Andy Gross aka “SplitMan” returns as the magician cut in half magic trick elevator prank. How someone hasn’t died from a heart attack is beyond me.
DANIEL JOHNS (Silverchair) Announces Release Of Debut Solo Album, “Talk,” May 22;
Daniel Johns was ‘silent’ for 8 years, but today he announced that his long-awaited album will be called TALK. People can hear it May 22.
TALK will be launched with two special shows at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on May 28 and 29 as part of the Vivid Festival in Australia.
In the meantime, there’s an uplifting and uptempo love song … “Cool On Fire” … co-written and produced by Lorde/Jarryd James collaborator Joel Little. That new single is released today. Listen to it here:
During those long, silent years there was lots of speculation about what Daniel was doing. The enigmatic singer/songwriter removed himself from radar. Rumors were rife.
“Some of the rumors were probably true,” he chuckles. Which ones? “Well, anyone who wants to listen to the new songs will figure it out pretty quick. It’s been an interesting ride.”
TALK tells that story in a brand new way. Gone are the big guitars and roaring rock vocals; in their place, urban beats and aching falsetto croons. Dollops of lush R&B are laced with cruisy electro flavors and some dark glitchy bedroom production touches to create a stylish take on modern soul.
Asked to explain this Bowie-esque genre hopping and he eventually says, “Music’s the best way I know to express how I think and feel but over time you don’t think and feel all the same things in the same ways so the music has to change.”
From teen grunge sensations, through orchestral rock to baroque pop, Daniel Johns was never scared to completely reinvent himself. Even so, there is a core thread that unites all of his work – a raw and unfiltered emotional honesty. A direct line can be drawn from his best ‘spill-your-guts’ ‘90s tunes, including “Israel’s Son” and “Ana’s Song” through later Silverchair classics such as “The Greatest View” and “Straight Lines” into new tracks like “Too Many” and “Preach.” All talk of dark days with a distinctly searing quality.
To borrow a line from TALK’s lyrical cornerstone, “Preach,” Daniel may “find it hard to breathe the truth,” but he’s never been afraid to sing it.
The eclectic mix of sounds and styles on this new album reflect the array of collaborators that he brought on board. Lorde and Broods producer/co-writer Joel Little brings his breezy grooves to key tracks like “Cool On Fire,” “Warm Hands” and the first song to be lifted off the album, “Aerial Love.” Melbourne underground duo Damn Moroda and influential writer/producer Louis School helped create tracks like “Goin’ On 16,” “We Are Golden,” “Too Many” and the epic “New York,” while Presets mainman (and co-writer of “Straight Lines”) Julian Hamilton helped pen two of the album’s most immediate moments – “By Your Side” and “Dissolve.”
But it is the songs created with local hip hop icons Styalz and M-Phazes that push the envelope farthest. Deep grooves such as “Imagination,” “Chained” and “Faithless” find Daniel stepping into “futuristic R&B” territory.
Throw in a few quieter moments like “Sleepwalker” and “Good Luck” and you’re left with a sprawling, but still densely packed, body of work. It’s highly musical and often highly confessional as one would expect from Daniel Johns and yet, at the same time, it’s still profoundly shocking; particularly to those accustomed to the instant gratification norms of most 21st century pop.
Aptly enough, the first songs to be lifted from TALK have already provoked mountains of online chatter. For every music lover excited to hear radically different work by Daniel there are a couple of others ‘trolling’ him for not endlessly churning out the same sounds since his mid-teens.
“I’ve always felt like most people hate everything I do, but thankfully there’s always been an enthusiastic minority who seem to ‘get’ it. That’s fine with me. Anything that appeals to everyone tends to suck anyway.”
“What’s funny is that when Silverchair released frogstomp most people went out of the way to tell me how much it sucked. Then when we made DIORAMA a few years later everyone started telling me how I should go back to making frogstomp. I guess now I’ll be told to go back and make DIORAMA again!”
“That was part of why I picked the album title too, by the way. I don’t really care what most people think. Let them talk.”
Diemonds Announce New Album Never Wanna Die, Signs with eOne Music Canada
Toronto’s Diemonds are extremely excited to announce the release of their new album ‘Never Wanna Die’ available August 14th 2015. The hard rock outfit locked themselves in the studio with Juno award winning Producer Eric Ratz (Monster Truck, Billy Talent) to meticulously craft the follow up to their debut record ‘The Bad Pack’.
“Working with Eric Ratz was a rad experience for us. We’ve never had the chance to work with a producer and he definitely helped us find the best way to showcase our new songs. We’ve come a long way since the last record, so we can’t wait to get this album out there!” – C.C. Diemond
The band has most recently licensed a deal with Entertainment One Canada through Underground Operations for release and is amped to get back to doing what they do best, hitting the road. They will kick off this cycle by premiering numerous tracks at their Canadian Music Week headline show, Midnight Friday May 8th at The Hideout, 484 Queen W, Toronto ON. Album pre-sale info is coming soon.
Track Listing:
- Never WannaDie
- Hell Is Full
- Over It
- Ain’tThat Kinda Girl
- Secret
- Better Off Dead
- Forever Untamed
- Wild At Heart
- Meet Your Maker
- Save Your Life
“Risking their safety and sanity for rock n’ roll please welcome Toronto’s wild and young…” – Classic Rock Magazine
Diemonds calls downtown Toronto their home, but they live for criss-crossing the continent for weeks on end, armed with little more than their brand of original hard rock, their gear and a dream. With their 3rd album ‘Never Wanna Die’ slated for release on August 14th, 2015, the band continues to modernize their heavy rock n’ roll sound. This time, multiple Juno award-winner Eric Ratz (Monster Truck, Billy Talent) is in the producer chair. Remaining true to their sound, Diemonds takes lyrics that speak to the outcasts, wild childs, and misfits, and combines them with a hard-hitting live show, taking cues from the greats they look up to.
