road trip

the boy and i went to another city to see a band at a music festival. i first heard of this guy/these folks in 2005 when i was in Montreal - i bought their CD on the recommendation of a music store owner.

i have been hooked ever since. i saw footage of them at the Montreal Jazz Festival (not just jazz, let me tell you) and they rocked out!!!

I wanted to see him/them live. i got my chance. we had a whole day of music and DJ Champion and the G-Strings

unless you really, really hate this music - humor me and listen/watch each of the videos, please. here is a link to a music video (clearest sound):


at the juno awards (like the grammy awards - but for Canada)


and links to some live stuff - give you an idea of what a concert is like:



bad sound but gives you an idea of the energy:



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it was good.

DJ Champion is the skinny nerdy guy off on the side of the band with all the computers and mixing equipment. he formed the band - the project - as he calls it, when he was totally broke. he composed all the music himself, and when he asked the lead singer to come sing on it, he told he couldn't pay for her, and that he had no gear - he didn't even have a microphone and had to ask her if she would bring her own.

watch the interview here

i am a huge techno/ambient fan. i love acid jazz. but weirdly, i also like to rock out to a really raw metal sound. i am a big early black sabbath fan. i like older Rush a lot (it's a little dated now). i like blues and jazz. and this band hits all the spots for me: driving beat; technical proficiency; intelligence; historical musical relevance (blues base); heavy rockin' guitar

the sound is based in turn of the century blues. he says in one of his interviews that one of his favourite albums is a blues recording from 1910 that was done inside a prison by blacks doing hard time in the deep south. he wants his blues to be raw and to feel.

DJ Champion is the "conductor" of the band - he live mixes their sound and conducts/directs their live improvisation during concerts. every concert is different because a lot of it depends on how he and the band are feeling and how the crowd is reacting.

they are into their own music - they rock out while they are playing - it is such completely raw energy. if you watch the live video you will see them starting to jump up and down as they get into the beat - the crowd responds to them jumping up and down and putting their arms in the air

so we're at the outdoor concert - there's thousands of people in the green in front of the band shell and we're all jumping up and down with our arms in the air in time and on the lead of the band. you could hear the deep, deep bass and feel the ground shake from all these people jumping up and down

it was sooooo intense

so

there you go

i really like this band

a lot