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By: Gemma Mastroianni Happy Summer! There has been a ton of fantastic new releases that have made the beginning of my Summer just that much better. Click here to listen to the full playlist.

Otherwives played Sneaky Dee’s while opening for the Like Satellites EP Release show and I must say, they killed it. For a band that is newer to the music scene, and playing a genre that some would say is “dying” (pop-punk), they remove that perception. Before listening to their debut EP, “Grace,” I didn’t expect much. I don’t say this in the sense that they lack talent by any means, but rather that they were brand new to the music scene. On that first EP, for many bands, it can be difficult to release something solid typically as a result of a lack of band chemistry, lack of funding, and poor production as a result. The EP’s production is fantastic and precise- far more than what you would expect from a brand new bands first ever EP. With that being said, I was hooked. It was a modern take on pop-punk and before I knew it, I was listening pretty frequently and telling my friends about it – pop-punk was reborn. Months later I heard that they were playing at Sneaky Dee’s, and I knew I had to be there. Firstly for the reason that I loved the EP, but secondly because I was curious on what it would sound like live, and the band chemistry. For what they had to work with, (Sneaky Dee’s as a venue), I thought they did a great job. Vocals were a bit low in the mix, but from what I could hear singer, Zach Mesic, sounded identical to the record. The crowd was visibly enjoying the show, dancing and singing along. The band was definitely a bit shy on stage, but their instrumental talents and modern pop punk melody’s sure as hell made up for it. In all honesty, I see this becoming such an epic show if the band keeps going. When I asked Mesic about the upcoming album this Summer, he wasn’t able to tell me much but said that people can expect a change in sound; more melodic and emotional to be precise. Although the band wants to keep most of what is coming a surprise, I know that the album will be one of great quality- and I’m stoked to hear what is next. Check them out on Instagram. Listen to their tunes.

By: Aram Eginliyan It’s undeniable that this crazy beautiful world we live in has its rules, rules of social etiquette, rules of what it means to be “ x y or z” and undeniably, the rules we set for ourselves when it comes to the way we dress. With that said, there are very few moments where those rules on the way we dress (often ones we set out for ourselves) don’t exist – that my friends is festival season! Having had the pleasure of attending Osheaga in Montreal last summer and on top of that, it being my very first festival, I had no idea what to expect when it came to the expression and fun that people have when it comes to festival fashion. You can form some sort of an idea with Instagram and Pinterest feeding you all kinds of inspiration, but actually being there, seeing the care free, non-judgement and undeniable fun that people have when it comes to creating a look for a music festival really boils down to one thing: The only rule when it comes to dressing for a music festival, especially one as big as Osheaga, is that THERE ARE NO RULES – except have fun with the way that you dress! Now that isn’t to say that it is completely anarchy through style at festivals in any way. Many times the looks you see have taken a lot of very specific curation and planning to execute. For example the coordination of colours, the level of layering and still infusing the element of functionality are all things that still need to be considered when preparing the perfect festival look! After all, you’re still under the summer sun and that is never the time to compromise functionality for purely aesthetic purposes. I also found that Osheaga and festival fashion in general gives you the opportunity to truly let your freak flag fly, and trust me that is NEVER a bad thing but it’s even more acceptable when everyone around you is also doing their own thing. For further clarification, this is the chance for those crazy, unconventional pieces you have had sitting in your closet that you just can’t wear to your regular trip to the grocery store are able to really be showcased. In my experience, I was finally able to wear this amazing vegan leather bionic elbow length cuff that I’ve been dying to wear and didn’t feel out of place in any way. So trust me folks, if you have that piece (or in my case pieces) that you only wear for very out their occasions, save them and build your festival looks around them because. Festival season is the time to really make those pieces shine and not worry about the regular societal norms of fashionable acceptance of mundane life. With all of that said, I think that every festival outfit should have some must have features: 1) Ample sleeve exposure and body ventilation 2) A bag (either for you or your group) for the essentials like sunscreen and water 3) COMFORTABLE SHOES 4) Accessories until the days end If your look can incorporate at least two if not all of the above you are going to be well on your way to making a fashionable slash this festival season. Oh! And don’t forget to have fun because thats what festival season is ALL about! If you haven’t gotten your Osheaga tickets yet, what are you waiting for? This year’s lineup is absolutely killer. See the lineup below and grab your single day or weekend passes ASAP! According to Phil Vanden Brande, Senior Manager of Public and Media Relations with Evenko, this year will be one for the books,”We always put on the best events possible. Whether its new or coming back again this year, festival goers that know Evenko will know that they can expect everything to be top notch..” Be sure to check out Aram’s personal styling business, The Fashion Hotline, for all your styling needs.

