STREET HOCKEY MANIA!!!

Wow. I have to say that this last week was pretty crazy for me, as the days counted down towards the Battle of the Bands Street Hockey Tournament...aka the King Can Cup.

Getting things together at the last minute, trying to get people to lend a hand, and just hoping that the thing goes over well enough that I could still go out in public!

Aside for a few minor rough edges that need to be ironed out, I'm really happy to say that it was a success! So much so, that we are going to do it again, and it's going to be MUCH bigger than this last one.

It was a little upsetting that some bands didn't show up, and most of those that told me they were going to help out, were absolute 'no-shows'....their loss.

From the response I'm getting, everyone that came had a good time. The point of the whole thing, was to put a face to the names...to bring the bands together and have a good time, and at the same time, raise some money for charity.

Well, I'm ecstatic to say that we did exactly that!

There were so many musicians there that had never heard or met a particular band, and this gave the opportunity to actually sit down, have a beer, and talk music...or just play hockey. It was really cool to see that going on. And next time will be even better!!!

Now about the games.

Wow...every game was fast and feirce, and I think it's safe to say that everyone that played - played HARD!!

In the end, it came down to Dreadnaut and The Ripperz for the final game. After a crazy and hardcore battle for the title, The Ripperz came out as the winners of the tourney, and took away the title of Best Street Hockey Band and recieved the King Can Cup!!! Congrats to both teams for playing that hard!!

Now to give credit where credit is due:

I want to thank Clint Chaboyer from the band Tinnitus who helped me organize this whole thing - dude, you really saved my ass on a few things like setting up the tourney pools, and getting the nets and some prizes, and getting the rest of your awesome band to help set up early in the day when we were all pretty hung over!! haha;

Thanx going out to Chuck and Dave and the rest of their crew at the Osborne Village Inn for letting me put this event on at their hotel and helping with the tear down;

Thanx to Jason at Studio 11 for the prize donation;

Thanx to my bud Duncan at Freq 107 for broacasting live spots and whoring out the radio ads for the event - you ROCK ;

Thanx to Peter Woods over at Hockey Manitoba for your donations;

Thanx to Scott at the Winnipeg Alternative Hockey Association for your donations;

and lastly, all those that came out to support the cause, and just have a great time - Cheers to ya all!! You LITERALLY made this event happen, and for that...

YOU ROCK!!!

We are definitely going to be doing this again and if you missed out on this last one, you better not miss the next one!!!

And now....to all the bands that showed up & played their asses off: (in no particular order)

The Ripperz, Aerocar Model Four, Dreadnaut, 5ooPoundFurnace,

Tinnitus, The Braggarts, The Mouthboat, Melophobia, HotLiveGuys,

Dream Quest, and Catfish Jones.

You all came out, played hard, and proved to everyone that you had a good time. And that's what it was all about.

I can't thank you enough.

Cheers and cudos all around!!

Ah...spring is here, and the forecast calls for scattered Funk and thunderous Rock N Roll, mixed with some scorching hot days of Hardcore Metal, and a guaranteed 100% chance of some incredible music and good times!!! Hey all!! It's been a bit since I've written here, and there is a lot to talk about. In the last couple of weeks, I have been compiling performances and interviews, building my site, and putting this incredible charity event on for the Children's Hospital - The Battle of the Bands Street Hockey Tournament...24 of some of Winnipeg's most talented bands competing for some fun and cool prizes!!....so I'm busier than busy! For the good I must say as well!! But I want to talk about something I saw recently.

