St Patrick's Day!

Geez...last post was in January! Well...hockey refereeing has finally come to an end for the season. What a time killer! So figured let's get the blog going again...

Last week was St Patty's day! Can say I have never DJ'd a party with green beer so was looking forward to it. Was invited the week before by Mike at the Dragon Bistro, my old stomping ground. Jakes has a band every year so I was out! So played traitor Dj for a day.... Anyhow had to quickly get a catalogue of tunes going. Some quick internet research and itunes and I found myself with a play list of over 100 St Paddy's day favorites! itunes is great for this type of thing by the way. Picked up two 50 pack albums for less then $10 each!

Green Goodness!

Unfortunately the crowd was not where the ownership wanted it to be but there was a steady flow of customers coming in to enjoy some beer with green dye dropped in and an Irish flavored menu (damn I missed out on on the Irish Stew...) I did imagine an out of control drunk fest where everyone was singing top o the lungs with singing and dancing on the tables but that didn't happen. Nonetheless still had good time playing tunes as always!

I mixed in a bunch of top40 and rock with the Irish music. But here were some of my favorite St Paddy's day tracks on the night:

1. The Wild Rover - The Blarney Lads
2. Rocky Road to Dublin - Waxies Dargle
3. Muirsheen Durkin - The Blarney Lads
4. Culchi Lad - Irish All-Stars
5. Streams of Whiskey - The Pogues
6. Seven Drunk Nights - The Kilkenny Brothers
7. Paden O' Rafferty's - Irish All Stars
8. P Stands for Paddy - Irish All Stars
9. When Irish Eyes are Smiling - The Limerick Rovers
10. The Night Paddy Murphy Died - Great Big Sea

I guess special mention should go "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" by the Dropkick Murphys.  Those guys seem pretty angry!

Cheers!

A Year in Review

Well 2012 is coming to an end and I must say it has been a super busy year on the DJ front and I am blessed to be able to be this busy doing something I really love to do!

Busy busy busy...  The year started out with several company holiday parties along with the weekly gig at the Dragon Bistro.  The summer saw several corporate functions along with a wedding for some good friends of mine.  The latter half of the year saw more corporate functions, sound gigs, more holiday parties and now for the last several months a weekly gig at Unionville hot spot Jakes on Main.  Tomorrow night gonna finish the year at The Ben Wicks Pub in TO a gig I have been doing over the last several years. 

Gear and more gear...  Along with all the gigs came the purchase of some new gear.   Earlier in the year when I started the weekly gigs at the bar I purchased the Traktor S2 DJ controller.  This made for easy set-up.  It's compact size also made it great to take up to the cottage. 

Merry Xmas to me!

Late summer Native Instruments had a deal on their Maschine Groove Production Studio controller and software so I purchased it to give a go at making my own music.  Although it has been slow going I am hoping to focus a little more on it in the new year.  It is a whole lot of fun...

On boxing day I decided to give more of my hard earned money to Native by purchasing the Traktor F1 Remix deck.  This should make Djing even more fun next year with that  hardware addition. One things for sure...there will be lots of buttons to press.

The most fun DJing...  The last several months I had the opportunity to Dj weekly at Jakes on Main in Unionville.  I really enjoy this gig.  Young crowd...great staff make for a fun night every Friday.  What I like most though is that I can pretty much get away with playing anything and with that I try and mix it up every week digging up songs old and new.  Here's hoping it continues into the new year and especially the summer.  With the patio open and all the kids back from University things get pretty crazy there.

Jake on Main!

Vinyl heaven!  In September I recieved a phone call from a family friend asking me to come over to his place and pick up all his vinyl.  You can read about it here but I am hoping to get a set going and bring the turntables to a gig next year.   A night of nastalga I guess with lots of clicks, pops and maybe a few skips!

The one thing that has been great this year though is all the experience gained working with multiple genres and mixing the old and new.  Especially with the weekly gigs I've noticed a huge improvement working the Traktor software mixing pretty much everything on the fly.  At home I am usually just mixing up house music and rarely "practice" mixing top 40 or other genres.  But with the weekly gig I am all over the map...top40, retro 80s, 90s hiphop, house, dubstep...everything.  It has been a lot of fun...especially digging up old tracks and seeing the reactions from people. 

Well, it has been a super awesome year and I am hoping to continue the trend into the new year.  More gigs...more gear...and of most importantly...more great music!

Happy New Year Everyone....see you next year!

Merry Jackson Everyone!

Last night myself and the crew from "The Michael Jackson Experience" a King of Pop Production headed up to Newmarket to perform a Christmas surprise performance for a super fan of Jackson as a gift from her spouse. 