By: John Mendoza Remember that one Yoplait commercial with the giant mouths? A lot of kids were singing “Yop Me Mama” word for word back then, especially if you grew up watching YTV in 2004. Science has proven that music can help improve and even restore memory. When you listen to music, you interpret it according to your memories and pas experiences. With that in mind, how does that work with memes? Unlike people, the internet doesn’t forget things. We’ve all seen the impact that viral videos and memes affect pop culture. Of course, not all memes are directly related to music — but it’s the music ones that I find have made the most impact on pop culture. Before you debate me on the legitimacy of this list, I wanted to make sure that all of these memes had the following: a strong impact on pop culture and the internet, a long internet lifespan and a significant number of people created their own parodies/unique versions of the original meme. Without further ado, let’s take a nostalgia trip back into time and experience what I think is the top 13 music memes of all time: Dancing Baby (1998) This was one of the first “memes” on the internet, if we can even call it that. In August 1996, this meme became globally popular as a result of chain emails. The song in the video is the intro “Hooked on a Feeling” by the Swedish rock band Blue Swede. Nowadays, the song is more-so linked to Guardians of the Galaxy, but there’s a whole generation of people who attribute the song to this dancing baby. Most importantly, no-one really knew the impact of what they posted back then. “Viral” didn’t exist as a term yet. Numa Numa (2004) Years after the dancing baby animation, people started to make content and put it on the internet. Older memes are genuine. Gary Brolsma recorded this video in December 2004 and uploaded it to NewGrounds as a Flash animation (YouTube didn’t exist yet). They weren’t companies trying to get free press on the internet. This is just one guy lip syncing to “Dragostea Din Tei” by Romanian band O-Zone in his bedroom. Above all else, he was out there living his best life and didn’t care about how the internet would react. Luckily, his lip sync legacy is still seen in high school lip dubs, the show “Lip Sync Battle” and the majority of content in TikTok videos. Loituma Girl / Leek Spin (2006) The original Flash animation was posted on Russian LiveJournal in 2006. The music in the background is an excerpt taken from the Finnish Quartet Loituma’s “Ievan Polkka” cover in 1995. Like many memes in the 2000s, this video was used as a bait and switch. People would click a link that they believe to hold specific information, but it actually just links to this Flash animation. HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA (2006) You’re probably already confused (unless you know the reference of course). This was created as a parody of characters from the 1980s cartoon He-Man and the Masters of the Universe singing “What’s Up” by 4 Non Blondes. Though the original version did get a lot of views, the video was re-uploaded onto YouTube in 2010 and garnered over 150 million views. Like Leekspin, this meme was used as a bait and switch joke. The Rick Roll (2007) The last two memes were bait and switch jokes, so you already knew this was coming. The original song “Never Gonna Give You Up” was dropped by Rick Astley in 1987, though the phenomenon behind this meme was first seen in 2007. Astley fully embraced the meme and later accepted the Best Act Ever award at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2008. Unlike the previous ones, the meme doesn’t even need the video because the iconic introductory drum fill is sufficient for fulfilling the meme’s requirements. Crank Dat Soulja Boy (2007) Considered one of the first online viral dance fads, Soulja Boy channelled his MySpace and YouTube fame into a full blown music career. The specific dance flooded its way into pop culture in 2007. More importantly, this proved that you can get famous by making something