 Uxbridge, Ontario based Air Marshal Landing announces the independent release of their Vitamins EP, available online June 19th, 2012. Produced and mixed by Nygel Asselin (Half Moon Run) the five song offering is the trio's sophomore release, following quite slowly on the heels of 2009's The Industry EP. Vitamins is also the precursor to the fall 2012 release of their debut LP, and will be supported by tour dates across Ontario throughout the summer. The complete track-listing for the EP can be found below. Vitamins continues the band's tradition of writing versatile rock songs. Written at various stages over the past 5 years, each track contains its own unique flavour. The title-track is a deliberate attempt at spontaneity and 'down-home-ness', while tracks like "Meteor" and "Eve's Apple" exhibit higher levels of production and a wider range of instrumentation. The EP marks a transition, an evolving sound that is explored further on the band's upcoming debut LP, currently in the final stages of mixing. Slowly and surely Air Marshal Landing is driving a creative stake into the Canadian music scene, carving out their musical territory. This summer marks the beginning of the next chapter of the band's young career - these 3 young men have been taking their Vitamins and are ready for whatever comes next. Vitamins track-listing: 1. Already Dead 2. Dagger 3. Eve's Apple 4. Meteor 5. Vitamins Visit www.airmarshallanding.com for more information as it becomes available. Watch Air Marshal Landing's "Tender Moments" video series: www.youtube.com/airmarshallanding
 The Australian acoustic virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel embodies everything the title "guitarist" should convey. For fellow pickers and fans of finger-style guitar, seeing Emmanuel perform was like coming face to face with god. Rating the skills of Tommy Emmanuel is like determining if god did a good job on creating the planet…if god was a guitarist he would be Tommy Emmanuel. Tommy and the stage are one being, he has been playing for over 50 years but he doesn’t seem to be bored or one bit tired. He may be getting older but still jumps around the stage like a 20 year old playing punk as if his life depends on it...actually it does…He talks with the audience makes jokes but is focused completely on the performance. Playing songs both old and new he had everyone in a trance as they watched in awe. I heard one guy say, “It’s like the guitar and him are one”. I couldn’t agree more. He told several stories throughout the night, one of them was about how he was 7 years old when he first listened to Chet Atkins, one of the greatest and considered, a pioneer in fingerstyle guitar. He said he knew someday he'd meet Chet, and they did meet eventually of course and they even recorded an album together, they were really close friends. When asked by Chet if they would like to record an album together he said he replied with "Is there a moustache in Mexico? Does a one legged duck swim in a circle?” more lame jokes which everyone found rather amusing. Emmanuel cannot be faulted for exhibiting so little restraint. His playing is more than energetic, it’s borderline frantic, but doesn’t come from being desperate to impress. On the contrary, watching him perform, it’s abundantly clear that his kinetic exuberance for attacking the guitar melodically, harmonically, rhythmically and VERY quickly is a direct reflection of an insatiable joie de vivre, a zest for life that is readily seen in the sparkle of his eyes when he plays. The man smiles and laughs at the slightest provocation, and would seem one of the most genuinely happy guys in the world. Such a blessing could not help but permeate anyone’s playing, and it certainly forms the root of Emmanuel’s joyful noise. At one point he said, “you know, people often ask me where I live, and I always say “nowhere’… as in ‘now’ & ‘here’. Who knows what tomorrow may bring? But tonight, I am right here, right now. This is my home, up here, and now I’m playing for you.” One tune he performed (dedicating it to Les Paul) was “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. TE’s deft handling of the melody and chords would be enough for most fingerpickers, but that lingering; rising and falling cascade of artificial harmonics (ala Lenny Breau) is something else. That particular technique is very hard to do, and if you manage to ascend and descend the scale once without duffing a harmonic or missing the alternate string with your ring finger, you’re doing well. To ascend and descend time after time, so quick and clean, with NO duffed harmonics or dropped notes, making the guitar sound more like a glissed harp than a plucked guitar… well, it’s mind-boggling, frankly, and perhaps more than any other trick he pulls out of the hat demonstrates the level of devoted practice and attention to detail TE brings to bear on his instrument. I can't say enough about Tommy as a performer and a person. He is so much fun to watch, the raw passion, his talent and energy really invigorates everyone who watches. Since it's just him up on stage the whole concert feels really personal and Tommy speaks to the audience in a personal manner too. He tells stories which everyone loves and plays the songs he feels like. Towards the end of the show he checked his watch and said, "I'm sorry I didn't realise it was so late! Usually I just play until I think I've had enough". That really impressed me because it's not so much a traditional concert with a set list and a start and finishing time. It's just "Tommy Time", where he does what he feels like and I think that's what everyone loves, Tommy just being himself and doing what he does. He left the stage to a standing ovation, returning for the encore. He left the stage once again to another standing ovation and that was the end of another wonderful evening of my life. If your ears haven’t had the pleasure of listening to Tommy Emmanuel then you’re missing something truly special. ___ by Craig Winterburn
 It’s probably only as kids that we aren’t completely disgusted by the prospect of being pressed up against another sweaty human being to the point where your face finds a perfect groove inside someone else’s armpit. As kids we understood the unspoken rules of the mosh pit, and we lived one day to the next, till we were back in it again. On the inside there was this atmosphere of camaraderie and it was simply understood that everyone was there to have a good time. For 40 minutes while the band played, those people around you were just like your brothers and sisters so you picked them up when they fell down. When someone signaled to you that they couldn’t breathe and the crowed was just too much to handle, you kicked into survival mode, regardless of whether you knew them or not because there was only one way out and it was up. Whether you were crowd surfing to safety or just for the thrill of it, as kids we found beauty in the curving and contortion of a body being raised above our heads by unassuming hands. And, when the guy in front of you plummeted you in the side of the head, you didn’t mind, because he didn’t mean it. Hacking it out in a mosh pit was about being in love with rock and roll and falling in love to it. Seeing your band perform the song that you found yourself in for the first time, that does something to your body. There is nothing like being inside a crowd 1000 people deep right before the chorus comes in; the anticipation that builds in that moment is the finest kind of high there is. It starts in your gut and just rises and rises. Then all of a sudden there’s a pause – knees bend and there you are hovering an inch above the concrete and it just happens, it comes crashing in. Toes hit the ground and ground rattles; it’s chaos, it’s everywhere, and it’s so beautiful. It was the sharing it with the people around you part that was really something special. When the room went black and you were just somewhere in the middle of it all, you’d see that mic go up in the air and you instinctively knew how to respond to it. Everyone took a deep breath and just belted it out, top of their lungs. In those moments – because that’s what they really were – we’d just hang there, together, feeling alive. There was this pure, pulsating, human electricity that radiated from one person to the next and as kid’s we’d stand there with our arms outstretched and our faces to the ceiling, just hoping we could bottle the feeling forever. There are likely zero moments in a person’s life when they will ever feel as if 400 other people have their back – that is except if they’ve ever found their way in a mosh pit. The thing was, we knew going in that we might get hurt – it was a very real possibility – but, it was and for many of us will remain, one of the only places on earth that we’d ever willingly take a beating. The blood and sweat, it still equals war scars in our books – real badges of honor for the band’s we grew up and out of. ___ by Juliette Jagger
 As I stand on my balcony cooking on my BBQ in the sun, I am teleported back to my country of birth. The smell of onions and steak fill the air and so do the tunes from an Australian Hip-Hop artist named 360. 360’s groundbreaking album, Falling & Flying, sounds like no hip-hop release to come before it. A mix of rap’s traditional down-to-earth grit, and indie electro’s atmospheric heights. Subverting the worlds of both indie and hip hop into something bigger and better, 360 manages to make his music both stunningly accessible and strikingly original by merging deeply personal stories with effortless wit and charisma. This album is world-class, but the base of it is all local. 360’s diverse, textured sound bed is the work of Melbourne producer Styalz Fuego - who of late has broken into the US hip-hop scene, collaborating with Chamillionaire, Busta Rhymes and Snoop Dogg among others. The songs on Falling & Flying show off both 360 and Styalz’s breadth of musical influences and talents. The trippy soaring chorus vocals emphasise the album’s moniker. The track propels the listener airborne. It’s not typical hip-hop. This album is not just for rap fans. This is for anyone who likes good music. The album takes a few turns. It goes from poppy electro, to grunge electro, to jams with a live band, to dancehall and back again.” Falling & Flying breaks new ground; makes a new sound. And 360 delivers, ready to start flying into the hip-hop stratosphere. Well worth the listen for any Hip-Hop fan. Makes me proud to be Australian with quality Hip-Hop like this. Look forward to 360 breaking in the US and Canadian music scene. -- by Craig Winterburn
