July 30, 2006
Life
Beats from the....Balkans.
“There is a continental European phenomenon. When the Berlin Wall came down, such a big cultural influence came to Western Europe. When you travel from Frankfurt to Vienna, then to Bucharest, which is a regular holiday travel route, in taxis you will hear Balkan melodies and trashy disco beats. This is the sound which is happening right now every day. This is part of our musical culture [it's not foreign].” - DJ Shantel
"Balkan Beats is a term like Salsa, a catch-all for the various musical traditions of a broadly defined culture. DJ Shantel, aka Stefan Hantel, is the best known Balkan Beats DJ in Europe, blending acoustic music from Serbia, Romania and Macedonia with his own remixes, and those of like minded producers."
Life
Dont Cry for Me Filipinos? Imelda Marcos musical? With music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim?
Anyone heard about this Imelda musical (already making the rounds in Australia)?!?! Apparently fomer Talking Heads lead, David Byrne and Fatboy Slim are behind the music. Did she really order the last drink at Studio 54?!?!
Davidbyrne.com
Sydney Morning Herald show review
Blogger review
BBC news
July 27, 2006
Life
Miami Gong Show - Chinese superstar makes her (real) Hollywood debut
Gong Li, thee face of mainland Chinese cinema (before a younger lady named Ziyi came along...and got with her man/director on top), makes her real Hollywood debut tonight in Michael Mann's updated version of Miami Vice. Yes, the Gonger did recently appear in the Hollywood produced Memoirs of a Geisha (where she faced off against that very same younger advesary) and, yeah, she did speak English there but now she's in Miami freakin Vice. Cant get much more American/Hollywood/Western than that.
Gong is also currently filming Young Hannibal: Behind the Mask, the prequel to the Silence of the Lambs and the Hannibal Lecter character where she plays a mentor to the young flesh hungry psycho. In Miami Vice, she plays the wife of a Cuban drug lord and gets in tight with Colin Farrel's Sonny Crocket character.
Starring in movies such as Raise the Red Lantern and Farewell My Concubine, both of China's premier directors, Zhang Yimou (who also directed Hero and House of Flying Daggers) and Chen Kaige, respectively, Gong Li was the undisputed (wo)man of mainland Chinese movies. At age 40, she now makes her (real) splash in the American and Hollywood movie world.
More Miami Vice trailers here.
Life
Pride in a state of crisis? Local activists debate Israel event
From the Georgia Straight:
"Some Vancouver queer-rights activists are questioning the wisdom of travelling to Jerusalem for this year’s controversial WorldPride celebration from August 6 to 12. Aviva Lazar, vice-president of the Vancouver Pride Society and a self-described 'nonpractising Jew', said she lobbied the VPS to send her and two colleagues before the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. It’s been more than 20 years since she was last in Israel, she explained. Plus, she speaks Hebrew and understands the significance of layering WorldPride over the holy city.
'It’s a political stance,' Lazar told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview. 'The fact that it’s the centre of the three leading religions is fantastic, because this event is about diversity. WorldPride holds events in difficult areas on purpose.' However, she said, her enchantment stopped when the fighting began. 'It’s a great cause, but not to risk my life for.'"
Life
Where’s the jerk? Chicken, that is - Cruising to THE CARIBBEAN DAYS FESTIVAL
Couldn’t make it on a Caribbean cruise this year? Jonesing for some jerk chicken? Craving reggae vibes? Aren’t we all! Summer does something to you…which is why THE CARIBBEAN DAYS FESTIVAL is the place to be this weekend!
Presented by the Trinidad and Tobago Cultural Society of British Columbia, the festival brings you the flavours and melodies of Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Guyana, Grenada, Antigua & Barbuda, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and more.
19TH ANNUAL CARIBBEAN DAYS FESTIVAL
July 29th & 30th, 2006
Where: Waterfront Park, North Vancouver BC
It’s FREE!
Saturday July 29th: Caribbean Days Festival
* Multicultural Street Parade | 10:00 am
* Festival In The Park: Food and Music | 11:00 am to 7:00 pm
* Waterfront Outdoor Party | 7:30 pm – 2:00 am
Sunday July 30th: Caribbean Days Festival II
* Festival In The Park: Food and Music | 10:00 am to 7:00 pm
More:
Website @ www.caribbeandaysfestival.com.