that can go viral. The success of other viral dance fads like the Dougie and the Milly Rock proves just that. The Shooting AKA Dear Sister (2007 to 2009) The 2005 single “Hide and Seek” by Imogen Heap was featured in the O.C. in the second season finale. As one of the biggest teen dramas at the time, this SNL digital short from 2007 poked fun at the ridiculous nature of the scene itself. As a result, the song started to gain a steady period of online relevancy when it was uploaded onto eBaum’s World in 2009 and how it was sampled in Jason Derulo’s single “Whatcha Say”. It was difficult to avoid this song in 2009 and unfortunately erased the melancholic nature of the original song. Bed Intruder Song (2010) The impact of autotune has been a much debated topic in the music world. It’s clear that autotune music like Cher’s “Believe” (and the majority of T-Pain’s discography) can lead to successful pop hits. However, the Gregory Brothers showed just how successful autotune songs can be when they remixed a viral news video. The original news video features Antoine Dodson talking about a rapist who attempted to rape his sister in his hometown of Huntsville, Alabama. Uploaded to the Schmoyoho YouTube channel, this video was the most-watched YouTube video in 2010. The video stands at over 143,000,000 views. Gangnam Style (2012) Speaking of most watched, you can’t talk about views In the year when the world was supposed to end, PSY broke the internet back in 2012 with his chart-topping single “Gangnam Style”. With its pulsating synths and memor Monday, April 22, 2019 On top of this, George Miller retired his Filhty Frank persona and now makes alternative lo-fi R&B music as Joji. Crazy how things can change over time, huh? Vine (2013 to 2016) Trust me, this’ll make sense if you give me some time to explain why this is here. At the same time, if you search for Vines on YouTube, you’ll find “Vine compilations” instead of “funny video compilations”. When people talk about Vine, they talk about it like if it was a friend that they miss dearly. This is because Vine was killed off by Twitter in 2016 and people still mourn its loss on the internet. This sentiment echoed through the many “RIP Vine” compilations on other platforms.This is a large portion of internet users that associate certain phrases, actions and of course, songs with Vine specifically. With only 6 seconds to attract someone’s interest, viral Vine memes included identifiable phrasing, audio or visual imagery to maintain optimal replay, much like the introductory drum fill for “Never Gonna Give You Up”. Some notable examples include: • Who is She? (“Take on Me” by A-ha) • I Am the One (“Ultimate” by Denzel Curry) • Everybody Spurts (“Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M.) • Why The Fuck You Lyin’ ( “Too Close” by Next) All Star but ___ (2016 to 2017) Remix culture is important to memes as they elongate the lifespan of their online relevancy. Every meme is subject to being parodied or covered in some way or another. Despite this, they eventually die out because people run out of ideas. All Star and its relationship to the Shrek film series has gone through several iterations of memes. Whether its just film edits of the opening sequence, or the wide variety of song edits people have made, it seems that Smash Mouth’s 1999 song has been an exception. Obviously, there’s some gaps here and there. My main goal was to showcase the music memes that ended up important to pop culture in the end. For example, memes like TROLOLO had a catchy song that pervaded to the idea of “trolling”, but it wasn’t as impactful as the Harlem Shake. At the same time, we’re currently at the tail end of the 2010s and there’s no way of predicting their internet lifespan or how significant they’ll become in the future. Either way, music-based memes have played a huge role in how we define modern pop culture.

All photos shot and edited by Tavia Christina See photos of Girlpool at Longboat Hall in Toronto on April 20th, 2019.

