I have been travelling across the Canadian Prairies freezing my arse off doing workshops for both Alberta and Manitoba Music.  The crowd that has come has been fantastic, and I urge you to check out their sites because they are better than I am at finding and developing the best new local talent.  Here’s some info…

www.manitobamusic.ca

www.amia.ca

On the road again….

I’m blogging at Canadian Blast.com…  here:

http://www.canadianblast.com/Page.asp?PageID=924&ContentID=1454

Wednesday, March 17, 2010 – SXSW Evening 1

First off, the pictures from Canadian Blast are below.  All of them are courtesy of our resident photographer, Duncan McKie.  Also, check out this piece written by Ben Rayner in the Toronto Star –>http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/sxsw/article/781475–canadians-rock-start-of-austin-festival?bn=1

When the sun dipped down, 6th Street and surrounding areas in Austin lit up.  There must have been 500 bands playing tonight, at least, and enough cheesesteak and fried pickles to keep the crowds energized.  Yes, they deep fly pickles here.  Brilliant.  For us, the night was spent with one of our favourite Canadian Americana and other labels, Toronto’s Six Shooter Records.  They took over the upstairs at Soho Lounge on 6th Street, featuring performances from Justin Rutledge and Melissa McLelland, among others. Rutledge once again utilized members of The Beauties as his backing troupe, while McLelland perfectly pitched tones lit up the cool skyline, much like a cabaret singer at a smoke stained Parisian nightclub.

But that was not all tonight.  There was much more afoot.  While Canadian Blast cannot be everywhere, Canadian music can.  Showcases by Melissa auf der Mar, Manitoba’s Boats and Catherine MacLellan were reported on as successes, with the latter being written up glowingly in the Austin Chronicle the next morning.  In addition, as 2AM rolled around, Toronto’s Diamond Rings ran through a gamut of glam and disco at the Beauty Bar Backyard, which was still heaving despite it rolling well in the early hours of the morning.  Other showcases of note included Vancouver’s genre-bridging Delhi2Dublin, London, UK based Mantler and Toronto’s The Coast, who are prepping a new album for release later this year.

Today, Canada House gets underway with an AFM showcase featuring Bruce Peninsula and Hey Rosetta, followed by the M for Montreal clan in evening with La Patere Rose, Winter Gloves and others.  Make sure to come down.

But let’s not forget to mention our friends who aren’t Canadian that we saw last night.  Across the street from the Six Shooter party was the Scottish Arts Council bash, featuring Tommy Flynn, We Were Promised Jetpacks and Frightened Rabbit.  All three were brilliant.  Furthermore, down the road the legendary Dillinger Escape Plan played, and Spoon ran through an inspired headline slot.  What a night on day one.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010 – SXSW Day 1

Ah, the sun is shining.  It’s 8AM and for the first time in Austin, it’s bright, warm and inviting.  To start, we opened the trade show at noon, so much of the morning was spent setting up – this means putting up posters, arranging flyers and meeting neighbours, all of which were complete before the doors opened.  Right from noon, the Canada Stand was bustling with those looking to link up, find new music and learn.  But, aside from this, the action was outside in the sun, in Brush Square.  With the convention centre at full capacity, a group of volunteers were getting the square ready for Canadian Blast, a six-band melee on from 3PM.  Presented by Sirius XM, the Ontario Media Development Corporation, CIMA, Radio Starmaker Fund, FACTOR and the Canadian Government, Canadian Blast literally took over the park.  There was a  BBQ on one side, a VIP area on the area and the stage in the middle, with a host of up-and-coming Canadian talent set for it.  Grant Lawrence from CBC Radio 3 was on hand to introduce the bands, with broadcast across Canada via Sirius XM and Radio 3.

Starting off the day was New Brunswick’s electro trio, Radio Radio.   This Francophone band from Atlantic Canada began the day in upbeat, disco-fueled fashion, wielding off tracks from their recently released debut, Belmundo Regal.   Throughout the forty minute set, the band excited the crowd in both French and English, utilizing a synthesizer and a host of pedals to blend sound with sequence, crafting intelligent beats perfect to open the afternoon up to Canadian music.

