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Archive for the ‘music’ Category

It’s Rock Lottery season again so that means all of my extra time and energy is going straight into making it awesome.  Press releases, artist liasons, producing the web commercial, working with sponsors.  I’m only one gal and luckily I’ve got a team who are helping me not go crazy, but it’s hard to not try to do everything for myself.  My DIY ethic runs deep.

My Saturday afternoon- shooting the web commercial.  Launches May 7!

My Saturday afternoon- shooting the web commercial. Launches May 7!

This is what my Saturday looked like.  Yes, I doing makeup on a David Bowie impersonating actor was part of it.  As was ripping the fishnet tights of our hot rocker chick while she was in them- all in a day’s work!  Rock Lottery is just over two weeks away and I’m prepping for the first press conference I’ve ever been on the other side of the podium.  Every day there are small victories,  Tuesday’s were:  we have a gorgeous poster done, CBC’s Amada Putz will be hosting.

In my work-work this week was a battle between Hollywood agents and time differences and bad wifi.

Actual texts from this week's work.

Actual texts from this week’s work.

This is an actual conversation I had with one of my BFFs’ on Tuesday night.  I’ll leave it up to you to determine which one got completed…

It’s important to be able to escape from your own invented “Busy-ness.”  I was in a grumpy mood on Tuesday and forced myself to get out for a bike ride.  I felt so much better!

Biking oasis!

Biking oasis!

Another important lesson learned:  Don’t listen to Jian Ghomeshi interview Trent Reznor before trying to write your own music-related interview article.  I get envious that music interviewers like him not only get so much time to pick the artists brains (which is why I first started some 10 years ago by chasing down Alexisonfire).  Trent Reznor told one my absolute music journalist heroes Neil Strauss that “Making music is the most difficult things on earth.”  That stuck with me.

Exclaim Canada darling Rob Moire and I 9 years after first booking his band.

Exclaim Canada darling Rob Moire and I 9 years after first booking his band.

So did what my old friend Rob Moir tell me last night.  “Even if they don’t buy a CD they have to come away with something from you.”  He’s making that extra effort to connect and I know he’ll succeed.  I booked his old band Dead Letter Department a full 9 years ago and it was really cool catching up with him over dinner before his show.  I’ve been talking about this with a few people lately and it’s becoming more apparent that those involved in the music scene/industry as musicians/photographers/writers/whatever are now making it a living at it, and that’s so cool.  I like to remind my mother that the hardcore punk music that she hated overhearing from my bedroom now pays the bills.  I met Rob when his band played a show I booked in Shawville, Quebec.  He’s about to head off on a 65-date tour that will land him in Germany to Australia until October.

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ORL Poster

So this is pretty much the summation of the last 5 weeks work on top of months of pre-planning.  

RSVP to the FB event by clicking on the image here.

RSVP to the FB event by clicking on the image here.

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Click for full article link.

Click for full article link. 

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Click for full link- this lady was a pleasure to interview.

Click for full link- this lady was a pleasure to interview.

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I’ve been thinking of calling myself a “Creative Rock Star” to explain what I do.  Writing.  Journalism.  Music PR. Event management and production.  Film work.  Social media.

Hence why it’s been since 6:30 that I’ve been sitting in my office and I feel fine.  The sunshine is streaming into it and encouraging more work to be done.

The Kinks have pretty much summed it up.  I’ve been stupidly busy with work stuff and organizing the rock lotto web commercial shoot/casting/location scouting/etc.  Which reminds me to take out money for the rental payment… anyways!  Listening to my Rdio mix this Kinks song came on.

And when in doubt, I finally fixed up my bike and can take a quick ride over to one of my favourite places in Ottawa.

Been dreaming of getting out here all winter...

Been dreaming of getting out here all winter…

Surround yourself with awesome people that inspire you today! 

outdoor quote

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Ottawa Rock Lottery is one month away (less one day!)  I put it all together last year in about 5 weeks so I feel like 2013 I’ve got on lockdown… and it’s going to be amazing since I have such incredible people involved and volunteering to help.

Here are some of their beautiful faces!

Rock Lotto meeting #3 this week

Rock Lotto meeting #3 this week

Amazing filmmakers and friends devising our web commercial

Amazing filmmakers and friends devising our web commercial

Meeting with documentary filmmaker - multi-year doc in the works!

Meeting with documentary filmmaker – multi-year doc in the works!

 

 

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This video just makes me smile and gives me so much hope.  I used to write grade school class projects on the Beatles and John Lennon as much as possible.  I think my career might have been established back then; rebel + activist + artist + pop music = music journalist?

It’s one of those weird things though that even though I was friends with some musical Liverpudlians and it was only about 4 hours away, I never made it the fab four’s original stomping grounds.

I did however make it here to pay my respects… and Yoko Ono follows me on Twitter so that’s exciting.

lennon

Hearts a flutter at Morrissey performing one of my favourite songs in my old town of Nottingham, England.

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john cusack

So now that I’ve discovered the Coachella Youtube Channel you can pretty much bank on me not doing much else for the next hour.  A bunch of bands (like New Order!) that are playing Osheaga are also up in thur’.

It stemmed for an Aziz Ansari-worthy R. Kelly song (where he performs with Phoenix) but then quickly progressed to my getting a little too excited about “Your Ex-lover is dead” being performed.  I’ve written about how much that song means to me before (can’t remember where published) and interviewed the band too back when I was living in the UK but here they are again…

I kinda think Karen-O is the coolest too and definitely pre-ordered this album on Itunes so it’d show up in my feed this morning.  She kicks all kinda butt.  This NPR clip tied me over for not being able to make it to SXSW.

Now to see if Gaslight Anthem has any new videos…

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Since the beginning of the year I’ve had at least one BIG event I’ve organized or been heavily involved with.  Now is the time for the annual arts event I run, the Ottawa Rock Lottery.  Holding meetings with talented individuals  since January has become the norm to reach the shared vision or goal, be it arts, culture or fundraising.

I finally updated my “events” page.  Last month I helped raise over $5,000 for an Ottawa filmmaker who was robbed of all of his equipment.  I booked the bands, support staff, general event management and was responsible for creating and maintaining a Facebook page.

Luca Back in Business Campaign

Luca Back in Business Campaign

In February I helped organize, conceptualize, promote, judge and curate music for the Ottawa International Film Festival 72 Hour Challenge.

72 hr event poster

Event write-up here.

In January I held a mini-rock lotto fundraiser at Raw Sugar.

Ian Keteku performing at Raw Sugar before Zoo Legacy

Ian Keteku performing at Raw Sugar before Zoo Legacy at our January fundraiser

Now ORL 5.0. I’ve actually been working on since mid-January but now am up to my ears in everything related to it.  I’ve learned to ask for help and since then have been blessed with people offering their skills, talents, services and wise advice to make it become more than just some random Spring show.

I run EVERYTHING.

I run EVERYTHING.

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#feelingsuperawesome

Today is one of those day’s where nothin’s gonna bring me down.  Bobby Darin knows what I’m talkin’ ’bout.

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