Lady Sovereign

If you haven't checked out the pint sized midget from the UK who can rip it up on the mic, then PLEASE DO!

Lady Sovereign might be young, but she has talent beyond her years. Thankfully she was discovered and signed at an early age and is now finally getting the recognition she deserves. Soon she will be all over the radio - she is destined to be famous.

My favorite track by her is "Love Me or Hate Me". Check it out on her myspace at:
http://myspace.com/ladysovereign

Her websites are here: http://www.ladysovereign.co.uk
and here: http://www.ladysovereign.com

She is absolutely incredible.

Liz

Roller Derby makes a comback in Canada!

So as I've mentioned in past...I have started the Sandstone City Roller Girls - Calgary's ONLY female Roller Derby League.

I remember growing up and watching Derby on television. It was always on past my bed time, so I would sneak into the hallway with my blanket and pillow and hide behind the couch to watch it. My mom would find me fast asleep by the time she would head to bed. I would get in trouble in the morning, but it was well worth it to see those derby guys and girls in action.

Of course most people have seen the A&E show about the Texas Roller Girls. Unfortunately the show is quite a false representation of what it is really like, but on a good note, it has inspired a new generation of girls to want to take part.
I spent 6 months searching the internet for resources with information about whether or not Calgary, or Alberta, had a roller derby league. Everywhere I looked I came up empty handed. Then in June, a lady I work with brought in a flyer that was posted at a local clothing store...it was a call out to all women who were missing something in their life and needed and outlet to release their aggression as well as a fun way to keep in shape and make new friends. Most importantly its a way for girls to develop a fun alter ego where they can let their inhibitions free and be a completely different person from their regular boring day to day life.

After two months of skating and struggling to decide how things would run, Wendy suddenly backed out of the league and disappeared. That left ME to pick up the pieces and decide whether derby would stay or go. Well, despite a LOT of stress, hardwork and challenges, I've kept on trucking and we are in the process of doing our first equipment order. We will be starting our drill practices next month and in 4-6 months should be well on our way to bouting.

This is the most exciting thing I have done with my life and I am meeting very interesting people along the way. Roller Derby brings out girls in every shape and size and from every profession. We have bankers, lawyers, receptionists, waitresses and even a mortician!! All of these girls are unique and amazing in their own ways and each one has SO much to offer the group. Derby is a place for girls with low self esteem or confidence to come to and feel good about themselves. Its a place for shy girls to get past their fears and get in front of the public and kick some butt! Its a place for outgoing girls to get the spotlight that they crave. Roller Derby offers each girl something unique that she cherishes and needs to feel like she is a part of something important...something that matters!

We have met so many people and have been welcomed with open arms! The response that Derby is getting is extroidonary!! People embrace us and are willing to bend over backwards to help us! We've had famous players from Arizona fly up to teach us the ropes - becuase they WANTED to! We had Broadzilla from Los Angeles come up to meet us and give us some pointers. We've had the Edmonton league down to stay with us and spend the weekend giving us advice. There are leagues popping up all over Canada and within the next year the media is going to go wild as they start coming out to the world!

For now you can check us out here: http://myspace.com/sandstonecity
Our website will be up VERY soon!

Liz aka Sweaty Betty

The Whiskey's Blarin' Sloan Through They Speakers!

The crowds of fans are grouping together towards the stage area, as close as they can get. Squeeze in, people, we're at the Whiskey, we ain't got a lot o' space to spare. I'm not going to lie to you, I'm as close as I can get right now after arriving after the first band's performance (which sounded good, but I didn't catch the name) and can't see much. I will wander around as the show and night progresses...

I've got a quaint little seat at a small table where I can hear the music fine and watch the crowd's reaction. Sound check is almost finished, the band's doing a quick interview before they get started - I hear the guys are great and nice to chat with, but I'm here for the fans right now, I'm hear to capture the sound and tell you all about it. I'm far more interested in writing about their performance than their personalities right now, I hope no offence is taken.

