Month: February 2017

Set The Table First, Then Say Grace (Big Wreck, Grace Street review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

The difference between one band who is heavily influenced by the past and emulates heroes successfully versus one which merely walks in the shoes of giants is… Risk. How willing that band or act is in taking a risk will often dictate their trajectory much more quickly than one which mires about in mediocrity.

It’s almost a perfect transition, but right off the heels of last weeks mediocre offering from Train, comes the new Big Wreck album… Grace Street.

 

 

 

Big Wreck – Grace Street
released February 3, 2017
******** 8/10

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Big Wreck is a Canadian-American rock band which is headed up by original members Ian Thornley (vocals, lead guitar) and Brian Doherty (guitar), then rounded out by Dave McMillan (bass) and Chuck Keeping (drums). Yay for Canadian content!

Initially formed by Thornley in Boston back 1994, the group broke up in 2002 after their second album did poorly; with Thornley taking on a solo career in his own band. Fun fact, Thornley enlisted the help of Chad Kroeger to get this project off the ground. But in 2010 Thornley asked Doherty to fill in on his band, which led to him becoming a permanent member, and an eventual “reunion tour” of Big Wreck was promoted. The existing members of Thornley were folded into Big Wreck and the group was back on track once again.

In 2012 Big Wreck released their third album and then a fourth in 2014. Three years later, Grace Street marks the fifth outing for Big Wreck.

It’s a quality effort from these guys, to put it simply. Featuring an elongated instrumental track, Skybunk Marche, which was hinted at over the course of eleven 40 second clips, and running in at 7 minutes in length, this album is progressive rock done correctly.  You see dear readers, Big Wreck loves to reference rock and roll gone by, but they add to the history rather than emulating it.

Grace Street is an album of both organic and considered work. Think of bands like Queen, Journey, Boston, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, and you can get a sense of the kinds of music these guys are chasing after. But as I mentioned already, it’s a movement forward rather than mimicry. Tracks like Motionless (my favourite of the record) focus us in on Thornley’s voice while the backing instruments are there for setting the stage and mood. Useless does this to similar effect. And while there are a number of rock ballads in the mix, It Comes As No Surprise, One Good Piece Of Me, and Digging In all come to mind, it’s the moments when Thornley runs free and lives in his lyrics that Big Wreck comes together nicely.

Now with that said, the run time is a little long for my taste. An album almost 70 minutes in length, it also seems to lose some steam after the first seven songs are done. Now to be fair, it took me a bit of time to warm up to this album in the first place, so likely the whole effort will feel better after a few more listens.

After all, the musical progressions, thoughtful melodics, and emotional lyrics are an invitation rather than a battle cry. Grace Street feels like a good title choice when it’s all said and done.

 

 

 

I think the name Big Wreck is a misnomer, because these gents are anything but. They’re hard-working Canadian musicians who obviously have a deep love for the genre they choose to operate within.This is music which deserves to be proclaimed from on high or at the very least, remembered for as long as humanly possible. With a hint of grace, it just might happen, but that’s my theory.

Tim!

I Think We Need To Take A Break (Cross Talk Ep. 18)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

I’m gonna keep the preamble short this time creative cuties – Sometimes franchises get stale.

And if I can be so bold as to use an analogy, franchises can very easily become like all relationships. If both parties don’t look past their differences, accept that the things they may have once loved now have a capacity for irritation, and focus on appreciating and nurturing the things that they generally DO like, then the relationship will experience fatigue.

What I’m basically saying is that you cannot change someone, that person has to decide to change on their own. But when you communicate about the things that bother you in a loving manner with no intent of changing the person, then there is room for growth.

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After all, likes and dislikes are completely subjective, so that hair twirling which you “hate” may be completely endearing to someone else. Movies are complicated, okay?

A movie franchise which always leads in with the same soundtrack and repeats similar themes over and over again can be really good, but only if you appreciate those qualities. When it starts to get stale, it might be time to move on or potentially appeal to reason by spending your money on franchises which keep it interesting.

