Sometimes, things just click. They certainly have for Dan Talevski. At the tender age of 27, he’s already accomplished more than some artists twice his age. Millions of people have seen him sing on YouTube. He’s been signed to a major record label. Groomed for stardom alongside Justin Bieber. Toured with Backstreet Boys. Worked in the studio with will.i.am. Written songs for Shawn Desman, Danny Fernandes, Keshia Chante and others. And now, with Guilty as Sin, he’s poised to take his rightful place as Canada’s next musical sensation.
Three Days Grace Announce 15-Stop Canadian Tour
Fresh off the release of their 5th studio album HUMAN, platinum-selling and chart topping Canadian rockers Three Days Grace announce a 15 date Canadian tour starting off on Friday July 3rd at Echo Beach in Toronto, with stops in Vancouver, Montreal, Moncton, Halifax, Quebec City, London, Windsor (Caesars Windsor), Winnipeg, Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary, Fort McMurray and Kelowna. This coast to coast foray is the band’s first full cross-Canada tour in 6 years. Pennsylvania rockers Halestorm added as special guest. Visit http://www.threedaysgrace.com/events/upcoming for on-sale and ticket information.
Members of the Official Three Days Grace Community have access to exclusive pre-sale tickets here starting June 2nd at 10am local time. Fans can join the community for free here.
Since first catapulting on to the scene in 2003, Three Days Grace consistently connected to audiences via hard-hitting, honest, and hypnotic anthems. Matt Walst [lead vocals], Barry Stock [lead guitar], Brad Walst [bass], and Neil Sanderson [drums, percussion, keyboards, programming]—once again continue that tradition on their fifth full-length album, HUMAN [RCA Records]. Their link to listeners is the most natural and human thing of all.
“When Matt joined the band last year, there was not a fleeting moment that we didn’t think we would forge ahead,” agrees Neil. “Life is all about chapters. Matt’s first show was in front of eight-thousand people on a co-headliner with Shinedown, and he came out guns blazing. He brought this fiery new energy to the band. We never looked back.”
“We didn’t give him a choice,” smiles Barry. “We hijacked him.”
With Matt as their new lead singer, the band continued barreling forward full steam ahead. In between touring throughout 2014, they reconnected with producer Gavin Brown who helmed the boards on their platinum-certified 2003 self-titled debut and enlisted the mixing talents of Chris Lord-Alge and Nick Raskulinecz. For the first time, Three Days Grace cut songs during short breaks from the road. They would retreat to a dark, uncomfortable rehearsal space and write everything on acoustic guitars, starkly tightening the melodies as much as possible. On HUMAN, Three Days Grace comes full circle, yet they’re also newly energized with the addition of Matt (Brad’s brother). Closing that circle, Matt incidentally co-wrote two songs on the band’s debut album, also produced by Gavin Brown. HUMAN debuted at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hard Music Albums Chart and at #16 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart in the U.S., and debuted at #2 on the Nielsen Soundscan Top 200 Sales Chart in Canada.
The Three Days Grace machine never stops. 2012’s Transit Of Venus earned the #1 spot on US Billboard’s Hard Rock Chart and went Top 5 on the Top 200, in addition to receiving a nomination for “Best Rock Album of the Year” at the Juno Awards. Both Three Days Grace [2003] and One-X [2006] went platinum, while Life Starts Now [2009] reached gold status, bringing the band’s sales to over 6 million in the U.S. alone. Their catalog of number one hits encompasses smashes such as “Chalk Outline,” “The High Road,” “Misery Loves My Company,” “World So Cold,” “Good Life,” “Break,” “Never Too Late,” “Animal I Have Become,” “Pain,” “Just Like You,” and “Home.”
http://smarturl.it/HumanRaceVid
Canadian Tour Dates w/Halestorm (except Vancouver):
July 3rd Toronto, ON Molson Amphitheatre (w/ Big Wreck and Halestorm)
August 15th Vancouver, BC Hard Rock Casino (w/ The Wild)
November 6th Montreal, QC Metropolis
November 7th Moncton, NB Casino Moncton
November 9th Halifax, NS Multi Purpose Forum
November 10th Quebec City, QC Capitole De Quebec
November 12th London, ON London Music Hall
November 14th Windsor, ON The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor*
November 16th Winnipeg, MB Burton Cummings Theatre
November 17th Moose Jaw, SK Mosaic Place
November 18th Saskatoon, SK Sasktel Centre
November 20th Edmonton, AB Shaw Conference Centre
November 21st Calgary, AB Macewan Hall
November 22nd Fort McMurray, AB Casman Centre
November 24th Kelowna, BC Prospera Place
*On Sale Date To Be Announced
Dire Straits “Money For Nothing” Isolated Guitar Track
“Money for Nothing” by British rock band Dire Straits is taken from their 1985 album Brothers in Arms. The song’s lyrics are written from the point of view of a working-class man watching music videos and commenting on what he sees. The recording was notable for its controversial lyrics, groundbreaking music video and cameo appearance by Sting singing the song’s falsetto introduction and backing chorus, “I want my MTV”. The video was also the first to be aired on MTV Europe when the network started on 1 August 1987.
