"Big Chief" is the latest from Canadian troupador Tom Wilson, of Lee Harvey Osmond fame. He is also in the Canadian Traveling Wilburys' - Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, and is having one of the best years of his life.
The new song was co-written by his son Thompson Wilson, of the band Harlan Pepper.
Check it out on the You Tube Clip supplied here. The entire interview will be uploaded to this blog shortly. We talked about life on the road, drugs, early life for Tom, and his love of painting. Also the passion he has for his hometown of Hamilton comes out during the interview.
The man is a true gentleman, even though he does look like a demonic Jesus - but don't let the look fool ya!
We talk about music on this blog for the most part, but we are going to branch out into other disciplines - namely movies and books.
Keeping with our indie aesthetic why don't we explore the Coen Brothers, as their newest DVD comes out. "A Serious Man" is the latest release from the quirky brothers who started making movies back in the '80's with the low budget film noire "Blood Simple."
"A Serious Man,” like “No Country for Old Men” and “Burn After Reading,” is fundamentally a shaggy dog movie. It's funnier than either of those movies, but it also has more gravity to it. This is something of a homecoming for the brothers, who grew up in the heavily Jewish Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park in the 1960s. They are hardly sentimental about the old neighborhood - but their smart-alecky nihilism feels authentic rather than contrived — you understand, maybe for the first time, where they are coming from.
“A Serious Man” continues their decade-by-decade, movie-guided tour of American history. The ’60s is pot, the Jefferson Airplane and slightly shifting attitudes towards sex. Apart from a Korean student and an unfriendly neighbour, Larry the "serious man" lives surrounded by his own kind: lawyers, dentists, doctors, colleagues, and a too-friendly neighbour.
And the local details are, in the end, incidental. “A Serious Man” is, like its biblical source, a distilled, exaggerated account of the human condition. The punch line is a little different, but you know the joke - and it’s on you.
Just like Fargo, with the in jokes about the good folks in Minnesota, or the crazy world of The Big Lebowski, The Coen Brothers are keen to put you on edge, in a world that seems normal enough, until you scratch the scab and find something rancid underneath. And in a way isn’t that how real life is anyway?
The King of Indie Music Tom Wilson will be performing live on the CHCanada.com Indie Radio Show, and chatting about his various musical projects.
Wilson is a prolific singer songerwriter who is in a couple of big bands at the moment - Lee Harvey Osmond and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.
Listen in as Tom talks about life, love, loss, painting, the road and a bunch of other stuff.
If that's not enough, we also have up and comer Ben Somers performing live in studio. He'll also chat with Tom Beyer and Rick Jones about life on the road, and the inspiration behind some of his songs.
Canadian Music Fest has announced who the nominees are for the 10th Annual Independent Music Awards, "The Indies". The event will take place on Saturday, March 13 at 8:00 p.m. at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Toronto.
The Indies acknowledge, promote and honour achievements of Canadian and international artists in the independent music sector. Tickets for this event can be purchased for $20 at Ticketmaster, www.ticketmaster.ca, www.canadianmusicfest.com, www.indies.ca, Rotate This and Soundscapes.
This year's performers include Desperate Union, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Plants and Animals, Great Lake Swimmers and Constantines. The show will be broadcast live to air on XM Satellite Radio's "The Verge" and recorded for future broadcast on Galaxie.
Metric and Alexisonfire lead this year's Canadian nominees with four nominations apiece, followed by Phoenix with three nominations in the international categories.
And the nominees are.........
CHARTATTACK.COM FAVOURITE ALBUM
Alexisonfire - Old Crows / Young Cardinals (Dine Alone)
Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels (Nettwerk)
Japandroids - Post-Nothing (Unfamiliar)
Joel Plaskett - Three (MapleMusic)
Metric - Fantasies (Last Gang)
ASTRAL MEDIA RADIO FAVOURITE SINGLE
Danny Fernandes - Fantasy (CP)
Deborah Cox - Beautiful U R (DECO/Image/E1)
Faber Drive - G-Get Up and Dance! (604)
Marianas Trench - Cross My Heart (604)
Metric - Gimme Sympathy (Last Gang)
FAVOURITE GROUP/DUO
Constantines (Arts & Crafts)
Handsome Furs (Sub Pop)
Metric (Last Gang)
Patrick Watson & The Wooden Arms (Secret City)
Tegan and Sara (Vapor/Sire)
FAVOURITE SOLO ARTIST
Coeur de Pirate (Dare To Care)
Dan Mangan (fileunder:music)
Joel Plaskett (MapleMusic)
Julie Doiron (Endearing)
Timber Timbre (Arts & Crafts)
FAVOURITE VIDEO
Alexisonfire - Young Cardinals (Dine Alone)
Danny Fernandes - Fantasy (CP)
Lights - Drive My Soul (Underground Operations)
Marianas Trench - Cross My Heart (604)
Theory Of A Deadman - All or Nothing (604)
FAVOURITE LIVE ARTIST/GROUP
Alexisonfire (Dine Alone)
Arkells (Dine Alone)
Metric (Last Gang)
The Trews (Bumstead)
You Say Party! We Say Die (Paper Bag)
In addition to the nominees above, The Indies will once again present the Galaxie Rising Stars award and $5,000 bursary, sponsored by Galaxie. The award is part of the Galaxie Rising Stars Program, an original program that sets out to discover, encourage and promote emerging artists. Unlike the other award categories, the Galaxie Rising Stars Award is the choice of the nation's music critics. Music journalists from print, TV, radio and online media are asked for their top five Canadian independent releases of 2009. All submissions are then boiled down to a shortlist from which these same critics choose the most deserving recording and select Canada's emerging breakthrough artist of the year.
For further details and voting procedures visit the Indie Awards website at www.indies.ca
Gonna be a great night. Indie bands get your music to these folks to be eligible for next year's awards.
Here are Constantines caught last April Fools day at The Phoenix in Toronto...
You gotta check this You Tube video out. Here is the scenario. CBC Radio One's GO show had a great bit where they invited singer songwriters into the studio and asked them to put lyrics to music that the studio audience submitted! How cool is that?
Only on GO. Yes that's right - the show gave the audience five minutes to come up with some song lyrics and professional songwriters went to work and made complete songs out of them.
Hawksley Workman was the cream of the crop. He mashed up two different sets of lyrics from audience members, and went to town on them.
Only on GO will you find such hilarity. The political bent of the lyrics makes this little tune even more effective. The proroguing of parliament has been a gift to the chattering classes!
Have a laugh and check this one out.
btw: big news for the CHCanada.com Indie Radio Show...we have Tom Wilson, of Lee Harvey Osmond, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Junkhouse live on the show for an unplugged set February 24th. Gonna be a great one!
The very idea of a "romantic cowboy" conjures up images of lonely cowboys on the range missing their woman folk left back at the ranch. There is a long history of romantic cowboys, including the interesting genre of "cowboy poetry." Singer songwriter Ian Tyson has a body of work that merges country music with the poetry of the cowboy.
Barry Mac carries on that tradition. With his songs of love found, and love lost, this urban cowboy sings with his heart on his sleeve.
When he's not in Grant Avenue Studios recording his love songs, you can find him out in his Jeep finding mud holes to get winched out of. Or flying out of Mount Hope airport in a Piper Warrior buzzing the farm fields south of Hamilton.
Mac (as he's known to his friends and fans) lives each day like it was his last. And his music reflects that reality.
If you are in Hamilton on Thursday February 4th be sure to check out Barry Mac and his band has they perform at his record release party. The album release party is being held at at This Ain't Hollywood in Hamilton's north end.
Check you this You Tube clip recorded on the CHCanada.com Indie Radio Show. It features Barry with Caretakers front woman Lena Montecalvo.
One of the best things about going down to particpate in CBC Radio One's morning show GO is the amazing talent you see first thing in the morning.
Case in point is these guys - Woodhands. They have been touring around Europe, have a big following in England and have even performed in China!
So here they are real early on a Saturday morning. They bring a lot of energy, as you can see in the clip.
Check them out and let me know what you think. Being an indie band does not mean you are only able to tour locally. This band is breaking out worldwide, with Canada, their home being the last to get on board. CBC Radio One's GO and DirkFimbob on You Tube will change that!
Caldeon Radio rocks with the CHCanada.com Radio Show
Every month Caledon Radio presents the CHCanada.com Radio Show, an independent musical showcase live on the Radio.
Hosts Rick Jones and Tom Beyer showcase the newest and best in Canadian Independent Music.
Tune in each Wednesday from 8 till 10:PM EST on Radio Caledon.
Click on the link below for pod casts of the show...please feel free to upload them and listen on your ipod when at the gym, or waiting for the bus...you get the idea...
Canadian Independent Artists need someone to promote their amazing music.
In blogs, on the radio and in print, I'm getting the word out about some of the best music you've never heard.
Also this blog is being opened up to guest bloogers, who can blog about music, movies and books!
