Author Archives: Aaron Brophy

Youtube Hits Walk Off The Earth Talk About Their 5-Players-1-Guitar Goyte Cover

Walk Off The Earth

Walk Off The Earth

If you haven’t seen the spectacular video of Burlington band Walk Off The Earth covering Australian band Goyte’s song “Sombebody That I Used To Know” as a five people hammering away at a single guitar simultaneously, well, you probably don’t have any friends on the internet.

Said video’s gone super-viral, like 19 million viewers viral. So Aaron tracked down Sarah Blackwood, one of the singers, and asked her what it was like making this unique video.

You can read the story at Spinner by clicking here.

Walk Off The Earth’s now-famous cover song:

 

 

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On-Ice Tragedy Leads To Hockey For Heart

Roger Weir and his son Rob

Roger Weir and his son Rob

There’s a certain gallows humour in adult rec hockey dressing rooms that usually involves some variation of “get the defibrillator out” coupled with a pointed insult directed at whoever the fattest guy in the room is. That’s the funny stuff, but on the serious side, Rob Weir and his tournament series called Hockey For Heart can be counted amongst the folks responsible for getting said defibrillators into arenas.

Aaron wrote about Rob’s journey and the Hockey For Heart tournament for Samaritan Mag. You can read the story by clicking here.

 

 

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Degrassi Star Becomes An American Idiot

Jake Epstein in American Idiot

Jake Epstein in American Idiot

Team Risky Fuel was so full of existential angst after checking out the Canadian debut of Green Day’s American Idiot musical that we had to dig a little deeper.

So Sarah tracked down Jake Epstein, one of American Idiot’s main performers, to get the lowdown on what it’s like channeling Billie Joe Armstrong every day. Along the way Jake, who played Craig Manning on cult series Degrassi: The Next Generation, also dished on his former castmate Drake, Glee, and subversive musical Spring Awakening.

You can read the story at Spinner by clicking here.

 

 

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Filed under Dance, Music, Shameless Promotion

Black Sabbath Guitarist Tony Iommi Diagnosed With Lymphoma

Tony Iommi

Tony Iommi

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has been diagnosed lymphoma, a type of cancer involving cells of the immune system.

A statement released by the band this morning said Iommi’s illness was detected in its early stages and asked their fans to send “positive vibes” in the direction of the man behind the riffs for songs like “Iron Man,” “War Pigs” and “Sweat Leaf.”

“With the news that Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi has been diagnosed with the early stages of lymphoma, his bandmates would like everyone to send positive vibes to the guitarist at this time,” said the band. “Iommi is currently working with his doctors to establish the best treatment plan — the ‘IRON MAN’ of Rock & Roll remains upbeat and determined to make a full and successful recovery.”

The news of Iommi’s illness is a blow to the band, as they’re in the midst of recording their first studio album in 33 years with the “classic” Black Sabbath lineup of Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass) and Bill Ward (drums). Set to be produced by Rick Rubin, recording of the album will now be shifted from Los Angeles to the U.K. to facilitate Iommi’s treatment.

Former Black Sabbath singer Ronnie James Dio died in 2010 due to stomach cancer.

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How The Wire Helped Me Finally Understand Ghostface Killah

The Wire meets The Wu

The Wire meets The Wu

The Wire is a brilliant television program. Ghostface Killah is a brilliant rapper. But both of them are kind of difficult to understand — their respective art forms are filled with codified language, insider street slang that’s virtually impenetrable.

At least, that’s how Aaron felt about the music of the Ghostman until he watched all five seasons of The Wire. Then it all made sense. The criminals of the show provided him his eureka moment to understanding the Wu Tang Clan member’s music.

Wanting to share this revelation with the world, Aaron wrote How The Wire Helped Me Finally Understand Ghostface Killah for AUX TV. You can read the story by clicking here.

 

 

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Filed under Culture, Music, Shameless Promotion, Television