I have been in Montreal since last Wednesday, hanging with Zoe’s family, eating a lot of breakfast and generally enjoying my time being away from Toronto.
Hopefully we are signing a lease of an apartment today, for January 1st. If not, than back to the grind that is looking for a house. I’ve also hooked up some freelance work for when I get down this way, so that makes me feel a little more at ease. I basically just want to make a bunch of money so we can buy all the amazing things we want, so that our home can be perfect.
So yah, it is very likely that we will be living here in just over a week. It’s pretty crazy to think that, and I just want things to move forward. It’s about time.
Oh, and it has pretty much been the coldest I have ever been, with the most amount of snow I have ever seen since I got here. I knew I never should’ve believed Zoe when she told me that the weather in Montreal is ‘pretty much equivalent to Cancun’ all year round.
Oh, I also speak zero french, and have more times than none been forced to have a ‘stare down’ until myself or the other person just walks away because we know that our communication is going absolutely nowhere.
Anyways, I am pretty stoked to get on with things, and get here for good.
PS. I will be back in town on Christmas eve, and most likely going straight to Oakville if anyone wants to get together.
This is one of those bands that when you listen to you can really hear how much they influenced music that shaped mine, and many of my friends, teen years. Bands like Penfold, Jimmy Eat World, Piebald, Moneen and Park were huge to me growing up, and I can only imagine that Christie Front Drive were huge to those bands.
This is the type of sound that when someone mentions ‘Emo’ I immediately think of, not the cookie cutter stuff that is out there now. I kind’ve feel sorry for the state that music is in these days, and what the kids who are listening to it have to deal with. Nothing really strikes me as having the same passion, or meaning, as it did back than.
I’ve never felt more removed from my friends, and my past, as I do these days. It’s a strange feeling, and one that has been getting me down lately. Maybe it’s just the time of year, and the things it reminds me of, or maybe it’s just a normal progression.
Whatever it is, I am starving. Time for grocery shopping, and maybe some Clinton’s poutine.
So I couldn’t help but including the original. This is from a Talking Heads live show, that was filmed and made into a film. It is one of the best concert videos I have ever seen, and I think this version of Naive Melody kills the studio one.
So I went and saw Chromeo last night. The best part was when my friend Matt gave me a wrist band from some weird party he was at earlier, and we decided it was a super wrist band that could get us anything, and anywhere. Considering all of the VIP area wrist bands were red, and mine was a bright flourescent green, we knew we were totally on to something
Now, I never thought this wrist band would actually work, nor did I think I could get anything cool out of it, but might as well try right? The next thing i knew I was drinking grey goose out of the bottle and ordering gin and tonics on someone elses tab, telling bouncers I was super famous, and having bottle service girls stealing drinks from other tables and bringing them to me and Steve.
Last night was super fun. I wish I remembered how I got home.
PS. New drawings on the way. Oh, Gordie and Zy are in town this weekend. Same with brahjerrrr. Things are looking up.
Below is one of the greatest video parts ever made, with one of the greatest skateboarders ever produced, skating to one of the greatest songs I have ever heard.
My friend Robin recently pointed me in the direction of Halifax based poster artists YORODEO. The thing I like about them is that they aren’t based in a big Metropolitan area like the GTA, or some other big city in the states, but the amazingly awesome east coast city of Halifax.
After going through the site it looks like they have really tapped into the east coast market and have definately ran with it. Winning numerous awards for there poster designs and other art based projects, and being involved with such notable clients as DFA, Poison the Well and Sixtoo, they are beginning to attract attention on much larger global scale. It is work like this that really lives and breathes what screen printing is all about.
To find out more about YORODEO check out there website here.
Robin is definately a real ‘girls girl’, and her blog is a great indicator of that. Whether you’re looking for some advice in what’s hip and new within the fabric and textile world, or just wanna find something cute to get the girlfriend for her birthday, than her blog is a definate must read.
Aside from being one of my closest friends, Gordie Ball is also one of the most underrated and talented photographers I ever had the pleasure of working with. Growing up in the suburbs of Toronto he spent his days, like many of us did, skateboarding and attending local shows. It was around this time that he ventured into the world of photography, and although shooting photos runs in his blood, he quickly came into his own with his one of a kind style and attitude, which is clearly depicted in his work.
After years of making a name for himself throughout the local music scene, Gordie has taken his craft by storm and worked with such high profile clients such as Nike, Fall Out Boy, Naked Eye Magazine and Panic At The Disco. With his no bullshit, rockstar outlook on life, there is no denying that Gordie Ball will soon be making huge waves with his extremely candid and emotional style of shooting.
Again, although this dude is one of my best friends in the world, you can’t deny his exorbitant amount of talent when it comes to using a camera. Oh, and his keen sense of fashion, well that’s an entirely differnet story altogether.
As impressed as I have been with Santogolds music lately, I am equally impressed with her album cover. I love the use of the super simple black and white photography being contrasted together with the totally over the top explosion of gold. It feels so planned, yet completely chaotic all at the the same time. Shows a good sense of originality while staying very true to her image and style of music.
Again, if you haven’t heard Santogold yet than quit sleeping on it and check her out here.
Neck Face is an artist I’ve been into for a while now. It’s been pretty interesting to follow his progress from your typical city kid running around skateboarding and tagging everything in site, to being creative director for huge skateboard companies, having art shows where he is selling is work for thousands of dollars, and collaborating with companies such as Vans and Stussy.
I think what pulls me into his work is that it’s the sort’ve of stuff where someone can make the claim ‘my little nephew can draw better than that’ or ‘I could’ve done that’, but the thing is you didn’t, and to tell you the truth, you couldn’t.
I am still awake from last night, due to still being incredibly sick and not being able to catch a breath if my life depended on it (which it actually does I suppose), as well as constantly having nightmares involving situations from my past.
I don’t get my dreams. Some nights they will involve talking dogs, who can drive, and live at my house (which is actually a huge giant mansion, in the desert, made of gold, but for some reason that is totally normal) while others will just be super real and just sort’ve rehash things from my past.
I dunno, I don’t get dreams. Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten that pizza and entire bag of sour kids at 5am.
This is a poster / advertisement I did for Friendly Skateboards a few years back. I just recently fixed my computer and have been digging through a lot of older stuff, and some of it I feel still warrants being put on the blog.
Anyways, the Friendly dudes are some of my best and oldest friends. They do what they do for the only reason there is, the love of skateboarding.
Recent Comments