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Cue Point Chords and Mini-update...
Posted By: Shagz
Date:
Been meaning to post a link to this article over at DJ Tech Tools for a while now (like, a year)...Great demo of what can be achieved using a midi-controller 'n some samples 'n efx. Hoping I might be able to achieve something similar with my Dicers, when I get 'em...
Also, been really quiet around here lately 'cuz of some family health stuff mostly. My mother has terminal cancer and I've been home every weekend for the last while.
But a number of extra-curricular activities have wrapped up, so hopefully I can put together some new mixes, and I know there's at least another party coming up before the summer's out, so stay tuned...
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Novation Dicer = Haaaawwwwtttt
Posted By: Shagz
Date:
Now this is the midi controller I've been looking for! Small, efficient, lots of coloured LED goodness and attaches right where it should make sense. Developed in collaboration with Ean Golden from DJTechTools.com. Me want, big time.
To see what kind of madness this opens up for scratch/turntable djs, check this out
And read about some of the thought that went into its design over at DJTechTools.com
Too bad you'll never see these at a DMC Championship. :(
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Free Mix Friday 9
Posted By: Shagz
Date:
If you were on my mailing list, you'd know about this already. :)
This was more of a one off than a continuation of the series. Dedicated to my friend Kelly who got married last weekend. She wanted me to do a mix for her wedding reception, to play after her band finished, something to "club things up a little", so I obliged. I dj'd by proxy, basically. :)
For those who heard and loved it, this mix is similar to Free Mix Friday 2, and features a few of the same artists as well as some new ones. Thumpy club bizness, from house to breaks, electro to progressive.
Download for a limited time here, or stream it from MixCloud below.
Free Mix Friday 9 by Djshagz on Mixcloud
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Nominated on MixCloud!
Posted By: Shagz
Date:
Wanna give a big shout out to everybody who nominated me this past week in the Funk/Soul category over at MixCloud! I think I just sneaked in there, as I'm on the very bottom of the list, but hey, I'll take what I can get. :)
Thanks for all your support and votes!
Also, stay tuned for two big announcements, coming soon. :)
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Non-dj Performance: Univox Choir presents 'Neath the Norther Skies
Posted By: Shagz
Date:
This weekend, the choir I'm in, Univox, will be performing some brand new work by Canadian composer Norbert Palej, including the premiere of his new chorale cycle, 'Neath the Norther Skies. These pieces are based on the poems of Canada's first published aboriginal writer and poet, E. Pauline Johnson.
It's really eerie, haunting stuff, and really challenging to sing. If we do it right, it'll sound beautiful. :)
We'll also be joined by special guest trio, sTREga.
Really late in promoting this one, I know. :P But if you can make it out, would be great to see you there.
Details...
When: This Sunday, @2pm, April 18, 2010
Where: First Unitarian, 175 St. Clair St Ave W, Toronto
How much: $18 at the door, or $15 in advance. Tickets available through me or online at http://guestlistapp.com/events/19047
FB event link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=105763102794369
Also, if you've been enjoying my mixes over the years, or even just recently, you might consider recommending me in the house or funk/soul category over at Mixcloud. Looks like I got a few nominations last week, but just missed the cut. If I actually solicit recco's, my mixes might actually get featured next week. :)It does require that you create an account with Mixcloud, but you probably won't regret it. Mixcloud has a done of dj mixes that are free to listen to right now, tagged by genre and artist so you can find similar stuff. Registering will allow you to get notifications when djs that you're following upload new stuff, and will allow you to favourite your, uh, favourite mixes.
Sound interesting? Go here to get started: http://www.mixcloud.com/djshagz/recommend/
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What I learned from Free Mix Friday
Posted By: Shagz
Date:
Well, seeing as the Free Mix Friday project was all about being productive, and I'm only getting around to posting this 2 months after the project ended, it would appear that I haven't really learned anything at all. ;) But assure you I have.
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Non-dj Performance: Univox Choir
Posted By: Shagz
Date:
Some people have been asking me recently whether I had any choir gigs coming up, so I thought I better send something out now so people can book the date.
The choir I sing in, Univox, will be joining up with The Harbourfront Chorus and the First Unitarian Choir to present Faure's "Requiem" on Feb 26. Not only that, but we'll be singing with a full orchestra! :) I've done this a couple times before with other choirs, performing both Faure's and Mozart's requiem, and it really adds a lot to the performance. In my opinion, this is how classical chorale music should be experienced. We'll have the benefit of a great venue for this show as well.
The performance will be 8pm at Grace Church-on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Rd, near St. Clair West station. Tickets are $20 at the door, or $15 from a choir member. (You can even buy tickets online at http://univox.eventbrite.com)
If you're interested in the advanced tickets, please feel free to contact me and I'll sort you out. Hope to see you there!