Groups of friends crowding around one another and near the bar stands talking to pass the time before the band starts playing. I've got my brew, quite comfortable, I'm just chillaxin' in my remote area over here. Now, we all wait patiently (or impatiently) - it all depends on how excited you are. You know how it is, I've described every band opening as you remember it, waiting for the intermission to end. This is how it all starts before you're blasted away by incredulous sound. I take a sip o' my brew, a puff of my nasty cigarettes (never start, if you haven't already, I plan to quit), and I tap my feet and move to the intermission tunes they have rockin' us all. I've already run into a couple of people I have known from my past. Like I said, you know how it goes. The shooter girls passes and you politely decline or you're all over it like a rabid dog with a raw steak. Mind you, if you're not of legal age, you have no idea what I'm talking about - but let me tell you, this is how it goes.

The Whiskey (Calgary) is a good venue, I enjoy it - the sound is always great for a small place. I haven't been approached by any creepy men (nor was I approached all night, might I add), simply because I probably look even creepier just sitting here by myself writing my face off. It's just how I do things, I can't wait otherwise I lose it all. I'm the type who needs to get it all down in the moment, and that's exactly what I'm doing right now. Describing the moment. Just for the pure hell of it. The bar's got these massive Japanese white spherical lanterns hovering over the main bar area, and they're swaying to the beat. It's quite strange, actually. Everything's starting to fit. The flooring has lighting underneath the clear giant ceramic tiles, everything is lit up green. Everything's glowing.

The electric piano starts.
Everyone screams in unison.
The light's turn up, the bunches of people go nuts, and the beat starts.

Here is SLOAN, people.
Long haired and awesome. They're beltin' it out just for us.
Everyone's moving about in the back to get a better view. The beat has everyone groovin'. It makes you want to be there up on stage. "Who taught you to live like that," over the microphone, back up vocals carry 'er on.
Everyone's ready to rock and roll.

The movement starts. The girls start to dance, and the guys start to sway back and forth getting their groove on. It's starting, this isn't all of it yet. Bartenders are staring to jump around and enjoy their surroundings, they're enjoying themselves. The band is starting to get into it, "I can feel it!" someone screams into the mic, hollaring in tune to "Ill Placed Trust" (from their new album), they end the song and thank the crowd. Next tune, slower, "sing it if you know it" he shouts over the speakers. The fans join in, they pipe up and sing the song.

Now everyone is moving, you know things are going great when you've got everyone moving. Can you feel it? I can feel it. Everyone's checkin' the tunes out with their feet. The crowd screams "SLO-OAN!" as if it were a hockey slogan, what else can you expect from a hockey-based city? Either way, we're all excited. The next song blares.

---

The show was fantastic, I really enjoyed it. I ended up slinking my way up front between couples and groups of people all by myself and just rockin' it like nobody's business. I definitely recommend seeing these dudes live, they put on an amazing show. That, and I met some really great people. Another writer like myself, and just some all around great fans. Check Sloan out the next time you hear about them coming around, they're worth it. Trust me.

Shoot, shoot the runner!

Ahem. I just noticed no one has boasted about this album yet, so...

(!!!) Okay so, Empire, the new Kasabian album, is seriously rockin' it like nobody's business. I have had it on repeat for a couple of hours now (my room mate could vouch for that) as I've been chillin' out in my bedroom and groovin' my mismatching socks off. My favourite track is "Stuntman" simply because it's probably the most different song on the album from the rest and it's kind of a new sound that I'm not too entirely used to. Anyway, enough said, just pick it up - it'll be awesome for rocking out in your car or whatever it is you like to do when you're listening to music, definitely add this one to your collection o' music, people. "Shoot the Runner" is a wicked track as well which will be their next single and will be released on November 6th, 2006, and it seems very much like these guys are doing great in the United Kingdom, so let's get goin' and let it happen here as well. Awesome.

