Dan Mangan Is Cooler Than You

In the last two posts, I celebrated the present by living in the past. Keeping in that vein, I'll once again post an interview that I did back at the end of October. I assure you, this will be the last time, because I think I might have some new material to write. However, usually when I think that, I disappoint myself when I realize that I don't actually have anything new to write. It's during that realization that I ask myself, "Is my life really that devoid of incidents worthy of notation?" Sadly, my life mostly consists of school work and drinking, and nobody cares to read about those banal exploits. Unless they involve you, right?

In any case, here is another interview that I was extremely lucky to conduct. It was with Dan Mangan, who is pretty much the coolest and talented guy I've met in the last few years. I was able to sit down with him at the end of his last Canadian tour in the fall, and if you want to talk about people who will go places, Dan will be going places. And we'll be lucky to go along for the ride as fans. If you aren't doing anything this Friday, go to Dan's early show at the Haven Social Club (the later show is sold out). It's what all the cool kids and some of us semi-cool kids are doing.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE NAIT NUGGET ON NOVEMBER 19, 2009.

NO ROAD REGRETS WITH DAN MANGAN

By Tyler Daignault

Dan Mangan and I are sitting in the backroom of the Haven Social Club, in an area no bigger than a moderately sized cubicle, lit conspicuously by a multitude of black ultraviolet lights. The Vancouver singer/songwriter’s last show of his month-long tour has just come to a close, and thoughts of enjoying two much-needed nights’ rest in his own bed aren’t far from his thoughts. He’s dog-tired, whereas I’m wired with excitement by the amazing show I just witnessed. I try not to gush praise on the talented musician, but it’s hard not to dole out compliments when he’s so deserving of them. Mangan’s hauntingly sweet musical notes guided by sandpaper-rough vocals are fresh sounds in the stale, auto-tune wasteland of present music. By this point, however, the heaps of good word must seem like broken-record platitudes to Mangan, who has garnered great critical acclaim for his sophomore album, Nice, Nice, Very Nice. He’s riding an unbridled wave of good fortune across the nation, a ride few indie folk artists can claim. In the mere three months since NNVN hit the shelves, Mangan has been crowned the indie king of Vancouver, toured Australia and Europe, and most importantly, won the XM Verge Artist of the Year award, netting a cool $25,000.

But Mangan is his usual humble, affable self. When discussing how the album came to be, he is quick to note that it’s not he who’s the catalyst for success, but others. NNVN employed a host of friends, colleagues and contemporaries from the indie music scene to add depth, talent and experience to Mangan’s own ample repertoire. “I always tried to surround myself with people that I thought were better than me,” he states. “Naturally, you gravitate towards people who are talented and creative... and they can bring their own taste. Veda Hille, Mark Berube Justin Rutledge all brought their own flavour to the songs. For me, it was mostly an exercise in humility, bringing in these people, watching them do great work, and then fawning over them.” Mangan’s triumphs haven’t gone to his head. Even while playing sold-out shows across the country, he still is amazed. “It’s hard to have a bad time on stage when you have a crowd like tonight (in Edmonton). I tend to grin a lot on stage, because I can’t help it. I just look out at the crowd and I start giggling. It’s still all very surreal.”

The sold-out crowds on this tour are due in large part to the melodic collection of rock/roots/pop tunes Mangan has under his belt. Audiences across the country have been humming and singing along, and reacting strongly to his captivating stage presence. Mangan is enthralling to watch perform and his effect on the audience is palpable. Here in Edmonton, he could have sung the phonebook, and the audience would still have been mesmerized by his sheer talent. In songs like “Road Regrets”, “Basket” and “The Indie Queens Are Waiting”, Mangan grabs hold of your emotions and sweeps you along with anthems of rollicking road journeys, mournful affections, and subtle social comment. And with “Robots”, you can’t help but join Mangan in an almost epic sing-along that overtakes the entire room.

What does Dan do for an encore performance? After his two-day respite at home, he’s off to Dubai for a couple of shows and then back to Europe. He’s writing a little bit here and there, and he might explore his side project, Poor Places. For the time being, Dan’s enjoying a nice, nice, very nice year. And it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

Apologies and GravyTrains

Wow.

Three months.

No posts.

I apologize to anyone who reads this blog once in a while, out of pity, or simply by chance after clicking the "random" button on Blogspot. I kind of took an extended leave of absence from writing. I kind of just effed off, and I didn't say why. I'm sorry.

I had good reasons. I was busy. I was busy with school, busy with life, busy with trying to make sense of the world. Actually, just busy with the first one. The first term of my second post-secondary engagement required some serious attention.

But now that my first semester of radio school is complete, I will try to get back to doing what I love: writing about nostalgic pop-culture crap, posting movie trailers and thinking about the old days when liquor was cheap and personal responsibility was a basic human right.

To get back on track, I'll sort of cop-out and post some articles that I wrote for the NAIT Nugget while at school, like the post before this one. Sure, they're not recent, but they're original. The first post is an interview I had with Tim Doiron and April Mullen, the incredibly talented auteurs behind Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Way of the Tosser and their most recent work, GravyTrain. These artists are two of the coolest people I've met, and their films should be entered into the canon of national treasures. Enjoy!

Originally published in the NAIT Nugget on October 22, 2009

COME ON RIDE THE GRAVYTRAIN

by Tyler Daignault

“It’s kind of like Starsky and Hutch meet David Lynch doing Twin Peaks, if David Lynch had more of a sense of humour.”

Tim Doiron’s description of GravyTrain, the new feature-length film by him and his creative partner, April Mullen, could not be more spot-on. Chosen as the closing night gala film at the Edmonton International Film Festival this past Saturday, the film is a far cry from the pair’s first theatrical foray, the mockumentary Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Way Of The Tosser. Whereas RPS played it pseudo-straight with great effect, GravyTrain “is just a real good time. Wacky, even, I guess you could say”, says Doiron. “Eccentric, too” declares Mullen.

In GravyTrain, Doiron plays Charles “Chuck” Gravytrain, a ne’er-do-well cop bent on putting the serial-killing villain, Jimmy Fish Eyes, behind bars in the small town of Gypsy Creek. Mullen plays his newly minted partner, big city cop Miss Uma Booma, who greater competence hides her own sordid past. Also involved are big and small screen veterans like Canadians Colin Mochrie, Jennifer Dale and Peter Keleghan. Even Canadian rock legend Alan Frew, former lead singer of Glass Tiger is on board, and probably most surprisingly, Saturday Night Live alum Tim Meadows. How did Doiron and Mullen secure such talent for a small Canadian film? It helps if you’ve worked with the actor before. Mullen, whose first film credit is as “Teen Lover” in Meadows’ SNL skit-turned-feature, The Ladies Man, approached Meadows’ manager. As Mullen recounts, “I approached (the manager) and said ‘I was 16 when I did The Ladies Man and could Tim just read the script?’ And he loved it! And it was easy after that, because the role was written for him.”

GravyTrain is a visually pleasing trip into semi-70s buddy cop parody, but the discussion of its creation does require a look into its creation pedigree. Rock, Paper, Scissors and its subsequent DVD distribution through Alliance Atlantis, one of Canada’s biggest distribution companies, allowed Doiron and Mullen entrance into uncharted territory – a larger budget for their next picture. And that larger budget allowed them not only a larger and more identifiable cast, but more time to flex their filmmaking skills, skills they developed while creating RPS. “The training we had with RPS with the seven-day shoot definitely came in handy when dealing with so many variables, like stars and other people, because it can get hairy at times, ” relates Doiron. The hardest part, they say, was getting RPS seen. Doiron and Mullen, costumes and attitudes in tow, did all of the promotions themselves. They toured the country coast-to-coast, showcased at festivals, did every media interview they could get, and conducted screenings and tournaments at colleges. As a result, the film became a critical and audience hit and had widespread recognition, almost unheard of for an independent Canadian film, even in its home country.

Though the creative duo achieved great heights with Rock, Paper, Scissors all over Canada and even in the US and the UK, there is one city that they credit with having a major influence on their success: Edmonton. “It’s our second home!” exclaims Mullen, to which Doiron adds, “We love E-Town. Edmonton took a risk on us with our first film and we owe all of our success up to date to Edmonton. We met people who loved the film, and that led to meeting people at Telefilm, then Alliance, and that enabled us to get distribution and the ability to make our next film. ”

It’s been a long, arduous, but fruitful journey for the once grad class president and former Miss Teen Niagara, but the journey won’t stop to rest on its laurels. “We’ve already started writing our next one and we’re really excited”, reveals Mullen. Doiron adds, “I think we’re just going to stick to movies for a while. I think my days of trying to run a classroom are over, although I think April may give another run for Miss Canada.”

I Am A Crack Journalist

So why the long delay in posts this time? Have I grown tired of wallowing in my own crapulence? No, I've just been busy with school.

Yeah, school! I made the decision before the summer that my life needed a new direction, because frankly, I didn't like the direction I was going in at the time. I was hurtling towards mediocrity, and that didn't really sit well. I needed a new challenge, something different, something with an interesting future. So I applied for the Radio & Television program at NAIT, and was very lucky to have been accepted for the radio side of it. So far, radio has been everything I hoped it would be, namely, a chance for me to talk. And talk without ever having to hear, "you don't ever shut up, do you?".

Not only does the program come with the benefits of a hands-on education, but opportunities for really fun side projects, as well. I've started writing periodically for the Nugget, NAIT's student newspaper. Because of this, I've done a couple interviews so far, my first of which almost led me to have fanboy aneurysms. I was very fortunate to be able to interview Alex Rosamilia of The Gaslight Anthem, one of my newest favourite bands, before their show at the Edmonton Event Centre on September 26. Here is that interview that was published in the Nugget on October 1.

GASLIGHT, GAS BRIGHT

The Gaslight Anthem got to the half-way point of their set at the Edmonton Event Centre, when frontman Brian Fallon has to ask a few questions of the writhing, sweat-soaked and madly enthusiastic crowd in front of him:

“Where did you all come from? How do you know us? Is it the internet?”

Their ever-rising popularity continues to baffle members of The Gaslight Anthem, even though their ascension up the ranks of rock’s pantheon is no fluke. This New Brunswick, New Jersey foursome has worked hard for their dues, and that work is finally paying off, garnering the passionate attention of the masses and almost universal critical praise. Not to mention some rock royalty attention and appreciation, as well. Fellow New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen is always mentioned when discussing the band’s sound, and fortunately for them, the Boss really likes their stuff. So much so, that he’s asked to play live with them on occasion, like at this summer’s Hard Rock Calling in London. Since the release of their debut album, Sink or Swim, in 2007, TGA have followed with the EP, Señor and the Queen, and the full-length The '59 Sound, and created a sound that ranges from raucous punk to emotional retro-rock.

Lead singer/guitarist Fallon, drummer Benny Horowitz, bassist Alex Levine and lead guitarist Alex Rosamilia are currently on the last leg of a seemingly endless tour lasts lasted a year and a half. I was able to catch up with Rosamilia in Edmonton about how they spent their summer, Kelly Clarkson covers and Japanimation.

It’s been only five months since you’ve been in Edmonton for a gig at the Starlite Room. How is it playing in a mall?

You know, it’s funny, because when I found out, I had went to the mall that was near the Starlite the last time we were here, and I heard we were playing the mall in Edmonton, but I was at that mall! Where the hell are we gonna play? I didn’t realize it was this place. This isn’t a mall, it’s a village. It’s huge!

You’ve been on tour for a pretty long time in support of The ’59 Sound. About a billion years maybe?

When was it out? ‘Cause it’s been since then, until now.

And you’ve been around the world, and you’ve played a lot of festivals this summer, like Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Hard Rock Calling. And I was very lucky to see you at Sasquatch. How is the festival experience for you?

We played all of them, I think. Sasquatch was fun. That venue was gorgeous, unreal. The festival is different than this, doing club shows and touring professionally. It’s two totally different animals. The festival is so regimented and everything’s in 15-minute increments. You have to show up between this time and this time, and load up from this time to this time, with like, four hours in between. There’s more time with club shows. Instead of ten minutes to line check, there’s an hour and a half. So you get to work on things. We learned trusty chords today.

You played early on the first day at Sasquatch. Do you get to stick around, or do you have to zip off to another show?

Well, sometimes we’d have to leave because the drive was so long. But when we stay, I like to venture out. I got to see Radiohead in Redding which was pretty cool, and the Flaming Lips. I go out in the crowd, because I like going to shows just as anybody else.

I’ll have to admit that I lost it a little when you played Pearl Jam's “State Of Love And Trust” at Sasquatch. How do you choose covers to play?

It’s funny, because it just kind of happens. One day, Brian (lead singer Fallon) played the progression and said, “Oh, that’s that song!” And then Ben (drummer Horowitz) started playing it on the drums, and we thought that was a good song so we should learn it. We like mixing it up. We like playing covers. Covers are fun.

There’s one cover in particular, which at first I thought was weird, but then thought it was kind of interesting because of the delivery. Brian’s version of Kelly Clarkson’s “I Do Not Hook Up” for BBC Radio One.

I was there for that! That was interesting. Brian was given a list of songs, so he picked the one that was most out of left field. It was the wackiest by far.

Going back to 2007’s Sink Or Swim, on “We’re Getting A Divorce, You Keep The Diner”, the opening lines are from Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (“Ready or not, here they come... it’s zombie time!”)

I think you’re the only second person that’s ever gotten that!

Are you the anime fan in the band?

Yeah, that’s me. When we wrote the song, it wasn’t there. I used to have a loop pedal, and that was one of three staples. One was for use for a side project, one was a line from Braveheart, and one was that line. At shows, I used to throw it in there before anybody could think about it. Then I was doing it at practice, and when we went to record it, I just hit the button. Force of habit, I guess.

So this is the last tour before the new album, and someone in the band mentioned that it might be a Social Distortion/Elvis Costello-type rocker.

Definitely a departure from The ’59 Sound. It could, it might not be, I don’t know. We haven’t done anything yet. Well, we’ve been working on stuff, but there’s no keystone yet. We’re fiddling with that stuff, and there’s some Fleetwood Mac in there. I’m about ready to write some new stuff. I’ve got the itch.

Black Dynamite!

If you've been following this blog for a long time, then you must be my mom (hi mom!). If you're not, you may not have read a post I did a while back in September of 2006 regarding a "movie of the day". It was a blaxploitation gem called Black Belt Jones, a movie that will stand proud in the grand pantheon of historic African-American film, because of it's portrayal of strong black characters, the urban scene and the socio-economic conflicts that existed in the 1970s. Also, "mothafucka" gets said a lot, and that's awesome.

I've always had a huge interest in blaxploitation, because it was a genre that pulled no punches. Sure, the genre didn't produce the greatest works of celluloid, and most of the films are laughable today, but that doesn't mean that the filmmakers don't deserve our respect. They made the films they wanted to, regardless of what The Man thought. Right on, brothers. Right on. Blaxploitation hasn't really had any sort of resurgence, and outside of Undercover Brother, and the Grindhouse double-feature (which only had winks to the style), there hasn't been any film that's tried to re-capture the look, sound and genuine ferocity of the films of the 70's. Until now.

Black Dynamite is about to explode into theatres (hopefully, this October). And for all you suckas who don't know, Black Dynamite's a mean cat who's gonna make trouble for bad muthas. According to IMDB, Black Dynamite "is the story of 1970s African-American action legend Black Dynamite. The Man killed his brother, pumped heroin into local orphanages, and flooded the ghetto with adulterated malt liquor. Black Dynamite was the one hero willing to fight The Man all the way from the blood-soaked city streets to the hallowed halls of the Honky House."

Matter of fact, this could be the greatest film of the year. Of course, I say that about every film that I come across and get man-excited for, but I'm serious this time! Even though the film is a spoof/homage, it doesn't mean that it won't be great times infinity. This isn't another "_____ Movie" movie, and I ain't talking no jive! Just check out the trailer, and you'll know what I mean. Get your $100 suits on and let's get it goin'!

There Will Be Another Firefight!

"And shepherds we shall be, for Thee, my Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command. So we shall flow a river forth to Thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be."

If you're like me, then you've got October 30th circled on your calendars (if you are like me, then maybe you shouldn't get so damn excited about films. Seriously). It's not because that day is Devil's Night, but because a long-awaited sequel will explode into theatres. That film is The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, and for that, you can get excited no matter how much of me you're like. This is a film that's been on the waiting list for ten long fucking years, and it's almost finally here. Just barely two months from now. Thankfully, while we wait, we can enjoy a most excellent trailer that gives us exactly what the first film offered: guns, violence, militant Irish-Catholicism and some good old Irish punk rock. What it also offers, that the first film didn't, is a woman. Thank God. The first film, although immensely awesome in its own right, was a sausage fest.

Now, some may argue that Troy Duffy's original film was a cheap rip-off of any film by Tarantino or Scorsese, and that it's a film that lacks any character development or creation of dialogue regarding its subject matter (vigilante justice), but who the fuck cares? Not all films have to be dissected and discussed as if somehow they'll prove a window to the recesses of our souls or provide a societal understanding. Screw that. The Boondock Saints was entertaining, well-shot and had a great score. Also, it made me even more uncomfortable with Willem Dafoe. Which I didn't think was possible. After watching the first film again, how does anyone truly believe he could pull off a convincing woman? He's fucking scary looking! However, at least Willem had some of the best dialogue in the film. Who can argue the sheer voracity in which he attacks this scene? It still gives me chills.

Check out the TBDSII trailer here:

True Patriot Love - Part Two

Yes, it's been a while. I took almost a month off from blogging. I had to. From the end of May until August 5, I was working full-time, seven days a week at two jobs. When I came home, the last thing I wanted to do was sit in front of the computer and rant about rampant idiocy or reminisce about cheap toys. I really just wanted to sleep. Plus, it's been pretty hot, what with it being summer and all (too hot for me, anyways. I radiate enough heat by myself, I don't need Earth's help). Since my computer is in an upstairs room, it gets too uncomfortable to type most days. I really didn't want to post while sitting in a self-made pool of ball and ass sweat. Awesome picture I just painted for you, isn't it?

All gross images aside, I've had some time to myself, some wonderful times with friends, some great trips and great adventures, but now it's back to business. Maybe not everyday business, but at the very least, I can assure you that I won't take a month off again. Unless I get a girlfriend. Then I'll be taking care of a different kind of business. Ah, who am I kidding? I'm a living joke.

I introduced this new series of posts back in May when I featured Canada's most prolific album-spewing DJ, Chris Sheppard. Now I've come across another one of Canada's best: KIDSTREET!


(promo video here for Facebook users)

Kidstreet was a game show I watched without fail as a kid, mostly because it had the best prizes, and it was a show where I could feel happy that I was smarter than the dumb kids from out east or Calgary (especially Calgary). It was hosted by Kevin Frank, who always told some stupid kids joke at the beginning and sometimes assaulted contestants with toys or cue cards. It was a show that when watching, my sister and I could bond, as opposed to our vicious fighting the other 23.5 hours of the day (yeah, we probably fought while we slept). The point of the show was for pairs of kids, usually siblings, to try and guess what their counterpart would answer to various questions. Kind of a Newlywed Game for kids. My sister and I would always brag that we would always be able to guess what each other would say, even though as kids, we hated each other, and if prizes weren't on the line, we'd probably both throw the game just to make the other lose as well.

After rounds of questions to each partner separately, the winning team would get a chance to solve the "rebus", which was a bastardization of Classic Concentration. If they did solve it, the team would get a king's ransom in toys and prizes. And that was the draw of the show. The amount of toys and prizes were off the charts. I'd tune in every time to see what was being given away, and what I'd be putting on my Christmas list. Also, most of the kids playing were semi-retarded, so it was great fun to mock them. Take a look at the first part of this video and listen to the second contestant talk.


(Facebook click here)

Oh Matthew. You're one lawn dart in the head away from being fully handicapped. Or maybe you're just nervous. I always hated when the kids told stories after their answers. Like who the fuck cares if your Mom sleeps nude sometimes? Wait, maybe his mother might have been a hooker. I do like that there's a Tyler in contestant's row, but I don't agree with his haircut. He's got a hair part that looked like it's been gouged into his skull. On a side note, why do all the contestants clap over their heads? What's that all about? And as for the red team, whose parents obviously can't fucking spell (Allyne and Maellody? Seriously?), watch Allyne have an aneurysm at 4:07 of part two. Nothing's going on upstairs there, kids.

So to Kidstreet, for giving my sister and I reason to truce for a little while and for letting me make fun of other kids, I give you some True Patriot Love.

Welcome To The 21st Century, Programs!

Well, it's finally been confirmed. "Tron 2.0", or whatever it was called initially, has been given its official title: Tron Legacy. And the first trailer for what will certainly be a pants-creamer of a film has been released at this year's Comic-Con. Check it out here or watch it in the recommended HD version.

If any of you grew up in the 80s, Tron was one of those cool, but seemingly dorky films you came to love and appreciate. It wasn't some hand-animated schmaltz-fest with animals and moral lessons, it was a before its time story of artificially-intelligent computers bent on domination, crooked humans and a plucky young video game programmer. It was awesome, plain and simple. And the computer-generated animation and effects were light-years ahead of anything else in 1982. It was a film that fully immersed the viewer in an electronic world and sent imaginations in new directions. At least it did for me. Now, with a new film to open in 2011, we can re-visit this world again, this time with the help of new computer graphics, high-def images and sexy Olivia Wilde.

I'm in full-bore for this film, no matter how bad it could be. What will be the acid-test, however, for director Joseph Kosinski is if he does an admirable job with the remake of Logan's Run, one of my favourite films ever. It's slated to be released next year, and if he fucks that up, I will have diminished hopes for Tron Legacy. I'll still see it of course, but I won't have to bring back-up underwear.