Priya Panda, the bands front woman, is the sultry singer that the music world has never been so poised for. Every time she steps on stage she walks the indeterminable fine line between class and crass. With her larger-than-life presence, she breaks every cultural, social, gender and sexual boundary known to hard rock. If the ever growing legions of the band’s loyal following, known as “Die-Hards”, are any indication, Priya and the rest of her bandmates are firmly carving their own path in music and hoards of rock fans are already along for the ride.
Diemonds’ previous full-length effort, “The Bad Pack”, was released October 2012 and has taken them on countless North American tours in support of it. Diemonds are known for their relentless touring schedule and their “leave everything on the stage” live show attitude. Notable tour stops at festivals include Heavy MTL, SXSW, NXNE, Vans Warped Tour, Rocklahoma, Seattle Hempfest and most recently The KISS Kruise w/ KISS & Cheap Trick. Additionally, there has been no shortage of support slots for legends like Slash, Steel Panther, Sebastian Bach, & many more!
Cancer Council and Peppa Pig team up to educate young Australians
Peppa Pig, through the brand’s licensor and distributor Entertainment One (eOne), has teamed up with Cancer Council to help teach children about sun protection, healthy living and staying active.
This Is GREAT: The First Annual Spirit of Yorkville Festival In Toronto
The Spirit of Yorkville is the same spirit that moved an entire generation forward to the peace movement, the sexual revolution and the musical evolution. This spirit became the counter-culture when culture most needed to be countered. It blossomed in Haight-Ashbury San Francisco, in Greenwich Village New York, in Soho London and in Yorkville Village Toronto. It swirled through Woodstock; it spread throughout the world as a living breathing pulse of human aspirations.
While most of the colourful Yorkville Village Victorian buildings that once stood as testament to this spirit and housed its life are gone, the spirit remains and is a treasure we are going to celebrate with a Festival every year, beginning May 22 and 23 2015, here in Toronto. This date commemorates Toronto’s first Love-In at Queen’s Park in May 1967 when thousands of people joined together for love and peace. Buffy Sainte-Marie and Leonard Cohen sang that day, and many of Toronto’s unique young artists joined them, to celebrate that never to be forgotten Summer of Love.
It was there in the “Village” coffee houses, clubs and street corners that the true Spirit of Yorkville was born, and remains today as a vital reminder of how strongly Toronto influenced 60’s culture and Canada’s music scene.
The Festival will be presented in several musical and literary formats, from folk and rock to spoken word and poetry, all of which were in ample evidence in Yorkville throughout the 60’s. Many of the early members of the movement to establish Spirit of Yorkville as a community forum for ideas and art, are present in the founding group and are committed to seeing it continue as an annual event that will attract both Canadians and tourists alike to Toronto each year.
The performers include Betty Richardson, Beverlie Robertson, Brian Gladstone, Brian Master The Jewel 88.5 FM – MC For Saturday Night Rolls!, Cathy Young, David Marsden MC for Friday Night Rocks, Fergus Hambleton
George Olliver, Greg Godovitz, Joanne Crabtree, John Finley, Ken Whiteley, Klaas van Graft, Luke and the Apostles, Mike McDonald, Pat Little, Sebastian Agnello and Tony Quarrington.
In the true spirit of freedom and fun that hung in the air as thick as the marijuana smoke back then, the Festival will replicate some of the most iconic of Yorkville’s music. The Pilot Tavern on Cumberland St. a landmark in its own right, will play host to performances by legendary Yorkville musicians some of whom will reassemble for the first time in many years, while others will come so as not to miss the opportunity of jamming with one another again.
A limited number of tickets for the two evenings of musical concerts at the Pilot Tavern will go on sale in April. Events during the day will feature folk music, art and story telling.
This First Annual Spirit of Yorkville Festival 2015, will be a step towards establishing an annual event that will celebrate a time in the history of Toronto when artists, musicians, poets and even politicians gathered together to share a common vision for the future.
You can buy tickets here.
Adorable Pup Has The Hiccups, Tries To Scare Them Away
Buck is an 8-week-old Heeler who isn’t so sure about his first experience with hiccups. “What are these things inside me!? I will scare them away!”
How Bessie Smith Ushered In The Jazz Age
Jazz and blues are often treated as one and the same — but how did one end up taking over and surpassing the other, ushering in the jazz age?
That’s a subject of an upcoming HBO biopic, called Bessie, about singer and songwriter Bessie Smith and her mentor Ma Rainey. Jazz bassist and composer Christian McBride, host of NPR’s Jazz Night In America and a regular guest on All Things Considered, spoke with host NPR Audie Cornish about Bessie Smith’s legacy.
One MTV Spin At 4:00am. The Story of How Guns N’ Roses Broke MTV.
Short doc about Guns N’ Roses tells the story of how A&R Rep Tom Zutaut saved “Appetite For Destruction” from an early death. After seven months of touring the album had only sold 200,000 units, and Geffen records wanted to pull the plug. Tom decided to risk his career on a power move that got the band on MTV and changed the course of rock-n-roll history. One video play at 4am was all it took.