Hey kids, how are you? Welcome to another entry of the Phile, for a Monday. Police here in Florida were called last weekend after 400 pounds of marijuana washed up on the beach. The police became suspicious when people stopped building sand castles and started building White Castles. I hate the beach, but the few times we went to the beach not once did I find anything exciting like marijuana. A new survey found that over 35 percent of Americans actually plan on voting before Election Day. Not for president of the United States, just for "Dancing With the Stars." Health experts predict that the world will have more than a billion elderly people in the next 10 years. Or as it's also known, the opening credits for "60 Minutes." Amtrak announced that it will be performing drug tests on 50 percent of its employees. So, if you plan on riding Amtrak, don't worry. There's only a 50 percent chance your conductor is totally stoned. While campaigning in Colorado, Mitt Romney made a stop at the fast-food restaurant Chipotle. The guy behind the counter was like, "Burrito?" And Romney was like, "Hey there, Burrito. My name is Mitt Romney. Pleasure to meet you." A new study found that nice people are more likely to live longer than people with bad attitudes. Or as people with bad attitudes put it, "Whatever." People are still talking about last week's presidential debate. So, I might as well as well. Does that sentence even make sense? Anyway, during the debate Mitt Romney said that he loves Big Bird. What made it even more awkward was that the question was, "Can you explain your tax plan?" A lot of big names didn't show up for the event... Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, President Obama. It was not a good night for the president. In fact, the president seemed to give long-winded, disjointed answers during the debate. Even Gary Busey was like, "Dude, you've got to focus." Jim Lehrer had trouble making sure the candidates stuck to the rules last night. Even NFL replacement refs were like, "This guy's a disaster!" Romney, as I said, said he loved Big Bird but wants to cut funding for PBS, or something along those lines. With that, Obama's people changed their goals to more important issues.
Does anyone remember Bob the Builder? He kinda phased away over the years. I saw an old Bob the Builder poster, and now I kinda know why.
At least he's being honest. I say bring Bob the Builder back. A Phile reader went to a local supermarket and saw this the other day.
Those look like really good watermelons. Phail! Well, Halloween is just around the corner, and even though we don't celebrate it in the Peverett household there's some really good costumes out there. Over the next few entries I will show you some cool Halloween costume ideas, just in case you need help deciding what you're gonna dress up as. What's more awesome than superhero costumes for Halloween? How about these Cubeecraft'd Avengers.
And now for...
Don't freak out if you can't get past Joseph Gordon-Levitt's face prosthetics. I don't think you're meant to. Taking a good-looking movie star mug and altering it in the name of disguise... Charlize Theron's teeth, Nicole Kidman's nose... is about abandoning the actor's larger-than-life, off-screen identity, it's about forgetting. Taking a good-looking movie star mug and delivering it to a head-scratching, discomforting, "uncanny valley," a location where nobody looking at the screen can ever shake the sensation that they're staring directly into something wrong? That's about not forgetting. And when asking the audience to accept another actor popping up in the same role as the plot moves back and forth in time? That's intentional disorientation, a filmmaker never letting the audience stand on solid ground. And that is awesome. Gordon-Levitt plays a "looper," a hired assassin who time-travels to make his hits. He has the face of a person who may, with your helpful imagination, grow into Bruce Willis thirty years from now. G-L plans to cash out, "close the loop" by killing his future self, then spend the next 30 years enjoying Paris. Willis, however, has other, equally self-serving plans, and the two sides of this single human coin spend the rest of the movie in a kind of Spy vs. Spy carousel-chase in order to protect their own futures and to wrestle that far-off day from something horrible called "The Rainmaker." Emily Blunt, as a lady-farmer with an estranged child who won't call her "Mom," is involved in this. So is Piper Perabo, as a stripper with a heart of money. And she's topless!!! So is Jeff Daniels, the kill-you-now boss who wants everybody to play his way. And most importantly, so is director Rian Johnson, who's trying to simultaneously melt your mind and your