PK's Top Albums of the Year

Each year I buy a lot of music.  It's a hobby and an addiction, I just can't help it.  After absorbing all of the new music over the course of the year, I attempt to compile a list of what *I* feel was the best.  This list always changes over the course of the year, but I feel pretty strongly about what I came up with.  Go buy some records.

TOP 10 CDs of 2008
1. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
2. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
3. Deerhunter - Microcastle & Weird Era Cont.
4. Boris - Smile
5. Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna
6. The Ruby Suns - Sea Lion
7. Hercules And Love Affair - Hercules And Love Affair
8. Hayden - In Field & Town
9. Russian Circles - Station
10. The Dodos - Visiter

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order):
Atlas Sound - Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
Destroyer - Trouble in Dreams
Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing
Metronomy - Nights Out
Okkervil River - The Stand-Ins
Sebastien Tellier - Sexuality

Metalworks Photos

Photos from the studio by Brooks Reynolds. Drums for the album are done, hoorah!

Return to the Studio

Back in the studio again, working on the new album. It feels like just the other day we were out in California recording the last one. The whole process is always exhausting but the outcome makes it totally worth the effort. This time is no different, but I feel like it's off to a better start than ever before. Our producer rules and I am excited about all of the new songs. The time at home has already flown by and now I need to start preparing for the Holidays. Right now I'm just focusing on recording and everything else will come second. Off to the Broken Social Scene show tomorrow night, stoked about that.

Propaganda

liars manifesto - new shit coming soon.

buffalo for the day off,  full from cheesecake factory.  avocado eggrolls rule my world.  metronomy - nights out is a great album.  on twitter now, whatever the hell that is.  cnn is repetitive and boring.  i'm home soon.  much of what day consisted of, oh and a lot of work.  busyyyyyyy.  it has instantly become cold and i can't handle the cold.

Halloween 2008

This year our whole band decided to dress up as our favorite cartoon band, "Dethklok" (from Adult Swim's Metalocalypse).  The drummer is known as "Pickles" and was the character for my costume.  Pictured above is the comparison between the actual and what I was able to pull off.  Here is a group picture of the rest of everyone:

Good times!

OBAMANIA

A new president was elected tonight who will hopefully change a lot of things that are wrong with America. I'm from Canada, and while the election doesn't directly affect how my government is run, it will still impact my economy and the way that my country deals with the US. America is not the world, but it's significance and influence still overpowers a vast majority of the other nations.

We had a day off in Virginia today as a result of the election so it was nice to be able to watch the coverage and take it all in. It's especially interesting to be down here in America at this very important time. All of this will be imprinted in o ur minds for years to come. I'll always remember this evening, and the outcome of these events.

Tour is coming to a close in less than 2 weeks after a very successful run to the west coast and back. Warm weather is disappearing and fall is reappearing around us. Leaves are colored again and the nights have become darker. The summer feels so far away now after all that has happened. This year is a flash in the pan, just as any other, but at least it was well absorbed and enjoyed.

I'm happy these days. Things have turned around and I'm feeling a lot more focused in my life. Time off at home soon, even though it will be mostly spent in the studio. 4 days to get everything in order upon my arrival back home and then it's time to focus on music.

Speaking of music, buy the Chad VanGaalen record and anything by Russian Circles. 2008, A great year for music. I already have a hard time thinking of my top 10 records for the year, while about 20 or so stick out in my mind. The Gang Gang Dance record is blowing my mind too. Music gives me solitude and reflectiveness.

Home / Away. Fall disappears.

Japan was great, My Bloody Valentine was great, home is busy.  I leave on Thursday evening and it feels like I just got home.  All of this feels less like time at home, and more like a continuation of everything else.  The cancellation of BroFest was the ultimate letdown which I'm still bummed about.  So much goes into an event like that, and the reward for accomplishing something positive was never achieved.  Rescheduling/re-planning is imminent.

Off to the United States of America for an extended period of time.  Leaving the Fall for the South, and back again for Winter.  I'll be home for a majority of the cold this year, exciting.  In the meantime I'm just looking forward to playing live again.

