By Robin Ianson
Murphy’s law states that if something can go wrong, it will, and Killswitch Engage knows this all too well. Their second album, Alive or Just Breathing, was a surprise success and suddenly Killswitch Engage was one of the coolest new bands in heavy metal. The strain of constantly touring to support the album proved too… Continue reading We’ve reached defcon four… engage the Killswitch!
By Jon Roe
As much as success is a wonderful thing for any artist, it brings the pressure for further success. No one understands this more than Canadian hip-hopper k-os. k-os’ second full-length, 2004’s Joyful Rebellion, peaked at number seven on the Billboard Canadian Album charts, received three Junos and the singles “Crabbuckitt” and “B-Boy Stance” got wicked… Continue reading Soulful forces of k-os
By Marina Foo
Tomi Swick isn’t a name that turns heads, and yet, he’s opening for heavy-hitters like the Goo Goo Dolls. So he’s got to have something to show for it. He’s a Canadian born singer/songwriter that sings honest tales of love and reality. When he departed from the Hamilton band where he began a solo career,… Continue reading Swick has quick upward mobility
These days, the requisite for a rock band is learning four power chords and having long hair. Anyone who wants to get into the field of Tuvan throat singing, though, would need some bizzare wonder-twin power to make themselves a human didgeridoo, or maybe some other musical instrument that’s hard to pronounce. Even the Mongolian-derived… Continue reading Singing with the larynx
Most bands don’t last much longer than their proverbial 15 minutes. Whether it’s the pressures of success, exploding egos or the vagaries of the drug- and booze-fuelled music industry, most are lucky to still be speaking to each other by their third or fourth album. It’s no small feat, then, for any group to pass… Continue reading Your religion is stupid
Back in the good ol’ days, men in leather chaps with husky voices were cause for admiration, every child would emulate them, playing with plastic guns just like their idols,’ and willingly dress in fringed vests. Nowadays, even in Calgary, cowboys have lost the once-inherent respect of the populace: university students are more likely to… Continue reading Cowboy culture shock
By Sarah Malik
One critic called his writing an “exciting collision–like poetry and technology smashing into each other.” Another called the drama that unfurled over the pages “raw and savage.” They’re talking about 17 Tomatoes, a thin little book that helped land Jaspreet Singh this years’ University of Calgary Markin-Flanagan residency. The writer will bring something very unique… Continue reading Fighting a war with a pen
By Kyle Francis
From his show stopping performance in LA Confidential to the mind-blowing Memento to the less awesome Time Machine, Guy Pearce has had one of the most diverse and distinguished careers of any popular young actor. Appearing most recently in John Hillcoat and Nick Cave’s The Proposition as the rugged bushman Charlie Burns, Pearce impressed critics… Continue reading Propositioning Guy Pearce
By Paul Jarvey
As emcee for much-loved indie hip-hop sensation Atmosphere, Sean “Slug” Daley has spent the past decade on the ride of a lifetime, happily raging through inventive anti-gangsterism and pumping out genre-defining beats. Atmosphere’s latest album, You Can’t Believe How Much Fun We’re Having, arrived in a flurry of popularity, briefly hitting number one as Top… Continue reading Nitrogen not included
By Paul Jarvey
Straight out of Chicago comes Psalm One, chemist turned rapper, emcee extraordinaire, and now the only woman with a Rhyme Sayers contract. What’s most refreshing is that she’s raged out of the windy city and onto the international scene without relying on backstage producers or enacting nymphomaniac teen-jerkoff fantasies. “It should be about the music,”… Continue reading Uncommon Psalms