This past weekend, I attended a Battle of The Bands where I was supporting a band I’ll soon be featuring. Now, in this particular battle, the bands were into the Semi-Final Round, and were allowed to play 45 minute sets!! And they were allowed to play covers too! Crazy! Now, if you're not familiar with what a Battle of the Bands is, here is a short summary - Bands compete against each other by playing live to a crowd, for a title and other prizes such as recording time, gift certs., and gigs. There is usually a panel of judges from various musical resources like studios, and music stores, and bands are usually judged on talent, showmanship, originality, etc.... Now, this was a pretty relaxed battle, in that everyone was out to have a good time, and even the guy putting it on was not afraid to tap my glass in cheers a few times! He even gave me his card...twice! lol Now back in the day, I had the pleasure of competing in a few of the local the ritualistic music battles myself, but we only got to play 3 tunes, and they had better be friggin’ good or you’d be sure to have the opportunity to walk with your head down low for looking so bad...I mean, that's what rehearsals are for, right? You know... getting your s**t together so to speak? But if you have the nuts to say that your band is better than someone else’s, AND get 45 minutes to try and prove it, you better not ‘choke’ when you’re up there! Now there was a band that played that night, I will mention no names, and during the end of the 2nd last tune, the singer broke a string. No big deal, right? Well he spent an agonizing 10 minutes trying helplessly to find a string in front of a packed crowd, while the rest of the band played an improvised blues jam till he found a string, did the necessary change and re-tuning - all so we could hear the final song which was a CCR cover! I mean, 10 minutes? Come on! They could’ve stopped playing, helped the poor guy find a string, and redeem themselves with 3 last songs, but, no, they instead opted to play the old ‘please stand by” blues thing. Now, yes, of course they should have a chance to play another song, but a cover tune should not have been it. Shit happens...I’ve been there... strings break, drumsticks break, cables go ‘haywire’, mics go down - but you got to be prepared for it...and if there’s a chance to redeem yourself in any way, it should be done with something of your own...not someone else’s. Even if you have to play an original over again. It’s a contest, not a jam, and you have to promote YOUR music as much as possible. Isn't that the idea? Live and learn, and suck it up. We all have.

Now the band I went to support, TINNITUS, definitely showed up to compete! They came with their game face on, and proved to the crowd that they were serious about winning. Heavy at times, melodic and rythmic in others, Tinnitus was not afraid to come out full force and drive the crowd into a frenzy! They blew the lid off the place and showed the other bands what metal is all about. They're a good bunch of guys too!

Oh, yeah...and they won. Congrat's boys!!

Be sure to check 'em out when I feature them later this week!

Now, if you want to sign your band up for the Street Hockey Tourney, or have you or your band featured on my site, or to just say hello...you can send me an email here...or check out my Myspace page here.....

More news to come soon!!!

Cheers!! Vince

IT'S ON!!!

Ok....for those of you that read the drivell that post here weekly, you have a pretty clear picture of what it is that I'm trying to do with this site. For those of you that don't, or just don't care, the purpose here is to promote Winnipeg's Music Scene, and everything that goes along with it. The people, the music, and the good times. I have a deep respect for bands and solo artists that work their tails off to get their music out there, and so I try to get that message out there.

Now , my latest news for April..

Over the years, I've seen many a Battle of the Bands, even performed in one, (years back!) and found it fascinating how the bands could compete for a title of Best Band Ever or Super Band, or whatever the winning band got to call themselves after that particular competition. I could never really figure out how they were judged, and what the criteria was that made one band better than the other. If you got the jewels to pit yourself up against a bunch of bands...well...respect...but losing sucks! Now...I've wanted to put on a Battle of the Bands of my very own, but in a way that wouldn't pit" band against band" for talent....but bring the bands together and raise some money for a worthwhile cause...The Winnipeg Children's Hospital. Presenting the 1st Annual Winnipeg Battle of the Bands: Street Hockey Tourney!! Bands will battle it out in a game of street hockey instead of a stage, and compete for the title of Best Street Hockey Band EVER!!!! haha

The winning band will also recieve the coveted trophy ( yet to be named for the winning band), and other prizes from some very kind sponsors such as Freq 107 and others. The tentative date will be Sunday June 3rd, and any Winnipeg band can enter.

The response has been absolutely insane, and bands are signing up like crazy, so I'm hoping that we'll be able to raise some money for charity from beer and ticket sales.

Anyway, if you play in a band and haven't yet signed up, just email me at : digtaliris@mts.net , or Myspace here...

I'd also like to welcome HOT LIVE GUYS to my site, and you can find them in the RockNRoll section of my favorites...check 'em out! These guy are something to look out for for sure! Some upcoming shows this April:

April 12th - 14th - Grind Fest @ The Zoo -Infractions last show on the 14th!!!!

Friday April 13th-Ellice Theater - HCE, Hands of Osiris, From the Moon, Illusive Mind- $5

-West End Cultural Center - Moments of Silence, Brillience, SOS, Black Rose For Broken Hearts, and Losing Focus

-The Collective - The Mouth Boat, Digitall, Tigerrr, and DaDaDaDa:Lasers

Saturday April 14th - Rockwood Hall(341 Wilton) - AMF Social ($10)

Tuesday April 17th - The Pyramid - The Nods , Racecar, American Flamewhip

Thursday April 19th - The Zoo - Dia Dolor, Losing Focus, Floor 13

Friday April 20th - The Royal Albert - Hot Live Guys

Friday April 27th - The Zoo - Dreadnaut , Xplicit

That's it so far...Ill be posting more as I get 'em...

