Did you know that most of the music that we enjoy today has its roots in Africa? When the slaves were brought over from Africa, they also brought the music that they would play and enjoy. The banjo, guitar, bongos, and many other instruments that are used today, were invented in Africa, and brought to North America through the slave trade. There were two key factors that contributed to the retention of African music during the years of slavery, the culture and music of the slave masters and the cultures of the slaves themselves. The Spanish, Portuguese and French settlers that settled in New Orleans and South America were more tolerant of the African music and cultures and in New Orleans, the slaves and the free Africans could congregate on Sundays for church services and they would drum, sing, and dance. This continued until the late 19 th century. The slaves were very creative within their captivity and would create their own languages and even though many families and th...

This week for history Monday we will be talking more about Victor talking machine company and Montreal’s role in the beginning of the recording industry. If you watched the previous episode of history Monday you know that Emilee Berliner and Eldredge Johnson founded the united states gramophone company in the late 1890’s and after dealing with many lawsuits and companies stealing his designs, Berliner decided to transfer all of his patent's to Johnson. Johnson rebranded the company as Victor talking machine company. Before the mid-1920’s recording was done in a purely acoustical way. The sounds were played into a horn and then the vibrations would make a diaphragm that was held in place vibrate and then the vibrations would make the stylus move; the stylus would engrave the waveforms into the disc or cylinder and voila you had your recording. However, you could not play back the recording you had because they were made on a soft wax, and if you played it back you woul...

SHURE PGA58: The Shure PGA58 Microphone is a less expensive alternative to the SM58. It is similar in build and looks, but the PGA58 is all black and comes with an on/off switch. It is a cardioid polar pattern dynamic microphone. Even though it is about half the price of the SM58, it is still a high-quality vocal microphone and I do suggest that those who are looking at buying equipment for band practice, DIY audio recording or those who are on a budget seriously consider buying the PGA58 over the SM58.

Edison and his Phonograph: In 1877 Edison produced his Phonograph and started to manufacture and sell them. He received awards and recognition for his achievement and created yet another industry, the music industry. His Phonograph is considered one of the most important inventions in audio history. Edison's Phonograph But about 10 to 15 years after Edison developed the Phonograph, a man from Germany named Emile Berliner would create a recording device that would change the game, he invented the Gramophone. The Gramophone was different from the Phonograph in two distinct ways, it had a spring in the turntable so that you didn't have to hand crank it the entire time you wanted to listen to music, and it also used a disc instead of a cylinder. The Gramophone You may be thinking that the Gramophone looks familiar, and that is because the yearly music awards, The Grammy Awards are designed to look like a Gramophone. This is because the Gramophone was the first de...

If you follow our YouTube channel, then you are aware we are working on a new series where every week we will discuss a small section of the history of music and audio recording. I decided that once a week I will make a written version of the YouTube video so that the people who don't watch the channel, can still get the information. However, the written version will have a bit more information in it as it doesn't require as much work to produce and I'm more comfortable making written content than a video. THE BEGINNING:  The history of audio recording is divided into eras; the first of which is called The Analogue Era (AE for short). The AE focuses on the time from 1854 to about 1930. Now when most people think of the beginning of audio recording, they are more than likely under the assumption that Thomas Edison was the first person to figure out and produce a way to record sound, but this is not true. The first person to actually find a way to record sound wa...

Hey guys! This is going to be short and sweet, Yesterday local band Bearings made two announcements. The first is that their EP will be coming out on September 8th and that they signed with Pure Noise Records. The Ottawa Sound would like to say congratulations to them and also good luck on their upcoming tour with State Champs! Here's a link to Bearings' Bandcamp!  https://bearingsband.bandcamp.com/

Hey guys, I have a bit of a rant incoming. As some of you may be aware, there have been accusations, threats and just all around bad decorum hitting the scene the last few hours. This is not just bad for the people involved directly in the drama, but also bad for the scene altogether. The obvious effect that public drama like this has is the bands of the people involved will be looked less favourably upon by venues and promoters. If a venue or promoter views an act as a possible security threat, then those bands won't get booked. Because the members of these bands are fighting it out in public, people are going to worry that supporting one of them will get them harassed or even injured. If someone is saying that because you support a band or are friends with someone, they now hate you, that is a scary thought. Music is meant to bring people together and help build a community. Letting stupid petty bullshit tear all the progress we've made down is inexcusable. I was plan...

When you first start out in your local scene, you may realize that you don't draw a big crowd at your shows. This may be disheartening to you and your bandmates, but you shouldn't worry about it. Just by playing a show, you've taken the first steps towards growing your fan base. When I was taking my entertainment marketing class, one of the things we learned was how to use social media to your advantage. Social media marketing is one of the best ways to inform people of your existence and engage with the fans that you have. You should post on your Facebook page or Twitter profile at least once a day. If you stop posting, you will lose the interest of your followers and they will either unfollow or just ignore your posts. Now you should try and keep your fans engaged by posting things that are somewhat relevant to your music. Memes are fun but if you know that the majority of your fans just come to your page to see videos of you performing or look at pictures of your shows,...

I caught up with the guys in Lees Avenue for an interview just before their EP release show at Ask A Punk yesterday. They gave me some tips and tricks to share with you on dealing with stage fright and also explained how they made their EP and Music video! Zane: Hi! We're the super sexy guys in Lees Avenue! I'm Zane and I smack the skins! Daniel: Oohh! Oh god! I'm Daniel I play guitar and sing! Matthew: Oh ya, you know there eh? My name is Matthew and I play rhythm guitar and I like to sing... from time to time. Logan: I play bass. My name is Logan and I play the bass. M: First question please sir! What is the name of your EP? D: The EP is called Locker Room Talk, and it's about talking... in locker rooms. Z: No it's actually a reference to Donald Trump and his 'Grab 'em by the pussy' remarks." M: (shouts in the background) Grab 'em by that pussy! Z: But it's also about you know, just talking with the guys, hanging out and shooting the ...

Hey guys! Kyle here, I'd like to say thanks again for coming back and reading the blog. We are now going to be posting on YouTube every Monday at 9:00 am! We started a new series on there called History Monday. I will be discussing different aspects of the history of the music industry and audio recording. The first episode went up this morning and I hope you all check it out. I'll leave a link at the end of the article. We also had the chance to talk with the boys in Lees Avenue again. We discussed their EP, their music video and also how they deal with their stage fright, so you should check that out on our YouTube channel, I'll be posting a written version on here in a couple of days as well. We have our first patron on Patreon and I'd like to say thank you to them! Every little bit helps keep us afloat so thank you Oak Eh?! We have also expanded the team here at the blog and I'd like to officially welcome: Cole as our photographer/videographer and pho...