The Habitat « Kelowna Live Music Blog

Interview with Kelowna’s Cynthia Leigh-Ann

On Saturday, Kelowna’s Cynthia Leigh-Ann held her CD Release Party at the Habitat. Here’s a follow up interview:

So you have a new CD out, what new oppurtunities are you hoping this will bring you?

Yes I do, and I am totally ecstatic about it, I had an awesome time producing my album with Producer Bob Gabelhouse he was incredible and the sound is tracks are better than I expected. We will send the full radio package to Joe Wood of RDR Music Group to submit to radio via a 16-bit wave file. as well we will have a tracker take care of the stations delivery of my music, pretty high tech stuff.

I am hoping that my CD charts, that would be incredible and get me really noticed by agents and labels; I am also sending certain songs to Tease, they put them on their site and send them out to TV, Movies, Artists, and other promoters that are looking for other uses like commercials, or other media venues looking for a good song that fits their needs. The Biggest benefit will be helping me to become a familiar face in the music industry, as well as put my music front and center, including sales, because marketing is a big part of the music business.

With your CD release party tonight at the Habitat, what can fans expect? Are you enjoying playing your new songs live?

The CD Party is to let all of my fans, media, friends, and my family to come out, and celebrate with me as I launch my debut album on stage with a live performance along with some of my artist friends who will do some songs to add to the evening’s entertainment…

My fans can expect to hear me perform all of my new songs live, on stage for the very first time, plus they can sit down with me one on one and ask me all the things they never had an opportunity to do. I will also be giving everyone at the celebration a copy of my first five songs autographed as a memory of the event

I am loving the opportunity to perform my new songs, it is awesome to be doing it, it’s been a long time coming, but worth every minute of the journey.

I will be performing my songs again with others I wrote and some covers at The Merritt Street Music on the 2nd of September in Merritt; I am looking forward to being there, as I have fond memories of my performance days at Merritt Mountain Fest.

What are your plans to promote the new album throughout the remainder of the year?
I plan to really get out there and perform everywhere I can, because after my songs go to radio, the next most important thing is live shows and lots of them. My manager has already started booking me for the fall and 2011 in BC and Alberta, plus I will be touring hopefully in the spring break from university and Alberta in the summer. I can hardly wait to get started.

I plan to sell my CD in selected retail outlets and chains throughout Canada, and hopefully in beyond as things grow, we will be putting them on line music sites as well , such as MySpace and YouTube, most definitely at my live shows and I am wishing that all comes my way and all my dreams come true with my new CD. Most importantly I want my fans to love my music, they are the ones that make us who really make it happen, and I love them all for supporting me all through my music journey

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The Habitat

on September 1, 2010 at 4:14 am Leave a Comment

Cynthia Leigh-Ann CD Release Party

Get tickets for tonight’s show at the Habitat here

2008/09/10 Live Performance
Showcase of America Edmonton, Westbank Opry, Heart & Stroke Foundation, Kelowna Idol Country Rock, Festivals Kelowna/Parks Alive, Westbank/Westside Days, Armstrong Interior Exhibition, Peachland Civic Ceremonies, Canada Day Celebration throughout the Okanagan Valley. The Habitat Club Kelowna, Peachland World of Wheels, Actionfest, Merritt Mountain Festival, BCCMA, CCMA. Top Teen of Canada, Mission Mexico Fundraiser, Blenz Coffee House, and Barefoot in the Park, Idols Rock/Ernie’s Pub, and New Horizon Showcase.
Gala of Hope [Camp Goodtime for Kids with Cancer] Rising Stars with Recording Artists Kelly Brock and Cynthia Leigh-Ann at the Mary Irwin Theater May 13/10
Mike Norman Concert with Kelly Brock, Aaron Pritchett, One More Girl, The Higgins and a Star studded cast of many more artists

Accomplishments
New Horizon Talent Top vocalist, performance aired on CHBC TV with Sandy Dawson Feb/09
Habitat Club in Kelowna, 1st place, Fans Choice Award. Host Troy Scott from B-103 Country Radio said Cynthia “I’m blown away with your performance, and I think you’re a star in the making; I can hardly wait to see what you do next”
Kelowna Kiwanis Festival first place in Original Composition, Contemporary Idiom, and Musical Theater. Paula Quick Adjudicator told Cynthia “her voice was well suited to County and pop, great natural voice, light belt was used well, a change of registration at the end a good choice, very beautiful tempo, very strong acting, motivation and wards clear and consistent throughout, You have a gift”

Top of Canada Showcase singing her own composition, winning her Top Teen of Canada Personnel Showcase, & bursary.

