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BC Indie-Pop Band Van Damsel Partner with The David Suzuki Foundation to Promote Environmental Awareness and Sustainability

Sep 16, 2015

Canadian Indie-pop outfit, Van Damsel have just announced that they will be partnering with The David Suzuki Foundation over the course of their Canadian fall tour to help promote environmental awareness and sustainability, specifically focusing on positive change at the individual level. The BC-based four-piece have launched a “Consider Your Impact” campaign to challenge their fans to really consider their personal impact on the planet and what small, reusable changes in their lives they can do to limit their impact.

“The welfare of our planet is of paramount concern,” comments drummer Matthew Barron. “As musicians with the potential to influence audiences and our fans, we feel it is our duty to promote environmental awareness and sustainability. Given that we only have one planet with a finite amount of resources, we really wanted the opportunity to do something special to help our world and feel that the David Suzuki Foundation is an ideal partner for us.”

Along with helping to educate and promote positive change at their shows, from now until October 18th, Van Damsel will donate 100% of the proceeds from their limited edition custom tote bags and 10% of all merchandise sales, which includes a special limited edition reusable water bottle, to the David Suzuki Foundation. For more information on the David Suzuki Foundation visit here.

Joining Van Damsel on their Canadian tour this fall is Vancouver outfit The Tourist Company. Before hitting the road with the experimental pop-rock group, Van Damsel will open for Tokyo Police Club in Vancouver on September 18 at The Imperial. Tickets for all shows are now on-sale. See below for complete details.

Named after the title track from Dillinger Escape Plan’s seminal album Miss Machine, Van Damsel is Matthew “Renny” Rennehan (bass), Rich Bregoliss (lead guitar, synths), Sebastien Ste Marie (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, synths), and Matthew Barron (drums, percussion). The band burst onto the Canadian indie-pop scene with the release of their 2013 critically acclaimed EP “The Sunshine, Girl”, which garnered the band a Top 20 spot at the prestigious PEAK Performance Project and landed them $10,000 for winning The Shore’s ‘Best of BC’ prize.

Van Damsel, who once again landed a spot at the PEAK Performance Project and are currently in the Top 12, just wrapped up a week-long sojourn at the PEAK Performance Bootcamp. The band is set to release their long-awaited, highly anticipated self-titled debut album in early 2016. More details about the record will be announced in the coming months. In the meantime, check out the video for the lead single off their forthcoming record “Best of Everything” below.

*Upcoming Canadian Tour Dates
09.18.15 – Vancouver, BC @ The Imperial +
09.25.15 – Calgary, AB @ Broken City *
09.27.15 – Moose Jaw, SK @ Common Cafe *
09.29.15 – Winnipeg, MB @ Garrick Hotel *
09.30.15 – Thunder Bay, ON @ The Foundry *
10.01.15 – Sudbury, ON @ The Townhouse *
10.02.15 – Toronto, ON @ The Cave (Lee’s Palace)*
10.04.15 – Windsor, ON @ Phog Lounge *
10.07.15 – Kitchener, ON @ The Boathouse *
10.08.15 – Kingston, ON @ Clark Hall *
10.10.15 – Sault Ste Marie, ON @ Loplops *
10.15.15 – Vancouver, BC @ Fortune Sound Club
10.16.15 – Kelowna, BC @ Habitat *
10.17.15 – Revelstoke, BC @ The Last Drop *
+ w/ Tokyo Police Club
* w/ The Tourist Company

Crash Vegas singer Michelle McAdorey Announces ‘Into Her Future’ Solo Album

Sep 16, 2015

Continue

Andy Warhol Really Did Like Campbell’s Soup

Sep 16, 2015

Andy Warhol gained fame and notoriety as the godfather of Pop Art. His electric-colored screen prints of Coca Colas, Marilyn Monroes, and electric chairs are iconic pieces, despite their iconoclastic origins. But there’s more to Warhol than Day-Glo portraiture: he was an author, commentator, filmmaker, sculptor, and socialite. Host Alec Baldwin talks to Eric Shiner, director of The Andy Warhol Museum, about the hyper-inventive multimedia star, and learns about the surprisingly deep emotional basis for Warhol’s obsession with Campbell’s Soup.

The Royal Mail Will Issue ‘Star Wars’ Stamps On October 20, 2015

Sep 15, 2015

The United Kingdom’s national postal service, Royal Mail, will be releasing a series of 18 collectible Star Wars stamps that feature both the classic characters as well as newer ones you’ll be seeing in the theatres shortly. The stamps are currently available to pre-order online from the Royal Mail website and will be released on October 20th, 2015.

