A walk around various car-free day festivals in Vancouver, 2008 with unedited soundstream of drum circles, live bands of various sorts (including several numbers by a Grateful Dead inspired band, a free jazz combo, a protesting singer-songwriter, and a Latin-esque outfit…), plus skateboards, slam poets, and a bassoon quartet playing “hockey night theme” among other tunes.

Wander along for: Car(e)-free Sound Stroll – Urban Vancouver #8 (51:49, 75MB, 192k .mp3)

Podfeed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/UrbanVancouver

Bonus snaps: 

Vancouver Car Free Fest 2008 photo gallery

In 2009, i made an very off-the-cuff audition show for Vancouver’s then-new, now-defunct “The Shore 104” radio station with the idea create a rather eclectic music and story-telling show.

The “show” was recorded live in one take, no takebacks (though i shoulda/coulda) with John Bollwitt engineering at his West End apartment. Later added an intro bit which kinda got messed up but anyhow,… the project went nowhere as the station struggled out the gates and soon fired most on-air folks and changed format blah blah blah. As such, getting it off the harddrive and into your ears so you can laugh at my cheesiness and rock out to the setlist.

Gather round for: Campfire Stories with DaveO (air check for The Shore radio) – 1:38:39, 118MB, 2009-07-21

PS some of this music isn’t “podsafe”, licensed etc. but used for demonstration and educational purposes – if issue, please let me know via gravellybeach@gmail.com

Show Notes: Campfire Stories with DaveO demo for The Shore radio

Notes: Shore presenting fireworks – important for getting the mack on for young folks – chill out and enjoy

Rogue Folk Series with Dustin Bentall, son of Barney – with a great new track you’ve been hearing

Tragically Hip – Fireworks – yes swearing ain’t allowed on radio

54/40 I go blind
Did you know these guys still had day-jobs until hootie covered the song

David Byrne Everything that happens– didn’t make a huge splash but this guy is a consummate artist – read his blog for notes about urban planning, cycling and eating mussels and a bucket of beers with gregor robertson

Vancity theater showing true stories, in the spinal tap tradition but with more sincerity and oddballs

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at the Shore, part of the mission is finding the new awsum cdn rock that bursts out of speakers like April Wine, feels like our story like Gord, lacks the cheese of Nickelback,  here are a few tracks which prove to me once again that there is an renaissance of talent in Canada – here’s a quick trip across the country …

Constantines – Young Lions – tension and passion at SXSW showcase

Paris of the prairie, i dunno but this rocks – he’s a working musician backed up sarah, tours with his wife and her band too

Luke Doucet – Bloods too rich
w/ Rich Hope at Richard on Richards > closing but meh > Smilin Buddha, Commodore

Stills – Helicopters
Again Arts and Crafts at SXSW, young guys working hard

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Billy Bragg Faith in You … SXSW > evolution from the clash
check archive.org show notes for 86 street msuic hall – covers and busking – audience vote between carpenters and dylan

Clash – I’m not down
Pacific Coliseum 1984

Warren Zevon – Lawyers guns and money live
Band/Artist: Warren Zevon
Date: February 11, 1988 (check for other copies)
Venue: Montmartre
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Grateful Dead – Eyes of the world w/ Brandford Marsalis
The Dead at the Gorge with Doobies and Allmans

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Mudhoney – Good enough
Friends from Seattle Mark Arm is the shipping clerk at SubPop

Modest Mouse – Missed the Boat
Recorded in Olympia from Issaquah

Granfaloon Bus – Petty
Quirky from SF

David and The Citizens – Grey Coated
Rocking west coast sound from … Sweden

Dino Jr. Almost Ready
Loud w/ Nirvana in SLC

Outro
Wear your helmet!

Audio jumps around a wee bit but enjoy the moments nevertheless.

Raise your haggis for: Robbie Burns Night in Vancouver – Urban Vancouver #6 (32:13, 44.4MB, 192kbps)

Podfeed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/UrbanVancouver

More:

• Burns Country
• Poetry Foundation
• Robert Burns, Wikipedia
• BBC audio archive
• John Cairney (does a RB show)

Follow along on: Aural Wanderings at the Parade of Lost Souls (.mp3, 30MB, 37:35)

Wandering around enjoying community entertainment along Commercial Drive during the Parade of Lost Souls festival during the pagan Halloween in Vancouver, BC, Oct. 2007. Features drums, fireworks, mariachis and conversation snippets.  

