Consolidating blogs

Please note that I'm no longer posting to this blog.  All old posts have been moved to my main blog PJMixer and I'll be posting music related stuff over there starting November 2013.

Where I find new music: Part 12 - MySpace

Yes, MySpace.  If you haven't heard, they are going to launch a new interface and they have recently been acquired by Mr. Timberlake and Co.  I've used MySpace in the past to hear music from artists I've found elsewhere and to befriend new bands and share photos I've taken of their concerts.

I visited MySpace today and jumped into a feature called OneTwoWatch.  I really like this interface, but really had trouble finding it again - luckily I found the link thru my browser history.  So bookmark this.

Anyway, on OneTwoWatch I was really impressed the the quality and freshness of the featured artists.  I quickly downloaded tracks from Alex Clare, Selah Sue, Daughter and Gary Clark Jr.

Great finds, thanks MySpace.  Looking forward to a sexy new interface sometime soon to make me want to come back for more.

Where I find new music: Part 11 - musicians

I have a few musicians that are friends and I usually trust their recommendations, but I've also had the opportunity to meet a few musicians at other concerts.  The most famous story my wife and I have is meeting Matthew from Young Empires a long time ago after the We Are Augustines concert at Wrongbar.  We didn't know Young Empires at the time, but have seen them since on numerous occasions and we're so happy for their success and the nomination for a 2012 CASBY.

After seeing Young Empires during NXNE, we were hopping on the streetcar home when we struck up a conversation with fan who turned out to be another musician - Shawn is the drummer for Fade Chromatic who we've also now seen play live.

You never know you're going to meet at a concert and the chance to discover some new music.

Where I find new music: Part 10 - internet radio

I'm not certain how many people listen to internet radio, but please comment if you have a station to recommend or a track you've found thru internet radio.  I don't listen to internet radio very often, but on occasion, when I'm working I need some background music to work by.  Needless to say, the type of music in this situation needs to be more melodic, perhaps instrumental, but definitely not distracting or anything I have to concentrate on.  I use iTunes to "bookmark" or "favourite" stations I find and then browse / channel surf until the mix blends with my mood.

It's been a long time since I started writing this blog, so...unfortunately I can't remember all of the stations I've enjoyed (old bookmarks on an old work laptop I think), but the one that I can always remember is Groove Salad.  You can find it under the Ambient genre in iTunes radio and it's from SomaFM who have lots of other interesting genre and mood based stations.

I'm still struggling a little with what stations publish via a format that I can stream via iTunes rather then using their own web site or player, e.g. the progressive Radio Paradise and CBC radio 3 (now CBC music) stations.

Summer 2012 concert listings

Hot Chip July 15th Sound Academy
Cowboy Junkies July 14th The Great Hall (benefit in support of mental health)
Bloc Party Sept 10th Danforth Music Hall
Justice, M83 Aug 4th Fort York
My Morning Jacket Aug 15th Echo Beach
Grace Potter Aug 17th The Phoenix
The Temper Trap Aug 7th Kool Haus
The Cult Aug 31st The Phoenix

Plan B: latest controversary

Quite the controversy and discussion topic...

New Music Fridays #x1

Some late night new music sampling - sorry to say the new track from one of my all time favourties, The Cult is rather unforgettable. However, new track from Saint Etienne re-conjures that light spring-time sound I loved from '91. Other finds include popster Emeli Sande and moody School of Sevens Bells.  I guess my mood tonight is for female vocals.

Connecting the dots - sampling the past

One of the things I like about hip-hop is the samples that are taken from older music.  I'm not sure where it all started, perhaps at the beginning of hip-hop, but I'm certain it's used often.  One early stand-out track for me is Kanye West's Gold Digger.  That being said, it was Jamie Foxx that sung Ray Charles' lines from "I got a woman" rather than using a true sample.

From the local seen, Torontonian Shad had a lot of airplay success from "Rose Garden"- I love the sample of the original 1967 version by The Three Degrees.



A go-to album for me that does a wonderful job of sampling older classics with fresher electronic sound is  Nina Simone's Remixed and Reimagined.  Her voice has such a beautiful range and mood.

For hip-hop and electronica, the samples seem to come mostly from old soul, jazz and R&B.  Quite different to the Chris Sheppard's dance mega-mixes of The Cult in the 80's.

But what set this off was the recent Drake Rihanna single "Take Care".  I knew I knew the simple piano sample, but thought it was from a Nina Simone track.  But a few Google searches later took me to the original source: Gil Scott-Heron.  I'd downloaded the wonderful Jamie XX remix of Scott-Heron's "I'll Take Care of You" about a year ago.

I love connecting the dots.

