Lady Gaga Video Premiere Telephone featuring Beyonce.

The music video for Lady Gaga's 'Telephone' featuring Beyoncé will be debuting shortly - stay tuned to LadyGaga.com for updates on when & where you can catch the first glimpse of the video directed by Jonas Akerlund (director of 'Paparazzi'). Take a peek at these behind-the-scenes shots in the meantime!

Moeraes Fate

I recently spoke with Katee Lee, lead singer and bassist for Moeraes Fate, the three-piece rock trio formerly known as Dame. Keep reading for more insight on the name change, new guitarist, Ali Stead, and the band's upcoming album.

"There were more than two other bands called Dame," explained Katee when I asked about the band's much talked about name change- only one of many changes that the band has undergone.

So, why Moeraes Fate?

Katee explained that , "a 'dame' is a woman knighted, so with Dame we wanted to show that we were independent women. The Moeraes were the daughters of Zeus- goddesses. With the name change we wanted to show that we've matured since we started the band."

From dames to goddesses, the young women that make up the band have worked very hard over the last few years, and have developed one of the most loyal indie fanbases in Ontario.


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Eyes on the Prize

Brand New Eyes, the highly anticipated third album from Nashville-based power-punk band, Paramore, is barre none, their most sophisticated work to date. Coming from Grammy nominees known for high-calibre energy and down-to-earth lyrics, this latest release doesn't disappoint, but serves up a more mature sound than its predecessor, Riot! .



Hayley Williams' larger-than-life vocals continue to propel each track to an emotional peak. Yet, this album does more to showcase the sum of its parts rather than its lead singer alone. Fans will attribute this to the fact that Paramore has successfully recovered from contemplating a break-up, making this album somewhat of a comeback.

The band doesn't ignore their past problems at all, and in fact openly discuss the experiences on three separate tracks. "Ignorance" the first single from Brand New Eyes, was written while the band was at the heat of their conflict, and the heat is definitely on.

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Sean Murphy

Sean Murphy's laid back yet powerful voice no doubt has its beginnings from his roots in Lanikai, on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. While Sean’s style has been influenced by artists such as Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson and Bob Dylan, Sean Murphy is in a league all his own in today’s cookie-cutter, lip-syncing industry. Sean’s raw and sincere lyrics captivate a broad audience, and are already gaining high visibility in Japan (he is Top 5 in the charts), Canada, the Netherlands and Australia.



Sean’s passion for music began at an early age, always keen to take advantage of any performance opportunities that came his way. When he was only eight years old, Sean began guitar lessons and before long was performing with local bands, eventually choosing a solo path. . His songs deal with such relevant issues as emotions, relations, children, poverty, and the environment. His visions are well spoken through his melodious, meaningful sounds and lyrics.

Eventually Sean’s love of singing and songwriting lead him to an interest in playing a number of instruments including guitar, drums, piano, and sitar (a plucked stringed instrument mainly used in Hindustani classical music). His newest single, “Lonely Soldier” is out and the sound is awesome, soft, yet deep in lyrics and texture. Another single, “Us”, is off of his most current CD, “One Life”. This song was written after he had his first serious breakup with a girl. This tune truly speaks from the heart and honestly expresses what he felt at that time. His emotions and life experiences carries him through the creative process in hopes that others who hear can identify with his messages. Sean had an impressive ability to write lyrics that were fueled by emotion, and could easily articulate his message through his music.


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Shotgun Rules

Hailing from the forest city, London, Ontario . Shotgun Rules talks to theMOVEMENTZ about the music scene, and the creation of their identifiable brand of aggressive rock.



Loud pulsating drums and bass, heart-wrenching guitar riffs,and distinguishable blaring vocals. Those are the sounds created by John Mackenzie, Ric and Dustyn Mattingley, Corry Van Spronsen and Zach Pero. Together, they make up the five-piece band that has been tearing down venues with their volume and high-energy performances.

The London-based independent band has been reaching more and more ears ever since the release of their latest album, Fugitives and Refugees. Though on hiatus for the past few months, they are looking forward to starting up their live shows once more, and this time with a collection of entirely new material.

Corry Van Spronsen, guitarist, gave us an inside look at Shotgun:

On the birth of Shotgun Rules

Me and the other guitar player, Ric, we were in a different band together, a pop/punk band called Hoodini. We started really clicking together writing-wise, and we started writing stuff that the rest of that band wasn't so much into.