Next was two bands in one, courtesy of Toronto’s Six Shooter Records.  Justin Rutledge, one of the more interesting alt-country songsmiths circumventing the north and a new signing and rough-edged quartet The Beauties teamed up for a set of raucous rock and roll, recalling early Old 97s or even Uncle Tupelo.  It was simple, energetic country-fused rock, showcasing the best of both bands in an amalgam unique to Canadian Blast.

Moving on the the halfway point around 4:30PM, about the time the crowd was slowly starting to feel the effect of alcohol and the penetrating Austin sunlight, Toronto’s Hollerado took the reigns to unleash their take on angular indie, complete with cuts from their debut release, Record in a Bag.  With Hollerado, all signs point to influences from Grunge to Brit Pop, but each is twisted in such a way that maturely displays itself, best noted on their CBC Radio 3 hit, ‘Juliette’.  Complete with a fan-friendly cover of Neil Young’s seminal 1989 dictum, ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’, Hollerado gave Canadian Blast a dose of old fashioned indie rock, and the crowd lapped it up.

And there were still three bands to come.  Yes, this showcase has six in total.  And in the Austin sun, that is a lot of music.  First up in the latter half of the showcase was Vancouver’s touring workhorses, You Say Party! We Say Die! Harking back to what Radio Radio displayed, YSPWSD chose dance over rock, offering honest, to the point, and frighteningly dance-driven tunes.  With YSPWSD, the electricity is handled by lead singer Becky Ninkovic, and in this case there was no let-up there.  With forty minutes allotted, the band chose to feature their new album, XXXX, as Ninkovic wailed over disco beats, distorted guitar lines and steady drum parts.  Folks were singing along by the end; that is always a sign of positivity.

Next and penultimately, Toronto’s Born Ruffians emerged, using their forty minutes to promote their soon to be released sophomore full-length, Say It.  While much of the songs were new to the audience, every one was greeted the same – with swaths of applause.  And with each song came a sense of accomplishment from the stage, one that showcases a mature band ready to take on the world.  With Warp Records releasing this debut in June, this is a band that could top best of lists at the end of 2010.

And, like MIDEM 2010, the Canadian Blast showcase was concluded by Montreal’s Plants and Animals, who mixed the old with the new throughout their forty minutes on stage.  Under a hint of jazz and progressive rock, Plants and Animals softly and firmly introducing their blend of pop music, one filled with myriad twists and turns, distorted interludes and dreamlike soundscapes.  It proved the best way to finish, bang on 7PM, because there is still a night of showcases ahead, including over twenty showcasing Canadian performances.

But what a fantastic afternoon.  A big thank you to all the sponsors and volunteers, and of course the bands.  Here’s to another successful Canadian Blast at SXSW.  Now onto more showcases.

Pictures courtesy of Duncan McKie to come tomorrow….

Tuesday, March 16, 2010 – SXSW Day 1: Calm Before The Storm

We are finally here. Fantastic. And of course, things are going swimmingly. While it has rained for much of the day, we are relaxed, content and ready to go. Already, at the Austin Convention Centre, registrants are shuffling amongst themselves, sitting in panels (a lecture from the founders of Twitter proved to be the hot ticket), eating all sorts of meat on bread, sampling free drinks (there’s lots of them at SXSW) and setting up meetings. For Canadian Blast, our job was to set up the stand in the exhibition hall, as well as survey Brush Park, across the street, ahead of tomorrow’s Canadian Blast showcase, featuring Born Ruffians, Radio Radio, Justin Rutledge and the Beauties, You Say Party! We Say Die! and Hollerado. This is the beginning of an onslaught of Canadian gigs, as over 100 of our bands are playing countless shows throughout the festival. Some of them take place at Paradise, including an OMDC showcase featuring Jully Black, while others are all over – outside, inside, in record shops, parks, on boats, everywhere.

So this is the calm before the storm, so to speak. SXSW officially starts tomorrow (today when you are reading this), Wednesday March 17th, so much of today is spent getting to know the surroundings, getting comfortable with the geography and possible restaurant options and taking a big collective deep breath, as it all starts tomorrow. Stay tuned.