Upcoming concerts of interest - Fall 2011

Here are some new and recommended concerts coming up over the next few weeks and months:

• Tedeschi Trucks Band 10/25 The Music Hall
• Coeur de Pirate - that lovely French voice you hear on CBC 2 and 1/2 of Armistice 11/11 The Mod Club
• Noah & The Whale - liking their new album - 11/8 The Phoenix
• Noel Gallagher - set to sing some Oasis classics plus songs from his new album 11/7 and 11/8 Massey Hall
• Blue Scholars - friendly hip hop from Seattle 7/7 Wrongbar
• Metronomy - one of Q Magazine's most Exciting Acts On Earth 10/26 The Mod Club
• Anna Calvi - another of Q Magazine's most Exciting Acts On Earth 12/8 Lee's Palace
• St Vincent - their name keeps coming up - 12/15 The Phoenix

In the column on the right on the blog page you'll also see an ongoing list of upcoming concerts, an overlap of here with some one-offs.

I've finally gotten around to setting up my YouTube account properly and thought a channel dedicated to upcoming Toronto concerts would be a nice touch - enjoy.

Where I find new music: Part 9 - Fashion shows

Remember Fashion Television (FT) that used to show on CityTV ? Well, it's no longer on CityTV, although it does now have its own cable channel. Well, I used to watch it. It was on around the same time as The New Music, and along with all the beautiful ladies and clothes, I also liked the accompanying music. If you've ever seen the show, I'm sure you can never forget hearing the intro track - Obsession by Animotion every week (sorry the video is way too embarrassing to embed here).


Well, boys will be boys, and yes I'm still guilty of enjoying beautiful ladies on the runway and especially around Christmas time when Santa delivers an early stocking stuffer in the form of the Victoria Secret Christmas Fashion Show (this year's show is set for Nov 29th at 10pm on CBS). Sorry distracted there for a few moments, back to the music...well, the first VS show I saw on TV included the fabulous sexy dance track - I like the way you move by Bodyrockers (2:45 mark) and it cemented my feelings toward music and the fashion runway. Sorry, rockers, mostly dance music, R&B and hip hop here...but for me, this music is pretty damn sexy.

Now I put a draft down a while ago that noted a Crystal Castles track called Vietnam. I don't remember exactly why I noted the reference but I did find a connection between their music and fashion.

So, the point of this post, if you like fashion, dance music and beautiful people, there's some great music to be found on the fashion show runway. Although sometimes it's a little hard to find, don't worry, send it my way and I'll work on it for you. Now only if I could mix my love of photography with this peccadillo.

Sharing the love (or, where other people find new music)

Last weekend, I drove to Montreal and back with a few teammates for the Grand Master's Ultimate tournament. Although we only managed 1 win for the weekend, we played pretty well and I really enjoyed hanging out with a great bunch of guys and ladies. I was a passenger this year and the driver had his kind music on the way to Montreal. He asked if anyone else had some music, but I didn't push the point. On the way home, I offered up some new tunes to the guys, saying I was interested in what they thought of the mix and I thought they might legitimately enjoy a few new finds. If you know me, I've always been the guy to bring his own mixed tape to a party or these days, have a loaded iPod or iPhone at the ready. I'm a little more shy these days about pushing my music, but the memories of friends saying they enjoyed my music, keeps the inner DJ in me alive. After all, that's where I came up with the PJMixer alias.

So they guys liked a lot of the tracks and I said I'd burn them my top 10. I'm not certain when I'm going to see them again, so I thought I'd post them here for the broader group. I hope you like a few tracks. Yes, they are ordered, my mood and progression.



We are seeing We Are Augustines tomorrow night at Wrongbar in Toronto; shots from last time we saw them



Shots from Motopony's gig at the Horseshoe last week for Vivoscene





Canadians Beatrice Martin (from Coeur de Pirate) & Jay Malinowski (from Bedouin Soundclash)




shots from The Monkey's summer Toronto concert



Foster the People are playing here in Toronto on Saturday night and The Sound Academy



Please, please come and play in Toronto boys



Shots from The Vaccines at the Horseshoe last winter



Drat, forgot to post those pics, hold on...there you go, photos from Beady Eye Sound Academy concert

We Are Augustines at The Horseshoe

We Are Augustines at The Horseshoe - #107/365, a photo by PJMixer on Flickr.

First time seeing this tight New Yorker group - heartfelt lyrics and energized rock 'n roll. They opened for The Boxer Rebellion to a full and excited crowd house at The Horseshoe.

Concert updates - Spring 2011

I haven't posted upcoming concerts in a while and now we're past winter hibernation, the number and quality of visiting artists is on the rise.

Bigger gigs

• Peter Gabriel - June 22nd Molson Amphitheatre - heard rave reviews from my friend in NYC who saw him last year with same orchestral setup
• Ray Lamontagne & the Pariah Dogs - May30th Massey Hall - love his sound and my bro says he's brilliant live
• Paul Simon - May 7th Sound Academy - yes, you read that right, smallish venue
• U2 July 11th Rogers Centre - forgot they were coming back, if it's anything close to 2009 show it will be a knockout
• Adele - May 18 Air Canada Centre - recently moved from Kool Haus to accommodate ticket demand

Tempted to go

• Black Keys and Cage the Elephant - July 7th Molson Amphitheatre - should be a humdinger of a show - mosh pit action
• Dirty Vegas - April 24th Mod Club - easy-on-the-ear driving dance melodies
• Supertramp - June 12th Molson Amphitheatre - perfect lawn show

