Northern Heights

One could furiously scribble the endearing tales of Christianne Kearns happenings into a best selling promotions guide, but in deserved respect, lets keep tune with the topic at hand. Born and molded in Blind River, ON. and having a prototypical musician’s upbringing: standing out in church choir, winning talent shows, taking on open mics, scratching at venues for openings, searching out for love of a joined sound,.. Christianne could easily be blurred in the over capacity of singer/songwriters offered. But, with that voice and a propensity to not be bothered with industry thoughts in reaching her means, she finds herself gracing legendary stages (horseshoe tavern) and tackling noteworthy festivals (North By NorthEast) in support of her debut effort with a full fledged backing band.


Is this presently a full-time gig? How you supporting yourself?

Would love for music to be my full-time gig, but in the beginning you have to be patient. A lot of people say the business is about who you know, and I’m sure it plays an integral part in success, but overall I think music is still about how good you are, and whether or not people can relate to your material. Cecil Youngfox, this incredible aboriginal painter once said: 'You have to have peace of mind to paint well and for that comfortable feeling you need to be able to pay the bills.' I waitress to pay the bills, for that peace of mind needed to play well.

How did the recording of the debut come about? How did you finance it? How long did the recording process take?

My debut 'Doomsday Lovers' was essentially an accident. I moved into my apartment in Toronto and quickly became good friends with the couple (Sam and Gord) living downstairs. Gord happened to be this incredible musician who had toured Europe and north America in the 90’s with different ensembles, and we would often jam together. One night we came up with a really great arrangement for my song 'Wildfire', and I decided to finance the recording of that song myself. We went into studio 92 on the east end, and we developed a great chemistry with the sound engineer and the process came naturally. It became an addiction of sorts for me, I wanted to hear all my songs fully arranged and realized, to get them out of my head and into something tangible. It felt like every song was a dream come true. The album took 8 months to complete.

Admiring the willingness to alienate from the majority by showcasing "songs spiced with flamenco, reggae, Middle-Eastern and Afro-Cuban ingredients", how do you plan to rope the public in?

I’m not trying to alienate the majority, but it’s obviously important for me to feel like I’m bringing something new to the already incredible diverse portfolio of human music. My songs and my style are a reflection of the music I love and admire, and most of that music is coming from outside the Anglo-western world. I bought this Rough Guide to Gypsy Music before the recording of the album, and fell in love with the Roma percussion styles and the general spirit of their songs. Such collaboration and fierce passion! Here are people who have been persecuted and chased away where ever they’ve settled, but have relentlessly maintained strong communities held together by music. I hope to rope the public in with that same spirit of community, that people can feel like they’re part of something when they’re at my shows, because music belongs as much to the listener as to the performer.

Taking in stride that an artist is unlikely guaranteed a stable salary, rather must consistently petition their merit and worth over on strangers. How is this lifestyle more appealing than getting the traditional nine-to-five and using free time to alleviate the passion stress free? Why is there a need to have others hear your music?

When God blesses you with a talent, it’s your responsibility to develop that talent and cherish the gift by sharing it with others. Turning your back on your vocation is next to impossible if you intend on living an honest life. The traditional 9-5 would not be an honest choice for me simply because I would be channeling my energy and efforts away from the gift. There are more important things in life than a paycheck, although I’m in no way naive enough to believe it’s irrelevant. A person’s got to eat and have shelter. With music you may not be rewarded with a stable salary, but you’ll have your dignity in tact and your priorities in order. Success is completely relative to each person, I get my sense of success by staying true to my passion to sing and write.

How are you handling the business side of this cruel industry, learning on the job or leaving that in someone else's hands? Have the dreams diminished or been tainted by cold realities of the industry?

I’m currently self-managing the entire operation, and I’m learning everyday. I play in a band with 7 people, and getting so many people together for a single night is always a challenge, but they’re great musicians and I just feel so privileged to have them on stage. I try not to think about 'the industry', I’m well aware that most of the music on the radio is uninspired and completely redundant, and I’m also well aware that this kind of music is what will provide the big green. Who cares. It’s just about playing as much as you can. In my opinion if you’re playing 5 times a month, you’ve made it. Being a big fish in a small pond is much easier than being a big fish in a big pond. The industry is an ear soar.


Generally multi-language albums exist to appeal to and attract a wider market, was that the aim behind implementing French, English and Spanish into your debut effort?

I don’t think words like markets, industry or salary were even part of the equation in the recording of this album. I’m bilingual, and some of my favorite artists are French speaking. Jean Leloup, Francis Cabrel... I listen to as much French music as English. I knew that my mother and my family would appreciate a song or two in French, because we’re very proud to be Franco-Ontarian, even though we’re a dying breed. I sing in Spanish because I spent a lot of time in Colombia, and again... was influenced by their domestic music and wanted to integrate some of its flavor into my songs.

With the stigma that an artists music diversifies and grows as time logs on, peering into the review mirror where has your music seen significant progression or change from the past.

