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City Sonic: Sebastien Grainger at the El Mocambo

November 27, 2009

-CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO WATCH THE FILM-

Director: Anita Doron, 2009
Sebastien Grainger never wanted a Grammy, he just wanted to park his band van in front of the El Mo. For a fabled time, and back before Sebastien became famous with Death From Above 1979, the legendary live music used to host a popular UK music dance party on its top floor while rock bands burned up the stage downstairs. The young musician-in-waiting went there every week for the girls and cheap beer – and inadvertently discovered how to make rock music you could dance to. Since achieving international success with DFA and forming his latest band Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains, the singer/guitarist/drummer has witnessed his share of magic nights at the El Mocambo – and caused a few of them himself. In conversation with his bassist and cohort Nick Sewell, Sebastien recounts how he came of age at the legendary bar beneath the neon palms.

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City Sonic: Colin Munroe at The Revival Bar

November 20, 2009

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Director: George Vale, 2009
What does a home-schooled white farmboy know about making urban music? For wunderkid pop music maker Colin Munroe, not all that much. Until answering a classified ad by a scam artist led to a series of encounters with Toronto’s urban music stars at Revival – a bar and live music venue where the city’s hip-hop and R&B scene was thriving. The curious newcomer was soon working with Revival regulars like Saukrates, Glenn Lewis and Divine Brown, which brought him rapid success as a writer/producer. But it was watching singers get up on stage at Revival’s open mic nights that inspired Colin to start writing and performing material for himself. Colin’s first track, his interpretation of a Kanye West song, caused a global net sensation. Now signed to Motown Records for his own highly anticipated debut album, Colin returns to Revival to retrace his evolution from behind the scenes to centre stage.

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City Sonic: Brendan Canning at The Drake

November 13, 2009

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Director: George Vale, 2009
Brendan Canning of Broken Social Scene has witnessed the transformation of the Drake first hand. In December, 1991, Canning played the basement of the Drake when it was still a run-down hotel in a run-down neighbourhood. His band at the time, hHead, was opening for local indie rockers Phleg Camp as part of Elvis Mondays, a no cover new music series that continues to gives upstarts a friendly place to play. About ten years later the hotel / bar / live venue was transformed from dubious dive to chic hotspot, and saw its profile rise globally right while Canning was getting his own share of worldwide attention with his new band, Broken Social Scene. What forces shaped these two cultural success stories? The singer/bassist checks into a suite at the Queen Street landmark and recounts his most memorable nights spent rehearsing, performing, DJing and soaking up the sounds of a city coming into its own.

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City Sonic: Divine Brown at The Rex

November 6, 2009

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Director: Charles Officer, 2009
Singer Divine Brown grew up listening to Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan and Mariah Carey. But when she was turned away from a theatre audition as a teen and told to go learn the standards, she decided it was her job to master every genre of music. She later joined a fusion band, but it was at Queen Street West’s Rex Jazz and Blues bar where Divine encountered the “old jazz cats” that would let her get up and hone the voice and improv skills that would soon set her apart from all the other young singers in the city. Now a Juno-Award winning R&B/soul star and successful theatre performer, Divine returns to the low-key environs of the Rex to explain how jazz has influenced her pop music career and show her former teachers what she’s learned.

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City Sonic: Lioness at the Masonic Temple

October 30, 2009

Click on the photo and watch: Lioness at The Masonic Temple

It only seems fitting that we release our film with Lioness at the Masonic Temple this close to Halloween. This latest release from our series definitely stands out as the spookiest of all our films. You can now watch our film on our brand new website at http://www.citysonic.tv/films/. Or click on the photo and go directly to Peter Lynch’s film with Lioness.

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