Retro Alley

• Journey and Foreigner - Aug 9th Molson Amphitheatre
• Echo & The Bunnymen - May 16th Phoenix
• The Cars - May 20th Phoenix or Sound Academy 
• Bob Seger - April 12th - one of my old favourites from the motor city
• Duran Duran - April 25th Phoenix

Highly acclaimed

• TV on the Radio - April 18th Sound Academy - new album is supposed to be very good, which is saying a lot for following up their brilliant 2008 release
• Tinie Tempah - May 2nd Wrongbar - massive Brit hip hop star plays small TO club
• My Morning Jacket - July 11th Kool Haus 

What I'm going to

• Arctic Monkeys and The Vaccines - May 21st Kool Haus - seen the Monkeys twice and want more, seen hot Brits The Vaccines at the Horseshoe this past winter - sure to get the crowd going and give the Monkeys a run for their money
• The Boxer Rebellion - April 18th Horseshoe - they put on a fab show here last time around and looking forward to a repeat show now the new tracks have sunk in more
• Beady Eye June 20th Sound Academy - what mood will Liam be in ?

Friend and lovers love 'em

• James Blunt - April 26th Massey Hall
• Death Cab for Cutie - May 18th Phoenix

Full listing can be found on Now and Torontowide.com.

Where I find new (old) music: Part 8 - the used record store

I met an out-of-town friend today for lunch who was visiting Toronto for the first time.  We met at the Queen Mother Cafe on Queen West and he had walked past Kops Records on the way there and made a comment about stopping in after lunch.  I hadn't been in Kops for a long time and quickly felt comfy surrounded by very famliar album covers.  I do have a turntable set up at home, but only really use it for nostalgia trips now and again, so I no longer buy vinyl.  However, slipping through the bins I quickly found one of my old favourites that I'd forgotten about.  No I didn't buy the album, but I did just buy it online.

The Streatles @ Tranzac

The Streatles @ Tranzac - #70/365 a photo by PJMixer on Flickr.


Friends invited us to join them to see their children's guitar teacher Edward, perform with his Beatles cover band The Streatles.  Our daughter joined us for a great evening of Beatles songs and good times.  Click here for the full set of photos.

Harry Connick, Jr.

Harry Connick, Jr. intro from Rudy Blair a photo by PJMixer on Flickr.

Harry Connick, Jr. did a brief interview with Rudy Blair from AM680, then signed autographs to promote his new CD/DVD at First Canadian Place on March 4th, 2011. I've seen Harry perform a couple of times, incl. his Toronto debut at Roy Thompson Hall in 1989. Click here for other shots.

Intersecting with The Grammies

I'm not a huge fan of The Grammies for a number of reasons: too American-centric; too pop focused; and all the thanks to God. That being said, there are usually a couple of good performances and a few of my favourites artists to cheer for.

So of the Grammy nominees this year, the following are artists I have been listening to over the last 18 months:

• Cee Low Green
• Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
• Eminem
• Arcade fire
• Ray Lamontagne
• Florence & the Machine
• Mumford & Sons
• Norah Jones
• John Mayer
• Sade
• Groove Armada
• Chemical Brothers
• Robert Plant
• The Black Keys
• Them Crooked Vultures
• Kings of Leon
• Katy Perry
• Broken Bells
• John Legend & The Roots
• Janelle Monáe
• Gorillaz

And lastly, good luck to my old mates from ultimate, Sam Dunn & Scot McFadyen for their Rush movie.

2011 Albums

Here is a list of albums being released early in 2011 that I'm looking forward to (many have singles already available). Some of the dates may be UK dates so it may be a little later here.

• Cage The Elephant released in January.
• Boxer Rebellion just released last week.
• Armistice (a collaboration of Coeur De Pirate and Jay Malinowski) Feb. 15
• Adele Feb. 22
• Beady Eye March 1 (Oasis minus Noel)
• Alex Turner solo album (Arctic Monkeys) March 14th
• The Vaccines March 21st
• Pigeon Detectives April 4th
• Glasvegas April 4th
• The Wombats April 11th

Any others that I have missed or that you are looking forward to?

Blip updates

Caught up on sharing some music via Blip, incl. electronica and dance tracks from Katy B, Groove Armada; smooth vocals from Ray Lamontagne, Belle and Sebastian, Broken Bells and Paloma Faith; and lots more.

Where I find new music: Part 7 - inflight entertainment

In the old days of long distance commercial air flight, you often had the option of listening to various music selections across a wide variety of genres using the armrest dials and an awful pair of airline headphones. With the help of the playlists being published in the inflight magazine, I'd often find some interesting new tracks.  


With the new touchscreen personal entertainment centres and the option to use our own headphones we now have, the ease of browsing and enjoying lots of new music is wonderful.  I'm currently listening to Belle and Sebastian's latest album - Write about love.  Plus, it's worth noting that the decent choice of movies also brings up the opportunity of finding some new music on the soundtrack.