A Couple of My Favorite Things....

Hey everyone... I've been so fucking busy lately but I've come up with a new time management plan and I should be posting regularly again!  It requires getting up at 4:30 am, but at least this way I'll have time to write.  Good thing I'm a morning person!  Anyway, I've been itching to talk about two of my very favorite Indie music artists.  I've written blogs/reviews for both these groups in the past but this summer and fall I was fucking lucky enough to see them both perform live!

I'll start with C-Leb and The Kettle Black because I caught them live first in August at the Summer Meltdown festival in Darrington Washington.  Yeah...that's how much I love these guys - took the ferry over to the mainland, crossed the border, drove 3 hours there and back in one day to catch these rockers blow up the fucking stage!  And of course they didn't disappoint!

Let me refresh your memory, C-Leb and The Kettle Black are an urban blues band from Seattle Washington.  The first time I heard one of their songs, I fucking couldn't run fast enough to buy their album.  Between C-Leb and Jesse's writing talents, C-Leb's strong vocals, Jesse's slide guitar, Sandy's bass lines and Jazz keeping the beat on his skins, these guys have got it fucking goin on!!  Not to mention they are all fucking sexy as hell!  

The boys weren't headlining the festival and being Indie artists they are still making a name for themselves.  I watched them start out performing to a fairly small crowd, but as their set progressed I wasn't surprised to turn and see the crowd had substantially grown and were calling out for more!  And more is what C-Leb and the Kettle Black gave to us!  They surprised us by performing a new song for their encore - Flat Black will be on their next album....(rumor has it, they're working on it now!  I can't fucking wait!!)  Holy fucking shit!  I thought I couldn't love these boys more but this song blew me the fuck away!  Needless to say, I was very happy I made the trip!

The boys were great too!  Though they were busy with putting away their equipment, and they had their families there, they were still kind enough to take a few minutes to talk to me... and oh yeah, I got hugs too - score!  Every one of their songs is a favorite of mine, so it's hard to pick and choose one to share... I'm gonna share Guilty with you, but be sure to head over to their website at c-lebsounds.com to check out more!  You won't be fucking disappointed!

The second band that I had the opportunity to check out was Cupla!  I couldn't wait to ferry over to catch their show in September in Vancouver at the Princeton Pub.  And again, I was not disappointed!  Like C-Leb and The Kettle Black, I've been a fan of Cupla from the first time I heard them.  Everybody who knows me, knows I love all music but my heart lives in hard rock and blues.  Another thing that attracts me is originality... well, Cupla has originality all wrapped up with a fucking bow and their blues riffs drive me wild!

I was curious to see how Cupla would sound live.... Tricia McAloney has that sultry low voice and I wondered if the music would overpower her in a live show.  Turns out that I had nothing to be fucking concerned about.  They sounded even better live than on their CD (which I love, by the way).  And this was in a small pub with not so great acoustics.  What I wouldn't fucking give to hear them perform in a Theater Arts center, such as the Esplanade in Medicine Hat.  I bet they would blow that fucking place up!

Not only do I love Cupla's music... I love Cupla.  Bobby and Billy McAloney could possibly be two of my favorite people alive.  These are a couple of the sweetest guys I've ever met and considering the life these two young men have lived so far, it is surprising.  Just another argument for how expressing yourself through music is healing and therapeutic.  Tricia is beautiful and cool, Brando is a sweetheart and Andrew is sexy time!

Another thing to love about Cupla is how they are willing to stand up to bullies!  My Stand, the song they wrote and performed to shine a light an age old problem that has been tormenting our children for as long as I can remember is touching, beautiful and relevant.  It means more to me than they can possibly know.  I moved around a lot as a kid and almost every year I was the new kid.  The new kid gets bullied a lot, believe me!  If you haven't heard it, please check it out now...

To get more information and links to all their music, please visit Cupla at www.supernova.com/cupla1.  Not only are they my heroes, they are a hell of a lot of fun to do Tequila shots with too!  I can't wait for the next time.........; )

Cat or Cougar?

In my previous post...Summer of Rock....I spoke of my very non cougar behaviour at a recent Godsmack show.  I do normally go for guys around my own age but I gotta be honest with you...those young sexy rockers and their high energy shows get me pretty fucking hot too!.....I'd like to experience that kind of energy in another, more private way, if you know what I mean.

