Every Thursday night beginning at 9pm Matt Bryant from the band Headwater hosts an open Mic at Café Deux Soliels. I checked it out last week and it was packed. The caliber of talent ranged from novice to advanced, there were quite a few good musicians and some that were honing their skills. Props to those who get up there and give it their all, much respect to you!

Using the catharsis of song writing and performing as an exploration of his own feelings William Fitzsimmons has the ability to transcend pop music with its surface expression of physicality, instead he hits you in the heart and he breaks through to your emotions. He tends to write songs of a somber note and his fourth album Gold in the Shadow is no exception. When we chatted William told me the album is about balance, of what’s clear and what’s in shadow, of what’s dark and what’s light. Check out the audio interview for William’s own words and wisdom…

When Joe Purdy stepped onto the stage he let us into his world of folky bluegrass and he carried us along as if we were traveling the roads of Joe’s life ourselves . You can just sit in the darkness of the theater listening to Joe like you’re in the comfort of his own living room as he softens your heart with stories from his life.

Their radio friendly riffs, fast harmonies and quick melodies are sure to fill young iphones and ipods across the continent. Would I buy Impossible? Being that I’m in my thirties, it’s not quite my style. But if I was seventeen or I wanted to reminisce about being seventeen then I would probably buy it and dance in the living room at a friend’s house party with a girl I’m hoping to make out with and I would love every minute of it.

The first weekend of April in Vancouver plays host to the Canada International Film Festival. The 2011 festival saw hundreds of entries from thirty countries all over the world. The festival is proud to be dedicated to creating opportunities for independent filmmakers and aiding the artistic interaction of the film going community.

I recently saw a band from Ontario called The Mark Inside, they take their name from a William S Burroughs quote in Naked Lunch. “Hustlers of the world beware, there is one mark you cannot beat… The Mark Inside.”

Oswaldo Perez and Jason Pawlett ran into Nardwaur at The Biltmore at The Mint Records Christmas party 2009. After a few great bands and a few good drinks the boys huddled around in the cold to chat. Nardwaur was kind enough to share some of his experiences with CiTR 101.9 FM, Snoop Doggy Dog, Courtney Love and Nirvana.

The driving force behind Music Psychos is woman named Kanae. Anyone who has a blog understands how hard it can be to run, its a lot of hard work. VanMusic is a team of five and we are also very fortunate to have so much support from all our friends and the many musicians in Vancouver and we’re forever grateful for that. So we want to show our respect to hard working music reporters out there and Kanae is definitely falls into this class. Here’s a little about Kanae and her site.

I recently saw three bands in the ‘Shwa. That’s right Oshawa Ontario at a bar called Park Place, which was basically built for the guys at the GM Plant across the street. Hey, everybody needs a pint or two after a long day working for the industrial machine that keeps western society moving. Add a few bands into the mix for some great tunes, toss in the Canadian Tire “Kick Start” charity program for kids who can’t afford to play hockey and you’ve got yourself a Friday night in the ‘Shwa!

Hey Toronto Musicians Be Seen And Heard In Vancouver! I’m in Ontario on the outskirts of Toronto at the moment and I’m looking for music. VanMusic is a Vancouver based music website I’m on a mission to get Vancouver musicians seen and heard in Toronto and Toronto musicians seen and heard in Vancouver. Canada overflows with talent and our music scene needs to be spread around, so here’s the plan…

Its Gotta Be Commercial Drive, If You Wanna Drive With Me…

On May 15th VanMusic held its first metal show with Fuse Breaker, Magnus Rising and Sinister Black at Pat’s Pub.

Holy Metal!  What a show.  Fuse Breaker is a new band for guitar guru Chris Thomas, while this was Fuse Breaker’s second show it was Chris’ 179th.  Chris Thomas has got to be one of the premiere guitar players in the city, if you haven’t seen him live you should.  He puts every ounce of sweat into his guitar and releases intense crisp melodies as smoke rings rise  from his fingers.  …

With a full band and a sound that defines where the band is at the moment, Joey’s new album is more about life then the political tones of his previous releases.

Joey Only is a consummate performer he pokes fun at the crowd and at Vancouver in general and with songs like Honkey Tonk Hockey and The Ghetto Birdz his prolific slant on Canadiana is heart inspiring.

On Wednesday April 7th VanMusic put on a show at The Railway Club here in Vancouver.
It was just over a year ago that we launched VanMusic and almost one year to the day when we threw our first event. Coincidentally when we arrived at The Railway there was a birthday in progress and we even arrived to cake. Sometimes the universe speaks in strange ways…
The Railway is a great venue, there’s something about seeing that train near the ceiling as it travels along the track. …

The Vancouver 2010 Olympics Have Come And Gone And The City Begins To Return To Normal. After seventeen days of events, competition and celebration Canada has come out on top with an Olympic record. Fourteen gold medals, more gold than any other country in the history of the Olympics, (so far) and we did it on home soil. Way to go Canada!