| had one of those rare inspi- rational moments on Thursday, April 15th at the Town Pump while watching two amazing bands play. What! felt was a combina- tion of awe and pride for a pair of bands that had better get some- where or the whole music industry is screwed. | was lucky enough to have met the opening band, Our Lady Peace, before they played ee. _ with | Mother Earth, two of the craziest names on one bill in a long time. | spoke with the four guys in the band and was really impressed with their easy-going, yet dedi- cated conversation. We spoke in depth about their debut album on Sony/Epic, called Naveed, and they were quite proud of the work they had done with producer Arnold Lanni. Recorded in the space of three months, these guys have managed to keep an unspo- ken tradition amongst Canadian bands alive with eleven solid songs. What does it take to be a great Canadian rock hand? Sey. +07" Naga w No words can truly describe the passionate vocals captured on this disc. Citing Chandra and Sinead as inspiring influences; Raine, lead vocalist, comes much closer to sounding like Burton Cummings and the great Gord Downie on these great rock cuts. If it’s spirted singing that leads a young band to success, these guys have no worries. Go out and buy the disc and take a good listen to music west festival Music West ‘94 is coming our way once again. This year the concert festival will be running May 12-15. Wristbands are now available at Ticket Masters for $35 (well worth it) and give you virtually unlimited | entrance to any of the number of gigs happening during the event. There will be more than 200 bands at 20 clubs over four nights, includ- ing Jello Biafra, Mystery Machine, Moist, 13 Engines, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Forbidden Dimension, BNU, Bum and of course many more. Also slated to take place during Music West is the Slam City Jam, a National Skateboarding Associa- tion competition accompanied by live bands like NoMeansNo, the way the songs have been written. The music has many solid hooks that combine with the vocals to give you a powerful package. | listened to this once because | had to, then twice more the same day because it simply rocks. Forget about Glass Tiger, Platinum Blonde, and Honeymoon Suite; these four lads offer you everything an all-Canadian rock fan should expect. | asked them what they thought of a Canadian sound, and they responded that although they are not flag-waving Nationalists, they are proud of Canadian music and the influence it has had on the sounds they make. It is hard for a rock band coming out of Canada to deny the music of Neil Young, the Guess Who, andthe ~ Tragically Hip. Good Rock is good rock, no matter where the people who make it are from. Of course | was impressed with the fact that even though Our Lady Peace are on one of the richer major labels, they are still real people. It was cool talking to guys who believe in taking the extra time to write good songs, and then go out and support them on tour with enthusiastic playing. Although Raine was confined to a stool on stage due to an ankle injury, Our Lady Peace surprised the Town Pump, and did more than just warm up the crowd for the headliners. They played their album with heart and got more than a few people shaking their booties. | Mother Earth should do themselves a big favour and take these guys everywhere with them, because they'll have the best seats in the house while Our Lady Peace only gets better. Facepuller, Superconductor, Malhavoc, Huevos Rancheros, and more. (Free with wristband, $15 for one-day pass without wristband) In addition to all this excitement, The Music Show (another part of Music West) takes place on May 14 & 15. This little shindig hosts a plethora of exhibits and tidbits. Drum (with Chad Smith of Chili Just to say a few words about the amazing show | Mother Earth put on would be a tease, so here goes. If you missed it, you missed big time. Take equal parts Santana, American neo-funk, and UK shoegazer and you get some pretty fabulous playing. These guys were pros at taking you through all the colours of the heavy rock rainbow; innovating in a way that might have been wasted on those too drunk to give a fuck. Another must see when they come back. Buy the disc and count the days until you too are one of the lucky ones. I'm not really interested in being cynical about the chances of Our Lady. Peace on the Ameri- can scene. Becoming jaded is a handicap, and | would rather see these guys make it, than a lot of other shit bands who think they rule just because they can duplicate the riff of the month with ease. | don’t want to make the mistake of thinking that just because the American music scene is still pretty ignorant to a lot of great Cana- dian music, that we can't eventu- ally, with the help of bands like Our Lady Peace, break down the barrier and flood them with some of the best tunes they have ever heard. Get off your apathetic butts and get behind something worth supporting: BUY CANADIAN MUSIC, BECAUSE IT ROCKS! “Tee ™ Sr ype s Christopher D. Spelay ay, = oS ee, Pepper fame), keyboard, guitar, sampling, and recording work- shops will take place on Saturday as well as demonstrations by Thomas Dolby and (designers take note) tips on independent CD production. On Sunday, along with various workshops and Clinics, The Residents Freak Show, an inter- active CD ROM carnival will be in action. (Music Show will cost $10 whether you have a wristband or not.) And finally, underlying the whole _ thing, is the Music West Confer- ence which will show alll the little music people what it takes to be big music people, through panel discussions, workshops, and schmoozing.