By: Staff 8/10 Rico Nasty dropped her collaborative album with Kenny Beats (with features from Earthgang, Baauer and SPLURGE) this past Thursday, and she certainly dropped it with a bang. Personally I had never listened to Rico prior to this past Thursday. Several artists within the Rap and R&B community were boasting the album, and I caught heat of it climbing the charts and surpassing Beyonce’s Homecoming: The Live Album, so I felt compelled to check it out. “Cold”, the first track on the album, throws down right off the bat with Rico aggressively rapping ‘None of these b*tches cold as me’ over a bass heavy beat. As a female rapper, theres no better way to set the tone for an album like this one. The strong tone Rico sets in the first track follows to the next song, ‘Cheat Code’. There’s definitely a heavy tone set once again by the production of the track with a frantic sounding violin you might hear in Freddy vs. Jason or Halloween as the villain approaches the victim. As soon as I noted this element in the production, Rico dropped the line ‘People keep tryna test my gangster, Pull up on your block with a mask like Jason’, and I couldn’t help but smirk and give a mental applaud at the way this song was constructed. Track 3 and 4, Hatin and Big Titties respectively, continue on with the feel Rico sets. As I continued to listen, I began to wonder if Lil’ Kim and Danny Brown got together and had a baby that she’d produce music any different than what Rico puts out. Through the album you have that bubble gum ‘bad b*tch’ feel you might have gotten from Lil’ Kim, accompanied by distinctive and aggressive voice of the likes of Danny Brown (but female), to throw the verses down. Aside from the hard tone Rico sets, there are many little details that should be appreciated from a creative standpoint. This might be a statement that is difficult for you to take seriously, given the album’s top track so far is titled Big Titties, but you just have to trust me on this one. Following the mentioned top song of the album, you have Nasty World (Skit) which is a 50 second interlude into Relative. This interlude did throw me in for a bit of a loop, with a haunting carnival announcer narrative, and some pretty uncalled for content. Then, you take a look at the album artwork and the clown-like façade created in the illustration of Rico and see just how the interlude compliments the artwork. Also of note are the versus in Big Titties which make reference to circus type culture such as ‘You ain’t pull her, peep the bio and book her like Matilda (Ha)’ and ‘got you out here looking crazy like a circus’. Rico released a statement piece with this album. From the album artwork to the versus and themes, I give a huge applaud. She comes out of the gate hard and everything falls and flows almost perfectly after. There is definitely many of female artists in the hip-hop community really trying to make their mark on the scene, but I really like what Rico is doing to make her mark. Favourite Track: Cheat Code Least Favourite Track: Sell Out Favourite Verse (Song: Mood): ‘I got that honey like Winnie the Pooh’

By: Alena Blanes Stoner’s Christmas, 4/20, Green Day, call it what you want; Vancouver does it best. Where else in the world can you sesh on a beach and take in spectacular mountain views with tens of thousands of people? All with the best herb on the planet, if I do say so myself. But when the smoke clears and the sun sets on the west coast, there’s still plenty to explore in the city on April 20th. I’m here to run you through it- legally, of course. As the oldest 4/20 rally in the world, this year’s festivities also marked the silver jubilee of the first protest back in 1995. The event quickly jumped over to the Vancouver Art Gallery and in 2016, adopted Sunset Beach as its newest hotspot. It’s the only event in the city that doesn’t dip (dab?) into taxpayer dollars or subsidies. They also have a hefty sponsor and donations list to thank. However, even with its newly-legal status, the organizers were unable to secure a permit from the city. But the show must, and did, go on. Six months into legalization, does 4/20 in this city still possess the grandeur and purpose it once did? Well, yes. While the herb itself is legal across Canada, there are many issues still garnering public protest. For instance, The Cannabis Act enforces stigmatizing laws that penalize users. Notably, a First Nations man from Winnipeg received ten months for possessing 86 grams of the herb. Under current laws, you can not possess over 30 grams. Let’s not even start with medical users, still struggling to access cannabis at the hands of government and corporate regulations (we’ll save that for a future exposé.) According to local news, officials say the event drew over 150,000 people this year. And despite some park and city board members getting up in smoke, the turnout grew 30% from 2018. With over 400 vendors, headliners such as Cypress Hill and a whole lotta people, the event was a joint effort between volunteers and attendees from all walks of life. Despite the irate Karen’s of the world who seek to shut down the yearly event, we’ve yet to have any violent disruptions or arrests–unlike other Vancouver gatherings in the past. Looking at you, 2011 riots. As the Sunset Beach hype began to dissipate, we finished off the evening with alternative sounds from Leisure Club at the Biltmore Cabaret over in Mount Pleasant. At $10 a ticket, it was the perfect ‘welcome-home’ gift to myself. Fellow Vancouver natives, Sleepy Gonzalez, kicked off the evening with an opening set. The four-piece brought a calm and atmospheric sound with their female lead, Ally, dressed in the raddest blue jumpsuit I’d ever seen. Appropriately, the merch table had supplied snacks for concert goers, a fitting offer seeing most of us were certainly a few puffs in and keen on a good munch. Not surprisingly, the Lays and Ruffles were in high demand. Leisure Club hit us with their newest track, Strange Times, never played on stage before. The one-hour set was a mix of laid-back, good-time hits from their self-titled first album, as well as cover songs and singles. The gig was capped with a cover of MGMT’s Time To Pretend. Surprisingly, the band wasn’t ready for the crowd’s expected cries for an encore. But after a quick huddle offstage, they were back on for one final song. It was a day at the beach, both outside and in. And only in this city can you get the best of both.