It was one of Dire Straits’ most successful singles, peaking at number one for three weeks in the United States, and it also reached number one for three weeks on the US Top Rock Tracks chart. In the band’s native UK, the song peaked at number four. “Money for Nothing” won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1986 at the 28th Annual Grammy Awards.
Roger Daltrey’s Isolated Vocals For The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again and Pinball Wizard
I’m listening now to Roger Daltrey’s interview with Howard Stern, and dug a little bit on YouTube for this – what a balance between musical aesthetics and commercial aspirations this band had. “We couldn’t outstone The Stones, we couldn’t outpop The Beatles. We found our own way with a completely different kind of music.”
Turn these up and use your desk to be your own Keith Moon!
Won’t Get Fooled Again
https://youtu.be/lQH_I1bRlO0
Pinball Wizard
https://youtu.be/_xaFlc_vgwE
Much Digital Studios Launches Today As Initial List of Creators Revealed
Much confirmed today that Much Digital Studios, its online network of YouTube creators and digital influencers, is now live along with the newly revamped Much.com. It was also revealed today that 13 established and emerging Canadian YouTube creators, including comedian Jus Reign (500,000 subscribers), beauty vlogger Melissa Merk (300,000 subscribers), and comedic troupe 4YallEntertainment (250,000 subscribers), are the first group of talent to partner with Much Digital Studios. With more than 1.4 million subscribers collectively, and representing a diverse range of genres, the YouTube and digital creators joining Much Digital Studios also include: comedy channels The Danocracy, Ron Dias TV, and Shane Cunningham; beauty, fashion, and lifestyle experts AllegraLouise and Mila Victoria; musicians Dan Talevski, SickickMusic, and Tyler Shaw; illusionist Rayn Magic; and podcaster Mike Veerman from THE MIKE ON MUCH CULTURE PODCAST.
For the first look at the new Much Digital Studios creators click here.
“It’s extremely rewarding to see Much Digital Studios launch with such influential and diverse creators,” said Justin Stockman, Vice-President, Specialty Channels, Bell Media. “These 13 creators are original and irreverent, and perfectly embody both the spirit of Much, and what it means to be young in Canada today. With more talent announcements to come this summer, we look forward to further engaging Much’s loyal fan base as well as new fans alike.”
About the Much Digital Studios creators:
Name: 4YallEntertainment
Genre: Comedy
Bio: Brothers Jae and Trevaunn Richards, and twins Duwayne and Durran Ferguson, make up 4YallEntertainment. Each week, the Brampton, Ont. natives release comedy sketches with an urban feel, with genres ranging from funny movie parodies, rants, skits, and much more. In the past, they have collaborated with the Toronto Raptors, Boi1da, and King Bach. Their YouTube channel has more than 200,000 subscribers, and features popular videos including: Pornstars Read Mean Comments, Draw my Life – Chief Keef (Parody), and He Sleep! (Worldstar Fight) – each surpassing 1 million views.
Name: AllegraLouise
Genre: Fashion and Lifestyle
Bio: Allegra Shaw is a 22 year-old student, blogger, and YouTuber from Toronto. Inspired by the videos she grew up watching on YouTube, her channel, AllegraLouise has fun and interesting fashion and lifestyle content that has created a strong connection with her followers. Her most popular videos include: Minimalist: Look book, Ways to Wear: Little Black Dress, and Liquid Eyelinner for Beginners.
Name: The Danocracy
Genre: Comedy
Bio: Dan Rodo, a proud Canadian currently living in Dallas, started making YouTube videos in early 2007. He recently launched his own humour and inspiration-filled channel, The Danocracy, which now has more than 75,000 subscribers. Dan’s how-to videos, including 6 Tips For Dealing With a Bully, and 6 Ways To Deal With Change, inspire youth in a fun, relatable way.
Name: Dan Talevski
Genre: Music
Bio: Dan Talevski, a singer-songwriter from Georgetown, Ont., started making YouTube videos in 2007 after he decided to upload his cover of “What Goes Around” by Justin Timberlake. In 24 hours, Talevski captured the attention of thousands of viewers, and soon began getting requests from fans across the country. Signed to eOne Music Canada, Talevski has now worked with many established artists including, will.i.am, Shawn Desman, Danny Fernandes, and Keisha Chante.
