NXNE - Wow!

Well, we've just returned from North by Northeast and what a time it was. I can say this was most definitely a turning point in my life, as well as I believe in the career of SEeKing Dawn. Being in a band / the music business for a living just became a reality.

But before I splurge anymore on what an amazing time it was I wanted to start by doing one of a couple reviews of bands we saw while at the festival.

The Most Serene Republic

We saw this band at the Reverb on Thursday night, our first real exposure to the festival. They started at 11 to a packed crowd. They have really been building a buzz of late and are ready to explode. I had heard / heard about the band on CHRW, London's local college radio station who was doing an interview with the drummer. I immediately connected with them when they said they loved the Stars. They had actually been at Call the Office when the Stars played here in London. The Stars had actually made mention of them during that show and said to look out for this band.

So I did. And they didn't disappoint. Their lead singer was the scrawny starving musician type with big hair. Not a Fabio in the least, yet his character and personality were far more memorable than any "looker". His voice was small and emotional, similar to that of Death Cab for a Cutie or Stars. The mix was disappointing as I really wanted to hear far more of his, as well as the female backup vocalist (who also plays guitar).

The energy this band created was amazing. The drummer reminded me of Animal from the Muppets. His style was hard yet still interesting and varied. I had a chance to talk with him after and he says he gets that from everyone. The keyboardist really added an extra punch. And he was no hack, showing off his traditional piano skills when a guitarists amp was being fiddled with. They broke into some Coldplay after making a comment about putting a little too much "Clocks" into their new album. I would tend to agree although that is another entry entirely.

This band is going somewhere. Their character alone makes them far more memorable than so many other bands out there today. Their music is powerful and deeply interesting, drawing you into to a crazy weird world. Go out and buy their album "Underwater Cinematographer" when it becomes available at the end of the month. Or check when they're coming to town and buy it at their next show.

Gearing up for NXNE

North by Northeast is only days away (3 to be exact). My breakneck schedule has forced me to drop everything and just focus on 2 projects that are brutally due for this weekend. Normally I would take a nice 2 weeks to finish a single project. This time I have a week and a half to finish 2 projects. Not a nice proposition.

I'm driven by the fact that I will be done these projects and next weekend we will be partying it up in North Bay for the annual COCA conference. Whoohoo! 5 days in North Bay.

So there really isn't much new to talk about other than that. My brain can only handle so much. We haven't updated the website in a while but look for more video logs soon. We're going to try and make something up about our encounter with Tyler of Bare Naked Ladies. It was the one night we didn't bring the video camera. ugh.

Congrats to our London Knights also - for winning the only cup that matters this year - the memorial cup. Keep up the good work boys. Amber must have given 150 people high fives as we drove through downtown that Sunday.

Does it get any better than Sin City?

I can't say how much I appreciated this movie. It is the one comic movie that dared to go so far to provide the exact comic experience only in a different medium. Of course everybody sees the effect or the "look" of the film as the main comic book style point. However I think they kept true also to the content.

I have to say though that this is most definitely a "guys" movie. Violence, cool characters and boobs go a long way and are the epitome of most comics (14 yr old can't buy Playboy so they buy comics instead).

It's good to see a complete artistic vision come to reality. Too often in the entertainment industry of this day are things watered down to be more "paletteable". Yet then it cease's in being art and is just plain old entertainment (which has it's place also).

If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it.

The Practical Dreamer

I'm not one for philosophizing on things but I have come across this in my travels. It is what I strive to be and i think is the key to my success.

The practical dreamer is one who thinks big, a visionary that can see into a distant future yet has the means and the will to take steps towards that. A grand dream is nothing but a wish without action behind it. Today people are so afraid of being disappointed yet there are very simple steps to ensure that disappointment only helps you achieve your goals.

It seems to contradictory yet I believe the only people who can get things done are the realistic dreams - both realist and dreamers all at once.

I shall dismount my high horse now.

Film Festival all the rage

To support both my brother and fellow bandmates I recently attended the Western Film Festival as Rainbow Cinemas. It showcased a number of films made by students of the Western Film program. It is always inspiring to see art, and these days both movies and music have become far more a business than art. Those who do film for art never seem to reach a very wide audience and their numbers are dwindling because of lack of money.

Congrats to all the winners, there were some fine films. Hopefully we'll be able to post one of the films that Kev was in, as well Dave & Kev did the music for it. It'll be on our website if we can get a copy of it.

The wonder of "Ninjai"

I have a love for great animation. The web has opened the door to a wider audience for animation with Flash. However, it has really just opened the door to a major amount of mediocre novelty animation, not true art.

And that is why I must recommend for those who love animation "Ninjai". It is a series of shorts that follow a small boy, a boy with masterful kung-fu. The first 10 parts only set the stage and begin to set the direction and style. The story is simple and has no real deep direction or agenda, the main connection is with the characters. The animation however is quite unique when it comes to Flash. Episode 11-13 really begin to shine and show what Flash is capable of.

Go check it out www.ninjai.com

Recording more and more.

Hopefully there are some people out there who would want a SEeKing Dawn CD in the near future. We are hard at work on recording a number of songs that represent the best of our live show. Dave has studio time at school and we are using that to record the drums and other specific parts. The rest we will overdub at Dave's house with his beautiful Pro Tools Digi002 setup.

So far it has been successful. We were again at Dave's last night recording some of Andrew's guitar parts for Shout. Sometime I'll have to post our proposed song layout for the record so you'll have something to look forward too. Of course we're always taking video as well and I'll hopefully get some time in the near future to post another video log.

Well, I'll be off shortly to shoot some footage for Kev's second film. It'll be in a classroom while a class is going on which should be mighty interesting.