It’s been four years since I met up with Matt Layzell of The Matinée at Roxy Burger to interview him for my E!Online column. The six folk/southern/roots band members (Matt Layzell, Matt Rose, Pete Lemon, Mike Young, Geoff Petrie, and Dave Young) had only been together for a year but their future looked promising.

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Since that fateful night, The Matinée released a self-titled EP, have done a Canada-wide tour, released a full studio album, were featured in Shore 104FM‘s Sounds of Summer contest, and recently placed third in The Peak Performance Project.

Their top-tapping music is real and approachable and their energetic live shows have earned them quite the following. You can catch them January 30th at The Yard Cafe for an acoustic set, at VENUE February 18th, in Whistler at the GLC on February 25th, during CelticFest Vancouver March 15th, and in Toronto for Canadian Music Week March 22nd to 25th.

The Matinee at Live at Squamish Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Washboard Union

Matt has offered up 2 tickets for their February 18th show at VENUE to a Miss604 reader. If you would like to check out The Matinée in action with guests The Washboard Union and Good for Grapes, here’s how you can enter to win your way in:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

I will draw a winner at 11:00am next Friday, February 3, 2012. Must be 19 years of age or older to enter and win.

Update The winner is Adam!

The Vancouver Giants have released a video of their annual Teddy Bear Toss on YouTube and they’ve issued a very worthy challenge. Should the video reach 50,000 views by December 25th, the Giants and White Spot will donate $10,000 to The Province Empty Stocking Fund and the CKNW Orphans’ Fund.

Miss604 has been a proud supporter of the Vancouver Giants Teddy Bear Toss for the last four years and one of my readers was able to take part last Thursday. Please view this video and share it on Twitter and Facebook. These are two great causes that provide assistance to children and families in our community. Supporting them this season is as easy as hitting “play”.

Every now and then someone turns on their camera and captures a spectacular side of Vancouver in a new way. Everyday scenes become vibrant with music, time lapse effects, and even tilt-shift filters that make the city seem so small. It’s been a while since I flipped through Vimeo looking for local videos but I was able to find a few new gems:

Feel free to click the links from each videographer to find out more about their video-making process, their music of choice, or their locations. Previous video collections that I have posted include: Best Vancouver Videos of 2010, Vancouver Time Lapse Videos, Vancouver Time Lapse Videos Part Two, and a Vancouver 125 Video Roundup.

The other day I joined a fan club – a real fan club. I didn’t just “Like” a group on Facebook, I entered my credit card information online, anxiously awaited the delivery then ripped open the small brown box that contained my Codes and Keys mug along with my membership card. I felt like Ralphie receiving his Little Orphan Annie decoder ring (without the crummy commercial letdown in the end). I’m now a DCFC Union member.

Hot on the heels of the release of this latest album, Codes and Keys, Death Cab for Cutie will be playing Rogers Arena Friday, October 21, 2011 with guests, The Hold Steady.

John first introduced me to the brilliance of Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard about a year after the release of Transatlanticism and I was hooked. I scooped up everything I could find from his solo projects, The Postal Service, and the rest of the Death Cab for Cutie discography.

It’s the music, it’s the lyrics, it’s his hauntingly sweet voice that sang “Such Great Heights” at the end of our wedding ceremony. Whether you have the same emotional attachment to the music as I do or you simply enjoy the moving melodies, you’ll want to check out this show — they are fantastic live. Tickets are currently on sale from Live Nation starting at $37.45 to $66.15.

I also have a pair of tickets to give away, here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post naming your favourite Death Cab for Cutie song (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 10:00am on Tuesday, October 18, 2011.

Update The winner is Arshad!

The Vancouver International Film Festival starts tomorrow with the opening gala screening and will run until October 14th. As a sponsor of the festival, I have the pleasure of co-presenting the world premiere of the film Everything & Everyone on October 12th.

This charming and emotional drama from talented local director Tracy D. Smith was shot in Maple Ridge, B.C. Smith brings us an engaging ensemble film starring Gabrielle Rose as a mother quietly coping with dementia and Ryan Robbins as her grown son Noah who still lives at home.

Directed By: Tracy D. Smith
Executive Producer: Victoria Bennett
Producer/Screenwriter: Ian Tang
Website, Facebook

A part of the Canadian Images series at VIFF, the film feature a star-studded cast of local talent including Ryan Robbins (“Sanctuary”), Gabrielle Rose (“The Sweet Hereafter”), Chad Willett (“Cole”), Lane Edwards (“Smallville”), Chelah Horsdal (“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”), and Sean Michael Kyer (“Fringe”).

The world premiere of Everything & Everyone will take place at 6:45pm October 12, 2011 at the Granville 7 theatres and I’m pleased to team up with the First Weekend Club to sponsor this event. There are still tickets available for the screening the following afternoon, October 13th.

If you would like to attend the world premiere with us (and the folks who made this film happen), I’m giving away two pairs of my sponsor tickets. Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Leave a comment on the Miss604 Facebook Contest Page (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

I will draw two winners at 2:00pm on Saturday, October 8, 2011.

