giverhard.com - Canadian Music Magazine

Port Amoral - immorally tough fucken shred core.

kyle — Thu, 22 May 2008 06:14:24 +0000

PORT AMORAL…
The last time I heard music this bad ass was Trivium. I was living in Banff, life was pretty straight forward. Do Gnar. I think the next day I bombed the biggest vertical drop I could find on the South end of Standish @ Sunshine.

Yesterday I was randomly surfing the Canadian mainstream punk / hardcore myspace scene and I happened accross PORT AMORALкомпютри whom I can best describe as sounding like Trivium. I hate describing a band as similar to a predecessor, but I can’t help it. I hear so many bands I love in their anthems; Trivium, No Other Way (Ottawa), Every New Day (Edmonton), The Fully Down and so many more. Basically I just showed you the best underground thrash core crossover you’ve seen since Grade. Deal with it! I’m good like that.

I’ll be posting a little mix tape for you pretty soon, but until then, enjoy the Port Amoral Video:

I also happened to find Amoral’s awesome-core myspace friend’s The Downfall. Something between killswitch engage, baptized in blood and grade. BAM. What the hell is going on over there on the middle left coast? These bands are so sick. Someone, please tell me what the shit these kids are being fed. They are killing it so good. Tomorrow someone is getting an elbow. Mark my words….

Whistler Photos and fOTOGLIF news

kyle — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 05:46:32 +0000

So, fOTOGLIF the website I have been working for as a software engineer processed it’s 10 000th image a few weeks ago. I posted that one to my profile on facebook, but I wasn’t sure the content was really something that would I would consider a valid representation of what I consider to be ‘giverhard’. Instead, I’m going to post the photosets I took while in whistler tihs weekend. We had two cameras so I plan to post both. If you like the technology that hosting these images, check out fOTOGLIF yourself. You get paid to contribute photography and for the traffic you produce. It’s a pretty awesome deal.

??????

kick-off-radio-cast tonight at 10pm cst!

kyle — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:09:47 +0000

Thats right, RADIO BROADCAST TONIGHT! I know I’ve been pretty dormant for a while. Hell, it’s been winter, what do you expect? I’m sunshine people, and plus there’s too much snowboarding and not enough touring in the winter. That’s the way it has always been, giverhard == summer.

So now with no further ado, it is finally time for the international launch of the new web radio station. Tonight at 10pm cst I’ll be doing the kick-off-radio-cast. Yes, web-radio ready we are. Yoda is proud. To tune in, either click the play button on the player to the left, or hit this url: http://giverhard.redirectme.net:8000/listen.pls

Send me feed back, requests, challenges, or hate to radiocast@giverhard.com or on facebook / irc / msn / however else you might know me. Heck, even leave it on the contact page, and I’ll probably see it in time!

Alright, so tune in later, because I’ll have some oldies coming out of the wood work.

This Is A Stand Off, Broadway Calls, Artist Life, Little Millionaires @ The Horseshoe, Toronto

kyle — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:07:42 +0000

On a “shitty Wednesday night” I left to go to the Horseshoe, a traditional long standing pub / bar that specializes in great promoters and great bands. Amelia from Smallman hooked me up with another pass to go and cover one of their newest additions; Broadway Calls. It wasn’t until weeks later that I realized that I would also get to see This is a Standoff which comes from the ruins of Belvedere, Deville and Forty Cent Fix. All of the sudden I had a real ragger on my hands. When I arrived to pick up my pass I was happy to see that Ben Pearlman previously of Guerilla concerts Halifax and the 902 Pavilion fame was holding the show. It’s always good to know the promoter is damn good at what he does. That in Mind, the anticipation increased as I realized I will surely get two great openers as well.

The first band I encountered were The Little Millionaires who put on a really energetic gutter punk style set. They got the crowd fairly pumped and rocked out pretty consistently throughout the entire set. They made a few mentions of not having merch for reasons of anti-corporate whatever, but I think they probably just spilled beer on their last 10 shirts and gave them away to friends. I mean c’mon now, who needs to have merch when you are a Little Millionaire? Keep an eye out for these guys, I think they are going places if they keep with this progression.

The Artist Life were up next and they turned up the energy immediately. They bring a main stream punk rock influenced sing along feel that punches you in the face with melody and structure. Their song writting is incredibly well done and most of their songs are positioned in a category that will have very broad appeal. From the expressions on their faces and the things they said between sets about supporting the touring bands to the gratitude they displayed at each interval, you could tell that they are really passionate about their own Artist Life. I think that this band is going to blow up very soon. They could be the next Ataris easily.

Broadway Calls… Yes, finally. I received their promo album like 3 months ago, right after I had surgery. I have listened the shit out of this album and finally I saw them live. I was not disappointed. Broadway Calls write anthems for a better day. They leave no casualties on their quest to pass the torch of meaning on. Lyrically there are not many bands that can fill a listener with this sort of purpose for the daily grind, but somehow they manage to sweat the devotion that makes a band great. There is clearly no under estimating their touring ability after long hauling it from Oregon directly to Toronto. This is a huge addition to the Smallman roster. Watch out for them. You will really enjoy seeing them.

