JadedPhotography's Blog

Canada 3 USA 2

Sidney Crosby Scores in OT to win Gold for Canada!

I was on SE Marine Drive just coming up to a stop at Fraser Street driving to work.  It was just past 3PM PST when suddenly the announcer was screaming OH MY GOD SIDNEY CROSBY SCORES IN OVERTIME...and I went bananas in the car!  Every single car around me including the bus driver started honking their horns.  I rolled down my window and yelled out CANADA MEN'S HOCKEY GOLD MEDAL SIDNEY CROSBY SCORES!  People on the streets started cheering, hugging and whoo hooing all over the place.

As I drive towards Vancouver, there was more and more traffic and it was getting crazy!  Hundreds of people were out on the streets when I got past 16th Ave W cheering, waving Canadian flags, strangers were high fiving each other and hugging.  For 20 blocks I see this, when finally I got onto the Granville Street Bridge which goes up and at the top of that bridge as I started coming down all I saw was a sea of red and white with Canadian flags big and small waving.  The roar of the crowd drowned out everything else. ...

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Tags: gold medal mens hockey canada, granville street, jade sperry, jadedphotography, olympics, party time, sea of red and white

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Posted at: 10:07 PM | 1 Comment | Add Comment | Permalink

Interview with Philoceraptor

by Jade Sperry

 

 

Philoceraptor are three individuals who have traveled to different parts of Canada for different reasons.  In their own words “there really isn't anything too exciting about this story; Steve went to school with Justin in Quebec- Justin worked with Phil in Vancouver - Steve moved to Vancouver. Then after several weeks of procrastination we all made it into the studio, and I think we wrote "Grammar" within 15 minutes of our first jam”.  This song is very much like Sonic Youth meeting Tokyo Police Club for a jam.  The spontaneity is evident in this song as well which makes it a live off the floor song.

 

With such an unusual name, I wondered what were the origins of the band name and why they formed the band.  They mutually responded that “we wanted to form the band because all three of us have written songs and all three of us enjoy cheap beer. Philoceraptor is the child of these two pastimes. As for the name, Phil boasted that he got called Philoceraptor in bed once, but we found out after it was only due to his unusually long toenails.”  Interesting answer....

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Tags: interview, jade sperry, jadedphotography, philoceraptor, vancouver band

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Posted at: 01:24 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink

EP Review – Philoceraptor

by Jade Sperry

 

Philoceraptor is composed of Justin Penney on Guitars, Steve Mann on Guitars, and Phil Jette on drums. They wrote “Grammar” about fifteen minutes into their first jam, according to their My Space page.

 

The four songs on this EP are truly diverse, interesting and leave you wanting more.  This trio of young men remind me of a band from Philly called MewithoutYou.  Hard rocking tunes and raw vocals are evident on the first song “Grammar”.   There is fuzzed guitar feedback and hard-hitting drumbeats assaulting your eardrums with a 4 count break lead into the song itself.  The melodies of this song are bridged and with small tempo changes and I really dig this song.  The vocal work by Steve and Justin is strong and steady and the song on whole could easily be on college radio.  “Learjet” is a song that has a bit of a darker side musically speaking as it is mostly in minor notes.  Well mixed this song is a standout of the four as it is a genderless song.  This is becoming more prevalent within our society as a whole, and Philoceraptor capture that within the lyrics...

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Tags: 4 song review, ep review, jade sperry, jadedphotography, philoceraptor, vancouver band

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Posted at: 01:22 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink

CD Review – Hayley Stark – Get Over It EP

by Jade Sperry

Jennifer Bryan is a roaring girl in every sense of the phrase. She has played lead guitar in a host of metal bands and you can catch her lending her skills to the popular Toronto-based band The Roaring Girl Cabaret. Monica Julie is well known for her multi-faceted musical expertise. She has captivated crowds as a technical and hard-hitting metal drummer in the bands Spankdriven, Bound Ether and In The Wake.

 Their first project together is Hayley Stark, and their new EP release, Get Over It, has songs that are folksy, jazzy and filled with lyrics that have emotion and heart. This EP is very impressive. “Let Me Go (Tonight)” is the lead off song which is very well written and mixed. With each song, Jennifer and Monica have great vocal harmonies and also acoustic guitar melodies that ebb and flow like water. They sing about life, love, relationships and turbulent times and each song has its own theme. For two women who have a “metal” background, you would never know this based on these 6 songs. One other song that is a standout is...

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Tags: bound ether, debut ep, ep review, get over it, hayley stark, in the wake, jade sperry, jadedphotography, jennifer bryan, metal, monica julie, spankdriven, the roaring girl cabaret, toronto on

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Posted at: 03:24 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink

Mip’s Debut EP: Caught in Between

by Jade Sperry

Contact: mipsmusic@gmail.com

My Space Site: http://www.myspace.com/mipsmusic

At 23, mip has performed at a variety of festivals, night clubs and cafes. She has shared the stage with 2 time Juno Award winner Alex Cuba and has toured in New York and Ontario as a back-up vocalist for blues rocker Rachelle Van Zanten (formerly of Painting Daisies). After reading that in her bio, I was intrigued with the music of mip who is very proud of her Smithers, BC, origins but lives in Toronto ON presently. I put the EP into the cd player and heard energetic, fun melodies with solid work on guitars and vocals throughout the 6 song EP. Mip's voice has a Melissa Etheridge-like edge to it and also has that husky and whiskey-soaked vocal chord quality that blues singers die for. The first song and EP title track “Caught In Between” is fun, fast and filled with high energy that is infectious to the listener. This could easily be a hit song. Well written and mixed it's delivered exactly the way it should be. “My Midnight” starts out slow and misleads you...