Vince

This social's going to rock!!

Great guys, Awesome music!

Help support your local Independent Music Scene!!

To contact the band and get tickets...click here

...and they'll even deliver them to you!! Sweeeeet!

Winnipeg: The Music Machine

why Since the start of this blog, the idea was to promote Winnipeg's music scene.Time and time again, I'm reminded of the talent that exists here in the city. Since I put my plan into action...so far so good...but in the last few weeks, it has grown to become something much more than what I had originally planned, and it's all for the better. Running along a platform similar to the e-zines of the world, Indie-Interactive is going to become Winnipeg's ONLY online magazine for the independent music scene. Indie-Interactive is here, and is only going to get bigger. In the next 2 weeks, I will be adding nearly 30 performance videos of the various bands that I've met, and will also include video interviews, more featured bios, and resources for the independent musician. I can't begin to thank everyone out there who is supporting me doing this. What I can say, is that I'm lucky to have met, and work with these serious artists, who, by the way, are everyday people like you and me - except for one difference - they choose to use music they create as their platform for what it is that they want to say. And they deserve our respect. And they got mine!! On that note, I'm in the works of planning what I'm going to call Vinnie-Fest. It's a 3 day event featuring MY favorite bands that come out of Winnipeg. Greedy as it may seem, I've found that the bands that I'm going to have perform, are all considered to be some of Winnipeg's finest as it is, but they are also good people who have done nothing but support what I'm doing, and return, I would like to return the favour. From Folk to Punk, Vinnie-Fest will host more than 30 bands and solo artists, and aside from production costs, every penny will go to a charity of my choosing. It will also be on DVD as well, so maybe Ill pick a couple of charities. ....and maybe a case of Standard for my hard work. haha Now...let's get back to what this site really stands for.... This weekend I got my ass kicked by a bunch of great bands, but I have to say that Saturday was a real treat! Metal Wenches at The Zoo...and they kicked some serious ass!!! I showed up late, so unfortunately I missed Bump, who I heard started the evening with a serious punch to the gut, and it didn't stop there. Domenica, Mad Young Darlings, and Dia Dolor were absolutley fantastic, and I hope I get the chance to see them all again soon. But since I missed Bump, and from what I heard of them, they are a top priority on my list of 'Must Sees'. I had a great night, and from the massive crowd that turned out, everyone else did as well. Great night for all!! I would also like to welcome THE STREETS OF RAGE, INWOLVEN and IGOR AND THE SKINDIGGERS to the IndieInteractive family. You can find them in the Hardcore, Heavy Metal and Punk sections of my featured bands. They're all no doubt going to be blowing your mind in the coming months. I also started up a HIP HOP/RAP catagory, and would like to welcome GRUBBS, who has started that catagory off, and I'm sure we'll be hearing more of him as well! It was quite an eventful week, and I made alot of new friends, and that's just the way I like it. I got so much work ahead of me, and I'm looking forward to every second of it. For those who would like to lend a helping hand, you can email me at digitaliris@mts.net, or you can message me here.... Till then folks... Cheers! And keep The Music Flowin'!!! Vince

Winter Blues? This News is Red Hot!!!!

Well, it's been another week or so of madness! In the last 10 days, I have seen so many bands at so many different venues, my ears are still ringin'!! And that's a good thing!! I had said in my last posting that I was going to be adding more bands, and some videos of some live performances from a few of the different venues around the city. Well, I've shot the vids, (there's 9 bands in total so far) and am spending the next week editing the shows down to individual songs for the bands as I had promised them. But first, I'd like to take the time to welcome Coda, Dia Dolor , The Nods, 500 Hundred Pound Furnace, and The Mouth-Boat to my site. I've posted a tune from Coda and 500Pound Furnace, but Dia and The Mouth Boat are currently recording and will have something fresh for you to hear very soon!! Don't you just love the creative process?!!! If you want to check out the tunes they do have, you can link to their prospective Myspace's from their feature pages. I've also added what I'm calling Rock N Roll Polls to my site. They will change each week, and I'm totally open to suggestions for other polls. Let me know what you want to hear about, and I'll put it up lickety-split!! Anyway, I've got to get these vids edited, but stay tuned for more bands, more tunes, and some upcoming gig vids of what I'll just simply refer to as 'wickedly awesome talent'!! If you haven't already, take a look around, and check out the bands there on the right and see just what it is that I'm talkin about!! If anyone would like to help out, or write an article, throw a suggestion or two, or just want to say hi, you can reach me here..... Later folks, and keep the music flowin'!!