Kevin, myself, Bishop Soul & Dean.

I've seen this show many times and it doesn't matter if this MJ impersonator is performing at Casino Rama, arena shows across the country or your private house party these guys know how to put on a show! 

What makes it so special is Bishops Soul and his dancers ability to interact with any crowd, in this case a family and a few neighbors, and just make a party out of nothing! 

Of course it helps when you are playing music from a catalogue as large as MJs countless number ones all of them which make you wanna move your feet. 

Here is the set-list from last night:

Wanna Be Starting Something
Working Day & Night
Smooth Criminal
Billie Jean
Human Nature
Beat It
PYT
Thriller

If you have to step out for a few hours from personal Xmas eve festivities might as well do it hanging out with Michael Jackson!  Watching this show is always a treat and seeing the clients blown away always makes for a fun evening.

For more information on this show contact Alan Lamothe at King of Pop Productions  416-876-8936

Merry Xmas!

A Merry TSO Christmas!

Last week the wife and I did our yearly ritual of heading down to Roy Thompson Hall for a Christmas concert featuring the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.  Last year we saw the TSO perform with the Canadian Brass which was great!  This year featured narrations by Canadian comedian Colin Mochrie for two of the numbers, "Twas the Night Before Christmas' and "The Twelve Days of Christmas".  You may remember him from the show 'Who's Line is it Anyways".

What made the Twelve Days of Christmas so special though was the play they did a long with it including young children acting out each of the 12 days and a full Scottish marching band with you guessed it... 12 drummers drumming and 11 pipers piping!! Wow did that sound fill the room.

Colin Mochrie!

 

11 Pipers Piping & 12 Drummers Drumming!

 
As always carols were sang at the end including Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithfull and Joy to the World.

This concert always makes for a great evening out!  Oh and if you are looking for some good eats before the concert...may I suggest "The Stockyards."  They serve some awesome RIBS 2-3 days a week...and they go fast!

Here is the programme:

Programme:

Tyzik: A Christmas Overture
Tyzik: Gesu Bambino (with Ji Soo Choi, violin and Daniel Hass, cello) 
Newsom/Tyzik: Winter Wonderland
Arr. Tyzik: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rag (featuring John Rudolph, xylophone)
Williams: Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas
Adam: O Holy Night
Arr. Fry: O Come O Come Emmanuel
Arr. Fry: We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Bass: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
Anderson: Sleigh Ride
Arr. Tyzik: Chanukah Suite
Hayman: The Twelve Days of Christmas
Arr. Tyzik: Holiday Sing-along

• Jeff Tyzik, conductor
• Colin Mochrie, narrator
• Etobicoke School of the Arts Chorus

Merry Christmas everyone!

Soundspin04

Finally... a new mix!  Last mix I put together was back in March.  Geez I guess life just keeps getting in the way!  Anyhow wanted to change things up a bit.  This mix has a more dark...deep tech house feel to it.  With all the EDM hitting the airwaves I wanted to give my ears a break and do something different.

This mix features some tracks I have downloaded for a while now.  The last track on the mix is by Demuir, a producer that I know and have opened for in the past.  He runs a label called Mikita Skyy (check out www.beatport.com to see all his releases).  Most of the stuff on his label is more on the Jackin`House tip but lately he has been experimenting on the Tech House side.

This track remixed by Demuir with the original created by Murr features the voice of Rosina.  The first time I heard her voice (check out `My Best Dress`) I was instantly mesmerized. Something about her voice just draws you in....haunting at times!  Anyhow she and Murr are part of a Toronto Indie band called LAL.  Have yet to check them out but let`s just say that for this mix...def saved the best for last!

Soundspin04 (Dec 2012) by Soundspin on Mixcloud

Here is the track list:

1. Tomorrow Belongs To Us - Bookashade
2. Twisted Sister - M.A.N.D.Y
3. Unkown - Saschienne
4. Deeper - Sascha Cava, Martin Dahl
5. Wonderland - Ramon Tapia
6. Wherever (Kabale Und Liebe @ Lauhaus Remix) - Alexis Cabrera
7. They Frontin' Feat Monty Luke (Original Mix) - Catz 'n Dogz
8. Night Track (M.A.N.D.Y Remix) - Sasha, James Teej
9. Machines - Mark Reeve & Dean Demmanuel
10. Move on Me (Original Mix) - Danny Serrano, Darlyn Vlys
11. Broken Down (Demuir Mix) - Murr ft Rosina

Enjoy!

The Ocarina of Time!

