Category: Blog

Studio View w/ Eagleson

Eagleson is…

How would you describe your live performance?

Daniel: Loud. Visually, couldn’t tell ya, can’t see through my hair.

What was the inspiration behind Blood Diamond?

Alex: Its about obsession, lyrically Blood Diamond was about not being able to cope with someone finding a new love interest. The character in the song has grown completely crazy over the woman and has begun a borderline dangerous obsession.

How have you as a band matured and grown since your last record and was there a specific moment that really impacted your direction for this record?

Daniel: I think we’ve matured as songwriters, and we’re starting to come into our own. With Blood Diamond, it was a very spontaneous thing and happened very quickly, compared to the amount of time we put into our last EP ’Here It Is’. So there wasn’t really an epiphany “moment”, we just had this song and thought “Let’s do this!”.

You guys have played tons of shows all over, with some really big names. Which was your favourite and why?

Ryan: Rival Sons was definitely our biggest honour. But my favourite show to date would have to be opening up for Danko Jones with Say Yes a few weeks ago. Everything is starting to fall into place, be it the line up change or the new songs. We’ve been working our asses off over the winter on new material and coming into our own as a four piece so this last show and everything looking forward is really exciting.

We saw Ryan recently went on quite the adventure, can you tell us a little bit more about your trip? Where did you go and what was your favourite part?

Ryan: My favourite part was getting back home to open up for Danko Jones with Say Yes. Haha no, but honestly it was unreal. Such a great adventure and life experience that will always be with me. We spent most of our time in Vietnam and my two favourite parts were spending days on motorcycles cruising through the mountains, and spending a few days on a boat exploring Halong Bay.

Random Question Time!

You’re just heading home after a show and you’re starving. Where are you going to eat?

Daniel: Usually it’s fast food because that’s all that’s open at that hour. After our last show we ran into Curtis Lazar at the Rideau McDonalds. Being Sens fans, that was pretty cool. He was nice!

Name one crazy piece of technology you think will be around in the year 2050.

Daniel: Hopefully an iPhone with a battery that lasts more than a couple hours.

On a scale of 1 – 10 how much do you hate PK Subban?

Pete: Lets not hate.

What are all your middle names?

Robert, Gordon, David, Tupac. (Yes, you read that correctly. Apparently Pete’s middle name is actually Tupac)

Check out Eagleson’s new single – Blood Diamond:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugUhdCnLXvA

Studio View w/ City Fidelia

 

 City Fidelia is..

Rapper and leader of the #OldNewFashion Movement, City Fidelia recently released his new album, a Pisces World. With this most recent release City is continuing his climb to the top and is putting his name up there with some of the best rappers coming out of Canada.  City has been in the game for a while and performed at major events, with big names such as ASAP Rocky, Machine Gun Kelly, Hopsin and many more. We had the privilege of sitting down and chatting with City about his new album, his progression as an artist and a few other random topics. Check it out below and be sure to purchase his new album and show your support!

 

  1. What was the inspiration behind your album a Pisces World?

 

“I had a girlfriend that was really into Astrology and I noticed how some of those horoscopes reflected my characteristics, but to dig deeper, I believe reading our zodiac signs will help us humans reflect on our strengths and weakness , this whole album is about doing a self assessment. P.S. Two of my brothers are Pisces as well.”

 

  1. How have you as an artist matured and grown since your last record and was there a specific moment or experience that really impacted your direction for this record?

 

“On the first record, Salaam and I just met, so there was a lot of trial and error and we basically did everything from scratch and learned new things during the process. After we released the first project we decided that we were going to try and push the boundaries and not let people put us in the box of that classical hip hop sound that I love, don’t get me wrong but it was a challenge that I wanted to take on.”

 

  1. What type of message or messages are you trying to convey with a Pisces World?

 

“I want everybody that listens to the album to know that we all have flaws and we all have a struggle but if you persevere through it, you’ll find your blessing, its important to embrace who we are, no one is perfect , being perfect is boring.”

 

  1. You’ve been in the game for a while and you’ve played tons of shows with household names. It may be tough to pick one but I’m gonna ask you anyways. Which was your favourite show to date and why?

 

“It’s a hard one, I will say the Hopsin show because he brought back out on stage and showed me love in front of his fans, E.L.E fest because I was able to watch a whole bunch of performers from my city kill it, and the MGK show because it was my first time crowd surfing.”

 

  1. We both know there’s a lot that goes on behind every great artist that the people don’t always get to see and I know you have a whole crew behind you helping out in a variety of different ways. Can you give us a peek behind the curtain and tell us who else is involved with your projects and your movement and a bit of what they do?

