Category: Lower Mainland

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Interview with Sparta confirmed for RadioZoom

Sparta (credit: Johnny Buzzerio)I’m super excited to announce that RadioZoom will be having the opportunity to interview Sparta when they are in town for their show at Richards on Richards this weekend. I have officially made Rebecca my go to public relations person for the podcast, and she has delivered big time, no doubt about it.

Like many fans of the band, I’ve been a fan of Sparta since the day they formed. No, I wasn’t one of those cool kids with my ear to the underground and knowledge of all things good. Well, maybe just a little bit, but when the forever memorable At the Drive-In[wiki] split up, Sparta was formed by three guys from the band. If you’ve ever heard the name The Mars Volta, that is what the other two members went on to. However, Paul Hinojos left Sparta nearly a year ago to join The Mars Volta.

In 1999, I went to my first CMJ Music Marathon in New York. The Foo Fighters were slated to play at the Bowery Ballroom in a somewhat early show, so a bunch of us stood in line for a few hours to check them out. More impressive than seeing them on stage was the opening band which none of us knew a lot about, and they were seemingly insane. Amazingly good, but insane.

Sad to say, I never knew who they were for months afterward. When we got At the Drive-In’s new album at KRUI a little while later, I started to piece it all together. That band I saw, with the afros and craziness on stage, was At the Drive-In.

I’ve been keeping tabs on Sparta since their first album, “Wiretap Scars“, and their two follow up albums have yet to disappoint me. Their most recent release, “Threes“, is available in stores now. I’ve had a listen through just a few times, so it is hard for me to really convey a decent review of the album. However, I assure you, it’s way, way good.

The most interesting part of doing this interview is the way Sparta has embraced new media. Their involvement with their website is very noticeable, connecting to fans in this highly digital age with podcasts and embedded videos to send out information to fans. My hope is to explore their reasons behind it and geek out with rock stars a little bit.

radiozoom.netIt is because of this that we think they have given the green light to meeting Rebecca and I for a brief conversation before their show on Saturday night. The scope of RadioZoom is always exploring new avenues, and the recent interview with Aberdeen City is a prime example of that. It feels good to be getting back into the realm of interacting with musicians, like I did during my time in radio, but we can try so many different things through podcasting that you simply can’t on the airwaves.

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Not used to so much smoke free

Smoke free restaurants and venues are something I became very accustomed to when I moved to Vancouver. In the states, this is taking effect from the inside out. It starts with hospitals pushing the proximity in which one can smoke further and further away from their walls. From there, it’s moved on to places where you can get a bite to eat, but bars fight back tooth and nail on it. At that point, there is a settlement over how much the percentage of revenue is taking from food compared to other goods that are sold, this often being alcohol. The less food you sell, the more you can have smoking in your establishment.

It’s all baby-steps towards a state-wide ban or stiff regulation on where you can or can’t smoke. In Canada, it gets even steeper. I did a little looking around, and the greater Vancouver area seems to have a more relaxed stance on it compared to other parts of the country. That doesn’t mean that people are content with the way things are.

The city of White Rock is poised to become the first community in B.C. to impose an outdoor patio smoking ban, with council set to vote on the issued Monday night.

Dozens of owners of restaurants along the beach in White Rock plan to be at the Monday council meeting to voice their opposition. [cbc]

No don’t get me wrong and start saying that I hate everyone who smokes. If that’s your habit, then that’s your thing. Enjoy the things you enjoy, and I will enjoy mine. It’s not the healthiest thing that anyone could pick up, but I’m sure no one usually gets cancer from biting their fingernails or picking their nose. Nasty habits, but far less risky.

The crappy thing about this, in terms of living in this city, is that I can recall so many times when Rebecca and I go out to eat and we don’t sit on the patio because of all the smokers. That is one of the best things about Vancouver, too. Enjoying your meal with a cool ocean breeze blowing and over priced, under juiced cocktails. There’s nothing like it, but you can’t do it without the potential company of some one who is enjoying a cigarette while chowing down. And generally speaking, that potential is usually for certain.

It’s a really tough argument. I don’t want their smoke, and they don’t like being pushed deeper and deeper into a corner. What I find it really strange about all of this is that I notice smokers, at least in public places, outdoors more than I ever did indoors. Such is the enigma of Vancouver.

Update: White Rock turned down the ban proposal last night[cbc].

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Give me Canucks PPV in HD

Dear Ocra Bay,

In the last episode of The Crazy Canucks, I made mention about how nice it would be to have Canucks PPV games be broadcast in HD. I would believe that the reality of making this possible wouldn’t be too hard because, let’s face it, if we’re paying $11.95 per game(round about $150 if you buy all 17 games for the 2006-07 season), then we should really be getting our best bang for the buck.