heart with a multi-level maze of a plot that would take my entire word count and a couple of dry-erase charts to map out. By this point in movie history, the time travel tease has been dissected and exploded and mangled into shapelessness. To tell a story that requires its characters to erase one gesture, either now, then or in the way-back, means that all other gestures are compromised. The story collapses. Nothing works. You might walk out of the theater happy but that nagging nerd inside is complaining, "But what about...?" Which is why, in this puzzle-play, time travel is a trippy component, but not the hill it wants to die on. On a visceral level the emphasis is, obviously, the tornado of sensation that comes standard with characters who pop back and forth between decades, a fast-paced blast into the impossible, delivered with an emerging laundry list of stylistic influences first presented in Johnson's staggeringly cool teen-noir Brick (at one point Daniels tells Gordon-Levitt, half-scolding, "The movies you're dressing like are just copying other movies.") But where it counts in the long-term, in the movie-loving, grab-your-heart, rewatch-this-thing side of your brain, the point is salvation. It's dressed up in angry-future sci-fi clothes and carries giant, wonky, anachronistic blunderbusses that miss as often as they hit, but that's just a cloud of coolness to keep nakedly emotional ideas about sacrifice, love, self-preservation and the longing for a better world from overpowering the action. It strikes a tightrope balance between intimacy and gun-blasty bombast that you won't forget. And in the end the meaning is clear as a bell, even if you can't always figure out how it got you there. From 1 to 10, it gets a 10. I will be buying this film when it comes out.
Alright, so, we all know the world is gonna end in a few months as told by the Mayans. I kinda believe it, as those Mayans are so damn smart. That's why over the year I have invited our good friend, who happens to be a Mayan to give us some good Mayan advice. So, please, once again welcome to the Phile...
Me: Hello, Marvin, welcome back to the Phile. So, what advice do you have for us today?
Marvin: Nya b’a’n tu’n ttzaj tcy’aja aj t-xiy si’wil, ku’n b’e’x cjawil pac’chaje.
Me: Marv, that's great, but once again I don't speak or read Mayan, and I don't think the Phile readers do either. Can you translate?
Marvin: It’s not good to be lazy when bringing in firewood or you’ll fall.
Me: Great advice, thank God I live in Florida and don't have to worry about that. But, you readers who live where it gets cold, remember that. Mayan the Modern Day Mayan, everyone!
Me: Stephanie! Welcome back to the Phile. How are you?
Stephanie: Hello, Jason, I am good.
Me: So, what do you want to say about dishonesty?
Stephanie: If you're running for president and you have a chance to talk to voters about your plans for the country, you have a couple options. One is to explain your positions on issues, and how you'll help fight for an America where everyone has a fair shot.
Me: Is that what the president did last week?
Stephanie: Yes, and it is what the Vice President will do this Thursday when he debates Rep. Paul Ryan.
Me: Or?
Stephanie: Or in the event that you know your plans would actually hurt the middle class, you can just refuse to tell the truth about what your actual positions are.
Me: Is that what Romney chose in last week's debate?
Stephanie: Yes, and that's what we expect from Paul Ryan this week.
Me: Are you sure, Stephanie?
Stephanie: Jason, over the course of this election, we've seen that both Romney and Ryan avoid telling the truth about their plans and how they'd actually affect the middle class.
Me: What kinda plans? Taxes, health care, Medicare?
Stephanie: It doesn't matter if they're talking about taxes, health care, Medicare, education, or clean energy... the Romney-Ryan status quo is to misrepresent their positions and their practical effects.
Me: So, they are not to be trusted?
Stephanie: No, and if we can't trust them to be honest with voters now, how could we trust them in the White House?
Me: Some voters might not be convinced, Stephanie.
Stephanie: Well, I put together some content this week that holds Romney accountable for his distortions, so take a look and share with others so they know the truth about his positions.
Me: Okay, the first one which is what you want to talk about is Romney's debate dishonesty.
Stephanie: On issue after issue, Mitt Romney was dishonest during Wednesday's debate. The one that really struck me was his misleading claim that his health care plan would mean people with pre-existing conditions will still be covered. That's just not true, as even his own campaign had to admit.
