ShowbizMonkeys.com: Music

Walkey Talk: Sounds of My Holidays

Posted by Michael Walkey | Sunday, December 25, 2011 @ 5:06pm

The Holidays are often a time for tradition.

Trying to get into the holiday spirit? Music is one of the great natural mood changers. The holiday sounds of Christmas carols can have a positive effect on putting you in the Christmas spirit.

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Album Review: Lady Antebellum - Own the Night

Posted by Matthew C Welch | Wednesday, October 26, 2011 @ 11:38pm

I don't write reviews often, so let me fall back on the very basics of writing, i.e. making a concise statement that covers my basic thoughts and then expanding upon it.

So, to put it simply, Lady Antebellum's latest release, Own the Night, is fantastic. It manages to pole vault over the walls of cynicism we often build around our hearts in our adulthood to touch you in a way that most modern music makes you forget is possible. This is especially remarkable when you consider that I, for the most part, don't really like a lot of country music.

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Bono & the Edge join others in saluting 10 years of the Clinton Foundation (VIDEO)

Posted by Paul Little | Monday, October 17, 2011 @ 11:40pm

We don't post a lot of third-party content on ShowbizMonkeys.com -- chances are, if it's out there for anyone to post, you've probably already seen it before even visiting our site. However, this one was too cool to not share, just in case you haven't caught it yet.

Are you a fan of U2? (Or were you at one point?) If so, you'll know that it's a pretty rare occurrence when the band doesn't appear as a quartet (musically, anyway). This made the acoustic performance by Bono and the Edge at the Hollywood Bowl as part of an all-star showcase celebrating the 10th anniversary of the William J. Clinton Foundation this past Saturday night extremely special.

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Interview: Matt Layzell of Canadian roots-rock band The Matinée

Posted by Mark McLeod | Wednesday, September 7, 2011 @ 11:03pm

Earlier this past year, I caught up with Vancouver music producer Jonathon Fluevog as he was preparing the first Vogville Day and Night Festival, which happened at Vancouver's Alpen Club. One of the acts on the bill was Coquitlam-based The Matinée. Now, hot off that pairing, the two have joined forces again for the first episode of a new web series -- Vogville Presents -- which observes some of the music industry's hottest new acts as they spend a day in the recording studio.

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Interview: Corey Allan Hawkins of Vancouver rock band Azimyth

Posted by Mark McLeod | Monday, August 15, 2011 @ 8:31pm

Chances are, if you're not from Vancouver, you haven't heard of the band Azimyth. That's bound to change, as this Vancouver band is blowing up the local rock scene, and it's just a matter of time before they explode outwardly to the rest of Canada and across North America.

I recently had the chance to sit down with lead singer/rhythm guitarist Corey Allan Hawkins, and we talked about the evolution of the band over the past several years, the differences in the music industry, and what it was like recording with two music industry heavyweights. Here's that chat.

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Just for Laughs Interview: Beardyman

Posted by Paul Little | Wednesday, July 27, 2011 @ 10:32am

A beatboxer headlining shows at comedy festivals? That may seem a bit odd. However, once you see Beardyman (aka Darren Foreman) perform, you realize that the former back-to-back UK Beatboxing Champion manages to bring a lot comedy into his set. Much like U.S. comedian Reggie Watts, Beardyman brings you on a musical journey through his great beatboxing, looping, and improvisational skills, while also being pretty darn funny in the process (though Beardyman would point out that they're not quite the same, which is indeed true).

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2011 Winnipeg Folk Festival Coverage

Posted by Showbiz Monkeys | Thursday, July 21, 2011 @ 1:20am

Despite its relatively small size, Winnipeg knows how to throw a summer party! From late June until the end of August, this prairie city known mostly for its cold winters and newly-returning hockey team comes alive with festival after festival celebrating music, theatre, and culture. It also doesn't hurt that, while we have writers and contributors across North America, Winnipeg is the home base of ShowbizMonkeys.com. It means we get to experience these festivals first-hand, and let all of you experience a little bit of them from wherever you may be in the world.

The Winnipeg Folk Festival -- celebrating its 38th year with a line-up of legendary artists (Blue Rodeo, k.d. lang, Lucinda Williams) and younger folk artists full of idie cred (Tegan and Sara, M. Ward, Dan Mangan) -- is our favourite festival to cover. The atmosphere is positive and cheerful, the artistry takes centre stage, and the access granted to the musicians is unparallelled. Spending five days out in (usually) gorgeous Manitoba summer sun isn't so bad, either.

Below you'll find all our articles, interviews, etc. This list will be added to throughout the weekend and beyond. Enjoy!

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2011 Winnipeg Folk Festival: Sunday Photo Gallery

Posted by Showbiz Monkeys | Tuesday, July 12, 2011 @ 7:59pm

The Winnipeg Folk Festival finished its five-day celebration of folk, roots, and traditional music on Sunday with another day of beautiful (and sunburn-inducing) weather and a solo performance by Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy. Other notable performances on the final day of the festival included a great workshop with local Winnipeg artists Oh My Darling, Imaginary Cities, Twilight Hotel, Scott Nolan, The Crooked Brothers, and DJ Hunnicut; a Big Blue @ Night concert by Imaginary Cities (this band is the real deal); and a main stage performance by Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, who were joined for several songs by the multi-talented Sierra Noble.

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2011 Winnipeg Folk Festival: Saturday Photo Gallery

Posted by Showbiz Monkeys | Sunday, July 10, 2011 @ 3:59pm

Saturday was a busy day for ShowbizMonkeys.com at the 2011 Winnipeg Folk Festival! We interviewed a couple critical and audience favourites -- Vancouver singer/songwriter Dan Mangan and Winnipeg folk-pop band Imaginary Cities. We caught some great workshops on the daytime stages -- the two highlights being the all-out jam session of "Times Are Changing Back" (featuring Blackie & the Rodeo Kings and Tim Robbins & the Rogues Gallery Band) and the folkie and poetic "BC Buds" (which included Vancouverites The Be Good Tanyas, Dan Mangan, and Shane Koyczan). And the evening included our first of three Imaginary Cities performances for the weekend, the high energy of Tom Fun Orchestra, and the groovy sounds of Funky METERS.

Check out our photos from our Saturday at the festival below.

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2011 Winnipeg Folk Festival: Friday Photo Gallery

Posted by Showbiz Monkeys | Saturday, July 9, 2011 @ 1:26pm

Friday evening brought the first rain of the festival (not the most fun for our first night camping at the festival campground), but most of the day was sunny, hot, and humid. Highlights from Friday's line-up included Dan Mangan, k.d. lang, Dawes, Valerie June, Lucinda Williams, and Toots and the Maytals.

Below you can find a gallery of photos taken throughout the day!

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