3am Mixtapes: Episode Seventy Three: Searchlight (with Chersea)

Each week on the 3am Mixtapes podcast, I will share with you the Top Six Songs of a certain subject. The topics can be as general as best Australian bands. Some might be a little more... specific. Top Six Bands with a Fiddle. 

This week I have a special guest cohost, Chersea, who is a part of this year's CBC Searchlight competition, and so we chatted about our Top Six CBC Searchlight Songs!

***Even thought Chersea is in Searchlight, and I & this blog have a history with CBC & Searchlight, this particular podcast is not affiliated with the CBC in any way and the opinions expressed therein are solely the property of 3am Revelations Inc. (unless you want them to, CBC, then call me)***

Shine the spotlight on:

Never Wanna Go Back by The Weakness (vote for them here)
Lose Control by Catlow (vote for them here)
It Goes Around (Psilocybin) by Conroy Ross (vote for him here)
Salty Dog by The Vaudevillian (vote for them here)
Slow Virgil by Hash Jesus (vote for them here)
The Wolf by Chersea (vote for her here)

Any questions or comments or waffles or criticisms or suggestions for future themes are welcome!

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Bear Mountain @ Celebrities -- 04/04/15

I am going to be honest here: I am not an electronic music guy. Of course, there are a few bands in the genre I like, but overall? Not really my thing. So I never thought I would be partaking in the 2015 Seasons Festival, an electronic music fest with headliners like Diplo and Eric Prydz.
But then I spotted a Bear Mountain show as part of the fest, and with their blend of electro, pop, and indie, they would definitely get me to Celebrities (perhaps the only venue in Vancouver I still had yet to see a show at).


Another plus was the opening act, Chersea. She explored a bit more of the "electronic" side of her electro-alt-pop sound for the festival. She still had the same bubbly energy and soaring vocals, they were just a little more 'robotic' than usual, with synthesizers and drum beats and at least one bass drop in the set.
Most of the set was newer songs, as she looped a myriad of instruments from keys to drum pad to synth and even a trumpet, and even the one familiar tune, "Requiem" off her Grey Matter EP, was punched up for the growing crowd to dance.
She ended her short opening set with another new song and a bit of participation, getting the audience in on the looping action, holding the microphone out to the growing crowd to record and loop their clapping along, which was pretty cool.


Next up was Sabota, featuring one half of Humans Robbie Slade and Max Ulis. The duo's set was a lot more what you would expect from an electronic festival, with both guys standing behind a table of equipment and Robbie providing live vocals. It was definitely more of a house music sound, and thus not really my speed... but they had a full dance floor moving for the set, so even though it was not to my tastes, they were clearly doing a good job.

And not long after -- the show was tightly scheduled so Celebrities could kick everyone out at 11 -- Bear Mountain took the stage. One of the thing that always impresses me of their shows is the visuals, as Kenji Rodriguez does these live on stage (as well as playing the keytar). So you get a really cool and dynamic show, different every time. Images projected on large triangles behind them, with a giant LED 'BMTN' looming over the stage, and even the house lights part of the show. At one point the stage went dark for sparse white lights to twinkle overhead, giving it a stellar feel.

They kicked off the set with the familiar "Congo" getting the sold out club jumping, and bursts of confetti came early and often, as lead singer Ian Bevis frequently asked if the crowd was ready right before songs burst forth into giant hooks. The first half of the set mostly featured older songs, like the ridiculously and insanely catchy "Faded" before they teased some new material. Bevis announced their new album was finally, after two years, done. Mastered and everything. The new songs sounded even more punchy and dancey, so I'm looking forward to it.

And I'm not sure if it was by design, to mimic the feel of a DJ for the electronic festival, but there were hardly any breaks between the songs; they transitioned from one to the next flawlessly. After nearly an hour, the band brought the main set to an end with an explosive song (I think it was "Swim") before coming back out for one more, "Two Step", a the bouncy and uplifting genre-bending song to cap off the night.


Since seeing them for the first time a few years ago, rocketing along Canada on a train as part of Tracks on Tracks, Bear Mountain has continually impressed me with their live shows. This night was no different, and I can't wait to hear the new album.

3am Mixtapes: Episode Sixty One: Twenty-Fourteen

Each week on the 3am Mixtapes podcast, I will share with you the Top Six Songs of a certain subject. The topics can be as general as best karaoke songs, but some might be a little more... specific. Top Six Songs with the Number Six in the Title. 

