CM was out in force at St. Catharines, ON's SCENE Music Festival on June 29, 2008. Apart from being stationed alongside our friends at Holophone, who design and manufacture 5.1 recording mics, we were also able to wander around and take in some music from the over 130 performing artists visiting the city. Thanks are due to the event's organizers, who managed to keep things running very smoothly considering the rainy weather, as well as the crew at Holophone and our own Nik Duncan.

So NXNE has come and gone, and being my first one, was seemingly a success. The Dine Alone/Bedlam showcase was very special, offering two headliner-worthy sets from Moneen and Bedouin Soundclash in a very, very small club. As always, Attack In Black were great as well. After a pair of seminars on Saturday (one of which featured Carol Pope, Keith Morris, and Fernando Saunders discussing experiences from the road), I blasted over to Mississauga's Just Drums for SABIAN Saturday. Percussionists, this one's for you.

So NXNE begins tonight with a party at the Palais Royale, and will continue until Sunday with a film festival, entertainment industry seminars, and of course, some great showcases. I should also mention that most bars/venues in the city even remotely music-related will be open (and serving) until 4 a.m. I'll be there tomorrow to (hopefully) catch Aspirations, Carpenter, and This Is A Standoff along with Hostage Life, The Flatliners, and STRIKE ANYWHERE. The following night will have me hitting a Dine Alone Records showcase, with Moneen, Arkells, Bedouin Soundclash, Casey Baker, and a few more.  Expect updates Friday.

Mike had the chance to visit the new Cosmo SuperStore before I did, so he beat me to this, but I still need to note how incredible the place is. Not only is the facility itself overwhelming, but they're stocking a lot of right products to draw in different kinds of musicians and shoppers. Anyhow, the store is in Richmond Hill, and if you're anywhere near that part of the province, consider the drive. Great staff.

Also, I'm going to see Rosesdead on their farewell tour tonight. Tears.

So a few initial artists have been announced for the S.C.E.N.E. Festival here in St. Kitts.  Ready?  Silverstein, illScarlett, Cancer Bats, and Black Lungs have been announced alongside...  wait for it... Teenage Head. Seriously. If that lineup isn't worth the drive from the GTA (or cavity search from Buffalo), what is?  CM is going to be onhand in a big way at that event, and we'll have more info on our presence in the near future.  In the meantime, be excited and start catching up on those bands - Teenage Head just released a well-received record with Marky Ramone (from The Ramones, of course), les Cancer Bats have released one of my favourite albums of 2008, and the rest of their company isn't bad either.  Check www.scenemusicfestival.com on an ongoing basis for constantly updated info, because there are about 150 more bands to be announced really soon.

I just picked up .moneen.'s DVD It All Started With A Red Stripe, and found it an insightful viewing experience, not only as a fan of the band, but as a musician in general. The feature film The Start To This May Be The End To Another follows the band during the pre-production process of tracking The Red Tree, focusing mainly on the development of "If Tragedy's Appealing..." from it's initial skeleton to it's album appearance. Seeing the group struggle with and learn from Producer Brian McTernan felt very eye-opening - it was a very real, honest look at the makings of an album with label restrictions.  Any experiences with the pre-production process you'd like to share?   Either way, if you like .moneen., you'll like this DVD.  The live set is great, albeit slightly lagging from the video at times, and the documentary is well edited and feels like a genuine look at one of Canada's most genuine bands.

Last night's motto: "Judge not a man by the colour of his skin, but by the height of his mohawk!" Joey "Shithead" Keithley and D.O.A. played a semi-full St. Catharines club last night, and we here at CM had the pleasure of being there to witness a great punk rock set, and the antics of a few young girls whose fathers missed one too many dance recitals. Get excited for something on D.O.A. in a future issue of CM, and read on for a summation of the night's happenings.

I forgot to mention earlier that I spoke with Liam Cormier of the Cancer Bats about taking care of his voice while touring. This oft-discussed topic takes on a fresh approach considering Cormier is pretty much screaming for an hour every night instead of dancing around a C sharp, so check that out in the next few days if you're interested.

Also, some really great new music has been coming from the country in the last few weeks - I'd like to make some recs if I may...

First of all, our friend Aldo is hosting a launch party for the upcoming KoSA DVD in Toronto on Sunday (May 11) night in Toronto. Read about that (and look at the nice photo) here: http://canadianmusician.com/news.php?news_id=173&start=5&category_id=&parent_id=&arcyear=&arcmonth=

After (or before) that, read on for some highlights of my musically-themed trip to Quebec and night out with the Cancer Bats.