush Luther, Isle of Thieves... You were gonna have to really lay it down or be boo’d out of the place! You figure out yet that Toronto really rocks??
AFIL Sebastian: For sure it was a great night! Despite that it was late in the evening, the turnout was good and we were really happy with our performance. I think the crowd was really up for giving us a good experience and the funny thing is – right after our show? The place emptied and people were gone. So they must’ve stayed for some reason (everyone laughs) It’s a very satisfying feeling.
BD: Where else did you play other than The Great Hall during CMW? Hopefully Mitch really hooked you up well!
AFIL Sebastian: We played at the “Out There with Melissa DiMarco VIP Lounge” where Indie Love Radio also was situated. We had the opportunity as we’d been in contact with Melissa for some time before we came to Canada.
BD: What were your first impressions of Toronto? Any surprises? (laughing) Hopefully a lot of good and not too much bad! Hopefully you’ll come back to grace our fine city!
AFIL Esben: You know, we’ve been here before as we played North by Northeast (“NXNE”) in June 2009. We love Toronto and the Canadian people! We’re actually in the middle of planning to move here in June and stay for the rest of the year.
BD: Would you come back to play CMW again?
AFIL Esben: Yes! We definitely would! We are planning to play at NXNE in June again this year! So, as a band, we’re really excited about that!
Julie C – Montreal, Quebec
BD: What did playing CMW mean to you?
Julie C: CMW was a way for us to introduce our new album Steady Ground that I’ve been working on with Ron Lopata. It’s been a year in the studio recording this album. It was great for me to get out and have people listen to songs we’ve been recording. We’re going to be launching a single this summer. And a preview of our full record for the summer. It will be available at live shows only. Then the album will be coming out in the fall. It’s kind of like a new interpretation of Julie C. It’s all about new things, not taking life so seriously, and having fun with it.
BD: Sounds like music for music’s sake!
Julie C: Yes! Life is so short. The next thing you know you’re in a rocking chair telling your best stories. I want to be telling the stories while I’m still in them. I don’t want to look back on my life like when I was 18 and wonder why I was complaining! (we both laugh) CMW was a great thing for us, too, because, to promote our Showcase, we did extravagant things. (laughing) We dressed up as bees and ran through the Royal York Hotel where the industry people were! (both of us are laughing)
BD: No! (gasping theatrically & laughing) Literally – buzzing! No way! You. Did. Not! (both laughing) Awesome! Love it! So when are you coming back to Toronto? I’m really looking forward to your next show!
Julie C: Definitely, that’s great! We are in the process of lining up our performance dates and we can let you know once we have them confirmed!
BD: Hey Julie, that’s so great! Really loved your show. And love love LOVE the sparkly jacket you wore that night on stage! I may have to borrow that sometime!
Isle of Thieves – Toronto, ONBD: What did playing CMW mean to you?
IoT Japeth: Playing CMW means celebrating Canadian music as well as independent music. We feel honoured to be a part of it for the second year in a row. It’s a great event that gives passionate and hardworking musicians the recognition and appreciation they deserve for just doing their thing for the rest of the year. This CMW was like Christmas for us. We played 2 showcases and did about 5 interviews, met lots of great people, made lots of new friends and fans. Can’t wait for next year!
BD: When did you re-mix/re-master “Hollywood”, “Best Mistake”, “Rockstar”, “Clinger”, “Six Good Friends”, & “Love Artificial”, where did you do it, and what fantastic genuis did it? (everyone laughs) Sounds awesome!
IoT Japeth: We actually remixed and remastered all the tracks and even added a brand new track. It was done in December ‘09 and early January of this year. We had it remixed at The Pawn Shop, a recording studio in downtown Toronto in Kensington Market by Mike Langford. Mike is the original producer / mixer / engineer of the original “Only Human” album. It was mastered by Peter Letros. As for updates, please let your readers know about our upcoming FREE Show at the Mod Club Theatre on Saturday, May 8. Doors open at 10 pm and we hope to see you there, of course! If your readers would like to check out our upcoming dates, they can view them at our myspace!
www.myspace.com/afriendinlondon
www.myspace.com/juliecmusic
www.myspace.com/isleofthieves
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