Name: Jus Reign
Genre: Comedy
Bio: Jasmeet Singh, better known as Jus Reign, posted his first YouTube video five years ago. The Guelph, Ont. native’s commentary on race, along with his pop-culture parodies and comedic deadpan has earned him more than 500,000 YouTube subscribers, more than 1 million followers on Vine, and one of the largest followings on Snapchat within Canada. With a combined channel view total surpassing 70 million, some of Jus Reign’s most-watched YouTube videos include: The Swag Song, Shit White Guys Say to Brown Guys, Goodbye Official Remix, Desi Parents and Money, and Bounce.
Name: Melissa Merk
Genre: Beauty, Fashion and Lifestyle
Bio: Melissa Merk is an avid YouTuber and part-time model from Vancouver with a passion for beauty and fashion. Her lifestyle and beauty YouTube channel, Melissa Merk, has garnered more than 300,000 subscribers. Her most popular hair and make-up tutorial videos include: Everyday Makeup ♡, quick back to school hairstyles , and basic back to school hairstyles – each surpassing 1 million views. Merk also has a beauty blog and has recently launched her own online clothing boutique, Just Kingsley.
Name: Mila Victoria
Genre: Beauty
Bio: Toronto-based Mila Victoria is an experienced makeup and hair artist who has worked with high profile clients including Cody Simpson, Ashley Benson, Shawn Mendes, Wiz Khalifa, The Weeknd, Majid Jordan. She previously lived in London, working with the fashion industry’s top artists in London Fashion Week. Her work has been featured in Archetype Magazine, Fashion Magazine, and Pitch-Zine, to name a few. In 2014, Mila was named the first Beauty Ambassador for Topshop Canada’s makeup line. She currently works as a freelance artist, and runs her own beauty YouTube channel where her most popular video, Ombre Lips Tutorial with 3 Different Styles, has surpassed 1.5 million views.
Name: Rayn Magic
Genre: Magic
Bio: Toronto-born YouTuber Rayn Magic is a self-described manipulator of mind, magic, and music who started studying his craft at the young age of 11. His local performances soon progressed into large crowds, which eventually evolved into bigger international events. Rayn’s show involves card manipulation, mind-reading, hypnosis, and powerful magic. Rayn is the creative partner of fellow Much Digital Studios creator SickickMusic.
Name: Ron Dias TV
Genre: Comedy
Bio: In 2013, the Dubai-born, Toronto-raised actor Ron Dias launched his own YouTube channel, Ron Dias TV. His channel features comedy sketches, short films, and vlogs that give insight into his day- to-day adventures, friendships, travel, and positive outlook on life. With more than 4 million combined views on his channel, his most popular videos include Viagra Prank Gone Wrong, and Our First Kiss. Ron is also working on a new sketch comedy series called THE RON DIAS TV SHOW, which is scheduled to premiere on his channel this summer.
Name: Shane Cunningham
Genre: Comedy
Bio: Shane Cunningham is a Toronto-based writer and producer whose passion for video production began in high school. Cunningham started a comedy YouTube channel where his humorous videos, including Wiz kalifa Streeters, Harlem Shake Segment, Teen Wolff 3, and VJ Search Video with Ashley Leggat, have reached more than 200,000 combined views. In 2013, Cunningham wrote Mucho, a commercial promoting CONAN on Much. Currently, Cunningham works at Much where he has participated in projects with the cast of PRETTY LITTLE LIARS, Coldplay and his idol, Conan O’Brien.
Name: SickickMusic
Genre: Music
Bio: Sickick is a Canadian producer, writer, and singer with a passion for hip hop and electronic dance music. His R&B and melodic roots have inspired his unique style of dance music – #SICKHOP. Over the past year, Sickick has gained more than 150,000 followers across his social media accounts, and has surpassed 3 million views on Soundcloud. With his Mortal Kombat inspired image, Sickick continues to “spread his sickness.”
Name: Tyler Shaw
Genre: Music
Bio: Tyler Shaw is a singer-songwriter from Coquitlam, B.C. who quickly became a fan-favourite after his debut single “Kiss Goodnight” was a Top 10 smash on radio, as well as certified gold in Canada. Following a second Top 10 single with “By My Side,” Shaw’s latest single “House of Cards,” and its MuchFACT funded heroic video, is quickly racing up the charts. His charm and charisma comes across in his YouTube channel which features his official music videos, covers and regular #TuesdayswithTyler segments. Signed to Sony Music Entertainment Canada, Shaw will open for pop star Kelly Clarkson during the Canadian leg of her tour this fall.
