Tuesday 28 August 2012

Vacation, and Post Vacation

So I was away for two weeks.  And a long hot two weeks it was.  We drove south to a camp ground near Slippery Rock PA, USA.  Why there?  You see I have this odd hobby.  I'm part of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism).   And the event we went to was one of the largest events of the year.  

Two weeks of camping very primitively, doing food shopping every few days for 14 people the first few days and then our group of 28 the 2nd week.  Participating in the full contact fighting the 2nd week.  Which is one of my favorite parts.  Especially the woods battle.  

But one of the biggest highlights was meeting new musicians.  The Whiskey Bards These guys are fantastic.  They're a quartet.  Three tenors and a bass.  Their harmonies are just fantastic.  I was lucky enough to hear them perform, and then part of a group that convinced them to come sing at a bonfire.   (though we only got three of them to the bonfire).  The group has graciously given me permission to play their music and I plan on doing just that.  So there's something for everyone to look forward to!

So The Wiskey Bards are: Jonathan Hopf AKA Yonatan von Schwartzfleck, OL Stephen Hoogerwerf AKA Tonis van Driele, OL Christopher Lyon AKA Simon MacFhearchair, OL Nevin Phull AKA Cosimo Orsini, KSCA. Primarily Acapella, but sometimes including a variety of instruments. Based out of Tucson, Arizona,

So, I've been home almost two weeks now, and I still feel like I'm recovering from vacation.  Funny as that sounds, unless you've been to Pennsic, you just won't get it.  

Anyways I have two shows to get ready, so off I go.....

Friday 17 August 2012

Start my Own Podcast????

I've been guest hosting on The Justin Wayne Show now for, um, how long?   I know I've done several shows, and I can say that I'm rather enjoying this.  I've been motivated not just as a host but as a musician to seek out more new music.  I've found some rather amazing bands, and quite a few are local.  

I've had a few people ask me if and or when I would be starting my own show.   

Should I ?

Where do I start?  I have no clue what the next step should be!  

Help?

I'd love to hear from other podcasters on where/how you got started and any advice or suggestions you might have for me should I choose to go forward and start my own show.

Tuesday 14 August 2012

Show 166

So I'm a little behind on blogging about the content I've put together for the Justin Wayne Show.   I'm still not getting a lot of feedback about what I'm doing.... Thankfully I feel comfortable with what I have put together.  Creative Criticism is always nice to get though!

So, Show 166 is up and you can listen to it.  I got this one done just pre holidays.  Just over one hour of independent Canadian Music.  Yes, that right folks, everything I submitted for this show was Canadian.

So first up I played Three Tracks by Heather Dale.   Prodigal Son from the album May Queen, Mordred's Lullaby from the album Trial of Lancelot, and then Mountain from the album Gabriel Hounds.   I've known Heather now for about 15 or so years.  Heather had made quite a career for herself writing and recording music.  There's so much I could say about Heather, but I think her music can speak for itself.  I've been lucky enough to sing along with Heather at SCA events and even have her play and sing at my wedding.    If you enjoy her music, get in touch with her.  She does house concerts while on tour, and those are always a treat to be at.

 The first two songs I selected because they have become two of my favorites.  They're both based on Arthurian Legends.   Heather does quite a bit of research when she's writing these types of songs.

 Next up I play some more songs by a Guelph band, Persist.  KC even did a little bumper for the show!  Thanks KC!   So the songs I played were The Daze and Can You.  

Persist are playing August 25th at Club 77 (77 King William St Hamilton.) $10 at the door. CD release show also featuring West Memphis Suicide & D.I.R.T. the ultimate in Alice in Chains.  Yes this time around I WILL be at the show.  Doors open at 9pm, and I already have my tickets.  Can't wait to see all three bands!

I have hope that at some point in time after the show that I'll get an interview out of these guys.  (hint hint)

Up next was another band I had played previously.   Chasing Eidolon.   When I first played them, they did tell me that they had not written anything new yet, but were going to be working on new songs.  Well thank you guys for not disappointing me!  The day before I put everything together for the show I stumbled upon their new Song Supernova!   What a thrill for me to find a new song.   Their music stays in the play list that I use for my 8 hour shifts at work.

So first I played You Can't Have Everything, then Set Me Free and finished off with the new song Supernova.   Theses guys have some talent and I can't wait to see what else they come up with!  

Next I played a new band that I discovered a week or so before show 166.   Breaching Vista.  So I thought, what the heck, let's play two of their songs.   Nervous, and W5.  Not sure what everyone else thinks of them, but I enjoyed the entire album I found.

So following up something new I played two more bands.  Both ones I had played before.  

No One Hears Me and Falling Into You by GLO.  GLO are from Montreal.  I missed out on their last Toronto Concert and they have told me they will be playing another show out this way.  Hopefully I manage to catch that one.

And Closing out the show with style, I played two more songs by Two Crown King ! I played Please Believe Me and what now appears to be a favorite for both Justin and myself, We Get Down.  Two Crown King is still on tour and they have dates and locations listed on their web site.  They have a show in Kitchener coming up soon that I hope to make.

And that wrapped up just over an hour of great Canadian music.   I went on holiday after this show, and now I think I need to catch up, track down more music (or hopefully have some bands start sending me some) and get back into the swing of things.