Me: Okay, the second is the $5 trillion Romney has proposed a tax plan that promises $5 trillion in tax cuts weighted towards the wealthy...
Stephanie: Which can only be paid for by raising taxes on middle-class families with kids by more than $2,000. During the first debate, he tried to walk away from his plan by making the impossible promise that it would neither add to the deficit nor raise taxes on the middle class. Unsurprisingly, he failed to offer any details on how he'd accomplish this.
Me: Okay, the third you call "Completely wrong". What is?
Stephanie: When a video of Romney giving a speech at a closed-door $50,000-a-plate fundraiser surfaced, Romney stood by his remarks, including the one about how 47 percent of Americans are "victims" who don't "take responsibility for their lives." He said that it was a message "I'm going to carry and continue to carry."
Me: So, what is completlely wrong?
Stephanie: Weeks later, he's changed his tune, and has said his comments were "completely wrong." One wonders if he would have come to the same conclusion had recent polling not shown that his remarks were incredibly unpopular with voters.
Me: Okay, this one is my favorite. Big Bird or Big Oil?
Stephanie: One of the few specific policy proposals that Romney offered at the debate was to fire Big Bird to cut the deficit. You couldn't make this stuff up. Time and time again, Mitt Romney has backed maintaining billions in subsidies to Big Oil, but now he wants to fire Big Bird?
Me: I don't think that is really what he means, firing Big Bird. So, you think Paul Ryan is going to do the same thing?
Stephanie: Yes. We can't let Paul Ryan get away with the same distortions Mitt Romney peddled last week.
Me: Stephanie, thanks again for being on the Phile and putting this altogether to explain.
Stephanie: Jason, thanks for all your help.
Me: Is there anything you wanna add before you go?
Stephanie: Yes, the other day it was announced that 1.8 million people chipped in to this organization in the month of September.
Me: Yeah, Jim Messina said yesterday here. It's a staggering number. Thanks, Stephanie. Talk to you soon.
Stephanie: Thanks, Jason.
Okay, the 26th artist to be pheatured in the Phile's Art Gallery is Timothy Lim, and this is one of his pieces.
What a great piece. Tim will be a guest on the Phile a week from today.
Okay, today's pheatured guest is the guitarist for the very popular pop punk band Canada. Their new hit single "Kiss You Inside Out" is now available on iTunes. Please welcome to the Phile from Hedley... Dave Rosin.
Me: Hello, Dave, welcome to the Phile. How are you?
Dave: Fair to Midland but all in all, nips up and floating. Thanks for asking. Summer's been busy so it's nice to be home mending the proverbial sails and gearing up for the fall.
Me: You kids are from Canada, like soooo many bands I interviewed here. What part of Canada are you from?
Dave: You've met the other Canadians? That's great! Have you met Mike? He works in an office. We call him office Mike. Great guy. We're from Vancouver which is on the West Coast 2 hours North of Seattle. Mountains and ocean.
Me: I ask all my guests who are from Canada if they are fans of one of my favorite bands ever... Barenaked Ladies. Are you fans of them?
Dave: I kid you not, the Barenaked Ladies were the first real concert that my mom took me too. It was the Gordon tour up in my home town of Prince George. Kids were moshing to "Hello City", throwing boxes of KD up on stage during "1,000,000 Dollars", and the old biker couple behind us were smoking a very sweet smelling cigarette. We've been lucky enough to bump into BNL a few times with Hedley; great guys and terrific performers.
Me: Who are your influences, music wise.
Dave: My grade 9 drama teacher lent me her entire U2 cassette collection and it had a huge impact on me. Was also very big into Oasis, Greenday, and Third Eye Blind during high school. Now I'm a huge fan of British punk, garage, and new wave. Music continues to surprise and excite me; I love getting into a new band just as much as I enjoy discovering something older. A couple great new bands from Vancouver to check out are Hey Ocean, Mother Mother and Japandroids.
Me: If I had to guess, guys, I would say Hedley is big with teenage girls, am I right? Do you get a lot of groupies? Is most of your fan base girls?