July 26, 2006
Life
MSTRKRFT @ Shine: Friday, Jul. 28 (w/ Juan Maclean, Lazaro Casanova)
Toronto's dance-rock revolutionaries MSTRKRFT, comprising of one half of Death from Above 1979 in Jesse Keeler and band producer, Al-P, will be taking the decks at Shine this coming Friday.
Starting out with remixes of DFA 1979's own Little Girl and Sexy Results, they moved onto more abductions and recontructions for Bloc Party, Buck 65, Annie, Metric, the Futureheads, the Kills, Wolfmother and beyond. They recently appeared on the New Music explaining that they basically want to take rock songs that normally wouldnt be played at the club and give it a little re-edit so that club heads will be dancing to those very same rock songs. They also just released their own joint entitled 'The Looks' which takes more from the electro disco sound of Daft Punk than their dance-rock remixes.
More MSTRKRFT press
Myspace page
More on "dance-rock," "death-disco"...
Piece 1, Piece 2, Piece 3, Piece 4
The GIG
Friday - July 28
Shine Night Club
364 Water Street
w/ the Juan Maclean and Lazaro Casanova
$17 advance at Zulu, Scratch, Beatstreet, Boomtown
July 25, 2006
Life
Global hip-hop straight outta Africa – Senegalese hip hop from DAARA J
“Born in Africa, brought up in America, hip hop has come full circle,” proclaims DAARA J in their album Boomerang. Hailing from Senegal in Western Africa, DAARA J creates music with a mixture of rap, reggae, roots, soul funk and Afro-Cuban rhythms. Truly global, DAARA J beats out their music in French, touches of English and Spanish, and smoothes it out with Wolof, a native Senegalese tongue.
Winners of the BBC Radio 3 World Music Award for ‘Best African Act,’ the DAARA J trio use hip hop as a positive force, in the vein of De La Soul and Public Enemy. In honour of their name DAARA J, which means “school of life,” the trio rhyme about issues such as globalism, traditional society, the fragile environment, and spirituality. You can even hear Africa in their lyrics; take these from Esperanza: “To the end of our pains we will always build. My generation wants to come up for air.”
If you’re lucky to be in the San Francisco Bay Area this weekend, check out World in the Park, featuring DAARA J, on Saturday, July 29th at Washington Square Park (1660 Stockton St), as part of the North Beach Jazz Festival (INFO). It’s FREE!
Otherwise, order DAARA J’s albums (here).
More:
Listen to DAARA J (windows media player):
*Exodus (HERE). Put this on, and people won't stop asking you who sings this stuff--trust!
*Esperanza (HERE).
*Le Cycle, with guest vocalist, the Malian diva Rokia Traoré (HERE).
*Read a BBC review of DAARA J @ www.bbc.ca.uk/music.
Life
MY HUSBAND IS A SPACEMAN – Hip one-woman show about cross-cultural relationships
“My husband is a spaceman.”
“Well, er…you okay?”
Perhaps this is what you might say after someone mentions “My Husband is a Spaceman,” a one-woman show by cult favorite, London-based artist, singer, musician, animator, director, performer and storyteller Kazuko Hohki. The show was chosen as the Critics’ Choice by the hip guide to the London scene,Time Out, so why don’t you check it out yourself and become part of the avant-garde set--you know you want to.
Vancouver's the venue for the Canadian premiere of My Husband is a Spaceman, following behind the UK, New York, Germany, and Singapore:
MY HUSBAND IS A SPACEMAN
Date: Thursday, August 10 | 8:00pm
Where: Stanley Theatre, 2750 Granville Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604.683.8240 (Ask for Miko) * TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!
My Husband is a Spaceman is a multi-media show about cross-cultural relationships, according to Kazuko’s experience of said experience. The show’s premise is derived from an old Japanese folk tale of love between a peasant and a crane, tinged with loneliness and how to survive it.
Price:
Avoid Ticketmaster service charges (yuck!), by purchasing tickets through the Powell Street Festival Society. Tickets are $25 ($18 for students/seniors), so mail a cheque payable to the Powell Street Festival Society (#310 - 425 Carrall Street, Vancouver, BC, V6B 6E3) for the specified amount of tickets, and have the tix mailed to you.
