A trip up to Fort McMurray...

This past weekend I visited for the first time Fort McMurray, the epicenter of the oil sands project in Alberta and the region that most people probably think about when they hear Alberta. I was really going up there for the Alberta Provincial Swimming Championships (weird location - I know) but I did take a quick drive north of the city to see one of Syncrude's tailing ponds. (         )

It was pretty disgusting to see what these developments actually look like in real life, not just on the TV or in the newspaper. It was also really cool to know that I have now been to the places that they talk about so often on the radio. So now when I hear "Fort McMurray" on the radio I'll think of these photos, as I will forever have these images engraved in my memory.

Awesome Belts by Ryaton Leatherworks!

I have added a new belt buckle to my growing collection today, this time one made by my friend Greg Morgan, who is Ryaton Leatherworks. Greg makes amazing belt buckles, belts and has recently started working on making shoes - all out of leather. A few weeks ago I had asked him to make me a belt as a sort of memento of Edmonton before I leave for Winnipeg this summer. I sent him some ideas and pictures (I had in mind a compass-like design for the belt buckle) and also asked if he could inscribe the words "Edmonton 2001-2011" along a belt that I could purchase as well. In just a couple of short weeks Greg had everything that I had asked for ready and I went this morning to pick up the belt and buckle from his shop.



To learn more about Greg and Ryaton Leatherworks you can visit his website at www.ryaton.com.

The Edmonton Journal also wrote an article about Greg a few weeks ago that you can read at http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Handtooling+leather+labour+love/4846373/story.html.

I won't be wearing a suit to my grade 9 "grad" this Tuesday as some of my friends are - but instead now I'll have something even cooler to wear!

Gay Pride Edmonton 2011!

Oh boy, I'm really embarrassed now... I haven't posted on my blog in over 2 months!!! This summer though it is my goal to try and revive my blog and try my hand at some more photojournalism. To kick this new era of my blog off here are some photos from this year's Edmonton Pride Parade which took place yesterday.

Our city councilor Ben Henderson has pride!
A reminder of Israeli apartheid...
Pretty darn awesome.
LGBT community of Fort MacMurray... that would be pretty hard...
Also pretty darn awesome.

As the school year draws to a close and summer begins I will be trying to post on the blog more often, so don't forget about me just yet!

YouTube Channel

Hey everyone!

I know that this is my first post in a very long time, but I just wanted to let you know that I now have a YouTube channel. You can check it out at http://www.youtube.com/user/IsaacSTWMusic. I'll be posting mostly videos of me performing, such as a performance that I did of a Sigur Ros song at a benefit concert in January.

I will be trying to post more soon, but I just have been very busy with swimming, music and life in general. I'm sure that I'll have lots of stuff to write about though as the election gets closer. For example...

Here's an article about how Harper has a five question limit per day: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Stephen+Harper+refuses+explain+limits+media+queries/4536394/story.html

I mean, who does he think he is?! The prime minister of Canada or something? The good thing though is that as Canadians see more of Harper they seem to like him less and as Canadians see more of Ignatieff they seem to like him more.

One thing that will be interesting to see is how Linda Duncan will do in this election (after she won by only 1% against Rahim Jaffir in 2008, becoming the only NDP MP in Alberta). There is of course a new Conservative candidate in Edmonton-Strathcona for this election... and from what I've heard of him so far, he doesn't seem like a majour improvement from Jaffir.

Anyway, as the election comes closer I'll try and post some more stuff on here. Also, I have a few performances coming up (a school talent show thingy and another benefit concert) that I might post videos of on my YouTube channel, so check it out!

My Top Albums of 2010

To tell you the truth, I didn't really listen to that much new music in 2010. I was more preoccupied with discovering and re-discovering older music rather than going out and buying new albums. For instance, (for those who know me this will be no surprise) this year after my inspiring trip to Iceland I discovered the quirky Icelandic musician Bjrk and I soon developed quite the obsession with Iceland's most well known person. At another point in the year I "re-discovered" Canadian power-pop icon Sloan. I may have possibly set some kind of record for listening to their song "Snowsuit Sound" over 20 times in one day. Later on in 2010 I discovered the band which may have changed my entire life. My obsession with this band has continued on into this year and I sit here right now typing this obsessively listening to all their albums on repeat. For those who know me, you will of course know that I am talking about Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. I'm not sure what happened during my trip to Iceland in August, but I somehow developed an odd attraction to anything Icelandic.

I did however listen to some new albums that came out in 2010. Here is a list of some of my favourites (in no particular order) with a link to my favourite song from that album:

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs; favourite song: "We Used to Wait" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLjrQ3cwzJ4&ob=av2nm

Vampire Weekend - Contra; favourite song: "Holiday" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vraoiVCDdaM

Stars - The Five Ghosts; favourite song: "Dead Hearts" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfYK8wvvU90

Jónsi (lead singer of Sigur Rós!) - Go; favourite song: "Go Do" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYb2Q3DvLNE

The National - High Violet; favourite song: "Bloodbuzz Ohio" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfySK7CLEEg

Now I've gotta go back to listening to some more Sigur Rós (I hear that they might have a new album coming out this year)!

The Concert of a Lifetime : Weakerthans @ Burton Cummings

A few weeks ago the Weakerthans played a series of four concerts in their hometown, one for each of their albums. Their last concert was at the Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg was without a doubt a once in a lifetime experience. The band played all four of their albums in a row to a hometown crowd, from their most recent album Reunion Tour to their first album Fallow.

I have been a Weakerthans fan since 2005 when I saw them perform at the Edmonton folk fest. For some reason or another, my nine year old self really liked their music and I have been a huge fan ever since! Perhaps this was because of their interesting lyrics or their Canadianess, but whatever the reason, they remain to this day to be my favourite band. I saw the band again when they came to Edmonton but I have always wanted to see them perform in their hometown, so for me that Saturday night really was the concert of a lifetime.

It was great to hear the Weakerthans play in Winnipeg, especially in such an historic theatre as the Burton Cummings. I’ve always wanted to hear John K Samson perform his song “One Great City” and hear him sing the lines the Guess Who sucked and I hate Winnipeg in this theatre along with hundreds of other Winnipeggers. I had been looking forward to that song in that theatre for the weeks leading up to the concert, and when the moment finally came it definitely didn’t disappoint.

For some bands, where you see them perform doesn’t matter, but for a band like the Weakerthans it’s different. The fact that I was seeing them perform in Winnipeg was what made the concert so great. I think that this is because Winnipeg is featured in so many of the Weakerthans’ songs. Not only that, but what is also special is that this band seems to share a very strong connection with their hometown audience because they can relate about so many of the same feelings.

For instance, in their song that I had previously mentioned “One Great City” at first glance seems like a song talking about how the band hates Winnipeg. However if you know Winnipeg then it is obvious that John K is singing about the unique love-hate relationship that Winnipeggers have with their city. The stereotypes often associated with Winnipeg may be true; cold winter and lots of mosquitoes in the summer, but many people living in Winnipeg would never dare leave because of their strong attachment and deep feelings for the town.

This concert definitely required a lot of stamina, both for the performers and the audience. Imaginary Cities (also from Winnipeg) opened for the Weakerthans and after their one hour performance the main act played for another four hours! Nearing the end of the night, John K. Samson stated that they would never do this again, so all those people at that concert really made Weakerthans history! However from my perspective, even though the concert was a bit lengthy, it was definitely worth it.