 Elos Arma is: Dan Tricanico – Guitar/Vocals, Chris LaRocca – Korg/Vocals, Jon Watters – Bass/Vocals, Mark Procopio – Drums/Vocals
Formed in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, Elos Arma’s members were originally all in a hardcore band called Caldwell. After three years of touring and writing songs, the band broke up, came back together, added a member and began writing under a new name. The new group’s addition of a synthesizer brings fresh elements into the post-hardcore sound that the group hopes will throw off listeners, especially in the Toronto music scene where most bands fit into the vague “indie” category. They have played at Canadian Music Week, The Smirnoff Concert Series, on The Edge, and are aiming to appear at NXNE mid year. If you are wondering about the weird band name, it came through a dream one of the Band members had. They use the analogy that the name came from a dream and that they are living a dream by being in a Band. This high-energy dysfunctional pop band played last night at The Mod Club Toronto with songs from the recently released EP - T.I.T.S. being an acronym for (This Is The Shit). The band wanted people to think when they look at the name of the EP and make it stick in your mind. There first EP was released in 2010 it was more of Pop/Folk feel. Dan says they have been in the studio working on their Third EP. The band is looking at a few more live based videos as well as some acoustic sets in the future. Some Influences are artists like Frank Zappa, Radiohead, Grizzly Bear, Explosions In The Sky, Rush & Led Zeppelin. When asked what the bands plans were over the next 12months they said, “Big plans”, they aim to cover a lot of ground touring through Northern, Southern Ontario, BC, Alberta and then off into the big metal bird in the sky to conquer Europe later this year. Good luck guys on your future endeavors. You can continue to keep up and listen to them via the following http://www.elosarma.tumblr.com http://elosarma.bandcamp.com/ http://twitter.com/#!/elosarma-- by Craig Winterburn
Establishing Social Proof and Artist Credibility beyond YouTube.
Lana Del Rey’s 32-date theatre tour has been officially postponed due to her poor performance on Saturday Night Live. Perhaps she just wasn’t ready to perform on such a prestigious stage. Perhaps she’s not a strong live performer and requires more rehearsal time. Maybe it was just a simple case of nerves. Whatever it may be, it was significant enough for her internet haters to celebrate another step closer to her demise. The UK based American singer’s rise to fame and notoriety was incredibly swift thanks to the internet. She quickly attained millions of video views and charted in several European countries. All this before her album was officially released. The backlash however, was incredibly harsh – also thanks to the internet. The viral hype machine is not for everyone. Labels, managers, development teams, and publicists need to begin looking for new ways to establish artists beyond viral marketing. Sometimes it’s not about the amount of exposure for the least investment but the quality of the exposure, air of respect, and career longevity that matters more. It didn’t take very long until hordes of indie bloggers smirked, cracked their knuckles, then clicked and clacked in gleeful malice. Many people are already sick and tired of highly produced and heavily funded commercial pop acts like Lady Gaga proclaiming themselves as “art”. It’s even worse when one of those acts borrows the sacred indie aesthetic of vintage and nostalgia only to wear it like a prom dress destined to be soiled. Sound the alarms! The corporations have finally broken down the mystique of indie and genetically engineered it in the form of Lana Del Rey. Gasp! As the trivial and childish accusations from plastic surgery to ghostwriters to millionaire daddy came about, material from her old project as Lizzy Grant had begun to surface. At age 18, Lizzy Grant, a sweet singer/songwriter left home for New York City to pursue music. There she performed in small venues and struggled to make ends meet. There’s a clip of a teenage Lizzy Grant performing on a tiny stage where she messes up on the guitar. She pauses, playfully grimaces, and then beams the most radiant smile for what feels like an eternity. I smiled too. Her girl next door aura won me over but the Lana Del Rey persona is anything but the girl next door. It’s like Jewel suddenly became Al Capone’s girlfriend. And once again the haters attained more ammunition to fire her way.