I'm back! After a break for the Decembertime holidays, I have returned with the Top Six Albums of 2014! Or at the very least, six really cool ones you should hear.

With songs from:

"Weird For You" by Sidney York (from the album <3s)
"Want to Believe" by Rich Aucoin (from the album Ephemeral)
"Minimum Effort" by Mounties (from the album Thrash Rock Legacy)
"Candle" by Lydia Ainsworth (from the album Right from Real)
"I Could Lose It All" by Chersea (from the EP Grey Matter)
"11:11" by Arkells (from the album High Noon)

Any questions or comments or waffles or criticisms or suggestions for future themes are welcome!

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Then & Now @ Wise Hall -- 10/10/14

Now in its third year, Then and Now is a simple concept; take a handful of local artists, and get them to play a brand new song & an old song -- their newest, shiniest song, and one of their first songs -- and tell stories about both. Put on by Altered By Mom's Devon Lougheed, and Leigh Eldridge, the night was also a fundraiser for Megaphone Magazine, a local publication that is sold by the homeless or low income people, who get to keep the profits of their sales.


Even though Devon was absent from the event, the night was hosted by Caitlin Howden (The Sunday Service) and Stu Popp (SADCAST, Fat Kids On Basketball), who kept things rolling along and even started an impromptu auction of things they took out of the musicians pockets. Such wondrous items included a guitar pick, an unused bus pass, an american $10 bill, and a partially used Earl's gift card, all of which helped earn over $40 more for Megaphone.

Each of the eight acts was slotted two songs, so even with a little bit of setup in-between a few of them, the night never seemed to drag on.


The night started with the husband & wife duo The Wild Romantics and the first song they sang together, a cover of "Valley of Decision" by The Horse Thieves. Their 'now' was a new one called "Memphis, TN", fitting of the duo's alt-country twang, as they ended the song forehead-to-forehead, sharing the microphone, their voices blending together beautifully.

Badgerchild made some of the crowd feel old as she told the story about her then-song, the first song she put up on YouTube as a teenager, Vince Vaccaro's "Costa Rica" after being inspired to pick up the guitar after a breakup. She followed that up with breathy vocals on a new song called "Out of my Head".

Next was CityReal, supported by Tonye Aganaba on guitar, for some acoustic hip hop. He said it was the first time he had ever performed his songs acoustically, as he played on a djembe with Tonye's voice mixing quite well with his rapping.

The first half of the night wrapped up with Hot Panda. Lead singer Chris Connely came out alone on guitar, singing a cover of the first song he ever performed live, "Steak For Chicken" by The Moldy Peaches. Their 'now' turned into a hilarious performance art piece, after Chris claimed guitars were done, and technology was the future. First he pulled out his phone to get Siri to play the sick beat they made, then once that failed, he went to the tablet... which was out of power. And finally just went to the laptop for some (acceptable) backing tracks and brought out the other two band members in their DJ personas, on "synth" and "instagram video". No text description can live up to the performance, but the song itself was ridiculously catchy.


After the intermission, the second half began with CAST, a really interesting and unique performance by the jazzy drum & vocal duo, with Ben Brown on drums, who were accompanied by a tap dancer.

Tonye Aganaba returned to the stage next, taking the concept to heart with her first song being how she felt about love then -- raw and unbridled emotions -- and her now being how she more currently felt, her amazingly impressive voice silencing the hall.

Going to the very extremes of "then and now" Wide Mouth Mason singer Shaun Verreault -- like a few others during the night -- played the very first song he ever performed in front of people, Black Crowes' "She Talks to Angels" while his 'now' was the most 'now' he could have gotten, a brand new song which he had just finished writing while at the show itself, as he silenced the hall with his effortless and amazing guitar playing.

And finally, after one more short break to set up her gear, the night came to a close with Chersea. The singer/songwriter/looper went back to the very first song she wrote on a loop station, a gorgeous a capella song called "Classy" that showed off her own incredible voice, and her new was also the newest song she had in her arsenal, an upbeat and high energy dancy song.


Like the first two iterations, the night was fun and eclectic, zipping through genres with stories about why each performer chose the songs they did. It's always interesting hearing the change in artists over time, or seeing some of the influences of their work, and I hop it'll be back again for a fourth year.