CCMA 2009 Hotel Vancouver Lounge performance.
BCCMA 2009 Industry Stage with Jessie Farrow, Top Five Rising Stars in B.C.
Nominated for Miss B.C.2010 performance to be held 2nd July Okanagan Regional Arts Awards 2010 Nominee and performer at West Kelowna B.C. 4th March 2010.
Cancer for Hope Gala, 2010

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The Habitat

on August 28, 2010 at 10:14 pm Comments (1)

The Habitat turns 5 years old – Happy Anniversary

I can’t believe it’s been 5 years. Wow, time flies when you’re going to see a lot of live music. The Habitat has been a mainstay in the Kelowna live music scene for 5 years. Back in the spring of 2005, a few months before Habitat open their doors on Leon Ave, I was blogging about shows at the Mission Hall, Knights of the Columbus hall and even The Warehouse. Sure, there were some great shows in town, and Miss T Promotion was bringing some cool artists to the Blue Gator. However, the shows were few and far between. The consistency wasn’t there. That is something Habitat has been bringing since day one – consistent top-notch local, Canadian and International artists.

I wrote a review of the Duotone Arts festival on August 3^rd, 2005 where Ladyhawk and Black Mountain performed (days before they toured with Coldplay). It’s no coincidence that the newly opened Habitat was going to provide a venue for these bands, and approximately 600 other bands in the years to come. From Polaris Prize nominees, Juno Award winners, and I’m sure a few future Grammy nominees have all graced the stage at Habitat.

My first blog post about the Habitat was on August 30^th, 2005 for an upcoming Underoath show. Within a few months many more shows were starting to happen at the Habitat. So I keep track of all the shows I’ve seen over the last 10 years, and with many of them being in Kelowna and many of them happening in the last 5 years, it’s no wonder Habitat has been the most commonly visited venue for live music for me and my fellow music-loving friends. Some of the earliest performance from Alphababy (now known as Yukon Blonde and signed with Bumstead Records) took place at Habitat. Several other up-and-coming Canadian artist that played several shows, before gaining nationwide attention included In-Flight Safety, Dan Mangan, Hey Rosetta, Pride Tiger, Tokyo Police Club, The Novaks, The Most Serene Republic, Library Voices, Rah Rah, Plants & Animals, Matthew Barber, Pack AD, Said the Whale, illScarlett, Mother Mother, You Said Party, We Say Die and the Sadies to name just a few. Then there was the classic Joel Plaskett performance in May of 2009 where the lucky people in attendance at this sold out show got to hear Joel tell the real story behind “Love This Town”.

Supporting local artist
Along with Yukon Blonde, there’s been no shortage of great Kelowna bands that have been playing at Habitat, maybe 3^rd on the bill with a 25 minute open set, only to return 6 months later to be headlining their own show. Bend Sinister, Kingdom Cloud, Treelines, Windborn to name just a few. Kelowna’s We Are the City won top honours in the Peak Performance Project in 2009, a province-wide talent search sponsored by 100.5 the Peak FM.

So a big Happy Anniversary goes out to Quinn and Katrina at the Habitat, all the great staff over the years and to all the music lovers in the community who keep coming out to support live music in Kelowna!

Voted ‘Top 20 Venues in Canada‘ CBC Radio 3 Searchlight Contest
Winner ‘Best Venue Supporting Live Music‘ BC Interior Music Awards
Winner ‘Best Venue‘ Off-Centre 2006-2009

Feat. live music by Familia and Ange Alero
$10 – Limited number of tickets available – Buy yours here!
Media meet and greet: 4pm-6pm
Doors open to the public at 6pm, live music at 8pm

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The Habitat

Sept. 27th Hot Hot Heat with Hey Rosetta, tickets on sale Friday

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The Habitat

on July 14, 2010 at 4:44 am Leave a Comment

Ticket Giveaway Contest: Kate Miller-Heidke

Austrailian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke is playing the Habitat on 6/30, and thanks to Sony Records, I have a pair of tickets to give-away for the show!

Kate had a big hit with a song that went double-platinum and went to #1 in Austrailia. What was the name of that song?

First person to email me wins a pair of tickets to the show Wednesday

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on June 26, 2010 at 4:03 pm Leave a Comment

Kate Miller-Heidke @ the Habitat, June 30th

Austrailian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke, hot off a nation-wide tour with Ben Folds, is playing the Habitat on 6/30 (in between Lillith Fair dates in Edmonton & Vancouver). Opening act: Jody Glenham
$12 (+$2.50 tx & sc) – Buy your tickets for this show here!
Doors at 8pm, show at 9pm

Kate got a great review from Sasha Frere-Jones at the New Yorker of her second album. You can listen to some of her music at her Myspace page.