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Tags: caught in between, ep debut, ep review, jade sperry, jadedphotography, mip, toronto on

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Posted at: 02:08 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink

Ah yes, posting mania!  Well, not quite.  I have written some reviews on mip, Haley Stark and Philoceraptor.  I'm about half done with Elias and will be finishing that off tonight.  Then I'm starting on Cop Shades and Hawksley Workmen.  So next weekend, there will be a posting mania!

So many things going on here at JP - writing reviews and preparing for some shows with The Electric Demons in March.  That should be cool.  Hopefully I'll get to see the band Burning Borders on Feb 26.  That would be sweet!  We'll see what happens. 

So free shows at the Olympics is a pain in the arse.  I went downtown with some friends last night and we couldn't get into any shows.  The sad thing is it was only 5pm!  We were there for 3 hours in a line up waiting only to be told "Sorry no room".  This is why I hate the Olympics.  I only like the hockey games folks.  I look forward to coming home tonight and watching the Canada-US game!  All the security issues = pissed off music fans who ACTUALLY LIVE IN THE CITY feeling like an outsider.  Thanks.  (rolls eyes).

Most of my friends,... [More]

Tags: burning borders, cop shades, elias, haley stark, hawksley workman, hockey, jade sperry, jadedphotography, mip, philoceraptor, winter olympics

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Posted at: 11:39 AM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink

CD Review – Graydon James and the Young Novelists

By Jade Sperry

This double CD offer titled Good Night was too good to pass up and so I embarked on a musical journey about life from a different perspective. The first song “Country Kids” immediately caught my attention with its infectious melodies and slighty fuzzed guitars. Well written and mixed this song has biting lyrics under the happy music. All 40 songs are for the most part good songs but it could have been a single CD of 12 or 13 really good songs. Another song “It Seems to Happen All the Time” is folksy and whimsical in its melodies. The vocal harmonies really work well with this song. And the acoustic guitar work is solid. All in all when you've got the time this outing is worth at least one listen through before making any decisions.

You can find Graydon James and the Young Novelists at their MySpace page

Graydon James and the Young Novelists

They are currently playing the Winterfolk Festival, February 12-15, 2010, at various locations in Toronto, and you can find out more information at this link:

Winterfolk Festival

 

Tags: band, cd review, good night, graydon james and the young novelists, jade sperry, jadedphotography, toronto on, winterfolk festival 2010

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Posted at: 10:38 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink

Sex With Strangers Show Review

January 28, 2010 @ The Lamplighter Lounge, Vancouver BC

by Jade Sperry

I left work shortly after 8pm to go to Gastown in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. The night was pleasant and after having a meal, I went to the Lamplighter Lounge for a live show. I arrived shortly after 9pm, and the first band was on. This venue has recently been renovated, and it is has a great vibe. The sound was pretty good no matter where you were. I wasn't too sure which band was playing but they were very good. I found later that the band was Lengthy List of Lovers. Great melodies! Shortly after that, Accost were on. This was a band with some teeth. Good vocal work by Chantelle on pretty much every song with synths behind guitars to make a repetitive bass-like sound. Solid showmanship, crowd interaction and total enthusiasm was what this band was about.

Shortly before Sex With Strangers were to be on, I went to the front of the stage as I wanted to get some really good shots of the band in action. The show was high energy from the first chords to the...

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Tags: accost, band, jade sperry, jadedphotography, lamplighter, lengthy list of lovers, sex with strangers, show review, vancouver

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Raised Paint EP Review

by Jade Sperry

Jackson Fishauf's newest project is Raised Paint. Released in November 2009, this EP has some meat underneath the melodies of the songs. First off, I'd like to say that I like the way Jackson sings. His vocals show a lot more confidence especially in the song “Fist”. His voice fills with emotion in just the right spots with this song. The other songs are just as good, vocally speaking. With that said, the song “White Business Class Blues” is stark in its vision but the guitars and Jackson's voice are biting and bitter but not overly done. There's just enough punch to get the point across. It's a well written song musically and performed with hard emotion. I really like the intro to “The Wildest Honey No. 2” with the drums. That opening gives your ears something to hook into and as you listen to the song you realize that even though its not musically great, it has emotion and heart. That is what draws you into the gates of the song. “Just Peggy” gives me the shivers in a good way. Starting out slow and easy musically, the lyrics of this song...

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Tags: band, ep review, jackson fishauf, jade sperry, jadedphotography, raised paint

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Posted at: 05:35 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink

Vancouver Supernova Finals, Wise Hall, Vancouver - Jan 29 2010, Show Review

by Jade Sperry

It's Friday in the rainy city of Vancouver and I'm off to photograph Supernova.com's Battle of the Bands Finals. I arrived at Wise Hall and met with one of the co-ordinators, Vanessa. I then set about taking test shots of the hall in general to test lighting and shades.

The first act was a solo by Johnny Good. I found that he is a good guitarist and has excellent melodies to his songs. Johnny's music reminded me of mellow folk music with a bite to the lyrics. I found his voice to be strong and full of emotion. It was definitely a good start to the night.

The next act, This Means Nothing In Mexico, were a trio of young men probably still in high school. But looks and youth can be deceiving. I found their songs to have really good tempo and chord changes. Judging by the reaction of the crowd, they definitely have a fanbase. I also found them all to be entertaining and their personalities seem to mesh well with being onstage.

Decognition took the stage next. This was a...

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Tags: battle of the bands finals, bridges and breakdowns, columbia, decognition, high life scenery, jade sperry, jadedphotography, jive talk, johnny good, red couch lounge, show review, soldat, supernova.com, the colombians, this means nothing in mexico, vancouver, wise hall

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Posted at: 03:43 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink