The Trews- Hope and Ruin (2011)

 

Produced by: Gord Sinclair and John-Angus MacDonald

Band: Colin MacDonald~ vocals, guitar, keys

John-Angus MacDonald~ guitars, backing vocals

Jack Syperek~ bass, backing vocals

Sean Dalton~ drums, percussion, backing vocals

From: Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada

Label: Bumstead, Universal Canada

The Trews are a great Canadian rock band.  In my opinion The Trews are one of the top quality Canadian bands these days.  I think The Trews are the next Tragically Hip, which I think would be a great place to be as a Canadian Band.  The Trews like The Tragically Hip use a lot of Canadian themes in their songs. Ironically,  Hope & Ruin was produced by Gord Sinclair (bassist for The Tragically Hip) and he plays harmonica on a song called “Love is the Real Thing”, bass on “The World, I Know”, and acoustic guitar on “Dreaming Man”. Hope & Ruin is the fourth album by The Trews.  The song “Hope & Ruin” to me is The Trews best song to date. The song has a great riff and real inspiring lyric content. Before this album The Trews were a band a festival was the best atmosphere to see this band, which I got to experience a couple summers ago at the Y108 Rock and Roll Picnic in Hamilton, Ontario. With Hope & Ruin I want to see them in a theatre type venue with good acoustics for the real intimit songs. The past couple of years the Canadian music scene has given the spot light to pop stars who write songs with bad subject matters and it ruins the image of Canadian music. To me Canadian music was something was always proud of because it did not really have a Britney Spears act or stars, but now it does and it is very dissapointing. But, you can still find great Canadian music such as The Trews, Sam Roberts, and The Arkells just to name a very few. So with Hope & Ruin out there it would be good if people appreciated good Canadian music. The band is a great unit and Colin MacDonald has a voice that sounds filled with sadness on some songs, but can also put on a great rock shouting voice too. To me versatility  is very important in a singer and Colin MacDonald can do it. John-Angus MacDonald in the past has created great anthem rock riffs and he can still do it, but he proves to be a diverse guitar player throughout Hope & Ruin.  I recommend Hope & Ruin it is a great Canadian rock record.

Most Notable:

 2. “One by One”

4. “Stay With Me”

5. “Hope & Ruin”

6. “If You Want to Start Again”

7. “The World, I Know”

12. “You Gotta Let Me In”

Check The Trews at:

www.thetrewsmusic.com

www.myspace.com/thetrews

Young Rival

Produced: Independently

Released: April 13 2010

Label: Sonic Unyon

I bought this album Young Rival by Young Rival last weekend after being very impressed by the live performance. Young Rival find themselves in a position of being apart of a recent explosion of good bands from Hamilton. The Arkells are huge, The Reason are on the rise, and I can see Young Rival helping to move the Hamilton scene further. Young Rival has supported acts such as The Sadies. Young Rival to me sound like a mix of old Sam Roberts and Phoenix. If I were to go to a beach somewhere I would likely bring this album. The vintage rock guitar is a great sound to kind of modernize and that is what it sounds like Young Rival did. The best song to me is “The Ocean” and it is a song I think will get Young Rival noticed. The chorus is very catchy and one that is a good sing along chorus. I think Young Rival will be a band that sneaks up and takes a high position in the Canadian music scene. I recommend this album and I recommend Young Rival live, both are cheap at the moment. Support the Hamilton scene.

Most Notable:
1. “Got What You Need”
2. “The Ocean”
3. “Ghost in the Park”

Mike Starr 44 (1966-2011)

Alice in Chains bassist from 1987-1993 was found dead on March 8, 2011 at his home in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mike Starr joins bandmate Layne Staley who passed away in 2002. I am a big Alice in Chains fan an even though he may not have been with the band at the end he was a very important part of the Alice in Chains sound. A few notables are “Man in the Box”, “Them Bones”, “Rooster”(awesome bass intro), “Angry Chair”, and “Would”.