New Bands & Updates!!

Well another week has passed, and Indie-Interactive is still growing day by day! I just surpassed the 7000 visitor mark, in 2 weeks for the blog alone, and it's all thanx to all those who have been getting involved. Thank you to you all. Also, I will be including some video interviews shortly, and have got my helpers out there working on some upcoming stories around the scene. I spent most of this week working on the website, and not much at the "warehouse set". I really wanted to get some work done there, but it was a really busy week with the HDV CAM. I shot some stuff for a buddy's band, worked on my claymation video, I was able to shoot another day for the Devoid video, and will hopefully be able to finish that soon!!

But.....I was able to post some tunes up for Trophy Wife, Serena Postel, Aerocar Model Four, Devoid, HCE, and South Thunderbird, and there will be much more to come in the following days.

I would also like to welcome Xplicit into the pack, and have added them to my Metal Hotlist, and you can link to their Myspace page from there as well.

Their show on Friday at the Collective was absolutely rockin', the place was jam packed, and the after party they threw was just as killer!! Thanx alot guys!!

I've also updated the picture down below of the cover page for the site. If you click it, you'll be able to see what the actual site will look like. And don't forget to check out some of the newer bands that went up this week....Lucid, HCE, and Pretty Train Crash....etc...

And of course, more to come....

Till then ......anyone can get a hold of me here.

Support Independant Music!!!!

Wow! What a week!

I gotta say that this is gettin' to be more work than planned haha...well, actually, it's more like I didn't think I'd get it this far, this fast! So this is a really good thing!

Anyway, as promised, some pictures of the space that will eventually become the set for "Live at the Warehouse." These are post clean up pics. It took a full week to empty!!

My camera phone doesn't really do it justice, but the ceilings are 14 ft high. The space is rather large...about 3000 sqft...plenty of room for any size of band, and some sectionals ....and theres some reeeeallly big windows overlooking a part of downtown from 5 floors up. Those windows are 4x8 too!! My first concern is getting more seats for the 15 or 20 in the audience, and a 16 chnl sound board. The one that was promised fell through, so that's an item at top of my list for sure. By the time it's all done...think the look of 'Unplugged' but my version is fully wired up!! Anyway, I gotta get back to some other stuff. There's the pics of the space and there's more to come by mid week, and I'll be posting some tunes pretty soon on the artist pages along with some video interviews with some bands...might as well get the ball rolling. Also, check out the pic of the website down below, and click it to see it "web size"....T-41 days and counting!!!!

If anyone needs to get a hold of me......

New Updates!!!

Wow! Great News!! The set is starting to take form, and the countdown is on!!! A friend I work with in film came in to help with the lighting scheme, and while he's doing that, I'm doing everything else. It's going to be a little more work than I had planned, but you can't expect things to go perfectly all the time. "Who gives a crap! "I say ...it's T-49 days and countin'!! Now...Ill be posting more bands on here this weekend, but Im still working on the profiles for the real site. Once I'm finished that, I'll put them here. I'll post some pics of the set as well...but when I'm closer...don't wanna give away too much! This is only the blog, you know! By the way, if you want your band on the real site, just get a hold of me. Freeeee!! I'll be working on the set and the site all weekend, trying to get it ready so we can start to dress it up. Can't wait for that! It's gonna look really cool. A buddy I work with in film is doing the lighting, and he's a pro at blending colored light for the camera!! Anyway....for those of you who are still interested in helping out, just get a hold of me. And and don't forget to look at some bands on the right side there, and to click the "tentative" pic below to get an idea of what the site looks like.............T-49 days and countin'.... later .. Vince

The Tentative First Page...

This is basically what the layout of the first page will look like. I'm doing it all myself, and I think I like this one the best, and it's the one I'm probably going with. I wanted to give the intimate lounge feel, as my site is a performance venue as well.

I also like this layout, because it explains what the site is about, and can navigate to anyplace on the site from here.

Any comments? Click on it and see it webpage size.