TOUR DATES:

10.10 - Detroit, MI @ Filmore
10.11 - Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Room
10.12 - Minneapolis, MN @ Epic
10.14 - Denver, CO @ Ogden
10.15 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Salt Air
10.17 - Boise, ID @ Big Easy
10.18 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox SODO
10.19 - Portland, OR @ Roseland
10.21 - San Francisco, CA @ Grand
10.22 - Fresno, CA @ Rainbow Ballroom
10.23 - Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern
10.24 - San Diego, CA @ Soma
10.25 - Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
10.26 - Phoenix, AZ @ Marquee
10.28 - Tulsa, OK @ Cains
10.29 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
10.30 - San Antonio, TX @ Sunset Station
10.31 - New Orleans, LA @ HOB
11.01 - Tampa, FL @ Jannus Landing
11.02 - Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock
11.03 - Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
11.05 - Norfolk, VA @ Norva
11.06 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
11.07 - New York, NY @ Roseland
11.08 - Worcester, MA @ Palladium
11.09 - Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head
11.10 - Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
11.12 - Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
11.13 - Chicago, IL @ Riviera
11.14 - Grand Rapids, MI @ The Orbit Room
11.15 - Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy

I posted a bunch of photos from my Japan trips.

• Japan Photos (Jan. 08)
  
• Japan Photos Take 2 (Sept. 08)
  
• Hiroshima Photoblog
  

I end with a song by one of my favorite artists, Hayden.

Vending Machines & Osaka

It's 1:30am, I'm thinking about sleeping but wanted to write before I did. This is my second night in Osaka and I'm absolutely loving it here. Besides the fact that I miss home, I'm having a good time. Most of the time when I'm on the road it's for a month+, but this time is a lot shorter. I definitely find that the more time I spend in one particular city, the more I grow to love it (ex. Perth, on my trip earlier this year.. and now - Osaka). This is a great music city, and the shows here are always amazing. We made another stop at Rock Rock tonight - the smallest bar in existence with the most musical history. This is a fun place.

(some photos around Osaka at night)

Japan has such a wide selection of vending machines and they are absolutely everywhere. You name it, size it, package it - anything you can think of, the option is available! I've grown to love the BOSS brand iced-coffee from these machines. It's readily available and rather delicious. Here is a small example of what I'm talking about:

I'm really happy these days and that's a good thing. This year started off a little rough (and extremely busy), but I feel like I'm in a good place now. Off to sleep now, more shopping/walking/exploring tomorrow, and then our 2nd show in Osaka. Tour is almost over! (dreading the long flight home)

Brian Eno:Music for Airports is the perfect soundtrack right now.

I'm also loving The Dodos - Visiter album these days. 2008, great year for music.

Tokyo Times Five

(inside the Yoyogi Gymnasium, Tokyo Japan)

Five days in Tokyo, living the dream. It's been hot as balls outside every day, but at least it's sunny (and we're not getting hit with hurricane after-effects). I've been eating exceptionally well this time, despite the language barrier. The tour-catering has been superb with so many veggie options. Day off tomorrow, Tokyo Dome on Tuesday (holy shit). Next stop - Nagoya, home of Los Tacos.. the best Mexican food this side of the Pacific. Tour is flying by already, soon I'll be home and speaking of that...

Looking forward to:

My Bloody Valentine @ Kool Haus

My current favorite song, "Rapture" by DATA. The new Justice opus - "Planisphère" is unreal too. So what, I like a bunch of dance music. Picked up some new music in Japan: Gang Gang Dance, Metronomy, The Music Tapes, etc. etc. - everything seems great so far.

I have so much shit to do... back to work!

FOCUS: BroFest III / Fall tour

Zombie Attack: Japan

(tall-boy cokes, caffeine keeps me awake)

I feel like a zombie from sleep depravation and the drastic time difference.  I am, however, having an absolutely great time in Japan.  Everything has went super smooth with the shows so far, everyone has been really accommodating, and we've already seen a lot of the country.  Way to go Japan!

We got into Tokyo this afternoon and will be spending the next 5 days here.  This city rules and I already know my way around Shibuya pretty well.  On Tuesday we will be playing the massive (and legendary) Tokyo Dome - it's hard to wrap my head around how huge this will be.