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Film Fest 2008 Reviews...a few days before TIFF 2009 starts :P
Posted By: Shagz
Date:
So, I never did get around to posting my reviews from TIFF 2008, and the 2009 edition is right around the corner. I'm ashamed. I think I explicitly promised that I would write more frequently last year, get the reviews out of my head soon after watching the flicks instead of waiting until after the festival. But no luck, not with a packed schedule of 15 movies (a new record for me),
So, here's my quick, off the cuff reviews of the 2008 Toronto Film Festival.
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The Lost Fingers
Posted By: Shagz
Date:
Pretty cool jazz/folk band from Quebec, doing originals but spice it up with covers of 80's tunes. They turn You Shook Me All Night Long into a late night drunken sing-a-long, which is way more fun than the original...but it's their jumping gypsy-jive swing versions of Pump Up The Jam and Billie Jean that are going to get the party started!!
(Thanks to Andrew for the recco!!)
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There's some great Canadian cinema in theatres right now.
Posted By: Shagz
Date:
Not sure how this started, but I've been on a bit of Canadian movie kick lately.
First was Charles Officer's Nurse.Fighter.Boy (trailer), a great little indie urban romance that takes place in Toronto and features a heavy Jamaican influence/connection. (Dope soundtrack too)
Then Lars and The Real Girl. (ok, not *really* Canadian, but it was filmed in Canada and Ryan Gosling's a Canadian)
Today I saw Pontypool, a pretty creepy/scary, darkly comedic (in a Canadian way) "zombie" thriller starring Stephen McHattie and directed by Bruce McDonald (of "Hardcore Logo" fame). It's a great flick, I highly recommend it if you like zombie films or thrillers or Bruce McDonald. (Also check out Fido, another great Canadian zombie flick)
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The Watchmen
Posted By: Shagz
Date:
A visually stunning and ridiculously faithful envisioning of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's seminal graphic novel. Visually stunning...and a bit too long.
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Video Games, Music and DK Jungle Beat
Posted By: Shagz
Date:
A short missive and look back at one of my favourite games on the GC, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat by Boing Boing's video game site, Off World. Author Margaret Robertson makes an interesting (and strangely obvious, once you hear it) comparison between games and musical instruments, code and orchestral scores, players and, well, players.
I contest that Harmonix knew all along what they were doing when they made Guitar Hero, that they made the explicit connection between musical rhythm and game rhythm. I think they just transferred Dance Dance Revolution onto a fret board.
What I'd like to see is more games like Jungle Beat, where a musical instrument control device is used to play something other than a musical simulation game. Imagine a House of the Dead rails shooter controlled by guitar, or an RTS played on a 32-note keyboard?
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A Note From My Dad
Posted By: Shagz
Date:
My Dad shared a thought with me today, inspired by President-Elect Obama's win yesterday in the US Elections. He commented that for him, the big historic election was 1960 with JFK, at a time when "everyone thought that a Catholic couldn't become President".
I clearly remember my father saying something similar as we watched the Berlin Wall fall on TV back in the early 90's. And had we been in the same room, I'm sure a similar conversation would have ensued when the WTC towers collapsed. We have been, and are currently, living in very important, rapidly changing times.
Earlier today, I wasn't really seeing Obama's election as necessarily "historic" or "ground breaking". I just saw it as a foregone conclusion, I suppose. That Barack should win the US election was a given, something that just made sense with the times we were living in, he was the man for the moment. I'm not quite sure I'm explaining it right. I guess my response is less "This is amazing, I never thought I would see the day" and more "It totally makes sense that he won, the US and the world need an intelligent, calm leader at the head of the world's most powerful nation; there was never any doubt".
But my Dad's comment really brought it home: this really is a big deal. I'm not American nor am I black, but you don't have to be either to know that race issues in America are incredibly complex and dirty. The fact that Obama, being black and having a middle name of Hussien, still managed to win, says a lot, either about how much America has changed and grown, or just how desperate they are for a new direction.
Very important times, indeed.
Obama now has a lot riding on his shoulders. Regardless of the issues that come with his race, experience or age, America's in a pretty bad spot right now and there's a massive challenge ahead. I believe he's up to the task, but it doesn't stop me from hoping and praying that after all this, America made the right choice.
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For Better or For Worse...Lynn Johnston calls it a night
Posted By: Shagz
Date:
So that's it...after 29 years, Lynn Johnston has decided to wrap up the main story line of her long running comic strip series "For Better or For Worse". (The final strip went to press on August 31st)
I've read FBorFW in and out over the course of my life, but it wasn't until 2002 or thereabouts that I started reading it on a daily basis through the website, watching and listening in on the lives of the Pattersons. The story lines were sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and always *real*. (and yea, Canadian too :)
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