By: Gemma Mastroianni 2019 marks the tenth anniversary of The Antler’s debut, ground-breaking concept album, Hospice. In celebration and acknowledgment of the passing of time, the band has decided to tour around the world; playing the album front to back. Obviously, I had to be there for this one. I grabbed a ticket to The Opera House performance before it quickly sold out. I was also lucky enough to chat with frontman, Peter Silberman, over a coffee at The Broadview Hotel before the show. We discussed the album and its intricacies in great detail, along with what is next for the band. We began by discussing why the band has decided to re-release the album on vinyl, and tour around the world. To me, it sounded emotionally exhausting, but I also understood the importance of acknowledging the presence of this album and the company it has provided to so many people, including myself. Silberman explained that originally, he wasn’t too fond of the idea. He had just finished his house show tour for his (fantastic) solo album, Impermanence, all while coping with vocal chord issues, and not initially seeing the appeal by the idea of looking back at the album, “I wanted to keep from diving full on back into the world of this record, or even just wanted to have permission to not do that, so that I could make up my own mind about how much or how little I wanted to do.” After undergoing surgery to heal his vocal cords, he practiced singing Hospice songs as a way to re-train his singing technique. The idea of returning to the album through a live experience, and even performing the songs in a different format, became a reality. As previously mentioned, I could only imagine how re-visiting this record in a live setting could be on an emotional level, for the original writer. Just listening to the record from start to finish is an emotionally heavy experience for myself, but I wanted to know what it was like from the perspective of the writer. Although most would expect it to be turmoil, Silberman says it’s not so bad as he’s mainly appreciative that he isn’t in that place anymore, “You know, sometimes I might find myself, psychologically, in a location in time while performing; something that sort of brings me back to a feeling of a time, but I’m not really reliving it-thankfully.” Silberman spoke to me about the writing process of Hospice. At the time he was listening to albums such as “Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven” by Godspeed, “Talk Amongst The Trees” by Eluvium, and more. The experience is a bit foggy as so much time has passed, but he remembered writing the album’s finale, ‘Epilogue’, first. This track was not edited or altered much at all, as it came naturally. From there, he was fixated on concept records, and the imagery of the “insular” relationship that related back to hospital themes, in which it then made sense to crack out a concept album. Silberman spent about a year recording music for the album and working on lyrics, and then just a weekend to record vocals; “It happened in fits and starts. I would go through periods of time where I would be working very intensely into the late hours, mostly from the late evening into the early morning. I was in school at the time, so I was kind of fitting this in wherever I could.” The project was something that was picked up and put down for approximately a year and a half. While playing shows with the band, being in school, and working on the indulged album, he would sometimes get frustrated. Peter explained to me that he would put down the album for a couple months and work on other projects as he would lose interest, move past it, think he was done with it; but continued to return back, “I would then come back to it, feeling a sense of responsibility towards it because I felt like it was important that I finished it. Even at the times when I lost interest in it, there was just something pulling me back towards it.” The famous album artwork was created by a close friend of his. It was a pretty quick process, and Silberman told me that there weren’t a lot of other ideas in the mix. All he could remember were the hands, and he knew that was the record. The success of this album was not something Silberman anticipated, and there was not anything to suggest it would become as popular as it did, as the band did not have an audience. The band would play many shows, but not many people would show up. “I had a feeling with this record where it was like, I don’t know what it would take for this to catch on, especially not this because I felt like something was different about this record. It sort of felt like, well if not this, then I don’t know what.” Following a release with little confidence and heavy skepticism, the record accelerated. Silberman and the band began to adjust to what was becoming a new reality for them, which included media attention. Considering how personal the album is, Silberman found himself unprepared to answer so many questions about the symbolism and lyrics. He proceeded to set a couple of ground rules for himself, in terms of what he would keep private, “I learned how to be open without being completely unguarded, and it became a really important line for me.”Regardless of the album already being so raw in itself, media would continue to pry on him for even more personal details of his relationship, even while interviewing for newer releases such as “Burst Apart” and “Familiars.” Although the album is a masterpiece in itself, I was curious as to whether or not there would be anything that Silberman would change about it, if he had the opportunity re-make it today. He explained to me that there are songs that would not have made the cut today because of his editing and musical advances, “There were songs I was really kind of pushing them to work and trying to not exactly force them into this record, but there were points I was trying to get across about this relationship and story but I was like, ‘it doesn’t work without this song in there, and this song doesn’t quite work but I’m just gonna force it to work’.” Although he would not disclose which songs that he would opt to now leave out, he hinted to me that it is more popular songs that have become fan favourites. He continued to explain that although he feels this way, it is good that they did end up on the album because it is part of what makes the record so raw and explicit, but he would never do it again today: “It served the record really well too so none of it was a mistake, but I think I would have a much harder time doing that now. It comes with personal cost and a personal toll. I think at the end of the day, the record is probably net positive in that sense because it seems like it’s been a helpful thing for enough people but yeah, in some instances the cost is that somebody else gets hurt.” The show was a phenomenal and captivating performance. The three-piece band captured Hospice in a new light, and while the band approached the performance from a minimalist perspective, it sounded much more than just a three-piece band. They created an ambient soundscape that was unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. The Antler’s are in the process of recording a new album. The band will be working hard for the rest of the year, and will get it out to the world as soon as it is ready. Purchase your tenth anniversary limited edition of Hospice here.

