At Faze Magazine's Glow Girl event in December, I was reunited with a musician from Waterloo who I had interviewed during Canadian Music Week. Singer-songwriter Scotty James performed on our Faze stage and the girls were loving his charming personality and catchy songs. If you haven't heard his music yet, definitely check it out! Here's his popular single "Wanna Be Loved" -
Check out my previous posts ft. Scotty James HERE & HERE
The Faze TV team and I did a pre-event interview with Scotty in the green room and it was a lot of fun. He even liked my red American Apparel jacket so much that we decided to switch outfits for the interview. I think he rocked it pretty well!
You may recognize her from the hit Canadian series Degrassi as Jenna Middleton but she is much more than just an actress on TV. On the show, Jessica Tyler is often seen with her guitar and is known for her talent and passion for music. And we were fortunate enough to have her perform on our Faze stage at this year's Glow Girl event - and we even got to celebrate her birthday with her! We had the whole venue singing Happy Birthday and she got some adorable cupcakes as well. It was so great to have her there!
The video team and I did an interview with her after her sound check before the event began - it was so nice to meet her! Also, how fab is her glittery outfit!?
She's heading out on tour with Nelly Furtado for the Spirit Indestructible tour in the new year, so keep an eye out for when she might be in a Canadian city near you!
More Faze Glow Girl event posts to come, ft. Scotty James, Shawn Desman, FLTF & more!
- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28
Earlier this month, Faze Magazine held another one of its fabulous Glow Girl event, full of amazing performances, delicious treats and fun beauty stations. This year's event took place at the Capitol Event Theatre and there was a great turn out. Tons of fans came out to catch some of their favourite performers up close and personal - and at no cost. These Faze events are always free, which is definitely a bonus! (You can check out my coverage of last year's Glow Girl event HERE)
This year's special guests:
Shawn Desman
Jessica Tyler
Munro Chambers
Thought Beneath Film
Scotty James
FLTF
I'll be doing separate posts for each of them, so in the meantime, check out some of my general photos from the event:
Faze founder & editor-in-chief Lorraine Zander
Cute cupcakes!
Swag bags full of goodies for the guests!
Teen host Sabrina Berry
There were tons of prize giveaways and everyone was anxious and enthusiastic to win!
Up next: posts ft. Jessica Tyler, Scotty James, FLTF, Shawn Desman & more!
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing the Swedish pop duo Icona Pop when they were in town for their first show on tour opening for Marina and the Diamonds at The Kool Haus. Made up of Aino Jawa and Caroline Hjelt, Icona Pop has been making music that never fails to get people up and dancing. You've probably heard of their hit song "I Love It" - and if you haven't yet, here it is (it's such a great party song...you're welcome):
It also features Charli XCX, who I interviewed this past summer at Osheaga - check it out HERE.
They are probably a couple of the coolest girls I've met so far - maybe it's their Swedish roots or their amazing fashion sense - whatever it is, I walked out of that interview feeling like I had gained an ounce of awesomeness just by talking to them. They are super sweet and humble, which made it even easier to chat with them.
The interview was for an article for Faze Magazine (will be published in the spring issue), but until then, here's a bit of our Q&A:
How are you feeling
about kicking off the tour with Marina and the Diamonds?
Aino: It feels great. This is our first proper tour that we’re
going to do. We’ve just been traveling around otherwise to do gigs around
Europe and America, but this is going to be a proper tour. We are very very
excited.
Caroline: It feels so good to be with Marina as well. We met her
for the first time in the UK and she’s great. So I think this tour will be
dangerous.
A: Girl power!
What do you want
people to walk away with after seeing you perform?
C: I want people to walk away dancing to feel stuff. We want
to make music that makes people feel and when we’re on stage we want people to
feel exactly how we feel when we perform that song or when we wrote that song.
Or maybe they relate to another feeling in their body, but still we want them
to feel stuff, not just walk away and be like, hmm what are we going to do
tonight. I want them to be like AHH.
A: Definitely. I hope people walk away with a big smile and
feel touched in some way. That’s what we aim for when we make pop music, to
make people feel touched.
Where do you find
inspiration for songwriting?
A: We give each other a lot of inspiration. We travel every
day, so we meet a lot of strange people, we meet fantastic people. And you see
so many different cultures, so travelling, films and people.
C: I also think that with the lifestyle we have right now,
we don’t have a home basically, we just travel everywhere. The last seven months we’ve
just been travelling, we haven’t been home for more than two days, one time each
month. You become very good at living in the now to be present and to take
stuff in in a different way. You’re here today and you’re going to do a show
and you’re going to meet people, so you’re very present, which makes you able
to take everything in. So yeah travelling gives you a lot of inspiration,
compared to sometimes when you’re home and have stuff to deal with, like always
when you’re home. Even though it can be good things, it doesn’t matter, you
still have stuff you need to do.
A: It steals a lot of power from you sometimes.
C: So it’s good to be homeless. The world is our home.
Coming from Sweden,
how has that influenced you as musicians?
C: I think Sweden is a country that is very sensitive when
it comes to picking up trends. It’s a small country. We come from Stockholm,
which is a small city – a big small city. If you are trying to work in music
and you give it a go, you will absolutely be given the chance to work with
people that are good. Maybe the environment, you see a bit of the bittersweet,
the cold dark winters, I don’t know.
A: Sweden is a special country. People are very much lagom, it’s a Swedish word, and that
word doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world. And that’s like, not too much
but not too little. It’s more negative than perfect, but it’s not negative
either, it’s a very strange word. It’s in the middle. Swedish people are a lot
in the middle. So that can sometimes be a good thing and sometimes a bad thing,
but as a musician you should never be in the middle. So maybe we were
influenced by lagom.
What’s it like
working with your best friend?
C: Too good to be true.
A: We have so much fun. People think that we’re freaks
because no one understands us because we have our own world, where we’re making
jokes and stuff.
Best advice you’ve
been given?
C: Just to listen to yourself. People will always try to
tell you what to do, and sometimes it’s good advice and you listen to them, of
course. But you should always listen to what your body tells you to do. Your
body tells you a lot of stuff, like it gives you signs, and if you don’t listen
to what your body tells you then you will end up unhappy, it doesn’t matter
where you are in the world or what you’re doing. You have to feel right about
what you are doing, so I think you just have to be true to yourself.
Being a passionate
and driven female duo, what message do you want to share to other girls?
A: There are a lot of men in the music business and we just
want to be strong women in the music business. And never let people push you
down.
C: Do your thing and have fun. Don’t be shy. And help each
other, I think that’s an important message as well, like stand up for each
other and let’s make magic!
After seeing this Toronto-based artist perform live at The Mod Club, I couldn't get enough of his music. Diamond Rings, or John O, has already performed on TV shows such as The Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, not to mention he's also toured with UK sensation Robyn. I love his energetic and catchy tracks and his awesome stage presence.
Check out a bit of a Q&A from our interview -
Q: Coming from Toronto, has the city influenced you as a
musician?
Yeah definitely. It’s where I cut my teeth, it’s where I
learned to do what I do and it’s where I drew my first inspiration, from other
local bands and performers who have supported me in my beginning stages.
Toronto is where I’m from and it’s the place I love to be.
Q: How would you describe your songwriting process?
It’s sometimes hard for me to pin down or really describe. I
spend a lot of time on my own and work away until I find something that feels
right, whether that’s an interesting sound or a pleasant chord progression or a
vocal melody. It’s hard to define what it is that’s special, but when I do find
something special I recognize it and follow its lead and take it as far as
it’ll go. In a rare instance, it could mean I get a song done, but a lot of
ideas don’t make it that far, that’s just part of the process of knowing when
to trust myself and when to really go after something that feels right.
Q: What was it like touring with Robyn?
It was really exciting and I learned a lot from her. A lot
of those lessons have been able to apply to what I’m doing personally. At the
end of the day, I’m doing trying to do my own show and do my own thing, but it
certainly doesn’t hurt to have a real up close and behind the scenes look at
someone who is making great music and putting on a great show each night.
Q: Are there any shows that have stood out so far in your
career?
Playing Radio City Music Hall with Robyn was a real treat. That
was kind of mind blowing, in New York, that was the biggest show I’ve ever
played. I’ve had great times playing everywhere, it doesn’t matter how many
people are there or where we are, as long as we’re feeling good and having fun.
Q: Do you have a moment that you’re most proud of up until
today?
Just the fact that I can make music and call it a career is
what I’m proud of more than anything. Not a specific moment, just being able to
do what I do 24/7 is a dream come true.
Q: What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Probably the best recent advice is from one of my professors
from art school. He told me the last time that I talked to him to be prepared
for the world to hate me. I think it’s his mildly sarcastic way of saying it’s
important to have a thick skin and not take other people’s opinions too
seriously. I think when anyone who works hard and gets attention finally breaks
through and becomes more visible and more of a public figure, it becomes easier
for people to feel entitled to have an opinion about that person, whether or
not that opinion is based on anything real. So I think that advice has gone a
long way in helping me deal with where I’m at right now. There’s a lot of
people who love what I’m doing and some people who don’t and I’m fine with
that.
Q: What pushes you to continue making music?
It’s what I love to do, it’s what I know how to do and right
now, what I do best in life. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do and now that I
can do it, it would be uncautionable to waste this opportunity that I’ve been
given to make music full time. I’m not just making it for myself, but it’s for
everyone else who maybe hasn’t been given this opportunity that I have. In
order to do my bit, I have to keep working and work at hard at making the best
music that I can.
Q: And the story behind the name Diamond Rings?
Something that I came up with long before the project began.
It embodies a lot of the characteristics that I want to express and possess as
a human and as an artist. Diamonds are bright and shiny but at the same time
they’re really tough, they’re tough rocks. I feel any artist - myself included
- needs to, in some capacity, embody those characteristics as well. You gotta
look good and have this hunger and thirst for the spotlight, but you have to be
tough because it’s not easy to do this everyday.
Check out my photos & video from his show at The Mod Club:
Earlier this month, I got the chance to meet some fellow Vancouverites - the west coast rock band Mother Mother. They were in town for a show at The Kool Haus on Dec. 1 and I was able to check it out. They are such awesome performers! A few days before the show, I interviewed the band's front-man Ryan Guldemond and we chatted about their latest album, social media, and partying with Kid Rock.
Q: For people who maybe haven’t heard your music yet, how would
you describe it to them?
Describing music is like talking about a trip you’re going
to go on or planning a trip. You get the tourist books and you look it up
online and feel like you have an idea of the sensation of arriving there, but
when you do, everything is totally different. So I kind of struggle describing
it, but you know, it is a rock band with boys and girls. And right there I
think you can communicate a lot.
Q: Can you tell me a bit about what went into the making of
your latest album, The Sticks?
It’s simple. We wrote some songs and went into a big studio
and recorded them. What’s special about the record is that it’s more thematic
than any other record. It kind of centres around the theme of protesting the
modern world and simplifying one’s approach to survival, not depending on
gadgetry and all these distracting, passive entertainment devices. There’s an
undertone of post-apocalypse and Armageddon. I think it’s unique because it’s
the first record that really reiterates a message.
Q: Since your first album, has your sound evolved at all?
Yeah, it has. This record feels like a culmination of all
the records. Whereas the last record it was much its own chapter, and the
record before that, the same thing. But I feel like this fourth record is more
of an amalgamation of all that has come before it. I think the next thing we do
is probably going to be its own thing altogether. It just sort of feels like it
drew from our legacy.
Q: What’s your live performance like?
High energy and dynamic. There’s a lot of peaks and valleys
and it’s very fluid. We like to try to bridge the gap between songs, not a lot
of dead space. We don’t like the awkward silences. When I see a
band that just starts and stops a song over and over again, I find that I’m
left wondering why I didn’t just listen to the CD. It’s such a beautiful
opportunity to create segways and to make musical bridges. People love that and
you can create such brilliant suspense by disguising some of your well-known
songs with preambles and introductions and then when it does finally come into
vision as to what the song or hook is, people are more excited than if you just
hand it to them on a silver platter.
Photo by Christina Dun @ The Kool Haus 12.01.12
Q: Are there any shows that have stood out so far? And do you
have a favourite city?
We really enjoy going to Europe the two times we’ve went. We
really love Paris. That was one of the
best shows and we got to spend three days in Paris. So it was really fun and
a pretty classic, epic thing to do. We went to Montmartre and did all the stupid
stuff, like the Eiffel tour. Even just sauntering down the street with a
baguette is pretty rad. Flogging baguettes, or wielding I guess I should say.
Q: Any crazy tour stories?
Not enough. We got to go hang out at Kid Rock’s mansion one
night in Detroit. It’s kind of bizarre, we were touring with Sam Roberts and
they got invited to Chris Chelios’ bar – he’s a big hockey player – and so we
got to tag along and all of a sudden Kid Rock is there and other hilarious
people like Chad Kroeger and hockey players. Before you know it, we’re
travelling a few hours out of town at four in the morning to party in this
ridiculous residence of Kid Rock. We ended up getting a limo back to our hotel,
where we were five people sharing this one room. It’s this beautiful paradox,
coming from such extravagance to our humble existence and mode of operating as
a starving band.
Q: What are your thoughts on the whole social media phenomenon?
How has it helped your career?
I think you always want to rest on a sturdy foundation of
the music; you want that to be able to take care of itself on its own merits. And
then all the icing of cyberspace and social media should just support what is
already inherently good. So that’s how we view it, we just want to make sure
our songs and our records are good. So that gives us more motivation to tweet
and to have Facebook status updates. It’s something that we’re adjusting to, we
weren’t born into it when we went to school. We didn’t have computers and we
didn’t have cellphones. It was only through being in a band that we were really
forced to adapt to a modern way of correspondence and organization. People
organize their lives through these vessels and as a band you kind of have to do
the same and be very open and frequent with your ongoings. It hasn’t been easy,
but I think we’re optimistic and we have a good attitude about it. We don’t
shun it because we don’t understand it. That would be the easy thing to do, to
shun evolution because you don’t understand it. Embrace it. You will get buried
alive if you don’t get in there.
Q: What pushes you to continue making music?
I think just the sensation of escape that it offers. I find
life kind of boring in most other regards. Getting up, having a shower, putting
on clothes, dealing with people and logistics and survival and groceries and
bills, even just recreational stuff like hanging out with friends and all these
other things we do to preoccupy ourselves. I don’t find music as a
preoccupance, I find it a total connected state of being to the moment, so
that’s why I have to keep doing it.
With 3/5 members of Mother Mother. The article should be up on Faze.ca soon!
More of my photos from the show:
Here's their most recent music video for Bit By Bit, from The Sticks album:
On Sunday, Dec. 2 the ACC was filled with fans eager to see some of their fave artists all under one roof. The Big Jingle, presented by MuchMusic, featured a line-up of some pretty big names in pop music right now - Austin Mahone, Cody Simpson, The Wanted and Carly Rae Jepsen, just to name a few. Unfortunately I wasn't able to stick around for the entire show, but here are some of the photos from the sets that I was able to catch:
I just like this photo haha...*note, One Direction was not performing - this was taken before the show started (music videos played on screen while the audience waited)*
MuchMusic hosts T-RexXx, Lauren Toyota and Scott Willats
Coca Cola Covers contest winner Tyler Shaw
Austin Mahone - he also did an acoustic set
Half of the former LMFAO duo: Sky Blu - he even brought along The Cataracs!! (I love The Cataracs, so I'm pretty sure I got the most excited just for their appearance)
Australian cutie Cody Simpson
Shawn Desman
A few Degrassi stars even showed up - Munro Chambers, Luke Bilyk and Annie Clark!
All photos taken by me | Please contact for use
- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28