This is a Standoff is a prayer answered to all those who couldn’t bare to see Belvdere, Forty Cent Fix, or Deville disband. With that said, my anticipation for this band was huge. After the last belvedere tour I realized that there was a pretty intense synergy forming between Gram Churchill and Steve Rawles. It was a monster that showed aspects from both The Hollywood Ending and Belvedere and promised to be one of the most intense punk rock collaborations of all time. Knowing that, Steve and Graham teamed up with John and Corey and formed a technical punk rock outfit for the masses. They just did a load of over seas touring and now they are back in NA. Their performance was pretty good with the exception of all the waiting around for broken strings. I wasn’t crazy impressed this time, but I hope to see them again when they’ve tightened up their stage show a bit. For now, I’ll enjoy the EP!

Here are all the photos from the show:

Strung Out @ The Phoenix

kyle — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 05:53:31 +0000

Tonight we witnessed the very meaning of dedication and desire. After having your van, trailer and thousands of dollars worth of gear stolen, most bands would turn around and go home. Strung Out however had no such thought. Listening to their radio interview on 102.1 The Edge today offered some insight into the very things that have made them a success in the technical punk spectrum. While touring in Philadelphia supporting their 10th studio album Blackhawks Over Los Angelos the Strung Out van and trailer was jacked in their hotel parking lot costing them thousands in damage and even more in morale. Ambitiously these veterans remained true and leaned on good friends Evergreen Terrace to help get them through the tour to Toronto where the walls were brought down in classic fashion. A riot of stage diving, antics, sweat and cheers laid path for one of the best concerts of the fall. Listening to the new album right now, I think back to the very first time I saw Strung Out in Halifax Nova Scotia and I wonder if the consistency that has been their trademark over the years could be portrayed in a more intense performance then the back to back song shredding event that took place tonight. If it happens. I hope I am there.

Katja w/Ca Va Mal @ the Adrift Skate Shop in Toronto

kyle — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 20:19:21 +0000

For years I have been hearing things about a band called Katja and for years I had no way to see this ghost unit as they disbanded before I arrived in Toronto.

Finally after waiting for what seemed like ever, I ran into my good pal Alex on the street and he told me of a reunion show in Kensington market at The Adrift Skate Shop in the mini indoor park they have there. Naturally nothing would stop me from seeing this show.

I was blown away by these guys and the amplitude of the crowd that packed into this back room park for a reunion of gigantic proportions. Part of Gorgeous Industries this music is very 90’s post-hardcore DIY that bleeds creativity apparent in both their music and unique merchandising packs. If you get a chance to support anything from the Gorgeous Industries team, make sure you do it because this is a breed of music and candor that you won’t find easily replicated.

Check out the photo set from the show here:

Ceremonial Snips & No Other Way - When Animals Attack Tour 2007

kyle — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 16:34:57 +0000

The ability for a band to be successful in this day age requires for each and every member to want it more then anything else. It requires not only a lust for performance but a people personality and an understanding that opportunity breeds opportunity.

If I were to pick one tour this summer that I felt embodied these values more then any other, the award would go to the “When animals attack….Tour”. Both No Othwer Way and The Ceremonial Snips are doing it harder, longer and better then anyone else on the DIY scene. They have toured more over the last year then most bands tour in their entire lifetime and that means a lot.

In all 4 cities that I saw them the concerts were relentless, full of energy, and did not stop until fat lady spat blood in the pit.

No Other Way is the best new progressive Canadian punk band since Every New Day (edmonton). They have recently signed to dick rawk records which homes the Youthinasia crew. They just spent the last month in solidarity perfecting their new album which already has a debut video set to be released on much music very soon. They tour the nation constantly like champions so find their next show near you because after seeing Jarvo’s double bass death spins, Sammy’s high kicks from hell, Lukes assasinating vocal assaults, and Shawn firefight of drumbeats, you will forget about CNN, because this is the only fucken war that matters.

As far as I am concerned The Ceremonial Snips are veterans in the Canadian punk scene. They have been annihilating the scenes ska image since 1999 with their own special blend of hard as fuck riffs, intense lyrics and of course, amazing horn harmonies. I’ve seen these guys a handful of times over the years and I have no problem saying that they were at their absolute prime this summer’s tours. They have just released a new disk “check your audio” on Stomp Records which has already consumed more of my time then my girlfriend which unfortunately means they fucken rock hard. As a 7 piece it’s quite a deal to go on tour. I mean, hell the Rankin Family never toured the country in a van like these guys. Just the fact that these guys are all tight enough to go out and kill it every night as a 7 piece band in the Canadian punk scene makes them the most bad-ass group in this country. Do not make any mistake, Ceremonial Snips will make your arms swing like someone painted your arm hair with gasoline and gave you a smoke.

With that said, check out the following videos and the photo sets that we were able to make to help promote these amazing bands:

No Other Way - No Running From… @ Zaphods Ottawa
Ceremonial Snips - Gazebo Of Love @ Zaphods Ottawa

videos produced in part by epkhosting.com

Scene Map Alpha Complete

kyle — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 07:47:35 +0000

Planning a release date in the near future.

Moneen @ The Mod Club, Toronto

kyle — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 05:46:15 +0000

The Moneen photo set from The Mod Club has been uploaded.

Photo sets and live Video for No Other Way and Ceremonial Snip coming next week!

No Other Way & Ceremonial Snips

kyle — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 23:11:57 +0000

Support this tour. It is probably the best thing that will happen to you this summer.

Buy the Ceremonial Snips release “Check your audio” now: