Nadia Sends a Letter to Frank….

Dear Frank,

I know I’m supposed to be writing about you, but ever since I learned you’d left us for the record store in the sky, all I’ve really wanted was to talk to you one last time.

A Message from DBAWIS

DBAWIS is on Hiatus until September 5th. In the meantime, don’t forget to visit our site and catch up on the over 1500 articles by entering the name of your favourite DBAWIS scribe in the “Archive” window, and have at it. Great reading for the Dog Days of Summer. See you with Fresh Fun on September 5th!

The Writers – Roxanne Tellier, Pat Blythe, Frank Gutch Jr., Cam Carpenter, Jaimie Vernon, Gary Pig Gold, Doug Thompson, and past contributors, Nadia Elkharadly, Justin Smallbridge, Geoff Pevere, and the Sometimes Darrell Vickers. Not pictured are Guest Writers Ira Robbins, Bobby Singh, and Jade Dunlop, plus friends who have contributed a column or two over the years

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Pat Blythe: So Much To See, So Much To Do and Listen To….

I have so much to write about I don’t know where to begin. Clubs, pubs, bars and halls, from one end of the city to the other. Late nights, early mornings, a thousand pictures, private functions, VIP soirees, opening night galas and closing festivities. It’s been a whirlwind of activity and will be impossible to cover in a single column. Lots of sharing to do….

IT’S INDIE WEEK!!!!

Roxanne Tellier: Indie Week 2015

The big Indie Week finale is tonight at 6 p.m. at the Mod Club, where one of the acts that won their nights at the various venues will become “The Best of the Fest,”and  earn the grand prize of a trip to headline the nextIndie Week Canada.  Good luck to all the finalists; Ivy James, Uniter,Kendal Thompson,Gold Complex, The Reklaws,BlakDenim,Aaron Pollock Music, The Killing Floor,&Amberwood!

Roxanne Tellier – The Week That Was CMW 2015

Thanks to the good people at AudioBlood, Bob Segarini, Pat Blythe and myself have spent the last ten days mixing and mingling with musicians, artists, and the people who love them. It’s been simultaneously exhausting and exhilarating. I won’t lie  … my feet hurt, I’ve got a desk covered in CDs, business cards, and promotional bumpf of all stripes … and I’m relieved that I don’t have to do anything more strenuous than type this recap of the festivities. Although there are a few more events tonight …

Nadia Elkharadly: Reinvention is a Way of Life

I spent most of my night tonight taking out my hair extensions.  You see, I’ve always hated my hair.  Too thin, too short, not what I wanted.  So, I found a way to change it.  It may just be hair, it may just be superficial, but it’s a change; and one I control, even if it’s just temporary.

Nadia Elkharadly: A Case of Modern Misogyny

At the beginning of the year I joined a cult.  It was the cult of Netflix, and I’ve been a happy convert ever since I made the switch.  My television watching habits aren’t like the average user; generally when I’m watching something I’m working, either writing for Addicted, editing photos, editing other peoples articles, the usual.  Netflix suits my habits perfectly; I can mainline entire seasons of shows over the span of the many hours I spend typing/reading/clicking away with very little effort.  It’s allowed me to catch up on some series that I watched sporadically years ago, one of which, along with some seriously depressing current events, will meanderingly lead to the actual topic of my column.

Nadia Elkharadly: Fabulous Frontwomen

My whole life has put me in situations where I’m the only girl.  I’m the sole girlchild in a pack of four siblings.  At my day job, I am usually the only woman at the meeting table on any given day, be it in my team’s daily meetings, on certain projects, sometimes even in line at the cafeteria.  When I’m at a big show taking pictures, I’m usually the only gal tromping through the pit in my motorcycle boots, trying to shoot around, beside and sometimes ducking underneath the lenses of my usually taller and burlier male photographer counterparts.  Sometimes the world, especially the music world, can feel like one big old boys club, and I’m sure I’m not the only gal about town that feels that way.  On many stages in the indie music scene, women tend to stand alone on stage, surrounded by their penis packing bandmates.

Nadia Elkharadly: Great New Music

I recently received some flack, and a lot of attention for a very ranty column I wrote.  One thing that struck me as funny is one particular piece of criticism that I received:  one commentor asked why I would choose to focus on music I didn’t like, rather than seek out cool new music that I could grow to love?  It’s always fun when people make assumptions about you without knowing you, since finding and talking about new music is my raison d’etre!  So I figured for this column, I would share some new and amazing music that I’ve recently come across, or have loved for a while, with all of you!

 

Nadia Elkharadly: Stop. Please. Just Stop.

I’ve rehashed time and again in this column that I am a music lover.  I love the music.  I love all different kinds of music.  I’m sometimes overwhelmed with how much music there is that I love.  But not all music is created equally, and for the large majority of music I love, there is a distinct minority that I can very easily say I hate.  While the word hate may be extreme, I think it’s valid here.  Music is supposed to make you feel SOMETHING.  When it doesn’t, it’s pretty much the aural equivalent of plain Philidelphia cream cheese: a waste of calories for ears.  So when a song comes on that I viscerally hate, it means something.  It generally means I wish whatever my ears are currently being assaulted with would just stop existing. Stop is the key word here.   When they make me feel nothing or bore me, I want them to stop existing because the notes would be better used elsewhere.  So, based on these reasons, here are a few bands, artists and musicians that I sincerely, with every fibre of my being, wish would just STOP MAKING MUSIC.