The Goo Goo Dolls

Saturday February 19, 2011

Where: Hamilton Place Theatre
Seats: First Balcony row N

I went to see The Goo Goo Dolls (formed in 1986) play in Hamilton with my family on the weekend. They are a band I listened to all the time and I always wanted to see them live. I finally got my chance and it was great. The opening act ended up being Steven Page (ex. The Barenaked Ladies) making the night twice as exciting. This was the night two 90’s giants came together and played a show in The Hammmmer.
Steven Page (40) came out at 8:00pm with a four-piece band including a multi-instrumentalist, bassist and drummer. They played songs from Steven Page’s solo work, which includes songs from his newest album Page One. He sounded awesome and very confident even though he has the massive shadow of The Barenaked Ladies over him. A couple notable songs played include “A New Shore”, “Indecision”, “Clifton Springs”, “Over Joy”, and “A Chorus Girl”. Steven Page sings exactly the way you want him to with that huge and experienced sound. The band was sonically solid playing a mix of pop/ rock and what to me sounds like a hint of folk. These songs can easily be sung along to making the Steven Page experience even better. Steven Page even played a few of The Barenaked Ladies hits including “It’s All Been Done”, and “Brian Wilson”. People went particularly crazy for these songs with good reason because these songs are amazing. The opening act gets a standing ovation I have never seen that before in my life. Steven Page has a new style where he wears the suits and it was visually appealing. The rest of the band was awesome too, especially, the multi instrumentalist whose duties included keyboard, accordion, trumpet, and percussion. I always wanted to see Steven Page with The Barenaked Ladies, but seeing him this way was good too.
After the intermission the lights went out and people went crazy as Johnny Rzeznik (vocals and guitar), Robby Takac (46) (bass and vocals), and Mike Malinin (43) (Drums) came out on stage. The Goo Goo Dolls played most of their hits and the less known songs. Johnny Rzeznik (45) announced to the crowd that he was sick, but he still put on an incredible show regardless. He moved around a lot getting people active. It’s hard for an audience when on the floor it is all seats. Robby Takac sang a few songs and you can see where the punk comes in. The hits make you think they only do pop/rock writing, but in the background there is a punk. A guitarist/mandolin player and mutli-instrumentalist (keyboard/ guitar/ saxophone) player accompanied the usual three-man group. With the two extra members they could get the musical depth they couldn’t get with three members. Johnny Rzeznik informed the Hamilton crowd of the extensive Canadian Tour they have embarked upon. He even told us about the screech in ritual in Newfoundland that he was the focus of. He pointed out to the crowd that we were accompanied by Buffalo and area residence. The Goo Goo Dolls are from Buffalo and you can tell Buffalo love their band. I think every person at the show love them too because it sure sounded like it. The Goo Goo Dolls set included “Dizzy”, “Here is Gone”, “Slide”, “Name”(if not for this song there would be no Goo Goo Dolls today), “Stay With You”, “Broadway” (cool addition of a saxophone for the solo), “Better Days”, “Black Balloon” (crowd threw black balloons around), and “Iris” (crowd went crazy and sang as loud as they could for this song. The epic solo is even more epic live.). They played the new song “Home” and it fits in nicely with the rest of the Dolls songs. It was a great show and a great look back to the good old days.

Cage the Elephant

Thank You: Happy Birthday

Producer: Jay Joyce

Label: DSP

Band: Matt Schultz (singer/ piano), Brad Schultz (Guitar), Daniel Tichenor (Bass), Lincoln Parish (Guitar), and Jared Champion (Drums) from Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Appearances: Late Show with David Letterman
- Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Toured with: Silversun Pickups
- Stone Temple Pilots

I bought the second Cage the Elephant album Thank You: Happy Birthday and instantly liked it. Cage the Elephant is the most unique sounding band to emerge in years. Thank You: Happy Birthday is even more diverse in musical style than their 405,000 selling debut album Cage the Elephant. Punky blues, grunge and what sounds sort of like folk can be heard on this album. Matt Schultz has a very versatile and unique sounding voice. Cage the Elephant will be a band I think that will be compared to Queen with the diversity of music styles. I highly recommend Thank You: Happy Birthday it is an amazing album by a band that constantly surprises you.