7.5/10 By: Ryley Choroweic The might seduce your dad type… Billie Eilish has quickly become one of the world’s youngest and well known pop stars. At just fourteen, Eilish made an impact on the music scene going viral with her release of “Ocean Eyes,” which garnered over 173,000,000 streams on Spotify. The seventeen year old pop-sensation has already sold out Toronto’s iconic Budweiser Stage, and has an entire tour of sold out arenas, stadiums, and amphitheatres lined up for this summer. Not to mention, these were sold-out before ever dropping a single album. On Friday March 29th, Billie Eilish dropped her much anticipated powerhouse of a record entitled “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?” Eilish has quickly developed her own sound; a dark, gothic, bass heavy, I-don’t-give-a-fuck kind of sound. Throughout the record, we see her jump from her sweet and solemn choir driven vocal roots, to her more recent gothic demonic whispers, which now seem to have completely separated her from the overly saturated pop-industry. The intro of the album, “!!!!!!!” sees Billie remind everyone that she’s certainly still a teenager, as she celebratory takes out her Invisalign to kick off the record. This track is directly followed by what might be the best song on the entire record. Paired up with one hell of a music video, “bad guy” sees billie taunt her partner lyrically over the most pop-influenced production of the entire record. Although the production is nearly impeccable, I can’t help but have a slight feeling of cognitive dissonance when listening to Eilish’s lyrics. At times lyrically, the teen prodigy truly seems like one of the most mature lyricists in her genre, with tracks like “bury a friend,” and “you should see me in a crown” showing a deeper complexity and understanding of her own emotion. However, Billie seemingly never forgets to remind me that she’s not completely grown up just yet, with songs like “wish you were gay” or “xanny” reminding me of lyrics most seventeen year olds are capable of writing. With that being said, it seems as though any time I have anything critical to say about this album, Eilish’s brother, co-writer and producer, Finneas O’Connell, seems to save the day with his production abilities. Finneas, who has been working with Billie through her entire career in music, is no stranger to the music industry and show business. O’connel has produced tracks for Rebecca Black, and starring in the final season of musical comedy television series Glee. I cannot give Billie enough credit when it comes to her talent and songwriting capabilities. “when the party’s over” sees Eilish return to her original vocal style, mesmerizing me throughout the duration of what may be her best vocal performance on the record. With this release, Eilish and her brother have seriously cooked up something a little different, and something a little more raw in the pop industry. The 43 minute record definitely has something for everybody. Maybe that was her goal; perhaps it is just the way things worked out. Regardless, Whether you like pop, rock and roll, or hip hop, there is going to be at least one track on this album for you. And well, if you like The Office, Steve Carrel is even on the track “my strange addiction.” It truly is exciting to see Billie release such an ambitious and creative album, even if I have a few critiques regarding her maturity and lyricism. She’s seventeen. This is her first album. Imagine how long we are going to be hearing about this young woman? This is just the beginning of a lifelong career for this young talent. The sky is truly the limit for Eilish, with so much room to grow and progress- it is only up from here. Favourite Tracks: “you should see me in a crown” “bad guy” “bury a friend” Least favourite tracks: “wish you were gay” “xanny” Follow Ryley. Follow Us.