Canucks TV PPVLet’s be honest. What’s the best thing about Canucks PPV? It’s the play-by-play by John Shorthouse. Notice that I’m not saying much about Tom Larscheid, but I guess it’s somewhat worth to hear the next, insane thing that the guy is going to loft out of his mouth. I kinda see why you guys keep him around, but I’ll restrain myself from saying anything more.

The fact that everything is in sync, in terms of no satellite delay from watching it on TV and turning on the radio, and Shorty being amazing on the call is great. I’m not going to dispute that at all.

Sure, you guys throw those neat segments in between periods and have no commercials, but after that, what’s the big deal? Not a whole lot. If, as fans, we are forced to head out to a pub because we can’t get ourselves to throw down the cash to watch it at home, these things don’t matter. And for the most part, these games are huge money makers for pubs all over the lower mainland, most of which have those fancy, wide-screen, plasma or LCD TVs anyway.

Let me give you guys a quick comparison of what this might be like because some people don’t get the fascination between the two technologies. Believe it or not, there are massive differences between the two technologies.

Canucks in HD

Now this is crude mock-up of a picture that we took at a pre-season game against the Ducks. The point is, you get to see more of the ice. On a break-away, watch the goalie get setup, pee his pants while he freaks out in anticipation, and take on the shot from the opposing player. Watch the spray of ice in amazing detail. See each and every stitch on Green’s face from the puck he took in Nashville. To me, that is all worth the extra effort of catching a PPV game in HD.

The biggest advantage to go HD is the fact that your tickets are steep in price. We do love the team, but there are just some folks who can’t afford to go to as many games as we’d like to. Combine the cost of food and beverages and it’s much easier for us to gather at our nearest, buddy’s house who has a sweet 42-inch DLP with 5.1 dolby digital surround sound. Give me that great picture and sound that I crave, and you present a true like-you-are-there experience.

So what to do Canucks fans have right now?

Canucks in NTSC

Dreary, dull, and not near the resolution that it could be, pay-per-view television. The worst part is that no matter how content you can be listening to the game on the radio instead, you’ll never get to see video highlights unless they are able to get footage from the broadcast of the opposing team. Then there are blackout restrictions and rules that local media has to follow or else you guys will do something mean.

Yeah, it’s a little picky, but I’m sure there are plenty of sponsors out there who would provide some funds to make this a reality. “Canucks TV, presented in High-Definition by Futureshop!” Best Buy. The Source. I don’t care who, but you guys are one of the biggest attractions in town.

“Canucks Pay-Per-View in HD” Come on! Doesn’t that have a nice ring to it? Thank about it, Orca Bay.

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The Vancouver Salos

The Vancouver Salos [credit: VCOE]Because of a comment thread on Vancouver Canucks Op Ed on this post, Alanah whipped up this creation. I laughed my butt off when she emailed this to me. Too crazy to post on her site, but too hilarious to not post here. Rebecca was the one who started this, but I just perpetuated it. It’s more truth than fiction, but strictly platonic, Sammy. I’m a happily married man.

It all started with an episode of The Crazy Canucks. I said that it seemed like we were being called the “Vancouver Luongos” with the way that the media talked about team as the season got under way. With my favorite boy from last year, Carter, now with Columbus, I’ve been searching for someone to fill his place in terms of my favorite player. Perhaps this is a bit too much of an extreme, but I have to say that the last few days has made this guy rise to the top of my list.

Be sure to check out more on The Crazy Canucks podcast. We’ll be recording episode number four later this week. Been a crazy last few games on the road, but at least we’re up in the wins and points columns. Can’t fail to mention that a lot of that is in part to Sammy “The Friendly Ghost” Salo.

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Richards on Richards, too little on too late

I had my first experience with checking out a show at Richards on Richards last night. I’ve been told for a long time that it’s one of the best venues in the city, and there is a lot of truth to that. Not too big and not too small. It’s just right.

Aberdeen City at Richards on RichardsThe main reason we showed up there last night was because Rebecca arranged an interview with Aberdeen City, who was opening up for Electric Six. We recorded a bunch of audio for a podcast, but her interview post is up. She also gets photo credit here.

The craziest thing about this experience was not only was I getting to see a show there, but we got to go backstage to talk with Aberdeen City. In fact, it was in the green room, but it was more like a storage closet that was turned into a place for performers to hang out. Not a lot of room, nor was it exactly “green”. It still made for a cozy setting to hang out for the two of us plus the four guys from the band. Members of Electric Six wondered in and out, but my ignorance couldn’t tell you who was who.