Most Notables:
1. Always Something
2. Aberdeen
4. Shake Me Down (hit)
5. 2024
6. Sell Yourself
8. Right Before My Eyes
9. Around My Head

Kiosk Canoe Trip

Friday June 25- Sunday June 27 2010:

This was a trip with my family, which we try to do at least once a year. We left at 1:00 p.m. on Friday and took the QEW to 407 to 11. Along Hwy. 11 about 20 OPP cars were out probably for the stupid G20 summit going on in beautiful Huntsville. We stopped in Sundridge for a very short break. We drove through Trout Creek where the Hwy. 11 used to run through, but the 11 was moved to go around Trout Creek completely bypassing the place. You see ghosts of a town that was at one point quite vibrant. Then it was onto the 94 to the 17 (Trans Canada Hwy.). We stopped at a convenience store near Rutherglen gassed up and got some beer. Then it was onto Hwy. 630 along Amable Du Fond River historical for the lumber routes used by the likes of William Mackey and J.R. Booth. We arrive at Kioshkokwi Lake at like 6:30 p.m.. We meet up with my brother Zach there because he works at a camp on Kiosk. I bought a hat as a souvenir and something to use for protection from the sun at the park office. We left Kiosk campgrounds by canoe for a campground on the southern side of Kioshkokwi. We arrive at camp at about 7:30 p.m. and we set up camp. Nice camp site on a point with big rocks around the fire pit and along the shore. This was a great spot for swimming because there were spots that get really deep. We stayed around the camp that first day and we ate dinner. Next day started at about 8:30 a.m. we eat breakfast then we head for Manitou Lake. We canoe across Kioshkokwi Lake and play in the rapids. These rapids were calm and not dangerous, but there are rapids that you would definitely not want to play in. We had to do a short portage from this lake. I carried a canoe this stretch of portage both ways. We then canoed along a stretch of the historical Amable Du fond River. We had to do another portage that was quite a bit longer. I did not carry a canoe for this stretch. We arrive at Manitou Lake and swim at this nice beach for a little bit. Such a nice spot and it seemed like we were the only ones on the lake at this point we did not see a single other person on this part of the lake. We then got to this island on Manitou where you can jump off these that are about 18 feet high into this really deep water. This was a lot of fun and nerve racking. It was a first for me. We then head back to home camp the same way we came. We stayed a bit longer at the beach mentioned above until our dog ran off after my brother Aaron who left a bit earlier with a canoe so we thought it best to see if she did make it to where Aaron was. I will never do this again with a dog. Back on Kioshkokwi Lake we were canoeing and we spot a big dark mass off in the distance on the right in a south eastern direction. We get closer and we see it is a moose. With quiet movement and paddling we were able to get within 25 feet of the animal. This was one of the best sights I had seen in a while. We get back to camp some decide to go to Zach’s camp to look around and some stay around the camp including me. I read some and prepared some food for dinner. I also went swimming off of our camp site. This was quite a busy, but incredibly awesome day. I was the last to get to sleep. The full moon was up casting lumination upon the entire lake, the sound of a frog close by and loons in the distance. Sunday we packed everything up and canoed back to Kiosk campgrounds for it was time to go home. I bought a canoe route map and a book on Kiosk history and we said goodbye to Zach. We leave Kiosk along the 630 to the 17 to the 11. We stop at Lake Bernard the world’s largest lake without an island in Sundridge. We eat a lunch of stuff we bought at a grocery store. I fed a few ducks and we were on our way again. We took the 11 to the 124 and we arrive at Grey Owl Rd. where we drop off Aaron at his girlfriend’s aunts cottage on either Grey Owl Lake or Limestone Lake. Then we are off again on the 124 to 400 to Horseshoe Valley Rd. E. to the 26. Stop in Stayner for Tim Horton’s then to 42 to 18 to 24 to 124 through Erin. We stop in Brucedale for gas then to 27 to 7 to 44/ Guelph Line to QEW to home.