So then we just said that we were going to do our own thing.So for close to a good year, it was just Ric and I writing music in my basement...We picked up Ric's brother, [Dusty] on drums. Shortly after we picked up John, the singer, and that was just through word of mouth from a friend who auditioned for us, and said, "You know what, I would love to do this, but I know a guy who would suit you guys a lot better than me" .Almost immediately [after his audition] we thought, ‘this guy's gonna work out good', so we kept him...

...Joe [the former bassist] left us before the start of the last tour. Zach came to mind, because I'd seen him play with bands like The Joys. I asked him if he could do it and learned all of the songs for our tour. By the time we got back we saw that he fit with the group pretty well, and he's really good musically. So we just kept rolling with him.



On the latest album, Fugitives and Refugees

The album was written over a large span of time. We went into the studio and said we were going to record everything that we had. A couple of the songs that we thought were going to make the album, ended up not really working on tape. They didn't carry over the way we thought they would.

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Empire ISIS at NXNE

NXNE is a chance for artists to showcase their talents, share their music with fans and colleagues and get their message out there. I was lucky enough to have a sit down with one such artist, Empire ISIS, and believe me, her message is definitely worth hearing.



I met up with Empire ISIS and her crew at the Hyatt, in Toronto, where the conference was being held, and my first thought was, wow, is she ever tall. However, it wasn't her physical height that made her seem so daunting, but the way she carried and presented herself. She was strong, she knew who she was and how she wanted to be perceived. “I'm so sure of my energy that I'll burst into any room, anywhere, with anyone in it... and be myself. Look into people's eyes, give them my vibe, feel their vibe, feel what they're about, ask the specific questions that can help me understand who I'm around right now, where they're from, what's their experience.”

And she has to be in order to make a name for herself in a genre that is so male dominated. She's had to constantly prove herself no matter where she goes, be it Caracas, Rio or right here in Montreal. But despite the road blocks, the difficulties and the up hill battles that it has taken her to get this far, Empire ISIS is not one to be meek and back down, especially since getting her message out there is so important to her.

Brought up by a Ugandan stepfather and a British mother in French Canada, Empire ISIS quickly learned the value of personal identity and cultural fusions. In her own words, “my whole life has been about cultural mash up and trying to learn to see past who we are and how we've been brought up, to understand the person next to you.” To do this, she set out in 2001, camera in hand to film documentaries in Jamaica, Trinidad, Venezuela and many other Latin American countries, to try to “crack the social code”, figure out why people say the things they say, why it's ok to use certain words in some countries but not in others. And everywhere she went she would invariably end up singing.


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TIMATI FT. BUSTA RHYMES & MARIYA - LOVE YOU

Busta?!?!

Ok love the Concept... love the message.... But i'm not too sure about the video.

You people need to help me out a little please

Orlando Valencia Jr.

What do you get when you mix English with Spanish, salsa with R&B, and pure passion with an unstoppable desire to make people move? Salsa Urbana is the answer. This CD, which was released in 2007 and is currently sold out, was created by none other than Orlando Valencia Jr. Orlando’s Latin and R&B music have been forcing Canadians to get up and dance for a number of years, and with a second CD in the making, salsa nights may be replacing the common dance/club scene in Ontario.



Orlando is also a smart businessman. Though he has been approached by record labels before, Orlando is not signed with anyone as of yet. He wants to ensure that his sound never has to be compromised or forced into a mould. However, when he does find a label that feels right and understands his theme, Orlando says that he is willing to sign. Born in El Salvador but raised in Canada, Orlando Valencia is a dynamic artist who is able to create a sound which speaks to a variety of people. It was practically inevitable that Orlando became heavily involved with music; his mother was part of the National Ballet in El Salvador and his father was and still is a musician. Growing up with and expressing himself through song and dance, Orlando eventually became fluent in these two universal languages. Though he was eager to be a great singer, Orlando’s father made sure that he knew that it takes more than a voice to create great music, and as a result Oralndo is today a talented percussionist and vocalist. For more than a decade now, Orlando, his father and younger brother have been working together. They perform live four to five times a week for people yearning to dance to authentic salsa, merengue and bachata. Orlando feels that there is something extraordinary about being able to do what he loves while also making people happy; it is truly a gift that is appreciated and shared by artist and fans.