Rich Aucoin @ Fortune -- 09/16/14

Regular readers of the blog (all twenty six of you) will know how much I rave about Rich Aucoin, especially his live shows experiences, and that one of my favourite new discoveries of the year has been Chersea. So when I found out that they would be doing a show together, you could say I was pretty excited. And with the addition of Lowell -- who is, much like Hansel, so hot right now -- that seemed like a pretty damn strong lineup.


Starting things off was Chersea, normally a solo looper, this time she was out with a gentleman friend, drummer Drew McKay. It was the first time I had seen Chersea without Chelsea Laing on (literally) every instrument, and while a couple brief times it felt like McKay was just playing alongside her instead of with her, for the most part he provided a good backbone to the songs without being overpowering; a nice supplement, since the focus was (and should be) on Chersea's loops and powerful voice.
Armed with a mountain of keys and synth, a drum pad, and even a trumpet, her songs ranged from the dark synth of "Grey Matter" to the more upbeat and catchy, danceable "I Could Lost It All". It's always amazing watching someone working loops, building layer upon layer, and "Mind Porn" as it grew to an explosive ending.

Oh, and the two of them were also joined by a third person on stage, but not playing any instruments: a girl with a light-up LED hula-hoop dancing just off to the side the entire set.


After draping the stage with white fabric, Lowell was out behind the keys, backed by guy on guitar and a laptop, celebrating her new album, We Loved Her Dearly, out on the same day.
Early technical problems slowed things down right after the first song, but "Cloud 69"got the crowd right back into it, as Lowell came out from behind the keys, dancing at the front of the stage in her very mesh shirt, name emblazoned across the front Wonder Woman-style, very strategically placed.
She's a very strong songwriter with ridiculously catchy alt-pop songs, the anthemic "I Love You Money", and "LGBT" -- the chorus proclaiming "don't hate our love" -- but her live show didn't quite live up to the songs I had heard off the album. I'm not sure if her voice wasn't quite as good, or if it would be better with a bigger backing band, but her live set just fell a little short.


And finally, one day removed from his birthday, Rich Aucoin came out to introduce his usual show opening. He orchestrated a sing along to the 20th Century Fox fanfare before a recorded monologue which can be summed up with "we're all so lucky to be alive" and "Be Awesome", then the usual "opening credits", picking out people Rich knew was going to be at the show and giving them amusing and heroic attributes.

As the intro came to a climax, they burst into "Meaning of Life", the first song off the new album Ephemeral, right away uniting everyone in yelling along. Over the next hour Rich controlled the show from his pedal board and sampler, hardly standing still for a single moment, with his partner in crime Tony Dallas crashing on the drums. Aucoin was all about the stage, in and out of the crowd, getting everyone to form a giant circle before rushing into the middle to dance, blasting confetti cannons, and of course, bringing out the famed giant rainbow parachute (like from gym class) which everyone danced under to "Are You Experiencing?", a physical and emotional manifestation of the lyrics "When you give it all up, you get it back".

His shows are always set to visuals as well, many times movie clips or internet videos to go along with the songs, like introducing "I Am Sorry" with a montage of famous movie apologies, and "Want To Believe" having the appropriate X-Files accompaniment.

It seemed far too short when he brought the set to an end with "It", making everyone vow not to "leave it all in our heads", before gathering everyone in the venue at the stage for a giant group picture. He also, as usual, left his name and phone number on the big screen, promising that if you text him, he'll send you some music.

I always say, it's nearly impossible to simply describe the full scope of a Rich Aucoin show, or even show someone in photos. It's something you have to experience. Every single person in the room is on the same page, and looking around the venue you see nothing but giant smiles. Rich Aucoin can bring everyone together like no one I have ever seen.

setlist
Meaning of Life, Undead, Four More Years, Yelling In Sleep, They Say Obey, I Am Sorry, Let It Go, Want To Believe, Are You Experiencing?, It.

The Ruffled Feathers EP Release Show @ Red Room -- 06/28/14

It's been a while since I saw Vancouver's Ruffled Feathers live; so long, in fact, that they've undergone a bit of a lineup change. But they hit the Red Room to celebrate the release of their new EP, Bottom of the Blue, the last album recorded with the previous lineup.

