Dynamic Range Radio

21/10/2024

I'm happy to announce that my short film, Caregivers, will be playing in Fredericton at the Silver Wave Film Festival.

I grew up 15 minutes outside of Fredericton, and the film will be playing on the UNB campus where I unsuccessfully worked toward a Computer Science degree before realizing film was a passion I had to pursue, so watching my short play on campus will feel like a sort of homecoming.

17/10/2024

One of my favourite albums of all time turns 40 years old this weekend, and I couldn't let that anniversary go by without a quick mention.

Big Country's second full-length album, Steeltown, was released on October 19th, 1984 in the UK, and ten days later in the US.

Growing up in a small town in Canada, I had no idea this album even existed until many years later, but it's no exaggeration to say it changed my life when I finally had the chance to hear it.

Discovering this album made Big Country my favourite band for at least a decade, probably more, and it completely changed the way I consumed music.

If an album this brilliant could have fallen through the cracks, I started to wonder how many more great bands were being underrepresented by the mainstream music industry, so I started making more of an effort to seek out bands who weren't anywhere near the top of the charts.

Former listeners of Dynamic Range Radio might remember songs like Tall Ships Go, Just A Shadow, and the title track, Steeltown, all of which were songs I played more often than probably any other internet radio DJ.

I don't listen to this album as often as I used to, but I'll definitely find time to give it a few spins this weekend, and I hope some of you will too.

24/09/2024

I had a dream the other night about the day my server died, forcing me to bring Dynamic Range Radio to an inevitable but slightly premature end. I woke up thinking about how I should communicate the news to my loyal listeners, then, as the fog of sleep lifted from my brain, I remembered that it had been years since that happened, so I was relieved that I didn't have to break the bad news to anyone.

The dream reminded me that I had good news that I could share on this FB page, namely that my short film, Caregivers, will be having its World Premiere at the Parrsboro Film Festival in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia.

I can't remember if any of my regular listeners from back in the day were from Atlantic Canada, but if there are any this will be the first of two screenings in the area, but I can't publicly announce the second one yet.

I did submit the film to festivals all over the globe, but primarily in Canada, so I'll keep everyone posted just in case it ends up screening somewhere near you.

I'll be at the World Premiere in Parrsboro, which will be my first time watching a film I've written and directed in front of a paying audience, so that should be an interesting experience, and something quite different from the anonymity of being an internet radio DJ.

03/08/2024

It sounds like America's greatest rock band has called it a career.

It's kind of amazing they've lasted this long, with very few lineup changes, and even though their glory days are long gone, it's definitely the end of an era.

For a short time in the mid-to late 80s, they dethroned AC/DC as my favourite band, and the one whose logo I would scribble on all my schoolbooks. It all started with Run-DMC, of course, but then I dug deep into Aerosmith's back catalogue, and when Permanent Vacation arrived that's what sealed the deal for me, at least temporarily. The Smithereens dethroned Aerosmith a short time later, but for a while there, Aerosmith were my band.

I don't listen to them very often any more, but their 70s output, and some of their 80s stuff, still sounds good to my ears when I'm craving a bit of nostalgia.

Farewell, Toxic Twins.

It was 1970 when a spark of inspiration became Aerosmith. Thanks to you, our Blue Army, that spark caught flame and has been burning for over five decades. Some of you have been with us since the beginning and all of you are the reason we made rock ‘n’ roll history.

It has been the honor of our lives to have our music become part of yours. In every club, on every massive tour and at moments grand and private you have given us a place in the soundtrack of your lives.

We’ve always wanted to blow your mind when performing. As you know, Steven’s voice is an instrument like no other. He has spent months tirelessly working on getting his voice to where it was before his injury. We’ve seen him struggling despite having the best medical team by his side. Sadly, it is clear, that a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible. We have made a heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision - as a band of brothers - to retire from the touring stage.

We are grateful beyond words for everyone who was pumped to get on the road with us one last time. Grateful to our expert crew, our incredible team and the thousands of talented people who’ve made our historic runs possible. A final thank you to you - the best fans on planet Earth. Play our music loud, now and always. Dream On. You’ve made our dreams come true.