I suppose the more you play, the more confident you become in your craft. This confidence leads you to take chances and experiment with your sound and your style. I’ve been driven to write music with a message from the very start, and I still am. It’s just formulated differently now. My writing has become more fluid and less stagnant. I used to be that girl who writes and only writes folk ballads. I prefer a beat and a grove now... but who knows, maybe I’ll come full circle in the future and return to just me and my piano, or me and my guitar, but for now I’m really enjoying the big band, and the energy created from so many fingers playing together. It feels more like a celebration.

If at all, how has the small town upbringing added depth to your music?

A small town upbringing added depth to my music because it added depth to my person. Blind River is a town of 3,000 people, you practically know everybody. Whether they come from well off families or struggling families, whether they are Ojibwa or not.. it didn’t really seem to matter, we were all going to the same schools and drinking at the same local bar. I’ve often thought that being from a small town you are much more exposed to the suffering of others, because you can’t isolate yourself by joining or creating a certain group. There aren’t enough people. This lack of disconnection results in a real sense of community, which is why I enjoy being a musician, I feel part of a community. There’s a song on my album called Northern Souls, which is all about the juxtaposition of the North’s natural beauty, and the poverty and hopelessness of some of its people. Every-time I go home and reconnect with its unique nature, I feel inspired. That inspiration is what led to me to write songs in the first place.
















In now calling Toronto home, curious how you see this arts scene favorable over the noise in Montreal?

I don’t call Toronto home, it’s just where I live right now. Northern Ontario is and will always be home. I’m sure there’s great music in Montreal, because it’s a beautiful city. There’s great music in Toronto too, because it’s a very unique metropolis. I don’t think there’s a hierarchy of good music scenes, good music is good music whether it’s around a campfire or at the Gladstone Hotel.

In regards to sound on this go, I chose to highlight the best of the lesser known at the upcoming Coachella lineup, unfortunately the lineup overall proves pretty weak this year, yet I found some treasure.

Alberta Cross - lucy rider
my favorite of the bunch. Definitely feels like driving out to Lake Louise, quite the vision for a band not even from the oil province, rather they call Brooklyn home (or maybe they don't, apologies Christianne).

Alberta Cross - the thief and the heartbreaker
more, more, more and myspace here. And see 'Low Man' (yes, physically they look a little too much like a Kings of Leon/Nickleback cross, but it’s the music that counts right?)

Ghostland Observatory - sad sad city
this ones for you brother, sadly I think they sound a little too much like a weak band from about five years ago in BC..'Hot Hot Heat' anyone(ouch)!

I Was A King - a name that hurts to say
maybe lulled in with other indie rock, but at least it erases time.

Jenny Lewis - fernando
reminds me of 'Wayne's World', when Cassandra is playing 'Ballroom Blitz'.
"like when we used to climb rope in gym class".

No Age - eraser
Obviously this Los Angeles act is receiving enough of a push right now, they don't need attention here, but its all about recognizing what deserves recognition.

Peter, Bjorn & John - nothing to worry about
okay, so we all know about this band, but I must pay respects for the willingness to shy in another direction after the big hit.

Grown Up Kids

Born out of the desolate basements holding Flint, MI., the Kinetic Stereokids predominately grace the streets of Chicago these days. Yet the road consistently haunts and next month the gritty, beat-heavy, sample-laden, lo-fi sonic act will be hugging foreign pillow cases as they tour the Eastern States in support of their sophomore effort 'Kid Moves'. Having donned stages at South by Southwest and Pop Montreal, and hauled their drum kit from New York to LA, the group is ever more persistently irritating its dirty motel rash. In anticipation of their forthcoming reunion avec Montreal at Le Divan Orange on March 8th, front man Justin Ford and drummer Tony Vu were plenty generous to borrow me some words.


How long you been playing together? How did you come up with the band name?
Justin Ford: This band of mangy ponies has been rolling along since high school, 98. We won a talent show in Flint with another group, Yello 5. Backstage we were playing this song 'Grapefruit' over and over and obsessively talking about a James Taylor/John Denver song with radio static & dangerous hip hop beats. The Kinetic Stereokids were thus born, and not much has changed from those ideals. The name is pretty much random, a sudden phrase used to sum up the aesthetic philosophy of a group of musicians/friends, like a motto. The 'kinetic' part was the main thing, to keep things moving no-matter-what. Kinetic art. Heinz Mack, premier kinetic artist said: "the restlessness of a line; it wants to be a plane. The restlessness of a plane; it wants to be space."

Granted this isn't presently a full-time gig, how you supporting yourselves?
Tony Vu: I just resigned from my job as a network admin and am contemplating shielding myself from the crappy economy back in school.
JF: We are all travelling salesmen in some respect. We sell things to other capitalists in The Great Wilderness of North America.

