Joshua Van Tassel

(on facebook? go to www.joshuavt.com for the video)

(on facebook? go to ww.joshuavt.com for the full post)

(on facebook? go to www.joshuavt.com for the full post)

So excited to stumble upon this website, a community of sound lovers like myself, joining forces to create interactive sound maps of Canadian cities? Where the shit do I sign up. Oh, here. Urban Sound Ecology. The site is beautifully but simply designed and the mapping interface is really cool. I’m hoping this will catch on and more cities will get added, or even just the same parts of cities at different times of the day or year.

Have a look and a good listen. This is the perfect way to get me out of the house and back on to the streets to get some different sounds in my head that I’m not creating, and some fresh air.

(on facebook? go to www.joshuavt.com for the full post with video)
I’ve been listening to a bunch of different hip hop that I feel like I missed out on over the past few years, and getting turned on to some amazing and seriously under valued music for people under the age of 30. It’s a generalization, but it’s kind of true. There’s part of me that would love to see more music schools recognize more hip hop and beat making techniques in school, but it’s a slippery slope of the institutionalization factor. you study something too closely from an academic stand point and you can take the feel of it all away pretty fast. Anyway, here’s a great 3 part documentary about J Dilla, one of the most important music producers of the past 20 years.

Stussy – J Dilla Documentary Part 1 of 3 from Stussy on Vimeo.

Stussy – J Dilla Documentary Part 2 of 3 from Stussy on Vimeo.

Stussy – J Dilla Documentary Part 3 of 3 from Stussy on Vimeo.

(on facebook? go to www.joshuavt.com for the full post)
I’m taking a bit of a computer/holiday break for a few days until the 27th, but just wanted to say happy holidays to everyone. It’s been a really great year and looking forward to lots more great stuff in the new one. January is all about writing/recording some new music, and trying set a schedule of super productivity and keep up with it. Enjoy your break wherever you may be, I know I will. xo

(on facebook? got to www.joshuavt.com for the full post.

Played a completely crazy show in Hamilton last friday with a full men’s choir, children’s choir, string group, horn quintet, and Carly and Mark. And music I’d never heard before in front of a whole lot of  people. Stressful but fun. The kids choir was amazing though, here they are and the space as well which actually sounded amazing with drums. The sound man used a one mic set up which made me very happy and comfortable. Happy.

(on facebook? go to www.joshuavt.com for the video)

(on facebook? Go to www.joshuavt.com for the full post)

(on facebook? Go to www.joshuavt.com for the full post)

Played beaver mines last night, a town you would miss if you blinked 4 times at a place called Stellas, and it was awesome. Saw and talked to some real life cowboys who know to dance and definitely know how to drink. By 9 one of them was intoxicated enough that he got literally carried to the back of his truck to pass out, and by 10 he was back in the bar looking for a drink and a two step. They also had three cats around the bar and a fireplace, which is on my imaginary rider for gigs. Should be union rules I tell you what.
We head to Saskatoon tonight for the second last show of the tour. It’s been a show every night since we left, and we’re all feeling it, but having fun, playing well, and spending lots of time discussing if the new Taylor Swift record is better then the last.

(on facebook? Go to www.joshuavt.com for the full post)

Had a great night in Calgary last night. Saw some really great fellow nova scotioners who just relocated out here, which is a tough thing to do, I know. Calgary is such a different city then Halifax or even Toronto. It’s so spread out and still spreading that it makes walking around and discovering a cool neighborhood a bit of an impossibility. There’s definitely really cool parts to this city, don’t get me wrong, it’s just that as a newcomer it’s not the most welcoming or accessible of places. Is that offensive to calgarians? I don’t mean it to be, the people here are great.
Cockerills brother has 2 giant beast dogs named Dude and Gordon. I tried wrestling with even one of them and got paw bitch slapped hard enough that it knocked my glasses off. Lesson learned. Pit the two against each other though and you’ve got a fair fight. They’re also the sweetest most loving animals I’ve met.