Northern Groove

Bringing back the love in the music, comes three musicians from Fort St.
John, BC. Out of Reach writes original, yet stunning music, bringing in
influences from all around your local record shop. From the likings of James
Blunt to Neil Young, these two gents and a lovely lady are guaranteed to
make you wanting more. Out of Reach is currently working on recording their
self produced full length album, due out in late September/early October.
They will have a short but sweet demo cd available for a few dollars very
shortly.

Be sure to check them out at www.myspace.com/futuressobright

Hey everyone! RocKIN The Peace is back for another year! Yes, it is back to bring us another amazing year of local artists. As some of you may already know, RocKIN The Peace is one of the biggest shows of the year that covers many different genres of music and showcases many of the bands that we might never have heard of otherwise. Some people even come from Dawson Creek to perform at RocKIN The Peace! It is always a good time for all who go to watch, or maybe even perform. There's a little something for everyone in the crowd.

Now could be your chance if you have a band and would like to get noticed! All you need are some original songs (up to three for judging), and then drop your entry off before 6pm on March 16th at Moose FM in Fort St. John (for address and phone number click read more down below).Entry forms and regulations can be found here. If your band makes it to the semi-finals then you will get to perform in front of many people (as many as the culture center can fit!) to determine your fate in the contest..so make sure you get those stage moves perfected. Finalists will also get one of their original songs put on the RocKIN The Peace CD. Might I also mention that the grand prize for the winner is $1000 CASH. Just think of all the starving children in Africa that you could feed with that money! A big thanks to the Kin Club for putting it on and good luck to all of those who enter!

First off, Sorry for the lack up updates recently... After a month or so of no updates, I've finally quit being lazy and decided that things had to get done... There will be some major changes to get everything working again - including switching servers and a few new features to the site, and most importantly - a new person to help keep the site updated - Big thanks to Lindsay Ward who will be working hard to bring everyone up to date on latest news within our local music scene!  Lindsay will be posting new info and events at the beginning of every week... yeeaah!

...All this in the works and there might be a few tech problems with the site as we sort some things out, so if things don't look right just yet, hold tight... we're working on it.

As promised, here is the latest un-mastered song from local Fort St. John band Side Effect.

Side Effect - Eighteen (DEMO)

Side Effect is Mat Savard: Vocals, Guitar, Allen Kemp: Drums, Russell Eggleston: Guitar, Tony Frattura: Bass.

The CD is due before Christmas this year.

CD's of the unmastered demo is available for Free at Systems By Trail.

Cosmic Grounds is hosting Ryan Hennessey and Sean Cullen of Fair Wage this Saturday the 25th at 7:00PM. Ryan and Sean are well known in the local music communities; their band Fair Wage has recorded a full length CD and has has received airplay from Moose FM with their song Barfly. You might also know Ryan from the band Mindset playing behind the drums. Opening the evening will be the very excited to be here, Nick Grubjesic - great guy, great musician.

For all looking for live music on a Saturday evening, come down to Cosmic Grounds, pick up a hot chocolate, and enjoy a night of local Fort St. John performers.

Checkout their MYSPACE to hear some of Fair Wage's Recordings:

http://www.myspace.com/fairwage

Fort St John is becoming such a booming city with so many events happening year round. Everything from Ice carving to painted Flowerpots, world class Irish dancing, to Beauty & the Beast musical theatre productions, Christmas Tree Auctions to rock concerts…..and one of the major driving forces behind these events is the Fort St John Community Art Council.
So you want to know what this has to do with local bands and artists in the Area….well let me tell you. The FSJ Arts Council is major supporter of local arts in the area. It’s not just paintings and theater…they are here to encourage all the arts in our community.
Last year was a year of new things for the arts council…moving it to a new building, starting new pilot projects including the “Elves Christmas”, a new project started with the help of organizers Kate O’Neil and myself, Tara Vandyke. “Elves Christmas” included two evening concerts, a night of hot chocolate, and a tree auction.
The first year was a real learning experience for all of us. It’s amazing how one has all these ideas running through their head …but doesn’t often get the opportunity to try them out.
I was asked last year by the FSJ Arts Council to help organize the Elves Christmas Events with my great partner in crime Kate O’Neil. To put together a series of events that would show case the local talent that we have in the arts…incorporating the old Festival of Trees. So there I am, grandiose ideas racing through my mind about what we could do…..you see, we have the quilters, the spinner & weavers, multiple dance societies, local artists, local musicians, the theater society and so much more. We wanted to include them all.
It’s really like giving some one the lottery and saying okay have fun. So I went where my heart desired for this first year project. I love music…it’s my favorite thing and although I don’t love every type of music I appreciate the talent it takes to compose and perform it, particularly since I definitely am lacking in those skills. I thought this would be an excellent way to showcase some of the amazing musical talent that we have in our own community.
Although there were several events that happened with the Elves Christmas, the ones that excited me the most were the two concerts. They were completely opposite on the scale when it came to genre and style…even the type of audience that were drawn were different.
The first concert was “Christmas Karaoke with Mind Set”…now don’t get confused, Mind Set did not do karaoke although it would be interesting (traumatic) to see Mike Stanberg belt out “Oops I Did it Again “ Brittany Spears version.
It was actually a Karaoke contest that had Mind Set playing a set before after. The participants sang different Christmas songs, all competing for $500.00 in prizes. Then while the judges made their choices Mind Set did one of their absolutely fabulous sets…and really got the crowd going. Although there were only about 100 people put at the event , which was held at the NP Cultural Center…these guys put on a concert as if they where playing for a whole stadium of fans, and the audience could feel it. There was defiantly a lot of hoot ’n an’ hollering going on and I’m sure the guys knew they where appreciated.
The second concert event was “Raising Our Voices” which was more of a traditional Christmas performance by Peace Harmony , Unto Him, and the Goertzen Family. These three groups have a real love and passion for music and it shows in their performances. I have to tell you that “Silent Night” brought tears to my eyes… the way they sang was so soothing, you almost felt like you could hear angels singing in the background with them. Each group sang a selection of songs as a group then they all joined together as a mass choir for the last two songs…leaving everyone in the audience wanting more.
I have to tell you these concerts really nailed it home for me about the amazing talent that we have in the community. They are so diverse and there is really something for everyone.