By: Alex Rodobolski Score: 8/10 It’s no secret that Canada is home to some fantastic bands. Something about huddling together for warmth during the brutal winter makes us resilient artists, I guess. The Honest Heart Collective came all the way to Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern from Thunder Bay to rock our god damn wool socks off. And let me tell you, we were absolutely barefoot by the end of it. I’ve lived in Toronto for almost 4 years now, and had never been to the Horseshoe until this very show. As blasphemous as that is, seeing the Honest Heart Collective was the perfect way to experience it for the first time. These guys know how to put on a good old fashioned rock show. Right from the get go, they grabbed the crowd’s attention, instantly beckoning anybody left in their seats to come to the front and join the jam session. Save for some technical difficulties with the sound, these guys delivered banger after banger with their set. Songs like “Separate Ways,” “I’ve Got You,” and “North American Dream” had everybody jamming out, and jamming out hard. To top it off they covered “Helter Skelter” by the Beatles, and brought up some members of the opening bands for a high energy Bruce Springsteen “Born to Run” rendition. The beautiful thing about the Honest Heart Collective is that their songs really find their life when they’re performed live. The band takes their campfire rock songs and really make them a show-stopping experience. Not many bands can say that they sound better live and genuinely mean it, but it’s definitely true of this Thunder Bay group. Follow Alex. Follow Us.

I wanted to make this post in regards to how I personally connect to music. Basically everyone in my life knows that I LOVE music. Every now and again I’ll get questioned because I don’t play an instrument, as if that de-values my love for music. Out of this questioning, it has inspired me to make this blog post in regards to just why I’m so connected to music. I became connected to music through dance. Lyrical was one of my favourite forms, in which you have to be very emotionally connected with whatever you are dancing to. Through dancing this form I had to pay great attention to lyricism and how their voice sounded. Having this in mind while moving to music allowed me to develop the connection. Through performance and practicing this form weekly, I was hooked. I love music because it carries me through the waves of life. If I’m feeling sad or overwhelmed, I throw on some dreary tunes. Some would argue that it could make the situation at hand worse but for me, I let the music guide me through those feelings. Sometimes it’s hard for me to put into words as to why I feel a certain way, but certain songs and instrumentals help me connect deeper into what I’m feeling. If I’m feeling excited or happy, I’ll listen to something up-beat. It enhances my mood and the moment, and really just adds another element and sound to what I’m feeling. I often make posts and statuses online looking for music recommendations, and I do this because I want to connect deeper with people. I want to know what music people LOVE, it helps me get to know them better. I want to know what music they are passionate about, I want to know what makes them feel fulfilled. I often ask people close to me for recommendations, and that is another reason why. I used to listen to music to fall asleep until I started living with my boyfriend (I’m okay with this). I made a playlist around 7-8 hours of sleepy dreary tunes. I would sometimes hear this music in my dreams, and often wake up at points throughout the night with tracks playing. In those moments I would appreciate whatever was playing, there was something so beautiful about those moments. I must say, I do have an appreciation for a nice quiet sleep. I share a lot of music online, and its often because that it what resonates with me that day. Sometimes its just about what describes how I feel in that moment as well, or simply that the song is what is currently carrying me through that moment in life. It’s my expression. It’s also nice to see who comments and likes, because I then relate to those people. If you’ve hung-out with me at my home either one on one or with people, I almost always have a playlist in the background. I like to play whatever I feel matches the mood of whatever were doing, or who I’m with. I like creating memories to music with people close to me because I can then go back to those songs, and be reminded of those times. How do you connect to music? Follow me. Follow The Soundtrack.