In a 2011 interview with Face Culture of Amsterdam, she explains that Lana Del Rey is merely an art project driven by visuals rather than narrative.
It was a subtle way of saying she’s simply acting out a role. During the interview I thought she looked a bit vulnerable. Not what you’d expect with lyrics like:“He said to be cool but I’m already coolest. He said to be real. Don’t you know who you’re dealing with?” (National Anthem) She speaks with a soft voice and smiles nervously a few times. I felt uneasy watching it not because she was not as slick and seasoned as I thought she’d be, but because her spirit looked breakable. And for once, I didn’t want to break it.
The internet has been responsible for thrusting many artists into the spotlight. Justin Bieber is one of the best examples of this. Even though his 12 million YouTube plays did not directly correlate to record sales until the launch of a massive traditional media campaign, it served as social proof that he was chosen by the people. Lana Del Rey on the other hand is not that type of artist. This type of artist requires a different type of exposure.
Internet validation is nice but it’s not a necessity, especially if you have a major label like Interscope behind you. The rise of social media has caused an increasing demand for accessibility and interaction between artists and fans. This demand for artist humanization has taken the concept of superstar and reduced it to a popularity contest consisting of handshaking, baby kissing, daytime talk show appearances, and public service announcements.
Sometimes you got to tell the internet to go fuck itself. Forget all those tired conventionally unconventional tactics. There’s no need to dress up a commercial artist to be an indie breakout Cinderella story. This disrespects the artist, it disrespects the independent music community, and it disrespects peoples’ intelligence in general. Plus the grassroots approach of “discovered on the internet first” gives bloggers, writers, haters, too much power. You want Eminem controversy because of an artist’s strength in character not Rebecca Black mockery because she can’t sing well enough. I say give the girl the big screen. Would it be too much for her label and managers to give her a placement in a major motion picture?
Her lyrics and image indicate that she’s this damaged starlet of studio era Hollywood. Why is she competing with circus tricks and cute animal viral videos on YouTube? They should have given her song a spot in the trailer and opening credits of a film noir type action picture and/or spy flick. That would be instant artist credibility coming from a respected third party, Hollywood itself. It would also, without a doubt inspire tremendous curiosity amongst a massive mainstream audience.
Then an online campaign should be launched with a phase dedicated to linking her material to the movie’s promotional material as related videos. Also hanging out with Lindsay Lohan or Charlie Sheen would definitely legitimize her as a torn and tortured bad girl. This way you can blame any bad performance on drugs! (Half joking, half serious). There are more ways to build an artist besides an internet popularity contest. Popular people need approval, but superstars simply shine.
Lizzy, don’t let the haters bring you down.
--
by Percy Black
 Slash, one of the world's greatest living guitarists, has made a new record so rock that rock stations probably won't play it.
Fans and industry insiders were given a world exclusive preview of his Apocalyptic Love album at Triple M headquarters in Australia this week. "In Australia it seems to have been welcomed but in the States there are two speeds - what used to be alternative rock, which is now mainstream rock, and classic rock. There's no in-between," Slash said.
