Live from Vancouver, CBC Radio 3’s Grant Lawrence gave out the Bucky Awards last week.  The full results can be found on the CBC Radio 3 site, but we’ve got a few highlights for you here.

The first Bucky to be awarded was that for the Most Canadian Song.  It went to Said the Whale, a native Vancouver band.  The song they won it for?  “Emerald Lake Alberta.” What a fine life we are living, indeed.

One of the awards I was super stoked for was the Bucky for the Best Lyric.  The nominees were all good, but I had my fingers crossed (and votes cast) for Joel Plaskett, an artist I was able to see perform at Knox United this year.  I guess my fellow Canadians were thinking the same thing, because he took the Bucky for the first line from “Through & Through & Through“: “I’m the Berlin Wall, I’m a communist/You’re a wrecking ball in a summer dress“.

As a late-French immersion student who was really proud to understand French and therefore a huge fan of Malajube, I was a little disappointed that Le Raison Meillure D’apprendre Le Français didn’t go to them.  However, Coeur de Pirate was a deserving recipient with “Comme des Enfants.”

A few of the Bucky’s were given out via R3TV.

My favourite category from these awards?  Best Offstage Performance.  Although it didn’t take home the Bucky, Billy Bob Revisited is a great laugh, especially if you saw the Billy Bob Thornton ‘Blow-up’ on Q.  Like playing for mashed potatoes without gravy?  I think not.

The Bucky for Best Offstage Performance was actually awarded to an awesome local Calgary band, The Dudes, for another R3TV episode – Dudeversity.  You should definitely enroll in Awesome 101, and check out the wicked interview YAA scored with The Dudes, which we posted earlier today.

Hope you enjoyed the wrap up from the Bucky Awards, and even learned about some cool new Canadian artists!

The Dudes are not to be messed with. They are a four man band from Calgary that make rock songs that come from the most closely guarded vaults of the emotional banks. Their lyrics and musicality are seamless, allowing their audience to rock out and maybe forget their troubles for just a few minutes out. Dan Vacon from The Dudes took a second to answer some questions that we at Youth Are Awesome were dying to have answered from their latest CD release, Blood Guts Bruises Cuts, to how they operate as a family.

Youth Are Awesome: What inspired the album art for Blood Guts Bruises Cuts? Are you avid wrestlers?

The Dudes: We had an artist friend of ours come up with it. He was all like, “what’s it called?” and he came up with the whole luchador thing. We do wrestle plenty tho. I never had much guidance as a kid, so I learned everything I know about justice and morality watching wrestling on TV. I turned out pretty good, I think.

YAA: How did The Dudes find each other?

The Dudes: Bob and I were tight in high school and we started the band then. It was for the high school talent show! We didn’t make it to the second round even. The girl who won sings the anthems at Calgary flames home games. She’s lame, and we bomb around the world getting high fives so who really won?

YAA: What was the first show the four of you played together as The Dudes?

The Dudes: Besides the talent show, our first real show was at the rock central stampede breakfast. Rock central was the name of our house. We built a stage in our back yard and pretended to be a charity to get free pancakes and sausages. It was the truly the greatest. We ended up doing it every summer for years. So fun!

YAA: What is the strangest thing that has happened to The Dudes at a show?

The Dudes: Strange? Hmmm. Mostly it’s just rad things happening. I’ve been so sick on stage I’ve vomited a few times. Random contests with the audience. Nudity is always strange. And sweet. Once a girl I was dating was making out with some dude at the back of the room while we played. That sucked. And was a little strange I guess.

YAA: Do you have a favourite place that you like to write songs or do a lot of the song ideas come to you at random moments?

The Dudes: I refuse to work a job. I’ve learned how to live super cheap and scheme money from all sorts of sources. I get up and start writing everyday. In the living room mostly or the basement jam space. Sometimes it’s magic and sometimes it’s just like, not now? Ok. We’ll try again later.

YAA: When did you first start playing music?  Were you born with music or was it something that you had to find?

The Dudes: I got my first real 6 string when I was sixteen but I was that kid from the choir ever since I was 10. I wrote a song about my granddads busted driveway car when I was 5. I think I always knew what I should be doing with my life.

YAA: In your songs you mention a lot of different names, in Girl Police you mention an Andy, Stephy, Jimmy, Eric, Jenny, Marvin, Arnold and Jess. Is this song inspired by people who actually have these names or are they aliases?

The Dudes: Those are shout outs to all my favorite people. Andy is tron from FUBAR, stephy is my ex girlfriend and the other dudes are all local Calgary rockers.