Dave: A Hedley crowd is fairly diverse. Lots of girls, yes, but we also have a strong following of guys who come enjoy some loud tunes and to meet babes at a rock show. One thing Hedley is very proud of, is the fact that we made all-ages shows the norm again in Canada. When I was growing up, most bands played at the bar where I couldn't go. Giving kids a safe, positive outlet to enjoy music will never go out of style. When Bon Jovi took us on tour a few years ago, we had chance to play for a new audience we hadn't met before. Older couples would come up to me, tell me that their kids were fans and that they had driven them to our last show in town. Now we sometimes see the whole family out enjoying a night of music with us.
Me: Let's talk about the name, none of you guys are named Hedley. Where did that name come from?
Dave: Hedley is a small gold mining town, 3 hours NE of Vancouver on the Crowsnest Highway. The town was nearly abandoned a couple years ago, and as a joke, one of the residents put the town up for sale. We always thought it would be great to buy a town, so we had a bottle drive. Needless to say, the town is still standing, the mine has become a tourist attraction, and even though we didn't come up with the coin....we kept the name.
Me: Hedley is a HUGE deal in Canada... congrats on having your first single "On My Own" reach number one on the Canadian singles chart. When that happened, what went through your mind and how did you celebrate?
Dave: That was a total honor and thrill. Seven years later we are so proud that our new single "Kiss You Inside Out" just went #1 one at AC radio here in Canada. We celebrated with a bit of time of at home and a couple of PWB Pacific Pilsners. You get a free pair of flip flops in every case of 15! Now that's that something to celebrate. Our home's do smell like leather bound books though... Alex Lifeson drops by sometimes... it's no big deal.
Me: Jacob Hoggard, the band's singer, was on "Canadian Idol" and came in third place, am I right? He was already part of a band, what made him do that?
Dave: Jakes mom can be given credit for giving him the push to try out for the show. He's got a very unique voice that he uses a lot! She filled out the paperwork and urged him to give it a shot; like any mother she wanted to see her son make the most of any opportunity that crosses ones path. I think he showed up to the audition hungover.
Me: I didn't know there was a "Canadian Idol" TV show. Who are the judges?
Dave: The show has been off the air for a few years now.
Me: Okay, let's talk about your music. Your last album is called "Storms", but you have a new single out called "Kiss You Inside Out". Is that from the album?
Dave: It sure is, we actually added it on as a special bonus track and released it as our summer single after our first round of touring "Storms". We wanted to give fans something new to thank them for coming and singing along with us at the shows. We've since made it available to our US fans and radio too.
Me: What does that mean, anyway, "Kiss You Inside Out"?
Dave: Can I draw you a diagram? Or maybe direct you towards a few preferred websites for video reference? It's when you just want someone in the worst way and don't want to let them go. Being with someone amazing makes everything good.
Me: I have to hand it to you guys, you are running a photo contest to tie in with the new single. Explain to the readers what the contest is about.
Dave: We are. We're asking people to submit a photo of lips or kisses to Instagram. #hedley #canvaspop #kissyouinsideout.
Me: Fucking genius! Who came up with this idea?
Dave: The 12 monkeys we employ on typewriters got a few extra bananas that day. They currently are working on a remake of Cannonball Run. We're looking to start casting as soon as Ryan Gosling lifts the restraining order and starts answering my calls.
Me: I betcha getting a lot of interesting photos as well. What's the craziest one you have received?
Dave: Lots of tonsil hockey, but this one photo was submitted that looked something like an ear... but we don't think it's an ear, if you're picking up what we're laying down.
Me: I think so. Anyway, the video for the single has gotten a shit load of views on YouTube. How many altogether?
Dave: Currently somewhere between and shit load load and a shit ton. With so many great videos of people getting hit in the crotch out there on the web, I'm stoked our little music video has been able to capture folks attention for a few minutes.
Me: You also released a French version of the song featuring Andree-Anne Lechlerc. How did you decide to do that? I guess that's for the French Canadians.
Dave: We sure did! Being proud Canadians with lots of family and fans who are bilingual, we have wanted to do a song "en Francais" for a few years now. Andree-Anne was cool enough to add her beautiful voice to the track, helping us turn the song into a duet.