 

“Salaam Status executive produces all my projects, he’s basically my 40. Picasso is a great person to have around because he always challenges me in the studio, same with Laguil who engineered the whole project , this project wouldn’t be possible with out them. My bro Issa keeps me sane and also makes sure that I’m on time and get where I need to be, because my head is in the clouds sometimes. Carpe gives me advice when it comes to writing and life situations. Joe helps with the promo and the travels when we go city to city. NDMA helps me come up with ideas, we pretty much do everything together with the old new fashion movements. Cashtro makes sure that I don’t hold onto my music for years lol. DJ Mes holds me down every time I hit the stage. Njaguna is like my motivational speaker and always makes sure that I put god first. Joel helps me out when it comes to different approaches in the music business and my manager makes sure that my mind is right and encourages me to make good decisions. Overall my team is my family and we hold each other down outside this music, we stay very honest with each other and I know I could rely on any of these people and some that are unlisted as well, I love them all.”

 

Random question time:

 

  1. Your best friend just walked into your place before heading out for the night wearing the most hideous outfit you’ve ever seen, what do you do?

 

“We are very honest with each other, I would tell him to take it off and never wear it again lol. I’m usually that guy in the crew that where’s the so-called hideous things.”

 

  1. Name one piece of technology you hope is invented in the next 20 years.

 

“Being able to teleport, so that I can travel the world and be right back in bed with my honey in no time.”  

 

  1. I think this is the question everyone is dying to ask… where’d you get your now famous hat that we see in all the promo for a Pisces World?

 

“HAHAHAHA , NDMA, the fashion killer surrendered it, that’s what brothers do, we share information”

 

  1. If your music was a drink, what drink would it be?

 

“A bottle of Hennessey, that drink plays with my emotions”

 

  1. Last and most importantly where can people listen to and/or purchase your new album!?

“People can Purchase the Album on Itunes, Spotify, Amazon and also stream it on sound cloud, The 4 A.M video is coming out very sooooonnn, and we will be premiering it at Silver City, so watch out for that!”

City Pisces World

 

iTunes [ http://tinyurl.com/cityfidelia]
Amazon [ http://tinyurl.com/cityfideliaonamzn ]

 

6 Easy Ways to Take Your Live Show to The Next Level

To this day, one of the most effective ways to build your fan base is through your live performance. Not only is it an opportunity to wow everyone in attendance and turn them into die hard fans but it’s also an opportunity to reach into each individual’s personal network by giving them something to tell their friends and family about. So do yourself a favour and take your live show to the next level with these 6 easy tips.

1. Guest Appearances

Having a guest performer join you on stage for a couple songs or an entire set will introduce a new element to your show that existing fans haven’t seen and new fans will enjoy. On top of that your guest performer will likely pull a few new potential fans to your show that otherwise may not have been aware of your band before.

2. Develop a Grand Entrance

Again, you may think it’s cheesy, but the audience will eat it up. How does almost every band start their show? They walk onto the stage, say a few words to the audience and then start performing… but you’re not every other band are you ;).

Stand out and do something different!

Perception is reality my friends, if you walk onto that stage like a rock star, the audience is going to think you’re a rock star. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy, you just have to believe it and have fun.

3. Direct The Audience

Sometimes there are so many great things happening on stage that the audience doesn’t know where to look. While this may sound like a good thing it can also confuse the audience and detract from the show. In order to make sure this doesn’t happen, use your movements and body language to direct the audience’s attention to where it should be. For example, if your lead guitarist is performing an epic solo, he should be front and center while the rest of your band moves to the back allowing the audience to focus on him. If the rest of the band stays at the front of the stage then the audience may not realize where their attention is supposed to be and end up missing out. By having the rest of the band move away it empowers the member in the spotlight and puts them on a pedestal for their big moment.

4. Look at the Audience

I know you love your instrument and you want stare at it and show it how much you care, and there’s nothing wrong with that… except that there is an audience full of people staring at you, craving your attention. Lift your eyes up from the guitar, the audience paid to see you perform, so show them some love, and do your best to make eye contact with each and every one of them. You can also smile and wink at them just try to keep it tasteful. Use your eyes to engage with them, it will make them feel more connected to you and enhance their experience immeasurably.

5. DANCE

You’re a rock star, not a tree. Uproot your limbs and start moving around! How can you expect the audience to dance if you’re not? It is your job as the band to get the audience going, not the other way around, so show them how it’s done!

6. Synchronized Theatrics

While this may seem cheesy to you, the audience will eat it up, we promise. Something as simple as both guitarists performing a synchronized two-step grabs the audience’s attention and provides added entertainment. The more people doing something interesting, the more entertaining it is.