That time of year...

Well, it's that time of year that people either love or hate. Or perhaps if you're like me both.



With the on set of Christmas coming I often loathe the shopping malls, peoples demands for service they would never dream of giving someone else and the impatience of those who wait in line ups for expensive gifts that have nothing to do with the spirit of the season.

However what I enjoy most about Christmas is that for the most part in my family that has its ups and downs with squabbles, is that everyone shuts up for a day or two and gets along. upcoming weeks to Christmas are often stressful and full of complaints but the week after everyone tends to say they all had a great time and cannot understand why we don't get together more often.

So for today my first list is for those folks who can't get enough of Christmas, most likely due to the fact they don't work in the service industry.

Most of these songs are from the Phil Spector Christmas album which is probably the best holiday album ever made, but some other classics from the Beach Boys add a sunny California warmth to a temperature challenged season.

Here's the songs.

I will also later post some sit by yourself in a poorly lit bar songs for all of those who could do with out, or at least had a regretful day of waking up to a mall.

Until next time, Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.

Rock & Roll Arts & Crafts

so it's been a long fucking while hasn't it? So lately I have been working my day job, and then coming home to my night job. My night job consists of mainly drinking, and working on music, but mainly drinking. I think about music a lot. It consumes most of my time money and energy. Ironically this doesn't help my musical output thinking about shit doesn't get the shit done. If it did I'd be a philosopher.

Anyways what has brought you to this blog today is a little at home repair project. Due to the cheap construction of one of my favourite pedals it's in need of repair. My black Russian Big Muff pi reissue has a broken jack due to Electro Harmonix being cheap and using plastic jacks and nuts.

So me being equally cheap I've decided rather than track down a new jack for it and pay the whopping $2 for it I'm just going to glue the cheap plastic part back together with some 2 part epoxy and hope for the best.














For the second installment of Rock & Roll Arts & Crafts I went to the The Paper Place to see my friend and former room mate Heather to pick up some Japenese paper to cover the housing of a project pedal I'm building. Awhile ago I ordered a kit to build a pedal that normally I would never be able to afford the coveted Lovetone Big Cheese fuzz pedal. It's a really cool sounding over the top fuzz pedal used by Stephen Malkmus among others. (you can hear it quite a bit on Pavement's Wowee Zowee album)

So I will update you on this one I get my ass in gear and start building it.

In more exciting news I've added 3 more pedals to my arsenal recently which has made me broke and extremely frugal for the next few months. I managed to get great deals on all 3 of these no longer manufactured pedals.

My first acquired pedal was the semi rare often over priced Boss Pan Tremolo PN-2 which is a really cool stereo pan / tremolo pedal that was made in the early nineties and was replaced by the TR-2 tremolo with out the cool panning effects. Either way I must admit I partially wanted it for the hype that My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive used them.

Secondly I picked up an 80's Boss Delay DM-3 which is the bigger brother of the DM-2. The Dm-2 is much more collectable but also has the price tag to go with it. They sound pretty much identical with the exception of a stereo out on the DM-3 and a noise reduction circuit. I snagged this guy up for a good price and rather enjoy it. It's a nice smaller alternative to my EHX Deluxe Memory Man.

Lastly I went to a music store promising myself not to buy anything when I came across what is seemingly rare these days. A Frantone Hep Cat. I've wanted one of these for a few years and had a chance maybe 2 years ago when Song Bird Music closed it's doors. But alas, I did not have the money to purchase one even extremely discounted. Well thankfully I waited and got an even better deal on it. It's a pretty simple over drive but it sounds fantastic and hand made by Fran herself in New York.

Alright well I think I've finally bored everyone to tears so I promise a more interesting blog next time. Maybe some music, or I will have some picture of the pedal build.


xo, Matt

Can-con 90's edition

A long time ago Canadian bands used to have a problem getting airplay on the radio. This made it hard for Canadian bands in the post British Invasion era to get heard and sell records. So the CRTC imposed a system made radio accountable for making sure 35% or its content was Canadian music.

This was great when Canadian music was getting a wide variety of play. Radio was somewhat accepting different styles and sounds and then somewhere along the way radio fell on the Nickleback crutch. This might also be referred to by the Secret Society of Commerical Radio D.J.'s (or SSCRDJ for short) as "Let's keep good music a secret" Back in the 90's however there was a steady flow of good music thanks to Sonic Youth getting Nirvana signed.

So here's my list of favourite 90's tunes that were made in Canada. They aren't necessarily my favourite songs from these bands but it was definitely the ones you would hear on the air waves.

So here is the top ten.


1.Sandbox - Curious
I don't know what happened to this band but I really loved this song. Years later people who remembered this band would then recognize it's guitar player as Bubbles from the trailer park boys. That's right Canadian musicians retire from bands and tours to trailer parks in the east coast.

2.Rusty - Misogyny

This video used to creep the hell out of me. In fact it still might. They then followed up with the Alanis Ironic spoof video for Empty Cell before their record label went bankrupt and we never heard from them again. Unless you hang out with Sproule sisters, they still hold Rusty close to their hearts. Rusty probably now resides in a trailer park with the members of Sandbox.

3.Sloan - The Good In Everyone.

A good Sloan song, not my favourite. It's important to me however, because I was maybe 9 or 10 when this song came out and I didn't really recognize any bands as Canadian. For the most part I thought Canada just had wedding bands and a few bands several decades ago. But this woke me up to knowing that we had cool music that sounded just as good as American music.
I also really related to Sloan at the time because they kind of looked like the Beatles at the time when I only really listened to the Beach Boys or the Beatles.

