local music

Bat Adventures and What Bats Eat

Did you know that bats eat their own weight in food everyday? If humans did that… oh boy! Bats need to eat so much food to accumulate fat reserves of up to one third of its body weight before hibernation. So it’s important that you let them eat.

Bats provide humans with many benefits. Bat dung has been mined as guano from caves and used as fertilizer. Bats consume insect pests, reducing the need for pesticides. And in the summertime, the less mosquitos the better! They are important in their own and our ecosystems because they pollinate flowers and dispersing seeds; many tropical plants depend entirely on bats for these services. (source Wikipedia)

Wikipedia has a really great write up with a good breakdown of what types of food different species of bats require. If you want a quicker read on what they eat, here is a nice short article. Basically, different bats eat different things, some eat mainly fruit/fruit nectar, while others depend on bugs.

If you’d prefer to watch a video on the subject, this is a great video!

For those Toronto readers, once High Park Nature Centre is open again, I highly recommend you go on one of their bat walks. They provide amazing information. In the meantime, here is an article on what Toronto bats eat!

Each time I post, I am going to also suggest music that goes with bat adventures! With the summer weather literally heating up, we need some surf music and today I’m suggesting The Surfragettes.

Type of bats: Large brown bat
No. Mosquito bites: 0

Here is a link I’ve created to all of our bat sightings.

Important: Do not handle bats. They can carry the rabies virus. Only those who have been properly vaccinated and have knowledge of bats should be handling them. If you find a bat in your home call a bat rescue. Do not call an exterminator, call a rescue! Bats are important for our environment. I have links below for rescues.

Types of bats in Ontario: https://onnaturemagazine.com/bat-guide.html
High Park Nature Centre: https://www.highparknature.org/wiki/wiki.php?n=Mammals.Bats
Bat rescues: http://www.ontariowildliferescue.ca/wildlifecentres/?care=bat

ZX/81 Music Video!!!

If you love the 80s you are going to dig @zx81toronto new music video.

Go watch it and come back to tell me how many 1980s easter eggs you found.

You can buy their entire album over at Bandcamp! https://zx81toronto.bandcamp.com/album/back-to-basics

Stay The Fuck Home Honky Tonk Music Edition

This one is for you Kirsten!

Toronto’s multi-diversity also applies to it’s music scene. You can find every genre of music available and once we are out of pandemic jail, please get out and support local, indie musicians. My favourite genre/scene in Toronto is the Rockabilly and Surf Scene. It just makes my heart happy. A little side note, one of my goals this year was to start learning Jive and Swing dancing, then… well we are all aware of what happened.

There is a new style of music I am also a fan of, though I’m sure this is a shock to my father. If you are a Rockabilly fan and get out to see bands playing at places such as The Dakota, Cadillac Lounge (sadly closed now), The Tennessee, The Cameron House, The Local (to name a few) you will have definitely heard some Honky Tonk!

Due to COVID-19, we unfortunately can’t get out to see live music right now, but in the meantime we can stream it! Below I have put together a list of Toronto (and area) artists who are known for their amazing Honky Tonk stylings! Please support them by buying their music and merch!

Matt Allen plays Blues/Rockabilly and Honky Tonk! You can stream his music on ReverbNation!

The Honky Tonk Zeros can be seen playing often in Toronto. They have a new album coming out soon! http://www.thehonkytonkzeros.com/

Red & The Ramblers has a new video out at the moment and it really hits on what is happening in Toronto right now. https://www.redandtheramblers.com

The Hamstrung Band can be seen quite often at The Local in Roncesvalles.

Sean Burns is not local to Toronto, rather in Winnipeg, but you should still check him out! http://www.seanburns.ca/

Colonel Tom and the American Pour can also be seen in Toronto and can be found over on Bandcamp! Right now 100% of sales goes to the bands. Bandcamp has kindly waived fees. He may even pop-up on Facebook doing a live performance from time to time!

The Rizdales are from London, Ontario and are another fun Honky Tonk band that play in Toronto often! https://www.rizdales.com/info

There are so many more incredible musicians playing in our city. This is just a taste of some Honky Tonk style music. If you have others you want to mention, please post them in the comments below.

Stay The Fuck Home Music Part Deux Edition

I thought I would do a part 2 to my blog on music. I wanted to list a few more musicians you should be listening too. Music, is good for your soul!

Angela Saini https://www.facebook.com/angelasainimusic/

Arlene Paculan https://www.facebook.com/ArleneOfficialMusic/

Deadly Nightshade Botanical Society https://dnbs.bandcamp.com/

Derek Downham https://derekdownham.com/

House of Haunt http://www.thehouseofhaunt.com

Myke Mazzei https://mykemazzei.bandcamp.com/

Rexy Spice http://rexyspice.com

Sian Brown/LambDancer https://lambdancer.bandcamp.com/ and https://soundcloud.com/sian-brown?fbclid=IwAR3tb–PnbhqX5x5vrye8nBh9TL_FHbNoJ-QKbmgou1fzuxqlIQOvbIzn-4

Thea Faulds https://nightchill.bandcamp.com/

ZX/81 https://zx81toronto.bandcamp.com/

Stay The Fuck Home DJs and Virtual Dance Party Edition

Sometimes, even the hardest of nuts can crack. I’m a pretty hard nut and up until the last few days have been ok. Then… depression has started creeping back in. For myself, when this happens, I find music really helps. Especially going out to see it live. Since we are living in the Twilight Zone, that’s not possible and I’ve been listening to a lot of music. It’s a good way to lift your soul and get your ass moving. We are need to find ways to get our asses off the couch!