When Orlando is not performing with the band, there’s a good chance that he’s working in the studio. It’s a very different experience being alone in a recording room late at night because you have to generate your own energy, shared Orlando. The musician seems to have no trouble finding that energy though, and Salsa Urbana is proof.

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Message from Sean Murphy

As you've probably heard, last week there was a horrible 7.0 earthquake in Haiti. The estimates say more than 100,000 people have been killed, and a huge amount of damage was caused. Haiti is an extremely poor nation, and can use monetary help from everyone around the world to deal with and recover from this crisis.

In partnership with FanBridge (the company I work with to manage my fan list) and Direct Relief International, I wanted to give you a link to donate to the relief effort. Through Direct Relief, 100% of the money that is donated will go towards Haiti relief efforts (aka none is taken out for administration fees).

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Live Nation - Ontario Concerts

LIVE NATION SETLIST
Just Added | This Weeks' Shows | Venues Event Search: Go
Featured
Carole King and James Taylor
Carole King and James Taylor
Friday, May 28
Air Canada Centre
Toronto, ON
On Sale Sat, 1/23, 10am
More Info

Click here to find out more!

Giselle Minns

Giselle Minns is truly one of the more unique artists I have come across this year. A unique fusion between classical and contemporary music makes her a true music mover.



Her latest album "Turning Circles" is a classical crossover album, combining opera with more contemporary sounds including electronica, and pop. Her wide vocal range compliments this crossover. "My music has been compared to Enya and also a kind of Imogen Heap style."

As most artists, Giselle started early. "When I was three years old, my mother taught me vocal harmony and when I was five, I started piano lessons." She has since picked up the cello and the much coveted skill of writing her own music.

Put nicely, Giselle says that she gets her song writing inspiration from "the big Canadian sky; and life." Her songs are based on stories, but many are also fantastical stories that exist in other people's lives.

In terms of other artist inspiration, Giselle cites opera singer Maria Callas and the pop/electronica artist, Bjork. "Both have influenced the way I look at life and at my music."

For someone who is putting opera back into the mainstream vein, Giselle doesn't find the Canadian indie environment terribly challenging. "I find that Canada is extremely encouraging to emerging artists and there are many different avenues open for us to explore. The music network is supportive and informative and most doors are left ajar for us to fling wide open."

So what is the best part about making music?

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Sean Ward

Comic artist, musician, trend setter and philosopher, Sean Ward does it all. Author of Benny Bunny on Wheels, Mr. Lollipop and The Sean Ward Electric Comics Freak-Out, evil genius behind Peanut Punch Crank Calls and rap master responsible for “Paid to Party”, I recently had the privilege to pick his brain on what makes the man behind the legend, and where he sees himself in the big picture. A glimpse at this extremely talented, Toronto based, self-made entertainment mogul's vast repertoire of hilarious, artsy and radically unique creations can be found at http://www.seanward.net and http://www.myspace.com/seanward



Jessica Rodriguez: I know its probably next to impossible to do this, but I'm banking on your above average intelligence to humour me.

Sean Ward: Heh, OK.

JR: Summarize yourself in one sentence.

SW: Sean Ward is Beatles meets vintage Def Jam on the retro space age, pre-psychedelic acid pop tip as a Saturday morning cartoon. How's that?

JR: Incredibly condensed! You say that one of your main goals is to help bring artists together.

SW: Yeah, like helping them get going, get producing work, and pushing themselves.

JR: How do you envision yourself doing that?

SW: The main way is through the work itself, I hope. I try very hard to work something into the stories I tell that's going to be inspirational to people who have a vision to do something big or unique. So the more I learn and grow, the more I'm able to put into it, you know, on that level. And then it's through being an example. I've always been pretty open about how I live and what goes on behind the scenes, and that's so that people can see how it happens and what it takes. It's not easy but if someone says they stepped up to the challenge because they've been watching me or reading my blog or following my adventures, then I feel like what I'm doing is working.

JR: How far along that process do you feel you are?

SW: Farther all the time. I have given speeches at schools, I've conducted workshops, it's very hands-on. When I do a signing or an appearance and some dude's watching me draw him a sketch or whatever, and he's telling me about how he thought that if I could do it maybe he could do it, and now he's working on his own movie or music or whatever, those are the moments that give me juice. That's what makes it easy to keep going when it gets difficult.

JR: As an artist you bridge over many different disciplines, from comics to music to acting, although you mention that right now you want to focus on comics. Do you think having such a broad range of artistic outlets dilutes your passion or ability for any given one?

SW: I fight with this all the time. That's something I have to continually face in myself, 'what's with this compulsion to always be starting all over again?' But at the same time, it's about taking my art seriously and treating it like a business and thinking about how I can differentiate myself amongst people who are all talented and all visionary. My comics are the heart and soul of everything else that I do. Take out the comics and the rest doesn't hold together because you've lost the context. You've lost the philosophical connecting thread, does that make sense? Yeah, comics are the main thing for right now, but it all fits together. On the one hand, its an expression of my own issues and insecurities that I always have tostart new whenever I just get going on something, but on the other it's me expressing what I'm about.

JR: About your comics, the characters you create are all very distinctive, both physically and in personality. Do you base them off of people you know, or are they completely fictional?

SW: It's both. I have modeled certain characters on real people, but most of my main characters jumped pretty much fully form


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Sonny Boy Mick

Sonny Boy Mick's long road in the music industry has been landmarked by a variety of unique experiences. All experiences that led him towards national and international acclaim for his songwriting and performance ability.



Sonny Boy Mick, a.k.a Steve McPhail, started playing guitar at the tender age of eleven in his hometown of Sault Ste. Marie. "I played in bands through high school and university and then moved to Burlington where I joined a club act of T.O. I played and sang with several prominent clubs in the GTA."

He then had a band called Fall From Grace in the 90s, that was released in Europe. And if that wasn't enough, he purchased a music school and recording studio in Burlington called Melody Man Studios, and has been running it over the last 6 years.

The studio has been a real place of inspiration for Steve and his songwriting, "Because of being able to play everyday at the studio teaching or recording I find musically things just pop out, alot of times when I'm tuning somebody's guitar or just sitting around playing."

With this new environment to work with, he started writing under the name Sonny Boy Mick, which resulted in the release of the new CD "Peace, Love and Sonny Boy."

How would Steve describe his style? "A melting pot of all the covers and styles I've played since I was a kid- Beatles, Bowie, Prince, Zeppelin, Police, Stones, U2, Coldplay, Pumpkins, Radiohead, Buddy Holly, and I'm sure a slew of 90's bands."

What Steve prides himself in is his ability to write authentic music, "I think my music is real, it's not fabricated, it's just a reflection of my day to day existence. I play everyday and if you see me live chances are you'll see I love to play music, I've been told many times that when I play "live" I have that "somethin" --you can't fake that stuff, it just happens. I've been very fortunate to play with great band members in the last 10 years who bring years of experience to the studio as well as live shows."

Speaking of authenticity, all of Steve's songs have been inspired by some event that has occurred in his life. "If I had to pick one [to talk about] it would be "Northern Town". I was home in Sault Ste. Marie on a family matter


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Shyann

A beautiful voice, plus beautiful songs, plus a beautiful outlook on it all gives us Tricia Gilhooly, a.k.a Shyann. Shyann is taking Canadian pop music by the reigns, quickly becoming a fan an industry favourite. With material that instantly evokes a more sophisticated, but equally entertaining form of pop music, Shyann is someone to look out for!



When did you start getting involved with music? Have you looked back since?

I got involved in music when I was just a little kid. Believe it or not, I was a very reserved, very shy kid that often got bullied on account of the fact that I never spoke up for myself. Then one day, as cliche as it sounds, I was in the changeroom after gym class just singing to myself and when I was done, I looked back and looked up to see that all the girls in the changeroom had their eyes on me. It was amazing and their response was so overwhelming to a person who was used to getting no attention. Since then, I've learned that music is ultimately the way that I best express myself and I've honestly never looked back since.

How would you describe your sound to those who haven't heard it before?

There's definitely an urban element to what I do but I couldn't really place my music under one genre because I'm so heavily influenced by many different ones, from the indie music scene, to jazz, to opera, definitely hip hop and really, any world genres. I draw the best of what my ears hear from every genre of music and my own sound is comprised of many of those elements. I'd love to hear input on how others would categorize my music into a genre.

What do you hope audiences will take from listening to your music?