YAA: I’ve attended a few shows and felt this sense of community between The Dudes and the audience, how do you create and maintain that bond?

The Dudes: I don’t know. I think that’s just us being real. Having the opportunity to rock out is a serious gift and we know it. Maybe joy is contagious or something.

YAA: The Dudes have a song on the radio, Pretty Lies, what’s the prettiest lie you’ve heard or maybe even told?

The Dudes: I think I’m in love with you. That lie is actually kinda ugly and mean if one of you believes it. But if you’re both fakin’ it can be quite lovely.

YAA: If The Dudes were your typical family who would play what role?

The Dudes: I’m super surprised that I (Danny) seem to have become the band mom. Brady’s my foster child, Scott’s that uncle who gets you to pull his finger, Bob’s that uncle who’s always bringing a different lady to thankgiving and somehow we’re all brothers.

YAA: On a scale of one to unicorn how much more exciting is it to play a hometown show than a show out on the road?

The Dudes: I just like rockin’. It’s better for different reasons on both sides of the coin. So like, a mythical 5 with horns. And a tail that shoots out slurpee.

YAA: And the final question, what is your favourite type of cheese?

The Dudes: Breeeeeeeeeee! And the evaporators.

Check out The Dudes new music video for Girl Police, add them on Myspace and Become a Fan on Facebook!

It’s that time of year again! Christmas is in the air. We all love our classic holiday songs, but there are some awesome remakes out there!

“Last Christmas” is a song originally by the British pop duo, Wham.  Have you ever heard the version by Crazy Frog?  The video is funny, and I thought I’d share this with you all!  Ignore the first few seconds.  Take a look below:

[youtube a2SateaTLZU]

What do you think?  Is the remake better than the classic?

One of my favorite music sites is Pitchfork Media.  They are on the forefront of new music and aren’t limited by any one style of music.  In one place I learned about Lil Wayne’s new mixtape and read a review about Animal Collective.

Each year they release a whole bunch of “best of” lists. They recently put out their Top 100 Tracks of 2009.  I love this list because it allows me the chance of going back and listening to the tracks I missed out on.

The band Phoenix makes a few appearances on this list.  I discovered this band while watching Gossip Girl (please don’t make fun, I’m already ashamed).  I picked up the album on iTunes and I was blown away.  I also caught them while out in Toronto and was even more blown away.  Check out their video for the track “1901”:

I’d also like to point out number 86 on this list, Drake’s “Best I Ever Had”.  Drake blew up this year and he had a huge year.  Since leaving Degrassi he’s been courted by numerous record companies.  He also released one of the most popular mixtapes in recent history.  The mixtape “So Far Gone” is one the best albums I’ve heard in a while.  Everything flows and it’s a highly engaging album.  The best part is that it’s readily available on the internet for free.  Here is one of my favorite tracks “Successful”.  At first you’ll think “oh great, another hip hop track about ballin”.  But listen closer and hear the lyrics about Drake questioning the hip hop game and what successful actually is?

Phung-Bot Out

In about a week after Halloween has passed, what do you see? Christmas decorations of course!

There is always that specific house in the neighborhood that is all decked out in lights and decorations, and when the holiday comes you can’t help but look forward to seeing it. Then there are the houses, which seemed to light up the entire block and blind you with their lights.

Don’t misunderstand, I enjoy the holiday spirit with the bright lights and moving Santa statues but sometime these extravagant insanely decorated house are a bit too bright .These houses redefines holiday decorating and makes my house look so dim in comparison. Take a closer look at some of the neat decorations people have on display!

Hmm… I wonder how long it took to set these all up. When the electricity bill comes next month; I can only imagine the astronomical number that will be on it—ouch!

Have fun looking!

Youth Are Awesome was launched in September and we’ve been slowly evolving and gaining an audience.  This past month we saw our biggest one day total of 400 hits!

From the beginning we’ve had a dedicated group of youth who write and post onto the site.  Youth Are Awesome is run entirely by youth volunteers with the support of Child and Youth Friendly Calgary.  Each of these volunteers dedicates countless hours in writing, researching, and posting their articles.  For most of them this is the first time they’ve have the chance to post articles that reflect their interests.

So far they’ve all done an amazing job. With that in mind I’d like to unveil some pictures of the Youth Are Awesome Bloggers.  Some are missing from these pictures but we’d like to recognize the hard work of these youth.

Youth Are Awesome has big plans and we’ll continue to grow into the new year.  We’re passionate about this website because we know there will always be awesome things being done by youth!