Transportation: passenger of our old dark-green Chevy Astro the fan that has taken us on these long trips since 2001 or 2002.

Listening: MP3 player way up and The Wolf, The Fox, CBC Radio on the way home.

 In Kiosk saw an old part of a wooden bridge for the train or for cars or wagons.

Bryan Adams- 11 (2008)

Produced by: Bryan Adams and Robert John “Mutt” Lange tracks 1 and 5

Style: Rock

 Release: March 17, 2008

Length: 47:12

Label: Polydor

 Success: ~#1 in Canada (Wikipedia 2010)

~ #6 in U.K. (Wikipedia 2010)

~ #80 “Billboard 200″ (Wikipedia 2010)

 Guests: ~Colin Cripps- guitar all songs except 8, 11, 13

~ Kathleen Edwards track 7

I listened to this album 11 for the first time when I got the album for Christmas in 2009. I was not impressed then and after listening to it again I am even less impressed. It is a boring and uninteresting piece of work. There might be a couple good songs on this CD. The sound is nothing different from what Bryan Adams usually does. This may prove Bryan Adams may not be the greatest producer out there since he produced all of the songs except two. Considering the work they laid out before this album is almost disappointing. The songs sound like they are straying away from the usual topics of relationships. They sound more about various life experiences. This could have been a great idea if the writing was better. The tempos of these songs are way to slow for the most part. Keith Scott’s solos are as usually great, but his talent is sort of being hidden I think behind these slow songs. The guest appearance by Colin Cripps is awesome and he is a great guitarist. Colin Cripps’ contributions on this album are definitely noticeable. Probably the highlight of this album is the guest appearance by Kathleen Edwards on the song “Somethin’ To Believe In”. There are other background singers, but her voice is so strong and distinct that it is the one you notice the most. I saw Bryan Adams live in support of 11 back in March 2009. They of course played the classics, but of course they played a lot of the new songs. I enjoyed the show and I seemed to like these new songs live. Maybe they changed the songs pace and made them more interesting for the live audience. I do not recommend this record, but of course if you like it go ahead. I hope the next one is much better.

Best Songs:

1~ “Tonight We Have the Stars”

2~ “I Thought I’d Seen Everything”

7~ “Somethin’ To Believe In”

3/11

Check Bryan Adams at:

www.myspace.com/bryanadams

www.bryanadams.com

Bryan Adams- Anthology (2005)

Produced by: Bryan Adams, Robert Lange, and Bob Clearmountain

Released: October 18, 2005 (1978-2005)

Style: Rock, Soft Rock

Length: 155:57

Label: A&M Records, Chronicles, and UMe

Success: ~ #65 on Billboard 200

~ 2x platinum in Canada

~ gold in U.K.

Personnel: – Bryan Adams (Rythem Guitar/Vocals)

- Keith Scott (Lead Guitar)

- Tommy Mandel (Organ)

- Dave Taylor (Bass)

- Mikey Curry (Drums)

- Brian Stanley (Bass)

- Phil Nicholas (Keyboard and Programming)

- Robbie King (Organ)

- Bill Payne (Piano and Organ)

 - Larry Klein (Bass)

 - Ed Shearmur (Keyboard)

 - The Tuck Back Twins (Backing Vocals).