Leading off the night was Chersea, who regular readers (all 24 of you) will remember as one of my favourite new discoveries of the year so far. On stage alone behind a fortress of instruments, Chersea builds her songs by looping keys, synth, drum pad, guitar, trumpet, even a metal water bottle for percussion. Songs ranged from electro-pop of "I Could Lose It All" to the darker and sexier "Grey Matter" to even a little tropical flavour for "Mind Porn", and while the half-hour set had a few technical glitches, they didn't detract from the overall enjoyment.

Next up was Rebel on a Mountain, a pretty basic folk-rock band. They had a trumpet in lieu of the requisite banjo, and maybe a little bit of a 90s-alt rock influence mixed in, as well as a good enthusiasm on stage -- one member telling corny jokes between songs -- but in the end were just not interesting enough to stand apart from the rest.

And finally, it was The Ruffled Feathers time to shine. Their set also had a few small technical problems, buzzing & popping cords, as well as a faint hum on and off through the set, and a couple times Gina Loes' lovely voice seemed a little too low in the mix. But again, it wasn't enough to hurt the set as they starting off with the lush "It Doesn't Last", the lead sing from the new EP.
The entire band was bubbling over with energy, and their chamber-pop sound was bolstered by their unique instrumentation. The interplay between Andrew Lee's trumpet and Molly MacKinnon's violin was interesting -- the unusual combination complimenting each other quite well -- and Andrew's backing vocals contrasted with Gina's nicely.
The hour-long set spanned their three albums, and even hinted some new stuff with a song that was either named "Boned" or "Beaune". Other highlights included "Tough Love", with Gina on the ukulele and swelled to a grand ending, as well as the jubilant "Home" and the final song of the main set "Kiss Me In The Moonlight", Andrew aptly introducing it as "one of the cutest songs you will hear all day".
But of course, they were back for the obligatory encore and wrapped up for real with the gigantic "Blueprints For Our Failed Revolution" ending the set with a bang.

The Ruffled Feathers have always been really fun live band, and I'm glad the new lineup reflected that.

setlist
It Doesn't Last, All My Cities, Home, Tough Love, New Song [Boned or Beaune], Buffalo, Siberian Springtime, Caravan, Little Sister, Kiss Me In The Moonlight.
(encore) Your Embrace, Blueprints For Our Failed Revolution.

Jordan Klassen w/ Chersea @ Biltmore -- 05/31/14

Wrapping up a month-long Canadian tour, Jordan Klassen returned home for a show at the Biltmore. Which was especially enticing, as it also included one of my favourite new discoveries of this year.

Behind a mountain of equipment, Chersea took the stage starting off with a dark and moody song, which she dedicated to a friend who recently passed away. From there the set was decidedly more upbeat as she single-handedly looped combinations of keys, synth, drum machine, trumpet, and even harmonized with herself. The only song of the set she didn't loop was a brand new, never-before-played song that she was debuting.
Other highlights from the all-too-short half-hour set included "Mr. Cullum" a jazzy tune both named after and inspired by British jazz-pop legend Jamie Cullum, and the ridiculously catchy "I Could Lose It All" off her recently released EP Grey Matter.

Thanks to the curfew, it wasn't long before Jordan Klassen and friends took the stage. Often the last show of a tour can be hit-or-miss; either the fatigue of the tour weighs on the band, or they are more in sync than ever. This was definitely the latter, as the four members of the band were firing on all cylinders. Kicking the set off with "The Scribe of Doorposts", all four members of the band had a great energy, especially Klassen who can barely stand still on stage. One song near the end of the set, he and Jocelyn Price even jumped off the stage and into the crowd as Jordan tore at his acoustic guitar.
Working around a few patch-cord related technical issues, the set was full of songs that built to grand endings from his Repentance album, but they also covered "Falling", the only Haim song I know (I think), and sprinkled a few new songs throughout. One called "Miles" especially caught my ear.
After about an hour, they ended off with a bit of a crowd singalong to "Balcony" before quickly coming back for the encore, one last song before curfew, an explosive "Call and Answer".

I've seen Jordan Klassen a few times over the years, and this was was probably the best show I've seen yet from him. The intensity seemed like it was ratcheted up a notch, and whatever people mean when they talk about a band hitting "the next level", I think Jordan has done.