*For those who purchased their tickets through Ticketmaster, you will automatically be refunded – there is nothing further you need to do. For those who purchased via third-party resale sites such as SeatGeek, StubHub, VividSeats, etc. – please reach out to your point of purchase for more details*

04/07/2024

Best Of 2024 (So Far)

#7

Bears - The Black Ice Machine

This seven-minute track from a Portland indie band keeps going in unexpected directions and has an interesting mix of influences, which is good enough for it to crack my list.

Provided to YouTube by CDBabyBears · The Black Ice MachineBears℗ 2024 The Black Ice MachineReleased on: 2024-04-22Auto-generated by YouTube.

03/07/2024

Best Of 2024 (So Far)

#8

Trunks - Meanwhile (In South Carolina)

Provided to YouTube by IDOLMeanwhile in South Carolina · TrunksMeanwhile in South Carolina℗ Il monstroReleased on: 2024-01-10Bass Guitar: Laetitia ShériffDru...

02/07/2024

Best Of 2024 (So Far)

#9

Pure - Issues

The most surprising song of the year so far is this tune that popped into my Spotify playlists back in January.

Pure were my favourite local band when I first moved to Vancouver, but they broke up ages ago, and lead guitarist Todd Simko passed away back in 2012, so the last thing I expected to hear in 2024 was a new song from Pure featuring guitars that sounded like the band in its prime.

It was hard to find info on this song at first, so I wasn't sure if it was an old b-side or a long lost demo, but apparently it's something new from lead singer Jordy Birch, who's resurrected the band name in limited capacity, but it's still hard to find out if anything will come of this, like a new album or a tour.

While I generally disapprove of young bands trying to mimic the sounds of my youth, hearing this song for the first time was a blissful blast of pure nostalgia.

Provided to YouTube by DistroKidIssues · PureIssues℗ VANCITY RECORDSReleased on: 2024-01-31Auto-generated by YouTube.

01/07/2024

Since we've reached the half-way point of the year, I've decided to do a short countdown of some of my favourite songs of the year so far.

And since it's , I've decided to kick things off with a Canadian artist.

#10
KROY - JOLIGENTIL

Camille Poliquin is one half of a Montreal-based electropop duo called Milk & Bone, and based on this track I need to check out more of KROY's solo work and also Milk & Bone.

BLOODMOON is out now.Stream/Download: https://ffm.to/kroy-bloodmoonDirector: Gerardo Alcaine Director of Photography: Jérémie Boivin 1st AC: Renaud LemondeGr...

23/06/2024

Not sure how I missed this song in the 80s. This is fantastic!

Provided to YouTube by TuneCoreDrive Somewhere (Remastered) · The Vulgar BoatmenYou and Your Sister (Remastered)℗ 2016 TimeChangeReleased on: 2016-01-17Auto-...

15/06/2024

Tomorrow, on , I'll be revealing the first trailer for my short film, Caregivers, which was inspired by and is dedicated to my late father.

Follow the new FB page for Parenthetical Films if you want to stay up-to-date on the progress of the film, and my film career in general, and I'll try to keep this page focused on music whenever I find the time to post something.

Just in time for , tune in here tomorrow for the reveal of the first trailer for the short film, Caregivers.

06/05/2024

As I've mentioned before, I received a grant last year to fund the production of my first short film in decades. We shot the film in February and now I'm ready to host an online test screening.

For those who don't know, a test screening is when a work-in-progress film is shown to a select audience to guage their reaction to the film and pinpoint any flaws that could be fixed in editing.

I'm posting this here because anyone reading this obviously has impeccable taste in music, so hopefully that translates to impeccable taste in movies as well.

The film is roughly 15 minutes long, and I've created a survey that should only take 5-10 minutes to fill out, depending on how thorough you are.

I'll post the links in the comments, and please don't share them with anyone without asking me first.

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to help out, and here's a poster and logline for the film, so you'll have some idea what to expect.

Caregivers (drama)
A middle-aged woman struggles with work/life balance while caring for her elderly father who stubbornly refuses to go into a nursing home.

23/02/2024

It's been a hectic couple of months, but music is still one of the ways I relax, and I do stumble on new music that I like now and again. My 2024 Spotify playlist is up to 45 minutes already, which is pretty good considering how little time I have to actively seek out new music.

My favourite discovery of the year so far is probably The Click by Gibson & Toutant. (video in comments)