Which is why today, Chris and I explore what we think some franchises are doing right, what others continue to do despite not growing in other ways, and how others completely miss the mark and wonder why they are so lonely. It might be an exhaustive effort but this is what franchise fatigue does to us.

And because we know there are a few elephants in the room, we’re just gonna get the superheroes and space adventurers out of the way immediately – Because let’s face it, they are low hanging fruit.

This is episode eighteen of Cross Talk, and dammit if I ain’t proud of all the franchise staples we were able to come up with in under twenty five minutes. Now it’s your turn to take a breather, settle in with your favourite snack and meditate as we bring up some interesting theories on how to combat these challenges…

I am #sorrynotsorry for the relationship analogy, because I think all relationships take work and I have this great theory about how we can learn from people in addressing this topic. But if you watch the video you’ll see what I mean. Another day, another theory realized my friends.

Please comment, subscribe, and share this video with friends. We want to hear your feedback!

Tim!

This Is The Best, Bedtime Story, Ever (USS Concert)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

I’m going to tell you a story about a concert. Okay dear readers?

Once upon a time, a handsome, gallant, and thoughtful young(ish) man decided to take the lady he was courting to see a merry band of musicians from a far away land.

For to woo her and make her upper and nether regions pulse with warm feelings. For he cared deeply for her, but feared to show it. For she was very wise, poetic, and beautiful to behold. But lo, the musicians were to playing in the centre of the shaw, an extravagant building on a hilltop, which looking into the heart of the river and it’s valley.

This meant for the young(ish) man that he would have to take his belle on a futuristic and magical steel vessel which floated on a endless pair of steel beams, many times the length of a spear. Unfortunately the lady was ill prepared for the cold chill of winter, and much to the chagrin of the gentle man, they had to warm her legs over a magical fibre of heat and light in house of hewn stone while they waited for the steel vessel.

But the vessel was not for too long, and surely within less than a moment, the beauteous couple was on their way to see the band known as Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker.

 

At the centre of the shaw many woody folk had arrived thither, and so the pair left their coats with some servants of the house and set about to sample some wares which were for sale in the great halls.16709705_10154238916951932_1154610129_o

It was a mere stipend to acquire the merchandise but the memories the two young lovers were sharing were far more valuable than some silk and cotton mixed together. A couple of fools were there too from a local chamber of commerce, but the braggarts were blocking the privy and the young lady had to give them the highest of fives to get around and find relief.

Once inside the main hall, they were surprised by the size of the space and that all the lords and ladies of the court were in full regal and bouncing at the opportunity to sup on ale while the youth waited behind the gates.

The young lord and lady even entertained a couple of squires from the castle of McMurray, as they downed their ales.

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Then the show was ready to begin – they headed towards the throne and stood in awe as harps, lutes and rebecs, and these odd bowls capped with cowhide which were hit with sticks to produce sounds. The music was moving, lifting, and pushing the crowd of people all around. Smiles were on all faces and the main event had not even graced the crowd with it’s presence.

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The queen of the evening was from a smaller band of musicians known as Repartee, and she kept singing of this duke, someone she must have missed back home. All were quite sorrowful for this golden-haired queen.

But that did not last for long.

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Then the sun shone brighter than it ever has in night, and all were blinded with truth. The Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker’s had finally came on, it was as if the horns of heaven had resounded, men, women and children of all ages came together and sang for which seemed to be all eve, but the morrow never came, it only felt full of time for the music was deep and uplifting.

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Once all was said and done, the two young lovers, more amourous than ever, bid their dues to the crowd, took in a special goodbye with the lady from Repartee, signing contracts of friendship, and made their cold walk home into the winds of winter.

The end.

And that’s not a theory, it’s a story, about something that really happened. So Mysticque and I.

Tim!