How did the recording of the sophomore effort come about? How long did the recording process take?
JF: 'Kid Moves' was originally conceived as being a project in which we would create these very delicate, almost baroque folk songs and alter them to the point of disfiguration. We tried to do Dark Side of the Moon with a Tascam cassette 4-track, and failed. It took us over 5 years to write, record, overdub, edit and mix it. You can hear the years in the songs, its like a real solid piece of hardened driftwood that's floated forever and is now unbreakable. Right under the surface you can hear the original songs, if you listen. Its got the Neil Young folk thing right there, but its smeared over by screams, laughs, samples, beats, Zeppelin guitars, chaos, preachers. It's a lo-fi adventure in sound, like 'How many times can we record TV static over this nice song before you don't see the forest for the trees?' It's a really fucked up collage.


How did the concept of your first music video come to fruition?
TV: It was the brainchild of a very talented lady named Kelly Brickner.
JF: She directed and conceived the idea of having us walk through an actual wilderness of our artwork. She used a book myself and Mike Steibel had made over the years of whacked out collages and paintings.
TV: From this, she created little worlds to animate and digitize us into. She then zapped us with the gun from Willy Wonka and we walked around and played in the screen.
JF:It turned out better than we could have ever imagined.



What is the moment/stage you bubbled about in your sleep growing up, when you would know you'd 'made it'? What is the dream gig or venue you are pining to play?
JF: There is no 'making it'. Mick Jagger still puts his pants on one leg at a time and pours his own cereal every morning. Maybe it's when you can actually quit your day job. Actually, I understand that Mr. Jagger was majoring in Business Administration when the Stones first started gigging. Maybe I'm totally wrong; maybe he has a person that puts on his pants for him every day. I think we'd all just like to be able to tour constantly, and play the British music festivals each year.
TV: I've always wanted to tour Europe. The thought of going to sleep and waking up in a different country each night still drives me. I'd love to play any of those big festivals like Reading or Glastonbury.


Have the dreams been diminished or tainted by the cold realities of the industry?
TV: Not really, we're fortunate enough to be on a great label that really believes in us and our music. We have a really good relationship with 'Overdraft' and we work side by side as we slice through the wackiness of the industry to forge our path.
JF: I don't think there were really any misunderstandings about how the music industry works at all. Even when we were 17-year-olds jamming out ideas in the basement, the TV would be on mute, and it would be Christina Aquilera or P Diddy or whatever on the screen, and immediately there was no connection with that whatsoever. Even if we had the ability to go to that place in the sky where Spinal Tap and P Duffy are, we'd still be a million miles from it. Not that its an excuse to be lazy-look at groups like Godspeed You Black Emperor or Do Make Say Think, they work their asses off at being the most unique and popular too. GYBE flattened pennies on the train tracks behind their studio and included them by hand in the first 500 copies of their debut album. That beats the industry. Flattened pennies.


If at all, how has your Flint roots affected/influenced your music?
TV: It's given us our voice. There's literally nothing to do in Flint except get in various forms of trouble. We used to joke that we had a coping club, where we'd get together and hang out and cope with our existence. This pure boredom mixed with the depressing state of the city, combined to create a storm of anger, resentment, and pure bewilderment. When we were younger we would literally lock ourselves in our parents' basements and play music day and night. This kind of shielded us from the outside world and allowed us the room and freedom to mold our sound.
JF: Flint has made us who we are. Living here, we have become pretty hard and learned not to take shit. Not to say that you end up jaded or calloused, but people from here do grow an extra thick layer of skin. It's just so bleak, desperate nothingness. So there is that choice: do you go down the road of desolation and join the madness, or do you fight it with art and words and music? For the most part, we've chosen the latter. While all those murders outside turned into wowing statistics for the rest of the nation to see, we were in our basement spray painting a bunch of homemade CD's to hand out downtown—of some diseased folk song made in the sump pump. A lot of musicians came out of this area, and I think the really good ones became that way because they learned that music is a defense, a weapon, a thing to occupy your hands, as well as being a nice thing to listen to.


Can you fill the blank on the present music scene in Chicago?
TV: There's a huge hip, ghetto tech, 808, party til the break of dawn scene here. It looks funny, kinda like hip homeless people from the 80's with diagonal haircuts. I'm not really too into this scene but it is prevalent and the party don't stop. For me, the gem in the Chicago scene would have to be the free jazz scene here. It's absolutely amazing, purely energetic art. These are very talented, world class musicians that constantly push the boundaries of music. There are a handful of venues that host gatherings throughout the week and there's kind of a rotating cast of players that group up in random configurations. Everyone is in bed with each other and it's a wonderful experience seeing them create. Sitting through one of these sessions will force you to redefine what your outlook on music is.
JF: A lot of DJ's. You could write a thesis paper on the entire culture of re-mixing. It's pretty insular and has a food chain, just like any other big city. I've seen a lot of great musicians playing to only 5 people, and some really whack ones playing packed houses. If you look past the popularity contest it's a breeding ground for anything new. People move from all over the Midwest to Chicago to start something interesting, and kids drive from God-Knows-Where, Wisconsin, to see some band they heard because their friend burned a copy of something from them.