Come on along: Saint Patrick Day Parade Sound-seeing Tour – Vancouver, BC 2007 (23:20, 128K, .mp3, 22MB, stereo)

Sound-seeing audio of dozens of different musical bands including pipe and drum, fiddles and sticks, more pipers, marching bands plus sound-systems and even old Shriners with fez hat playing “When the Saints…” on Glockenspiels.

Vast variety of musical snippets – plus some gratuitous police motorcycle sirens and horses – generally unedited and without commentary but with natural crowd chatter in stereo.

More Info:

by Frank Dawson (blueshoe on Now Public)

Excerpt:

VANCOUVER B.C., Canada by Frank Dawson

Towntown core of Vancouver goes green today. The St. Patrick’s Day Parade which went down Howe and Granville streets between Smithe and Drake featured 2,000 participants and more than 100 entries went down Howe and Granville streets between Smithe and Drake.

On show where pipers, drummers, dancers, multicultural and community groups, acrobats, vintage automobiles and horse-drawn attractions. Last year’s successful street market again was set up on Granville between Robson and Smithe, with the KidsZone attractions located on Nelson.

DaveO chats with Justin Tilson to talk about the 10,000 Western Red Cedars he recently adopted to help effectuate positive global climates. They also banter about his community gardening projects and abandoned raill-ine corridor and an inconvenient truth.

Bring a spade for: “Adopt Justin’s Cedars” (13:38, 13MB, .mp3, )

DaveO chats about International festival funtimes in a busy Vancouver weekend including Commercial Drive Car Free Fest Day, Richmond Asian Night Market, Scandinavian Midsommer Festival, East Van Chopper Fest and more hi-jinks.

While strolling around Victoria Park near Commercial Drive during Car Free Fest Day, he recaps visits to the Richmond Asian Night Market, Scandinavian Midsummer Festival, East Van Chopper Fest plus mentions Stanley Cup playoffs, Vancouver Canadians baseball season opener, Hemptown Clothing, some amazing Marimba kids, World Cup soccer, Queen of Samba with her costumed dancers, bar-b-q’ed sausages, Guinean drummers, a nutty band called Bonkers and more Vanstyle hi-jinks.

Catch a bus to International Festival Weekend – Urban Vancouver #2 (18:09, 26MB, 192k .mp3)

Also available as “enhanced podcast” with photos included: International Festival Weekend – Urban Vancouver #2 (64k .m4a, 12MB, 18:09)

snapshot by Dave O, more on Flickr

Host Dave Thorvald Olson discusses innovative products and noteworthy entrepreneurial endeavours with exhibitors, plus makes observations on consumer attitudes, economics and public policy at the Wellness Show at Vancouver’s Canada Place on February 4th, 2006.

Listen Up: Wellness at Canada Place – Urban Vancouver #1 (20:56, 20MB, .mp3)

Interviews include:

Rob of Jorg and Olif bikes – importers, improvers and merchants of classic, Nethelander-style, steel bikes complete with flower basket and smooth style

Charles of Living Harvest – an emerging company producing and distributing protein-rich products from Canadian grown hemp seed cake and who have big plans for worldwide distribution.

Kristian of Level Ground Trading – a coffee importer forming relationships with farmers in impoverished areas to aid in social development while growing tasty, organic beans to distribute from their base on Vancouver Island.

Mike of Manitoba Harvest – a pioneering hemp company who feature a “seed to shelf” process to ensure top quality for the ‘power foods’ they export to the USA now that the DEA ban is history.

Plus observations on the Omega Harvest Hydroponic Rotary Garden, phyto-plankton, Emu oil, plus commercial hemp history in Canada and the DEA vs HIA US court challenge.

Bonus – Gallery of Bikes

I love these burly, utilitarian bikes – Buy one if: a) you are hip; b) have some bread; c) wish you lived in Amsterdam.  I once saw a photo project online of snapshots of local Nederlanders rolling their iron sleds with all sorts of loads from lumber to children hanging on.  NO helmets, no worries, … in The Netherlands, bike rule – pedestrians be wary, those wide lanes aren’t sidewalks and the unwary will be run down but cars stop and trucks wait.

Note: Originally posted at UncleWeed’s blog at Urban Vancouver on March 1, 2006 & recorded or Feb. 4 2006.