On-Air With Manafest

New things are good and bad. 

The bad is - something has to change for it to become new. Change can be scary. But the good part is that you get something fresh. Something that you never would have experienced before hand.

Saturday nights on LIFE are changing.

We've got a new show called On-Air With Manafest. There's no hidden meaning in the title. It's literally a show hosted by Manafest.

It's also awesome.

Seriously. It is. I'm not just saying that as an employee, I'm saying it as a fan of music and radio.

Starting at 9:00, Manafest takes over for 2 hours. He plays some of his favorite songs, tells some stories and gives some insights into the life of a touring musician. 

If you are a fan of music or Manafest (or just like to be entertained), check it! You'll be glad you did.

Kingdom Bound 2013 - Day 3

Talk about a busy day! We got things rockin' and rollin' at 9:30... as in, that's when we left the hotel. DJs, as it turns out, take a lot of time to get their faces done up. 

After hanging out around the rides for a bit with some friends (which included a ride on giant moose... sorry, no pictures) it was time for the music to begin again. 

I only caught the tail end of We Are Leo. What I saw was impressive! They did their new single (listen for it Monday!) as well as another song that had a long dubstep break down. It was awesome! Plus, they had a keytar!

If all that wasn't enough, I even got to chat it up with David Duffield (lead singer). Which, lead to a photo op!

Then it was onto Shine Bright Baby. I am really loving their song "Beautiful Love"... but they're originally a punk band... so what would the live show be like? 

It turned out to be a cross of fluffy pop sounding stuff and punk rock. Was it a bad combo? Not in the least! 

Afterwards, another photo op presented itself. I couldn't say no!

Project 86 was next up. They were the loudest band I have ever heard live. It was pretty crazy. No pictures. Just imagine head banging and mohawks and you have it!

Two years ago at Kingdom Bound, I saw an up and coming band called For King and Country. They were awesome. I've loved 'em ever since. I was really excited to see them this year to see how their live show had changed. It's 10 times better!

4 sets of drums going at once, an accordion thing and a cello. Not to mention the piano and guitars. It sounds like it would be an eclectic train wreck. Instead, it was a musical masterpiece. If you ever have a chance. Check them out!

Thousand Foot Krutch was next. Man, that was intense. They did all their hits like " Let the Sparks Fly", "Be Somebody", "Falls Apart" and "Fire It Up".

Then the moment everyone had been waiting for, Newsboys. They have changed a lot since I last saw them. Now, they have huge video screens projecting the band members onto them with funky lighting effects. It made for a bright show! Plus, we got to hear 3 tracks off their new album Restart... that's not out till September!

And we get to do it all over again tomorrow with Mercy Me! Looking forward to it!

Kingdom Bound 2013 - Day 2

Today was awesome! We got up and rolling with some breakfast from Cracker Barrel (always a personal favorite). Then it was off to the park! We saw Matthew West last night. He was really good. I unfortunately don't have pictures though...

TODAY is the subject though. After catching up and coming acts Everfound (surprisingly good electro-rock) and Kronicals (They claimed to be dubstep rock... it was mostly rock...) it was on to Aaron Gillespie.
He's the lead singer for The Almost. When he's not out with them, he does a "worship" side project. Worship is in quotes cause it's not like any worship you'll ever hear! He sang... and played the drums! It was crazzzzzzzzzzzy! Oh ya, he also had his eyes closed quite a bit...


After Aaron... I kinda went and saw him again at the worship tent... WHAT? I'm a fan. You would have done the same!

One of my must sees this year (aside from Aaron and Mathew West) was Audio Adrenaline. I never saw them when they were in their prime, so this would be the next best thing. And man, is it a solid thing.

Kevin Max (from dc Talk) is the new vocalist. That should be an awkward fit. But it wasn't! It actually sounded really good. Not the same as Mark Stuart's voice, but really good none the less.

Then it was time for tonight's headliners. Hillsong United!
The crowd loved them! I liked them too... it may have had something to do with the Aussie accents though...
The obsurd amount of lights didn't hurt either....

And that was my day at Kingdom Bound!
Tomorrow - For King and Country, Shine Bright Baby, We Are Leo, Thousand Foot Krutch and the headliners... Newsboys! Should be good!

Heart of Worship 2013 - Recap

This might surprise a lot of people, but I love worship music. I'm not 100% sure why, though I have a hunch it's the singing songs to God bit. I love that. Especially when you're singing worship songs with other Christians. There's just something about having that community.

That's exactly what we had at the Heart of Worship concerts! Man, was it good!
Shae-Lynn August, Scott Towaij, Jordan Donald and Jon Bauer in Barrie and Peterborough totally free!

I missed out on the Peterborough show at Christian Victory Church, but managed to make it to the one at Hi-Way Pentecostal in Barrie. I haven't regretted it yet!

If you missed out on the show, here's a quick recap of all that happened!

Air Raid 22.1

Last night was the night! After months of planning and preparation (most of which done by people other than me!), Air Raid 22 hit the stage in Huntsville.

It was awesome!

Every Air Raid I always say "that was the best Air Raid yet." So I'm not going to say that, but MAN! I think it may have been!

Anthem For Today got things off to a rockin' start. It felt like a real life version of the music video for Earthquake!

They did hits like Falling Asleep at the Wheel and Inside Out, plus a great Taylor Swift cover.

Anthem for Today lead singer Pip Lucas

Then came Prosper and GPM... I didn't know what to expect. Hip Hop can be super high energy awesome or really slow and dull. It was anything but slow or dull!

The crowd and the performers were all over the place having a great time! They did amped up versions of songs like Yes I Can and Without You. Plus, they did the Harlem Shake!

Prosper of Prosper and GPM fame!

Then came the Color. These guys drove all the way from Manitoba. THEY DROVE. They did songs like Made to Be and their first hit, Let It Go. They even did a few acoustic songs!

The Color rockin' out

Then the headliners came. To Tell.

Zach Havens from To Tell

I love these guys. Always fun, always tight and they just keep getting better! From the crunchy guitars of In Your Eyes to the pop of The Problem, it was solid.

All in all a great night! Now, we get to do it all over again tonight! See you at Air Raid 22.2 in Owen Sound!

Surprises

I love a good surprise. Note I said good surprise.
Finding out I didn't pay my phone bill when I thought I had, isn't something I love to have happen.
Having something happen that causes joy, on the other hand. I'm all over that!

As much as I love to receive (good) surprises, I think I like to give them more. Putting loads and loads of planning and prep, dropping subtle clues and foreshadows to the soon to be surprise-e... it's a little too much fun!

A week ago today, I got to be part of a huge surprise. I didn't really do anything either. I just showed up!

Anthem for Today had a secret show at Unity Christian High in Barrie. The students thought they were going to a boring lecture or something and got hit with a rock show instead! The look on some of their faces was priceless. It was a mix of shock, awe and .... wah??? Where am I?

To commemorate the occasion, here's a quick video chronicling the adventure.



I can't wait to see these guys at Air Raid 22!

The Almost

Whenever I really love a band, I'm always scared of seeing them live. The thought of a group that brings me much joy being loose, boring or using tracks really does scare me. I'm not kidding.
The Almost is no exception. I really loved their album Monster Monster... could their live show be able to top the awesomeness they captured on the disk?

Yes. Yes it could.

I joined a buddy of mine at the 905 Venue in Whitby (Ajax/Oshawa... it's sorta confusing) on Sunday for the concert. Amazing venue for a youth group. It's in an old club so it's ideal for music, smoke machines and merch. Plus, that's where they do youth!

After a really good worship set and quick message, The Almost took the stage... wow, did they take the stage.

Unless I am mistaken, no tracks. I heard mistakes, which is very refreshing. However, they were few and far between.
Aaron Gillespie has one amazing voice. Going from singing to yelling to singing with ease. It makes for quite the dynamic... add in 3 guitars all doing different things.... well, you get the idea.

They covered instant classics like Monster Monster, Lonely Wheel and Hands as well as some stuff from their new (!) album Fear Inside Our Bones. After hearing the title track, I'm Down and Ghost, I'm more excited than ever for the April 9th release.

Afterward, got to grab a shirt and bumped into Aaron.

All in all, a really stellar night.

Fireflight Concert

As you probably hear once or twice... or 15 dozen thousand times... Fireflight was in town on the 19th. I was stoked! So stoked, I brought my camera along for the ride.
As before, I shall let my adequate skill as a photographer do all the talking...

Getting things started with some flying guitar.

 Why not add another guitar and a bass (not to be confused with a bass)?

 Dawn begins to serenade us

 I really like this photo... in case you were wondering

Slappin De Bass, Mon!   

I love this shot too... during one of the few calm moments

More concert shots

 Look! We found a fern!

 This is my favorite shot. Love the back lighting on it.

Anthem For Today CD Release

Tonight was a night that has been on my calendar for months. The cd release party for Anthem For Today!
It didn't disappoint. Loads of lights, loads of sounds and some great songs all round. Plus, FREE CAKE! It was a win win win. I could continue to say how great it was, but a picture is worth a thousand words. So I will let my over enthusiastic shutter finger do the talking.

 The crowd is gathering. The allure of free cake beckons... as do the tunes...

 Leah Mathies was the warm up, 16 with a stand out voice

Pip Lucas and the guys from Anthem For Today get things rocking

 With a healthy helping of guitar

 Some bass with the guitar for good measure

Pip sharing stories from the career of Anthem For Today

As promised the cake. With the guys faces on it too!

Unashamed Tour

Last night a crew from LIFE jumped aboard a moving vehicular device that took us to downtown Toronto for one thing... The Unashamed Tour. Lecrae, Trip Lee, Tedashii, Pro, KB all under one roof. The question is, how was it?

Andy Mineo was the first act. Really cool guy. It was more of an urban pop sound.
KB, Pro and Tedashii all hit the stage afterward. Pro had a guy in a monkey suit join him on stage. Yes, that was as awesome as it sounds.

One of the great things about rap artists is that they are not ashamed to represent Jesus. Very vocally. All of them gave great messages about redemption, faith, love, missions and just general life stuff.
Trip Lee followed that up with songs like Hero and I'm Good. I'm Good was better than hoped.
Lecrae followed that up with songs like Don't Waste Your Life, I Know and his biggest, Background.

One thing Crae said, that I thought was awesome, was that for every 10 people you influence, there will be one hater. That's so true. It doesn't seem to matter how "good" we are, there will always be someone that finds fault. He then went on to make the point that we can't be worried about what people think, but have to focus on what God thinks.

Now for the pictures that I took on my phone.... ya.... they prove that pictures and phones should not be legally allowed to coexist...

 Tedashii on stage!

Trip Lee bringing his flows

This is KB doing a hand stand

Wait... this looks familiar...

Hmmmm.... must have been the lighting

Toby Mac on The View?

The View isn't really the first place I'd have guessed Toby Mac would be performing. However this morning, Toby was on the show!
One of the hosts of the show wanted him on for her birthday and that's how he got on.
Two cool things to watch for.
1. They do a special birthday song for her
2. She mentions he started out in dc talk

To Tell at Masters College

Yesterday I made the trek to 89.3 to emcee the To Tell concert. Let me start by saying it was GREAT.
I grabbed some supper at GotTa HavVa PizZa... I love pizza... I now also love GotTa HavVa PizZa.
Then it was off to Masters College, which is huge!
The show got rolling with a local rap artist named D.U.T.Y (seen with me at the both). And did things get rolling! Great performance -- High energy, great lyrics, and loads of audience participation!
D.U.T.Y finished with a song that featured another Christian rap artist by the name of
K-Drama (on the track, not live). Then, Tim Mann took the stage. Tim is a worship leader that spent some time at Hillsong College in Sydney Australia (ya that Hillsong). My favourite part of Tim's set was when he did a cover of John Mark McMillian's song "Death in His Grave". I love that song... thanks for doing it Tim!!!




After a quick intermission for FREE pizza (how I love that word) To Tell delivered a great show.
I haven't seen these guys since Air Raid 17 and let me say, they have gotten even better! High energy, people all over the stage and as an added bonus, the drummer stood on his drums!!! COOL!!! Air Raid 19 is going to be epic. Period.