1000 Songs: John Caffery
I have now posted one thousand songs from my live recordings to this blog. My introductory thoughts on that landmark can be found here, but long story short: I asked some folks to pick some of their favourites to help me celebrate.
Activist, performer, dancer — John Caffery is a triple-threat. He brings it all together as a member of Toronto institution Kids on TV. After some quiet time, the "apocalyptically gay band" is roaring back to life with a flurry of new sights + sounds that will be unveiled May 5, 2012 at Pantheon, part of the Hatch Festival at Harbourfront. This is a total must-see cultural spectacle, so get yourself a ticket now.
Diamond Rings (Featuring PS I Love You) - All Yr Songs
You can always click on the tags below to read more about the shows these songs came from. Have there been four or five songs posted here that made an impact on you? If you'd like to get in on the action and make a list, feel free to send me an email: mechanicalforestsound@gmail.com.
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"I'm going to tell my friends about you..."
ReplyDeleteI have a very specific memory of the first time I saw Kids on TV. It was December 7, 2005, and I dragged J. down to the Glasdtone Hotel's ballroom to see the book launch for Maggie MacDonald's Kill the Robot. I didn't know anything about the musical guests, and when I saw them — glittered and costumed — getting ready at the side of the stage, I had no idea what I was in for.
Long story short, it was mind-blowing fun, and I was instantly converted. I remember afterward, waiting for the streetcar, I was huddling in the cold with J., and even after seeing it once, we were spitting the lines from "Breakdance Hunx" back and forth to each other, laughing.
It was pretty much right away after that that I started dragging friends out to see Kids on TV whenever possible. That was around the time that I was discovering a bunch of local bands that I was really into, and it was in going to see the likes of Kids on TV, Republic of Safety, Jon-Rae & The River and Gentleman Reg that I was increasingly pulled into going to more and more shows.
So there's a direct line to be drawn between seeing Kids on TV for that first time and eventually being captivated enough by bands to have started doing this blog — and why it means a lot to me that John contributed this list.
Art — proper art — doesn't depend on the ever-shorter cycles of cynical pop "product" production, and Kids on TV still have a vital spirit — so if you don't know 'em, it's not too late to get started.