Back in the 1998 for whatever reason I visited my cousin's home and for the first time saw the game "Zelda - The Ocarina of Time" for the Nintendo 64. I was so impressed I went out that week to Toys R Us and purchased the N64 Entertainment system...I had to have this game! The game was unbelievable with most gamer magazines giving it a perfect score. I played it so much that my wife (GF at the time) pretty much memorized all the melodies in the game and could hum and sing along the soundtrack while working on a puzzle or reading a book...she's not much for video games...music a different story.

Symphony of the Goddesses

A few years later I found a copy of an orchestral recording of the Ocarina of Time soundtrack and to this day still have a listen. The whole Zelda score was composed by Koji Kondo a sound designer / director employed by Nintendo and who's known for not only his work on Zelda, but the Super Mario Brother series as well. Probably the most memorable melody in the game is "Zelda's Lullaby" Check it out here:

Anyhow a few months ago my wife found tickets (was a difficult task) for the showing of "Zelda - The Symphony of the Godesses" a concert dedicated to the 25 year history of the Zelda franchise held at the Sony Center for the Performing Arts. The show was completley sold out, filled with a number of fans dressed as Link or other famous characters. For the record I was wearing designer jeans and a nice dress shirt. The concert featured music from many of the different Zelda games along with footage from them played in behind the orchestra. What made it kind of neat was the footage was actually taking from parts of the game that were the most memorable...ie collecting certain items, boss kills or some of the more frustrating parts. The crowd found those most amusing.

For the most part the crowd picked it's moments to be loud and boisterous, and were polite for the majority of the showing.  Shout outs from the crowd, not normal in orchestral shows, were done tastefully and drew smiles from the conductor and members of the orchestra.  However, when the conductor Eimear Noone pulled out the "Windwalker" and used it as a baton to conduct the Windwalker movement everyone went nuts!

Anyhow...I have to say we both enjoyed ourselves. The music was beautifully played and brought back many frustrating memories playing that game.

Here was the programme:

Legend of Zelda Medley
Creation of Hyrule
Kakariko Village
Ocarina Medley
The Ocarina of Time
The Wind Waker

Intermission

Great Fairy's Fountain
Twilight Princess
A Link to the Past

Encores:
 Link's Awakening
Gerudo Valley
Majora's Mask

Such Sweet Vocals...

I have to say that I just love female vocals that kind of wrap you up in a nice cosy blanket and make you feel all warm inside.  Of course a lot can have to do with the production itself but for the most part I can listen to some of these tracks over and over again because I am just drawn to the voice.

 

If I purchased "Fumbling Towards Ectasy" by Sarah McLaughlan on vinyl I would probably have had to replace the album several times due to overuse.  I never really listened to her before that release but for some reason that album was a go to for me if I was in a chill out kind of mood.  I just loved it...lots of emotion.

 

About the same time I came across an LP called "Walking Wounded" by Everything But The Girl a duo out of the UK with Tracey Thorn on vocals.  You may know some of their more popular work on this side of the ocean in "Missing" and "Wrong" two great tracks.  The album was released in 1996 and to this day I still listen to it.  Her mellow soothing voice over some minimalist drum and bass sounds makes for an awesome combination.

 

 

The first time I heard Dido's voice in the song "Stan" by Eminem I had to find out who she was.  Sure enough she was already a star in her own making before that track came out and the lyric used in that Hip Hop song was from her single "Thank You." Once again I was drawn to that soft soothing voice.  "Don't Believe in Love" on "Safe Trip Home" another one of my favs.
  

On the electronica side of things there are several tracks that I just seem to play over and over again.  Deadmau5 and Kaskade have calloborated on several earlier projects and found a gem in a vocalist named Haley Gibby who performed "I Remember" & "Move for Me."  Haley is an electronic music vocalist and has done many collaborations with Kaskade. Check out this cool acoustic version of "I Remember" that I found on youtube:

Recently Kaskade released a track called "Room for Happiness" featuring Skylar Grey (real name Holly Brook Hafermann).  Hafermann is an American singer songwriter who co-wrote "Love the Way You Lie" by Eminen and was featured as a guest vocalist on  "Coming Home" a Hip Hop track from Diddy Dirty Money.  She has her own album called "Like Blood Like Honey" which I have to check out and looks to be releasing a new album in 2013. 

 

 

Out of all the commercial EDM crap that seems to be hitting the airwaves these days I can't get seem to get enough of these three tracks by Deadmau5/Kaskade....mostly because of the voice and the chords used to compliment them.  

 

Anyhow...if you feel like wanting to sit by a cosy fire place and drink a glass of wine and just chill then I would suggest putting a play list of some of these artists together and enjoy.