Hard rock fans turned out last weekend for the Soundwave Festival at the Sydney Showgrounds where Slash played with Alter Bridge. Seeing more than 50,000 black T-shirted and tattooed fans confirmed Slash's faith even as the music industry seems increasingly disinterested in signing new rock acts.
"The more alienated rock becomes, the more I feel I really have to hold the flag," he said. "I know there's going to be a creative revolution where playing stuff from the heart is going to end up being more important than the cookie cutter
commercial stuff."
This is the time to really stick to your guns.
--
by Craig Winterburn
Hip-hop is reigning supreme right now because they are the only one’s who have real shit. In the midst of this rock draught we are having here, I can honestly say that hip-hop is the only thing that speaks to me at the moment. That, and the latest Jane’s Addiction single “Irresistible Force,” which if you’re a dreamer of any kind, you already know why.
I’ve had a million things to say about Drake since he first broke but it was too soon to say so without sounding like a love letter. It’s not really a question of does he have the tightest raps or the best flow? And it’s not a matter of praising him for being any good at it. It’s about recognizing his ability to pull the whole thing off, and appreciating the kind of calculation it takes to do it this big on the back of a mix tape. The art of being a major player in popular culture and maybe even in history, depending on how switched on you are, is your ability to visualize a desire and then will it into reality. Drake is a brilliant example of that. Do you think he’s dining with hip-hop royalty right now by accident? No. This is a guy who knew exactly what he wanted and that he was capable of hacking it with the best of them, and he went out and got it. Simple-as-that. The amazing part is that he was barely 25 and he managed 2 Grammy nominations before he had even released a full-length album. Excuse me, but that’s untouchable. This is a guy who launched an entire career off commentating his own rise to fame as it happened in real time. Not only has that never been done, it’s one of those things that was so fucking real the first time it happened, anyone who tries to do it the same way again will be doing just that, trying. Did he have an angle? Sure. Was it exaggerated? Absolutely. But, do you know what kind of confidence it takes to tell the whole world that you’re something you’re not even sure, as of yet, that you really are? When he says something like: “the realest on the rise, fuck them other guys,” you believe him because he believes what he’s projecting. This guy proves that perception is reality baby, and that is the real art of it. The credit he deserves isn’t for being the best rapper to ever hit the face of the earth, it’s for having a dream and fulfilling it five fold while we all stood here and watched. Drake busted out of the gates claiming that he was going to be The (one and only) Shit, and he did it, he lived up to and surpassed his own hype. We basically watched this kid come to life before our eyes and when you start to realize that his angle was essentially to tell the story of his real life coupled with the story of his rise to fame, you start to understand the difference between confidence and arrogance. One of the most appealing things about Drake as an artist is his sense of realism, and as human beings we are naturally attracted to positive, confident, and charismatic individuals. I think in a time when music is lacking realism the most people are drawn to him whether they even understand why or not. Listen, whoever you are, if you have a dream, you know, that something that pumps electric through your veins, key to it all is believing that you are IT, whether IT is reality yet or not. Say what you will but this guy’s a f*cking inspiration. He’s an incredible example of what this generation is capable of, and he is a marker of a new age in hip-hop and of popular music in general. Drake coming along when he did was an exciting thing because it showed the industry and the listening public that there is still room for people to shake things up and be the first at something, even in a world at the pinnacle of overexposure. What band’s and artists coming up right now need to realize is that long gone are the days when they could expect to be discovered by an A & R guy and swept up by a major label for a 7 album recording deal. That’s not the world we live in anymore. You’ve got to burn for it. These days, artists have to learn to become the CEO’s of their own fully functioning, self-sustaining businesses, if they have intentions of sticking around long enough to make a dent, let alone for life. Even if you don’t like his voice or you can’t get into him as a rapper or whatever your issue is, Drake was a serious game changer. As one of the first major musical success stories of this generation, not only has he already begun to shape the sound of hip-hop to come by recognizing the potential advantages of being a rapper who could also sing melodically, his approach is going to become an archetype of success for future others who are meant to move the cultural needle as he has. It’s taken us a long while to figure out how to re-approach music in a technological world, but after a whack load of auto-tune and some trial and error, someone like Drake makes you realize that nothing gets you as hard as REAL, raw, emotion. --- By: Juliette Jagger of www.rockrollandwrite.com
