Such A Kapital Night

Hammer Records is always finding new music and new people promoting music in Vancouver. We were thrilled to review a Kapital Entertainment showcase night at Joe's Apartment! Kate Dunn-Roy invited us down to review the headlining act Papertrails, but we caught the entire show and had a blast.

Opening the night was Miss Virginia Rose. The first thing that caught our attention was the amass of instruments on the stage. A keyboard, guitar, two microphones and only one stool. Upon further inspection it all made sense, a loop pedal. She was extremely talented at creating these intricate beats using beat boxing and sometimes only one instrument, or sometimes all of them. For a lot of loop artists, it normally just stops there. She not only sang overtop of her beats, she built her own harmonies and backing vocals as well. We know that it takes a lot of effort to create and perform those songs live, but it would have been nice for perhaps a song or two, she step away from the microphone and command the stage. Build the beat and then grab that microphone and rock the stage. Other than that, we could not find a flaw, she had a great voice and her charm was infectious. A great opening to the night.

Closing the night was Paper Trails. This band brought it. Blew my mind right from the first song. Covering Led Zeppelin's "Rock And Roll" is a bold move for even professional bands, but seeing this female fronted group of musicians bring the thunder, while adding their own twist and flavour, really showed us that this band meant business. Great thick and dirty guitar tones paired with thick low ended bass really delivered a creamy instrumental on which the vocals could flourish. Adding in the dynamic and powerful drums was icing on the cake. Everyone on stage looked like they were having the time of their lives, and rocked that stage hard! Their original songs were catchy and full of great hooks. This is a band we will keep our eyes on!

Chatting with Kate Dunn-Roy of Kapital Entertainment we loved hearing her passion about the local music scene. She is determined to work with budding talented artists to further their career. When asked to describe Kapital Entertainment she said:

"I just wanted to build opportunities for the up and coming talent in Vancouver that deserved it. The city has the opportunity to become a true musical hub for the high level of talent we produce and I just wanted to be apart of providing the platform for this to build. I have been blessed with the opportunities to chase my dreams, so I just want to pay it forward. Kapital works with new artists, singer/songwriters, that stay true to grass roots organic styles, built around playing instruments and collaborating with other musicians. I want to get back to real, full bands and off the floor type sounds on albums. This is what I love to listen to, and it comes from the heart and soul of the musician. Kapital plans and hosts Larger events in Vancouver's downtown core and works with smaller pubs to overhaul and rebuild their venues to turn them into proper live music venues. As of right now, we've worked with The Kings Head Pub, and we're in the process of sponsoring the changes happening at Kitsilano's Displace Hashery. I'm from Kits and I like to keep a lot of my business local just because the community has done so much for me and has the space to host really great musical acts."

We wish Kapital Entertainment the best because we know how hard it is to push forward in the Vancouver Music Scene. We look forward to covering more events from Kapital Entertainment and seeing their artists push new boundaries!

Thanks again to Kapital Entertainment and Clyde from Magnetized Productions for a great show. For the full album of photos please go to HERE

First Night Back Out!

We were invited to come see Aviator Shades at the Cellar and jumped on the chance. It was our first time out on the scene after the birth of Eliseo. Soon enough we will bring the little fellow to soak up the local music!

Feller was just starting their set as we walked down. We had seen them play back in the Cellar Launch Project and was very interested to hear how they had progressed and grown. I don't know if it was just the different sound guy, or maybe a different vibe, but they sounded 300% better. We found their new tunes to be very pleasing to the ear and had a great balance of melody and vocal grit. The guitar was nice and crunchy which complimented the deepness of the bass perfectly. The drums were crisp but not overpowering, which is great to see with a three piece. The vocals sat perfectly on top. Clear enough to hear both the lyrics and melody lines sing through. Overall a very good set!

Aviator Shades took to the stage like old pros! From the moment you heard Dave's voice through the speakers, you knew you were in for a ROCK show. Fresh off of recording their debut EP with Danny Craig (DEFAULT), you could tell their tunes had been polished. A new sense of freshness and professionalism seem to have filled their songs. Great stage presence as always; putting on a rock and roll show like no other! More and more they keep reminding me of Guns N' Roses (at least what I've read of their early days). I believe that with just a few years of hard work some big things could be in store for this band!

Some Handsome Lads

A new video from the band Handsome Distraction. This Vancouver Island band always puts on a killer live show, and this new catchy song really sounds great! Definitely check it out!

Introducing...

Introducing a new member to the Hammer Records family: Eliseo Ryker Scott Weekes. This bundle of joy has been 9 months coming. He is amazing, and we are so happy and excited for the future!

Do not worry! This will not be the end of Hammer Records. Yes, we will have to slow down a bit to make sure we take care of our new son. But fear not! We will be hitting the scene very shortly and spreading the word of Vancouver music as best we can!

Fighting The Good Fight!

Check out Falling For Scarlet's debut music video for their single, "Army Of One." Some big names in the credits for both the filming and music production of this song! It looks fantastic and sounds great! I really hope they push hard and get this video out to all the right people. We always love seeing Vancouver bands try to take things to the next level, and putting in the time and effort to make things amazing!

The New Mr and Mrs

So for the past 9 months we have been preparing for a new addition into the family. If that wasn't crazy enough we decided we wanted to get married before he came into this world. So we threw together a wedding within 4 days! Thanks to everyone who came out to the last minute event! Our son is coming soon!

Under The Ocean -Seeds Day 5

Week 2 started on Tuesday at The Roxy! Another week full of bands duking it out to prove they are the best around town! I was saddened to see that unlike the first week (at least the weekdays) they weren't giving out free beer tickets upon entering the venue early, but oh well!

The Sumner Brothers opened up the night just as I was walking in. I noticed a few things right off the bat that raised my eyebrow. First off, all the members of the crowd up front wore plaid or long sleeve shirts and cowboy hats or other old school hats. The thing I love about Fox Seeds is that there is no specific genre requirement. As long as it's rocking, it's accepted. Song after song I tried to put these guys in a specific genre, and even by the end of their set, I didn't know what to call them. The best I could come up with is country-folk-alterative-blues-rock. Both singers were brothers, and guitar players, but both of them had very different tones which made for great variance in their songs. Speaking of songs, each had it's own flavour. They had some more blues rock tunes, then some more country sounding tunes and some straight up progressive alternative tunes. I think what really worked is that each player of the band had a different flavour that they contributed. The first guitarist was very blues driven with all his leads having a nice bluesy tone to them. The second guitar player had more of a country style of playing, more chords and his vocal tone had a certain cry that just made your soul weep. The drummer had a definite country flavour to his drumming, which is something I don't often see. Some great snare and hi-hat work. To finish it all off, the bassist had some awesome alternative bass lines. They were nice and flowing, but had some complex lines and fills. Overall it was a real treat for the ears.

Following and closing up the night was the Oceanographers. We have seen them perform a few times now. They recently won this year's Cellar Launch Project. They were releasing their EP this night and had some free copies for people to grab. I don't know what it was, but something was off that night. It just didn't sound as together as other nights I've seen them. Normally, they have some great dynamics and such a groove that you sink into some kind of trance while they fill your mind with sounds and visions. Though they weren't far off from previous performances, I did notice that this one lacked in dynamics. Some pitchy notes by the vocalist and some missed notes from the guitarist could have contributed to this. Normally, I don't focus on those things, but when it's reoccurring I feel I have to mention it. Just saying it how I heard it. Some great keyboard work though by the lead singer. Near the end of their set they seemed to have recovered their groove a bit more. The album is fantastic however. If you have a chance, definitely check it out!