So here it was, my first time walking through the doors of a rock and roll mecca of sorts, and before seeing the stage, we’re wisked behind the door where most rabid fans would kill to step through. There really wasn’t that tight of security to stop us, and the size of the place kind of forces the band to come out into the bar area and socialize with the crowd. It’s one of those small, intimate club types of places. For me, that’s the real way to experience a good performance.

The sound in the place is really impressive. The bass from just the kick drum is enough to make your pant legs flutter from soundwaves hitting it. The PA is bright and makes it very easy to hear the vocals. You won’t see a big and fancy light show in the place, but what they do have is really effective.

Sadly, this could be thefirst and last show I ever see there. I was told by front man Brad Parker from Aberdeen City that he heard about plans to tear the place down in about a year. In true Yaletown fashion, the mecca will be replaced by a high rise building. Expect over priced condos as well.

We have yet to figure out where, but Richards is relocating. Once again, this is some thing Parker told us, but I haven’t been able to locate any information about those details. Naturally, it will never been the same as it was. Charm is something that only comes with history, no matter how dirty or dank a place might be considered. Rock and roll is never clean and pure. It’s an experience.

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Lululemon on Robson Street on Tuesday Night

Lululemon vandals? 1I’m not sure if this is a unique form of new displays for the store or if the place was actually vandalized. I would doubt that a store like this would call themselves “robots” and “sell-outs”, but kudos to Lululemon if they took the guts to actually do this on purpose. Maybe some one else knows what’s going on?

Lululemon vandals? 2The other interesting thing is to look inside the display. The mannequins have boxes on their heads and dollar signs for eyes. If this is indeed the work of vandals, then someone was able to get inside. That’s why I’m kinda wondering if it’s on purpose, but this is too strange to be so.

Apologies on the quality of this pics. Took this with my cellphone.


Edit: Now that I stare at these photos, the more and more it seems that this is a legit display. All of the spray paint makes me miss the “believe” in the middle, with the word “lie” in red. Bravely taking on a stereotype perhaps?

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Team 1040 Podcasts: Vancouver Canucks Hockey Games

Rebecca and I missed the game last night between the Canucks and Oilers, and for good reason. Thanks to J.J from the Canucks Hockey Blog, I was able to get him to txt me the final score. 2-1 Edmonton for the final. Not the prettiest of games, and I’m sure we’ll discuss this on the episode of The Crazy Canucks that we plan to record tonight.

I did subscribe to the Team 1040 AM Vancouver Canucks Podcast that I stumbled upon a few weeks ago. At first, I thought it was just the talk shows that they do about the Canucks, which was completely true. They took “Canucks This Week” and sent it out via podcast, commercials and all. Not a horrible listen as you get a little caught up with highlights from Tom and Shorty.

To my surprise, after the first game of the regular season, all three periods of the game against Detroit showed up in my iTunes. These are exactly what you hear on the radio, but this isn’t AM radio quality. The sound is excellent. Dare I say it, but the commercials even sound better when it’s not coming across at 1040 kHz. Could have swore that I just heard some plastic crinkling in the background. Maybe it’s the sound of Larschied’s beer cups?

The downside is the size of the mp3’s. I’m listening to last night’s, final two periods right now. The 2nd came down at 128kbps, almost 58 minutes long, and 52.5MB in size. The end of the period just saw the audio go dead, so there was about 18 minutes of “dead air” as they transitioned into intermission. The 3rd period was even bigger, downloading a 256kbps mp3 at just over an hour in length and 113 MB in size. (Like the 2nd, the end of the 3rd period podcast had almost 26 minutes of “dead air” tacked on at the end.)

That’s a lot of space being eaten up on the hard drive of my laptop or my iPod, not to mention the time it takes to download. Perhaps this is something that can be changed in the future. I’m thinking that a standard of 96kbps would be an excellent sample rate. That would bring the size down considerable. (Hmm, maybe I should send Team 1040 an email with a link back to this post.)

Team 1040 AMListening to this as I write this post, there’s a commercial running for their podcasts. I should also mention that they do the same for the BC Lions, but I haven’t checked that out.

This would be ideal for someone who is a transplanted Canucks fan who wants some sort of play-by-play action to feed their need. Sure, it’s time shifted and you’ll have to do everything you can to avoid hearing the outcome of the game before you get around to listening to this, but there are some great advantages. Fast forward through commercials (standard TV break is two minutes) and skip the intermissions. There are kinks, but I’m sure they’ll get those worked through.