All that I could hope for an audience to gain from listening to my music would be an understanding of where I'm coming from, be it conceptually or musically. If a person can take their own personal meaning away from what I do, that builds the connection between one music lover to another :)

Where does your song writing inspiration usually come from?

Honestly, my song writing inspiration stems from just living my everyday life, from the greatest moments in the world to the worst, and for all of those moments in between where I'm lost in transition. Or being moved by someone elses' experiences around me. My true release is writing and expressing myself, my thoughts and my feelings through music.

Who are your favourite artists and how have they influenced your song writing if they have?

There are so many artists that are influential to me: Beck, Portishead, definitely Amel Larrieux vocally as well as Raphael Saadiq, Radiohead, and Broken Social Scene, to name a few. They all influence me in that they have found their own sound, they've found their own writing style, their own melody and I aspire to find that sound for myself, as an artist and as an individual.


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Mandippal

23-year old Mandippal wants nothing more than to give audiences some authenticity. In a world where radios are constantly favouring the sound of over-produced pop music, Mandippal strives to maintain his uniqueness. "I'm writing pop music right now but I don't want to compromise what I want to do just to give people what they want to hear. I want to be able to entertain with integrity."

And he does. With a songbook inspired mostly by life experiences (and one song that takes a critical view about the issue of racism) Mandippal makes it a point to stay as real as possible. "I get inspired by whatever, but most of the time it's something that has happened to me." This is not surprising considering his 8 years worth of experience as an indie artist.

The Cambridge resident started off young, as one of the leads in his high school production of Guys and Dolls. "I actually wanted to go into musical theatre", he said. After becoming familiar with a guitar and writing music, Mandippal and his sister had a duo, fittingly called "Sibling Rivalry". "We got pretty well- known in the university circuit. Then she decided to be a teacher and I decided to go solo, so here I am."

And here he is with an uber chill, uber authentic EP called "When It's Only Me Standing". Strictly an acoustic record, "When It's Only Me Standing" features the "unplugged" sound that seems to suit Mandippal well. "I wanted to give people something simple. All but one are about heartache and heartbreak and all of the in-betweens." The title track of the song is a line from "Beggers and Bedsheets", a song that deals with a different kind of relationship, was written in 2005 for Anti-Racism Day. "I was living in toronto for school, at Dundas and Sherbourne, which is this really scketchy area in Toronto. I was walking down and there are cops parked at every corner of the street. That line came in my head and it turned into this really nice political song, which I'd never done before. It's basically about how ignorant we can be, and that's what needs to change. I haven't been inspired by anything else like that before."


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Michelle Mondesir

Michelle Mondesir, also known as Muze, believes in the status of urban music in Canada. Putting everything into her own music (expect an EP to be released this summer), she also works as a writer and producer for other emerging artists as well. Complete with a soulful, mellow sound and some great singing chops, Michelle Mondesir is a true industry mover.



How did you first become involved with music?

Did you always knowthat you wanted to pursue it as a career? Well my mother would say I came singing out of her womb lol... My aunt used to call me little Whitney [Houston] back in the day and I guess you could say music is in my blood. I started playing the piano at 5 and was always involved in music since then. I didn't always know I wanted it as a career. I actually wanted to be a doctor for the longest while. It wasn't until high school that I started entertaining that idea.



If you had to describe your sound to someone who has never heard it before, what would you say?

I would say its a new neo soul where my smokey-jazzy tone meshes with hip hop influenced beats topped with poetically and sociologically conscious lyrical content.



Are you working on an album at the moment? If so, what canaudiences expect from it?

I am working on an album and currently looking to release it this summer. Well, the audiences can expect to be inspired to be better people, to fall in love all over again and to shake their groove thang lol



I read your bio on MySpace, and it seems that you have quite a few projects under your belt from having performed for the prime ministerof St. Vincent, to working on a children's collaboration. Is it important to you to spread your music anywhere you can?

I think the more ears that hear my music will lead to more lives touched by it and if I can reach out to people and help them to know they aren't alone in what they're going through or to inspire them in some way then I know that my efforts aren't in vain



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Katchphraze

Kallen Saczkowski, aka Katchphraze, is an urban artist unlike most. As he puts it, "It's like we want our rapper to have been shot, or to have tear drops tattooed on their cheek." Well Katchphraze has none of those qualities to his name, but he does have a fresh brand of hip hop just itching to be heard among a sea of artists waiting to be heard. Check it out!