Clearly, you've been influenced in artists having shaped your music what it is, curious whether the influence carries over to the live show, are you further inspired in the way you perform or present your music?
TV:Absolutely. Much of our show is based on improvisation and a lot of what each of us bring to the table at the moment is influenced by what we're listening to at the time. By the nature of the beast, this lends to us inspiring each other in the moment with what we play. We've also gone to emulating the work ethic of other bands as well. 'Can' is a major influence on our sound and I heard that they would literally jam for hours upon hours. So I took to this and instilled a jam til you puke ethic to some of our practices, where I'd lock Justin and Matt in my basement and not let them out until we had played for at least 2 hours straight. We'd get so exhausted that we'd resort to X-files sounding ambient jams at the end but I think that completing the process was a win in itself.
JF: Our real influences are sometimes audible on the recordings, but not as much live. The method we use to record the initial songs is much different than the method we use to come up with a live show. The tedious chopping and layering is difficult to recreate onstage, and long ago we had to just learn to be more immediate up there. So it tends to be louder, faster, heavier, longer. Which, in turn, creates new songs. We've always had a joke about us live being a 'Kinetic Stereokids' cover band, as it's frustrating at first to learn the meticulously recorded material.


How do you inwardly field being compared to well staged artists/names?
TV: I like hearing how people interpret our sound. Usually the easiest way to describe a band or sound is to bring up other bands as a frame of reference. The best are the off the wall ones, we've been compared to Rush and Kid Rock before.

Why is there a need to have others hear your music? What is the message which needs to be heard from you?
TV: I think there is a need to hear our music because the message was recorded seven years ago and it now seems more pertinent then ever. Greed and excess have run a muck and it's apparent on every newspaper and magazine cover you pick up today. When this album was being crafted, we took these ideas from books and films, ideas that had been around for years. Much of the angst against corporate greed on the album was derived from what was seen in between the lines at the time. From the bubble gum pop of the late 90's to the post 9/11 state of shock that we were herded into, at a time when it seemed like no one knew any better, we felt we did. We wanted to get across that this world is at once, sick, silly, and beautiful, as our good friend Luke so eloquently puts it. All of this was molded into the album.
JF: There is no other option, either someone else hears the music or you explode. Even if you just hand off a demo to a random person, it's a release. I hope people can find their own message, tailor what they want from the music.


With the stigma that an artists music diversifies and grows as time logs on, peering into the review mirror where has your music seen significant progression or change from the past?
TV: It kind of grows with both you and the world around you. As our lives change and we go through certain experiences, we gain different things to express. I like to look at music as language, and as we grow older, we simply have more to talk about.
JF: We've gotten wiser, and the music has a little bit of meaning now. It's just as exciting as when we began, and we're all even closer friends.

Endangering Koala Depictions

Introduced into this world with an inclination for the visual arts, Dietrich Rosteck has been scrawling pictures for his entirety, but 2-3 years for the music industries poster purpose. Charging a lean $40 for his hand, Dietrich is well entrenched in the show poster field of Montreal. He unknowingly took my spotlight on friendly competition and tossed his alternative viewpoint. More selfishly, I'm proud to acknowledge that he's championed the first poster of my production career.


How long you been at this action? how were you originally started/inspired in putting pictures to paper?
I don't know, I was too young to remember. I was always off in la-la land as a child, never terribly social, maybe it was some form of escapism/disassociation from my surroundings, I've just always done it. I remember getting out of bed every morning before anyone woke up, watching 'Thundercats' and doodling away. Now, I'm twenty-four and still kind of doing the same thing, which is either really neat or really lame depending on how you want to look at it.

How did you come about the void in creating show posters?
Started making little make believe flyers one winter in northern Ontario out of boredom, just watching '20/20' writing down Barbara Walter quotes as opposed to band names and so forth. I was going to a lot of punk shows at the time, and it turned me into a little D.I.Y. fiend though i didn't know how to go about it yet.
I got my first legit poster gig years later, right after I moved to Montreal, from some weird fucker with a koala fetish, who never ended up paying me. I cursed the bastard for weeks and swore I'd never draw a koala again. It wasn't the best experience, but I'm glad it happened, I learned a lot from those first few gigs.


How much time is put into drawing up each?
It can take me anywhere from 3-5 hours, sometimes in one sitting depending on the deadline. That's a rough estimate, I don't ever keep track of how long anything takes to make, its kind of irrelevant to me, I just really like making those darned tootin' things.

Where do the concepts originate? Do your posters sustain any trademark fingerprints?
I get ideas from all over , I'll catalogue color schemes that I like in my head for future reference from billboards or labels, magazines, weird scenery, etc., I think harmony within a color scheme is pretty important. Lately, I try and make the aesthetics of a poster reflect the band name, but sometimes the end product has nothing to do with anything and I just end up drawing whatever comes to mind or use an old idea from one of my sketchbooks. This funny little crosshatching thing happened with my drawings somewhere along the way, I think at first I was trying to mimic old lithographs from the 1800's or something. Anyhow, that's just how I ended up drawing, it wasn't a terribly conscious thing...I suppose that constitutes as a sort of trademark.


Are there any specific standards/necessities to adhere to in illustrating a show poster? What are your tools of choice?
No ones ever really specified anything like that to me so far, I have my own standards, I'm making it up as i go along and learn the do's and dont's. I'm really finicky when it comes to making something whether it's a painting, a poster or what have you, its got to be just right. Generally the promoters let me do whatever i want which is nice. I'll use anything I can get my hands on to get them done, typically pens and coloring crayons, I find the idea of using coloring crayons entertaining. They kill my wrists though, so maybe someday I should switch to finger paints or potato stamps or something.


Have you eyed progression in your archived work? Are you headed in a particular or planned direction with your artwork?
There's definitely a progression, do anything long enough and you'll see gradual improvement. As far as posters, they get easier to do, you pick up tricks along the way just from fucking up so many times, like how to fix spelling mistakes without using photo shop on a finished poster. I used to really stress about them and now the whole process is substantially more enjoyable. I want to paint more, I have a few comics and weird little publications in the works, and piles of to-do lists and notebooks of ideas. If I'm not learning anything new while I'm doing it, I find the work kind of dull. So, it's kind of hard to say which direction the work will go in, it's a lot of trial and error, the plan is just to get better and be more prolific.


How competitive is the field you operate in? What is your lethal weapon over the competition?
I suppose it is fairly competitive, I try to stay away from that dog eat dog gibberish, not pay it any mind, that sort of thing belongs on the football field.
My experience so far with the few people that I know who are doing posters has been pretty positive, high fives all around. Lethal weapon over the competition? Well, I have been trying to figure out this darn five point palm heart exploding technique.


Dietrich would like to pass on his music picks of the moment, worth keeping an eye on.

Allie Kell
Kieran Blake
The Rough Sea
The Felines











Check out this article for a British viewpoint on the Montreal scene.

Le Musique...

Sin Fang Bous - clangour and flutes. Only found the video for this dandy from the Icelandic Sindri Mar Sigfusson's debut. To hear more click here.

Anathallo - italo
definitely a love or hate song, after multiple listens to the Michigan natives, I tend to the former.

Antlers - two
Brooklyn-based trio's second album is highlighted by this epic 6 minute beauty which eludes boredom in gradually building and unveiling listless tragedy.

Bodies Of Water - under the pines
renditioning a comparison to the arcade fire, i find this Los Angeles created band to be more rock n roll. They are signed to the label 'secretly Canadian', which is genius.

Born Ruffians - hedonistic me
from Midland, Ontario.

Elliott Brood - fingers and tongues
the only good thing to come out of Windsor, Ontario. i think this song just became a new favorite band of mine, that's allowed.

Juana Molina - vive solo
Introduced into Buenos Aires, Argentina this singer/songwriter is the Spanish Bjork.

Heartless Bastards - hopeless romantic
Garage rock act from Dayton, Ohio, stands out by the unique voice on Erika Wennerstrom. Dateless, this one could have been placed at a mellow scene in 'dazed and confused'

Unresolved Intrigue

When you think show posters in Montreal, the local scene predominately shakes into frame one man, Jack Dylan. Jack is a visual artist, whose distinct gig advertising drawings rake in $100 a shot. In conceiving over 200 images to showcase upcoming concerts, his work can be viewed exhausting a safari of concepts from exercising countless superhero depictions, to spotlighting self satisfying locations in the city, to sliding in cameos of notable industry players. These days, Mr. Dylan has steered his magical hands away from the poster paper to focus more towards magazines, but when promoters come begging the fingerprint left behind is still unmistakable and smears eye candy.



How did you trip upon/discover the opportunity to fill a void in creating show posters?
Well I had moved to Montreal with the intention of creating a large studio space for myself and several other artists, I wanted to recreate the atmosphere I had grown accustomed to in art school. There would be a silk screen studio, a dark room, and painting studio. I found a 4000 sqft warehouse space in little Italy, and invited four friends to move in. What I didn't predict, was that the real success of the place would come from the shows we would begin to put on there. Some of my friends were quite adapt to booking bands and drawing in a crowd, something I knew nothing about. As it happened though, just as my lifestyle of struggling painter was beginning to wear thin, the shows wound up presenting me with an outlet to make posters for the events we were hosting at my house. And this was the perfect opportunity to create work quickly, and to put it out there just as fast. Something that painting in privacy and waiting for a show didn't allow. The venue also acted as a gallery, so through the music I was able to gain an audience. It was the perfect symbiotic relationship, each art form bringing attention to the other. And I should mention that I always loved and created posters, my first series of paintings were all posters, ironically they were advertising things that didn't actually exist (see pic below). I was just making up info to put around a painting.


