Woods - vectorized

I was experimenting with some online vector convertors. 

Favicon

Check out the Moontotwer's new favicon! The tiny image in the address bar before the URL.

Thievery Corporation

Heading out to see Thievery Corporation on their Radio Retaliation tour tomorrow night at the Kool Haus. Pretty jazzed!

*UPDATE*

One word to describe the show...AMAZING!

Relentless7

A good read...good sound.
C.

BEN HARPER AND RELENTLESS7 WHITE LIES FOR DARK TIMES


In a hostile sea of disposable, throwaway singles, BEN HARPER AND RELENTLESS7 have made a true album. White Lies For Dark Times is a timeless rock record, with a cohesive collection of music that is as raw, unrelenting and thunderous, as it is arrestingly haunting and emotional.

On the raucous opening track, “Number With No Name,” Harper bellows “the very thing that drives you -- can drive you insane” over an infectious guitar line and a deftly serious groove that both thumps and propels the listener. The band then brings the listener full circle in the closing track “Faithfully Remain,” as Harper sings, “the truth just wastes away in all we can’t explain, but I faithfully remain.” The beauty of these lyrics works as a breathtaking release which balances out the anthemic urgency of songs such as “Shimmer and Shine” and “Up To You Now,” both of which are surely soon to be familiar staples at radio.

This is American rock, the way it is supposed to sound and feel.

In what may possibly be the greatest “how the band formed” story ever, Harper met guitarist Jason Mozersky in the late nineties, when the lead singer of Mozersky’s then band, WAN SANTO CONDO was working as a van driver shuttling bands back and forth to the venue for a Texas promoter. (The three members of the 7 all hail from Texas) The part time driver, part time musician took a risk that all artists must take at some point in their lives in order to succeed. He asked the then captive Ben Harper, “Can I play you my demo?” Harper obliged, and in his own words “was blown away,” and helped the band secure a record deal and release the self-titled Wan Santo Condo / Everloving Records, 2004. The band broke up after one record, but what survived was a lasting friendship between Harper and Mozersky.

In 2005, Harper began recording sessions that would become a double record entitled Both Sides of the Gun (2006, Virgin Records). He invited his now long time friend Mozersky to lay down some guitar work on a track. Upon invitation to continue recording the next day, Jason arrived with at the studio with longtime friends, drummer Jordan Richardson and bassist Jesse Ingalls from the acclaimed Los Angeles based indie rock band OLIVER FUTURE. The session would spawn not only the song “Serve Your Soul” but the framework for Relentless7.

In the summer of 2008, the chance arrived for these four uniquely talented members to reunite in the studio and dig deeper into the chemistry that was born during the Both Sides of the Gun sessions. It was soon apparent that their instincts were correct as the record quickly began to take shape. The songs from White Lies For Dark Times sound off with both the vast musical depth and experience of Harper, while commanding the pure urgency and intensity of an unknown band fighting for it’s life.

This is clear in the song “Fly One Time” with the lyric “I’m caught in between what I can’t leave behind, and what I may never find” where BEN HARPER AND RELENTLESS7 capture universal emotion while the song pulsates into a bass, drum and electric guitar anthem that would captivate any arena and crush any small club.
In November 2008, the band debuted their new material on the Vote For Change Tour, where they also breathed new life into the Queen/David Bowie classic “Under Pressure,” which has since become a staple of their live set. They ended the year cutting their teeth with a series of small club shows from famed venues such as Spaceland and The Mint in Los Angeles, to The Mercury Lounge and Kenny’s Castaway in NYC. The band is scheduled to tour extensively across the world in 2009.

BEN HARPER AND RELENTLESS7 intelligently has one foot in Harper’s past while every other limb and appendage reach towards the future. Any preconceptions or misconceptions in regards to a “Ben Harper sound” must now be adjusted, or thrown out all together. With BEN HARPER AND RELENTLESS7, the story of modern rock music is now being rewritten.

More Funneeeee!

A couple of funny films to check out...

Foot Fist Way

Apparently a favourite film of Will Ferrell's. Cringy like The Office, silly like Semi-Pro.

Chris Rock's Kill The Messenger

Hilarious. Chris Rock rocks.

Three Deeeee!

Unusual for me, but I went to see movies in the theatre twice this past weekend. Mainly because the films I went to see were in super duper 3D.

Coraline

Great stop motion film by the director of A Nightmare Before Christmas. Not really for the young kids, had some spooky moments. But a little disappointed with the 3D. The film didn't take advantage of being in 3D. If you go, see it in 2D and save the extra bucks for popcorn. 

IMAX Under the Sea 3D

Imax and 3D - always a great combo. Amazing underwater photography brought to life in 3D. My god, at one point you are face to face with a giant cod floating in the middle of the theatre. Only 40 minutes long and the 3D made me feel a little dizzy, but it was pretty cool.

Check out this Bacon

Check out this bacon. NSFW

Housekeeping

What happened to the D&C pic? The Vader pic is really funny, but...

Slip, is there an opportunity to but a header banner on this template? If so, let me know the specs and I can whip one up.

What's Spinning in yer iPod?

Since we like to blog on music, I thought I would throw out an idea - a post per month by one of us (we can rotate) talking about what's getting play on our iPod (or iPhone for Woods). Here's mine:

Coldplay - Viva la Vida
Damn, I like Coldplay. Have for a while, and I am gonna just come out and say it. I know some say they are cliche and stuff, but they throw down some great melodies. And Joe Satriani should rethink his lawsuit.

Jason Mraz - We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things
I think I like Mraz's stuff more than Matt Costa - it seems to have more variation song to song.

Incredibad - Lonely Island songs from SNL
I nearly pee myself listening to this stuff. Faves include Ras Trent ("Are you there, Jah? It's me, Ras Trent"), Dick in a Box, Space Olympics, and Incredibad. Good for a break on a long commute.

Blind Pilot
Ok - likely a new band for you both. Very acoustic sound, and a great overall groove. These guys toured on bicycle across the US last year, gear and all... I think they were on Carson Daly yesterday, too.


I've also put the iPod on shuffle, and twigged on JT (gotta love him), some Kanye West (the new album - 808s - is a bag full of repetitive crap), and the new Thievery Corporation (Radio Retaliation).

Natty

Just came across this musician. First heard his voice on Nintin Sawhney's "Days of Fire" track. More here:

Natty - official site

The Waterkeepers

We went to see a talk at the Centre for Social Innovation last week. Mark Mattson and Gord Downie talked about The Lake Ontario Waterkeepers ongoing fight to keep Lake Ontario safe for swimming, drinking and fishing, particularly an area near Kingston and The Tragically Hip's Bath House Studio from the actions of LaFarge Cement company and inaction of our government.

It was inspiring to hear about this fight and cause. Mark gave us the details of the legalities and proceeding of the case and Gord reflected on his involvement and played a few acoustic tunes.

For more info check out:

Lake Ontario Waterkeepers

Playing for Change

I like this. Grandpa Elliot friggin' rocks on the mouth harp.