Polaris People For The Week Of April 12: Joel Plaskett Helps Out & Our Folks Invade Coachella
You’re probably saying to yourself, “Man, I’d love to watch a clip of a sweet 350 HP VCMC Turbo Scion FR-S right now” and, what do ya know, we just happen to have one.
Now that your need for delicious speed has been sated, let us move forward to other things. Namely, checking in with our favourite people, the Polaris People.
Here’s what some of them got up to this week:
Off the top, we’ve entered a new era. Now, for the first time ever, if someone suggests they’d like to slip you some hot “Deathcock” you don’t need to reflexively shove your thumb in their eye. The aforementioned cock of death isn’t a tool of Oderus Urungus, but rather a freely available new/old song from two-time Short Listers Broken Social Scene.
Dan Mangan, who has made both the Short and Long List in the past, is doing a solid for emerging acts — he’s offering to help them navigate the labyrinth that is arts grants.
Fair warning. Your last opportunities to see 2012 Long Lister Ariane Moffatt before an extended break are fast approaching.
Past Short and Long Lister Stephen McBean of Black Mountain appears to have a new band called Obliterations. Retaining a “black” theme the band members apparently “all like Black Sabbath and Black Flag.” Fellow Black Mountaineers Amber Webber and Joshua Wells will also be putting out another album as Lightning Dust. That one will be called Fantasy.
Our all-but-official saxophonist-in-residence Colin Stetson has released a new video for “In Mirrors” + “And In Truth.” It’s pretty groovy if you like staring at x-rays and scenes full of snow covering things.
If that’s not your speed, XXL magazine has ranked Drake‘s 30 best songs to date. Find that HERE. Find out if that Aaliyah-Drake track made the list.
Polaris People have been doing their part to honour some fallen musical soldiers recently. Joel Plaskett, Matt Mays and a cast of east coast all-stars held a series of tribute concerts for late guitarist Jay Smith in Halifax. The concerts can be seen HERE.
Meanwhile, past Short Listers Elliott Brood and recent Polaris Pick Daniel Romano were among the participants in a special night at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern to honour Stompin’ Tom Connors.
In other concert news, the folks at Red Bull have taken some time off from coaxing people to risk leaping to their death to organize a series of groovy concerts across the country. Card-carrying Polaris People like The New Pornographers and Cadence Weapon will be participating.
Finally, if you were trying to mathematically figure out where the highest concentration of Polaris People would be this weekend, for the first time in a long time the answer wouldn’t be “ordering a Boccolicious sandwich at Casa Del Popolo.” Instead, many of our treasured pals will be performing throughout the weekend at the Coachella music festival. To see a complete Coachella live stream schedule go HERE. Then, if you want to figure out what all the A-listers are doing to create their own signature jean shorts while they attend the festival, go HERE.
