local

Most People: One of the most entertaining local bands in Toronto

“Those who dance are considered insane by those who cannot hear the music.” George Carlin

Are you ready for dancing? You better be! We’d like to introduce you one of the most entertaining local bands in Toronto. Most People will thrill you with their live performance. I discovered them two years ago at the Holy Oak Cafe.

Unfortunately I can barely remember that night because I was feeling a bit under the weather. After that gig, I had many chances to see their live performances at variant venues like Handle Bar, The Garrison, and Horseshoe Tavern. I probably saw their shows at least 6 times in the past two years that’s why they were one of the first bands that came into my mind when we decided working on the blog. Mustafa really liked their sound as well – yes, he does like dancing – so we thought why we wouldn’t bring their music onto deary music for our dearest followers?

After having agreed on covering their show, we started stalking them on Facebook. The closest gig was on the 7^th of September at the Wavelength Festival so we marked our calendars! On the gig day, one of our friends Marvin accompanied us to take our photos and some footage to be used in the teaser video. It was a fantastic ferry trip on a beautiful sunny day. We arrived at the island then figured out how to get to the venue. The festival area was really cool as well as the crowd. It seemed like everyone was having a good time. I was really pumped to dance but we were on a big mission so we immediately settled in for the shooting.

First, we watched an electronic based band, dressed like Daft Punk. They were pretty awesome. After them, Most People took the stage and started the set with “You Said” (on 2012 LP). This song has really cool guitar riffs and makes you feel hyper. Then they continued with “Young and Wild” “Falling Apart” (2014 EP) “Love Don’t Mind” (2014 EP) “No Name Yet” (upcoming ep) “Release” (upcoming ep)

We really liked Falling Apart from new E.P. It may remind you a little bit The Cure but it is quite different. All their songs are cycled through electronic tunes, double-drumming, and harmony-drenched vocals. Most People sounds very 90’s and this is maybe another reason why we really enjoy their music. Their live performance is also really energetic. They dance and jump. They are all over the stage. It is 100% team work and band members Brandon Gibson-DeGroote and Paul McEachern love playing together. We have to say that they jazzed up the crowd even though they had a really short set list!

If you’d like to see their live performance, they are not going to play soon in Toronto but they will be opening for Twin Shadow at the Halifax Pop Explosion on October 21^st so if you are in Halifax, check them out. You can also check our video to hear how they sound!

Cheers!

Itir & Mustafa

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Fog Lake: Down to Earth One-Man Band

“Where words fail, music speaks.” Hans Christian Andersen

“One-man band. Based on an island.” This is how Aaron Powell defines his band called Fog Lake. The first time that I heard his music was in a friend’s car. After the first 15 seconds I immediately asked my friend whose music it was. He said “Fog Lake-Farther Reaches” and I replied, “This is so lovely!” Thus my journey began with Fog Lake. And I guess it will never end.

I had spent quite a bit time digesting all his albums and started to follow his Facebook page. I mentioned him to Mustafa and he was quite amazed by music as well. We were not sure when we could see him live since he is from St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. In the middle of the summer, he announced that he was going to go on tour in Ontario and Quebec. As soon as we got the good news, we started planning our pre- production. We were really excited to see him in TO because he came all the way to share his humble and naïve tunes.

On the day of the gig, we arrived to the venue -The Cavern- pretty early to set up our equipment and meet with Aaron. We got our permission from him to record the concert and talked a little bit about deary music. Everything was safe and sound. We were ready to go!

Before he took the stage, 3 different bands performed for 2 hours, and then Fog Lake appeared with his guitar and drum. Fog Lake is basically an one man band but from time to time his musician friends perform with him, depending on the show. The sound check was really painful. We could tell it from all the musicians’ eyes. There were several technical problems that nobody was able to fix, but then –probably- they found a way to make it work. The gig had started with Farther Reaches which is one of our favourites. Then continued with “Holy Cross”, “Despondency”, “It Was Never Enough”, “15 Ativan”, “Erik”, “Ambient Interlude”, “Inference (i)”, “Lost Love Letters” and “Space Station”

We personally very much like “It Was Never Enough” –you may realized that we used it on our teaser video- so it was pretty lovely to hear it live. The sound system didn’t make us very happy, but Aaron Powell is a talented and humble musician, and he quickly engaged the audience and recovered the technical problems. The best song of the night was Lost Love Letter, despite the song’s slow tempo. The show ended with Space Station from the last album which is a quite different tune among the other ones.

We had the opportunity to have a chat with Aaron Powell after the show. He shared his future tour plans with us. He hopes to be back in TO next summer or so. If you are curious about his music, you can check our video out. You may also want to take a look at his website http://foglake.bandcamp.com/

Cheers!

Itir & Mustafa

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Innovative Jazz Tunes from The Peripheral Vision

Members: Trevor Hogg – Saxophone Don Scott – Guitar Michael Herring – Bass Nick Fraser – Drums

Genre: Jazz

“It bugs me when people try to analyze jazz as an intellectual theorem. It’s not. It’s feeling.” Bill Evans

Since we dearly love jazz music, we’d like to introduce you a very niche Toronto based Canadian jazz quartet called Peripheral Vision. The quartet was founded by guitarist Don Scott and bassist Michael Herring. They have been performing in the Toronto jazz scene since 2008. They call themselves “one of the most exciting and innovative jazz quartets to have recently appeared on the international jazz scene” We totally agree with them since we had the opportunity to see their show at the Tranzac on August 5^th 2014. The quartet itself is very dynamic and collaborative.

We discovered The Peripheral Vision through another of Don Scott’s bands Idioteque (Toronto based Radiohead Tribute) We were quite curious about Dan’s other projects and then we found out about The Peripheral Vision through our investigation.

NEW TUNES AT THE TRANZAC

We arrived the venue before the gig and settled in and grabbed our drinks. The audience was formed of musicians. The gig was overall based on new tunes. They played 6 pieces and The Ill Conceived Plan (by Michael Herring) and Patina (by Don Scott) are from their upcoming album called “Sheer Tyranny Of Will” which will be released by September 23^rd 2014. We have to say the new pieces included experimental tunes. They took us through the heaven of jazz . The set list was: “Portrait of a Man in a Late 19th Century Frame” (by Michael Herring) – “Syntax Error” (by Don Scott) – “The Blunder” (by Michael Herring) – “Chubby Cello” (by Don Scott) – “The Ill Conceived Plan” (by Michael Herring) and “Patina” (by Don Scott)

We were really excited to hear “Living the Dream “(one of our favourites) but all the tunes they played were brand new. We have to say we were pretty impressed by the pieces called Patina and Syntax Error. You can check the Patina in the upcoming album. The show provided us the good tunes from “Sheer Tyranny Of Will”. We lost ourselves in experimental tunes as well as in jazz melodies.

After the gig, we had the opportunity to have a chat with Don Scott. They are all very excited about the new upcoming album and very happy about how it sounds and looks. The Peripheral Vision is obviously a group of musicians deeply invested in what they do and offer. You can check the video below and see how they deeply feel and dance with their instruments. Even if you are not into jazz, The Peripheral Vision could be a good starting point to explore more about jazz scene in Toronto. If you are curious about their live performance, you can find them at 80 Gladstone on September 27^th 2014 for their CD release concert and you can also check our video out. If I were you, I wouldn’t miss that opportunity to feast my ears. You can find them at http://www.peripheralvisionmusic.com/

Cheers!

Itir & Mustafa

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