SIGNAL

ABOUT

CONTACT

There’s no denying it. February is rearing its semi-ugly head, which means that Singles Awareness Day is soon to be upon us.

It’s sad but true: Valentine’s Day is out to get you no matter which side of the relationship fence you fall on. The romantically involved, for example, are pressured to spend wads of cash, organize and plan spectacles of endearment, and generally succumb to the discomfort of cognitive dissonance that this artificially invoked day inspires. Meanwhile, the romantically uninvolved are left to suffer from the malaise of envy caused by grass-is-always-greener syndrome.

It’s a real problem, with only one real solution: boycott.

Like my Dad would always tell me in regard to bullies as a smart mouthed child prone to bloody lips and teary eyes, ignore them and they will go away. In the same vein, treat Valentine’s Day like it’s any other day and its power over you will be diminished.

But in order to ignore a day that pressures you into pretending you like spending all your resources on the one your with, don’t you first have to be with someone? The boycott can only really work if you’re in a position to boycott.

So the dateless appear to be left in the lurch on this one. Once again.

Enter D’8 Night. Eight men and eight women get eight minutes each to get to know one another across the span of a mutually embarrassing evening. They fill out cards at the end of the night describing who they’d like to get to know more, and any two that match up are given contact details for the chance at further romance.

There’s one happening this Wendesday, February 4th, which is a good ten days before Valentine’s Day drops. The perfect opportunity to get romantically involved with someone in time to get romantically uninvolved come February 14th.

darcyf Uncategorized

OK February, what the heck is your problem?

Sometimes you’re 28 days, other times you’re 29. You’ve got an “r” in the middle of your name that has no business being there. You’re cold. You’re dark. Valentine’s Day.

I mean, sometimes I think you’re just out to piss us all off. Like that’s just how you get your kicks.

But then you go and throw something our way like the RPM Challenge, and I’m forced to rethink your m.o. entirely.

For the uninitiated, the RPM Challenge is simple: make an album in 28 days. Alright, so it might be simpler in description than in execution. But only marginally!

Heck, 22 local bands made it look simple enough last year.

The RPM Challenge is being hosted and organized locally by the good people at The Scope, so check the latest issue for more on how to get your ass in gear. Then be sure to get said ass down to The Victory this Saturday night for the kick-off party.

The RPM Challenge: it’s not a contest, there are no prizes, and yet somehow everybody wins.

darcyf Uncategorized

elsam Uncategorized

Bruce Springsteen has just announced he’s doing a world tour. As per usual, that world does not include St. John’s, or any part of Newfoundland and Labrador for that matter.

Whatever. Bruce Springsteen doesn’t need to do St. John’s because St. John’s is already doing Bruce Springsteen. Again.

From their Facebook event page:

“Last year it happened twice. Twice, it was so good. This year it’s happening again. Mick Davis is doing it. Tim Baker is doing it. And Jody Richardson, Phil Churchill, Geraldine Hollett, Luke Major, Blair Harvey, Sean Panting, Doug Rowe, Sandy May and Ian Cornelissen are doing it, all backed by Mark Bragg and The G Street Band.

And Jonny Harris is hosting it.

Not bragging, just sayin’.”

No, no. Brag away. I caught one of these before, after a Feist show, and it blew that thing out of the salt water. And you’d have to living under a bridge with an emotionally abusive troll who hates the idea of you going out not to know that Jonny Harris is split-your-sides-and-stomp-on-your-kidneys funny.

To cap it all off, it’s happening over Valentine’s. What better way to celebrate the commercialization of love than pumping your fist to the gyrations of a bunch of sweaty, scruffy men and two lovely ladies as they bust out the best of The Boss?

Honestly, I can’t think of one. The mental image already has me swooning.

St. John’s Does Bruce Springsteen is happening February 13th and 14th at The Rock House. Tickets are $15.00 and can be purchased in advance at The Ship and Fred’s Records.

darcyf Uncategorized

…This. 

So I notice one of my fellow bloggers appreciates some of the more ridiculous posts on online classifieds as much as I do. 

I can’t help but spend my idle hours searching the Internet for stuff like this, and I have a folder brimming with screencaps to show for it. 

