Our brother to the north is kicking our butt!

There has been a recent influx on hard rock and heavy metal acts coming out of Canada; and they are not all that bad. Which begs the question; is there better A&R in Canada for such acts, or are there better artists coming out of Canada?

Roadrunner Records reigns supreme in Canada. If you take a look at their line up it is evident to see that they have a main focus on hard rock / metal, and a lot of them are from up north. So are other primary hard rock labels such as Eleven Seven not sending folks up to the great white north? It seems as so, but who knows.

What I do know is this; for the last few months I have had 3 artists in heavy play rotation all from Canada. Theory of a Deadman, Danko Jones, and Hail the Villain. Although all not new to the scene, they have all put out stellar albums that deserve a listen too. When I dig even deeper into my iTunes library I see RUSH , and Three Days Grace; both hailing from Canada. Is it that our brother to the north holds more of a blue collar mentality than we do? Or am I a Canuck at heart? I really hope that it is not the latter.

Don't get me wrong, the US hard rock / metal scene is still very strong; however when it comes to A&R it seems the bands are doing most of the work. Case in point; Black Veil Brides and their use of social media to gain attention. They were not discovered in a club, or in some dive bar; they were discovered on YOUTUBE. Now I am sure that there are plenty of A&R guys running around looking at acts, but in the same token it bothers me that more crappy pop artists are getting signed than hard rock acts. Is it that labels are so driven by what makes them money rather than what is talent? (That is a rhetorical question; we all know the answer.)

Maybe it is just that we bled the LA scene so bad in the late 80's and early 90's that we have given up and just figured the scene was perpetually dead. Maybe Canada just has more hard rock / metal in their blood. As I said before who knows. I do know that Canada is pumping out new acts in these genre and I wish that the US would show a little more effort.

Size Matters!

Don't kid yourself no matter what anyone says; size does matter! I am talking about the size of the venue of course. (Get your mind out of the gutter my dear friends)

Last week was a banner week for me. I was lucky enough to see two of my favorite bands; Sevendust at Starland Ballroom, and Staind at Best Buy Theater. Both shows were amazing; however what made them even better was that they were at smaller, more intimate venues. Probably the most interesting thing about my experiences last week was that I gave up BIG 4 tickets on the 14th to go see Sevendust instead. Now I am sure that most of you think that I am nuts for passing up such a show but I need you to listen to my argument.

Sevendust @ Starland

I love Metallica, love me some Anthrax, and of course Megadeth, and I would love to see all of them again soon, however just not at Yankee Stadium. First and foremost the acoustics in a venues such as Yankee Stadium, or any other stadium for that matter is just flat out horrible. The sound just goes into the air; nothing to bounce off of. Sound travels in waves and when it has a smaller distance to travel, it of course is going to sound louder, and cleaner.

Second; I have no desire to watch my shows on a big screen, or with binoculars. I enjoy being able to see my acts up close and personal; not so say that I run to the front either. I just want to feel like I can scream out the famous lines "PLAY SOME SKYNARD MAN", and that there is that minute possibility that they might abide.

Stiand @ Best Buy

Lastly when I go to a show I dont want to feel cheated. I did my time at festivals when I was younger. They are great for seeing multiple bands at one time for 45 min sets. With the BIG 4 I know that I would not get to hear songs that I would have probably heard if I had seen each act individually. Smaller headlining shows allow the artists to dig deeper into their catalog; and to me that is what makes a show special. That one song that you have never heard live before all of the sudden ringing in your ears.

So when given the chance to see one of your top bands in a smaller venue, I say jump all over it. Even if you have to go the extra distance.

Step away from the typewriter Mr Hagar!

Songs have the ability to tell great great stories. The songwriters behind those great lyrics though should not always write books. Case in point, Sammy Hagar with his latest book "RED".  Now don't get me wrong I love me some Sammy; either in his solo effort, or with Van Halen, oh heck I will even say I like some Montrose songs. However in his attempt to tell his compelling story in "RED" he simply fails. The book is long winded and confusing and frankly in the begining flat out boring.

This is not to say that all musicians can not sit behind the typewriter. I have been doing a lot of reading lately; on what you may ask? Some of my favorite music men have been putting out books lately. Some are epic fails like Sammy's some are pure genius.

This all started about 2 months ago. I tend to dive into topics when it comes to books. Awhile back it was social drug culture, then I read like crazy on VooDoo, and then WWII. Now it is musicians and their stories, and it all started with Nikki Sixx's "Herion Diaries" (I was actually ashamed to say that it took me so long to read it). Now granted I read "The Dirt" as any good Motley Crue fan should, however I am diving deep recently. Here are some of the gems that I would say go out and read.

First and foremost a must read is Nikki Sixx's "This is Gonna Hurt". More than just a book, it highlights some of Nikki's great photography, and becomes a little heart wrenching when he talks about Kat Von D.  Second on the list is Scott Weiland;s "Not Dead and Not For Sale". Written almost in diary form, very honest, very very honest and an easy read. And the last must read, and I mean MUST read is Corey Taylor's "7 Deadly Sins". The man is brilliant, part story of his life, part commentary, part comedy classic (his rant on movie theater nachos is classic).

Others that get notable mention is Tommy Lee's "Tommyland", Steven Adler's "My Appetite for Destruction" (not finished that one yet), Vince Neil "Tattoo's and Tequila".

Everyone has a story to tell, you, me, Sammy; however not all of us should write a book about our lives. Throughout all these books mentioned there is no common thread. I think that the perception that all rockstars come from jaded messed up backgrounds is a grave misunderstanding.

I encourage you to check some of these books out of you are into the scene or want to learn more about these artists.

Mood altering tunes

I am actually going to get personal on this post. I have not written in ages and I apologize to you, but more to myself. I find this process somewhat therapeutic, as it gives me some sort of creative outlet. Long gone are my days of drawing and painting, and my poetry days are behind me as well, so this might be my last outlet; just to write. I have my ups and downs like the majority of us do, however there has always been one thing that has had the ability to take me away from my head; music. I'm sure many of you feel the same way.

I have been in a funk for the last few days and could not put my finger on it; only to then realize that I have not been listening to music as much. You see for me I live and breathe music; I listen more than I watch; I listen more than I read. Often I get flak for the music I listen to; however I am drawn to the artists that I listen to mostly because I relate to them lyrically. I get what they are talking about; or rather have those same feelings. I am not a dark person; but I embrace my dark corners.

So what I was thinking in this post that I could highlight some songs that make me feel like I am not so alone; a play list if you will, one that makes me feel not alone, and change my mood. So here we go.

ALTERBRIDGE: I know it hurts, SIXX AM: This is gonna hurt, THREE DAYS GRACE: One X, PAPA ROACH: Time is running out, AVENGED 7X: Afterlife, BUCKCHERRY: Fallout, HAIL THE VILLAIN: Glad to be, JOSH TODD: Straight jacket, LINKIN PARK: Faint, PAPA ROACH: Not listening,

And these are just a few. I know that some of you look at the titles of those songs and think that Vahle is depressed. Please don't; I am happy as hell. I had to stop with just those few because the list is so long. There are even albums that I could mention. But the reason why I am so happy is because I have a companion in music. So what is my point in all of this?

Music as I have said before in this blog is meant to move us in many ways. More importantly we all listen to music for different reasons. Some to dance, some to cry, some to smile. Most importantly is not to judge people for their taste in music. I listen to stuff that some people would shudder at.

So put down that remote, that book and go change you mood with some good tunes. Thanks for reading this rant.