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Virgin Festival Alberta gets ready to rock into town!
- Wintersleep plus eleven more hot acts added to the bill
- Toast and Jam Winner to open the festival on day one!
- Set times and a ton of awesome Festival experiences also announced!
CALGARY, Aug. 4 /CNW/ - Juno Award-winning WINTERSLEEP and eleven more
hot acts have been added to this weekend's eagerly awaited return of Virgin
Festival Alberta! These exciting new acts join the already announced jaw
dropping headliners PEARL JAM and BILLY TALENT. It all goes down this
Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9 at WinSport Canada's Canada Olympic
Park in Calgary.
On day one, joining already announced PEARL JAM, K-OS, ARKELLS,
THUNDERHEIST, MOTHER MOTHER and THE CLIKS will be Juno Award-winning
WINTERSLEEP. Over on the CJAY stage will be newly announced five-piece pop
indie band CONSTANT SEASON, Toronto quintet THE GREAT BLOOMERS, modern
alternative rockers JOSHUA'S HABIT, Calgary rock outfit STATIC IN THE STARS
and Las Vegas spin master DJ KNOWLEDGE.
On day two, joining BILLY TALENT, METRIC, TOKYO POLICE CLUB and WHITE
LIES on the Virgin Mobile stage will be newly announced modern classic rockers
SOCIAL CODE and local indie rock specialists SECRET BROADCAST. Rocking out the
CJAY stage on day two with already announced SHOUT OUT OUT OUT OUT will be Las
Vegas spin master DJ KNOWLEDGE, ten-piece pop collective LIBRARY VOICES,
Canadian singer-songwriter SIERRA NOBLE and Calgary acoustic artist MICHAEL
BERNARD FITZGERALD and the winner of the Battle of the Bands Toast and Jam
Winner which all goes down the night before the festival at WinSport Canada's
Canada Olympic Park! A total of 23 kick-ass acts will appear at this year's
Virgin Festival Alberta.
On top of the sublime music, the festival will be jam-packed with
one-of-a-kind experiences, including Burlesque pole dancing lessons, graf
artists spraying original works of art, Xbox 360 gaming dome, swag for trash
and even a cool zone thanks to the Bacardi Breezer dock!
"We're bringing a rockin' good time back to Alberta this year!" said
Andrew Bridge, director of Virgin Festivals. "We've already partied with
Alberta once with Virgin Festival and this year we're looking to up the tempo
with an even hotter festival! With the likes of Pearl Jam, Billy Talent,
Wintersleep, plus the soon to be crowned Toast and Jam Winner and a ton of
awesome experiences it's gonna be one festravaganza!"
For all the festival news check out www.virginfestival.ca/alberta for
details!
Don't Call It A Concert
Virgin Festival is known for delivering a ton of mind-blowing
experiences. Alberta won't be any different, with Virgin Festival cooking up
an incredible batch of on-site goodies:
- Get your zen on - Tired music lovers can relax with a Thai massage in
the Vendor Village.
- Bring a pen... or a body part - Lucky fans can rub shoulders with
their fave artists at the Virgin Mobile Autograph Tent and take home
a little signed souvenir to show off.
- Swag for trash! - Virgin Mobile wants you to get trashy! Bring in as
many water bottles as you can from around the festival site and trade
them in for some awesome stuff like a bottle of glacéau
vitaminwater(TM), a festival merchandise coupon or even a Virgin
Mobile phone!
- Get artsy - Music isn't the only art going down at Virgin Festival.
If your ears need a rest, then you can always feast your eyes on some
awesome art that will be on display around the Festival.
- "Whatcha gonna do with all that junk?" - Music lovers with energy to
spare can channel their inner exhibitionist and work out with
burlesque pole dancing lessons.
- Shhhhhhhhh - Music festivals are supposed to be loud, but if people
need a little peace and quiet to make a quick call, then Virgin
Mobile Silencer Booths will be set up around the Festival for a short
escape.
Check out www.virginfestival.ca/alberta for further details on all these
experiences.
Official Virgin Festival Alberta Merchandise
Don't forget to grab your official Virgin Festival Alberta merch early
this year! Last year the merch was hotter than the current West Coast summer
and it went in seconds! This year we've got t-shirts, hoodies and bags in all
shapes and sizes so make sure you get something on top of the hot music,
experiences, Virgin Angels, pole dancers, dancing bushes and memories to brag
to your mates about after the festival!
Shuttle it!
Shuttles are the best way to get to Virgin Festival Alberta. The shuttles
are super easy and super good for the environment. A fleet of 30 shuttle buses
will make round trips from the new Crowfoot Crossing LRT Station in northwest
Calgary to Canada Olympic Park. Shuttles are only a loonie each w - CNW Group
What happens when classical chords are pulled from piano sonatas and memorable riffs inspired by bands like Pink Floyd and Red Hot Chili Peppers collide?
A completely unique and inimitable sound pumped out from electric Orange amplifiers emerges. This is Calgary’s own, Constant Season.
Even though they claim to be inspired by artists from rock genres to classical and even some metal, these guys don’t fit into any mainstream genre.
With Calgary’s recognizable and upcoming hardcore and indie scene, Constant Season says they stand alone.
