The Peak Performance Project

Alright so where to start...first I want to apologize for missing last week's post. But to make up for it I'm going to throw a lot of amazing talent your way.

The PEAK Performance project is a seven-year, 5.29 million dollar a year contest open to all musicians in British Columbia Canada. I mentioned The PEAK Performance Project in my first post as my friends from Kelowna (We are the City) were involved with it in its first year and was selected part of the top 3. I want to take the time to tell you that these three prog rockers from K town got chosen as the first year winner and took home $150,000 last week at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver. Amazing and so well deserved! But I'm not writing this week to tell you to go listen to We are the City. (I've already done that) I want to tell you about some of the unreal artists that were involved in this project as well this year and has done some amazing work during their musical endeavors.

First I'm going to focus on the other 2 bands that were apart of the top 3. The Left and Bend Sinister.

The Left has been around for about 7 years as far as I know and are about to put out a new album in the near future. They only have the single from that album on their myspace but the song has me anxious for the album. This makes it hard for me at this time to really get deep into what I think of them, but that will come soon enough.

These guys placed 2nd at the PPP and won $75,000 as their prize money. Check them out at

http://www.myspace.com/thelefttheband

Alright now for the second finalist. Bend Sinister. A definite blend of The Arkells and I wanna say almost a little Aerosmith. With these rocks sounds they are for sure a 100% Indie band. Indie as in the style. Dan is a powerful vocalist and brings great attitude to Bend Sinister's tunes. Songs to check out from their newest release titled "Stories of Brothers, Tales of Lovers" would be "The Same Things" and "Jimmy Brown". Another great one by them is "Time Breaks Down".

These boys have an indie label backing them and are signed to one of the biggest agency companies in Canada, "The Agency Group". Unfortunately big agencies hold back when really going all out on getting the indie's gigs. Its a shame when the agency group focus more time and money on overproduced shit like "Stereos" rather than focus on the real talent of this country such as Bend Sinister. These guys placed 3rd in the PPP and won $50,000

I spent the night sifting through the other finalists of the PPP but two in particular blew me out of the water. First Bodhi Jones reminded me of a blissful blend of Ray LaMontagne and Ben Harper. His songs are full of amazing melodies and folk guitar. Its amazing what one can do with two instruments, a guitar and a voice. You can download his album for free right off his myspace at http://www.myspace.com/bodhijones and believe me it is a great one. But the one that really turned me into a fan isn't one you can find on his album. Part of the PEAK boot camp was to write a song titled "In a Minute" and record it live off the floor. Bodhi Jones' song was absolutely amazing...probably my favorite of all. The PEAK released these live recordings and you can download all of them off their website at http://www.peakperformanceproject.com/?p=1127

The other artist that caught my ear was Adrian Glynn from Vancouver. He has the sound of a young Iron and Wine. He also reminded me of Elliot Smith when I first listened to his songs. The production on his songs are brilliant and this humanitarian sure knows how to write a killer song. Key tracks to check out would be "Mother's Song" and "Marianne". Check out his myspace at http://www.myspace.com/adrianglynn and keep your eyes open for a CD on I tunes.

Other finalists of the PEAK performance project include: Adaline, Alexandria Maillot, Ben Sigston, Danny Echo, Familia, Free Flow, Garrett Kato, Kuba Oms, Run the Red Light, Sweetheart, Tea, The Painted Birds, TV Heart Attack, and Wassabi Collective.

Check them all out as they are some of BC's best.

That's all for this post,

Live, Love, Sing.

-Matt

The Temper Trap

This week I'm going to venture to the land down under and talk about a melodramatic popular song rock band from Melbourne Australia. Although The Temper Trap isn't exactly independent, they will most likely be foreign to most of us in the northern hemisphere. At one of my own bands recent rehearsals, our singer mentioned the band with promise to send me a link to some live videos of T.T.T. The first video was good but to be honest didn't really think much of them. I almost quit right there and didn't bother to go on the second link, but I figured I would give it a chance and I'm sure glad I did. As soon as the verse started I was instantly hooked, and without second thought, immediately bought their album on I tunes.

The particular song that caught me so abruptly was "Fader". A link to the music video for this song is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L18tjO2GYnU

I seriously recommend taking a listen and maybe it will catch you

the same way it caught me.