4.The Odd's - Someone Who's Cool

This song got a lot of rotation on my local radio station in Midland, Rock 95.7. Although as a kid for some reason I always thought was a Tom Petty song. I think it could have been the chorus. I still stand by the fact that its a very Tom Petty'esque chorus. Anyways tambourines and pop harmonies make this a good song for summer.

5.Hayden - Bad As They Seem

I heard this song just going into high school, I believe Chris Hamelin introduced me to this song. I just remember at the time I would sing along to this song and I couldn't hit the low notes. Not to mention this song had everything I longed for as a young teenager with not much of a social life and was hopelessly romantic.

6.Limblifter - Tinfoil

What's not to like about this song? I was later excited as a kid learning guitar that you could have more than one band. I just remember hanging out with my older cousins Mike and Ian and going through whatever tapes or cd's they had gotten or whatever was in the car and just loving all of it. Later I would enjoy Age of Electric and be told that two of the guys were from Limblifter. at 11 or 12 being in multiple bands that are getting videos played on Much Music seemed very cool.


7.Organized Rhyme - Check the O.R.

Best hip hop track of the 90's. Many of you will argue that I'm sure. But I love this song and was horrified one night while having drinks with some co-workers and none of them knew this song or that no one in the entire bar knew this song or that Tom Green could rap. Even my rather busty server didn't have the slightest clue what I was talking about. I would later find out that she hadn't heard of "Buffalo Stance" by Nene Cherry older sister of one hit wonder Eagle Eye Cherry.


8.Gob - Soda

I just like this song. It reminds me of summer, again on high rotation on Much Music my only outlet for new music before the internet.

9.Killjoys - Rave+Drool

Big Shiny Tunes on cassette tape. I wore the shit out of that tape. 'nuff said

10.Age of Electric - Remote Control

2 notes and you're hooked. I remember trying to learn this on guitar by ear when I was just starting to learn guitar, and thinking how does that guy play his bass so low to the ground. This must have been before I was aware of camera angles and lip syncing.



Two Honourable Mentions

Zumpano - Oh That Atkinson Girl

I wasn't aware of Carl Newman's Sub Pop endorsed band Zumpano while they were together. However I would like to think that I would have very much enjoyed them had I known of them. Therefore I did not put them on the list because I was unaware of them during the actual 90's

I mother Earth - One ore Astronaut

I liked I Mother Earth, but not the way everyone else seemed to LIKE I Mother Earth. This would probably be maybe one of three songs I liked by these guys. But knowing that IME complete's a lot of people memories of the 90's I added this in as an honourable mention.


To hear all of these golden Can-Con nuggets click on the Playlist.

Hey people.
Here's a photo of the day we recorded in Jimmy's room. I promise I'll post the mp3 of the song after some bass has been laid down and it gets a proper mix. But for now this is what I've got.

Later today I'll post another song sketch I'm working on. I just need to upload the mp3 to my mediafire account.


xo

Attic Jam

So in an attempt to try and keep up a appearances Jimmy (The Guest Bedroom bassist/guitarist/room mate) and me have been demoing songs for my upcoming E.P. but rather than waiting an ice age for that to come out, here's some proof I'm working on it.

This is one of the songs we demo'd last weekend and we decided to make a video the other night just live off the floor for the sake of jamming.

Hopefully you enjoy.

The photo above was taken by Alana Sproule at her Gallery / Shop Awkward Stage. Alana and I are currently working on a zine together. Hopefully we make this happen as we can both be quite the procrasturbators at times.

I suck at Blogging.

It appears that a little piece of web real estate is too much responsibility for me. It's this cycle I get into where I get really enthusiastic about something and then have trouble keeping the momentum going. Whether it be over ambition or lack of enthusiasm I apologize for not being more regular about this blog.

Right now I'm currently listening to Bright Eyes' Fevers & Mirrors on vinyl why deciding what I should do graphically for a guitar pedal I'm building. It's a clone of a now extinct pedal, and the originals are now like $700 used. So for $100 in parts it seems like a better option to build one myself. I'm excited to get this built, it's a clone of the Lovetone Big Cheese. If you listen to the band Pavement at all then you'll have heard this pedal. it's most present on the bands Wowee Zowee album on the song Half a Canyon. I just love that distortion sound.

Can't wait to see Pavement this summer on Toronto Island.

Where's the blog?

Okay so I continue to slack on this blog I realize this. However I've been shaping up a special set for my Show at Awkward Stage on the 27th. This is my first solo show in awhile and it's not what you would come to expect of a four star daydream set.

Needless to say some new music for your eyes while I wrap up on some lyrics to a new song that will be posted soon. Two great garage rock songs from the '60's have entered my life and filled a mysterious void. One song that I'm in love with is "What am I gonna do" by the Dovers. I loved it when I thought it was an Atlas Sound song. To find out it's really a great song before Bradford Cox sampled it.

Another song that has come to my attention is The Creation's "If I stay too long" This song was first brought to my attention on my friend Doug's facebook wall. I listened to it, like it, but sort of forgot about it. It was quickly brought back to my attention when Doug slagged my love songs of the 60's blog. Which is fair. After downloading the song and playing it again, I really loved it. It's like The Animals, and The Troggs but cooler.

love love love love.

Here's the songs ------> songs!