Category: Media

Play 'em till you're sick of it.

1/3/2015

Happy new year everybody!

There's a generally unknown fact about musicians. The best way to learn about this fact is to become one. Since it takes a lot of effort and years of dedication to get to that stage however I'll just give you the cliff-notes.

Primarily if you want to be good at something, you'll have to be consistently practicing it.

Warner Bros.

Or as I like to refer to it as, reason number 12 why The Matrix is better than real life.

Pop quiz! Who hates the music of [Insert generic band/artist you actually hate] more than you?

If you answered everyone you may be right however the answer I'm looking for, is the artist themselves.

Via Funnystack

Twice as much self hatred if they're an emo band.

Before a song makes the recording stage it is mercilessly rehearsed over and over again. Countless man hours spent towards making sure everything is perfect.

Not to mention then reinventing the song for live performances each with it's own unique flair.

In an earlier blog post, I mentioned the time I eavesdropped on Calgary's own Secret Broadcast while waiting around the rehearsal factory. For over an hour I heard Raygun being played.

Now I don't know about you guys, but I've been playing the same tunes for a very long while. 2 of our tracks are over 2 years old and by god, am I sick of playing them. I can only imagine how exhausted a big name band is with it. In hindsight it also makes sense as to why sometimes they recreate the song in a new musical style. It's to prevent monotony.

So in conclusion if you're starting to hate your music, you're doing it right. Hell if we get hecklers, I might even want to hang out with them after the show.

Cheers,

Matthew Tyler Di Leo
Searching For Kim; Lead Vocals

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Almost Made It

12/6/2014

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Hey everybody,

I apologize to anyone who's been wondering about an update. As I write this, SFK will be just turning 4 years old. That's bloody amazing in all honesty.

To create something from the ground up and stay with it through the difficult patches is a feeling I can't begin to describe. It's kinda giving me this bizarre sense of pride and accomplishment despite the fact it's almost been a full year since our last show.

While I admit, I need to fix that soon; this post isn't about the band today. Yes it's time for another personal horror story that comes as a footnote in my musical career.

photo y8F8s_GIF_Collection_of_someone_eating_popcorn-s256x192-181193.gif

Via Comedy Central

Ever get that suspicion that you're just a source of amusement to your audience?

If you're familiar with Toronto rock radio stations, you'd recognize the vast majority of them are owned by Corus Entertainment (With the exception of Indie 88 making a debut in 2013.).

In 2011, I was in my final year of Broadcast Journalism at Sheridan College, and as a requirement I needed an internship.

I must have applied to everyone under the sun from Rogers, Bell Media, CBC and more. Just for fun, I even tried 102.1 The Edge, which was out of my wheelhouse since I only possessed experience in TV and Film.

About a month later I get a reply back from 102.1 The Edge asking to schedule me in for a position with the Intern Army.

Like a normal human being, my reaction shifted from mild confusion to ecstatic joy before finally morphing into anxiety and terror.

Me seen here acting like a normal human being.

So day of the interview I'm sweating bullets. 'Don't screw up. Don't screw up. Don't screw up' being a constant mantra. I grab a set of dress clothes way too nice to be something I would normally wear and make my way down to Corus Entertainment.

At the time, I lived close by Corus Entertainment and often stopped there on my jogs. I walked into the glass cathedral where dreams are made and took a seat in the lobby; awaiting someone I've never met but soon would be determining my fate.

Anxiety made time slow to a crawl. I needed something to steady myself. Luckily next door happened to be Q107 and I relaxed to some classic tunes. I like to keep to a fast/chaotic schedule so anything over 10 mins of waiting makes me tense. At that time make Q107 decided to play Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker's "The Waiting" and at that point all calm just flew out the window.

"Matthew they will see you now"

'Great just f**king great.' I was considering running out the building, jumping into the bay and swimming to The Sound Academy.

Not the craziest thing I've done btw.

I walked through a glass door and am instantly stunned by the internal layout. This wasn't a bloody media company. This was a manchild's playground. Seriously they have a slide going from the second floor.

I'm brought to this nice sitting area facing the waterfront and am introduced to a man in his mid to late twenties. He seems nice; I shook his hand and sat down. Shortly thereafter he starts asking me questions which I don't remember the answers to; standard job interview stuff.

When I get nervous I turn into a bit of a wiseass. Cracking jokes and trying to not be formal. After 30 mins or so we shook hands and I walked out feeling semi confident of what I said and did...

A week later though I realized some of the things I said and froze. At the time you really don't think, you just kinda go on autopilot. I didn't say anything alarming, but all the best answers came then and there.

I didn't get the gig as an Edge Intern btw. It got kinda awkward after that cause I kept running into the guy who interviewed me when trying to scout out venues for SFK.

Needless to say I'm constantly haunted by the memory of almost making it and then messing it all up. Will I get another chance? Who knows. Do I still try to apply? Yeah I do.

But with a lot less confidence then I did back then.

Maybe I might tell you another story when I am able to put everything past me.

Till then I'll be here.

Matthew Tyler Di Leo
Searching For Kim; Lead Vocals.

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Play 'em till you're sick of it.

Almost Made It

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