“We stand apart huge, compared to everyone else here, ” says bassist Kristian Shepetys.
Trying to describe the band’s sound to someone who has never heard it is impossible.
The band has elements of every genre. Each musician in the group has his own unique talent and vision that he brings to make Constant Season’s sound.
“Indie, alternative, pop, rock, but there are also songs that are more experimental,” guitartist Cory Klapper, says.
In addition to Shepetys and Klapper, the band is made up of Michael Ferraro (vocals and guitar), Lucas Klapper (drums) and SAIT student Graeme Simari on piano and synths.
Even though the band has so many inspirations to their sound, they all come together as one amazing band that will definitely please a crowd.
Constant Season plays with Calm Asa Coma at The Gate April 4. Tickets $20, which includes a copy of their new EP Midnight Lines. - The Weal
On the verge of summer touring season, Calgary artists Constant Season are primed and anxiously ready to drop a different kind of sound onto music fans. Constant Season's upcoming debut EP Midnight Lines was borne out of the extensive and emotive process of being kicked out of clubs, pushed off the line-up of scheduled gigs, members moving to different countries, not to mention a major beef with the prince of piano himself, Sir Elton John.
Officially formed in 2006, Constant Season has a deep rooted history and has created what lead guitarist Cory Klapper describes as a thick network. Their bass player, Kristian "Kit" Shepetys and Klapper met in grade four, bonding over their love of music and soon after started jamming together. While other kids were glued to their TV or playing Nintendo, the twosome was working out plans for their future musical careers.
That band has lasted over the years, even through time and distance.
"Even when I moved away to L.A. for a while, I would phone Kit with ideas," Klapper says. "We just always sort of knew this album would happen."
Despite some set backs, Constant Season are preparing to release their self-described "catchy but complex" sound on the Calgary scene.
"We are really excited," Shepetys says.
"I feel like the album is a really bold statement. It's been a long time coming and it is really good," Klapper elaborates.
"It's not a concept album, but the songs play off of each other . . . every song is really different," he adds.
The complexity and variance of musical influences within the band are apparent on the EP, as their musical taste ranges from the soft piano of Coldplay to the ferocity of bands such as Lamb of God.
Though there are a lot of stylistic elements coming into play, the group put in the time to make it all work together.
"We sat down and really talked about how we wanted the album to sound," Klapper explains. "We rearranged the songs a bunch of times, because they're all so different, but this is what worked."
Of all of the harrowing tales told of the bands journey up until this point, the one that stands out is that of the matter of Elton-- Sir Elton that is. The last person Constant Season believed would hold up the production of their album was one of their musical influences. During the recording of Midnight Lines, their engineer received a call that Elton John would require their recording space, holding up the final touches to the project.
"He might have touched my piano," Klapper laughs. "He didn't even sign it or anything though."
Constant Season's release party is a long time coming, and not just because of the Sir Elton incident. As the boys reminisce about working the Calgary night club circuit, many bands are starting out in town.
"Our first show was at a battle of the bands at Cowboys, which we won," Shepetys says. "The night club circuit is really all you can do as a band starting out."
Though the group worked through playing clubs and often receiving less than warm reactions, it hasn't dampened the boys' spirits about the musical landscape of Calgary.
"Corey falls in love with every opening band he sees," Shepetys laughs. "We love getting to know all of them." - The Gauntlet
Discography
-Midnight Lines E.P. (April 4, 2009)
1. The Star and The Lover
2. Life In Real Time
3. Midnight Lines
4. Knights of Nova (Floodlight)
-Frame of Mind (Demo) (October 2007)
-We receive regular airplay on Fuel 90.3 FM.
-The Star and the Lover was listed #3 on Fuel 90.3's "Top 100 Songs from Calgary Bands in 2008"
5 songs streaming at:
www.myspace.com/constantseason
Photos
Bio
Constant Season hails from Calgary, Alberta, a beautiful western Canadian city known for its world famous Calgary Stampede and folk rock scene. Unfortunately, we are the farthest thing from a folk rock band. Panic and fear can be seen in the eyes of the sound technicians in our city as we set up for our show and inform them that we in fact, have a little known instrument called a "keyboard." Essentially, we are the worst enemy of sound technicians in Calgary, but we'll take that as a compliment.
Forming in late 2006, we made our live show debut at a "Battle of the Bands," at Cowboys Night Club in June 2007, in which we ended up winning and walking away with a handsome cash prize. Our most memorable moment so far was when we were kicked off stage two songs into a show (that we were headlining) because we weren't "folk-rock" enough for the crowd.
We released our debut E.P., "Midnight Lines," on April 4th 2009 at The Gateway here in Calgary. We filled the bar with 350+ people, nearly reaching capacity. We were told that the bar had not been that full since The Arcade Fire played there a few years back. It was probably one of the most amazing, fulfilling and memorable experiences of our lives.
Most recently, we were invited to play VIRGIN FESTIVAL Calgary on August 8th 2009. We headlined the second stage at 7pm, just before Pearl Jam took the main stage at 8pm to end the evening. Backstage, we hung out with the likes of Wintersleep, Arkells, K-OS and Billy Talent. Probably the coolest experience of our lives.
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