If you’re like me, you just want some recap on the action while going about your day. Sure, we got the score at the end of the game last night, but I would have never known how close the Canucks came to tying it up at the end of the 3rd with a pulled goalie. TV highlights can’t fill the void that Shorty gives you when the game is on the line in those last minutes before the final horn. Not too bad.

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I’ve never seen so many

I often tell Rebecca that I have never seen so many luxury vehicles in my life until I came to Vancouver. I’m not saying that I haven’t crossed paths with a ferrari or lamborghini before, but around here, you can have three of each pass you by as you walk down the street. Their appearance will dwindle in the next few days as fall drags us into winter. This summer was an eye opener though.

Big money on Robson StreetIt’s not so much that I’m an awe. In all actuality, I find it kinda sad. I would even go as far as to call it juvenile. It’s really not that different from my days in high school when driving around “the loop” for hours on end was the cool thing to do. Robson Street, from what I have experienced, is just that. This time, it’s people with more money than they know what to do with, cruising up and down the strip so people can see their car that costs more than a college education.

I’ve also seen more hummers than anywhere else. Forget about these things helping out with the mountainous terrain. No, these gas sucking machines are parked all over downtown. Some are commuters, others just use these things to get around the city. It shatters that thought of Vancouverites being overly enivronmentally conscious folks. For the most part, this is true, but the reality depends on how much money you have and the way you need to soothe that burning hole in your wallet.

On the other side of this, Minibuses[wiki] are more numerous in a comforting way. It’s like seeing a Smart[wiki] car buzz its way down the street. They tell me that all hope isn’t lost. The idea of thinking beyond bigger and better is still alive.

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Bring back the stick in rink

Vancouver Canucks - Original logoI’m not sure where I picked this up exactly, but it’s a really great read. There are so many, non-Canucks fans who look at the original logo for Vancouver and can’t figure it out. Just recently, in fact, Rebecca and I had a Flames fan ask us this question. Even I knew that it’s a “C” for “Canucks”, made from a hockey rink with a hockey stick set inside it, just like you see here(click on it for a larger image).

The story of it is really interesting though.

“For one thing,” Joe explains, “I was a hockey fan. But also I was on my own as a graphic artist and I figured if I ever got this thing [the logo], it would really be something because Vancouver is such a crazy town for hockey.

“I spent about a week doing it,” he recalls. “I took it to Greg Douglas who was then the Canuck’s public relations man. He said that Mr. [Tom] Scallen and Mr. [Lyman] Walters, who were the heads of Medicor, were coming to Vancouver and he’d make arrangements to have me meet them.

“So it was the next day or so that I went to the Hotel Vancouver to see them. They owned an agency in San Francisco that did advertising for their ice shows, and they also had submissions from other people around the States.

“They had a whole pile of designs scattered around the floor, but I really had no time to look at them closely.

“So I submitted mine and left it there after explaining about the blue and green for the water, mountains and trees. There was no price talked about.

“About two weeks later, Greg called me up and said, ‘Joe, they want to go with your design. [sportslogos]

I also love the part where Brian Burke coughed up the cash to use the logo for Orca Bay to use the logo on Vancouver’s third jersey. You wouldn’t think that an organization would be so nice to the creator of a logo like that, but this just goes to show the class that Burke had as a GM. At the same time, there is no arguing that Joe Borovich was the guy who created the logo.

If Orca Bay made the move to make the “stick in rink” logo, including the original colors, the main jersey for the Canucks, then I am all for it. It’s the only logo on any merchandise that I would buy, and Rebecca would probably tell you the same thing.

Update: Not so much to this post, but the Canucks played in Columbus tonight. Great game, taking it into overtime. 3-2 over the Blue Jackets.

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RadioZoom Episode #114 – One Year in Vancouver; The Crazy Canucks podcast; Sounds of the SkyTrain; 1907 Film of Downtown Vancouver

Published this morning, RZ#114 is ready for listening.

I haven’t done anything like this in quite a while, so I decided to take the minidisc and lapel mic with me as I had some things to take care of yesterday. It has been one year since I moved to Vancouver, so I talk a little about what the whole experience has been like. I also hesitate to say that this is the official, one year episode as Rebecca wants to do some recording on the topic as well. A second part might materialize soon.

I also talk about the new podcasting project that I launched this past week. The Crazy Canucks is an extension of the “Hockey Talk” segment from this podcast, but check out the website to get more of the story. Also, I had the opportunity to partake in a project regarding the oldest, surviving film footage of Vancouver from 1907.

56:39 minutes
radiozoom.net