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on June 24, 2010 at 5:08 am Comments (3)
Tags: kelowna live music

The Sadies Are Stronger Than Ever

05/31/10 4:51pm
by Dan Lovranski (CHARTattack)

The Sadies have definitely reached a point in their career where all their hard work, dedication and countless touring has paid off. Their last record, New Seasons, was so well received that many reviewers labeled it the group’s definitive statement.

While plaudits like that would scare most bands, singer, songwriter and guitarist Dallas Good and the rest of The Sadies just took it in stride.

“Well,” says Dallas, “that record was a culmination of everything we had done in our career up to that point. It was a reinforcement.

“But at the same time, I didn’t look at it like, ‘OK, we can put The Sadies on the iceberg and push it off now because we got the goods out of them.’

“We were just happy once we took a little less of the emphasis off the country and western and instrumental music, people weren’t reeling, and going ‘No, no, no.’ That’s what we were expecting.”

It’s apparent they will probably receive even more praise with their new Darker Circles album, as it’s the group’s most realized record to date. They’ve taken everything that has made them great and perfectly synthesized it.

While earlier albums were almost just snapshots of their all-encompassing live show, moving from surf instrumentals to murder ballads to full-blown psychedelia, Darker Circles really has unity to it, especially when it comes to the sense of self-reflection and darker tinges of the lyrics.

“That’s me. I’m Captain Good Times,” says Dallas. “On this album, I definitely had a lot more of a steadfast contribution with the first half of the album. It’s five of my songs in a row. The same theme, the same dark crap.

“Unfortunately, the rest of The Sadies have been stuck in the same little metal box on wheels with me for the last 15 years, so they end up singing about very similar themes. There’s no way around it.”

But instead of tearing the band apart, as it might in some cases, their work ethic and desire to work with each other seems to have overcome any of that bleak worldview.

“We were only in the studio for about 12 days,” states Good. ” I think it was 18 all together with the two sessions. It wasn’t that much time considering we hadn’t been performing the songs prior to the recording of them. There was a lot of learning on the spot, but still, that was the way we were the most comfortable working.

“We’ve gotten to a point as a group of six, with our engineer Ken Friesen and producer Gary Louris, it’s pretty tightly oiled, at least in a way we’re all happy working with. After 15 years, that’s saying a lot.

“We should be at that stage where we’re going in at different times and trying to avoid each other and definitely not trying to piss each other off. But the truth is we’re still really enthusiastic.

“That’s why I can look at one of the guys and say, ‘That part sucks, try this,’ or say ‘Just do away with that entire middle eight part because it’s not going anywhere.’ That’s a great thing to have. When the enthusiasm dries up, that’s when it gets negative. We’re still good.”

You can see The Sadies here:

May 31 Canmore, AB @ The Canmore Hotel
June 1 Nelson, BC @ The Hume Hotel
June 2 Kelowna, BC @ The Habitat
June 4 Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore
June 5 Seattle, WA @ The High Dive
June 6 Bellingham, WA @ Wild Buffalo
June 7 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
June 9 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Hall
June 10 Los Angeles, CA @ Echo
June 11 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
June 12 Joshua Tree, CA @ Poppy and Harriet’s
June 15 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
June 19 Toronto, ON @ Port Credit Memorial Park
June 25 Youngstown, OH @ Cedars Lounge
June 26 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
July 1 Toronto, ON @ The Harbourfront Centre
July 9 Sudbury, ON @ Ramsey Lake (The Northern Lights Boreal Festival)
July 24 West Kingston, RI @ Swamp Stomp 3
July 30 Charlottetown, PEI @ Hunter’s Ale House
July 31 Halifax, NS @ The Paragon
Aug. 1 Sackville, NB @ Sappyfest
Aug. 5 Rochester, NY @ George Eastman House
Aug. 6 Kingston, ON @ Marysville Wolfe Island (Wolfe Island Musicfest)

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The Habitat

on June 1, 2010 at 12:29 am Leave a Comment
Tags: kelowna live music, sadies

Cool show coming up on June 27th

Pop Montreal presents Pop Off 2 w/ Jane Vain and Valleys
w/ James Struthers
$8 (+$2.50 tx & sc) – Buy your tickets for this show here!
Doors at 8pm, show at 9pm

From somewhere beneath the swelling strings and synths, the angular guitars and pulsating beats, cleaves the voice of Jamie Fooks of Jane Vain. In early 2003, Fooks started writing songs by her self in her basement apartment, to deal with the remaining demons of a reckless adolescence.Valleys are an amazing revelation—a band that makes me imagine what it might have been like to see The Swans back in their heyday, if you replaced Michael Gira with a ethereal young female with a deceptive, awesome power.