 By now there likely isn’t a person anywhere in the world that hasn’t heard of Burlington, Ontario band Walk Off The Earth and their cover of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know.” I first saw this video floating around Facebook two weeks back when it still had less than 1000’s Youtube views, but since being mentioned on Good Morning America and The Ellen Show amongst others, the latest news is that this band will likely be signing a major label contract. I say hey, good for them, they took a sort of unconventional approach, and did a really great job of covering an already good song. I’m more than happy to pay credit where credit is due, but the news definitely has some wondering why the sudden interest in signing a cover band? It’s great news for independent artists out there, encouraging at the very least. I mean this band managed to amass worldwide attention in an incredibly short amount of time, and now has major labels knocking down their doors, what indie band wouldn’t want that? But that being said, any idiot can see what the label’s real motives are. It’s pretty well know that anyone who reaches a million Youtube views is making a nice little pay check, and with this video having already exceeded 23 million, this is just a straight up cash grab; a true sign of the times and reflection of the state of the industry. I mean come on, what does a major label want with a cover band anyways? Don’t get me wrong, these guys are absolutely talented and they did a hell of good job with this song, but don’t tell me that the label wants them because they did such a good job that someone sitting up in an office somewhere saw the light through their 5 man 1 guitar stunt and feels compelled to actually shape their talents into something great. At this point it’s safe to assume that this band’s next video, regardless of what it is, will be an absolute shoe in and the label knows that. So, while people are still buzzing about this Gotye cover, all the interested parties throw their offers on the table in hopes that the band will bight so that they can jump on the hype that’s already been created, and in turn they can all finish riding out this wave “together.” Really makes you wonder who has a better handle of this thing right now, the indie band that’s successfully cracked the surface or the major label that sees a perfectly timed opportunity to make a very quick buck? One thing’s for sure; whatever happens next will be the deciding factor. This is actually a pretty important moment in blurring those relationship lines between indie artists of today and what’s left of the major labels. Either this band knew exactly what they wanted out of that video right from the get go, and this is just a domino in their larger plan – which is completely plausible, there are a lot of things that happen behind the scenes that keep even an indie band lookin’ “indie” – or this was a really happy accident, and this band will go on and sign with a label that’ll build them up for the next 6 months and then a year and half from now, rape them for what they’re worth and drop their asses back in Burlington. Either way, remember kiddies, good shit will always float, that’s physics, but when you start to eat shit to hold onto your 15 minutes of fame, well then you just work for a major label. --- By: Juliette Jagger of www.rockrollandwrite.com
Step one: Take one part Brazil, one part Newfoundland and one part Alberta. Step two: Place in decrepit bungalow, just a stone’s throw from the Red Mile and downtown Calgary. Step three: Stir well. I mean, really agitate these bastards. Throw a table at them. Call them irrelevant. Steal their equipment. Whatever. Your final result should be INNER CITY ELEGANCE. And it should be oozing with high-energy tunes, angular riffs, thick grooves and pop sensibility. Now based out of Toronto, ICE has spent the last year touring, writing & recording. 2011 saw Inner City Elegance head out on their second tour of the North West Territories to promote their self-recorded EP “NWT EP” which is now available on iTunes. July through October saw the band touring across Canada with the Mini Van, Mini Tour and the Mini Van, Big Tour. This brought ICE to all of Canada from Tofino, BC to St. John’s, NL. The end of all that touring was capped off by the release of Inner City Elegance’s newest music video for their track “Swearing Like A Sailor”. Inner City Elegance is now back in the studio writing and demoing new material getting prepared to kick 2012 straight in the face. You can also check Inner City Elegance out on itunes http://www.itunes.com/innercityelegance or at their Official website http://www.innercityelegance.com
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