Kasabian Website: http://www.kasabian.co.uk

Hey, You Might Just Bring Him Flowers

Hey. You know, the one main thing that I can mention and just have to about Ray Lamontagne's new album Till The Sun Turns Black is that my mother (whom was a really cool lady and a laid back hippy, since passed) and I would enjoy listening to this together, she would fall in love with Ray's soft blues voice. The guy's british (born in New Hampshire, no wonder I like him so much). I really enjoy the way he's written his lyrics, actually, the way he's put them together. He has such a soft singing voice, almost whispering, but it's incredibly uplifting. Being the girly female that I can be, I like to imagine that he's singing directly to me. His words are so honest and powerful in the way that he presents them - ideas and thoughts on life.

Very folky/blues sound, in which I enjoy immensely, and a very originally styled older sound. I am slightly reminded sometimes of the Velvet Underground or Bob Dylan - but throw in a whole lot of acoustic guitar in there and a great blues sound. Fantastic, I say. The guitar solos are great, too. I desperately wish that one day I will be able to strum about on the acoustic guitar like this seeing as at the moment I suck miserably. (Insert daydreaming pause here.)

Track 4, Three More Days, is definitely one of my favourites - it's groovy and lifted me right out of a terrible mood that I had found myself in at the time. It's taking me back to memories I had with my mother and the many days she and I would listen to Bob Dylan and sing along or reflect to ourselves as we did whatever it was we were doing at the time. There's a combination of really groovin' blues tracks and slow folky tracks on this album, it's a great mesh of awesome - that's for sure. I definitely suggest taking a listen to this dude's new album. He's a great musical artist and trust me, if you're into this type of music, you will be able to feel it just as much as I have - and this was the first time I have heard anything written by Ray Lamontagne. Props to him, seriously.



Ray Lamontagne's Website: http://www.raylamontagne.com/
For the MySpace Junkies: http://www.myspace.com/raylamontagne

If a woman asks you... don't answer!!

Basically my heart got run over by a Mack truck recently and a buddy of mine found this list of the worst questions women can ask men so I thought I'd share: I got asked #1... and honestly I should have kept my mouth shut.. so here's heads up to anyone who might get cornered with one of these 'bombs'.

1. "what are you thinking?"
2. "do you love me?"
3. "do I look fat?"
4. "do you think she is prettier than me?"
5. "what would you do if I die?"

If you value life, relationships, sex, whatever... you don't answer these EVER, unless you have food in your mouth or something and can manage to mumble an answer that you don't even understand :). In the words of Justin T.. "she's got me love stoned" and stones hurt like hell trust me... especially if you don't see the rocks flying at your eye!
haha was a great rant, thanks
RJ

Oh, We'll Never Hear The End of It!

For SLOAN fans (!!), they've got another album out for us to reach out for and love.

Never Hear The End Of It has a track list of 30 tunes, majority of them lasting at most 3 minutes in length, but each track is just as catchy and fantastic as the rest. The best part is nothing sounds too similar, but I'm definitely hearing a modern day Beatles sound. I'm listening to it as I write this first post to share with you guys and I'm dancing around in my chair. Anything that's capable of making you move in your chair has got to be worth taking a gander and a listen to.

Check out their website: http://www.sloanmusic.com/

Upcoming Canadian Tour Dates (as swiped from their website):
(I'm not going to lie to you, I'm incredibly excited about the Calgary show.)

Oct 17, 2006 Sudbury, ON - Townehouse
Oct 18, 2006 Timmins, ON - to be announced
Oct 19, 2006 Thunder Bay, ON - Port Arthur Prosvita
Oct 20, 2006 Winnipeg, MB - Silverado's
Oct 21, 2006 Saskatoon, SK - The Odeon
Oct 22, 2006 Calgary, AB - The Whisky
Oct 24, 2006 Vancouver, BC - The Commodore Ballroom
Oct 25, 2006 Victoria, BC - Legend's
Oct 26, 2006 Kelowna, BC - Flashbacks
Oct 27, 2006 Red Deer, AB - The Catwalk
Oct 28, 2006 Edmonton, AB - Dinwoodie Lounge
Nov 30, 2006 Toronto, ON - Kool Haus

Flying Guitars

So you say you've never seen a real "Flying V"?
Dave Mustaine showed us a real one during Gigantour's Toronto stop. Thanks to fellow intern Dave (Mr. T) for pointing this out. It was a little hard to see sometimes with all the hair flying!

