ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX IS CLOSING The other day the news broke that Ottawa live music staple Zaphod's is closing. The venue has been a staple in the Ottawa music scene for over 25 years. Zaphod Beeblebrox got it's name from the character in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and many of the drinks and events have names based off the book series.  Over the many years Zaphod's has played host to hundreds of artists from the local scene to international touring acts, iIncluding local superstar Alanis Morrisette; Nickelback; Jewel, and many others In 2005 the Rolling Stones filmed a music video there.  Local musician and promoter Ryan Fitz (Castlefield and The Indie Scene Promotions) broke the news to the world over his Facebook profile with the statement, "Zaphod's is gone. There goes our last decent mid-sized venue... :(" Many people were shocked and upset to hear that the venue was closing and didn't want to believe what Ryan was saying because th...

LEES AVENUE Lees Avenue is an Ottawa punk band and they are currently recording their second EP. The band consists of Vocalist Daniel Markovic, Guitarist Matthew Savard, Drummer Zane Bean and Bassist Logan Hotchkiss. Kyle and Karri got the chance to interview them yesterday. LEES AVE QUESTIONS: 1.        Where did you come up with the band name? a.        Our singer used to live on Lees Avenue and our old bassist came up with the name. Zane also got in a car accident on Lees Avenue a little bit after we named the band. 2.        How did you form as a band? a.        It was an accident really, we put out the first EP and we were gonna stop making music, but Zane misheard Daniel when they were at a party. Daniel said he wanted to make acoustic music but Zane thought Daniel said he wanted to make Grunge/Punk music. We just tried it out and did it for fu...

MUSIC REVIEW: CASTLEFIELD’S THE MASCOT E.P. Castlefield is an up and coming Ottawa based Indie-emo band. Their debut E.P. is called The Mascot E.P. I had the chance to listen to the E.P. and write a review; here are my thoughts. The E.P. is only 3 songs long yet it packs a big punch. The first song on the E.P is called Broken High School Mascot.  While listening to this song I could feel the emotion that was put into the lyrics. From what I could hear the song tells the story of a young love that fell apart. The lyrics were well written and the instrumentation really meshed with them.  The vocal style really reminded me of the older Blink-182 music. The second song on the album is called Lifted. It tells the story of accepting that your relationship is over and how hard the process can be. With very meaningful lyrics and driving instrumentation this song will help anyone get through a rough break up. Once again the vocals and instruments mesh beautifully. The...

Advice on what to wear when performing By: Karri Duperron             Everyone has their own style and ultimately it is up to you on what you want to wear. When you’re on stage it’s your time to shine and show people what you’re made of. Whether you’re in a band or going solo, the first thing people see before you start is your appearance. Ever heard the phrase “don’t judge a book by it’s cover.”  Well, that phrase always comes around when people are watching the performance. But does that really matter to you when you’re performing? You want to think about that when choosing what to wear. Your choice in clothing will depend somewhat on what style of Music you’re going to perform. What are your options? Options #1: (What you wear day to day) This is a good option if your style is already keeping with your music and personality. When you chose this option it lets the audience know something about you.   Option #2 ...

NOI YA SELF IMMOLATION E.P A REVIEW: The man, the myth, the legend Noi Ya is back with a brand new E.P. The Self Immolation E.P is a 6 song release that will be coming out sometime this month. The Ottawa Sound was blessed with an early copy for review. After listening through the E.P a couple of times I find that it was very interesting and the lyrics told some very beautiful stories. The best song on the E.P in my opinion is Glitter; I feel like it tells a beautiful story of love which is accompanied by very entrancing instrumentals. Glitter also has some of the best vocals that Noi Ya has ever done in studio and live. You can hear the passion that goes into the song and it makes the song even better. While the genre of music that Noi makes is not my thing I feel like anyone who likes Dream Pop will enjoy the E.P. SONG BY SONG 1.         Daffodils a.          Good instrumentals b. ...

JUNO WEEK UPDATE This week is Juno week. The Juno’s are the Canadian version of the Grammy’s and Brit Awards. They celebrate the diverse talent that is in the Canadian music industry. Hex Entertainment joined The Ottawa Sound on an adventure through Algonquin College to ask some people their opinions on the Juno Awards! 1.        What Canadian artist do you think had/has the most influence on the global music industry a.        The most common answers for this question for this question were Justin Bieber and Drake with The Weeknd thrown in once or twice. The bassist from local band BATAVIA (Hakan who is from Istanbul, Turkey) said Devin Townsend. 2.        What Canadian artist do you think has the most influence INSIDE Canada? a.        A lot of people thought hard about this but couldn’t think of any artists. Hakan said Devin Townsend for this one as w...

Up Coming Shows: ·          April 1 st o    Batavia will be playing their debut show at the Starbucks in Prinecrest Mall for a fundraiser for Camp Quality §   10am-2pm ·          April 7 th o    Endless Oceans, Noi Ya, Milk Jive, FoOlish and Nessie at Avant Garde §   7pm doors open §   $10 tickets in advance, bands have tickets ·          April 27 th o    Nighttime In Kansas, Forest and Hawking at Live! On Elgin §   E.P release for Hawking Crowd Funding: Should you use it to fund your album/E.P Kyle Stumpo: Crowd funding platforms are becoming a very popular way to raise money for new products, services and music. There are many websites to use such as GoFundMe and Kickstarter. Kickstarter is mostly used for new products in the science and technology department and has some pretty str...