Matthew Houck, aka Phosphorescent, put out his fifth studio album entitled Here’s To Taking It Easy last year, but is still touring in support of it. For our interview we talk about what releasing music is like in the digital age and although he has toyed with the idea of releasing individual songs, he’s still very found of making and listening to LPs.
Author: Ciaran Thompson
Video Interview: The Go! Team
I interviewed The Go! Team’s Ian Parton and Ninja outside The Opera House hours before their show and they essentially told me that after the current tour the band is breaking up. It was a little sad to hear as they’ve made some great tunes since forming in the late ’90s/early 2000s. Their latest album is called Rolling Blackouts and definitely warrants a few listens.
Frank Turner more worried about “useless, bulls*** politicians” than royal wedding
English singer-songwriter Frank Turner is quite the man to talk to. For our interview I brought up the royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton, at which point he seemed to go off on a tangent about his own political beliefs as well as his thoughts on the media coverage in general. Read the full story on Spinner.
Black Lips detail how to use a human skull as a reverb chamber
Interviewing Black Lips was pretty cool. They’ve always been one of my favorite bands and with a new record set to come out (Arabia Mountain), I was eager to chat with a couple of the guys. They used an actual human skull as a reverberation chamber in some of their new songs and I wrote a story about how they did it as well as a few other details about the album. Read it on AUX.
Video: Musicounts gives grants to six Toronto schools
Six Toronto schools were awarded grants for $10,000 to help their music programs. I covered this event for AUX Weekly, which acknowledged the sponsors and the students from each of the schools. It also featured a performance by pop singer Fefe Dobson.
Thanks to Rick Thompson for shooting the event and Tristan Moran for editing the package.
Untouched Sounds – Episode 1
I started a new web series with my friend Geoff Anhorn called Untouched Sounds. For our debut episode we interviewed two-piece Toronto band HotKid, which consists of Shiloh Harrison and Robbie Butcher.
Check out HotKid’s official website for the latest news and music.
Titus Adronicus tell of their “dispiriting” tour with The Pogues
Titus Andronicus lead singer Patrick Stickles and I sat down for coffee a week ago where he told me of the “dispiriting” experience he had touring with The Pogues last month. I was also able to ask a few questions about when the band plans to release their next album following last year’s The Monitor. Another story to follow, but you can read this one on Spinner.
*I was fortunate enough to have this story picked up by The Guardian, Pitchfork, The Daily Swarm and Exclaim! among others.
Concert Review: Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age are currently touring in support of the reissue of their self-titled debut album from 1998. I caught their show here in Toronto at Sound Academy and, as expected, they’re a fab band to see live. Despite the venue being a bit of a drag to get to, it was worth it. Read the review on Chart Attack.
Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst on pop stars refusing to boycott Arizona
A few weeks back I did an interview with Bright Eyes for AUX Weekly before their show at the Sound Academy. It turned out to be a very long interview, almost 30 minutes, which isn’t ideal for TV purposes, but the topics we discussed I felt were important so I didn’t want to cut it short.
I ended up writing a story about a question I asked lead vocalist/songwriter Conor Oberst concerning why some pop stars have refused to boycott Arizona after the immigration law SB 1070 was passed last year. Read it on AUX.
Video: Ultimate MC Rap Battle in Toronto
I’ve never been to a rap battle before and it would be a stretch to say I’ve even attended an actual hip-hop concert so doing this event coverage for AUX Weekly was quite an experience.
This was the first battle of four set to take place across Canada with a cash prize and record deal awarded to the eventual winner. After the first battle round I was literally amazed at how talented the people are that do this. It pleases me to know such talent like this exists and it has given me a much different perspective of rap/hip-hop music.
Thanks to Tristan Moran for shooting and Kendra Hart for editing the interview. Watch it on AUX.
Keep your eyes wide 