Update The winners are Bernadette & @mc_marketing – congratulations!

Avril Lavigne will be bringing her Black Star tour to Rogers Arena in Vancouver next month. Performing on stage since the age of 15, the complicated Canadian rocker released Goodbye Lullaby early in 2011 and is currently working on her fifth studio album.

At 26, she’s sold millions of albums worldwide, performed at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, and was only the second artist in history to have three number one songs from a debut album on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 [source]. She’s won a handful of Junos, an MTV Award, and a World Music Award.

The show (with guests) will start at 7:30pm, October 3, 2011. Tickets are currently on sale for $37.50 & $49.50 (general admission and reserved seating, all ages) through Live Nation and the Rogers Wireless box office.

I have a pair of tickets to give away as well, here’s how you can enter to win:

I will draw one winner at random from all entries next Friday, September 9, 2011 at 10:00am.

UpdateThe winner is Lloyd!

The Vancouver International Airport (“YVR”) is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year and to mark this milestone, they’re hosting a unique video contest.

They would like to find someone who can live at YVR (and not leave Sea Island) for 80 days. This person will share their experiences through social media and share video updates for the YVR Connections blog. Whoever wins the Live@YVR contest will be staying at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel and be given an HD camera for their reporting. They’ll be able to go behind the scenes and answer many questions people might have about an airport. What happens in the wee hours of the morning? Where does your luggage go?

As someone who takes an average of 30 flights a year, I truly appreciate our beautiful airport and how it’s become a part of our community. From the Observation Area, to Take Off Fridays (returning this year), and its awe-inspiring artwork and design.

Photo credit: malyousif, Jason Coburn, s.yume

If you think you have what it takes to cover 80 days at YVR, you can enter by video on the contest site (powered by Strutta) by July 18th. The Live@YVR storyteller will begin their 80 days at the airport August 17th, 2011.

I love featuring creative videos of Vancouver, from time lapses to tributes that tug at our heart strings. There’s no shortage of content being uploading during the Stanley Cup Playoffs and fan enthusiasm is at an all-time high. Even the Johnny Canuck video has been published on the Huffington Post. In case you were unable to witness the 100,000 fans in the downtown core last Friday, here’s the latest Canucks-themed video (sent to me by Hockey Community) to get your heart pumping.

Here are two more time lapse videos of streets that intersect with Granville that show just how massive the crowds have been getting.

Other Vancouver time lapse videos: Vancouver Spring Reborn, Vancouver Time Lapse Videos 1, Vancouver Time Lapse Videos 2, Top Vancouver Videos of 2010, and the Stephen Brunt Canucks Video Essay, for good measure.

The Shore 104 Song Search has returned for 2011 as the local radio station seeks out the best summer song in Vancouver that has been written and performed by home-grown talent.

ShoreFest 2010 – Photo by John Bollwitt

I spoke to Patrick Zulinov, Music and Programming Director at The Shore, about the new Song Search (previously the Sounds of Summer contest) and the Shore’s Canadian content. “There’s a huge amount of talent in this city that deserves to be heard,” he said. “I saw an opportunity to show off a lot of talent that I’ve experienced in this city and I wanted to get it on the radio.”

As opposed to last year, full bands (not just solo performers) can throw their hat into the ring. Zulinov said there have already been about 300 entries and the tough part will be selecting the finalists in each round. [Source: My TV Week Online column]

They have the field narrowed down to 20 finalists right now and are also hosting a public video challenge. Each finalist has submitted a video and the one with the most “likes” on YouTube will earn the title of “Fan Favourite”.

The Matinée, short-listed again this year, hopped on a water taxi two days ago to film their entry for the song Sweetwater.

Here’s another video submission from Steph Macpherson for Summer Salute.

The finalists for 2011 include Billy the Kid, BJ Block and Dawn Pemberton, Freeflow, Mark Irving, Ivory Sky, Jackie Treehorn, Reid Jamieson, Steph Macpherson, The Matinée, Ryan McAllister, Ryan McMahon and the Company Damn, The Midnight Hours, Sheree Plett, Randy Ponzio of Quest Poetics, Portage and Main, Prairie Dance Club, Redbird, Ben Sigston, The Sumner Brothers, and Watasun.

You can view all videos created by the top 20 and be sure to “like” your favourites on YouTube to give them a boost in the rankings.

Miss604.com is a proud sponsor of the Shore 104′s Song Search 2011.

Some people have rules about the playoffs around here. If the Canucks are out, they cheer for the next Canadian team left in the running (although usually there’s an exception for the Maple Leafs). With the Canucks representing Canada’s teams in the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff run, will the rest of the country sport blue, green, and white?

Photo credit: Eyesplash

Globe and Mail columnist Stephen Brunt created a video essay at the tail end of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics that burst with emotion and pride for our nation. Recently, he’s done another for Sportsnet called: “Canada’s Team?”

Read more opinions about being “Canada’s Team” in this article, “Dear Canada“, published in the Vancouver Sun last week.