Name: THE MIKE ON MUCH CULTURE PODCAST
Genre: Entertainment Podcast
Bio: Hosted, written, and produced by Hamilton’s Mike Veerman, a Senior Writer/Director/Producer for the Bell Media Creative Agency (Much and The Comedy Network), THE MIKE ON MUCH CULTURE PODCAST is a weekly show featuring long-form interviews with compelling cultural figures from the world of music, comedy, acting, and writing. He engages listeners with relatable stories from his professional and personal life, while discussing pop culture with reoccurring entertainment industry professionals. The show is co-produced by Max Kerman, lead singer of the four-time JUNO Award-winning rock band, Arkells, and also features fellow YouTuber and pop culture aficionado Shane Cunningham, who contributes a “Top 5” segment at the end of every episode. The podcast launches this summer on Much Digital Studios.
Spotify and Starbucks Team Up In A Venti Way
Three months ago, Starbucks killed the CD. The company announced in February that it would stop selling physical albums at its registers, a move that surely struck fear into the acoustic-guitar-covered hearts of indie artists everywhere. But no one should have been surprised: Starbucks has always been at the forefront of tech, surprisingly so for a gigantic multinational coffee shop.
Today, Starbucks is announcing its move into the future of music, bringing its tunes up to par with its fancy Clover brewing machines and app-based payment game. To do so, Starbucks is partnering with Spotify in a big way. The two announced only the beginnings of what they call “a next-generation music ecosystem,” and promised many more details soon. On the surface, though, it appears that they want to work together to make music more interactive and discoverable.
Starting this fall, Spotify will become the default music source in all 7,000 company-owned Starbucks stores in the US (with the UK and Canada to follow). All employees will be given a Spotify Premium subscription, normally $10 a month, which they’ll use to help set the music that gets played in stores.
Via Wired
This Guy Has 5,000,000 Records, Or Slightly More Than Jack White
José Roberto “Zero” Alves Freitas is a Brazilian businessman whose record collection of about five million discs is said to be the largest in existence. The first record he bought was Canta para a Juventude by Roberto Carlos, which he acquired around December 1964 or January 1965. By the time Freitas left high school he had 3,000 records. By the time he was 30, Freitas had acquired about 25–30,000 records.
Until recently, most of Freitas’s buying was anonymous. He placed adverts in Billboard magazine reading “RECORD COLLECTIONS. We BUY any record collection. Any style of music. We pay HIGHER prices than anyone else.” and used agents to act on his behalf. He bought the remaining stock of 200,000 records from Colony Records in New York’s Times Square after the store’s 2012 closure and bought the stock of the Rio de Janeiro’s Modern Sound store around the same time. Around 2013 he bought the collection of Murray Gershenz, the former proprietor of the Music Man Murray record shop in Los Angeles. Also in 2013, Freitas bought the collection of Paul Mawhinney of Record-Rama, once itself thought to be the largest in the world.
But enough of my yakkin’, here’s the man himself to explain it all.
King Crimson Announce Rare Canadian Tour
Following their acclaimed tour of America in 2014, King Crimson returns to active service in 2015. With dates for the UK and Europe already in place during August and September, King Crimson are pleased to announce they will be performing a series of concerts in Canada during November.
Born on January 13, 1969 in the basement of the Fulham Palace Cafe, London, this is the eighth incarnation of King Crimson, with: Gavin Harrison (drums), Bill Rieflin (drums), Pat Mastelotto (drums), Tony Levin (bass and vocals), Mel Collins (Sax, flute), Jakko Jakszyk (guitar, vocals) and Robert Fripp (guitar).
In his DGM Diary for 6th September 2013, when King Crimson’s return to live performance was announced to an outbreak of media frenzy, fan adoration and spontaneous outpourings of affection, Fripp wrote: At 18.55 King Crimson VIII moved to its next stage of actualization This is a very different reformation to what has gone before: seven players, four English and three American, with three drummers. The Point Of Crim-Seeing was of a conventional Back Line reconfigured as the Front Line, The Seven-Headed Beast of Crim is in Go! mode.
King Crimson Canadian 2015 dates:
November 13-14 Québec, QC Palais Montcalm *
November 16-17 Montreal, QC Théâtre St-Denis *
November 19-20-21 Toronto, ON Queen Elizabeth Theatre
November 24 Calgary, AB Jack Singer Concert Hall
November 26-27 Vancouver, BC Vogue Theatre
November 29 Victoria, BC Royal Theatre