The band starts with lead singer Dougy. Originally from Indonesia, with a huge musical family, he moved around a lot and finally settled in Australia where he met the band that is now a huge success in Australia and in Europe. They are currently in the middle of a huge European tour in support of their debut album "Conditions"

The album sells for $7.99 on I tunes but more importantly, mp3's are streaming on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/thetempertrap

As for an update on last week's post. The Fields of Green Cd release for Blanktown was unbelievable. The band sounds and plays live as good as the CD and that's hard

to come by this day in age of the music industry. Hands down I can say with confidence that it is probably the best independent record I've heard to date. I will be sure to keep you updated on their plans to venture to Edmonton for a show sometime in May.

That's all for this week.

Live, Love, Sing.

-Matt

Fields of Green/We Are The City

This week I've left my hometown of Edmonton, also known in winter as 'The Freezer' to find myself in the interior BC city of Kelowna. As of now it is 12:29 AM pacific time, and I sit in strange but such familiar surroundings while writing. The basement of an old friend where I have not been for almost three years. After being up at my cabin in Vernon for the last three days, her and her family generously agreed to let me crash for a few nights as I ventured down the valley for what will be an amazing music weekend.

The CD release of local Kelowna band Fields of Green on Saturday night at Kelowna Community Theater. 'Blanktown' will be their debut release with plans to support the album with a tour around western Canada starting in February. Now this old friend I spoke of in the first paragraph has been dating the drummer for some time now which is how I got to know him. We have spoke quite a few times, building a friendship as we share the same passion for music, and for the first time today I finally got to meet him in person.

I came across the band many months ago before I even knew there was a connection. From the first time I heard old demos that were streaming on myspace, I was a fan. Having a personal connection to Johnny now has allowed me to hear some of the CD and I tell you, PICK UP YOUR COPY! It is fantastic. Backed by Tree Fort Music, a small indie label here in Kelowna, these guys put their hearts into this record and it shows. A great variety as they include a country song on this record. I'm not a huge country guy, but I loved it. This record seriously has a mix of hooks, jams and blissful riffs and melodies. I haven't had the opportunity to meet the rest of the band yet, but I have also come across singer Kyle Tubbs' solo material quite some time ago as well. I very much look forward to spending time with these amazing musicians over the weekend as they unleash Blanktown on to the global music scene.

MP3's from Blanktown can be found on their myspace page at http://myspace.com/fieldsofgreenmusic

The disc should be on Itunes shortly as well if there is any interest in grabbing a copy for your library. You will not regret it.

www.fieldsofgreen.ca

Now for the second part of my double post for this week. Staying on topic with amazing Kelowna bands, this one blew me away when I discovered their myspace two summers ago. We Are the City is a progressive indie rock act making their mark in a huge way on the music scene. These guys recently put out their debut release titled 'In a Quiet World' and has done a lot of touring to support it. I was lucky enough to witness these guys live last time they rolled through Edmonton in the fall when they played an afternoon gig at the Empress Alehouse on Whyte. I finally got to chat with the guys in person after a year of on and off messaging on myspace. All the guys are great friends with all the members of Fields of Green so I was pumped to have the chance to hang out again this weekend. But the road calls for this trio and they will be in Port Alberni the night of the release.

To the album...In a Quiet world is an amazing collection of tunes and I don't think I can say I would skip a single song as I listen to it from front to back. One song in particular titled 'Feel Is A Word' sends me to a different place mentally as I blast my studio monitors back home as Andy's amazing floor tom riff comes blaring after the first verse. Definitely a riff to send you elsewhere among many that are featured on this incredible disc.

The Trio has been working hard and it is finally starting to pay off. In the recent past months, they band was involved in The Peak Performance Project put on by a BC radio station called..you guessed it..The Peak. The top three bands from a finalist pool of 20, after of a couple months of public voting is guaranteed $50,000. That's the third place prize money. Only to rise from there. Placements still haven't been made but man, that's a lot of money to help move along your music career. This contest has also allowed these guys to play amazing venues like their upcoming show at the Peak Performance Project Finale at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver. I'd like to take the time right now to congratulate them on this huge success.

We are the City comes through Edmonton next on February 5th to play at Brixx Bar and Grill under the Starlite room. I would strongly advise to check them out if you have a chance as it is an amazing musical experience. MP3's are streaming on their myspace at http://www.myspace.com/thecitiesmusic and the album is available on ITunes for $9.99

www.wearethecity.ca

That's all for this double post on the opening week of Actively Independent. Stay tuned for next week's artist.

Live, Love, Sing.

-Matt