Wauntid is days away from getting their long awaited 5 song album back from the press. I've included a few clips of the songs to give a sneak listen before it will be available for sale. If you like what you hear, checkout http://www.wauntid.com

From their website:

WAUNTID is made up of three bros:Lyle,Curt, and Dorian Smoler from the central Yukon,Canada.

Formed in 1998 as three bros jamming, they started playing seriously in 1999 with small shows and festivals.

Since then WAUNTID has established themselves, as an origianal act, to the point of an independant full lenth album and self produced and promoted national tour on the rise for summer 2006.

THE MUSIC:

{mmp3}allweknow.mp3{/mmp3}All We Know
{mmp3}uncovered.mp3{/mmp3}Uncovered
{mmp3}kamish.mp3{/mmp3}Kamish
{mmp3}midnight.mp3{/mmp3}It's Midnight
{mmp3}callofcolors.mp3{/mmp3}The Call of Colors

All of the tracks except vocals were recorded together live off the floor. Add your comments below and let everyone know what you think.

Once every generation, a truly classic collection of music comes our way in the form of a timeless album. While this is not that album, it is a rather dynamic, eclectic mix of music that showcases the esoteric. There’s really no other way to describe it. No, seriously. There really is no other way.

The Resurrect Christ Foundation features local musicians Joshua Giesbrecht and Mark Bodner. It is from Joshua’s rather fertile imagination that the mix of tunes on Little Sins has sprung. When asked how best to describe the the music, he likens it to Bob Dylan’s folk bred with Mayhem’s black metal which in turn seems to have produced the aptly named genre of “shock-folk”.

Upon first listen to the album Little Sins, one is blessed with discordant harmonies, clanging bells, sirens, and vocals that are more guttural than lyrical. Repeated listenings allow one to truly embrace the subtle counter melodies and nuances that make the music breathe. Repeated listenings also tap into the fact that the music is downright bizarre, but for some odd reason actually grows on you. It’s not an album you’re going to tap your toes to, or play in the background at a dinner party. But if you find yourself in a rather contemplative mood, and want your senses challenged…then this is the album you put on. You won’t find any instantly hum-able melody, or even lyrics that make you want to sing. You’ll have your sense of hearing assaulted, but it’s so damned addicting you’ll go back for another spin.

The album was written, performed and recorded in Fort St John at the underground Holey Cow Studios. Joshua Giesbrecht handles all the singing and instruments that require some modicum of talent to operate, while Mark Bodner accosts the drums and percussion.

To contact The Resurrect Christ Foundation for copies of the album, an interview, some banal comments about the current state of popular music, or even some limited subversive merchandise you’d be proud to wear at your own wedding, go to www.theresurrectchristfoundation.com. Oh yeah, there are also some sample mp3’s of the music there.

contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sweatshop Union is coming to town at Egan's Resturuant Pub. More info coming soon.

Tickets on sale now.

Show date is July 10th @ Egan's Pub. Sweatshop will begin performing around 10:00

Sweatshop Union are getting ready to release their highly anticipated third album ‘United We Fall’ on Battleaxe/EMI Records, April 26th, 2005. ‘United We Fall’ will hit the masses leading off with the single and video for ‘Broken Record’. ‘United We Fall’ is classic Sweatshop Union material, combining the energy of raw hip hop, with conscious lyrics and the driving force of highly musical beats.

When I was asked by Russ if I would write about RocKIN The Peace for an article to his magazine I had no idea how to begin this article.  After many hours and days of thinking about the article I guess the best way to start is to talk about how the whole idea came about.  I suppose that you could say the whole idea took place with me about nine years ago when I moved up here.  Back then there wasn’t an outlet for the budding musicians of the area to show case their music.  From my time in Ontario I have seen many music searches contests and they were good but I wondered if we could have something up here like that, did we have the talent base that could support it?  One summer while I was walking down town with my wife I told her that I really miss the summer festivals from back home and wouldn’t it be great if we could have something like that here?  Then the Canola festival came into being and really started to show the local talent we have right here in our backyard.  Then in 2004 the Peace Idol frenzy hit our area and the talent was unbelievable and really showed everyone that the north doesn’t just produce oil and gas but we also have a great budding music scene that is just waiting to be discovered.  After Peace Idol I started to talk with my club about putting on a music contest open to not just one type of music but to any style as long as it wasn’t karaoke.  After lots of research and many meetings my wife, Jeanette Johnston who is also in the Kin Club as well, came up a catchy name, “RocKIN The Peace, Original Music Search”.  And as they say the rest is history.