How did you start to be involved with music? Was it something thatyou always knew you wanted to pursue?

I've been writing music ever since I can remember. When I was really young I had a toy guitar that I used to pretend I was playing on stage singing songs that I wrote. I'd say I really got into writing hip hop songs in grade eight, and I can remember the track that really inspired me to write was "Bow Wow Wow" by Funkdoobiest.

Before I hit high school I was starting to record myself on a mini tape recorder, but not really playing it for anyone. Once I hit high school I started to let people hear the tapes that I was making. Eventually I'd have to bug someone to play the instrumentals that I'd buy because I didn't even have a turntable, so they'd hear me recording into their speakers and the feedback was positive. I played it for a really close friend who I had found out was wanting to dabble in making beats, and the first track that we did was called "Ones N' Toos" which I released as a single a few years later. That was really the start of it. When we recorded the "Ones N' Toos" single, that was the first time that i'd ever been in a studio that wasn't a mic plugged into the back of a computer. I'll never forget the look on the engineers face when we showed up with a computer, lyrics and not a clue about what to do. He told us after we finished that based on what he saw when we showed up, he did not expect the music to be as good as it was.



Your latest album 'Eye Can See Now' is full of commentary and what I would affectionately call "wordplay". What were hoping audiences would get out of this album? Are you working on anything new right now?

Because Eye Can See Now took a while for me to finally finish, it I had a lot of material, and a lot happened in that time. During the writing process I moved across the country and then came back, I found out what I wanted to do as a career and went back to school, I took breaks, had set backs and worked crappy jobs. I tried to include all of that in the album. I had a lot to get out of my system and I really felt like I did that with Eye Can See Now. I wanted to be versatile, and show all of the sides of me. I have two projects on the go right now, one is with a producer by the name of Sy Wyld, who also happens to be the guy that produced "One's n' Toos". This is something that's I'm really excited about because we haven't worked together musically for a while and it's a real natural, like we never left vibe in the music. My other project is with a producer named Seaton. It's more musical; he plays all of the instruments live and it's a direction that I've wanted to go for a long time.



Where does most of your songwriting inspiration come from?

I'm inspired a lot by other people, and my own emotions. Usually I write when i'm overwhelmed with a feeling or emotion but it tends to not be right away. It tends to happen once I've had sometime to think about things. At first it's like there is too much going on and I can't make sense of it so I'll try to write but usually it's all over the map. It's when I see down and I'm not really trying to write anything, that my best work happens.

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Shannon Venasse

While she didn't start playing music the minute she was born, Shannon Venasse's ultra-smooth vocals, mature lyricism, and compelling song writing skills have turned her into a worthwhile ambassador of Eastern Canada's music scene. Check out what she had to say to theMOVEMENTZ.



How did you first get involved with music? Did you always know that you were going to pursue it as a career?

I got involved with music when I was in my early 20's. A good friend of mine at the time was dating a person who played the acoustic guitar and I always loved watching and listening to him play. I always thought that I wasn't musically inclined because in high school I was terrible in music class probably due to the fact that I was so shy. Another friend of mine started learning to play and I wanted to jam with everyone. So one day I drove to a guitar store in Toronto and bought my first guitar, a Yamaha acoustic and gig bag. It was a struggle at first for me to learn but I kept at it and got a guitar teacher. Before I knew it I was able to sing along with my guitar and it just progressed from there. I had no idea I was going to pursue music. When I was younger I wanted to become a police officer.



If you had to explain your sound to someone who has never heard it, what would you say?

This is always a hard question for me because I'm influenced by so many different types of music. I generally say it's pop/folk/rock. I notice that when people see a person especially a woman playing the acoustic guitar and singing they automatically call it folk music. But for me each song is so unique to itself and some are more pop/rock sounding, some more folk and some even have a new country sound to them. I would even put myself into the singer/songwriter category. My music is very acoustic guitar driven that's one thing I'm sure of.



Your debut album 'The Lion's Share' was released in 2007. What types of themes/ideas come across in the album?