Watch the clip!

The band had tons of pyro behind them but you know how the saying goes "If you can't take the heat then get out" and thats exactly what he did. Mustaine came back on after a few minutes and started playing where he left off. Later on he explained there were some technical difficulties and he only wanted the best show for the crowd. Diva or not? It's your call. Mustaine doesn't have the corn-rows but, I think, he's starting to look a lot like Axl.

Bob Dylan & The Foo Baby!!

The fall tour of Bob Dylan's new album "Modern Times" is making its way to Toronto on November 7th at the ACC. The Foo are opening, and if you saw their acoustic show back in August like I did, you are insane to pass this opportunity up.

Tix can range as high as $90 for floor seats, but as far as I know you can still get them so move your butt! 7:30pm the show starts, it's a Tuesday in November so don't lie to me and say you're busy.. No one is busy in November, unless of course you have a birthday like I do. Anyways, if you go to the show I promise you wont be disappointed.

Test Your Reflex

So we went to do some work at a show at the University of Calgary last night.
My being an intern wasn't really sure what to expect nor did I know who was playing. I just got a call last minute that there was a show and to show up. Luckily my husband who is SONY/BMG employee extroidionaire took me in on his arm and made me feel like the most special lady in the world.

We got there and met up with Josh's superior and found out the name of the band was "Test Your Reflex". We were told they were a 'pop' band out of California and would play a 30 minute set opening for the band "Blue October". I've been to many of these events and seen many opening bands. They are generally the same....they all sound the same and have the same look and don't really stand out or do anything that catches my eye. I met up with the singer/manager/drummer/guitarest back stage right before the show and they seemed very nice, but again, as usual I wasn't expecting much. Just wanted to do the work that was required of me and get home to my dogs.

Test Your Reflex took the stage, and the next half hour was a refreshing and impressive performance from a band never heard of to me before. This band is INCREDIBLE!! Even when I love a band, there is only 3 or 4 songs on album that I like. This bands ENTIRE set BLEW ME AWAY!!! These guys are going to be going places for sure!! For those of you who don't know Calgary..its takes a LOT to get a good ...albeit ANY reaction from a crowd. Even a big name band can come in and it takes quite a few songs and if they are lucky they can get half the crowd up and dancing. Calgary is a bunch of stuck up music snobs. Well the first song started to play and most of the crowd was sitting on the floor against the walls. By the end of the second song the ENTIRE crowd was up at the stage cheering and dancing!! They knocked EVERYBODY's socks off and then some!! Their last 3 songs were their strongest and although they have a 'pop' label and I guess thats the closest thing you can call them, I HATE giving them that label because it might throw some people off and deter them from giving them a chance. Let me tell you CHECK THEM OUT! They reminded me of a mix between Joy Division with a HUGE influence from The Cure!! They were upbeat and absolutely FUN! They had some funky synth sounds that played along with the singers voice incredibly. They also had two other band members singing and they all just fit into each other SOO perfectly.

If there is ONE band you check out this year it HAS to be Test Your Reflex!! These kids know how to perform and they impressed the hell outta me!!

Check them out here:
http://www.myspace.com/testyourreflex

Signing out: ElizaDeath

Sneak Peek

For those who are skeptical when purchasing new CDs, you can listen to the soon to be release album from The Killers "Sam's Town" free of charge. How? Simply by clicking on the music tab on mtv.ca, the tracks can be streamed via online.

The album is scheduled to be release on October 3rd, which features their first single "When You Were Young." Until then, take full advantage of the freebee.