By: Danny Maggs It’s been roughly two decades since the heyday of 3rd wave ska punk . Twenty whole years have passed since bands like Reel Big Fish, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Less than Jake, Goldfinger, and so many more were at the height of their popularity. Ska had been bumped to the fringes of the popular music scene, waiting patiently for a return to the mainstream airwaves, while fans of the genre have continued to insist that “ska is not dead.” After twenty long years, ska is on its way back up, and the Interrupters are leading the charge. To understand exactly why the California 4-piece’s show at the Danforth Music Hall on Friday was one of the most necessary performances of the year, you need to understand a little bit about what makes California ska-punk so unique. Ska music refuses to take itself seriously. Lyrics in ska songs often reflect angst and hopelessness, but do so against a backdrop of a bumpin’ horn section, fast-walking bass lines, and two-tone rhythms that are so damn upbeat it’s impossible not to dance along. Modern ska music is a beautiful paradox – Acknowledging life is downright shitty at the best of times, yet refusing to do anything but make the most of it, while also (and this is the most important part), making sure we’re all in it together. How necessary is this in 2019? We live in a decade where we’re afraid of saying the wrong thing. We’re trying to navigate an economy that feels so much different than the one were promised. We’re reminded of racial tensions and gender gaps every single day. There’s so much uncertainty in this world, that it just feels so important to have music that can lift us up and move past it. That, is The Interrupters message. They ripped opened their set with their signature brand of unity inspired tracks Friend Like Me, By My Side, and What’s Your Plan, the latter of which front-man Kevin Bivona made sure to remind the crowd is an “anti-hate anthem.” Within seconds of the band beginning, the mosh pit at the front of the stage sprung to life. Now, If you’ve never been inside a ska-punk mosh pit, you might be confused by how a bunch of strangers violently body-checking each other is supposed to scream TOGETHERNESS, but this is one of the beautiful things about the genre. Ska is the musical embodiment of the teenage angst that sticks with us even into our later years. The ska-pit is the medium to get out all your frustration, all your pent up angsty energy, and just LET GO. Because you know everyone in that pit is in the same boat, and you’re all there to do the same thing- feel the music with one another. For 90 sweaty minutes the band played their heart out. Lead singer, Aimee Allen, as the next generation’s Gwen Stephanie belting out messages of togetherness to a crowd that included the skank-rockers of the Reel Big Fish/Goldfinger Era, highschool teenagers getting their first taste of the genre, and even some older folks there to ride the new wave. One notable highlight came about halfway through the setlist, when Kevin told the crowd that they were going to play a cover song from one of the bands that inspired them the most. The audience was salivating – it’s well known that The Interrupters have a close relationship with Rancid’s Tim Armstrong- but Kevin and co. kept the suspense, beginning (and abruptly stopping) songs by Metallica, Huey Lewis, NOFX, and even Green Day before finally rewarding the crowd with Rancid’s Timbomb. That wasn’t the surprise though. Halfway through, they switched from Timebomb into an anthem from Armstrong’s first band, Operation Ivy’s Sound System. Finally, the band was ready to end their set, driving their mission statement home one last time. Kevin divided the crowd, creating a lane in the middle. Seasoned hardcore punk veterans might have recognized the beginning of a “wall of pain”, where the band urges the crowd to charge each other as hard as possible to create a storm of chaos, Bivona told the room that this was different. This, he said, was a Wall of Love. When he counted the crowd in, they charged not to hurt each other, but to rebuild the mosh pit with a charge of positive energy. Strangers embraced, fed off one another, and bounced along into The Interrupters latest single, EVERYTHING. With his greatest moment of the night, Kevin and his bandmates stayed on stage. Explaining that if they were a stadium band, this is when they’d leave the stage, then proceeded to perfectly explain what their “grand encore” would look like, exploring the theatre of the mind and describing to his audience a dream complete with descending pianos pyrotechnics. While none of this actually happened on stage, he did such a convincing job describing it that it very well might have. Mid-encore, in a touching thank you to Toronto, the band acknowledged, before launching into their mega-hit Kerosene, that alternative radio stations 102.1 The Edge, and Indie88 changed their lives forever by giving them airplay. The band affirmed that Ska has a home in this city. At the end of it all, the notoriously troubled crowd that is a typical punk-rock concert walked onto Danforth Avenue with ear-to-ear smiles, their worldly frustrations tamed, for now. Everyone who left the venue must have shared the same thought- The Ska Scene is alive and well in 2019. Good thing, too. We need it now more than ever. Danny Mags is a performer, aspiring game-show host, and lover of ska music. You can catch him hosting BINGPOT! Trivia around the GTA, or at most concerts where checkered slacks are an acceptable part of the dress code. Follow him here. Follow Us.