Author Archives: Brooke McCarthy

TikTok Introduces Thousands of New Listeners to Mother Mother

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Despite having not released new music in two years, BC band Mother Mother is on the charts again, and it’s all thanks to TikTok.

If you have ever listened to an alternative station here in Vancouver, or really anywhere in North America, you know about Mother Mother. With seven LPs under their belt and countless sold out shows, they are Canadian icons. But if you were like me and asked your friends if they wanted to go to a Mother Mother show in high school, they would have no idea who you were talking about. Enter, TikTok.

Initially released in 2016 but really taking off in the mainstream at the start of lockdown in March 2020, TikTok is a video sharing app where users can make short clips using ‘sounds’ and share them with the world. Users can make their own sounds or lip-sync to someone else’s audio, but more often than not these sounds are songs. And these songs go viral fast. Often with a dance or a meme trend attached, users mimic each other and reinvent and edit and create and the algorithm decides what gets popular. Eventually you watch so many videos, the song gets stuck in your head, and the rest is history.

That is exactly what happened with Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’ last month, with a trend so popular Mick Fleetwood and Stevie Nicks even participated.

But Mother Mother’s TikTok story is different. A number of songs from their 2008 album O My Heart just seemed to strike a chord with the TikTok teens and despite no single trend or dance that has caught on, #mothermother has garnered over 60 million views.

The band gained traction initially among gothic fashion and cosplay TikTok, but songs like Arms Tonite and Hayloft that reject genre and social norms have become particularly popular amongst the non-binary and gender-nonconforming people on the app. Many young LGBT+ people have found community in places like TikTok, and they are using the songs to share their stories and creations.

TikTok-ers are using it so much in fact, that the band hit Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Popular Artists chart this month and their Spotify streams are up 183% from August to October 2020.

The band themselves have joined the fun, collecting nearly 400k followers since front man Ryan Guldemond signed up for the app in August. They have also recently started teasing their upcoming eighth studio album, right now only known as #MMLP8, much to both new and old fans delight.

New daysormay ‘Holding My Tongue’ is Not a Political Song.

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Vancouver-based daysormay’s new song opens with ‘I been holding my tongue way too long…‘ and ends with important commentary on human rights in 2020 and beyond.

If you haven’t listened to daysormay yet, you should start. With music that defies genre and lyrics that are equal parts thoughtful and sing-along-able, it’s only a matter of time before Aidan, Nolan, and Carson, are household names.

After discovering them a few years back, daysormay has quickly become one of my favourite bands, and I even got a chance to interview them earlier this month for New Music Now. Their newest single, Holding My Tongue (lovingly referred to as HMT), is unlike anything they have written before.

Although some have been quick to label it another political song in 2020, it’s important to note that HMT isn’t about politics. Aidan Andrews, the front man and main songwriter of the band is quick to say “this isn’t a political statement, this is me saying that people need to stop being killed. It’s about human rights”.

Andrews started writing the song in 2014, when he was only fifteen years old, after he saw the video of Eric Garner being killed by the NYPD. The horrifying reality of police brutality in the US and around the world stuck with him, and after writing it for a few years and touring it a couple times, daysormay recorded the song in the summer of 2018. Little did they know how horribly relevant lyrics like “death on the sidewalks, I can’t breathe…” would still be when they released it on 23 October 2020.

Black Lives Matter

The concept of Holding My Tongue is something many people can relate to; being horrified about what’s going on, wanting to speak up, not knowing how and fearing the effects of what you might say. But if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that we must take action, educate ourselves, and speak up for what’s right. It’s not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist. Black. Lives. Matter.

With their signature alt-rock sound complimented with synths and killer vocals, this is another hit from daysormay. A young band from the interior of BC releasing fresh and powerful music is just what we need right now. It’s time to stop holding your tongue.

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

 

My Last Concert (One Year Later)

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On 26 October 2019 I went to a concert. Little did I know it would be my last one for a very long time.

noah kahan, 2019

Read part one of this story here.

It was my first ever concert at the Commodore Ballroom. I was finally legal, the bouncer checked my ID for what felt like forever (the issue of looking like I am twelve years old and having a birth year that older generations don’t think could possibly be nineteen), and we were in.

The Commodore Ballroom. (Commodore Ballroom press photo)

The Commodore Ballroom. The place I had been hearing and dreaming about for years.  I don’t know exactly what I expected it to look like, but it wasn’t this. This was so much better. I get the hype now. From the sound to just the general vibe, it’s a great venue. And I was happy to know that yes, the dance floor is actually a little bouncy.

I had initially bought the tickets for the opening act (JP Saxe), but in the months leading up to the concert I had become obsessed with Noah Kahan‘s debut album Busyhead. It was the first time I had gone to a show and literally knew every. single. word.

jp saxe, 2019

Saxe, who is now almost a household name, had only just released his song If The World Was Ending (if only we knew) with his now girlfriend Julia Michaels. JP Saxe is a great keyboard player, with a unique voice and amazing sound. His act was just a joy to watch. I even got to meet him after the show and he is really that nice and funny in person.

Noah Kahan’s set was phenomenal. A great musician, a great storyteller, all around awesome guy. Perfect mix of tear jerkers and dance offs, and my friend and I just had an absolute blast.

As we took the train back and drove home, we listened to Noah Kahan and JP Saxe and talked about the show and about the ones we were looking forward to in the new year. I was set to see AJR, Harry Styles, and I was taking a trip down to Tacoma to see My Chemical Romance on their reunion tour. Quite the eclectic mix. I was so excited.

One show was cancelled and two have been postponed to 2021.

I don’t know if I would have done anything different, had I known. Would I have lived in the moment more? Would I have tried to capture it on video to watch later? (If that’s one thing the past seven months has made me do, finally watch the concert video clips I have been taking for years). I don’t think so. I had a great time, I don’t know how it could have been any better.

I do miss it though. A lot. Being in room with all those people, singing and dancing together, caring about something together. I don’t know when that will be able to happen again, nobody does. I don’t know if those two shows in 2021 will actually happen or not.

I know that some of my best memories are at concerts, and the photos and videos will keep me company until I can make some more. And hey, it was a pretty good last month of concerts if I do say so myself.

My First Concert (Before Everything Changed)

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I went to my first concert when I was just eleven years old. I remember we weren’t sure if eleven-year-olds could even legally go to concerts (they can, of course).

The outside of Roger’s Arena (Wikimedia Creative Commons, hucul002, 2011)

It was at Roger’s Arena, for a band that has since disappointed me. I went with my mum, because who else do you go with to a concert at eleven years old, and I have distinct memories of walking home from school when she phoned me and told me about the tickets.

After that first show I was hooked, and since then I have taken every opportunity I could to experience music live. As of September last year, I had been to countless free shows and sixteen paid gigs in the past eight years. This all lead up to October 2019 where, partially for my birthday and partially because it just worked out that way, I had tickets to four concerts. At the time it seemed excessive, but I wasn’t gonna pass up a chance to see so many artists I loved. It was my nineteenth birthday, month two of college, and damn it if I wasn’t going to have some fun.

dodie, 2019

The first was dodie at the Vogue Theatre, which honestly is my favourite venue in the city (if you want to read about someone else’s favourite venues in the city, you can read that here). I had seen dodie once before in Seattle in 2018 with my best friend, but now we got to see her again in our home city. It was an amazing show, a local children’s choir even joined her on stage bringing everyone to tears. The opening act, Adam Melchor, has since become one of my favourite artists.

jonas brothers, 2019

The second was the Jonas Brothers. A concert I had literally been waiting for since I was eight years old. It was everything I dreamed it would be.

hozier, 2019

Next was Hozier, the night before my birthday. One of my favourite artists of all time, fantastic musician and lyricist, puts on a damn good show. I have my qualms about the Doug Mitchell, but that was a fun night. I quietly turned nineteen alone in a crowd of people on the bus ride home. I was literally pressed up against the rear door of the bus. How strange to think about now.

All this lead up to the day. October 26, 2019. Almost exactly a year ago. My last concert before everything changed.

Read part two of this story here.

Avril Lavigne to #FightLyme With Virtual Concert Tonight

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Looking for something to do tonight? Why not check out Canada’s own pop punk queen live in (virtual) concert for a great cause.

Lavigne, along with One Republic, Rob Thomas, and Alessia Cara, will be putting on a virtual benefit concert tonight on her website in support of the Avril Lavigne Foundation and the Global Lyme Alliance. All proceeds from the event and associated merch will go directly to the charities, in their efforts to research and fight lyme disease.

Lyme disease is an infenctious disease spread by tic bites. Its symptoms (fatigue, fever, joint pain, heart palpitations, etc.) often mimic other issues, making it difficult to diagnose. Lavigne herself saw multiple doctors before she was finally able to get her diagnosis after her 30th birthday in 2014. She revealed her struggles with the disease in an interview the following year, saying that she was bedridden for months and felt like she was dying.

Since then, Avril Lavigne has been recovering from Lyme and is using her platform to help bring awareness to Lyme disease and supporting those who have suffered from it; including fellow Canadian Justin Bieber who spoke for the first time about his battle earlier this year. Shania Twain has also been open about her diagnosis.

Known for her pop-punk alt roots and tomboy style of the early 2000’s, Lavigne has recently made a major comeback to Canadian airwaves with her album Head Above Water in 2019. The eponymous single, along with many of the other songs on the album, is about her health struggles.

Her most recent single, We Are Warriors, is a rerecording of her album closer Warrior, and was released this past spring in support of the worldwide COVID-19 relief effort by Project HOPE.

Noted the ‘only chance to see Avril Lavigne perform in 2020’, tonight’s concert supports a very personal cause for the singer. Hosted by actor Wilmer Valderrama and featuring performances from Lavigne and a number of special guests, tonight’s show is not to be missed. You can get tickets here, the show starts at 5pm PST.

 

 

 

Local Artists Take the (Livestream) Stage in the Okanagan

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If you have been craving that new-music-live feeling, look no further.

Music BC and Okanagan’s own Hubbub Live are proud to present Let’s Hear It! Live a music showcase of three emerging BC artists, this Thursday, 22 October 2020.

The three artists, Post-Modern Connection, Mother Sun, and Jodie B, will be performing live at The Kelowna Actor’s Studio at 7pm—bringing viewers an eclectic mix of indie-alternative-electric-pop right to their living rooms.

Livestream concerts and events have become an omnipresent part of 2020, with everyone from Billie Eilish to Coldplay taking part. Artists and venues alike have been taking a hit from the lack of performances, and concert-goers around the world are trying to fill the void anyway they can.

New artists have been especially affected, losing opportunities to grow their fan base and showcase their work to new crowds every night. That’s where Let’s Hear It! Live comes in, the goal being to provide a platform for these new Okanagan artists and to introduce them to a new audience.

Post-Modern Connection is a five piece group made up of members from all over the world. High energy, soulful, and different, the band brings bends genre and reinvents themselves with each hit. Their catchy choruses and unique sound has led them to open for iconic alt-bands like Wintersleep and Hollerado.

Forming in 2017 from four members of the Kamloops indie scene, Mother Sun has been making waves in alternative music. They have a fun, laidback, rock tone that’s sort of Catfish and the Bottlemen meets Cage the Elephant with just a hint of surf pop. You just need to keep listening.

Jodie B is a master of the loop pedal. Having just released her self-produced album Equanimous on October 2nd, her powerful voice and electronic sound are not unlike art/alt rock queens like St. Vincent, K.Flay, and Meg Myers. Jodie B wants to keep live instruments in electronic music and she is doing exactly that, with flying colours.

You can catch all three of these amazing bands live on YouTube and Facebook, at 7pm this Thursday. RSVP to the event here.