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Mongoose, Backstage at the Biltmore…

Saturday, October 23rd, 2010

Back in the summer (it could have been earlier now I think about it) our good buddies at Mongoose, East Van’s very own prodigal sons of indie rock,  played at the Biltmore.  We had one of those ideas that seems great at the time -- to do a quick interview with them before the show.

We forgot two things :

1. An interviewer (their drummer, Marc the Temp, stepped up to the plate)

2. Backstage at the Biltmore is a tiny room next to a speaker stack, essentially making it the world’s loudest closet.

In spite of said problems, Marc the Temp put frontman RC through his paces, answering the unanswered, solving the unsolved, and giving us some insight into the oft-overlooked genre of Japanese rock.

Mini-Session #6.2; Kate Morgan

Wednesday, October 20th, 2010

One more to add to the pile from the sessions we did during the Olympics.  I know what you’re thinking, but trust me -- when you lose your videographer and your video editor you are literally up shit creek.  We found the paddle, but hands were messy’d in the process.

Thanks to:

Rich @ Young Executive Music Inc, for all things sound related, youngexecutivemusic.com.

Erin @ Filosophi Inc for bringing Kate into this, filosophi.com

Thanks to our friends at Blenz for letting us crash one of their locations again, blenz.com

Thanks to Adam for holding a 10lb make-shift steady cam that turns your arms to rubber, and everyone for their patience while I figured out editing 101.

And most of all, thanks to Kate for sharing the goods with the unsuspecting and small (but perfectly formed) late-night audience, http://katemorgan.ca/

Mini-Session #4; Téa

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

By Adam and Kev Photography – follow us on Twitter: #adamandkev

Nations unite in their appreciation of Téa's pink amp.

Nations unite in their appreciation of Téa

Let’s get one thing straight from the start.  It’s Téa.  Pronounced Tay-ah.  That said, I might be wrong on the pronounciation.  It just sounds way better coming from the lady herself.

The Serbian-born Kits resident is another star from the Peak Performance Project who put in months of stress, sweat, and song-stuff (I ran out of “s” words – put the Pulitzer on ice) during her journey into the top 20.  She normally performs with a band, but when she strolled into the Blenz on Hastings on a sunny Sunday morning, holding nothing but a small pink battery-power amp, it was up to her and her alone to convince those inside to put down their coffee and enjoy the Téa.  Ouch.

To describe hearing her sing and seeing her play piano is tricky.  It’s hypnotic.  Imagine if Amy Winehouse didn’t lose her mind, looks, and empathy and your halfway there.  Again, I’m clearly not doing it justice.  Check her out here and save yourself any more of my ramblings:

http://www.teasmusic.com/

More acts to follow in the next couple of days, including a young girl who should go far, and seven girls who recently played to 15,000 people at one of the torch ceromines.  As always, keep an eye on Twtter:

Metro-Blenz News Squad: @metroblenznews

The minds behind the music, Young Executive Music Inc: @YoungExecMusic

And of course, us: @adamandkev

By Adam and Kev Photography – www.adamandkev.com

Mini-session #3; Danny Echo

Monday, February 22nd, 2010
Danny Echo

Danny Echo

I wasn’t entirley sure how this one would go.  When you take a band with a reputation for audacious (read: probably dangerous) show pieces involving pyrotechnics, smoking guitars, and even the odd fire extinguisher, and then strip them of every piece of electrical equipment and put them on a cafe patio at three o’clock on a Saturday afternoon, you have to make sure you insurance is in order.  If they sneak something in, it could all go Backdraft very quickly.

As it turned out, the boys from Danny Echo put on a great accoustic show.  They’ve had some very recent experience with a very simular idea – as part of their top 20 finish in the Peak Performance Project (if you haven’t heard of it, check it out here) they undertook a tour of the GRVD skytrain system.  They made it quite a fair way before security decided it was all a little bit too exciting and sent them on their way.  We did no such thing, as Blenz again played gracious host in Yaletown.

The boys went down very well with the passing crowds – some of whom may have been running from the death metal band playing at one end of the street, or the jazz band playing at the other.  Either way, lots of music and/or coffee lovers found refuge in the heavan created by the boys, though one little kid did seem more interested in his Tonka firetruck.  They left after three songs, and within minutes were putting on another impromtu gig about a block away on the walk back to the car.

Canadians. Good at Hockey. Bad at Dancing.

Canadians. Good at Hockey. Bad at Dancing.

Check them out at www.dannyecho.com. We’re pretty much doing another show every day next week (two in some cases), so keep an eye on Twitter:

Metro-Blenz News Squad: @metroblenznews

The minds behind the music, Young Executive Music Inc: @YoungExecMusic

And of course, us: @adamandkev

By Adam and Kev Photography – www.adamandkev.com