Rooftop Runners – We Are Here EP and tour

Jonjon introduces us to Berlin-based Canadians, Rooftop Runners:

It isn’t easy being a new band or act, and it probably never will be. Touring small venues with tiny audiences in unfamiliar cities has to be, especially when starting out, a less than glamorous lifestyle. I caught Rooftop Runners in late January in their first London gig in a Camden venue with signed pictures of Madness and Amy Winehouse staring down from the walls. It was a chilly Monday night at the time of the year when London hibernates, when it’s a fight to get people to leave the comfort of the couch, or do anything really. Some bands may write off the experience and treat the performance as a rehearsal. I would if the audience numbered six people.

Rooftop Runners are thankfully professional. They’d spent the days handing out flyers and working hard to gain some recognition and an audience (never easy as Camden isn’t, despite its claims to the contrary, an inviting area for performers or audiences). They put a huge amount of energy into the show and despite the lack of atmosphere worked well with what they had.

One of the reasons they’re professional is because Rooftop Runners aren’t new to performing. Two Canadian brothers (Vancouver Island) based in Berlin (don’t hold that against them) having trained in dance and spent several years in Europe, they’re at ease with performance and attention or lack there-of. An empty venue on a weeknight in freezing London doesn’t worry them.

For an inexperienced band, their debut EP is relatively polished. Four tracks fly by with elements of indie and dance (with none of the associated negatives those terms used together may invoke). It isn’t going to set the world on fire immediately, but it is a great start. It’s difficult to judge a band on one EP but there is something interesting here and a great deal of energy when they perform live. If you get a chance to see them live, take it.

Words by Jonjon

Small Town Murder Songs

Bobbysix.com's latest recruit, film-buff Neil Martin, casts his eye over Small Town Murder Songs:

Ed Gass-Donnelly’s Small Town Murder Songs is a quiet storm of a film. A powerful and subdued modern gothic tale of crime and redemption set in a small Menonite town in Ontario, Canada. Walter (Peter “We cut off your Johnson, Lebowski” Stormare) is the police chief with an unspecified violent past who just wants to redeem himself in the eyes of his family, the town and God. When the body of a young woman is found on the outskirts of town Walter grabs this opportunity to prove he is a changed man by solving the case.

The film moves at a stately pace and is driven by Stormare’s incredibly subtle but emotionally complex performance. The quiet intensity he brings to the film is bewitching and he captures the spirit of a man battling his demons in desperation to make amends for his past. Jill Hennessy is also excellent as Walter’s ex and possible victim of Walter’s past transgressions.

Small Town Murder Songs has been somewhat lazily compared to the Coen Brothers but it actually carries far more emotional weight than any of their films and has more in common with the recent wave of rural dramas such as Winter’s Bone, Shotgun Stories and That Evening Sun. Films that attempt to show a more honest and realistic depiction of small town life without resorting to cheap and lazy stereotypes have produced some of the best work coming out of America in the last few years and, whilst this film is resolutely Canadian, it fits perfectly into this milieu and is among the finest films of the year.

Review by Neil Martin

The Jezabels announce US Tour

Here at Bobbysix.com, we have something of a crush on The Jezabels. So we're excited for them that, upon completing their European tour in September, the foursome will be hitting up the U.S. and Canada in November to tour with Canadian band, Hey Rosetta! as well as playing a headlining show at The Mercury Lounge in NYC.

While already a well-recognized name in their native Australia, The Jezabels have been building an international buzz since delighting audiences at the CMJ Music Festival in New York, Canadian Music Week, Austin’s SXSW and Brighton's Great Escape. After releasing a hat-trick of EPs, the quartet are currently putting the finishing touches on their debut long-player, Prisoner. You can here a track from this highly-anticipated release below the tour dates.

November 8 The Echo Los Angeles, CA
November 9 The Rickshaw Stop San Francisco, CA
November 11 The Crocodile Seattle, CA
November 12 Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, BC, CAN
November 14 MacEwan Ballroom Calgary, AB, CAN
November 15 Myer Horowitz Theatre Edmonton, AB, CAN
November 17 The Garrick Centre Winnipeg, MB, CAN
November 18 7th Steet Entry Minneapolis, MN
November 19 Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL
November 21 The Mercury Lounge New York, NY
November 24 Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, ON, CAN
November 25 Bronson Centre Ottawa, ON, CAN

The Jezabels - Endless Summer by thejezabels

Getting To Know... Britany Nola

Read our exclusive, candid interview with model and actress Britany Nola, as well as checking out some more photos by visiting our new site: www.somethingyousaid.com

The Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange - Bangalore review

India. It is a country of oppressive heat where, in the cities, the streets bustle with people and noise, kids hustle tourists, cows saunter down the middle of the road and car horns soundtrack Tetris traffic jams. Thrilling chaos and mayhem rules ok. A visit can be quite the culture shock to foreigners. On Saturday 27th November, however, the people of India experienced a culture shock of their own when the world swapped nights as part of Smirnoff's ambitious Nightlife Exchange Project.