I was never intending on recording a whole album but I just had so much to say at the time. I was going through a really hard time in my life back then. My mother was dying from leukemia and my partner of 5 years was leaving me for someone else. It was incredibly hard for me to do anything except write songs and be able to sing them. Most of my friends at the time didn't know what to do to help me so they just distanced themselves. I guess the songs were my way of getting them to listen and it was also stress relief for me at the time. If there had to be a theme it would be that life may try to drag you down but you can't allow it to.

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Amy Campbell

Amy Campbell serves up a type of musical storytelling that feels relevant to the present day, but still has that classic, "old time fave" feel. Lovers of country, roots and certain types of folk will surely appreciate the maturity and emotional connectedness of what Campbell has to offer.

Campbell's latest solo album, 'Oh Heart, Oh Highway' is a special two-disc collection, complete with a book of illustration and prose. The result seems like it would make for a perfect artistic package. Here is what Amy had to say about this project and other aspects of her career:



How did you first enter the world of music? Were you always interested in pursuing it as a career?

I've been playing music in one form or another my whole life. I studied classical piano up until I started university. I picked up the guitar when I was about 13... Somewhere in there I started writing songs. After university I found myself in a band that did pretty well for a few years, and I've been playing music professionally ever since.



You have a very unique and interesting sound. How would you describe it for people that have never heard your music?

I consider myself a lyricist first, and all my songs are built up from the lyric. Live, I play acoustic guitar, and I use open and alternate tunings to create a fuller, richer sound. When I'm in the recording studio I use other instruments - percussion, organs, etc - to accent and colour what I do as a live solo artist.



I understand that your solo debut album, "Oh Heart, Oh Highway" is a double disc album with a book of illustrations and prose included.Why did you decide to incorporate all of this into your debut?

It wasn't so much a decision to do it this way, but rather once I had the idea it would have felt like selling the project short not to follow through with it. I spent a long time trying to wrap my head around this recording project, and it wasn't until I saw the over-arching story depicted in the album begin and end that the physical product began to make sense to me.



Where does your song-writing inspiration usually come from?

I'm moved by those moments of emotion that are universal. I like to create a space where any member of the audience can insert their own experience and relate to me and to each other. I try to identify the emotional core of a situation and let the words wend their way back out into a song...



Who are your favourite artists, and how do you think they have influenced your song-writing (if they have)?

I've definitely been influenced by the artists that have gone before me. Most particularly by talented women like Joni Mitchell, Ani Difranco and Patty Griffin - strong musicians and innovative guitar players as well as excellent lyricists. More recently by people like Sarah Harmer and Leslie Feist - artists who write their own material, follow their own paths creatively, and definitely know what to do with an instrument.

Imaan Faith

With 600,000 YouTube and MySpace hits, backers like Johnny ‘J’ and Colby O’Donis , and nothing but good things to say, Imaan Faith is showing us what the airwaves are missing.


Just a month after his album’s debut, Let the Truth be Known (G.U.T.S./DEP/Universal) was listed fourth in The Toronto Star’s T.O. Top Tens, beating out music legends like Sarah McLachlan, Roots, and Def Leppard. If that isn’t enough, Imaan Faith’s debut video for “Haven’t seen U Smile” received an honourable mention for Outstanding Canadian Music Video at the 8th Annual Toronto ReelWorld Film Festival, and has already received over 300,000 views on YouTube.com.

Mixing North American hip-hop with Middle Eastern style, Imaan Faith’s album is an expression of his experiences and values as a person as well as an artist. Let the Truth be Known was eleven years in the making, and if there’s one thing that’s clear from listening to the final product, it’s that this rapper has faith. It’s his name after all.

When did you decide you wanted to make music?

I was always into music. Since day one, my family was really music oriented and growing up my brothers always played music. When I decided music is what I wanted to do was when I heard 2Pac. I wasn’t much just into rap. I heard everything, but when I heard ‘Pac, that was it for me. He really hit me with his words on how we can change and be positive. I was arrested when I was 14-15 and I had nothing to do but listen to ‘Pac and write. My brother saw my passion and he really gave me my push, then I started getting into producing when I lived in New York.

What truth do you want to share?

The truth I’m trying to share with people is don’t be fooled. All that stuff you see on T.V. and read in newspapers ain’t all real. Most of these rappers ain’t gangsters they’re just selling you an image and I don’t do that. I can’t do that. I’ve been blessed to be around real people that know what’s up!


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