OR
Wait until the Powell Street Festival (Aug 5-6) to buy tickets for $15 at the Festival Sales Booth.
More:
Check out the Powell Street Festival Society for more info about the show: powellstfestival.
Interview with Kazuko Hohki in 3AM @ www.3ammagazine.com.
Listen to some of Kazuko’s funky sounds @ kazukohohki.calabashmusic.com.
July 24, 2006
Life
RESPECT TO A PIONEER: Mako passes away at 72
One of the trailblazing Asian faces of Hollywood also known as the Godfather of Asian American theatre, Mako Iwamatsu, better known simply as Mako, died last Friday, July 21 in his home in southern California of esophageal cancer.
From appearing in countless numbers of American TV shows and movies all the way back from 1962, founding the Asian American theatre company, East West Players, earning an Oscar nomination for the 1966 film Sand Pebbles, and starring alongside screen legends such as Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Barbarian, Brad Pitt in Seven Years in Tibet, a voice behind the animated series, Samurai Jack, and facing off against Bruce Lee in the Green Hornet, Mr. Mako blazed a true trail.
Life
49th and Main - Canadian Soap with a touch of Bollywood Spice
We all love a little drama! If part of your presonal DVD collection includes some Bollywood melodrama, some glitsy Hong Kong or kung-fu period peices, and possibly some Filipino over-the-top family feud, you know you're not alone. And most recently, everyone (and I mean everyone) has been hooked on the South Korean soap opera wave. Soaps rule the airwaves in the world's largest television markets. But for the most part, American and Canadian television drama has continued to deliver the same imagined demographics of the 1970s - and that's not likely to change fast enough. Those in the TV biz know it's hard to get a new soap concept looked at by N. American broadcasters; even harder when it stars a predominantly (visibly) diverse cast. So when we began to receive emails about TV-sightings of new Canadian soaps North/South and 49th & Main in the middle of the afternoon, it was like the impossible had just happened.
49th and Main (from Wikipedia) "... is set in the Punjabi Market district of Vancouver. Much like ITV's Coronation Street, 49th & Main focuses on the interactions of the businesspeople, merchants and residents of the multicultural area. In particular, the series revolves around Dr. Cedric Ferreira, a Kenyan-born Indian with an English upbringing, who decides to bring his young son to Canada and start a medical practice." (lot's more here)
No promises that either of these two pilots will stick. But at this point, we're all just (happily) stunned and basking in the fact that the CBC has made this happen: six episodes each. And to some positive reviews: "Northern Exposure meets Da Vinci's Inquest," according to The Globe and Mail (read more here)
More:
On youtube.com
The inside scoop ... Behind the Scenes: How a CBC TV Drama Show Got to Air HERE. 24 seconds with [writer/director] William B. Davis here.
Punjabi-Canadian Actress: Agam Darshi stars in CBC 49th and Main click here.
To find CBC Television in your area here.
It premiered on CBC Television on July 18, 2006 at 2:30 P.M. (3:00 P.M. in Newfoundland), and will run for 6 episodes on a Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday scheduling setup, with the final episode airing on July 27. Tell us what you think. Email info@schemamag.ca
July 23, 2006
Life
The Squishy Pillow with a second life – MOGU products
“It All Started with a Bead" is the tagline behind MOGU’s pillows and products. If you haven’t hugged a MOGU pillow yet, go out and find one! The squishy beads inside create a unique touch-sensation with its pliable, supple cover.
Be warned, the first time you feel (feel up is more like it!) a Mogu pillow, the sensation is so unique that you'll end up fondling it over and over...plumping it up with your hands, squishing and punching, and mooshing it to death. It doesn't mind...after all that's what it's there for!
The little beads were created in 2000 by Japanese businessman Yoshinobu Ishida, the young president of Ebisukasei Inc.(the parent company of MOGU), a humanitarian and environmentally conscious manufacturing company in Osaka, Japan.
The beads are created from recycled beads left over from making bike helmets! The first Pom-Pom cushions he designed flew off the shelves in Japan, with one store selling more than 300 in a single day.
More:
Americans can find MOGU products readily at Urban Outfitters and Brookstone, but Canadians have to order online on the MOGU website (HERE) or search on eBay Canada or Amazon.
July 22, 2006
Life
Justin Lin to Finish the Game
Better Luck Tomorrow director, and more recently director of Annapolis and the Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Justin Lin, is set to take on what appears to be a comedic period piece about the making of the Bruce Lee's last movie, Game of Death. The project is titled, FINISHING THE GAME.
Bruce had started to work on Game of Death (which also starred his students Kareem Abdul-Jabaar and Dan Inosanto and which he wears the famous yellow jump suit) when he got the call from Hollywood for Enter the Dragon and production was left at a stand still. Lee then passed away weeks before the release of Enter the Dragon and then other parties took what footage existed from the in-progress Game of Death and then finished it, cheesily, with either Bruce Lee body doubles or cut-out images of Bruce himself.
Lin explains that "My movie is about the making of it, the casting of who is going to become that fake Bruce Lee. It's a comedy, it's a period piece. It takes place in the '70s, and a lot of the actors I worked with before, I'm bringing them all back. It'll be a nice little reunion, but it's about actors in the '70s trying to make it in Hollywood."
In other Justin Lin news, he was also rumoured to be making an American remake of the Korean movie, Oldboy.
Life
Deep pan pizza, no…Deep House Music, yes – DJ MARK FARINA @ The Commodore
There’s more outta Chicago than deep-pan pizza and Oprah…there’s also MARK FARINA. No, he doesn’t play for the Cubs, the Blackhawks, or even the Bulls. For the past 10 years, MARK FARINA has been one of the most sought-after DJs in the world...and he’ll be at the Commodore Ballroom, August 12th for a night of “Jackin House Madness” in celebration of his latest CD “Sessions”.
Expect deep-house from Chicago’s underground, tinged with Farina's wide musical knowledge that helped shape the Mushroom Jazz series, a continuously mixed collection of down-tempo, dance-floor jazz for the turntablist generation.
MARK FARINA - SESSIONS MIXED CD RELEASE TOUR
Saturday, August 12, 2006 | 9:00 PM - 3:00 AM
Commodore Ballroom, 868 Granville Street | MIN. AGE: 19+
Tix: $35/$40 at all Ticketmaster (HERE) or Charge By Phone 604-280-4444, or check out Boomtown, Beatstreet, and Zulu Records.
More:
*Mark Farina’s official website…even if it’s not your thing, the website is very stylish on its own: www.markfarina.net.
Listen using Windows Media Player:
* The throbbing “Betcha Do” HERE.
*The super funky “Dropped in the Water” HERE.
*And the electro-pop beat of “Dream Machine” HERE.
July 20, 2006
Life
Tapioca it’s not – FISH EYES: the play about an Indian teenager who just wants to be normal
Dual cultures. Traditions and what’s cool now. Clearasil and proms. Oh, the angst of being Indo-Canadian in highschool! This weekend at The Cultch, Anita Majumdar stars in the comedic play FISH EYES, a story about the angst-ridden Meena, an exceptional Indian dancing teenger who would trade it all in, just to be a “normal” high school girl. Thru the trials and tribulations, spunky Kalyani Aunty reminds Meena the importance of embracing her origins and talents in Indian dancing.
Awwww, you may want to hug the person sitting next to you at this rate….
FISH EYES
July 20th-23rd, 2006 | 8:00pm
Vancouver East Cultural Centre
Tickets: $20-$25 @ Tickemaster (www.ticketmaster.ca or call 604.280.3311)
Address: 1895 Venables Street (one block east of Commercial Drive)
More:
FISH EYES website @ www.fish-eyes.com.
July 19, 2006
Life
International Jet Setters – JASON BROOKS Illustrations
Don’t you just want to jump right into the scenes of Jason Brooks’ illustrations? His world looks stylish, sleek and cool…full of beautiful people, and fabulous music echoing out of each scene. The international party set—the subject of Jason Brooks’ work is in “people, real or imagined, and how they reflect their individual personalities through their clothes, music and the things they have around them”.
Inspired by an eclectic array of sources from comics to Michelangelo and Picasso, Jason Brooks formerly studied at the Royal College of Art. He now produces art using a Mac G4, combined with traditional fine art media.
His illustrations no doubt look familiar, since London-based illustrator Jason Brooks has worked with clients that include Vogue, Elle, Sunday Times, The Face, Max, Coca-Cola, Nike, Smart Cars, Hed Kandi, Carlsberg, Express Jeans U.S, Veuve Clicquot, Philips and and L’Oreal.
If only you could transport yourself to Miami, NYC, London, or Ibiza through his illustrations...one day, one day...
More:
Jason Brooks website: www.jason-brooks.com.
July 17, 2006
Life
The world is smaller than you think – Share your home with COUCH SURFING
What is Couch Surfing, exactly? It’s a way for travelers to find a free place to stay—seriously—or just find people to hang out with while you travel. With CoachSurfing.com, you can make global connections by networking with members around the world. As you make friends, you’re making the world “a better, safer, more peaceful place”.
When you surf a couch, you’re a guest at someone’s home—you’ll get a futon, a bed, a whole apartment, or maybe a backyard to pitch your tent. You can merely stay for a steaming cup of tea, or stay a night or two. If you’re the host, you can control who visits and how long. No me and Dupree going on at your home!
If adventure is your bones, and you’re willing to be a global member, then check out couch surfing for the world beyond being a couch potato!
More:
To host or guest, check out Couch Surfing website @ www.couchsurfing.com.
To read press coverage of Couch Surfing, check out: press coverage.
July 16, 2006
Life
From email to snail mail? –SUPERMARIO POSTAL STAMPS hit Japan
Last year, they were licking the backs of Hello Kitty adorned postal stamps; this year, Japan Post has collaborated with Nintendo and released SuperMario postal stamps. Seems like computer geeks hooked to email and text-messaging now have a reason to go old skool and send out snail-mail letters to each other, just for the pleasure of trading the SuperMario stamps. Who wouldn’t want to receive a letter like that?
The 80 yen stamps come in a pack of 10, with its own folder. Oh, and just to give the French a heads up….the French postal system produced videogame-themed stamps last year. Look up here. Vive la bonne idée!
More:
Original Japanese article @ www.visionsinc.co.jp.
July 15, 2006
Life
ANIME EVOLUTION – Open to Otaku of all ages
Cosplay anyone? Gundam collector? Calling both loud’n’proud and closet otaku out there, find your comfort zone at the ANIME EVOLUTION, an annual 3-day Asian cultural and Japanese animation convention hosted at Simon Fraser University's Campus in Burnaby, BC from August 19-21, 2006.
Although, ANIME EVOLUTION is a month away, the deadline for pre-registration closes on July 31st. If this is your kinda gig, you better get on it! Activities at Anime Evolution include interactive panel discussions with industry guests, cultural demonstrations, 24-hour video rooms, costume contests, a charity auction, games, and more.
The event is open to all ages, families included.
More:
Info @ www.animeevolution.com/
July 13, 2006
Life
You Are The Folk...This Is Your Music – InDIASPORA @ THE VANCOUVER FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL
It ain’t going to be all about the fiddle, oh no…this weekend the 29th Vancouver Folk Music Festival kicks off featuring traditional and contemporary folk and roots musicians, dancers, poets and singers at Jericho Beach Park on July 14-16th.
For a little bit of spice thrown in, the Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration Society (VIBC) and the folk festival have teamed up to present Bhangra as part of InDIASPORA, an exploration of Indian music from India, the UK and Canada. The series will include special performances by Signia and Sukhdev Sukha, as well as the best of Vancouver’s homegrown Bhangra talent…shake to the dhol jams!
*Friday, July 14: VIBC on the evening concert stage.
*Saturday, July 15: Stage 6 from 11:45am to 1:05pm and Stage One from 3pm to 4pm
*Sunday, July 16: Stage 1 from 12:30pm to 1:30pm
Better yet, if you wondering what the diff is between a jhumar from a saap? Secretly want to learn how to Bhangra to the beat? Then check out the Bhangra dance workshops, a special venue at the Folk Fest.
More:
For full event listings and ticket information, visit 29th Vancouver Folk Music Festival.
For more information about the Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration, visit www.vibc.org..
July 12, 2006
Life
18th STREET LOUNGE TRIPLE SHOT - New Thievery remix collection, Joe Bataan's first release in over 20 years, Ocote Soul Sounds & Adrian Quesada
Versions is the latest release from the Outernationalists Rob Garza & Eric Hilton, aka THIEVERY CORPORATION and is a collection of 18 Thievery remixes from everyone of everyone from Bebel Gilberto to the Doors and Anoushka Shankar (Norah J’s half sis, Ravi’s daughter).