Review:

I like old classic rock and I think you can categorize Bryan Adams as Classic Rock. His greatest songs came out during the ‘80s and early ‘90s. Songs that contain great guitar riffs as well as great solos and song topics surrounding love. Keith Scott is the lead guitarist and he gives most of these songs life with great guitar hero style. Bryan Adams sings with a great rock strength and legendary sound. Bryan Adams also plays rythem guitar as well as sing. I think you can easily place Bryan Adams among music heros like Bob Seger and Bruce Springsteen, but a Canadian version. This is an Anthology, which means these are the most popular songs out of a 30-year career of making music. This is a two-disc album where one disc is amazing and the other is not all that good. I find myself being able to listen to the first disc a lot more than the second disc. The Anthology contains various collaborations with the likes of Sting, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, and Bonnie Raitt. There is another one, but she sucks at singing even on here. This album also comes with a live DVD that is pretty good. It gives you an idea that they can play these songs live really well. The song that is probably his most classic is definitely “Summer of ‘69″ and any kid whoever picked up a guitar could relate to part of the story. If you like good old rock and roll and like them in an anthology format than check this out. Probably the greatest anthology is the new Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers one, but this one is really good too. This Anthology is especially good on long road trips when you are trying to find the greatest roads to cruise along.

Best Songs:

Disc 1-

1~ “Remember”

3~ “Straight From The Heat”

4~ “Cuts Like A Knife”

6~ “Run To You”

8~ “Heaven” (Tied for best of the best)

9~ “Summer of ‘69″

10~ “One Night Love Affair”

12~ “Heat Of The Night” (Tied for best of the best, it has awesome bass)

14~ “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” (Kevin Costner Robin Hood Song)

17~ “Thought I Died And Gone To Heaven”

10/18

 Disc 2-

 1~ “Please Forgive Me”

2~ “All For Love” w/ Sting and Rod Stewart

3~ “Back To You” -Live

9~ “I’m Ready” -Live

12~ “Here I Am”

15~ “Open Road”

16~ “18 Til I die” -Live

7/18

Paul Gray #2 (1972- 2010)

                                       

It has been a week since Paul Gray passed away at the age of 38 in a hotel room in Urbandale, Iowa on May 24 2010. I am still getting over it since he was a part of one of the most important bands to me. We are now being told it might be a drug related death, which is not a total shock since I think everyone knew of his previous incident with drugs. I don’t want to talk about what a talent he was. Paul Gray was not actually born in Iowa even though the band has made Iowa famous with the album Iowa. His actual birth place was Los Angeles, California. (Wikipedia 2010) Paul Gray was a part of quite a few bands before Slipknot. (Wikipedia 2010) I think people should be interested to know that Paul Gray was actually one of the 3 members to form the band Slipknot. (Wikipedia 2010) Paul Gray back in the day would wear a pig mask and as time went on they would change to some sort of metal skull sort of look. Paul Gray the bass player in Slipknot and played left handed. Paul Gray for the most part kept his bass playing very subtle, but not unnoticed. When you see Paul Gray during live performances he is usually slouched right over creating a weird sort of head bang, but using the entire body. Paul Gray’s job was certainly not an easy one. Not only did he have 8 people to play with, but he had two incredible guitarists Jim Root and Mick Thompson and an incredible drummer Joey Jordinson to work with. Slipknot music is very dark and angry and it is what everyone needs. It was something that completely changed my life and it was a change that I think I needed. I don’t know what is going to happen to Slipknot now, but I hope they continue with the band. Paul Gray may be gone, but you can always hear him plucking away on albums like Slipknot (1999), Iowa (2001), Vol.3 (The Subliminal Verses) (2004), and All Hope Is Gone (2008). R.I.P #2.

Dennis Hopper 74 (1936-2010)

Dennis Hopper died of Prostate Cancer on May 29 2010 in Venice Beach, California. Nominated for 2 Academy Awards for Best Writing for Easy Rider (1970) and Best Actor for Hoosiers (1987).

Filmography: ~ “Petticoat Junction” [T.V. (1964)]

~ “Gunsmoke” [T.V.(1965)]

~ Cool Hand Luke (1967)

 ~ Apocalypse Now (1979)

 ~ SNL- Host (1990)

~ Super Mario Bros. (1993)

~ Speed (1994)

~ Waterworld (1995)

~ Land of the Dead (2005)