3am Mixtapes: Episode Thirty Four: Loopers

Each week on the 3am Mixtapes podcast, I will share with you the Top Six Songs of a certain subject. The topics can be as general like top six Australian bands. Some might be a little more... specific. Top Six Bands that have "Young" in their name.

This week it's all about those musicians who single-handedly build up layer upon layers to make a song, the Top Six Loopers!

Getting loopy this week is:

"Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" by KT Tunstall
"The Riverbed" by Owen Pallett
"Shadowless" by Hannah Epperson
"I Just Want To" by Reggie Watts
"Jane" by Whitehorse
"Chemical Polarity" by Chersea

Any questions or comments or waffles or criticisms or suggestions for future themes are welcome!

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Chersea EP release @ Fortune -- 04/19/14

When I saw Chersea for the first time earlier this year, I noted that she might just be someone to watch out for this year. Well, at least a few other people seem to agree with me, because since then she has made it all the way to the regional finals in the CBC Music Searchlight competition, being one of the top ten artists in the Vancouver region of voting (you can vote here, until Monday at noon PST, if you are so inclined). And that was even before the release of her debut EP, Grey Matter, which she celebrated with a release show at Fortune Sound Club this weekend.

Opening the night was Coquitlam band Community Trees, a four-piece with an alt-folk sound and coed vocals. The mix sounded a bit muddy and off for the first couple songs, but they soon settled into it. They had some interesting and catchy songs, but maybe a little scattered, like they just need to tighten things up a little bit. That aside, they were a fine band to open the night.

After a quick turnaround, Chersea hit the stage behind a complex setup of instruments. Looping everything from keyboard to synth to drum pads to trumpets to bass guitar, as well as a vocal harmonizer, everything on stage came live from one person (with the exception of a couple more complex loops, which she admitted were built between sets, for the sake of brevity due to the curfewed show).
Chersea started with the title track "Grey Matter", the moody backlighting matching the tone of the song, and from there the set ranged from dark ambient-pop to the summery and upbeat "Chemical Polarity", to the straight up danceable and electro-tinged "Requiem" (which was one of three songs to feature backup dancers up on stage). She even kept the dance-party portion of the set going with a cover of Love Inc's "Broken Bones".
She harmonized with herself, showing off her strong voice, for the "last" song of the set, the single from the EP, "I Could Lose It All", but had time for one last song before the curfew. Not bothering to leave the stage, she encored with a new song called "Mr. Cullum", a poppy jazz tune named after and inspired by Jamie Cullum.

For years now, I've loved watching loopers play live; watching them single-handedly build layer upon layer to create rich soundscapes in real time, and Chersea does a fantastic job at that. I wouldn't be surprised if this is just the beginning for her.

Chersea @ Backstage Lounge -- 01/10/14

For years now I've had a love of looping musicians. It's always fascinating to watch someone single-handedly craft a song on stage, adding layer upon layer, to do what a whole band does alone.
A few months ago I was introduced to a local looper Chelsea Laing -- who performs under the name Chersea, and had recently won a Boss looping contest -- and was instantly enamoured with her music.
Now gearing up to release her debut EP, she took to Granville Island's Backstage Lounge to unveil her first music video for the title track, "Grey Matter".

Chersea took the stage behind a mountain of instruments; everything from keyboard to synth to drum pads to trumpets to bass guitar, as well as a vocal harmonizer. But despite all those, she opened the set with a flirty a capella vocal loop, "Classy", before delving into her ethereal, synthy ambient-pop sound.
Songs ranged from the upbeat and jaunty "Chemical Polarity" to the more dark and intense "Grey Matter", with the first half of the set being a little darker before shifting gears for a more dancey vibe in second half, matching her bubbly personality and trying to get the noisy Friday night crowd to move.
One problem with playing alone on stage presented itself when a couple times during the set there were technical glitches, and the set slowed while she had to fix them, but both times she quickly got things right back on track.
After a little over an hour, she ended off the set with a pair of strong songs, "I Could Lose It All" with vocal effects hauntingly harmonizing with her strong voice, and the catchy "Mind Porn" getting some clapping along to the rhythmic beat.

It can be hard to translate live loopery to recorded albums, but I am really interested to hear her Grey Matter EP. If she manages to capture the same feeling of her live set, it will definitely be to look out for.