Saturday, January 26, 2013

Sex With Strangers... A Good Idea




Fine Times played the Media Club on Thursday Night. The band sound fantastic as they took the stage with their groove rock sound. A steady beat kept the whole room locked tight with the band through the whole night.  The visual appeal was brilliant by having extra percussion up front brought such a dynamic sense of drama.




Sex with Strangers reminded me of a cross between Meatloaf and Metric. Some unusual songs but always catchy in some way or another. My personal favourite was Waving My Heart which will be uploaded to youtube soon! I'm not sure if the sound engineer went and took a herbal smoke between Fine Time's set and SWS set but the mix was definitely not as punchy. The guitar was quite sound, the bass sat a little too in front of the vocals and the vocals were pretty buried in the back. The potential was there but I personally think the sound could have been better. But that didn't stop this band! They provided an amazing set and the crowd interaction was magnificant. The front man had no problem getting in peoples area and dancing it up. We will definitely be checking these guys out again!

Monday, January 21, 2013

Amazing local "Give Your Heart A Break" Cover



Local Vancouver Island artist, Rebecca Boux, has teamed up with Brooklyn, Founder and CEO of BGSoldiers studio, to create this incredible cover of Demi Lovato's "Give Your Heart A Break."



To hear more from Rebecca, including both covers and original material, or to learn more about BGSoldiers, check out the links below!

Rebecca Boux
Official Facebook
Download Rebecca's CD on iTunes!
http://www.soundcloud.com/rebeccaboux
http://www.soundcloud.com/rebeccaboux2

BGSoldiers
http://www.bgsoldiers.com/

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Are You A Scorpio?


Tyrell Witherspoon was one of the first reviews Hammer Records did. We were in the studio with him recording his first single "Letting Go" and then following up with "Sixteen".  We managed to check out his CD Release of his 3rd album Scorpio. The most produced album to date and it really expresses his growth as an artist. This album sounds fantastic, truly a step up the ladder.

His CD release party really showed what he can do. It was an amazing show with dancers, wardrobe changes, and more! The tunes sounded huge and Tyrell really showed off his dance moves and ability to perform without loosing his sound. Check out the videos below to see him rock some of his moves on the stage!

Be sure to check out his album HERE, as well as his Facebook HERE.


A Night Of Rawk'n'Roll!

When we heard it was our friend Dave's birthday show we had to go check it out. But upon learning that Columbia was also on the bill just added to the night! We had been meaning to catch their set for a while and finally had the pleasure to see them live. What a treat last night was!



Upon arriving we realized I had forgotten the camera battery back at home, so flew back and grabbed it but missed the acoustic act as well as the first band. Our apologies to them. But to start our night off was Aviator Shades. Now they have been featured a lot on here and thats because we love seeing them. They get better every show. And this night they really packed a punch. Both guitars were crunchy and thick, the drums were fat and the bass just glued everything together into a solid wave that just rocked your brain.

A great set list is key to any performance and opening with a rocking intro, straight into a fast paced rocker was a perfect start to their show! My only concern was "Tallahassee Woman" which just didn't seem up to par with the rest of tunes, It's busy guitar work just was a bit too much for what this tune called for and was a slight dip in the energy but they brought it back up right after so all was good!

At the end of their set rocked "The Boys Are Back In Town" and what a wonderful job they did. Embodying Thin Lizzy's soul they rocked that song so hard I swear they had wrote it! Truly a great end  to a great set!




Columbia took the stage and had a more refined sound right off the bat. A touch of U2, The Beatles, Oasis and a clear 90's rock influence crafted their sound. To be completely honest the first song did not blow me away and it took until the 3rd song to really immerse  myself in the art that is Columbia. Their set ramped up as they got crunchier and crunchier. 

Their new single is what solid me and made me a true Columbia fan. "Money" just took my breath away as I watched a fantastic blend of rock emerge. The rest of the set proceeded to rock my socks. Ending it with a fantastic heavy rendition of "Helter Skelter" they have truly made an impression on Roxy and I that we soon won't forget. 

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

A Blast From The Past

So after a successful day in the studio work on Solo D's new album (www.facebook.com/solod2013), Roxy and I ventured to the Cellar to see our friends Rude City Riot perform and as usual, was blown away. Such a solid band with a great sound. After them was Ras Nikhilesh who sounded amazing as well. But what was funny, was that in college, I was actually recording both of them, in the same month!

I was early in my college education at the Arts Institute of Vancouver when we were given an assignment to record a band. Most students would find a local band and just hit record. My partner and set out in finding an established band out of the genre of rock. We shortly received an email from Dan Cowan the manager of Rude City Riot. He sent us their EPK and that they were looking for people to record a demo EP.

Even though the project only asked for one song to present to the teacher, we under took this venture and knocked of 5 tracks with Rude City Riot. It was our first "full band" project and we took it open us to do live off the floor beds with all 6 members of the group. We were quick on our feet adjusting microphones, patching compressors and setting up headphones for the gang!

At the same time, during our class hours we had Ras Nikhilesh in the studio recording a single. Our teacher, Steve Feindell, was good friends with him and keep us on sharp edge as we recorded his laid back reggae. But we will get back to that in a second...

We finished Rude City Riot's EP and they were pleased with it! So one day when they are world famous, we will have some old demos which we can sell for millions!

If you haven't check them out then go to www.facebook.com/rudecityriot

But back to Ras and Steve. Well our old teacher had a habbit of going out for a smoke every now and then, and since our class was a night class he would near the end of the session step out for a herbal smoke session. With Ras in the studio those trips had quadrupled. Seems after every take they would "excuse" themselves for 5 minutes. Well near the end of the session while patching in a keyboard to get some synths sounds they went out for a rather long session and when they came in there was no doubt a lot of herb had been smoked. Steve came and sat down and hit play and they just grooved out to the track while the class sat there silent. We looked at each other and laughed at how chill our normally tight-strung teacher was. After playing it he looked around and asked "What were we doing again?" and someone informed him that we were about to track some organ sounds. He looked at the patch bay and looked baffled and then said "Weekes, come over and do it".  So I patched in the keyboards and the session continued.

At the end of the session I offered to give Ras and his friend a ride home. Well before we left, we burned some herb with my teacher (which was an odd and rare experience to start), then went to the car, smoked some more herb and then proceeded to head to his house. While on the road yet some herb was turned into smoke and then I heard a Ras ask "Can we stop at McDonalds?" so we did. Needless to say it was a good trip home. Two of the nicest people I've met.

Just a random personal story but hopefully you enjoyed it!

Cheers!
-James

Monday, January 7, 2013

Throw Back Monday?

A special shout out to co-owner, fantastic girlfriend and inspiration Roxy. This video and recording started this all, started our journey with Hammer Records. The video just broke 1,000 views so I've decided to share it again! This was the first video Hammer Records had ever shot and produced.

She is truly my inspiration for doing what I am doing. And I know that together we will continue to create fantastic music and be proud of the work we do.

-James

Looking Though Someone Else's Eyes

Autism is greatly misunderstood and I would like to help share awareness. This is a great song explaining the thoughts and emotions. Scott James (X-Factor Contestant) has almost 180,000 views on his video and I can't stress enough to take the time to listen to this great song. Please share it!

Get Gross

Giving a quick shout out to local Vancouver heavy weights Gross Misconduct always tends to kick things into high gear at their shows and for a music video they had decided to just film what happens at a typical show. Head banging, crowd surfing, moshing are just a couple things that happens in this blood sweat and tears style music video. Great song, strong arrangement and great mixing combined with fantastic footage really make this video stand out just by it self. Check it out for yourself below! and find them HERE on Facebook.