The Fireball spirit of rock and roll

by Blake Morneau | Apr 28, 2014 | Culture, Featured Story, Music

These days, the bloated, lifeless corpse of rock and roll is inescapable. Our radios have been given over to mediocrity and dreamless sleep, with very little sustenance for our desperate, aural hearts. But every once in awhile someone comes along to remind us of the...

Music Rags: Music of the heart with Dirty Grace

by Blake Morneau | Mar 13, 2014 | Culture, Music

Island-based gypsy folk artists Dirty Grace came together in a natural, easy way. Vocalist/guitarist Betty Supple recalls the origins of the group. “Marley (Daemon) and I were both in a group in Victoria called the SeaStars that did vocal improvisation and beatboxing....

Music Rags: Defining Canadian rap music

by Blake Morneau | Jan 11, 2014 | Culture, Music

On “The Great Rhyme Dropper,” the first single from Grand Analog’s new album Modern Thunder, MC Odario Williams raps, “I do the damn thing proper/I ain’t a rapper, I’m a great rhyme dropper.” To the uninformed listener, that might seem like an arbitrary distinction,...

Music Rags: Slynk, the evolution of the modern DJ

by Blake Morneau | Dec 3, 2013 | Culture, Events, Music

The evolution of a musician is a funny thing. The more I talk with people who create music for a living, no matter the genre they count as their specialty, it always seems to lead back to being a kid. One way or another, their love for music was planted inside them at...

Music Rags: Chali 2na and the preservation of hip-hop culture

by Blake Morneau | Nov 18, 2013 | Culture, Music, Visual Arts

Despite its relatively young age, hip-hop comes from a deep, rich heritage. And like anything that grows and evolves, as it ages its roots get harder and harder to see. Luckily we still have people like Chali 2na, famed baritone pivot-man for Jurassic 5.  2na has been...