On Newfoundland’s own Craigslist, I stumbled across an ad enticingly titled “Seeking Disastrous Female Featuring Sex, Lies, Lots of Drama.” 

This user is simply looking for: “…an attractive female who will at first give me obsessive love, praise, and devotion – but whose paranoia, self-loathing, and fear of rejection and abandonment will eventually lead her to alternately push me away and pull me closer in a love/hate cycle that will lead to infidelity, consensual sexual violence, and the inevitable emotional breakdown of one or the other party – or, if we’re lucky, both!”

I’m not even sure what a relationship like that would look like, frankly. I’m not the kind of person to condemn someone’s kinks–so long as they’re legal–so I guess if someone out there searching for the same kind of arrangement sees that and cares to respond, power to this guy.

Honestly though, this one has me scratching my head. I can’t tell if it was posted by some jackass who gets kicks pretending to be some creep in cyberspace (and in so doing, being a complete creepshow themselves;) or if it was posted in earnest by a real guy named Tim who happens to get off on “acrimony” and “possible legal drama.”  

I can’t tell if the very literate tone and impeccable punctuation (just look at the Oxford comma in the post title) of this entry indicates sincerity or some kind of online fuckwittery.  

But personally, I hope it’s genuine. As they say, different strokes for different folks.  

Good luck and godspeed, Tim-50(St. John’s); I hope you find a “nice smile that quickly melts into tear-filled rage. “

nathand Uncategorized

Part 3 of 3 (the others are here and here)

Fast forward.

It’s five minutes till we head into old Salon B, to watch as four pre-selected musicians make REAL pitches to REAL buyers, in front of twenty or so people who wouldn’t normally be sitting, watching, and making notes.

As Bryan and I sit in the hallway, breathing a sigh of relief that neither of us has been selected for the 15 minute pitch, I’m approached with some shocking news: In about 20 minutes I’ll be at the front of the room, pitching Waye Mason…

“Pitching Waye Mason” may sound like a generic alt-country band from Oregon, but it’s not…

Waye Mason is the Director of the Halifax Pop Explosion, and exactly the kind of person I need to talk to. He’s a political blogger, an indie-music supporter, and generally interesting/involved sort of guy.

It was time to get focussed…

So here’s where the learning will come into play…I’m no expert, but I’m going to do my best to get across the most important ingredients of a good pitch, using my own to illustrate both the good and the bad.

1. Know your audience.

This is pretty straightforward. If you don’t know who you’re talking to you won’t have much luck speaking their language…

I was pretty familiar with Waye’s festival. I knew who has played it in the past. I knew the genres that are included. Most importantly, I knew that the Subtitles could fit in pretty nicely.

I also knew I could use the term “indie-pop” and describe our sound as “Buddy Holly meets The Cure, with a dose of the Flaming Lips” and Waye would know exactly what I meant (and, he did!)

2. Say what you want to say FIRST!

What did i want to say to Waye?

A couple of things:

“The Subtitles are ready to take the next step.”

“How do we do it right?”

“What can you do to help us?”

How long did it take me to say these things? At least 10 minutes of doddering away, making small talk and giving him general information about the band.

My hesitance to ask exactly what I wanted to ask, right off the bat, was the primary part of my pitch that Waye thought could have been better. 

We’re used to talking in circles, approaching what we want to say, backing, off, going through the motions to keep whoever it is we’re talking to from feeling like we’re just trying to get something out of them…

The thing is, in a pitch, you are trying to get something out of them, and you’ve got an incredibly limited amount of time to do it- this is not to say that you won’t strike up a friendship with the person you’re talking with, just remember- if  you want something (information, a gig, a phone number), ask for it.

3. Follow up

The last step to any pitch, successful, or not, is the follow-up.

If the person you’re pitching to asks for further information, get it to them right away.

If they give you some advice, say “post a video on your myspace” do it right away, and let them know you did!

Most importantly, if you tell them you will do something, DO IT!

Follow up is important, and showing that you aren’t just full of hot air and no action is really, really attractive to pretty much anyone.

Yes?

rebeccac Uncategorized