interviewing Schizoid (digital hardcore meets true black metal)

I first encountered Schizoid in the early Kill Eat Exploit the Weak days on CKMS. Between his solo work, digital hardcore collaborations and time fronting black metal band Dead of Winter, Schizoid and I crossed paths many times. I reviewed numerous recordings, interviewed him, had both Schizoid and Dead of Winter perform live on the radio, and even presented a conference paper on D-Trash Records at an international popular music studies conference outside Nashville, Tennessee.

Now Schizoid has a new record out - The Next Extreme - and we had a chance to catch up a bit. The resulting Q&A is up at hellbound.ca.

"Still Alive" (in a Nightingale-ish kind of voice) PLUS Schizoid live in TO!

Iron Maiden
Originally uploaded by kill eat exploit the weak

So, yeah, I haven't been posting much lately. But I'm still doing stuff!

Like giving guest lectures on heavy metal (yesterday). And co-hosting the Summer Metal Meltdown on CFMU 93.3 FM (Saturdays 10:30pm-midnight). And seeing Iron Maiden and Alice Cooper - twice! (it was awesome)

(Maiden/Cooper review and great photographic shots at exclaim.ca. I forgot you could give concerts exclamation points...)

But other people are doing interesting stuff too, like live taping side A of their upcoming CD/digital release. And by other people, in this case, I mean Schizoid (D-Trash Records). The show is this Wednesday, July 25, at Nocturne in Toronto, and it's only $5. You should go.

post labour-day music and vegetarianism

In the mad rush of end-of-summer beginning-of-term craziness I almost forgot to post this stuff, but here it is, just in time. Think of this as a things to do this weekend kind of post.

This is the weekend of the annual Vegetarian Food Fair at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. As usual, there will be speakers, cooking demonstrations, music, vendors, and (I'm hoping) lots of delicious samples to try. I also plan on eating in the World Cafe. If you're in Toronto on Friday night you should drop by to watch the revealing documentary, The World According to Monsanto. Gene Baur from the Farm Sanctuary will also be at the Fair; so will Nimisha Raja, an independent food and environmental researcher, writer and speaker, and Ironman Triathlete Brendan Brazier among others.

After energizing yourself at the Food Fair (you may wanna go back for some re-energizing on Sunday), you can indulge in an all day/all night live music extravaganza. First, Glory Through Steel 3 starting 1:30pm at the Kathedral. I'm aiming to see Legion DCL XVI and Gates of Winter, but there are tonnes of bands on the bill, including headliners Nunslaughter.

From there, we plan on heading southeast a block or so northwest to Z-Club for the DTrash 'Fest D-Trash Records artist showcase. I'm particularly psyched to see Hansel again (I hope we make it in time!) but the whole line-up looks great: NWODTLEM, MEATPARADE, THE PHOERON, PHALLUS UBER ALLES, UNITUS, HANSEL, SCHIZOID, PRINCESSE ROTATIVE. Check out the Fest myspace site for a sampling of what you'll be hearing.

Then I should have enough time to recover before seeing Trouble at the Casbah in Hamilton next week. Thank the cygods for vegan energy.

keew still kickin' (in spirit, if not through the ether)

It's approaching the one-year mark since Kill Eat Exploit the Weak went off the air. Which means it's time for a few reminders that we're still alive in some dimension!

Recently Coral, formerly of Coral-FM, sent me the print version of an on-air interview she conducted with the bitter sidekick and me last July. So one year later, here's a little context and back story for the curious.

I haven't done anything about getting back on the air yet, but I still haven't ruled it out. For now (as you know if you've been reading recent posts), I'm putting in my volunteer time at the Burlington Humane Society. So far I've been cleaning cat cages and providing clean litter, food, water and a little attention for the cats. Next week I start my training to work at the reception desk, which is cool since I want to learn more about how the organization works.

On the music front, you can still read my reviews and/or interviews in Unrestrained! and Exclaim! (and in a much more informal context, here). Or check out the odd concert photo here.

I'm still keeping up with Niagara Action for Animals as well. Here are a few NAfA updates/events:

• Liberty Over Violence demonstration about the horrors of factory farming: Saturday July 12, 3pm - 4:30pm at the SE corner of Bloor and Spadina.
• NAfA Yard Sale: Saturday July 19, 9am - 1pm at 36 Thorndale in St. Catharines.
• Party for the Paws: Proceeds to SNIP (Spay/Neuter), Friday August 8 at Club Richelieu in Welland.

And if you're in Toronto tonight, stop by the Savage Garden for some live digital hardcore with Schizoid and Combat Exhaustion.