Where does the concept for each originate, solely your design or clients input welcomed?
The nice thing about designing for promoters is that they're not art directors. They rarely put in their two cents, so as the artist you get total freedom. Usually I'll sit on a commission for a few days, and see if any idea's strike me. Or sometimes there will be something that I've been wanting to try that may work. It may be topical to the news at the time, or strictly seasonal. I usually try to place my illustration in whatever we're in at the moment. -- I'm really inspired by formal illustrating styles, like the covers of the New Yorker, or vintage Harpers. Comic books of all kinds too obviously, and I like to place a narrative into the poster if possible, giving it the quality of a page that you can turn to find out what's inside. But of course you can't turn any pages on a poster, but I suspect that that's what makes them work, that tension of unresolved intrigue they create.


How much time is put into drawing up each?
It varies, sometimes I spend days, my latest series for Pop Montreal took about five days each. Usually though I can knock them down in two good days, or occasionally one if the style is more simplistic. (The nice thing about working for promoters and not art directors is that I can be completely elastic with my style, if I want to make them look like peanut characters, I can do that. If I want it to look like an oil painting, I can do that too.)


Is there any significance behind the locations/scenery in mtl you choose to illuminate?
Absolutely, in many cases at least. The posters are often very personal to me, and are littered with dozens of references to inspirations, other artists, friends and my own biography, past, present and fantastical. You spread all the posters I've done out over the last few years, and you virtually have my diary in pictures. My own very public diary.























With the public accustomed to the copyright issue in music, curious to know its importance in visual art, is imitation unavoidable/acceptable?
Well, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to avoid it, but so long as we're not making any real money I think we're on safe ground. You can't get blood from a stone and all that, and as seemingly popular as the Canadian music scene may be, it's actually still extremely underground. We're not putting these things on MTV or anything. So again it's another great example of the freedom that not getting paid for something can afford (having said that, I have been more careful lately).


I imagine its pretty gratifying to see your artwork plastered anywhere and everywhere all over the city? Is the authors door ever knocked on when posters are illegally posted?
No, not really, thankfully there are too many beatings and violent crimes for the law to concern itself with me. But actually, I'm just the guy who's selling one legal ingredient to make the whole illegal product. I'm just designing the thing, it's the promoters and the poster pasters who can catch the heat, I'm at safe distance from that. They on the other hand can catch a fine, but mostly the city just likes to tare the posters down as fast as they're put up.


Understanding your gradual move away from these endeavors due to the wage constraints, curious whether there is additionally any attached artistic limitations or skill hindrance associated with the gig aiding visuals?
Just the medium itself. After creating over 200 of them, I get a little frustrated by the fact that they're all just posters, and none of them have turned into a film or comic book yet. And after a while you just run out, a poster a week is a lot, and there's only so much there for me to express in them. That's the biggest problem now I think, that's why I'm slowing them down a lot. I want things to evolve, I'd like to be able to turn that page now.


Is it conceivably possible to dig a decent living out of artwork in the music industry? Peeps seem to throw their wallet at grasping vintage concert posters, is prized artwork strictly adhered to the work of yesteryear?
Oh I don't know about that, I'm sure if you had a well negotiated deal with Arcade Fire it would still be possible, but I wasn't able to talk them into it, no.







In a never ending chase for new music, one is quick to throw aside gems without letting them fully mature on the ears, thought I'd balance the dizzying effect by staring down alternative action from previous names highlighted and dicing in some freshly squeezed lemons.

Beach House - astronaut
dry tears are surfing down my cheek

High Places - new grace
for all kindergarten teachers whose drug induced students were lost on Feist's '1,2,3' in class insertion for practicing digits.

Lykke Li - little bit
Feist_y swedish singer, born in 1986. wowzers

Paavoharju - kevatrumpu
finnish psych-folk, I'm still lost in their stellar trance. Off the tongue loving Laulu Laakson Kukista album

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - kurt cobain's cardigan
smart, smart, smart. every band playing should put the intriguing man's name in a song title, the song would never be overlooked, cliche or not. Again, I like 'the smith's' comparison here.

The Rural Alberta Advantage - the ballad of the raa
hands up, my most valuable 3 minutes 27 seconds of sonic bliss in 2008. "And right here what we've had, is a good thing, it will last"

Shearwater - whipping boy
"are medium-sized long-winged seabirds. There are more than 20 species of shearwaters, a few larger".......
anyone looking for more of the Austin 'iron & wine', ici. While on target try out the Hawksley like 'century eyes'.

Titus Andronicus - no future
named after Shakespeares first tragedy, yawn. This is the debut for this Glen Rock, New Jersey act, music sounds nothing like a titus andronicus, more like conor oberst. potentially a future?