A black/pinoy mix from El Barrio, Spanish Harlem, JOE BATAAN is one of the premier cats of the Latin-Funk-Soul-Jazz sound of NYC from the late 60s thru to the 80s (ie. The sound of the Carlito’s Way backdrop). He’s back with his first release in over 20 years and drops it on Thievery's 18th Street Lounge label where he updates his vintage sound with some of the ESL label’s stable acts like Chris Joss and Ursula 1000. The new joint is entitled "Call My Name."
Also recently signed to ESL is OCOTE SOUL SOUNDS & ADRIAN QUESADA. Martin Perna (the OSS side) is one of the founding members of the Antiabalas Afrobeat Orchestra and Perna is formerly of Grupo Fantasma. The Antibalas were behind the revitalization of the Fela Kuti afrobeat sound and Grupo Fantasma married the vibes of Tex-Mex and reggae. Their ESL debut will be called "El Niño y el Sol" to be released later this year.
July 11, 2006
Life
TOKYOPLASTIC – Nice piece of Flash!
Smooth lines, clean, and cute…looks like a Japanese design, no? With a name like TokyoPlastic, you would think the designers hailed from the Land of the Rising Sun. Nope. But the duo behind TokyoPlastic, Sam Lanyon Jones and Drew Cope, are unabashingly inspired by Japanese designers Takashi Murakami, Katsuhiro Otomo, Mamoru Oshii, and Reiji Matsumoto.
Their TokyoPlastic website has drawn oohs and ahhs from many, especially their award-winning flash-animated masterpiece titled “Drum Machine,” which features Japanese wooden kokeshi dolls wearing DJ headphones. You’ll be mesmerized by its simplicity, its stylish Japanesque quality, and the cute kokeshi dolls banging their HEADS (!!) on drums (look like bongo drums, no less) with such serene expressions on their faces. Itai! (Ouch!)
Click HERE to see “Drum Machine"...brace yourself!
More:
*The Tokyo Plastic website @ www.tokyoplastic.com.
*Interview of the designers @ www.ventilate.ca.
*Find TokyoPlastic merchandise here: www.myplasticheart.com.
July 09, 2006
Life
Afrodizz @ Rime - WED, JULY 12, 11pm
Montreal's 8 piece afrobeat/funk band, Afrodizz, will be playing at the Rime cafe on the Drive this WED, JULY 12 at 11pm. They are also performing at the Vancouver Folk Fest, along side the No Luck Club and many more.
Afrodizz Folk Fest profile
My Space page
Press
More on Afrobeat and Fela Kuti
Afrodizz @ Rime
WED, JULY 12 - 11pm
1130 Commericial drive
$10
Life
No Luck Mobile Sound System - WED, JUL. 12 / Noon - 4pm
The No Luck Club sound system crew will be literally taking their beats and breaks on the road this coming WEDNESDAY, JULY 12 around various locations cross town on a mobile sound stage, U2 style cross NYC.
The show will be on the road noon - 4pm and will be hitting locations most likely such as Commercial Drive, Chinatown, Victory Square and W. 4th.
The gig is to promote the upcoming Folk Festival which the NLC will be performing at.
Also NLC's second CD is now available on itunes and on the verge of release, so keep ya heads out for that soon!
July 07, 2006
Life
CHOCOSWIM – Indie hip-hop for FREE
For a limited time only, the music label Chocolate Industries and media outlet Adult Swim is offering “CHOCOLATE SWIM,” a collection of 6 hip-hop remixes and hot tracks from artists like Lady Sovereign, Diverse, MF Doom, and Mos Def. Oh did I mention you can download the EP for FREE?
Yup, “CHOCOLATE SWIM” can be downloaded for FREE on Adultswim.com until July 26th. Launched on June 26, the EP will be free for only one month…now download it HERE.
More:
Website here: Chocolate Industries.
July 06, 2006
Life
Europe done felt the T-Dot/Mogadishu/Kingston connection
Our own T-Dot/Mogadishu, Dustyfoot Philospher (aka K'naan) has now concluded his cross contintent treck across Europe with one Damian Marley (yes, son of Jah Marley).
