CONFRONT Magazine » musique plus

The Anatomy of an Event

stevek — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 03:59:00 +0000

There are some things that aren’t supposed to happen. Among them, I list waking up at seven o’clock in the morning on a Saturday. But, on August the 23rd, that’s exactly what I had to do.

That particular Saturday was the day of the long-awaited first CONFRONT Presents… music concert. There was a meeting at Dame Tartine’s, a fantastic Ontario Street East breakfast bar, where the CONFRONT Crew were meeting with the MAPMusic (((Musicians Against Parkinson’s))) crew over toast, sausage, bacon, eggs and pancakes to discuss the multiple last-minute details that we needed to coordinate before heading over to the Club Soda, our show venue for that evening.

It would be a long day of setup, coordination, planning, networking and crisis management, but the event itself, the MAPMusic Awareness Concert, and CONFRONT Presents… had their genesis months earlier.

Over the course of the two years that CONFRONT Magazine has been in operation, we have had the privilege of making many contacts in the music industry; local, national and even international. Publicist Jon Asher is among those contacts, and one day he pitched an intriguing idea to CONFRONT Editor in Chief, Angel Karmazenuk. He proposed that one of the artists he represents, Robbie Tucker, should write a regular column for the magazine.

Robbie Tucker is a musician who, three years ago, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The diagnosis was devastating, and evidently was a life-changing experience. Much of his life since has been spent dealing with the bureaucracy of insurance companies and the government, dealing with the effects of the illness and the medications, which have as many side effects as Parkinson’s has symptoms. But if the diagnosis did anything, it cemented Robbie’s determination to live as normal a life as possible, and to find a way of beating the disease.

With the help of Canadian Olympic Pairs figure skating sensation Craig Buntin, whose mother was also diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Robbie formed MAPMusic (((Musicians Against Parkinson’s))).

After meeting with Robbie and learning about his organization, Angel and Robbie soon began planning a benefit concert to raise awareness and funds to help fight against Parkinson’s disease. The goal of the concert was simple: to educate and change the way people think about Parkinson’s, to help raise funds towards finding a cure for the disease, and to assist and motivate people living with Parkinson’s.

July 2008

Angel — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:59:26 +0000

June 26th, 2008

Feature Presentation: Chiodos – Life on the Road

Exhibit A: Life of a VJ (video)

Round Table: The Cliks for a second time around

Views & Reviews: Cute is What We Aim For – Doing What They Want

Broadcasts:

July 3rd, 2008

Round Table: Gemma interviews Crash Parallel

Views & Reviews: Alkaline Trio and Sigur Ros

Broadcasts: Gemma shares of Lifehouse Pictures

July 10th, 2008

Round Table: Judith interviews Foals

Views & Reviews: the latest solo effort from The Strokes’ Sideman, Albert Hammond JR

Broadcasts: Robbie is back from Texas

July 23rd, 2008

Round Table: Angel interviews Elephant

Views & Reviews: SteveK has a listen to the latest Best Of from the Rolling Stones, and the new Beck

CONFRONT Magazine Picture Gallery

To view Issues Prior to June 2008 click here

The Life of a VJ

judith — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:59:05 +0000

It’s probably a safe assumption that given that CONFRONT is an online publication, many of our readers are part of the ‘MTV Generation’. Although there are some negative connotations associated with the term, for the most part, it’s a fair representation of today’s media consumer.

According to Wikipedia, the MTV Generation has ‘been widely used to define the generation of young adults in the Western World who are influenced by fashion trends, music, and slang terms shown in music videos on the newly created cable channel, MTV.’ As such, many have grown up emulating a new breed of celebrity: the VJ.

Derived from the term ‘DJ – Disc Jockey’, VJ refers to Video Jockey, a term popularized by MTV in the 1980. Now most music channels around the world refer to their hosts and announcers as VJs and Musique Plus, our local music television channel, is no different.

Recently, Judith and Vanessa headed the Musique Plus studio to spend some time with two of their most recognizable vjs, Mathieu Marcotte and Valerie Roberts, to get a glimpse into what it takes to join this profession.

part 1

part 2

part 3

We would like to thank Musique Plus and the entire Plus Sur Commande team for allowing us access to their studios and their production meeting. A special thank you to Mathieu and Valerie for taking the time out of their busy days to sit us and be the interviewees rather than the interviewers.

If you would like more information on Musique Plus you can visit: www.musiqueplus.com

And don’t forget that we would love to hear what you think. Join the CONFRONT Community and discuss the expose here.

Correspondent: Judith Lalonde
Camera: Vanessa Leclair
Editing: Roxane Zielonka-Fournier, a Cosmic Twins Production