Jammin' In Japan

Osaka is a hefty plane ride from Bournemouth, England. But with Christopher Pedley's feet currently kicking bamboo in Japan for an unfathomable fourth tour round with his dirty funk act 'The Baker Brothers', its small sushi. Besides, with the trio (he met the brothers Dan and Rich Baker six years ago) striking an audience abroad and being handed plane tickets by the likes of 'Fred Perry', whose to drag them in to comprehend the grandeur of these minute opportunities. In the midst of introducing the Japanese faithful to his bands now fourth album, Chris put down the sake and his bass to grace me with his perspective.


Quite lame to ever having shown an appreciation in the Jazz, am extremely interested in knowing how you came to playing as such?
The Baker Brothers started out as a weekly jam session at a bar in our home town, Bournemouth. We would jam anything from TV themes to funked out 70's rock classics. There was a good social buzz which kick started things for us. We were just having fun really making a couple of quid while chasing the girls.


My love for Jazz, Soul and Funk started in my mid teens when I was introduced to Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis, James Brown, Herbie Hancock and Marvin Gaye. Also during the early 90’s there was the thriving UK Acid Jazz scene, where I got influenced by The Brand New Heavies, Soul To Soul, Omar, Jamiroquai, Mother Earth, Coudroy Incognito and Galliano. Gurus Jazzmatazz introduced me to the likes of Donald Byrd and Roy Ayires and kind of educated me about the inseparable link between Hip Hop and Funk. From age 18 I loved listening to Gilles Peterson on radio one, he was a huge influence.

How did you initially garner recognition?
When the band started there were lots of record shops, where people bummed around taking the piss and talking about music. Avid Records was where I hung out and met lots of people who educated me on funk and beats. We released our first 3 x 7” records and an album on ARSE records. We started doing gigs at funk nights all over the UK, it was kind of hip and lots of fun so we went with it! We unexpectedly got picked up by a Japanese label called P-Vine records who have been licencing us ever since!

Noticed your on an independent label 'PEDDLERS', is that yours?
It is our own label.

How much responsibility does that charge you? Is it added pressure to make the $ side of the band thrive?
To be honest, it does often distract me from the music. I am a musician and I find numbers boring and tiresome, although I find it hard not to get too tied up in it. Funk or Jazz music is unlikely to make us financially rich; however, we have to try and be clever with what we have to get where we want to go. It is hard to make money with music, so instead of sitting around dreaming about getting a deal we decided to set it up ourselves.

Respecting your about to embark on your fourth tour in Japan, how did all this come to be? Why is Japan the place you clamour to so often?
I met our Japanese manager Kats Okada in my home town when he was studying at the Bournemouth Arts Institute, we got into DJing together and put on a few nights. When we got the deal with P-Vine he acted on our behalf and sorted our deals out etc. We found that our market in Japan was a lot more fertile so decided to keep pushing. We have now released 5 albums, a DVD and tour as much as possible here to keep that market alive. It’s good to make records, but playing live and touring is the way to keep fans interested!


How do you afford these excursions?
I guess it’s mainly from the venues and promoters that support our music, our record sales have made our audience and I guess the venues put up the capitol to keep us coming back.

Employ me to how/why your music resonates so well with the crowd overseas?
We just play from the heart and people just seem to connect with that here. We have worked hard to nurture relationships with the people who have kept the flame burning.

Having recently encountered the conservative behavior of Japanese fans myself, I implore your take on their reception of live music.
I find that the Japanese people are very committed and when we bring what we have, the audiences seem to feed from our energy. Although on the surface they might seem reserved, they are the people who seem to connect with it the most. We have always had a very energetic connection here at our gigs!


Any acts or brands of music being played in the J-pan you are down with?
We have played along side some great Japanese acts such as Sleep Walker, Osaka Monorail, Kyoto Jazz Massive and UFO. It is a real privilege to meet and play with these people.

Is there a unique advantage or niche the Asian music culture has over alternatives abroad?
People here still seem to buy CDs and actively support bands that they love, I’m doubtful this is true of other Asian countries but Japan works for us!

Knowing this a focal market of yours, is it quasi impossible to fairly promote your band from half way round the globe?
Well we have good management and solid label backing so we just do as much here as we can, and we will keep making the records till people lose interest, but for now we must keep pushing, so far so good!

Have a take yourself at the sounds of the Baker Brothers, with video for Chance and Fly and live look at Keepin' Together








I'm gonna get behind the full reins of the music...

Amadou Et Mariam - politic amagni
Cheesy french tunage? Nah...maybe you'll maintain the cheesy claim, but replace the latter with African! Regardless, its catchy and worth a second listen.

Blind Pilot - the story i heard
The tired Portland voice sounds bored of Jo-Jo, until a sudden blink worthy outburst "Oh No I cannot tell" helps him carry on and find accompaniment. I'm entertained the whole way and also wishing to make
one red thread available.

Bound Stems - winston
They're doing Chi-town proud on this latest album 'The Family Afloat', I'm just not sure there is much backing behind it. Ah well, if we can grab a few, hold them close to our ears and move on, are we not better for it?