I'm just stoked... here are some new photos:

25: Hamamatsu

Japan, the future.  Where does my birthday begin and end?  It's already the day after 09/09 over here in Japan.  The weather is warm and sunny - it's only 10:28am (I've been awake since 6am due to the crazy time change).  Yesterday, whenever that existed, was such a long day of traveling.  Woke up early to get ready for the flight, 13 hours in the air, 2 train rides (consisting of about 2 and a half hours), van ride to the venue for a meeting and then finally to the hotel.  So far, so good.  I've never been out of the continent for a Birthday so it's pretty exciting.

Tonight is our first show of the tour and we're playing a huge arena in Hamamatsu (about 2 hours from Tokyo).  We're doing 11 shows with Avril Lavigne - it's going to be wild.  I really don't know what to expect but I just plan on having a good time.  Time to explore the city!

planes vs. trains

Summer 2008.

Hello September.  I bought a car this summer - 2003 Toyota Echo.  It gets me from point A to point B at a decent gas mileage with a CD player.   Having a car again has made it a lot more enjoyable to be at home.  However... I've been busy as hell these past couple months.

I'm off to Japan in just about a week for 11 shows with Avril Lavigne (a strange match up for our band).  We'll be going to a bunch of new places all over the country which I've never seen before.  I'm going to keep this blog updated again with everything regarding the trip.

The kind folks at UDRUM have hooked me up with a new drum kit [pictured below] - I'll be debuting the kit this fall on our USA tour (Oct 15 - Nov 14).  We're co-headlining w. Chiodos and bringing along Escape the Fate, Alesana, Skylit Drive for our last tour of the year.

Where the hell did the summer go?  I noticed the leaves have already started changing color up here.  I'm sure when I get home, it will look like an entirely different place.  It's been great to be home, now I'm ready to leave and get back to work.

(Waterfall just outside of Burlington, Ontario)

JAPAN ITINERARY:

Sep 10, 2008 Hamamatsu, Japan @ Hamamatsu Arena
Sep 11, 2008 Niigata, Japan @ Niigata Messe
Sep 13, 2008 Tokyo, Japan @ Yoyogi Gymnasium
Sep 14, 2008 Tokyo, Japan @ Yoyogi Gymnasium
Sep 16, 2008 Tokyo, Japan @ Dome
Sep 17, 2008 Nagoya, Japan @ Gaishi Hall
Sep 18, 2008 Nagoya, Japan @ Gaishi Hall
Sep 20, 2008 Osaka, Japan @ Intex
Sep 21, 2008 Osaka, Japan @ Intex
Sep 23, 2008 Fukuoka, Japan @ Marine Messe
Sep 24, 2008 Hiroshima, Japan @ Sunplaza Hall

rage

Rock Am Ring/Rock Im Park - great experience again this year minus all of the rain.  The picture above was earlier tonight watching Rage Against the Machine (before the rain started pouring again).  Saw Justice again last night, and will be seeing them one more time tonight.  Prodigy blew my mind yesterday - so much electronica.  One more day and then it's time to go home.  I really need to shower.

Scandinavia.

It fucking rules up here.  It's a lot like Canada, but more Ikea.  The weather is gorgeous (currently 80F in Gotenborg, Sweden today).  I've always loved it up here, but visiting in the summer is a whole lot nicer.  Just a little over a week left of tour.  It will be cool to be back home for a bit - I plan on buying a car.  That means I'll probably venture out of town a lot more too.  Summer time in Ontario is amazing, and I just want to drive with the windows down and listening to really loud music.  Speaking of music, I picked up some new albums - No Age, Nouns (great record, does Sub Pop put out anything that isn't great?  I don't think so), Cut Copy (competing for my favorite record of the year), Animal Collective EP (amazing), Santogold (giving this a try), new Bonnie Prince Billy, etc. etc.  I buy a lot of music, so what.  I think it's going to be a good summer, but time will only tell.  I've had a lot of veggie street meat in the last 24 hours, but I think I might go back for more.  Over and out.