Just Let It Gel (Facebook How-To… Page)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

When laying down a canvas, I think it’s important to set the foundation first, usually with white gesso, but sometimes simply with some soft gel. Almost every visual artist will tell you same, unless they are painting on paper, mylar, or some other strong gripping surface. Then again, said artist might not even want to create an archival work OR rather the degradation of the work is key to the process. Whatever the case we understand the basic of what to start with.

After that decision is made, I start applying broad strokes to block in shapes and highlights, carefully choosing colour(s) which will give a tone to the story. Once that step has happened and I’m confident in my decisions, I begin the process of focusing on areas of the painting, slowly laying in or uncovering details and telling stories within the story of my canvas. It’s easy to get caught up in the romance of it all, so I’ll spare you that as best I can.

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This might seem like a common practice, but there really are a lot of different ways to make a painting. Truth be told, no two artists will tackle it the same way, even if we pretend subject matter and material choices are the same. And frankly, I don’t expect marketing to work in a catch-all matter either, even though many people think it’s a simple process.

And given my personal experiences with it, once you set the foundation, just like fine art, marketing comes down to taste, experience and the message to be delivered.

About Face

Way way back in November 2016, which feels like ages ago, I met a beautiful woman and we had our first date. It was wonderful, and she is very special to me, when she reads this post we will have passed our 3 month anniversary, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

Right, I promised no more romance.

Well, I’ll just try this one more time.

Way way back in November 2016, I wrote a post about Facebook. Now at the time, I didn’t expect to cover the whole social networking service in one post, so I decided to break it up into several parts, aptly naming the first part, Facebook pt. 1. And like any good franchise, I’m going to immediately deviate from that pattern and set out to call the next set of posts Facebook How-To … (insert topic here).

Clever right? Yeah, I’m usually pretty clever, but it all depends on what I have else I have going on upstairs in that old noggin of mine. Which I think makes perfect sense, and even if it doesn’t immediately make sense for you, you’ll find a workaround I’m sure.

A Face Only A Mother Could Love

 

Let’s talk about Facebook pages my dear, sweet, and wonderful readers. You creative cuties, you.

I’ve said this once before, but Facebook pages are to individual profiles what corporations are to small businesses. This is where you share content with your followers and get them involved in your personal brand. You have to set up your business page if you want to get to the ads step, so do that first. Then focus on lifestyle over product. You also want to be actively involved in comments and service… this can include incentivizing your user base and sharing user content too.

How do you accomplish this you ask? Well with 3 (condensed) tips like this:

  1. Build your community by focusing on your members and how the page provides value – This means using the page as the voice of your brand, but always eluding to insights that are available for people who have purchased your product(s) to make them feel special. You don’t have to treat page likes based on sales, but exclusivity is important. Then focus on followups for customers in PMs and for answer questions when you can.
  2. Discuss current events and promote events too – But I would add that you keep it relevant to your user base at all times. People will get frustrated if you talk about sports when that’s not in your business mantra, for instance.
  3. Communicate with your biggest fans. If you build strong relationships with those who love you, they’ll reach out for you, but it also allows them to network WITH EACH OTHER. Like attracts like as the old adage goes. And if you have team members, it gives them a place to function as ambassadors and stewards of your brand.

The biggest takeaway from all of this is to keep your page active and allow people to participate in a discussion, much like how a Facebook group is forum for it’s user base, the Facebook page is the podium. It allows you to build trust with your fans and become a representation of your brand.

Obviously I’ll spend some more time in the future on success stories, but for now, you have some foundation to set up your canvas. I hope you can keep on rocking in the free world creative cuties, and I’ll be back tomorrow with a story about a concert. It’ll probably be romantic though.

Tim!

Play It Again, Phiona (Queen of Katwe review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Movies are an endlessly interesting way of storytelling.

Because, much like oral storytelling, they rely heavily on the narrator to deliver a  perspective in time. Regardless of what the details of the story are, colour choices, setting, actors, and dialogue can all aid in creating a distinctive rendition of what has been delivered before.