Your Parents Want You to Stop Using Their HBO Go Passwords

Sep 15, 2015

An important message from your parents, siblings, and ex-boyfriends’ cousins.

Gilles Vigneault to be Honoured at SOCAN Gala with First Ever Cultural Impact Award

Sep 15, 2015

Montréal’s famed Métropolis for the first time will set the stage for the annual SOCAN Awards Gala, one of Québec’s most important music industry events, on Monday, October 5, 2015, at 5:30 pm, where, among many other awards, the legendary Gilles Vigneault and his immortal anthem “Gens du pays” will be honoured with SOCAN’s newly created Cultural Impact Award.

The Cultural Impact Award salutes the deep cultural impact of a song or composition by a SOCAN member, and is one of many special achievement awards to be presented on the evening. Hosted by the prolific singer-songwriter Dumas, the evening is a celebration of the songwriters, composers and music publishers whose words and music are the source of emotions and help define a whole culture.

“Québec’s Francophone music scene is of the utmost importance to SOCAN,” said SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste. “This year we wanted to turn our gala into an even more prestigious event, notably by moving it to one of Montréal’s most celebrated venues, making the event even more dynamic and inviting, with even more stars walking the red carpet.”

The SOCAN Montreal Gala salutes the accomplishments of the more than 25,000 SOCAN members from Quebec, and nearly 50 prizes in 21 categories are awarded throughout the evening.

Each of the five achievement award winners at the event will receive The SOCAN, the world’s only major music industry trophy that is itself a musical instrument. The five bronze SABIAN crotales that adorn The SOCAN have been specially tuned to the first five notes of “Gens du pays.”

In addition, a new Electronic Music award will be presented and five songs will be presented a prize in the Anglo Pop Song category, a tribute to Québec’s thriving Anglophone music scene.

“It’s an honour to host the SOCAN Awards Gala,” said Dumas about his first emcee role with SOCAN. “I’m passionate about music and songs and the people who make them are fascinating. Each year, I rejoice at the wonderful place we give to our immortal songs, talented people and accomplishments. This celebration is inspiring and I am privileged to be a part of it.”

The other achievement awards to be presented on the night are Lifetime Achievement, awarded to a true pioneer of the Quebec music scene; International Achievement, awarded to a visionary band that has become a mainstay; Songwriter of the Year, awarded to a young songwriter who made the most significant mark; and Special Achievement, awarded to a singer-songwriter and lyricist, who captivated a whole generation in the 1960s.

Sony Enters Historic Agreement to License Egrem’s Catalog of Cuban Music

Sep 15, 2015

More than 20,000 recorded tracks by the likes of Irakere, Los Van Van, Bola de Nieve, Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo, among many others, will get new life thanks to a global licensing agreement struck Tuesday (Sept. 15) between Sony Music Entertainment and the Havana-based Egrem (Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales, or Enterprise of Recordings and Musical Editions in English).

Egrem’s catalog, the most extensive catalog of Cuban music in the world, encompasses audio and audiovisual recordings produced since the 1960s.

Cuban “son” star Ruben Gonzalez, waves to the crowd as he performs traditional Cuban ballads at Salon 21 Sunday, March 7, 1999, in Mexico City. Gonzalez and Ibrahim Ferrer (not seen) leaped to international attention last year with release of the “Buena Vista Social Club” album that rescued from obscurity a whole generation of elderly Cuban “son” musicians.

Although portions of the catalog have been licensed before by various labels in different parts of the world, this marks the first time a multinational has access to the entire stable of recordings for the whole world as part of a multi-year agreement.

Via Billboard

Brace Yourself. The Facebook “Dislike” button is coming.

Sep 15, 2015

You still have to play nice, people.

Nova Scotia has a This, That and The Other Street.

Sep 15, 2015

Via

A Look At A Day In The Life Of A Deaf Person

Sep 15, 2015

I just finished assisting the 15th Annual Hear Here funfest for kids in Whitby, ON, raising funds to purchase hearing aids in families who might not be able to afford the high cost. I’m glad I found these two videos, as they remind me (as if I needed it, I wear hearing aids in both ears), what daily life is like for a deaf person. Rachel Soudakoff produced and edited this compelling video one, highlighting Ren who is deaf.

Here’s Ren reciting her poem “Eleven Things You Should Know About Deaf People” at the Summer Slam Poetry Camp at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN.