Monday, December 31, 2012

Scotty James @ Faze Magazine's Glow Girl 2012


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!



Here are some of my shots from his performance:




For more Scotty James, be sure to check out http://scottyjamesmusic.com/ & follow him on Twitter!

More Glow Girl event posts to come ft. FLTF, Shawn Desman & Munro Chambers!

- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

Thought Beneath Film @ Faze Magazine's Glow Girl 2012


Another great band to perform at the Faze Magazine Glow Girl event last month was Thought Beneath Film, a rock band from Hamilton, Ontario.

Here's their single "If I Could Fix You (You Know That I Would)" from their EP Detours. 

These guys were really cool in our pre-event Faze TV interview and were awesome on stage!

Check out some photos:





Photos taken by me.

Be sure to check them out on http://www.thoughtbeneathfilm.ca & follow them on Twitter!

More Glow Girl event posts to come!

- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

Jessica Tyler @ Faze Magazine's Glow Girl 2012


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

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Faze Magazine presents Glow Girl 2012


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!

- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Interview with: ICONA POP


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!


For more Icona Pop, check them out at http://www.iconapop.com/ & on Facebook!

- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

INTERVIEW WITH: Diamond Rings


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:











For more Diamond Rings, check out http://diamondringsmusic.com/

- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28
All photos taken by me | Please contact for use

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Interview with: MOTHER MOTHER


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:

For more from Mother Mother - check them out at http://mothermothersite.com/

- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

Monday, December 10, 2012

MuchMusic Presents: The Big Jingle


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