If you’re interested in becoming a Youth Are Awesome Blogger please contact Kaitlin Gordon at yoda@cyfc.ca.

Yup, I’m back with another blurb about Taylor Swift… 😀

But first off, she turned 20 yesterday (December 13th).  Happy Birthday Taylor! Hope you have a great 20th!

Next… a new song!  But this one doesn’t involve her singing.  Instead, Evan Taubenfeld has quite an original song about her:

Merry Swiftmas (Even Though I Celebrate Chanukah).

[youtube EGM6Xtx02M4]

It’s cute, it’s original, it’s catchy.  What’s not to like?  His voice is really nice too.  I think my favourite line is “Kanye will watch his mouth next time“.  This totally brought a smile to my face when I heard it.  Taylor even twittered about it this past week!

So anyways, I hope you enjoy it. Just in time for the holiday season too. Cheers!

This story takes place in the 21^st century, but it has an interesting twist to it – the Greek gods, goddesses, and monsters are real and they live among us. In the story, a magical substance known as mist keeps humans from seeing the supernatural; it instead causes us to see things that can be explained by logic. Only magical creatures and demigods can see trough the mist.

The story follows a young boy named Percy who gets dragged into the world of magic. He is a demigod who should not have been alive due to an agreement between the three major gods. But he becomes extremely important to the gods when it is revealed that he is part of a prophecy that is about to come true.

The character matures throughout the series and so does the story itself, becoming darker and more intense with each novel. The protagonist ultimately finds himself caught in a potential war between the gods and the titans.

This series is not as dark or as meaningful as the books I usually talk about, but it is still a fun read that anyone above the age of ten may enjoy. I would recommend this series to anyone between grade 6 to grade 9.

The first book of the series (the lightning thief) is about to become a movie.

It’s that time of year again!  Nomination forms for the 2010 ConocoPhillips Youth of Distinction Awards are now available!

The ConocoPhillips Youth of Distinction Awards, a program of CYFC, is an opportunity for Calgarians to recognize deserving youth (13-18 yrs) for the amazing ways in which they have chosen to live. The awards are not academic rather they focus on leadership, friendship, overcoming personal challenge and community service.  The seven award categories are as follows:

Advocate Award (formerly the Activist Award): To be given to a youth who has committed time and energy lending their voice to a cause and bringing about change. 

Environmentalist Award: To be given to a youth and a group of youth who are committed to improving the environment and reducing environmental degradation.

Leadership Award: To be given to a youth who has chosen to take a leadership role in bringing positive change to their school or community.  This youth will have demonstrated responsibility and drive, as well as initiative in starting new projects and programs.

Peer Support Award: To be given to a youth who has mentored others. This youth will have positively influenced someone struggling to overcome issues in their life.

Perseverance Award: To be given to a youth who has prevailed over adversity or an obstacle in their life.

Volunteerism Award: To be given to a youth who is truly selfless and dedicated to helping others.  Though not necessarily in a leadership role, this youth has shown commitment to bettering their community by volunteering their time to a cause they are passionate about.

Do you know a young person who is the perfect example of one of these categories?  Fantastic – Nominate them! 

Nomination forms are available at www.cyfc.ca/yoda.  The deadline for nominations is March 15^th, 2010.

Ever since Our Lady Peace released their latest record Burn Burn, I was whittling away waiting for a tour announcement, and it’s finally arrived.  You can’t see me, but I’m definitely dancing around the room, because this promises to not just be any tour.  Just last week Our Lady Peace’s Canadian Tour, Clumsy and Spiritual Machines In Their Entirety was announced and that means that there are two different shows, one night after the other.  On Monday May 10th, the band will perform songs from their classic album Clumsy and on Tuesday May 11th, Our Lady Peace will perform songs from their album Spiritual Machines.  Both CD’s will be performed on their separate nights starting with Track 1 until the CD is complete, and in addition, the band will also be playing a full 2nd set of songs from all their other 7 records.  The best part is that it will all unfold in the Jack Singer Concert Hall to make the evening seem much more intimate.

Tickets went on sale this morning (Friday, December 11th)  at 10 am on Ticketmaster, as well as Live Nation.  With ticket prices ranging from $35.50 to $49.50 before convenience charges.  For each night, there are 4 exclusive VIP packages if you are the ultimate Our Lady Peace fan, that includes some pretty sweet stuff, but most importantly a meet and greet with the band before the show.

Check out their latest music video…

Or take a second to appreciate one of my favourites from this Canadian band (trust me I have a lot of favourites)!  So put those days up on your calendar and let’s make it a date!  See you there!