Grouper - heavy water/i'd rather be sleeping
I'd rather be listening to this action on a train travelin cross-country looking past the window contemplating my happenings.

High Places - head spins
This Brooklyn duo reassures that two minutes can jet by, luckily one can countlessly repeat those hypnotic two minutes to their hearts content.

Noah & The Whale - give a little love
English Johnny Cash? I think I'm behind to catching on to this one, but I'm here now!

Shugo Tokumaru - button
Thought it clever to throw a Japanese artist in. But, not outta fruitless will, Shugo brings merit for having also caught waves in N.A.

Shugo Tokumaru - parachute
Is Santa coming down the chimney so soon? Is that Sigur Ros? Doesn't matter, the instrumentation and arrangement is somehow appealing.

White Denim - sitting
eerily similar to 'Man Man' on this effort. But otherwise, they have their own Austin, Texas language, not sure I like the accent much.

EXTRA: An icon has stepped down. Nic Harcourt host of 'Morning Becomes Eclectic' on KCRW, has moved on to other endeavors. The shows live sets with today's pertinent bands will persist, but without its ever soothing voiced host.

A Clear Picture

A brief six years ago, in witnessing the attention his Uncle received from the 'older ladies' at taking sunset shots, Remi Theriault picked up his first camera. Fast forward half that clock and Remi decided to full-on pursue the adjoined passion. After which, he landed a gig close to birth, shooting the East Coast Music Awards in 2006 and making acquaintance with a number of bands. Resultantly, he presently does all photography for 'Two Hours Traffic', has shot 'The Acorn' on occasion and just finished work with 'Andrew Vincent'. Between pounding the streets, galleries, venues and alleys of Ottawa, the photog made some time in his whirling world to fill my appetite for words.



What is it you add to the world of photography?
Lately, I've been trying to make photography a little more fun. Started my blog at the start of summer and wanted to make people laugh. I guess every photographer is part entertainer. There's a lot of serious photography out there, which I love and do from time to time too. I probably have a split personality.

What perks are associated with being a photographer in the music world?
Other than having clients that are usually hung over and wearing stinky clothes... I find people in the music industry are really nice and often easy to work with. Getting in free to live shows, is also really nice. They don't share the groupies though...


Are you big on using your mindset for a shoot or is priority set on what the client represents or is about?
Before setting up a band shot, I try to get an idea what genre they want, listen to the CD and look at the art work to make it gel together.

What kind of background is essential for taking a band photo shoot?
Definitely a graffiti background or dark alley is a must.

What frame you look for in grasping the essence of a live show?
I just try to have fun and dodge the flying beer.

Does a band putting on a good show generally equate parallel in photos?
If I'm bored at a show, my brain seems to shut down. I'll take nice clean shots, but nothing too creative. If my head is bopping, it usually gets me going...hopefully the pics are in focus.

Seemingly there's a lot of amateur photographers in the live show game, do you cringe when people exhibit their glare in the darks?
It doesn't necessarily bother me, at least if the photogs get some respect. Don't stand mid stage the whole show, or if you do, put the camera down from time to time. Talked to a couple of bands about it, and most don't seem to mind.

If there was one musician you could go back in time and shoot, who would be in your lens?
If I could change the question to who I would most like to shoot...'Radio Radio'. An Acadian Hip Hop group creating a real stir in Quebec and slowly moving into Europe.


time to throw the music, some choices from remi (*), some from moi.

straight off, Remi is thrilled about 'The Danks' from Charlottetown and I side with.

The Acorn - crooked legs
saw the ottawa group a couple years ago at 'casa del poppolo' in mtl, was midnight and they had passed curfew, so had to keep it down for folks upstairs to sleep. Must have been a sweet sendoff to their zzzzzzz's or looked like this

Beach House - gila
if 'Pink Floyd' were young today, went to school in Baltimore and never did drugs. Was split between this number and 'apple orchard', you tell me.

Chad Vangaalen - tnmt mask *
the Calgary native is a radio3 staple. Canadians making Canadians proud, no better love.

Hi Lo Trons - lovesuit *
this Ottawa act has definitely got some Hawksley in em. fun, fun, fun.

Hot Chip - we're looking for a lot of love *
obviously the band is not being introduced to anyone here, but probably one of the songs that receives little attention.

M83 - kim & jessie
cheesy?, wrong decade?, I don't know, but I love it. They're even from beautiful honeymoon stop Antibes, France.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - everything with you
last I read (decided) 'The Smiths' are due for copyright cash, just stare at that band name. Shocked to have just read they're from New York.

Radio Radio - chemin de terre *
monsier theriault already filled in the blanks "an Acadian (moncton) Hip Hop group creating a real stir in Quebec and slowly moving into Europe". Personally, I'm not there, its alright, me and Remi ain't lovers...to each their own. Couldn't bring you the desired 'Jacuzzi'.

The Walkmen - in the new year
up and down, back and forth, what a roller coaster of a song. Worth every twist and turn. merci ny.