Look at it, all lit up and stuff

After driving 16 hours from Madrid, Spain -> Paris, France, we hit the town last night and I took this picture of the Eiffel Tower all lit up.  It was a beautiful sight to say the least.  Last night was a bit of an adventure as on the way back our subway line stopped running all of the way and we spent about an hour walking around trying to find our bearings.  Somehow we stumbled upon a Castle but it was too dark to take any pictures.  Fortunately our bilingual friend and superhero, Kevin Kennaley, used his french powers to get us a taxi.  Today we're playing the 'Big Show', and hopefully I'll get to do some more sightseeing.  This marks our 3rd and final show in France, and I must say that I'm happy to be moving on.  Very excited for Scandinavia (Max Burger, Cheap Monday Jeans, Swedish folk music, and good times).  I wish Daft Punk was playing at my house, my house.  Over and out.

Conquering Spain.

What's up Mediterranean Sea!  We are currently in beautiful Spain right now.  Yesterday I got to visit the "La Sagrada Familia Terminada" in Barecelona and explore a bit of the city.  The show yesterday was a lot of fun and one of the sweatiest shows we've played in a while.  Today we are in Madrid but unfortunately it's a bit rainy.  Exploration might be a little less today.. plus I think we're kind of in the ghetto.  Sunday is our 1000th show and we are celebrating in Paris - not a bad place for such an event.  Huge drive day tomorrow so maybe I will do some reading or something productive.  Peace out, soundcheck time.

Baguettes & Cheese

Here it's just toast and fries (drop the French prefix).  I'm in France today for 1 of 3 shows throughout the country.  Definitely my least favorite part of Europe, but hopefully the shows will go alright.  Still not homesick at all, I'm having a pretty rad time.  Started working on my tour photoblog, and I've already seen a lot of cool shit.  Today we found out that in order to play our show in Helsinki, we will have to take an 11 hour boat cruise from Stockholm to Finland (each way).  We've taken a good share of ferry rides in the past, but this is definitely next-level.  Not much else going on, just trying to survive France - is there anything else to eat other than sandwiches here?  I don't want another baguette.

Not homesick.

Vienna is beautiful.  Such a wonderful day in the city.

Berlin was on fire the other day, across the street from the venue!

Bringing down the wall [again].

Today we visited the remnants of the Wall (the Berlin Wall, to be specific).  Had a nice walk around Berlin, which is one of my favorite cities as noted earlier in my blog.  We couldn't have asked for better weather at this time of year.  So happy about that.  I bought a few records the other day (Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Fuck Buttons, Boys Noize, Hercules And Love Affair).  Really enjoying the DIOFF? album, despite the mixed response it's been getting.  The record is definitely all over the place (House Bangers to Indie Rock Jams) but it's pretty fucking good.  Fuck Buttons is also, really fucking good.  This year is shaping up to be a better year for music.  I'm really bummed that I will be missing the My Bloody Valentine reunion in September.. who knew that it would happen in '2008' and when I was going to be out of town?  Great timing on my part.  Time to do stuff, getting out of here.

Reeperbahn

Parts of Germany are really fucked up.  We had a day off in Hamburg today and this time we actually got to walk around the Reeperbahn area (known as the Sinful Mile).  As my pictures below detail the area, you can buy any sex object or movie ever created, watch just about any act performed on screen or live, purchase handguns/knives, or even treat yourself to one of their lovely prostitutes (to be easily identified wearing their fashionable fanny-packs).  However at the edge of this adult-circus, there is a graphic sign that suggests No Handgun, No Knives, No Blunt Objects, No Mace - all of which are probably in high abundance throughout the area.  We did find some delicious falafel at around 1am.  You can always rely on late night kebabs for tasty treats.  This time I drank Fanta, figured I should probably try and fit in?  Bus internet in Europe is a savior.  All of the wifi.

Germaniacs.

Shorts+Sandals in Europe is one of the greatest feelings.  The weather has been absolutely gorgeous over here since landing in Frankfurt on Thursday morning.  After staying up all day to adjust to the time-zone, I crashed hard in the evening and slept a total of 14 hours (a new record for myself).  Now I feel great and I'm ready to party, kind of.