Saving Abel is a perfect example.   I had the chance to catch their show this summer when they had a stop in Lethbridge, AB.  I had heard a handful of songs by them and I liked every single one.  Lead singer Jared Weeks with his very strong and sexy vocals is backed up by very talented musicians Jason Null, Scott Bartlett, Eric Taylor and Rick Anderson.  When Jared invites his listeners to "come and tell me what my kiss tastes like" in Sex is Good...oh fuck baby...and touch and lick and suck and whatever else you want to do to me!

My very favorite Saving Abel tune is Mississippi Moonshine!  I've never performed for anybody but my cat and dog...okay and a bar full of patrons, but not onstage and that was after a lot of fucking beer....but Jared, if you're reading, I have this awesome fantasy of you and me performing that song as a duet....hehe, not my only fantasy featuring you, you know just in case you missed my subtle hint above....anyway, give me the second verse (change around a couple of words) and second chorus and we could rock that tune like Johnny and June going to Jackson!....baby, call me! 

Jonas and the Massive Attraction stopped in Lethbridge this summer as well, so guess what?  That's right, I was there.  This band is from Montreal and if you haven't heard their huge rock hit Big Slice, where the hell have you been?  They've been overplaying it on every fucking rock station across Canada.  After they fucking rocked the house, I ran (to the other side of the bar) to buy the CD and they quickly became one of my favorite listens this summer.    I had the chance to hang around and talk to the boys after the show....super great guys...oh yeah and fucking hot too!

 I won tickets to the My Darkest Days show in Lethbridge from local radio station, Rock 106 - thanks again guys!  Talk about cougar bait!  These guys are to middle aged women as the full moon is to werewolves!  No shit, they'll fucking turn right before your eyes. These young guys from Toronto have a huge popular hit with "Porn Star Dancing" featuring artists Chad Kroeger (Nickelback) and Zakk Wilde (Black Label Society) that literally turns middle aged housewives into gyrating sex kittens!  It was incredible!  I'd never seen anything like it!...don't get me wrong, I'm not judging, as a matter of fact  I like to be a gyrating sex kitten myself and usually am, believe me... but then again, I'm a bit of a slut...hey...in a good way...

And of course, if I am going to speak of My Darkest Days, I have to speak about local boys Double Jack (Lethbridge).  They won our local Battle of the Bands competition and opened for My Darkest Days.  They're a hard hitting rock/metal band and their music, whether it is their original stuff or covers, blows me away....and their covers....fuck yeah...Pantera, Tool, Metallica, and my personal favorite, the only dance tune they do (they'll tell you that) Black Betty by Ram Jam!  I love these guys!  And you want to talk sexy...Jack Stevens...Marc Belisle...fuck yeah! 

And last but certainly not least are two bands from Calgary that I just recently saw in Lethbridge.  Kingdom of Few and Silo are two very class act bands.  I had only heard clips of their music online in promotions and was impressed, but holy fuck...their live show fucking rocks!   Kingdom of Few took the stage, opened up and blew me away! They possess a sexy, energetic rock style and an even sexier lead singer Curtis Butala.  
Silo didn't disappoint either.  Their hard hitting metal/punk sound, amazing guitar riffs - you fucking rock, Youngblood!- and for lack of a better word, crazy stage show was fucking incredible.  I get happy just thinking about their show!  I can't wait to see them again! 

I've been focusing on the live shows I've recently been to see, but I have to wrap up this post with a shout out to a couple of very different but equally talented artists I've recently come across online...

• Metal/Punk Fans - hey, pay attention - Gift of Destiny  These fucking guys rock hard!  Raise Some Hell is one of my new favorites!  Listen to it...it'll be one of yours too.

• Rap fans - Mezziah is going to be huge, huge, huge...this guy is one of the best rappers I have ever fucking heard!  His talent, intelligence and integrity will take him far....mark my fucking words...huge! And he's Canadian!  Yay us! 

Have some fun with these links - band names...if you haven't heard of  some of these bands, check them out...the ones you've heard of, check them out again.... ; )