Our Lady Peace and the Occupy movement

A day before the Canadian music blog NXEW tweeted "The U.S. sites are full of live performances from well known acts, why aren't Canada's musicians turning up at #OccupyCanada?" this below message came through my inbox via Bob Lefsetz and his music musings newsletter. Our Lady Peace is one of my favorite Canadian rock bands, even from before I lived in Toronto. While they may not be performing in the Occupy movement, they are definitely getting involved. Check out their latest song/video entitled "Fight The Good Fight" and see lead singer Raine Maida's letter to Bob Lefsetz below.

From: raine maida
Subject: Our Lady Peace/OCCUPY movement

Hi Bob,

I'm the singer in the band Our Lady Peace. We were signed to Columbia for 10 years,1997-2007 had a cpl platinum records blah blah blah.

I've been reading some interesting stories regarding The OCCUPY movement lately. Some asking, "Where is this movement's Dylan or Joan Baez or Lennon?" Others telling bands/artists to fuck off and stay away from the movement. In a day and age when branding is such an ingrained part of our culture i find this a very compelling issue.

I've been involved in different social causes ever since the day i was handed an Amnesty Int. sticker at a Peter Gabriel concert back in the late 80's. Adbusters has always been my preferred reading material. (great counter culture mag from Vancouver & initiators of this movement). i've traveled to and filmed Docs in Iraq and Darfur and helped rebuild schools in D.R of Congo with an organization i trust called Warchild.

On Oct 15th the 4 members of OLP occupied in Detroit ,LA, Toronto and NY. We marched, spoke to protesters and shot footage over the course of last weekend and have now edited a video with that footage to a song we recently recorded called "Fight The Good Fight."

Interestingly enough we've received numerous hate emails, dislikes on facebook etc for supporting the movement. I fully understand the pitfalls for an artist involving themselves with certain issues. This one i'm baffled by though...isn't everybody concerned with the future? Are we not all worried about our jobs, education, healthcare, the fact that there is no transparency in Govt or big business these days? This movement has suffered from disinformation and shameful reporting by the mainstream media.

Much like the artists with the courage to voice their opinions in days past, this song/video is our way of supporting the movement and getting the message out. Nothing Machiavellian about this. We're speaking from our hearts. Hell, I brought my young kids to the Los Angeles rally. This song is for them!

Congratulations Grelly!

A bunch of my friends went to Edgefest 2006, at the Molson Amphitheater in Toronto. My friend G accidentally got sort of really, really fucking wasted before the headliners, Our Lady Peace, could take the stage. My friends, including G's girlfriend K, dragged G's sorry carcass back to our apartment complex and put G to bed, with a trail of puke marking the path from Ontario Place to 50 Steph. (Yeah, we all lived in the same building, just like a bad version of Friends. Or maybe a good version, with lots of sex, drugs, and booze). Here's the kicker: despite G's nastiness and embarrassment, and making K miss the show, she didn't even break up with him! And today they are getting hitched. Congratulations Grelly! I wish you a lifetime of happiness in cleaning up each other's vomit.

Our Lady Peace - Naveed/Life.mp3
Buy (MP3 only): Live from Calgary and Edmonton (2003)

Note: I'm a pacifist by nature, but if any of you G20 protester dirt-bags fuck with my friend's wedding today, I will kick your ass!

Men With Brooms

All of this Olympic curling talk made me dig out my DVD of the Canadian comedy Men With Brooms. Starring cutie Paul Gross, who also co-wrote and directed it, the movie follows four men trying to seek personal and professional redemption on the curling sheet. Throw in a love triangle, goofy Leslie Nielsen, a huge dude in a kilt, a cameo by the Tragically Hip, curling cheerleaders, and a flock o' beavers, and you have yourself one hell of a slice of Canadiana. The ironic part of this movie to me is that the actors have the worst curling form that I have ever seen! Its a really entertaining comedy, and recommended if you want to learn something about the coolest game on ice.

Buy (DVD): Men With Brooms (2002)

The soundtrack is really great too. It features Canadian artists like Kathleen Edwards, The New Pornographers, Our Lady Peace, The Tragically Hip, Matthew Good, Sarah Harmer, Tom Wilson, among others. It's available as an import on Amazon.com for $37.95, so order it below from Amazon.ca for $14.99 Canadian, which is about the same in $US.

Buy (Amazon.ca): Men With Broom Soundtrack (2002)

I don't actually own the soundtrack because I already have most of the songs from their original albums. Here is a little slice of Canada for you to enjoy.

Sarah Harmer - Silver Road.mp3
Buy: All of Our Names (2004)

Kathleen Edwards - Hockey Skates.mp3
Buy: Failer (2003)

Our Lady Peace - Life.mp3
Buy: Spiritual Machines (2000)

The Tragically Hip - Throwing Off Glass.mp3
Buy: In Violet Light (2002)