Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Seether, Foreign Films, Seán Devlin, Autogramm, Lenny, LiYON, Gabriella Verdugo, and Flara K

By Will McGuirk

“I felt alone, scared, and confused. During that time, music is what helped me through it. Listening to different artists and their songs touched me, in a way, and helped me to not feel alone.” - Gabriella Verdugo

"It was a cold March in Montreal, and the months of isolation had really started to skew our perception of things - it was hard to think rationally about our lives and where things were going. I had also just read novels by Charles Bukowski and Kurt Vonnegut, and I was over thinking and constantly on edge," - Collin Steinz, Flara K

“I was thinking about how a person's life can appear from the outside to be so settled, ideal, in the right place, while on the inside they may be struggling, drifting, gone awry. This sort of thing tends to be exacerbated by our suddenly very isolated lives, when all we get to see from our friends and loved ones is an idyllic representation that we're fed through social media. Not everyone is comfortable sharing their fears and struggles in the public forum. So this song is just an acknowledgement of my own fucked-up-ness at that time, and also a reminder to really check in with your friends, because they may be having a hard time, despite appearances.” - The Silo, Autogramm

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Lenny · Taurus Sun

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Spirit Josh release latest album 'On God'

By Will McGuirk

On God? . . . Lo-fi saloon blues, fragile freak folk, and cautious country tremblings, shambolic ramblings even - its for everyone, its for fans of Kurt Vile, Kalle Mattson, The Band, Chad Vangaalen, John Prine, its a new collection from Spirit Josh, a TO trio from the shades of Shwarock City, its a dog-leg, a left turn, a lantern layered with paint, brushed with loons and cut-up conversations, snatches of plots hatching, and maybe even in there in the back of it, underneath the roots of it something of Daniel, Fred and Julie. And above it all the high spirits of Matt Jonn, Sam and Alex.

Slowcity.ca Open Mic Local Edition: Tania Joy, Ellis, Meghan Patrick, Andrea Ramolo, Bob Bryden, and Slow Death Lights

By Will McGuirk

But first. . .

Stacey Laforme is a poet and Chief of The Mississauga's of the New Credit First Nations.On May 28th 2021, he composed the poem 215/Reconciliation as an emotional response to the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at the residential school in Kamloops ,BC. The poem has been set to music by Kevin Hearn and Josh Finlayson, ( members of The Secret Path Band) . It was recorded and mixed by Kenny Luong . Please go to DownieWenjak.ca to get involved and help build a path towards cultural understanding and reconciliation. The National Residential School Crisis line is: 1-866-925-4411 ( support for residential school survivors and their families)

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"Who I Am” is about all of those honest unspoken fears that make us who we are, and at the end of the day I am comforted by the sum of my parts," - Tania Joy

“DUST is about the fine line between human connection and toxic attachment. It’s about our human longing and addictions. . . to things. . . to each other. . . and about the acceptance that we are truly mirrors for one another in this life. We all have our poison, which I believe must be embraced without judgement. And we all need love." - Andrea Ramolo

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Slow Death Lights · Slow Death Lights - I Wanna Be Somebody (feat. Chris Holmes)

Slowcity.ca: Why did u choose Wasp to cover? 

Andre Skinner (SDL): “I chose to cover WASP because my musical influences were were strongly forged with metal bands such as Motley Crue, Maiden, Ratt, Twisted Sister and especially WASP back in the mid 80's. I bought WASP's self titled tape at A&A Records back in 1985 as a 10 year old and the opening track 'I Wanna Be Somebody' REALLY stuck with me over the years. That album played a strong role in making me decide on a music career and a young man and Chris Holmes was always a MAJOR rock hero in my books.

SC: when you reached out for the ask what was the discussion? 

AS: “With setting up the guest appearance, I tracked down Chris Holmes management via FB and simple asked if he would be down with cutting a track with us. Catherine Homes (Wife and Manger) quickly got back to me asking about the band and the song saying she would play it for CH over the weekend and would get back to me. Three days later, I received an email with good news! I pretty much freaked out at the news. . . I thought for sure it would be a no go since (first off) it's a WASP cover and CH famously doesn't get along with Blackie (the songwriter), and secondly because it was generally a major long-shot of an ask. I had cut the original lead guitar and solo which was sent to CH as a reference, once again sending my nerves for a ride knowing CG would hear it. CH cut the lead guitar tracks at his home studio in Cannes France and did a killer job. He was also gracious enough for a couple of phone calls about production. He and his wife are first rate people!”

SC: is this a one off or do you have further plans for covers or with Wasp?

AS: “This is a one off. I want to explore more covers down the line of other artists. (one per album would do just fine) and continue exploring the guest appearances by big artists as it adds great content to our PR rollouts.”

Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Haviah Mighty, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Valerie June, Alex Cuba, Overcoats, Metric, Lukas Nelson, Tedeschi Trucks Band

By Will McGuirk

“This song is my protest – a reminder that regardless of all the conversations, the chatter, the media, the justices and injustices – this feeling and fear we walk with, is as present as ever. After all these years, encountering the police as a marginalized person still triggers pure fear. These feelings within the production – the intensity and depth of the chords, the stress and tension of the pacing – it all mirrors the feelings of paranoia, fear, control, and our innate will to survive when encountering law enforcement. Having UK-based artist, Yizzy, bless this record brings it full circle. From a light skin male’s perspective from somewhere else on the globe, our experiences still mirror one another, a further testament to the eerie similarities of trauma among Black folks.” - Haviah Mighty

“The community was able to look on the bright side even though news media still fail to see and recognize us as human beings. No matter what label you throw at us, we know who we are and where we come from.” - Young D, Snotty Nose Rez Kids

