On December 13, 2009, we will draw for a trip for two from any major USA airport to Toronto, ON for the weekend of June 17-20, 2010 during NXNE to party with Six Shooter staff and artists at the Annual Six Shooter Records Back Lot BBQ. The prize package consists of two return airfares, transfers to/from the airport (Toronto only), 3 nights accommodations in a 4-star hotel (based on double occupancy), 2 NXNE wristbands, and VIP access to all Six Shooter events and concerts that weekend.
The winner will be announced in the December issue of Six Shooter Bullets. Scroll down to enter.
This is Canadiana
So, uh, what exactly is Canadiana anyway? Does it exist? Is it just Canadians trying to ape Americana? When we combine it with Americana, does it all become North Americana?
It is undeniable that Canada, and its musical exports, has always had its own distinct personality that, while influenced by its southern neighbors, has its own rich heritage that instinctively gets drawn upon. Sure, many Canadians grew up listening to American music, but there is something that happens to the Canadian musical mind when it also gets infused with the influence of Gordon Lightfoot and Stompin' Tom Connors at a young age, then eventually starts listening to Rush, then becomes a disillusioned teenager obsessed with Canadian punk legends like SNFU, DOA, and Nomeansno, only to wind up coming full circle and touring in a country band. Next thing you know, Canadiana finds itself in a dubiously road-worthy club van driving from Halifax to Vancouver in January, watching endless highway lines snake on forever, blasting the Rheostatics and dreaming of what it must feel like to be Neil Young (Canadiana, of course, still claims Neil as one of their own).
Canadiana takes pride in being self-sufficient. There is a badge of honour that comes with being a perpetual underdog, living somewhere that is remote and often ignored, somewhere cold and alienating, somewhere that is logistically hilarious to attempt touring.
Canadiana is in essence Canadian roots music. In this case though, "roots" has as much to do with community, isolation, pride (as well as a healthy dose of characteristic self deprecation), as it does with musical heritage and influence. Canadiana is a messy sum of the artists who formed our legacy, from acoustic folk music, to country, to rock, with a decidedly DIY punk ethos. Canadiana has no rules. It is the wild north of roots music.
Essential Canadiana Albums:
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