Here are some of my favourite DJ’s and I’ve thrown in a few virtual dance parties!

DJ Blush https://www.facebook.com/DJBlushTO/

(April 18) Saturday Night Studio 54 Dance Party LIVE https://www.facebook.com/events/246084739912065/

Dj Cher and Slow Fizz https://www.facebook.com/slowfizztoronto/

(April 25) https://facebook.com/events/s/slow-fizz-fb-live-with-dj-cher/515013619402055/?ti=icl

DJ Misty Fujii https://www.facebook.com/djmistyrocknroll or http://www.djmisty.com

(April 24) The!! Beat *Virtual* Dance Party https://www.facebook.com/events/1328730200662009/ (It’ll start early in Toronto @ 8am but will go until noon 🙂 AND it’ll be up for two weeks on twitch to watch later too.)

Mark Malibu’s GoGo Radio Show Mark Malibu’s Surfin’ a Go Go Radio Show is every Sunday at 2 PM EST on Surf Rock Radio

Radiocore’s DJ’s have been doing a lot of Facebook Live events! https://www.facebook.com/radiocoreinternetradio/ or http://www.radiocore.org

DJ Starboy TO https://www.facebook.com/NotThatStarboy/

DJ Swankenstein https://www.facebook.com/DJSwankenstein/
(April 18) Nothin’ more fun and tasty than a Cheeseburger in Quarantine. Next Saturday night Apr. 18 at 6pm EST on Twitch at twitch.tv/djswankenstein. Then, Margaritaville U’s Virtual Trivia night goes live at 7pm EST. Get over to the page and get yourself signed up for your chance to win some fab Margaritaville swag and prizes.

Stay The Fuck Home The Music Edition

As we have all found out over the last week, COVID-19 is changing how we interact with each other. For some it will be really hard not being out and and being social. For other’s like me, the eternal introvert, I’m ok not being social. However, whether or not you are ok with being stuck at home, boredom will set in. Personally, I have a long list of things to keep me occupied. I’ve also given myself a bit of a loose schedule for each day, however, I, like everyone else needs stimulation. Over the next few days, I am going to share different things I’m doing, as well as lists of things we all can do to keep ourselves entertained over the next while!

Today’s post is all about music.

Band Camp Is doing an amazing thing. They are bringing awareness to musicians. Due to COVID-19 performers revue streams will be drying up. Go give this a read to see how you can help out.

The Stay At Home Fest is all about online concerts! They have a calendar showing who is playing and when! You can find it here!

Music Therapy is a good way to help out those who are suffering from anxiety and depression. My friend Siân Brown is doing live streams for her music therapy. If you think this is something that can help, follow her on Facebook here.

Friends online shows!
March 20 at 5 pm EST Michelle Rumball https://www.facebook.com/events/198854551439858/
March 21st 9 pm EST Luau or Die! https://www.facebook.com/events/228373388556483/
March 22nd 11 am EST Slow Fizz with DJ Cher https://www.facebook.com/events/150517896169065/

Where to stream or buy music that will make you dance. Seriously! Have a daily dance party. It’s great exercise, fun and will get your mind off things for a while.
Night Chill https://nightchill.bandcamp.com/
Mark Malibu & the Wasagas Mark Malibu & the Wasagas
The Champions of Justice The Champions of Justice
The Men In Gray Suits The Men In Gray Suits
Ichi-Bons Ichi-Bons
Shook Boys Shook Boys
Christian DeArmond Christian DeArmond
The House of Haunt The House of Haunt
20 Flight Rockers 20 Flight Rockers

There are two things you can do here. 1. Go buy music and help support the artists. They need your help now more than ever. 2. Continue to Social Distance without sacrificing having fun!

ZX/81

Please check out this amazing new Toronto band and by their album! It just dropped! You can buy their album at Bandcamp. (click on the word Bandcamp)

A Pinch of Punk, a Squeeze of Tiki and a Shake of Rockabilly!

Living in a Metropolis that basically never sleeps, you can step out of your front door any day of the week and find some kind of entertainment. The city of Toronto boasts an eclectic mix of music, theatre, spoken word, poetry, burlesque, nerd bars and many other forms of the arts. Even though our city isn’t lacking in interesting things to see and hear, what it is lacking is getting people out to support it. I’m going to be doing a few different posts over the next while about the Toronto Arts and Music scene covering many different facets.

I’ve recently seen a few people complaining on Social Media that a few famous acts are selling their tickets for outrageous prices. I saw numbers such as $300 and $400 for nose bleeds. Rather than spend that amount of money on a not great ticket, why not throw that $300 or $400 around on local entertainment. Better yet, check out some of Toronto’s amazing Punk, Tiki and Rockabilly scene.

If you aren’t sure where to start, I’m going to help you out and include a list of local and almost local bands. The beauty of going to a show for one of these bands is there are usually 3 or 4 bands on a bill. Heck, I’m even going to include some upcoming events for you.

{As I was creating this list, I realized… I have a lot of friends who are in really cool bands}

Upcoming Events:

Feb 27 Tiki Rockabilly https://www.facebook.com/events/587900695275781/
Feb 29 Ceol Kids Kickoff Party https://www.facebook.com/events/2537062366617473/
Mar 7 Action Packed Vol 2 https://www.facebook.com/events/531269964160699/
Mar 19 Trainwreck Tiki https://www.facebook.com/events/470798086930466/
Mar 21 GLSB 2020 https://www.facebook.com/events/2778131848973652/
Mar 27 Rock n Roll Car Crash https://www.facebook.com/events/2441241052648626/

Bands to check out:

Conflicting Plaid http://www.conflictingplaid.com/myTemplate.cgi/index.html