 

 

 

Queen of Katwe (2016)

Cast: Madina Nalwanga, David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o
Director: Mira Nair
released on blu-ray January 31, 2017
******** 8/10

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IMDB: 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%, Audience Score 87%
The Guardian: ****/*****

 

Mira Nair is an Indian American filmmaker who typically focuses on international films which depict Indian culture in a positive light and she got her start making documentaries – some of her more well known films are Mississippi Masala, The Namesake, Monsoon Wedding, and Salaam Bombay!.

Nair has been involved in activist projects for a very long time. She even set up an annual film making workshop aptly called, Maisha Film Lab in Kampala, Uganda, which translates to life. For over ten years, young directors in East Africa have been given opportunities to learn film techniques with an emphasis on telling personal stories. Maisha is currently building a school.

I mention these details because Queen of Katwe is Nair’s first film set in Africa. Or is it? Now she has directed films about other cultures previously (read:Words with Gods, Vanity Fair, and The Perez Family), but this is also the first Disney production she has been involved with.

The plot is pretty straightforward – We witness the shifting life of young female protagonist Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwanga) as she makes some incredible intellectual achievements. What is atypical of the movie is that it is set in Africa, but doesn’t focus on conflict zones AND it has an entirely black speaking cast. But it still manages to be incredibly “Disneyfied”. What this means is that it is very mainstream in it’s depictions of Phiona and her family life, affirming the positive trajectory of Phiona. And yet her life is not at all like that of typical North Americans, just look at this plot synopsis from Wikipedia:

Living in the slum of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda, is a constant struggle for 10-year-old Phiona Mutesi, her mother Harriet (Lupita Nyong’o), and her family. Her world changes one day when she meets Robert Katende (David Oyelowo) at a missionary program. Katende coaches soccer and teaches children to play chess. Curious, Phiona approaches and learns the game. She becomes fascinated with it and soon becomes a top player under Katende’s guidance. Over several years, her success in competitions and tournaments leads to greater competitions, stress, and identity issues. Phiona must learn more than the game as she is exposed to life outside Katwe. Her education, both formally and informally, continues as she dreams of escaping a life of poverty for herself, her mother, and her siblings.

This is a perfect example of a triumph over adversity tale, and it doesn’t follow all of the usual beats despite containing a similar tone. The authentic experience of Phiona, her family, and friends allows us to engage with the story much better and definitely brings in some feels towards the end, especially when her sister Night finally comes home, and when Kampala experiences a flash flood. The final heart string pull comes with the credits. In what I would describe as a rare instance of showing the real people that inspired the film, Nair brings in these people to meet the actors who portrayed them, and it’s heart warming in a way that you’d expect from Disney.

Pros: Yes there are a lot of cliches embedded within the framework of the story, but all of the subversions more than make up for it, and the feelgood element is hard to pass up. Madina Nalwanga is a bright star, and portrays her role with integrity, grace, and humour. And man is it cast well – top to bottom.

Cons: I struggled with the title “Queen”. Realizing it was intended as a play-on-words about chess, but seeing it moreso as an acknowledgment of Disney princesses, though these characters are experiencing real world poverty. Sometimes the pacing is too gentle for the weight of it’s cast, supporting members included.

Runtime: 2 hours 4 minutes

Points of Interest: So I lied, kind of. Mira Nair adapted Queen of Katwe into a film after making a documentary about the life of the man who trained Phiona Mutesi, Robert Katende. But that’s pretty cool right?

In short this is brilliant little film about a young woman with an innate ability to play chess which is slowly developed to the point where she can compete with master level players. While it isn’t innovative in the story it presents, the sum of its parts are what makes this story worthwhile for a viewing. The presentation, the lead, and the setting are all well done.

Phiona’s story is presented in such a mainstream way to get more access to the incredible triumph of her life. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Because I keep saying over and over, this is a story we’ve heard over and over, and yet it isn’t because a story of a young black African woman achieving an intellectual result is a rare thing to witness in mainstream cinema. The fact that Disney pushed this through warms my heart even moreso than what I watched, and that IS a good thing. I hope they continue this trend, and that’s my theory for the day.

Tim!