Me: I thought that was a guy, but it's a girl, and she's hot. I have a picture of her and you guys right here.
Me: How did you come to work with her?
Dave: Definitely not a dude!! She's a babe, a Betty, a bombshell; as Wayne and Garth would say, "She's babe-a-licous" We met Andee on the set of "Star Academie", which is the biggest talent show on Quebec TV. We had such a blast hanging out, when it came time to find someone for the song, Andree-Anne was our top pick. Huge voice and even bigger... personality.
Me: You also did a video with her and played with her live as well, am I right?
Dave: Indeed she did, we played her home town the night before she was on tour. It made for a perfect setting to add some fun into the show.
Me: I have to mention this, there's not many musicians or bands I interview that has played at an Olympics opening or closing ceremony, but you guys played at the closing ceremony for the Vancouver Winter Olympics. How was that experience? Was that the biggest show you have played?
Dave: Considering that the Olympics were being held in our city, we had a huge sense of pride as we performed and took part in events throughout the games. We had a lot of fun watching Canada win the Gold in hockey right before we performed. Nickelback, Avril, and Bublè all joined us for a celebratory shot when we won. It was definitely one of the most high pressure gigs we've ever played. So many people working to put on that show for a world audience. Being in Vancouver after the Olympics was interesting. It was like a vacuum. I knew everything was back to normal when all the zombies on Hastings Street poked their heads back out, someone of them still packing tiny Canadian flags.
Me: Let's talk about Free the Children. That is a charity you are a big part of. Explain what Free the Children is and how you became a part of it?
Dave: Free The Children is a charity that is empowering students and people all over the world to Be The Change; Together we can break the cycle of poverty. High school students all over North America have been working in their communities and abroad to build schools, establish clean drinking water, provide medical attention, and give families the proper tools they need to sustain themselves financially and physically on their own. This is more than a charity, this is a movement of students joining together to share one voice. We were lucky enough to perform at We Day Toronto a number of years ago. We Day is a giant pep rally were students from different schools in the area join to listen to speakers like, Al Gore, Mia Farrow, The Dhali Lama, and countless others who have join the fight against global ignorance. No crowd I have ever played in front of is more passionate. It actually gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. We Day's are now happening all over North America this year, and there are more school groups being started then ever before.
Me: Go ahead and mention Free the Children's website in case Phile readers wanna know more.
Dave: Freethechildren.com.
Me: Dave, when I first heard about you guys I thought you were a boy band, but you are not... you play your own instruments, am I right?
Dave: 1000 % yes we do. We all have played in bands since the minute we could reach the garage door opener. While I primarily cover guitar and string duties, Jake is bouncing from piano and synths, to both electric/acoustic guitar; even the ocasional harmonica. The first gig I ever got paid at was in a cover band that played clubs and weddings. It was a great way to learn a ton of material in a short time and helped me learn how to play with other musicians from a variety of backgrounds or ages. I'd say we're very much a "man" band, cause we can't seem to get squeeze in time for dance choreography. Too busy having beers and building things with power tools. Not necessarily at the same time. I've grown quite attached to my fingers.
Me: Thanks so much for being on the Phile. I hope it was fun and I hope you can come back on the Phile real soon when your next CD comes out, and tell Andree I said hello the next time you see her. Go ahead and mention your websites. Take care and continued success. Please come back again.
Dave: I'll be sure to put in the good word for ya. Thanks for chatting with me and hope we can meet up this fall for some brews and hangs. Hedleyonline.com will be your source for any upcoming tours. See you on the road.
Me: Thanks, Dave.
There, that about does it for another entry. Thanks to my guests Stephanie Cutter and Dave Rosin from Hedley. The Phile will be back on Wednesday with Chris Jagger, brother of... I don't need to tell you. Then next Sunday it's singer Holly Elle, Monday it's artist Timothy Lim and next Wednesday it is the guys from the duo Reasons Be. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.
Oh my God! LOL. I am so sorry about that picture.
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