“It took me a really long time to come back to the home in my heart. In a physical sense, that’s Texas and Hawaii. But in a spiritual sense as well—I think I finally decided not to run from who I am and who I am destined to be.” - Lukas Nelson

“When I began to imagine this album, I knew I didn’t want it to be small in any way. Neither did I want it to be known forever as the album that was born out of the pandemic. I was convinced that it definitely was the moment to aim at creating something very special, unique and vibrant, fuelled by the very deep emotions that this time has brought out of all of us.” - Alex Cuba

”This song is heartbreaking but we think it tries to show that there can be beauty in the wreckage." - Overcoats

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Slowcity.ca Open Mice with Raine Hamilton, Elina Filice, Young Clancy, Jonathan Roy, Debra-Jean Creelman, Parks N' Rec, and Adrian Sutherland

By Will McGuirk

“When I was writing this song, I was shining that light around inside, seeing who had been left behind, and I rediscovered some parts of myself that I had long ignored. For me, that discovery had a lot to do with queerness, and finding my way to deep love of that part.” - Raine Hamilton

“After dating the wrong gender you're finally feeling something that feels right to you, things you’ve never felt for another person. At the exact same time you're realizing who you are. It really is finding yourself through loving someone else, which is why for the queer identity, who we love and who we are are inextricably intertwined.” - Elina Filice

“It took me leaving my comfort zone, buying (and living) in a van to find myself again. My songs reflect that – and reflect that recharge that I needed. Not only in my artistic life, but in my personal life as well.” – Jonathan Roy

“When I'm giving voice to my vulnerability, that's when the magic arrives. I've been re-learning how to trust my instincts, and so far I'm being shown that they're good.” - Debra-Jean Creelman

“We are strong as humans, even when we are vulnerable. We can be both reflective and confident at the same time.” - Parks N' Rec

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Jonathan Roy · Walk Out on Me

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Slowcity.ca Open Mike with K.D.A.P., Wet Leg, Art d'Ecco, Slow Death Lights, Nick Ferrio, Cowboy Junkies, Bobbo Byrnes, and Bad Waitress

By Will McGuirk

“It's about understanding the obstacles we set up in front of ourselves. Personal deception and self-sabotage. It's about opening up and trying to figure out how to be a better human being, be more vulnerable.” - Nick Ferrio

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Lightman Jarvis Ecstatic Band, Suzie Ungerleider, bigmcenroe, Kodiak Arcade, Sandeep Das and Mike Block, and The Blips,

By Will McGuirk

“Ecstasy is perverse and sacred. To display ecstatic joy like we do on this album is a vulnerable thing. - Jarvis

"I’ve grown up with a voice in my head telling me to cheer up and to bury my feelings. Music is the place where I can go “deep into darkness and weep.” - Suzie Ungerleider

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Kodiak Arcade · Dumb

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Q, Amythyst Kiah, Moonshine, Cadence Weapon, Tom Odell, Stone Giants, Keys N Krates, Ormiston, and Kenny Mason

By Will McGuirk

We are not our faces, we may not even be our voices, we are many, and most of all we are a blend, and more and more we are hearing non-genre music, neither this nor that, hip nor hop, rhythm nor blues, but a blend of voices and faces, nearing the one, hearing the all.

“When I wrote ‘On Me’, I was inspired by reading about how face recognition technology was being used by law enforcement and then that got me thinking about the myriad ways surveillance has become normalized in everyday life.” - Cadence

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Yola, Nathaniel Rateliff, Tony Joe White, Billy F Gibbons, Lucas Nelson, and JEEN

By Will McGuirk

“This song is about a celebration of being awake from the nightmare supremacist paradigm. Truly alive, awake and eyes finally wide open and trained on your path to self-actualisation. You are thinking freely and working on undoing the mental programming that has made you live in fear. It is about standing for ourselves throughout our lives and real change coming when we challenge our thinking.” - Yola

“I wrote "Better Drugs" eight months after watching the world burn, with everything so exposed and gross. Like we had all lost too many pieces of ourselves to put back together or something...I wondered how fundamental it was, like how broken are we, you know?” - JEEN

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic Spotlight: iskwē and Tom Wilson share 'Starless Nights'

Artwork by Tom Wilson

By Will McGuirk

“Starless Nights is a beautiful song, written by an incredible songwriter Misha Bower. When I was at Words Fest in London, Ontario, sharing in a conversation/songwriters circle with Misha; she performed this tune acoustically and it was mind-blowing. It was one of these songs that the moment you hear it you get shivers." - iskwē

“The song was a natural fit for us. It's otherworldly.” - Tom Wilson

iskwē Website ->

Tom Wilson Website ->

Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Cots, Nation of Language, Clinic, Orminston, daysormay, Jessicka, and Myranda Christi,

By Will McGuirk

“‘Flowers’ is a meditation on death—death as essential, awful, tragic, beautiful, mysterious.” - Steph Yates

“When the air in the room suddenly feels like it changes in an undefinable way. It’s a kind of celebration of that certain joyous panic, and the uncertainty that surfaces right after it.” - Ian Devaney, Nation of Language

“My goal was to be as un-Aidan as possible” - Aidan Andrews, daysormay

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic Spotlight: Ehsan Matoori

By Will McGuirk

"I wrote ‘Nostalgia' when I watched a video of Syrian men and women drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. People who left their homeland because of the war. The nightmare of drowning has haunted me for a long time. But there was nothing I could do, except to make music about the death of immigrants who were looking for a peaceful land.” - Ehsan Matoori

Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Alyson McNamara, Paris Pick, Nathan Lawr, Hildegard, Central Heat Exchange, Black River Delta, and Phantom Atlantic

By Will McGuirk

“Our thinking is so polarized these days, there's no room for nuance or complexity. It’s sad really, because beauty and growth reside in these in-between areas.” - Nathan Lawr

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