From Sol Guy (K'Naan's manager, Direct Current Media):
"25 days, 20 shows, 9 countries, 2 planes, 3 rental cars, 2 tour buses, numerous taxi's, and one jail cell later and it's all done. What started as a good idea, manifested into reality...we played in front of 30 000 people in less than a month, before we stepped on stage most of them did not know who we were...
We made great friends on this tour, established a creative and personal relationship with a shining star in the universe. Let the story be told. Damian "Jr Gong" Marley is a CLASS act, a humble, massively talented cat with the weight of the world on his shoulders and wearing it like a tailor made suit..."
From Damian Marley (at the conclusion of the tour)
From K'naan (at the conclusion of the tour)
K'naan & Damian on stage together
Video journals throughout the complete tour
The amazing behind the scenes look at K'naan's Soobax video (shot on location in Kenya)
Soobax - the Video
K'naan's site
Damian Marley, Vancouver show review (Nov. 19, 05)
Damian Marley interview
Continue reading "Europe done felt the T-Dot/Mogadishu/Kingston connection"
Life
Live a day the Greek way! – Greek Summer Festival 2006
Just go for the food---mmm, bbq souvlaki—and live a day the Greek way at the Greek Summer Festival of East Vancouver.
Live a Day the Greek Way – Greek Summer Festival
June 30 until Sunday, July 9th | noon – 11pm
Greek Orthodox Community of East Vancouver
Sts. Nicholas and Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church
4641 Boundary Road Vancouver, BC
More:
For schedule of events, map, pictures of Greek food, and more about the history of the Greeks in Vancouver, check out their website @ www.greeksummerfest.com.
July 04, 2006
Life
Mexican Reggae? Oh yeah! LOS RASTRILLOS coming to BC
LOS RASTRILLOS has been making their mestizo-reggae rhythms for 15 years, alongside internationally known artists like Jimmy Clift...but don't worry, NOT Menudo! They are known for their use of reggae as a route to self-awareness...but before you raise your eyebrows thinking the group is all “new-agey", have no fear! Their music will capture you with its fusion of reggae inflected with Mexican pop, mixed with jazz, funk, indú and traditional ska.
Have a taste (Click on the song “El Claudal” (The Flow) on LOS RASTRILLOS’s MySpace—it’s AMAZING!) and become hooked on their sound...do it now!
LOS RASTRILLOS has been on tour since 2005 promoting their 4th album, "Se Acabó El Reve" (The Party is Over), which was recorded in Mexico City, and mixed by Steffen Franz from Stand Out Selector in San Francisco. Now, get off your butt and see them in concert somewhere in BC:
July 7, 2006 | Tofino, BC @ The Tofino Legion (Info)
July 8, 2006 | Vancouver Island Festival, BC (Info)
July 23, 2006 | Starbelly Jam, Crawford, BC (Info)
July 29, 2006 | Richard’s on Richards, Vancouver (Info
August 4, 2006 | Kaslo Summer Jazz Festival, Kaslo, BC Info)
More:
LOS RASTROLLOS’ MySpace: HERE.
Watch the video of LOS RASTRILLOS’ song "Que Se Levante" HERE.
Listen to their song "Zipolite, es la playa del amor" HERE.
Their website in Spanish www.rastrillos.8k.com
Life
iPod Shuffle skins for your inner-designer – SHUFFLESOME sticks!
Boo hoo…you got the iPod Shuffle and feel it needs more accessories like its bigger brother the iPod Nano. Feel better by perusing through SHUFFLESOME. On SHUFFLESOME, 29 artists from 12 nations co-create sticker outfits for the slim iPod Shuffle.
The folks at SHUFFLESOME swear their high-quality vinyl foils that are the thinnest on the market. Thankfully your iPod Shuffle won’t be bogged down in layers! Better yet, with SHUFFLESOME you can produce your own custom design. And if you’re the creative type, giddy with design in your bones, try producing your own SHUFFLESOME design to share with the world!
Who’s behind SHUFFLESOME? A guy somewhere in World Cup Germany named Alex Schneider, who wanted to be part of an open, collaborative effort to produce high-quality, low cost, “ever refreshing assortment of design ideas” that is “inspired by everything open source”.
More:
Wanna buy? Go HERE...although last check, it seems Europeans had easier ordering access..
Wanna design? Go HERE.
Wanna just see the site? Go to www.shufflesome.com.