Rocking out in the famous Earls Court today, pretty excited about that.  These festivals have been overwhelmingly great for us.  Walked around London today, had some Starbucks upon waking up and now I'm feeling pretty energized.  Time to get ready to rock out, hopefully I can stay healthy this time around.

You_are_so_analog.

Leaving tomorrow for Europe, big flight overseas and probably a restless evening of very little sleep.  I find it hard to sleep on planes, especially when I should be.  Hopefully I'm not sick on this tour as I'm just getting over yet another cold.  I miss playing shows, so it will be fun to get back into it again.  Overall, time at home was good, but still confused as ever about a few things.  As it all starts to become a little more clear, there are more distractions that prevent from true understanding.  Solitude overseas will be much enjoyed.  Hopefully I can do more writing to vent my thoughts and ideas.   I'm ready to enter the bubble and sequester my mind. I've come to realize I often fear normality and conventional routine.  Future exists as an abstract idea right now.. I need to build what I cannot see, before imagining the plans.  Time to sleep?  Possibly.  I'll let the Brian Eno ambient collection drift me to off to Dreamland and hopefully feel better in the morning.  About Everything.  Analog/Digital, it doesn't matter who you are.  Dreams = escape.

Stress. Fucking Intense.

This video is fucking intense, holy shit. I love Justice. Seeing them at Rock am Ring / Rock Im Park this year, stoked.

Again with the blueshell.

Big Race.

Today I bought a Wii and the new Mario Kart game.  Big race indeed.  It brings people together and its a hell of a good time.  I have great friends and I've really enjoyed the mass amounts of hanging out I've been able to do this time around home.  In just less than a week I will be on a plane bound for a foreign continent.  It feels like I've been separated from the touring life for such a long time.  I guess I'm ready to resume, but home is feeling comfortable.  Everything else has been great, and I'm excited about the future.  Life is complicated, but the more I live, the easier it is to figure it all out.  Puzzles are as difficult as the ones I choose to solve.

Untrue, what is true.

Burial is really fucking good. Untrue is a great album, especially late at night. I bought this record in Japan after having an urge to listen to it. So home hasn't changed much, but I am finding it's nice to be in one place for a change. The trip to AZ was a bit of a disaster but at least the show turned out great (American Airlines is terrible -remember never to fly with them again). There is a lot of work to do, but it's hard being motivated with so much free time surrounding me and all of the distractions. I picked up the new M83 record which promised to be more focused and developed than their previous releases, but it's still not what I would have preferred. That's the first record I bought since being home - still loving the new Crystal Castles/Beach House/Destroyer, etc. I decided not to go to Coachella this weekend so I will be around and going to The Stickup show in Toronto. Bummed on missing Kraftwerk, but apparently Florian Schneider isn't even on the tour. Picked up the Minimum Maximum DVD... mind-blowing.  I've been making a lot of techno these days (even more than before).  Today I picked up the Kaossilator and it's rocking my world.  One day I will post some of the noise I have been making, for now it stays in my headphones.

Futurama

So I've become rather obsessed with some of the rapid development that is occurring around the world right now.  First Dubai and all of it's 'world-record-breaking' buildings and now China.  There seems to be some comparison between the two places and the innovative/futuristic designs that are being adapted.  One of the most intriguing developments is the "Dongtan Eco City" (the world's first fully-sustainable metropolis) to be completed by 2040. Now I wonder how long until the Western world decides to compete in this Futuristic building frenzy. Perhaps the life of the Jetsons isn't far off from being a reality. I love technology. Get stoked.

In other news, I am off to Tucson, AZ tomorrow for a show on Friday.  It's supposed to be really hot so I should probably pack some shorts.  Today is beautiful outside, so I should probably enjoy this too.  I love warm weather.  Get stoked?  Oh yah, tomorrow Kidrobot releases the AdultSwim series featuring 2 characters from Metalocalypse ... VERY stoked.  I need to hit up Magic Pony when I get home on Saturday.  Going to see Destroyer that night, most likely going to rule.