Bangalore, a beguiling mix of red dirt on its outskirts and typically hectic city life, played host to the Indian leg. So, while the best of the county's nightlife was packed up and shipped to Canada, Bangalore, for one night only, partied Canadian-style.

I know what you're thinking, what does Canadian nightlife entail exactly? Watching ice hockey and being generally affable, maybe? Well, that wouldn't make for much of a party really, would it? So, instead, the Smirnoff party revolved around certain iconic themes while some Canadian artists travelled halfway around the world to entertain a crowd comprised of lucky competition and giveaway winners.

So, upon entering the venue, punters were greeted by Mounties and led through an icy tunnel into the main room, where a traditional Canadian dish awaited them. Poutine is comprised of chips with cheese and gravy. Healthy? Nah. Yummy? Heck yes. Complimenting this local delicacy was a specially-designed Smirnoff Mule comprised of 40ml vodka, 10ml maple syrup and 2 fresh wedges of lime and ginger ale. Other variations of the Mule were available too, whereas luddites were able to order vodka and cokes.

Across the maple leaf-littered floor was a large stage, upon which female dancers dressed as Mounties (well, if Mounties wore really, really tiny shorts) drew the attention of the camera phones. Okay, so their dance routine seemed to involve gyrating while waving their arms around in a way that was completely incidental to the music and to each other, but still, you couldn't knock their enthusiasm.

And so to the talent. The night was headlined by Max Graham, who played a dance set that didn't take many risks, but then why would it? This guy has been around for long enough to know how to please a crowd. And so it proved. Before him was Zara Taylor (below), the voice that has launched a zillion dance tracks, including Sunlounger's Lost. On her debut appearance in India, she showcased an epic vocal that belied the sore throat she was suffering as she belted out deep and emotion-tinged lyrics over a dance/electro backing. Earlier in the evening, DJ Sultan (pictured at the top of the piece) ripped through a high-energy set that went way beyond simply warming up the crowd and that was the highlight of the night. Later, he would find himself mobbed by fans requesting photos and autographs; even a trip to the bathroom took 20 minutes, as the dreadlocked DJ stopped and chatted with a cavalcade of fans.

It would be easy to sniff at an event such as this that has a name like Smirnoff attached to it. Big corporation, big event, big yawn? Well, no actually. To put snobbishness and cynicism to one side is to discover something much more pleasing. The thing that the Nightlife Exchange Project and all of Smirnoff's recent events offer is that they really seem to put a huge amount of care and work into attempting to create something unique and special. They are not in the business of lazily sponsoring an existing event, but rather seem really keen to be fully involved and to get their hands dirty - from the ideas stage until the last of the ticker tape has been swept away. They are clearly very proud of these occasions and, therefore, what they create is something that feels genuine, organic, unique and innovative. When else would Indians get to party Canadian-style in their own back yards? At would other time would Argentina get a taste of Irish nightlife?

Add to this the fact that this particular event rolled into Bangalore, a city drenched in religion that is not necessarily one that would jump to mind when thinking of party towns, and it is clear that Smirnoff are keen to bring the fun to as many corners of the globe as possible.

You might say it's easy to praise the vodka company from the comfort of the VIP bar. Therefore, the most telling image of the evening came from when I wandered back past the velvet rope and down to the front of the stage. It was early - maybe 8.30pm - and yet people were going absolutely mental to DJ Sultan's set. Loads of them. Dancing their legs off and their hearts out. As the evening started to wrap up, three hours later (Bangalore has quite the strict curfew), the same people were there, joined by plenty of others, and were going just as crazy, having as much fun and dancing as exuberantly as they were three hours previously.

Of course, Smirnoff is a business and they want to make sure that their product sells, but this event once again proved that their manifesto goes well beyond the desire to shift units. It is apparent to anyone in attendance of this event that Smirnoff, more than anything, want to be synonymous with fun and with offering people unique opportunities and experiences that they will never forget. Judging the unabashed enjoyment that the crowd was displaying on Saturday night, it was mission accomplished.

Check out my mate Addie's outstanding photos from the event here.

Angus and Julia Stone Grounded TV interview

Isn't it nice when mutual friends come together? Our good buddies over at Grounded TV in Vancouver recently interviewed our BFFs Angus & Julia Stone. With the coming together of such lovely folk from opposite corners of the globe, how could we not share the results?

The Stone siblings are in the midst of a worldwide tour. Check their website for dates. Tickets are like gold-dust though, with many shows already having sold out, so you might have to beg, steal or borrow one.

Oh, and if you haven't heard of Grounded TV, then you really should have a look. Their purpose is to create socially relevant content and shed light on people and events that bring a positive change to the world through their music, art and social activism. The show was started and continues to be run by a group of artists and musicians in their early twenties from various genres of media such as film, graphic design and music. Like many websites (including BobbySix.com!) the hardworking team that runs Grounded TV does so on a shoestring budget while simultaneously plugging away at their day jobs. Everything that is done at Grounded TV is done with love. And, at BobbySix.com, we love that.